A Little Boost...

What can you say about music?

To practice my Japanese casually, I have been using the afore-link-ed smart.fm software. But, when that gets a bit tedious, I use a streaming music website called Last.fm to aid the practice. Last.fm is a website that records your musical tastes based on artists and songs, and then creates a radio based on similar songs or artists.

Now, why not Pandora, or any of those other websites, you might ask? Simply put, it's because the range of music on Last.fm seems to surpass the rest easily. It's very hard to find Japanese artists on Pandora especially, which frustrated me for a while, whereas if you leave the Last.fm radio running for a while, you'll run into tons of new artists of any genre. I was introduced to Perfume, Kaela Kimura, sifow, Tommy February6, and more-- love at first sight.

Another thing-- music while studying. I find it best to put on a Japanese artist's radio when studying Japanese, and a French artist while studying French-- seems obvious enough, right? Well, I found this out when I started studying French on smart.fm, and I had Ai Otsuka playing on Last.fm. I could literally feel my brain tugging towards Japanese and away from French. Weird, huh? I'm not joking! Then I changed to Camille (a French artist) Radio, and the tug was gone!

Stop looking at me like that.

Well, in any case, if you need a musical boost-- for anything, I suggest you use Last.fm. Enjoy!

-JPOtaku

A little recess...

Hello, it's JPOtaku, and... well, I'll be gone for a month.

BAM! A wave of sadness hit the country. Especially since no one's reading this and I've left for over 3 months plenty of times. But don't despair!

I'm not actually abandoning this blog, I'm just going to be busy for a month. Busy. A month. 2+2=... CAMP! Even while I'm there, I will still がんばります (try hard) to maintain my Japanese schedule. Perhaps I'll even have news when I come back!

Thanks,

JPOtaku

Multilingual...ism

I find it harder and harder to be learning more than one language at once. Prime example? Japanese and French.

As you may have known, the English sentence order is SVO (Subject-verb-object). For instance, "I hid an Easter egg." The subject, in most cases, comes first in the sentence (I), then comes the verb (hid), then the object (an Easter egg). However, in Japanese, the sentence order is SVO. Which means instead of saying "I hid an Easter egg," you'd be saying "I an Easter egg hid".

Sometimes, when speaking in French, I get an irresistible urge to put my verbs at the end of my sentences. God forbid I speak to a French native anytime soon! They'd think I was Yoda!

I found a very helpful person on Youtube who specializes in this exact type of problem: kemushichan. In particular, this video of hers deals with those who are learning several languages at once. (She even happens to mention my own situation in the video!) Watch the video, and look at her channel-- she might help you with some of the problems that YOU are having!

HOLY CRAP #2-- (Fit's Gum)

Now-- I just recently found out about this Youtube craze a week ago, but still--- it was inevitable that this trend would spread all over Youtube Japan.

A Japanese gum company, "Fit's", released these commercials to promote a new, innovative, unbelievably soft, more mouth-accessible pack of gum. In the commercials, the model takes a piece of gum, chews it, and then proceeds to do a very distinctive, lively dance that gets anyone in a 15-foot radius excited to chew and dance as well. All the while, an infectious jingle plays in the background that would make anyone who knew the dance moves want to get up and shake it, too.

But wait!

We can shake it, too!

On the Fit's website was posted the instructions to the dance, in Japanese, along with their official announcement of their Youtube dance contest. That was when bunches of Japanese Youtubers picked up their webcams, shook it, and advertised their imaginary packs of gum.

A Fit's Entry
Another Fit's Entry
A Third Fit's Entry (my personal favorite)
A Fourth Fit's Entry (WHOA, foreigners?! No way. :P)

As far as I know, Fit's company (LOTTE) has promoted 32 entries. Now-- if this seems crazy or pointless to you, just think back a little-- just how many commercials have us Americans obsessed over?

Visa? (There are some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's MasterCard.)

Geico? (The gecko AND the cavemen. AND the cash with the googly eyes.)

Freecreditreport.com? ("My legs are stickin' to the vinyl and my posse's gettin' laughed at!")

Remember those? :P

--JPOtaku

My Japanese Progress!

Lately, since it's summer vacation, I have been able to do a LOT more Japanese. Particularly, I have been trying to learn more kanji to correspond with new adjectives and verbs I've been memorizing.

But, it turns out that I have an unexpected problem. Since it's spring break, most would take a break from all of their studies, educational or otherwise. I, however... am way too obsessed to take any sort of break.

