Um…I guess I’m going to keep this short. I went on a really long walk today, through forests and leafy neighborhoods and narrow streets. Anyway, near the very end of the walk, it occurred to me that learning a language is like boiling water. When the water has boiled, you have reached fluency. Thereafter, you…
Momoko’s Musings: Dreaming in Japanese for the First Time
by momoko
Last night, Khatzumoto, a friend, and I sat down for a marathon of the first season of Trick, our favorite mystery-comedy series starring Nakama Yukie and Abe Hiro. I was feeling a bit discouraged because my level of comprehension was the lowest in the group. But after watching nine episodes in a row until the…
Chinese Project Notes 7: How To Read Books That Are Too Hard For You + Crossing the OS Rubicon
by khatzumoto
Crossing the OS Rubicon The OS is dead! Long live the OS! I’m writing this from my freshly installed copy of Windows XP Traditional Chinese Edition. Let jubilation run freely (does that even make sense?). First impressions…sometimes, I feel like running with my tail between my legs back to my Japanese OS. I’ve been in…
Momoko’s Musings: Finding Good Things in the Strangest Places
by momoko
So I was feeling stuck lately—worrying about how inadequate I am at speaking in everyday conversations, not sure how to say something in different ways or different degrees of politeness, and frustrated that the materials I have (e.g. manga, magazines, even bilingual Japanese/English books) seem a bit too advanced for my level right now. How…
Propaganda: Run Your Mind Like a Benevolent Dictatorship
by khatzumoto
You know how people are always “keep an open mind”, “listen to other people’s ideas” and good stuff like that? Bollocks. Kind of. Here’s the deal. The information that comes into your life is already heavily cut and edited. If nothing else, the finite nature of your life makes it so. You will never see…
KhatzuMemo Update–Recycle Bin, View Text As Image
by khatzumoto
Rejoice! Another update to KhatzuMemo is here! New features include: Recycle Bin: all deleted items automatically go to the recycle bin. They can be restored/undeleted, or you can empty the recycle bin outright [you need to to scroll to the bottom of the screen to do so; this is a precaution to prevent accidental emptying].…