Reading Japanese Blogs

J-BLOGS, is that what they'd be called?

I am going to start reading Japanese blogs.

Reading blogs have become such a large part of my life, I figure why not make it interesting by reading Japanese ones.

You can search Japanes blogs on google here.
You can translate them on Jim Breen's website (as seen to the right).

We'll see how easy this is. I hope I can find easy, journal like posts because they are the only ones I can probably digest for now.

I can only imagine my English learning counterpart, reading silly gossip sites (i.e. reading Perez Hilton intently so that they can understand "America"). Ha ha ha, ho ho ho (it's Dec. 27th).

Reading a blog will be easier than a book, but I will have to find blogs that are at my level.

i don't want to be looking up words all the time.

5 year old blogger, your audience is here!

just kidding.

hopefully I'll find a teenager who wants to rant about... learning English? that might be interesting.

Maybe I can use my motivation to read about fashion or about Japanese pop culture to get this ball rolling. So far the only one worth mentioning that I found is New York ファッションレター.

btw I found this idea on victorymanual.com. I can't think of these things on my own.

Although, the next step might be Japanese podcasts (that's my idea).

Merry Japanese Christmas

Oh, Japan!



Here's one from the archives!



right, right, silly Japanese, where DO they get such silly notions about what American Christmas is like?

Moleskine is French, but...

Moleskine is French, but I felt like I was in Japan when I went to barnes and noble look at the moleskine notebooks.

I will write my ideas in a moleskine reporter notebook (i have decided). Well, or the pocket notebook (i haven't decided which one to use though).
I got the idea from this fun "hacks" post on freelanceswitch.com about what methods I can use to help me organize my ideas with moleskine.
I can't believe they call them moleskine "hacks".
How web 2.0 when it's not that at all.
I think they're the best because the journals open up flat and not all journals can do that.
It's kind of expensive for a notebook, but Strandbooks.com sells them at a discount.
Amazon sucks when it comes to moleskine.
what's up with that?

Plans for self-study

Now that i will not be taking a Japanese language class and I will not have the convenience of having a quiz prepared for me 3 times a week I will have to begin on a journey of self study.

After much online research, and listening to this guy on lifehack.org, I've decided to make my own wiki.

I want to make a wiki where I post study materials and citations of what I read (since posting the actual thing might get me in trouble).I might post magazine articles from Casa Brutus because it's such a stylin' magazine and I have them on hand.

PURPOSE OF WIKI:

1. To have a file of all of the self study materials I go over.

2. Share the materials and study materials I create.

3. Hopefully get others to post what they are reading in Japanese and the study materials they create.

I think that sharing the materials will motivate me to make them proper and to consistently post.

ORGANIZATION OF WIKI

Folders will be by material type. (Books, Magazine Articles, Newspaper Articles- all tagged so that they can be searched by category...)

So, for example in the Books Folder will be a list of the books (Murakami's "why I run...")

[note: if you need to search by author, you use the search tab to list all text by a certain author]

Then, that page will lead you to study materials and a .pdf to download if available.

STUDY MATERIALS

1. pdf with annotation that indicates lines

2. excel list of kanji and words by line, or table list that can be copied and pasted into google docs.

grammar points

what do you think?

lots of my grade is learning kanji.

10% = kanji quiz's every lesson

60% = tests that are 1/2 kanji
30% = presentation & homework & attendance

therefore 40% of my final grade is memorizing kanji.

interesting.
whatever happened to critical thinking.
well, maybe i'm not at that advanced level yet.
that's right.
YET!

japanese movies make me happy

Japanese movies make me happy.
Maybe it's because I don't speak Japanese that often in my everyday life and listening to it reminds me of being 5 years old again.

moma.org is screening Asian movies in contemporAsian.
this movie looks like muji designed it.
the main character is wearing muji... right?
it was made in 2007. that's recent.



All this Japanese movie talk reminds me of Nobody Knows. Here is the American trailer.



Perhaps you want to know where I heard of the first film.
I discovered it at Diane, A shaded view of fashion.
i know, not very relevant, but I've got to have other hobbies, makes me more complicated, more fun.

The sartorialist and Japanese magazines

The sartorialist is a fashion street style blog I follow.

He has a post called: I kid you not some of best mens magazines are from Japan.

it's true.
Japanese magazines are some of the best out there for fashion.
Part of the reason why I want to read Japanese is so I can enjoy these magazines.

it's funny where you find motivation.

An article a day makes...

I am going to stop taking language classes next semester. In fact, I think I am done (like no more opportunities in life) to take language classes formally.

BUT I will not quit my quest (please see my About Me).

I am going to try to get this certificate my school offers so that I can tell the world on my resume that I do in fact know Japanese.

In order to get this certificate I either have to take the spring semester of the course I just finished (can't because I have other required classes) OR I pass the placement exam.

