Rocking in Hakata

Sorry for the week without posts. It may happen again as future summer camps and whatnot interfere with my posting schedule. Please roll with the punches and keep reading when I am able to update. Anyway, this one is a meme – you’ve been warned. I was tagged by Nick, and am now obliged.

8 Factoids About Deas

1. My middle name means “son of the hero.”

2. Playing Mario Kart causes me to say uncharacteristically rude things.

3. I am currently hopelessly addicted to banana flavored soy milk.

4. I am one of those people who has difficulty parting with Christmas decorations…and I leave them up in my apartment here year round.

5. I use cheats after I’ve completed a game without them. I never use them against other people, though – only against the computer.

6. Before I buy something, I research it to the point that I know more about it than the salespeople I will encounter. I like being informed.

7. I used to play cello, and I still keep my nails short as a habit.

8. I love big thunderstorms, and yes, even hurricanes. I hope for typhoons this summer…

Passing on the Meme

1. People who are tagged need to write a post containing 8 random facts about themselves.

2. At the end of the post you should name several other bloggers to be tagged.

3. Leave a comment for the bloggers and link to your own post.

I am tagging Alex, Claytonian, and Nicole.

Deas Customary Drivel

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

It’s time for another crazy song attempt here. This time, I chose Birdhouse in Your Soul by They Might Be Giants. I hope you enjoy it. It’s a really rough translation, and the words are…difficult in the first place. It seems to be a song written from the point of view of a nightlight – shaped like a small blue canary. How could you possibly go wrong with a premise like that?

The lyrics are all included here, after the jump. Read more…

Deas Customary Drivel, Humor, Media, Music, 日本語

Did you know that Ross and Rachel on the TV sitcom Friends started off their rollercoaster ride of a relationship with a Japanese cultural concept? They probably weren’t aware of it either, in all honesty. I recently watched the first episode (for the first time ever, actually), and I noticed. The initial romantic back and forth comes during a conversation started when they both reach for the last Oreo cookie on a plate. The last bit of food on a plate is called 遠慮の固まり (えんりょのかたまり / enryo no katamari) in Japanese. It means “clump of restraint” or “lump of reserve.” Generally speaking, nobody goes for the last piece of food on a shared plate because they do not want to seem greedy. Or, similarly, they want to allow others to enjoy the last piece of food. Either way, many times it winds up uneaten. This clip is from Episode 1 of Season 1. I noticed that Rachel doesn’t eat her half of the Oreo, by the way. But Ross doesn’t pick it back up and eat it, either. I wonder how that would play in Japan. Interesting…

By the way, I would be remiss if I neglected to take this opportunity to recommend that you visit the Guide to Friends in Japanese. It’s on the blogroll, and I highly recommend it. The blogger, Rach, really knows her stuff. I enjoy reading her explanations of the complex humor on the show. Give it a shot (see her analysis of episode 1 beginning here and continuing to parts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8). And see if you’d be interested in her book while you’re at it.

Deas Customary Drivel, Media, Video

Watch out, mosquitoes. I’m gonna go medieval on your tails. I bought myself some 蚊取り線香 (かとりせんこう / katorisenkou) today. It’s basically a slow burning incense coil that you place on a stand. It’s fragrant, and the smoke wards off mosquitoes with the “pyrethroid” chemicals in it. I’ve been working at rural schools that use them for a long time, so I thought I’d give them a crack in my own apartment. Besides, I actually enjoy the scent! I associate it with Japanese summer time, like the sound of cicadas and other bugs.

Have any of you ever used this anti-mosquito incense before? If so, do you recommend it or do you have a better solution? Please remember – I have no air conditioning, so my windows are constantly open. They’re covered with screens, obviously, but the bugs get in once in a while. Especially after a good long rain. And since we’re in the midst of rainy season, they’ve been bad recently. Rural living, folks. Gotta love it.

The brand I went with is Kincho. I bought a pack of coils, though my schools by them literally by the bucket. Ha ha. I use their other products, and this type is pretty readily available here. After reading through the Japanese Wikipedia article I linked to above, I was impressed. Apparently, a certain type of chrysanthemum (which Rikaichan supposes is called a pyrethrum) was brought over from America and raised in Wakayama Prefecture in 1885, back in the Meiji Era. By 1888 they had used it to create powdered mosquito incense. By 1890 they were turning out the classic rod-shaped incense. By 1895 they had created the coil shape (which allows for a much longer burn). 100 years later, they successfully synthesized the chemical compounds that make the stuff effective. This stuff goes way back. It’s a mix of the past and present technologies. Like arming a knight of the round table with a light saber. And hey, that sounds cool, right?

Deas Customary Drivel

Ok – I wish I had an elephant related animal verb to use for the title of this post, but I’ll have to do with the simian related word instead. Monkeys are jungle creatures, though, so it still fits. This is a quick clip from the movie Horton Hears a Who!, the latest Dr. Suess book to be turned into a feature length film. Of course, like the films before it, Jim Carrey is the main man. Anyway, in this clip, Horton (the elephant) is trying to carry the entire world of the Who’s (small speck on that pink “clover” he’s got) to safety. Having just realized how dangerous the jungle can be, he fantasizes about being a ninja-like hero. The interesting thing is the false anime style that the film suddenly shifts into. The rest of the entire thing is computer generated. But for this clip, you get a bunch of cell-shaded stuff poking fun at Japanese anime. Let me know what you think – they got some things right (the “embarrassed” sweat droplet) and some things wrong (the big eyes) in my opinion. Weigh in below by commenting. I have to admit that I liked this movie more than I thought I would. And for those of you wondering why I’m watching children’s movies…I…was bored…ok? Leave me alone! It was good!

Note: I left an additional 30 seconds or so on the end for kicks because it features such a bizarre moment. It has nothing to do with this post, though. In case you were confused by that. “That’s beautiful Katie…in a really weird way…”

Deas Customary Drivel, Humor, Media, Unsolicited Commentary, Video

You may have seen the opera item in my Shared RSS links earlier. (You can see them on the bottom left hand side of this page.) If not, check it out. I already owned the song O Fortuna from the opera Carmina Burana, by Carl Orff. It’s a pretty sweet song. I looked up the lyrics (original Latin from the Carmina Burana Codex), the English translation, and the Japanese translation and thought I’d present them. Then, I thought, why not re-translate the Japanese lyrics into English. (I am not capable of re-translating them back into Latin, though. Sad. Chuck?)

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

First, the Latin and its English translation.

Now, for the Japanese lyrics and re-translation into English.

Obviously, this is not a professional translation. It’s beyond amateur. So feel free to submit corrections or suggestions in the comments. (Of course, regular comments are welcome as well!) Mmmm. Good opera. Very melodramatic. I’ll have another, please. (Not another helping of despair, mind you. Just more opera. Probably from that list I mentioned above.)

Deas Customary Drivel, Media, Music, 日本語