Blwoing my mnid, one day at a tmie

Have you ever recieved one of these e-mails before? Take a look:

Don't delete this just because it looks weird. Believe it or not, you can read it.

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?

I actually did get this e-mail, in April of this year. Needless to say, it blew my mind! But don't let that fool you. Little did I know that my mind would be blown again-- much more violently-- by a blog which convinced me otherwise . Check it out now, and afterwards, check the little anemometer in your brain.

R.S. Yes, it's 5:30 AM. Who caares?!

R.S.x2 If you REALLY want to step into a gale, go to the website in the sidebar titled, "Cmabrigde". I'm sure you won't object to witnessing the polite bashing of a popular hoax :D

What is the meaning of these infernal water droplets??

OMG, lyke I just totally saw the news, and it's official: SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS in NYC all throughout Thursday! :D All the better to sit near the window, take in some heavily saturated air, and, practice the language... no, it's not Japanese... nope, not French... not Latin either!

Oh boy, what in the world is she learning now?! Yes folks-- it's a MYSTERY LANGUAGE! OOOoooohhhh.... *eerieness*

Now this language is heavily shrouded in history and culture, which is probably why they define themselves by tribe (hint hint nudge nudge), and those unlucky individuals out there who don't belong to a tribe go by a very SPECIAL name. ;)

Anyway, enough mystery. These four languages hold a very huge parking spot in my heart, and I would like to learn even more! For instance, more Latin-based languages like Italian, Spanish or Portuguese would be especially nice. Every time you delve into a new language, it is almost unavoidable that you learn a lot about its culture, which I find exciting!

Oh, no, what's wrong? Her vocabulary's really lacking lately! I KNOW that's what you're thinking, but there's not much I can do about it! All of these languages, 2 (maybe 3) instruments to practice, and not to mention trying to squeeze in a little RELAXATION is very tiring, and guess where my library of colorful words go when I'm fatigued? It goes to SLEEP, darn you!!

I truly apologize :D

Next week I'm sure to have lotsa good news R.S., but right now, what are you waiting for? There's nature to appreciate and culture to be dived into!

UPDATE: "All the better to sit near the window, take in some heavily saturated air"? Well, obviously not, unless I want my head blown off by Zeus himself. I've said that I love the rain... but lightning... that's a different story altogether.

Cryogenics Contd.!!

Hello everyone--back on the topic of liquid nitrogen, here's an amazing website all about it!

Now there are many of these websites which explain the concept of cryogenics, liquid nitrogen and how to use them, but this website also gives great pictures as well as great suggestions on what to do with some LN2 if you happen to get your (heavily insulated) hands on it. After all, liquid nitrogen happens to be only about 50 degrees warmer than the temperature on the surface of Pluto.

Some of the great experiments on this website include dipping a flower into the liquid and shattering the frozen petals like glass, breaking frozen rubber balls into little pieces, and why should I tell you another-- go see for yourself!!!

How come I have never heard about this before?!?

Hello everyone! Here's something you've never known about the JP Otaku-- I am in LOVE with science!!

That's right. I am aspiring to become a scientist in the years to come, and maybe facilitate the early years of my career by becoming an intern during college. Sorry, another thing I'm obsessed about.

Hmm. Maybe I should get all of the things that I'm obsessed with out in the open right now, so I can just sit and drool over them in peace for the duration of the blog.

Of course I'm obsessed with Japan and all things Japanese, but did you know that I also am in love with with Canada? I'm not too sure about it now, but for the past few months I have been doing a bit of research and found out a few positive things about the country. Though some Americans do not know much about the connections between Canada and America, Canada does have a fair sense of neighborly courtesy. For instance, did you know that although over 59% of Canadians oppose the mission of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan (poll conducted by The Strategic Counsel in 2006), why do you think they went there? "[It is] mainly because of pressure from the U.S. in response to the attack on 9/11" (as quoted in this article) ... Now, who wouldn't lend a little resources to a lifetime friend who was down and out? -chortle-

Now, I may be just an impudent, ignorant teen, and in regard to that, I'll simply say: Canada is a beautiful place, full of free ranges, bustling metropolises and environmentally active communities-- and I guess THAT's why I can't stop thinking about it. Besides that, I am quite fond of the show "Mythbusters", the concept of boundless outer space, REGINA SPEKTOR, all breed of dog EXCEPT greyhound (when their coat has one consistent color, and they are running at high speeds, they might as well be giant bullets! -shudder-), the color turquoise, and last but not least (well, maybe not last, either): the cryogenic fluid, Liquid Nitrogen!!

Okay, for the record, this stuff's amazing. It has the power to create liquid OXYGEN by simple contact by air to its massive sub-zero temperatures, as well as do other unthinkable things such as shatter solid pennies, make latex tubing crawl on its own, and, as cited by this Wikipedia article , "[cryopreserve] blood, reproductive cells (sperm and egg), and other biological samples and materials". People use liquid oxygen in everyday life, so it saddens me almost indefinitely that we take it for granted. For instance, "freeze dried" foods are often "freeze dried" using liquid nitrogen, an excellent preserving tool. Ever tried "Dippin' Dots"? (If not, would you click right here to find out where the nearest store is? For Pete's sake, it's the middle of July!!) Even that delightful treat is made up of cryogenically frozen balls of fresh ice cream! The sheer amazement of this so called LN2 is an addition to the many wonders of the modern world, and leaves me with one thought: HOW COME I have never heard of this before?!?

Heh, here I go, obsessing over things again. :D

Here is a Youtube video showing just one of the many possibilities with that wonderful cryogenic fluid. I especially like it because it explains the technology of the Japanese bullet train, the Shinkansen (mentioned briefly in this blog before), which I had simply happened upon and have never heard before! Now, it may or may not be true, but it was interesting that I had stumbled upon it, and creates good reasoning as to how the train is able to reach those high speeds.