Exactly how obsessed? I mean, "Learn 5 kanji every day", "finish 2 chapters of 'Japanese for Dummies'" obsessed. By the way, recently I've been using this extremely useful website called smart.fm, which helps you with learning various things using flashcard-like quizzes. It's extremely addictive, and it even features some exercises from Tofugu.com's Koichi-ben. Check it-- it's in the sidebar.

This blog post from Tofugu.com helped me a lot to budget my time wisely and to not overwork myself. It's also useful for those who find themselves not able to study enough. Perhaps it'd help you, whether or not you are studying Japanese!

Enjoy,

JPOtaku

HOLY CRAP-- #1 (J-Dorama)

Ahh... What can I say about J-Dorama?

Well, for starters... ITSTHEMOSTADDICTIVETHINGTHATIVESEENINMYLIFEGETMEAWAY

FROMTHISCOMPUTERINEEDMORERIGHTNOWASDFGHGFKDFJWEROILJ

...

Okay. Just needed to get that out... Now! :D What exactly IS a J-Dorama?

The phrase "J-Dorama" actually stands for "Japanese Drama". It refers to Japanese soaps which actually air (or have aired) on Japanese television channels. Now, I am definitely NOT a person who enjoys dramatic television shows... In fact, that's the last thing I'd watch if I had a choice. But, allow me to say this, Americans-- Asian dramas are 100% DIFFERENT from American dramas.

Yeah, American dramas-- you know, the dramatic camera angles, the woman standing out in the rain crying, the man who enters a completely calm scene with a gun... etc., etc. This is exactly the stuff I like to stay AWAY from.

My very first experience with a J-Dorama-- I was reading this blog on a website called "Tofugu.com"... It was about "J-doramaholics."

ME: "wth is a j-dorama? durrr"

So... I look up a show called "Hana Yori Dango" (or, Boys over Flowers).

I watch the first episode.

I watch the first season.

I watch the second season.

I watch the movie.

I wa-- wait, there's no more. I NEED MORE.

I look up "Akihabara@DEEP".

I watch the first episode.

I finish the season.

I wa-- NO MORE. MORE. MORE.

I look up "Kimi Wa Petto" (You're My Pet). [MORE.]

I look up "Great Teacher Onizuka" (GTO). [MORE MORE.]

I look up "Gokusen".

I look up "Nobuta wo Produce".

At this point, a month has passed, and I'm lying on the floor near my computer, wondering what happened. My family is circled around me, shouting "We love you" and "Get help now" and "Please, think of your future". And what do I do?

I look up "Hana Kimi".

I look up "Beautiful Life."

Now, what do I actually THINK about these dramas? Well, first of all, they don't FEEL like dramas. They feel like television shows, sprinkled with scandal and romance. When I finished "Hana Yori Dango", I thought, "Well, yeah, this wouldn't actually happen in real life... but still, it didn't FEEL like a show at all!" (I also thought, "I NEED MOOORE"...)

Honestly, I believe that the reason why these shows are so addictive is because some of them feel like stories your mother would tell you before you went to bed at night. They do such a great job with projecting morals, it's unbelievable. Watching Akihabara@DEEP, all I could think of was, "I'LL NEVER MAKE FUN OF A COMPUTER NERD AGAIN!!!" ......Though that doesn't actually apply to me. Since I am one. -.-

Anyways, here are a few shows that I recommend (All of which can be found on a fantastic website called "mysoju.com", which will be linked to in the sidebar.)----->

First, I'll go with "Hana Yori Dango", just because it's the most popular. Almost like crack is the most popular drug. Plus, you gotta love that Inoue Mau. What a great actress. (Not to mention the heart throb, Matsumoto Jun.)

Then, it has to be "Akihabara@DEEP" (although, I'm not actually sure that this is a J-Dorama... it seems more like a comedy.) You'll have fun learning more and more about the world's #1 electronic district, Akihabara.

My third favorite is "Gokusen". The reason is that I just love the comedic air of the main character, Yamaguchi, and her posse of yakuza brothers. On that note, I also have to recommend "GTO" (which I haven't actually really been into, just because I've been getting into "Nobuta wo Produce").

Last is-- yep-- "Nobuta wo Produce". I don't know what it is about this one! Maybe it just resembles "Hana Yori Dango" so much, I just couldn't stay away. I do enjoy the plot, though... it's very original.

You may have noticed that I'm saying AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE about these shows... and it's just because I want you to enjoy them that much more. Now-- be careful how you spend your time on these ones, and who you send them to. You want your friends to enjoy these J-doramas, not replace food and drink with them.

Finally, visit Tofugu.com! I was first launched into this whole experience by that one blog post.

--JPOtaku

Starting over...

