hackerhaus

Photo

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 15:19:19 -0700

Stories along the way.: Grief on the bathroom floor.

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 07:42:07 -0700

Stories along the way.: Grief on the bathroom floor. :

I remember being a young girl, 7 or 8 years old, sitting by my grandfather’s bed in my grandparent’s house. It was a big, mechanical hospital bed that had been brought in for him. I remember him reaching his wrinkly hand over to me and saying.. Hey sunshine, how was school? I remember, rather…

Stories along the way.: RunGirl 13.1 Relay with Team Bacon

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 13:35:09 -0700

Stories along the way.: RunGirl 13.1 Relay with Team Bacon:

swimbikeren:

This is the run where I really just had a good time.

I got up at about 5:30, I slept really well last night and I felt great. I had no anxiety about the half a half. I was excited, I dressed, grabbed my stuff, and took off. In the car I had a Pumpkin Pie Clif Bar, some Diet Coke, some water, and…

Stories along the way.: The half marathon turned nine-miler.

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 15:40:23 -0700

Stories along the way.: The half marathon turned nine-miler. :

swimbikeren:

Sometimes it’s very difficult to discern between making petty excuses and listening to common sense.

I woke up this morning feeling SO ready to do the distance on my plan. Week 9 of my marathon plan says “Half Marathon” for the long run. I didn’t register for one, so I was planning to just do my…

Nise Hata Sakusen

Tue, 18 Oct 2011 08:41:21 -0700

Nise Hata Sakusen:

偽旗作戦 [にせはたさくせん] – False Flag

偽 [にせ] – false; counterfeit; fake
旗 [はた] – flag
作戦 [さくせん] – strategy

作 [さく・つくる] – to make; to build
戦 [せん・いくさ] – war; battle

The phrase “False Flag” refers to a…

Joss Whedon: Feminist

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 07:38:09 -0700

Interviewer: So why do you write these strong female characters?
Whedon: Because you're still asking me that question.

Kenkon Itteki

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 21:17:50 -0700

Kenkon Itteki:

乾坤一擲 [けんこんいってき] - to play for all or nothing; throwing all into a task; to stake everything (on something)

乾 [カン] – heaven (also means dry, drought)
坤 [コン] – earth
一 [いち] – one
擲 [テキ] – resign

Excuses, Excuses

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 12:18:20 -0700

Excuses, Excuses:

For as long as I can remember, the prevailing ‘wisdom’ in language learning has been that children are far more capable of easily learning a language than adults. In linguistic circles, this notion…

I’m Published!

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 06:05:04 -0700

I’m Published!:

My hometown paper, the Daily Times Herald in Carroll, Iowa, did me the honor of asking me to write an Op-Ed piece on why I think we should learn other languages. It’s a bit long, but they decided to…

TOCFL

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 02:58:53 -0700

TOCFL:

Taiwan News published a story today on the “Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language” (TOCFL), a comprehensive test “designed especially for non-native speakers of Chinese.” I’m guessing that TOCFL is…

Language Learning

Tue, 07 Jun 2011 09:35:50 -0700

Language Learning:

I’m working on an editorial piece for my hometown newspaper on why we (all) should learn a second (or third, or fourth) language. The first draft is done-ish, and I’m about to mail it to my contact…

Photo

Fri, 20 May 2011 11:06:10 -0700

PlayStation Network Outage

Mon, 25 Apr 2011 07:49:45 -0700

PlayStation Network Outage:

The PlayStation Network has been hacked

Rather than wait for information from Sony USA or sift through the Twitter rumor mill, I decided to see what Sony Japan had to say about the…

LOLKot

Sat, 26 Mar 2011 17:18:55 -0700

LOLKot:

“In my world there are only ponies. They eat rainbows and poop butterflies.”

If you’re a Russian learner, but bored with textbooks, why not check out the Russian version of LOLCats? Don’t expect to see Vanya asking for directions to the movie theater, though. Some of these pictures do to the Russian language what LOLCats did (and continues to do) to English. If your Russian slang helmet is a bit rusty, fear not. Each comes with its own English translation and, if it exists, a cultural or historical explanation.

A Message from the Emperor

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 04:55:22 -0700

A Message from the Emperor:

皇室

天皇陛下：お言葉全文（１６日）

天皇陛下のお言葉の全文は以下の通り。

The Imperial Household

His Imperial Majesty: Full Text of His Speech (3/16/11)

The full text of the Emperor’s speech is as follows…

Possible Nuclear Meltdown in Fukushima

Sat, 12 Mar 2011 13:37:30 -0700

Possible Nuclear Meltdown in Fukushima:

福島第一原発１号機、燃料の溶融が進んでいる可能性

The possibility of a meltdown in progress exists at Fukushima Daiichi, Reactor 1.

…

Earthquake

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 23:25:25 -0700

Earthquake:

Devastation in Hachinohe, where I spent a great deal of my youth.

A massive earthquake of 8.8/8.9, depending on the source, has struck Japan. To my knowledge, this is the largest…

Obligatory @CharlieSheen Post

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 17:36:01 -0700

Obligatory @CharlieSheen Post:

BRAAAAAAINS…

Charlie Sheen has experienced a sort of spiritual epiphany as of late. He is the topic of conversation everywhere you turn. Overnight, seemingly by some sort of warlock…

Why It Pays to be Bilingual

Fri, 18 Feb 2011 10:29:20 -0700

Why It Pays to be Bilingual:

http://voxy.com/blog/2011/02/why-it-pays-to-be-bilingual-infographic/

Kyuukutsu

Tue, 15 Feb 2011 23:37:19 -0700

Kyuukutsu:

窮屈 [きゅうくつ] – narrow; tight; stiff

窮 [キュウ・きわまる] – cornered; hard up
屈 [クツ・かがむ] – bend; submit; flinch