A common criticism of the Japanese language, people and culture is that there’s no irony. There’s no real comedy. You’ll hear this from gaijin who couldn’t order pizza over the phone in Japanese. And, to be fair, because I am a bit of a gaijin-basher, Japanese people who don’t know English, or do “know” English…
Vocabulary Expansion: Circle of Concern, Circle of Control
by khatzumoto
「古之慾明明德於天下者，先治其國；欲治其國者，先齊其家；欲齊其家者，先修其身；欲修其身者，先正其心；欲正其心者，先誠其意；欲誠其意者，先致其知・・・」 大學 “The ancients who wished to illustrate illustrious virtue throughout the world, first ordered well their own states. Wishing to order well their states, they first regulated their families. Wishing to regulate their families, they first cultivated their persons. Wishing to cultivate their persons, they first rectified their hearts. Wishing to rectify their hearts,…
Immersion Strategy: Your Ears Are Sacred
by khatzumoto
Yeah, I said it. Sacred. For once, I am deliberately courting a dogmatic approach and intepretation of AJATT “canon”. TL;DR: if ever in immersion doubt, prioritize your ears. Anchor your ears in your L2. Where your ears go, your eyes will follow. So, I’ve often played a game called “Sensory Split“. Basically the idea is…
If You’re Ever Stuck Between Two Languages, Pick the Less “Useful” One
by khatzumoto
“There is no such thing as discipline. There is only love. Love is the most powerful creative force in the universe. You are the result of what you love most.” Charles Poliquin “Do as little as possible And that unwillingly For it is better to incur a slight reprimand Than to perform an arduous task.”…
All Choices Are Binary
by khatzumoto
This entry is part 5 of 7 in the series The First World Problem is Choice“Don’t make the right decision; make the decision right” Dunno who first said it, but I heard it from Ali Brown Once, a little while ago, I can’t be bothered to go look for the exact comment text but, a…
Persian Immersion
by khatzumoto
Peep this. So I’m in Vancouver. And I’m hungry for something awesome to put into my mouth. So I go into this Persian bakery, because that’s a good place to find awesome things to put into my mouth. So I’m walking in and guess what I see? A Persian bakery, with Very good-looking Persian people…