Okay, so I am now safely assuming that no one right now is reading this, and that in order for this post to even be made known, I'd have to e-mail it to my closest friends. It's fine! fresh start, right? ^.^

So, みんな, It's been a solid 5 months since I've posted here. After a while, I was a bit reluctant to post here, because I thought that I'd neglected this blog for so long that I should delete it, give up on my account, and deny that the entire experience had ever even happened.

But, why should I do that? I've been through so much so far, and my Japanese studies have been so exciting! I still feel like there's a part of me that just wants to document all of this, so I can just look back 20 years from now, when I'm a big CEO in Japan (schoolmates will get this), and look back on all of my fun times.

So, to... I suppose... regulate my posts here, I'm going to start a new series, called "HOLY CRAP". It's going to be, basically, an abridged version of all things Japanese, which have been obsessed over by 1) me, 2) my friends, 3) the entire nation of Japan, 4) USA. In addition to that, I'm going to continue the list of books I put in my Japanese Box. But... now, it's sort of a Japanese... Bag. At least the bag is biodegradable!! (Yeah, ik, Brooklyn Gardener!!)

Finally, thanks to whoever will read this! I hope you will enjoy my first edition of "HOLY CRAP"!!

--JPOtaku

Quick update:

Unfortunately, I STILL can't find enough time to post on this blog weekly! But, so as to not completely be a slacker, here's something I watch sometimes on Saturdays-- you know, Mixed Bag day. :D

It's a Japanese children's show called "Chi's Sweet Home". Though I have heard over and over that listening to un-dubbed animes will not help you improve your Japanese speaking skills as most people think, It is still MUCH cuter than most North American children shows (*coughCailloucough*). So, simply... enjoy!

--JP Otaku

P.S. Enjoy Inauguration Day! 

I am, in fact, still alive...

Thanks for checking in, though!

I personally think that the best excuse for not holding up one's end of a daily dedication is "homework" or "school". But, in this case, the dog didn't eat my homework. My homework ate... my time. *forced guffaw*

But, I am not here for excuses! I am here to give a nutshell edition of how I have been following my schedule for the past week or so, to take the place of my slightly longer explanation of part I of my Japanese Box. (I should give it a better name.)

First of all, writing and speaking on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays have been going exceptionally well. The only trouble I am having so far is what to review on Sundays' "Review Day". I find myself not being able to absorb information by just looking over them two times; in fact I probably am an auditory learner. I ended up just turning back to pages I had done on Monday, etc. and re-writing my notes on those days (which didn't help much at all).

 I also have trouble creating quizzes and tests for myself! If I know the material already on the test-- well, first of all, it takes away the authenticity of being able to have not studied some of the material (which is something I do often-- it's all a part of the fun), and secondly, it's not much of a review if I wrote the questions and answered them myself as well, unless I wrote the test a month in advance! Which would mean, I'd have to start planning for the test as soon as I begin a new unit. (I wonder if that's what real teachers do. In fact-- I should ask them.)

I used to have great fun creating Hiragana and Katakana quizzes for myself, which was much easier because I could structure the quiz without having known any of the characters yet:

Yeah, it's not such a great picture. 

Sorry...

But, as you can well imagine, I used lots of creativity and variety in my quizzes.

Just how creative do you think one can get with learning this kind of material? :(

Beside that, I have been doing pretty well with this new schedule! P.S. I am LOVING the book "Kanji Pictographix", which is a book that helps you easily memorize well over 1,000 Kanji pictographs, as well as both the Kana syllabaries. If you are looking into the study of Japanese writing, I highly recommend this book!

Have a great week!

--JP Otaku

My Japanese Schedule!

Just for reference. ;)

Mondays: Japanese-- Writing

• Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji
  
• Translating romaji into traditional Japanese
• Writing in Japanese in journal

Tuesdays: No Class

Wednesdays: Japanese-- Speaking

• Practice writing Japanese sentences using correct Japanese word order, grammar, and proper particles.
• Learn new words and phrases from Japanese in 10 minutes a Day.
• Listen to Japanese Youtube videos, songs, or anime.
• Observe rules of Japanese from textbooks.

Thursdays: No Class

Fridays: Japanese-- Speaking

• Practice writing Japanese sentences using correct Japanese word order, grammar, and proper particles.
• Learn new words and phrases from various workbooks and textbooks.
• Observe rules of Japanese from textbooks.

Saturdays: Mixed bag

• Study rules of Japanese, learn new Japanese words and phrases.

-AND/OR-

• Review Hiragana and Katakana, review Monday's Kanji. Translate romaji Japanese into traditional Japanese writing. Write in Japanese in journal.

