Maybe this one should be called “why life is so good to you, but you don’t realize it”. Anyway. Starting dirty is amazing. Remember how video games were back in the 1970s, 1980s and even the first part of the 1990s? No? Well, let me jog your memory: you couldn’t save! YA COULDN’T SAVE! You…
What’s The Point Of Doing Anything When Other People Are So Much Better At It Than You?
by khatzumoto
What’s the point of even trying? What’s the point of even showing up? What’s the point of starting or continuing anything when other people are so much better at it than you? What’s the point of doing anything you’re not already and instantly the best in the world at? Why endure the shame, the laughter,…
Top Ten Essential Japanese Phrases, Vol. 3
by khatzumoto
どうも有り難う侍！ Thank you very, very much! In Japanese, adding “侍（さむらい）” to the end of a sentence makes it more polite and formal. In fact, the Japanese word for Japanese people — 日本人 — means “people of the Samurai”. [Amazon.com: Scooby-Doo and the Samurai Sword: Frank Welker, Casey Kasem, Mindy Cohn, Grey Delisle, Kelly Hu, Kevin…
Why the Way You Ask People for Advice is Totally Messed Up and Is Never Going to Get You Anywhere — And How to Fix It
by khatzumoto
So, I get all kinds of emails from breathless kids wanting me to tell them exactly how to do it — how to get used to a language. And they want it all, they want to know every single detail. They’ve never made an MCD in their life, but they want to know right now,…
How to Deal With Your Own Overwhelming Suckage and Ignorance
by khatzumoto
Whether it’s a book, a newspaper, or just a tablet computer, I almost always have Chinese literature in hand with me. And when you do that, you get to meet people who are convinced that they could never become literate. But you don’t even have to go that far and actually interact with people. To…
Why You Should Never Ever Schedule “Study Time” For a Language
by khatzumoto
Said Aaron Casey: Please help me, Khatzumoto. You are my only hope. So, I am emailing you on this fine day…to ask you what your views on scheduling are. And what I mean by that is setting aside specific time for learning. On just about every other Japanese learning website I have been to, and…