Today I was told the placement exam is harder than just taking the class.
I have no choice.

I will have to self study (well, i will hire a tutor to make sure I'm not making stuff up).

The language professor recommended I:
1. look at the spring semester grammar & vocab I will be missing
2. read an article a day in the newspaper and summarize. Don't translate, but get the overall jist of what the article says.

what a mission it is.

10 Steps to flashcards with Japanese on Studycard Studio Lite

Step 1: Receive the list of words.




Step 2: ----------------->

A: Type them into a google docs spreadsheet using 3 columns (kanji, hiragana, english).

B: Look up words in A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters by Kenneth G. Henshall and input these explanations underneath each definition.

<---------------Step 3:

Copy from google docs and paste into TextEdit because Studycard Studio Lite cannot read the font otherwise.

Step 4:------------------>

A: Copy from TextEdit and paste into Microsoft Word.

B: Save as Rich Text Format (.rtf)

Step 5:

Open Studycard Studio Lite.

Step 6:

Open current group of cards that will be tested in next test.








<-------------Step 7:

Create a new card (control K)

Write heading for this set.

Step 8:-------------------->
Create new category title so all cards you are about to import will have this category.

<--------------Step 9:

Go to File/ import, and select the .rtf file you created in Step 4.

Step 10:---------------------------------->

Change the font size, alignment... and you're DONE!

Resources that have helped the Japanese in me

Face it, writing a kanji over and over doesn't work.

Well... at least for me.

I need a story behind the Kanji and consistency in what each of the symbols mean.

In my early days I started with the Heisig books.

Remembering the Kanji, Vol. 1: A Complete Course on How Not to Forget the Meaning and Writing of Japanese Characters by James W. Heisig changed my life.

As did Vol. 2.

Now there's a Vol. 3.

They're split up if I remember correctly in how to write them and read them. I have since moved on to my go-to book:

A Guide to Remembering Japanese Characters by Kenneth G. Henshall. The explanations here suit me more. There is a history of the kanji in here, while I sometimes felt the Heisig could be bland. I look up all words in here first. These days I can even remember what each of the radicals mean and not have to consult the book as often.

These are good Kanji starter books and I was able to be consistent with the meanings I gave to each of the radicals. Sure I have to make some meanings up sometimes, but for the most part these books help you get the ball rolling.

If you want something more elementary, I recommend Kanji Pict-o-graphix by Michael Rowley. I bought this first because a friend recommended it and it was too simple for me.

last day of crap

tomorrow I begin my memorization tactics.
my mission is to memorize around 180 words.
i organize them into: KANJI, HIRAGANA, READING ONLY
because drilling myself on each of these categories takes a different part of my brain.
my weapon: palm tungsten E2

then I grammar it up in the end.
love it.
own it.
c u. after i stop being a machine.

不備=imperfect

to be imperfect is to be not ready
不(not) 備 (ready)

備える　（そなえる）

i thought this was interesting to see what japanese think imperfection is.
right?

JLPT for life.

I proctored one of the JLPT tests this weekend. I thought it would be interesting, but it was pretty banal. I stood there most of the time hoping for that one student to look to their left... no, their right... goal!

Now what I know what it's like to proctor an exam.
no deep thoughts about it here.

trash

I threw out my lunch tupperware as part of my Japanese learning.

I also separated all of my trash as one would do if they lived in tokyo. Anything that looked like a pet bottle, i put address stickers I got for free from amnesty international. I only put the ones that have butterflies on them because those can be pets.

I bought ten bags of potato chips so that after i finish i can put them in the recycle bag.

I of course stuffed them with aluminum foil so that the recycle people can get that they're aluminum.

no, not new aluminum.

I smeared butter on them just as I do when baking.

I don't want people to think i have too much time on my hands.

I really actually have no time.

I've got to go.

That's why I hardly post here.

BUT keep me on your reader. i'm still alive.

and funny. i'm really really funny.

Haruki Murakami

As part of my Japanese learning I read the translated version of Haruki Murakami books.
Well, it's not really part of my Japanese learning, but it definitely brings me closer to Japan. Discovering Murakami has definitely contributed to my decision to try to understand Japan.

The reason why I started reading him was because he made me feel like Japanese people could be just like me (murakami is soo, just like me). Reading not only Murakami's books, but others like Junichiro Tanizaki and well, for now just Murakami, has exposed me to how people are in Japan today.

Growing up outside Japan I'm exposed only to a small world of Japanese people and that unfairly shapes my understanding of the Japanese people. After I lived there through the JET program I realized that I have to broaden my horizons. I have to expose myself to more Japanese people and my quest is to do that through books.