-AND/OR-

• Watch a bunch of animes or read a bunch of mangas.

Sundays: Review

• Review material learned in the past week.

Dear *anyone who is learning Japanese, or any other language*, I STRONGLY recommend you create a schedule like this for yourself if you want to further your studies. I have learned the hard way that studying on impulse never tends to work out. If you do create a schedule, and if you follow the schedule religiously, you find that it slips in neatly with the rest of your week, and you can comfortably learn as much as you want while following a self-determined regimen. While keeping this in mind, PLEASE do not over-exert yourself! Learning too much material at one time will inevitably end up in you forgetting the material altogether. Repetition is key in this case, so make sure to review what you have learned responsibly.

Thanks!

--JP Otaku

About Japanese... umm....

I've been on it like skin on grapes! :D

Now, obviously, 3 months of absence is WAAAY too long to be catching you up on it all. So, what I'll do is, I'll mention the most important steps I've made, and just add in the rest.

First of all, I made a JAPANESE BOX! It's FULL (quite literally) of almost every single book I have ever bought pertaining to Japan, learning Japanese, things related to Japan, mangas in English that were translated from Japanese, notebooks in which I have written in or about Japanese, and much, much more. (Please stop drooling. ;D) 

Now, to make this box, all I had to do was to pretty much cut the flaps off of a cardboard box. Right now it is quite heavy, and as I am typing this it is in the same position as when I first took the picture. Now it might not be pretty, but I will of course decorate it by covering it with paper or something to that effect.

What purpose does the box serve? Well, of course, it puts all of my books straight in my face, so I'll never have to go looking around for them like a treasure hunt. But, it also gives me an inventory of the different types of books that I have, so I won't have to impulsively buy any book that I feel the need to buy at that exact moment. It also is a very effective inspiration, because it is just exciting to know how many books that are in there that I've gotten over the years. I have books in there that are 5 years old, and others that I have just gotten last week. That kind of visible persistence would spur anyone to get up and do what they most would like to do.

I should prolly go over what's IN the box! To do this, I will break up the types of books into four categories: 

1) Books about learning Japanese;

2) Small books about learning about Japanese;

3) Workbooks on learning Japanese;

4) Books about Japanese culture;

5) Books in Japanese;

6) Japanese entertainment-type books.

I'll post each of these categories after another. Thanks for reading, and cya tomorrow! :D

The inevitable DIARY DISORDER

Hello, *the two people who might actually have stumbled on this blog looking for something else completely unrelated and have probably stopped reading by now*. It's so nice to see you again.

I have recently come down with what's typical for me as a writer, which I like to call "The Diary Disorder". Being an aspiring scientist, I looked up this fictional illness on Wikipedia and came up with this definition:

"The Diary Disorder is the common term for the Latin "diarium inordinarius", which means a disease inflicted at birth upon individuals such as JP Otaku which precludes them from keeping a journal or diary with routine entries...".

I'll tell you the reason why I'm not able to keep this darned blog satisfied for as long as I've had it. *sneer*

First of all, it's the frame of mind. I've realized when keeping a material diary, I create such a connection between myself and the "diary" being, that after a while when I begin to resent writing down my feelings, and I reassure myself by saying, "Oh, the diary already knows what happened today; I'll just skip it for now." Then, one thing leads to another, and I end up sending telekinetic messages to it. I get tired of recapturing the moments of weeks before when I had forgotten to write in my journal, and eventually, the diary ends up in a box somewhere.

Second of all, so much things have been happening that when I do forget to write in my diary, I expect myself to make a comeback a few days later with this mind-blowing post with so much rich information in it that the "diary" being would never want to put it down. Then I start contemplating the delivery of this information, down to chronology and enough segues to make the story flow easily. However, as you may have guessed, the beautifully crafted story never MAKES it to the diary, and remains swirling around in my head, which is what ZeFrank appropriately calls "brain crack". (Watch ZeFrank. Now.)

Third of all, school's started. But, that's barely an excuse, so...

For the record, a lot of things HAVE been going on recently, and I plan to recount them on this blog, and rid myself forever of this brain crack. I will be posting very soon (and with PHOTOS!) but if I do end up leaving the blog empty for weeks at a time, at least you know a little about my condition. :D

Lastly, I HAVE been following up on my Japanese, but as I've said, I will tell you about it soon! I am very excited to be able to post it all in one place, so please stay tuned!

--JP Otaku

P.S. Recently, I've been informed that the word "otaku" may not have as much of a positive meaning in Japan than it does in America. Heh... So, please, use your discretion. :)