I hope you've all had a wonderful 1/2 of July, and though I won't be leaving until August for about 2 weeks, I'll try to scourge up some good news in this desert of a writers block. :o i DEFINITELY will have news when I return. REGISPEK If you have any hobbies, interests, obsessions, or anything else which gives you right to call yourself an "otaku", don't be afraid to comment!

UPDATE: What was that I said before?? "The partying never ends"?? What was I, an overly social 27-year-old at the time? Well, I must have been intoxicated or something because right now I'm so bored I could beat my skull in with a cryogenically frozen banana! Is there anything I can do (I missed the Bastille Festival in NYC!), day-to-day, that can alleviate my severe boredom?

-Moderate Applause Required-

(I hereby reserve 37% of all applause for Regina Spektor)

Yes...

Drumroll...

I have learned ALL HIRAGANA! ALL 107 OF THE LITTLE DEVILS!!

As with this post, you start off immediately thinking, WHY should I care?! Well, honestly, I don't know. If you're not interested, then it's beyond both you and me why you would want to sit down and read this drivel.

Anyways, I'll skip the self-depreciation. Remember when you were too little to write your name properly, and your parents were delighted when they saw you skipping around singing this incomprehensible, yet jolly little tune called the alphabet song?

Now. Imagine your parents sitting you down and telling you that you had to learn over EIGHT MORE of these little tunes in order to have completed your FIRST ALPHABET out of THREE??! Honestly, Japan, I tip my bonnet to you, and expect my fellow Americans to do the same. Except for, you know, the men. Well... some of them.

NEVERMIND.

So, JUST thought I'd step in for a sec and let you all see how I'm doing. (For all Japanese-enthusiasts, it ONLY takes about three days to graduate from learning the basic Hiragana to graduating from the syllabary altogether!)

Thanks for reading!! :D

P.S. HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY, AMERICA! THOUGH THE DAY IS OVER, THE PARTYING NEVER ENDS!

Just say Nobama!

Hello everyone, I'm JP Otaku with yet another post!

Don't get me wrong, I'm still bored out of my mind and body, but I recently read this article which both intrigued me and showed me what really goes on in the minds of Japanese elites.

Hmm, you're still looking at the title, aren't you. Well, in a previous post, I mentioned that I am not comfortable sharing my political standpoint. I do not have any personal grief against either Senator Obama or Senator McCain. I believe that, if given a choice between the two, the pressure would crush my rib cage. Let's just say, I'm glad I'm not old enough to vote just yet.

Go ahead and read the article, and I'm pretty sure that depending on your views, you will either ROTFLOL, or take the matter into serious consideration.

(I dare you to comment)

I love feeling sorry for myself

Hello, it's JP otaku with a big helping of good news--

Hurrah-- I've successfully memorized all 46 basic Hiragana characters!!

So, what does this mean? Well, us Americans are quite contented with using the same 26 letters, over and over, to make words and sentences. Japan, however, thought that a measly 26 was "not quite enough". No, Japan decided to take it to the next level. And the next level. AND the next.

How many letters do these Japanese use anyway? You might ask. 26 is enough for me, I guess!

It might be much to some of your surprise that those silly ducks in Japan have over 50,200 characters previously created, if you include both of their syllabaries (or sets of characters based on syllables, not specific letters) and their set of ideographs (pictures which are loosely based on the ideas that they represent). That's right. Japan-50,200 (or more), America-26.

Now, some of you might be thinking now, What difference does learning 46 characters make when you've got another 50,150 left to learn?

It doesn't help much to lump a task together and turn it into a chore, I've told myself. Instead, I should break it down-- 46 is the basic number of characters to learn in Hiragana. 46 is also the number of basic characters to learn in the Katakana syllabary. To add on to the basics, there are an additional 61 to learn in Hiragana which are simply variations, and likewise in Katakana. Now if I have mastered both the Hiragana and Katakana syllabaries, you can deduct the approximate 200 from the 50,200 I have to learn.

Now here comes the big dogs-- the Kanji ideographs. Now, in a traditional Japanese primary school, students are taught about 1,000 kanji, which covers the majority of the daily use of kanji in Japan. Memorizing all 50,000 or more kanji is comparable to scouring the dictionary and memorizing rare and obsure words such as "clagenarious ". Learning 2,000 is MUCH more than enough for me to learn, especially since Japanese is not my first language, nor do I live in Japan. So, there we go! I've shortened my studies from 50,200 to 2,150 using bare logics.

Now, I could sit here and feel sorry for myself: "Still, 2,150 is a nightmarish number of lines and curves to remember! ON top of that, I barely know any words, and cannot even string a simple Japanese sentence together! I'm even taking two other languages, in addition to regular classes, and if I want to get into a Japanese exchange program before I graduate, I'm doomed!!"


...Wow, I really am good at that, aren't I?

Anyways, the only way to get as far as possible is to try as hard as possible, and waste as little time worrying and making it seem impossible. Besides, since I am so passionate about learning Japanese, it should provide at least a little fuel when the going gets tough.

Whoa, life lesson alert...

Anyways! I hope your summer is going just peachy, and is full of good times! Well, I hope my own will go that way too, because I'm at an all time high when it comes to being BORED.

BORED!


If there's anything you feel like saying, feel free! You can comment (To tell the truth, I'm very bored and lonely, and I'm not considering getting a cat.)

UPDATE: I've just found out that the Katakana syllabary has about 45 extra characters in addition to the 107 of the basic/contracted characters, to conform to the sounds made in other languages and cultures besides Japan. Darn foreigners and their complex sounds.