Rocking in Hakata

That’s right, folks. It’s the 3rd installment of my transcripts for the Japanese version of the Loom Audio Drama. (See Part 1 and Part 2 if you’ve somehow missed it so far.) But as always, fear not if you can’t read Japanese. I’ve got the English language audio and text for the exact same section available here for your perusal, just after the Japanese. It’s a good study aid for the oldschool LucasArts adventure games inclined. I’m not as certain of my translation of the aside comments in the script as I am of my transcription, so if anyone notices anything awry - let me know!

This is the third of four entries in total. This one is set apart by the weirdness of Cygna being transfigured, Bobbin being born from the Great Loom, and the voice acting for young Bobbin. To me, personally, the biggest error that leaps out the most is the Japanese actress playing Hetchel - she seems to forget Bobbin’s name and call him Bobby a few times. Of course, it could just be her speech style, swallowing the closed ん sound at the end. But it sure sounds weird to me. Ha ha. Alright? Let’s get to it. It’s time to venture back to that mysterious little island, shrouded in mists, which ancient maps call LOOM.

Read more…

Deas Customary Drivel, Media, 日本語

“Millions of peaches, peaches for me. Millions of peaches, peaches for free.” Yeah, this tongue twister is all about how peaches and (Japanese) plums are related. I embarrassed myself in the video when I totally blanked on how to say 李 in English…but I left it in, cause I was too lazy to edit it out I keep it real. Or something. These two twisters are pretty much exactly the same thing, just in a different order. Both are repetitive, or circuitous at least, making them brethren with a certain family of English twisters. (Including the Peter Piper and Woodchuck twisters, 2 of my favorites.)

If you’re a cheater, you’ll see that you can just count your way through these things, but you’ll also see what a ridiculous looking math problem it becomes. Ha ha. I had a few stumbles in my runs through them. I noticed that occasionally you can hear a micro-m send before I say の - I think it comes from the lips slightly closing as my mouth begins the new character. Like a phantom m. (Or I just don’t want to admit that I fail sometimes, too.) It’s pretty hard. So, can you do it? Hmmm? Video responses with you attempting these tongue twisters are highly encouraged! Upload them to YouTube if you’re game. And now, a double-entry of the standard twister summary.

Difficulty: Easy
Kanji: 李も桃も桃のうち 桃も李も桃のうち。
Hiragana: すもももももももものうち、もももすももももものうち。
Romaji: Sumomo mo momo mo momo no uchi, momo mo sumomo mo momo no uchi.
Meaning: Japanese plums are a type of peach, and peaches are also a type of peach.
Audio:

Difficulty: Easy
Kanji: 李も桃、桃も桃、桃にも色々ある。
Hiragana: すももももも、ももももも、ももにもいろいろある。
Romaji: Sumomo mo momo, momo mo momo, momo ni mo iroiro aru.
Meaning: Japanese plums are peaches, and peaches are peaches; there are lots of kinds of peaches.
Audio:

By the way, if you’re interested in the other stuff I ramble on about in this video, here are some links. First, subscribe to my RSS feed if you please! You can use the standard feed, or have updates emailed to you. Then hit the 2 posts about the Loom Audio Drama (Part 1 and Part 2) that are up already so you’ll be ready for part 3 early next week.

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

Time for the third lesson. This time we’re doing a slightly more complicated tongue twister that actually forms a sentence! (Yes, yes, a big day for us all.) The meaning is “A monk skillfully painted a picture of another monk onto a folding screen.” Ok, I actually interpret it as “another” monk, but it could be “a monk” again. Whatever. That’s being nitpicky. You might look at this tongue twister and think that the hard part will be the bou / byou / jou / bou progression - especially with the pronunciation of the glides (which means the y-plus-vowel sound tacked onto the first consonant of a syllable). It’s an understandable assumption. You might discover as I did, however, that that portion of the twister is relatively easy at high speeds when you use a rhythm to help you keep pace. For me, as evidenced in the video this time around, the hardest part is the separation of the particle を or wo (pronounced “oh” most of the time but conventionally represented as wo) and the preceding word “picture” - 絵 or e (pronounced “eh”). I wind up slurring it all together, even crashing into the last word 描いた or kaita and turning it into a mush-mouthed gaita, thereby ruining the end of the twister which is especially aggravating after making it that far! Ha ha. I hope you’ll try and enjoy this one. Video responses with you attempting this tongue twister are highly encouraged! Side note: I need a haircut.

