In Japan, it is customary for co-workers to go out drinking together. It's a lot of fun. Here are some phrases used on me, last night, to encourage the drinking of sake:
1. ~8:30 : "You must learn the power of Japanese sake."
2. ~9:00 : "Memories banish!"
3. ~10:00 : "Let's make a legend."
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Maybe I'm making this up
But the songs of Belle & Sebastian seem to speak to the concerns of rural Japanese teenagers, as I imagine them.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
4 Things
1. How do I remove the lines around the title of my blog at the top of the page?
2. I have posted a few pictures of Japan on Facebook.
3. I got my first paycheck today. Mostly it will go to food and debt, but as a small indulgence I have bought myself a nice new pair of headphones (they go all the way over my ears) and am listening to the Fleet Foxes Sun Giant EP. I cannot express how nice it is not to have to live off of convenience store food anymore (because they are the only ones who will accept a credit card).
4. A question has been rattling around in my head: for a Japanese person, what are the emotional connotations of American accented Japanese? I think, for most Americans, there are certain associations that the sound of a foreign accent seems to activate -- which of these associations we can reliably ascribe to cultural stereotypes, and which to phonological properties I will not pretend to be able to say -- (though I would bet everything I own that both are important factors, and the chains of causation leading from them to any eventual effect are heavily intertwined -- but this is common sense) -- but, to me at least, English speech with a French or Russian accent conjures up a certain intellectual and emotional response that is difficult to describe (in language) in the same way that flavors and smells are difficult to describe (in language). My hope, however, is that to a Japanese person who (god bless them) suffers the hearing of my mangling their language (that was kind of a Japanese grammar joke, but its doubly sad because: 1. probably no one reading this will get it, and 2. I'm not even sure if I fully understand the grammar about which I am joking) has the same sort of quasi-emotional-intellectual reaction as I do when I hear someone with a Russian accent. Though perhaps the fact that they won a war against Russia, and have been chuffed up about it ever since, means that that's not such a good idea after all.
2. I have posted a few pictures of Japan on Facebook.
3. I got my first paycheck today. Mostly it will go to food and debt, but as a small indulgence I have bought myself a nice new pair of headphones (they go all the way over my ears) and am listening to the Fleet Foxes Sun Giant EP. I cannot express how nice it is not to have to live off of convenience store food anymore (because they are the only ones who will accept a credit card).
4. A question has been rattling around in my head: for a Japanese person, what are the emotional connotations of American accented Japanese? I think, for most Americans, there are certain associations that the sound of a foreign accent seems to activate -- which of these associations we can reliably ascribe to cultural stereotypes, and which to phonological properties I will not pretend to be able to say -- (though I would bet everything I own that both are important factors, and the chains of causation leading from them to any eventual effect are heavily intertwined -- but this is common sense) -- but, to me at least, English speech with a French or Russian accent conjures up a certain intellectual and emotional response that is difficult to describe (in language) in the same way that flavors and smells are difficult to describe (in language). My hope, however, is that to a Japanese person who (god bless them) suffers the hearing of my mangling their language (that was kind of a Japanese grammar joke, but its doubly sad because: 1. probably no one reading this will get it, and 2. I'm not even sure if I fully understand the grammar about which I am joking) has the same sort of quasi-emotional-intellectual reaction as I do when I hear someone with a Russian accent. Though perhaps the fact that they won a war against Russia, and have been chuffed up about it ever since, means that that's not such a good idea after all.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Moving
Hello again. I have been in Japan for about 20 days now, but in the back of my mind it still feels like a long vacation. I can tell that this is the case by performing a kind of thought experiment whenever I go outside. It works as follows: I stop walking and look around. Then I tell myself: "This is your new home now. You'll probably be here for the next couple years at least." Then I think about that statement. As of yet, this has not failed to produce a kind of mental vertigo mingled with disbelief. Moving to another country, however exciting, is a bit like being a plant yanked up by the roots and tossed onto an unfamiliar patch of soil whose texture and chemical composition you are not only not accustomed to, but who's precise location is several degrees of latitude removed from your original location (Gloria, that was for you -- though come to think of it, I really am several degrees of latitude removed).
In any case, I don't think I've passed a single day here without swinging from homesickness to delight/ fascination, or back, at least once. A constant source of pleasure: the architecture and geography of my hometown, Ikeda. I am at the bottom of a valley, steep hills covered in trees rising to the north and south. There are lots of old buildings here, new ones, and structures that look like they belong in a shantytown. Any of these may be covered in vines or have a bouquet of plants spilling out from the front porch. A constant source of displeasure: not being able to read, or understand, most restaurant menus, especially when I'm hungry. Even when the menus are written in katakana (a simple syllabic Japanese script), there's a world of difference between printed and handwritten characters, the latter of which often appear -- and even if one manages to sound out one's best guess, there's no guarantee that you'll be able to divine the English word it stands for, if it does stand for an English word! So far, there's one restaurant in town I feel safe eating at, and this is because all of the menu items are displayed in a case out front, and if I can't pronounce a dish I can always trot the waitress outside and point. It's not the classiest place, but it has served me well so far. Still, I'm on the verge of begging my co-workers to accompany me to some of the town's other places and showing me what's good.