For the longest time I thought Japanese people were materialistic, uptight and racist (i know, how nice). This may still be so, but these authors don't fit my stereotype and I am pleasantly surprised.

who do you read?
What Japanese authors changed your conception about Japan?

Coming to an End

My semester of Japanese learning is coming to an end (sigh).
I have no idea if I will be able to take Japanese next semester because it depends on whether I get in to the Japanese studies program I am itching to get in to.
I will find out this week or next and it makes these weeks so grueling.
Then again, if I don't get in, at least for these few weeks I can dream that I am in and I wouldn' t be totally tricking myself.
if you get what I mean.

wish me luck. (library rant from yesterday taken out because I need to have focus on this blog and can't go off on tangents like that)

Writing about Chado

My topic for my end of the semester presentation is Chado (Japanese Tea Ceremony).
A draft is due on Wednesday.

I have a personal attachment to the art because my grandmother teaches it from her home in America. In fact, I grew up practicing the tea ceremony for what feels like forever. In retrospect, it was was probably only 2-3 times a month during the peak years of age 6-12. These years I felt like I was not allowed to leave unless my brother, sister and I all performed the ceremony at least once.

When I think of the tea ceremony, my immediate reaction is: "this will only take 20 min." I know, I need to have more reverence for the art. Part of the problem is that I don't really know what it is supposed mean to me. I learned it in this cultural vacuum. What the tea ceremony means to the outside world is somewhat of a blur to me.

This is why I want to do my presentation on the subject. Books written on the subject emphasize the spiritual quality and the wabi sabi aspect of the art. I am skeptical about accepting that everyone does it for the art. What I want to discover is that there is more to it, like social status and how it must survive as a business as much as an art.

If I find out that I am being too pessimistic about the art, then I ask: What is the relevance of this art for arts sake in ANYBODY's life? And if it can only be relevant to the idle few, then what is it really worth? What are we propping up? The question is not so much "of what use is chado", but more like "how is it used". "As art for arts sake" is a suckie answer.

I am pessimistic about it.
call it a phase.

I love Flash Cards

FLASH CARDS.

They help me compartmentalize my life.

I'm currently taking a Japanese class and have a vocabulary quiz 3 times a week.

Some groan at the thought of this, but it helps for the lesson that day and for the test at the end of each lesson. It's actually quite the life saver when you realize that you already somewhat know the 150 new words and phrases for the test coming up in a few weeks.

Nobody else has gadgets or flash cards in my class. I on the other hand I NEED something to trick myself into remembering words. Something where I sit back, relax and let the flashcards be my teacher.

My Device of choice is the Palm Tungsten E2 that i got off ebay.

On the screen is Studycard Studio Lite.
MAC: free trial, $29 upgrade
PRO's
Study Card Studio Lite has served its purpose for me.

I now have a mac and this seems to be the only mac friendly software for flash cards on my palm.

CON's
The only problem I have is that the font doesn't register if I have a tab delineated document in Japanese. To make flash cards in Japanse I have to do this:

1. copy and paste the words from a google docs spread sheet (where I organize my words) into TextEdit
2. copy and paste that into Word
3. save as an .rtf file
4. import that in Study Card Studio Lite.
5. wtf.




On screen is Gunther's Freeware, but the Japanese font won't work.
PC: FREE!
PRO's
I found a great freeware software called Gunther's Freeware.

It is better than Study Card Studio Lite because it uses the Leitner Card file system. This system spreads out when you see a certain card so that you don't waste your time on ones you have already memorized.

CON's
I thought of buying a PC because I love this software (i know, crazy), but I had a hard time using Japanese fonts with the software. Todd Rudick of Rikai.com has no problem as seen in his helpful blog about it. I couldn't get it to work so I gave UP!

CUT from consideration:

1. Anki for palm
Free.
I put this on my palm, but you can't keep track of your progress. It just goes through your cards in this archaic looking screen. You can check off ones as you go, but that didn't really help me.

2. Anki for your computer
Free.
I haven't used it, just read about it.
It looks cool if you only study on your laptop.
I saw something about how you can use it on you iphone, but that is at its beginning stages and that's only if you're connected to the internet wherever you go.

3. Flash Card Exchange
Free until you want to print.
I paid $19.95 like an idiot so that I could print my flash cards. Printing wastes paper, which is not very green and therefore not hip. This website doesn't export your files for the palm.

Hoping for a continuous flow of posts.

Hi,
I'm going to attempt to write about something that takes up a huge part of my life: learning Japanese. I decided a few years ago to buckle down and finally learn the language in full (i.e. reading, writing, the works). I've not yet entered the "real world", but I'm working at a university and taking classes while I figure how I am going to make Japanese a part of my everyday life.

I figure if I blog about it I could share my resources. Every now and then I'm scouring the internet for the best software, books and gagets to help me. I plan on post about it all. The struggle and the glory.

Enjoy!