Difficulty: Medium
Kanji: 坊主が屏風に上手に坊主の絵を描いた。
Hiragana: ぼうずがびょうぶにじょうずにぼうずのえをかいた
Romaji: Bouzu ga byoubu ni jouzu ni bouzu no e wo kaita.
Meaning: A monk skillfully painted a picture of a(nother) monk onto a folding screen.
Audio:

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

How cool is this? There’s a free manga out there about the Ubuntu Linux distribution. I assume it’s a PR thing, but you should totally check it out! It’s a free Creative Commons Licensed PDF download away, and it’s available in Japanese AND English (and Spanish, Portuguese, French, Indonesian, Russian, Vietnamese, Italian, Thai, and Korean so far), for those studious readers out there. Odds are that if you’re an Ubuntu fan (I’m writing this on my Ubuntu OS based Eee PC 1000 netbook, so I count), then you’ve likely already seen this. If you’ve never heard of Ubuntu before, or think Linux is scary, this is a great way to introduce you to a free operating system. Why not check it out?

(I will remove these hotlinks after a few days and leave only the links to the sources developing the translations. The file names will likely change, and it’s semi-bad manners even for free distribution stuff, etc.)

(An example frame, side by side, for comparison.)

I often wonder about Linux’s popularity in Japan. I’ve known 2 other people in Japan who use it at all. Aaron, a former CIR who now localizes games, originally encouraged me to try Linux (Ubuntu was the “flavor” he favored at the time, dunno what distro he’s toying with nowadays). Then there’s a non-English teacher (no idea what he teaches, but it’s not English) at one of my high schools who I’ve caught playing with Fedora at work. To his shock (and horror?), I knew what it was and enthusiastically encouraged him to continue toying with it. I honestly can’t imagine Japan’s average workplace without old, crappy leased Windows machines. But I wish I could! Think of the yen that would be saved. Think of the pocket change to be saved. Ha ha. It’s mind boggling.

If you happen to use Ubuntu already, and you’re curious about Japanese input options, let me point you to this thread. It’s a little dated, but it worked on Ubuntu 8.10 for me just the same. It helped me install Anthy (like Microsoft IME or Atok) and some helpful fonts. Once I set it all up, I find it easier to type in Japanese in Ubuntu than I do on Windows. The only thing that’s not as accurate is maybe the handwriting recognition for kanji lookups. I’ve found another page here that might be helpful if you’re interested in the differences between SCIM and UIM. (That’s not scary, but it sounds scary. Like a lot of Linux stuff.)

Via DoctorMO which was linked by GeekDad, who got the attention of BoingBoing.

Deas Customary Drivel, Ubuntu / Linux, Unsolicited Commentary, 日本語

Here’s the second lesson. It’s one that a bunch of commenters have mentioned. It’s still pretty simple, though. I don’t usually say the bus guide part, though, usually. I dunno, I guess I feel bad calling someone ugly. By the way, the “busu” comes from the word “busaiku” (不細工) as far as I know. It means “homely” or “plain.” Not very nice. But when you shorten it into a slang expression, which is then spelled in katakana, it becomes stronger. Hence “ugly.” One thing that’s helpful in saying this one quickly is to remember that the u sound on many words that end in su can be sort of…de-emphasized. (That’s why desu sounds like “dess” sometimes and not “de-soo” all the time.) Be judicious when applying this shortcut, and mimic native speakers to use it properly - but for tongue twisters, I say it’s fair. Video responses with you attempting this tongue twister are highly encouraged!

Difficulty: Easy
Kanji: バスガス爆発(ブスバスガイド)
Hiragana: ばすがすばくはつ(ぶすばすがいど)
Romaji: Basu-gasu-bakuhatsu (busu-basu-gaido)
Meaning: Bus gasoline explosion (ugly bus guide)
Audio:

Deas Humor, Media, Video, 日本語

So, the government of Japan decided to follow the silly US economic policy of granting “stimulus” checks to the people. (I call this silly because I’d rather the US government just let us keep our money to start with, not pretend to be so magnanimous in doling out cash we used to be holding… I didn’t actually pay Japanese taxes last year, so this is free cash for me. Sorry Japanese taxpayers! I promise to spend it here.) If you’re currently a registered foreigner in Japan, you’re probably eligible for the payments - but you should check. The money is being meted out by the local governments, so if you don’t live in Imabari City, this may not be of use to you.

I checked this site and found that the notices and application forms were mailed out on Monday (the 13th of April). Comb through what you thought was junk mail and double check. You’ve got until Tuesday, October 13th to apply for your stimulus money. I’ll do a quick summary first, and the application procedure second. Read more…

Deas Customary Drivel, Politics, Unsolicited Commentary, 日本語