Anyway, the point I wanted to make is that I'm trying to tackle this transition bit by bit. Learn a little more of the language every day, try to see something new in town and, if I'm lucky, introduce myself to a new person. Japanese is a beast of a language to learn, but I feel that if I keep studying, I'll be able to talk like a child in a few months. It's a rough wait, as I feel that if I had one thing going for me back in the States, it was my ability to put a thought into words after some consideration. That makes the prospect of learning Japanese all the more exciting in the long term, and all the more frustrating when progress doesn't occur as quickly as I'd like. I'll try to post notes on my progress, as well as my observations about this strange and humid world, in the coming months.
In any case, I don't think I've passed a single day here without swinging from homesickness to delight/ fascination, or back, at least once. A constant source of pleasure: the architecture and geography of my hometown, Ikeda. I am at the bottom of a valley, steep hills covered in trees rising to the north and south. There are lots of old buildings here, new ones, and structures that look like they belong in a shantytown. Any of these may be covered in vines or have a bouquet of plants spilling out from the front porch. A constant source of displeasure: not being able to read, or understand, most restaurant menus, especially when I'm hungry. Even when the menus are written in katakana (a simple syllabic Japanese script), there's a world of difference between printed and handwritten characters, the latter of which often appear -- and even if one manages to sound out one's best guess, there's no guarantee that you'll be able to divine the English word it stands for, if it does stand for an English word! So far, there's one restaurant in town I feel safe eating at, and this is because all of the menu items are displayed in a case out front, and if I can't pronounce a dish I can always trot the waitress outside and point. It's not the classiest place, but it has served me well so far. Still, I'm on the verge of begging my co-workers to accompany me to some of the town's other places and showing me what's good.
Anyway, the point I wanted to make is that I'm trying to tackle this transition bit by bit. Learn a little more of the language every day, try to see something new in town and, if I'm lucky, introduce myself to a new person. Japanese is a beast of a language to learn, but I feel that if I keep studying, I'll be able to talk like a child in a few months. It's a rough wait, as I feel that if I had one thing going for me back in the States, it was my ability to put a thought into words after some consideration. That makes the prospect of learning Japanese all the more exciting in the long term, and all the more frustrating when progress doesn't occur as quickly as I'd like. I'll try to post notes on my progress, as well as my observations about this strange and humid world, in the coming months.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Friend Alert
Someone I know has started blogging (again).
This week I have been reading Guns, Germs, and Steel, failing to study Japanese, and conducting a cost-benefit analysis on the hit my self-image will take if I start wearing polo shirts vs. the inconvenience of acquiring and employing a small army of short-sleeve button-up shirts (which I also find aesthetically lacking). I have to start looking professional, you see.
Interesting thing: Butterfly (experiments in music visualization by Glenn Marshall).
This week I have been reading Guns, Germs, and Steel, failing to study Japanese, and conducting a cost-benefit analysis on the hit my self-image will take if I start wearing polo shirts vs. the inconvenience of acquiring and employing a small army of short-sleeve button-up shirts (which I also find aesthetically lacking). I have to start looking professional, you see.
Interesting thing: Butterfly (experiments in music visualization by Glenn Marshall).
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Quick Notes
At The Opera House in Bar Harbor, Maine. 1. Southern hospitality is a myth or, at least, an exaggeration; people here are as friendly or friendlier than those back home, and there's the added comfort that we share the same political convictions. 2. There are more bookstores here than in North Carolina. 3. There are more cafes here as well. Conclusion: I could definitely live here, even though I hate the cold: temperament trumps temperature. If you are planning a trip up here, I recommend Portland. It's the (Chapel-Hill-of-yesteryear)-of-the-north.
Also: if anyone knows of any books/ papers/ resources that would be of aid in writing music visualization software, please inform.
Also: if anyone knows of any books/ papers/ resources that would be of aid in writing music visualization software, please inform.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
N-E-W-S
For anyone still around, and those yet to come, know that despite appearances this blog is not a cold dead place. On it, I will be chronicling my life in, Japan, set to begin in about a month. In the meantime, I've been cash-registering hungry housewives at yon bakery, and reading things like Ring (instead of studying Japanese diligently, as I should). Indulgences aside, I expect to learn more during the next two years than I have in the past five years at U-which-shall-not-be-named.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Tomorrow
I just taught myself how to tie a half-windsor. I also found a nice looking pair of shoes in my room that I didn't know I owned. Tomorrow, I'll be flying out in the wee hours of the morning (my flight leaves at 7:50) to interview for a position with the JET Program in Washington DC. I won't hear back until April, but I'll feel compelled to endlessly ponder how things went until then. Possibly I will post an account of the interview this weekend. Possibly not.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Update/ Link
So I'm not getting a Fulbright. But I do have an interview later this month with the JET Programme in D.C. Wish me luck.
And then there's this (found on Digg): Christian Bale takes David to the Dentist
And then there's this (found on Digg): Christian Bale takes David to the Dentist
Monday, January 19, 2009
Waiting for Snow
OK, so I didn't get much blogging done over Winter Break after all. All is well. These things happen. There are a few aborted drafts of posts hanging around in my account, which I might try to whip into shape at some point. More importantly, I have resolved to more scrupulously adhere to the Rules of Acceptable Blogging for Busy Persons (which I have arrived at after some consideration, though similar sentiments may be repeated elsewhere). They are:
1. Never post about one's intentions to make a future post.
2. Never post about something personal if there is even the remotest possibility that you will be uncomfortable with said post remaining on the internet forever.
3. Never sit down in front of the computer with the intention of forcing yourself to post when you have nothing substantial to write about.
With these rules in mind, I see self and blog maintaining a warm if not overly prolific relationship in 2009.
Now, to other matters.
The Bookslut Blog informed me this morning of SEED Magazine's celebration of the 150th anniversary of The Origin of Species. In particular, we have Blogging the Origin, a chapter by chapter account of an evolutionary biologist's first encounter with Darwin's most popular work. I've read the first couple posts and will probably take in the rest throughout the afternoon (he's only up to chapter 4). It's great fun for anyone interested in the origins of modern biology, and I would strongly recommend that anyone out there read, if you haven't already, the Origin itself. It's quite accessible, and it does a better job at imparting the fundamentals of evolutionary theory than our anemic and politicized high school Biology courses.
As classes begin tomorrow, I will be spending part of today in preparation. What preparation you ask? Why, any number of things. But really just two:
1. I need to buy a planner.
2. I need to finish the syllabus for the class I'm teaching tomorrow.
Part of the problem with putting together something like a syllabus is that one may have any number of exciting ideas at the last moment, prompting extensive revisions and second guesses not unlike what one experiences as a student the night before a project is due. For example, my course is on the philosophy of mind. My original plan was to start with Descartes and then jump directly to the 20th century. However, I was taken last night with the idea that we should read William James. Why James? Well, I have his books lying around, don't I? I've been looking for an excuse to get into them. I hear he's a cool guy (Jessa Crispin likes him). Good! So I'll add James to the syllabus. But what? Which essay? I need one that's short enough, accessible enough, which means that I should probably read a few first. So I'll now be spending most of the day scouring my collection of James's essays as a prerequisite to #2 above. Which is probably not the worst way one could spend a holiday and a Monday. A Holimunday.
Finally, I'm thinking of moving this whole thing to Wordpress so that I can have individual pages accessible by tabs on the header. Thoughts, feelings?
1. Never post about one's intentions to make a future post.
2. Never post about something personal if there is even the remotest possibility that you will be uncomfortable with said post remaining on the internet forever.
3. Never sit down in front of the computer with the intention of forcing yourself to post when you have nothing substantial to write about.
With these rules in mind, I see self and blog maintaining a warm if not overly prolific relationship in 2009.
Now, to other matters.
The Bookslut Blog informed me this morning of SEED Magazine's celebration of the 150th anniversary of The Origin of Species. In particular, we have Blogging the Origin, a chapter by chapter account of an evolutionary biologist's first encounter with Darwin's most popular work. I've read the first couple posts and will probably take in the rest throughout the afternoon (he's only up to chapter 4). It's great fun for anyone interested in the origins of modern biology, and I would strongly recommend that anyone out there read, if you haven't already, the Origin itself. It's quite accessible, and it does a better job at imparting the fundamentals of evolutionary theory than our anemic and politicized high school Biology courses.
As classes begin tomorrow, I will be spending part of today in preparation. What preparation you ask? Why, any number of things. But really just two:
1. I need to buy a planner.
2. I need to finish the syllabus for the class I'm teaching tomorrow.
Part of the problem with putting together something like a syllabus is that one may have any number of exciting ideas at the last moment, prompting extensive revisions and second guesses not unlike what one experiences as a student the night before a project is due. For example, my course is on the philosophy of mind. My original plan was to start with Descartes and then jump directly to the 20th century. However, I was taken last night with the idea that we should read William James. Why James? Well, I have his books lying around, don't I? I've been looking for an excuse to get into them. I hear he's a cool guy (Jessa Crispin likes him). Good! So I'll add James to the syllabus. But what? Which essay? I need one that's short enough, accessible enough, which means that I should probably read a few first. So I'll now be spending most of the day scouring my collection of James's essays as a prerequisite to #2 above. Which is probably not the worst way one could spend a holiday and a Monday. A Holimunday.
Finally, I'm thinking of moving this whole thing to Wordpress so that I can have individual pages accessible by tabs on the header. Thoughts, feelings?
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Gah
I've made attempts to post something substantive for the last three days, but every time I sit down I can't think of anything to write about other than what I'm reading, how boring Newton can be, and how I beat the main quest of Fallout 3 before my brother took his laptop back to California. Maybe if I changed the title of this blog to "What's Aaron Reading?" I'd feel less guilty about my natural inclinations. Anyway, thanks for checking in.
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