So my journey of learning Japanese has started to become very interesting. I've started to find a style of learning that I like and understand. My method is to write out the Hiragana in it's totality in a sort of box or cube and then repeat that over and over on the same page. I guess I can call it the "Block Buster" method. If I need to use a reference I already have it right next to the next block so I continue to gain confidence. I did this for about 2 days and have now gotten to the point where I can think of a phrase and spell it out, not grammatically correct of course, but nonetheless from memory. I hope you try my method tell me if it works for you. I have a video and pictures as reference I can post later on. じゃまたこんど (until next time)
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Friday, June 15, 2012
Where to start
What I did when starting to learn writing Japanese is realize I can't learn it all in one day. It will be a process. I also did a lot of research on what other people did to learn and then took all my finding and created my own method.
What I would suggest is get a note book such as a moleskine or some such book to write all your notes in and also practice. I have found several helpful apps on my smart phone. Some of which are,"obenkyo","kanji recognizer" and "JED" (Japanese/English dictionary).
With these three tools (and a print out of Hiragana and Katakana would not hurt) I set out to teach myself Japanese. I started with several days of study and practice of the Hiragana & Katakana, then moved into the kanji by the end if the forest week I was recognizing and writing the characters but not all of them. I could pick out more Kanji as well. This how I started my journey. I will have more on next week to look forward too.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Building Character
It has been a while since I have had a chance to work in my blog. but getting a minute to focus on what is important in life, I realize I must leave a legacy for the generation to come. Because of my current time constraints I will make this entry brief.
I have in the past few months started on a journey to build my skill level when it comes to the Japanese language, written, in particular. So I will attempt to tell you my method of doing just that. More to come, suffice it to say it will be a long and interesting process I hope you will join me on my quest for knowledge.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
DragonBall The Live Action Movie
There are to many things going through my head about this movie... why was it made the way that it was.
When you talk about a "comic book movie" you have to know that there are already fans of the comic, especially if it is a blockbusting #1 Hit Manga like DragonBall!!! That is why the director should think of the fans first and foremost. An example of this is Xmen. Great movie. Because the Director stuck as close as he could to the comic without making it cheesy, DragonBall not so much.
I could probably list 101 things I didn't like about the movie, but because I am happy Fox even made the movie let's start with the Pros.
Pros:
1. Great Cinematography. If I can say anything about it I thought that it had a lot of nice camera work but the lighting and the color was a bit dark for the Dragonball feel of the Anime.
2. Costume Design. That member of the cast actually saw Dragonball on TV or read the manga. Goku (while fighting piikorro), Master Roshi, and Chi Chi for the most part all had fairly accurate costumes.
3. Overall non-dragonball fan enjoyment. I went to this movie with two of my friends that did not know anything about the story line, and for the most part they could actually understand what was happening. One of my friend said that he liked the movie. So if you are not a fan of Dragonball this is the movie for you!
Ok that is enough nice, now the Cons.
Cons:
1. STORY/TIME Line. Was there one? Yes. Was it the right one? NO! There were so many mistakes in the story, and the character time line was totally off! first of all they rush us in to an intro to Goku and we find out that he is living with is Gramps,' (who in the real story died when Goku was Very Young) So Goku should have been like five and then the intro would have made some sense. Chi Chi does not say anything to Goku about being betrothed to him!( in the real story Goku promises Chi Chi he will marry her when he is older.) Roshi lives in some two story house in the middle of the City and Kurririn is nowhere to be found?!?!(the real story puts Roshi on and island in the middle of the ocean and Kurririn comes over on a boat to be trained by him.)
I can go ON AND ON AND ON.
2. Character
My problem with the movie is that originally Fox had thought about casting Jackie Chan or Robin Sho as Goku, that would have been amazing. They are both great actors, and they already have a silly nature to them. The whole Idea was off when they decided to go with the Dragonball story instead of DragonBall Z. because when Goku turns 18 it is already pretty much DBZ!!
I mean Look at the pictures here.
To make the character look more like Goku they needed a lot more hair than what this actor had, and there is no hair in the actors face. Goku has Bushy eye brows and a ton of hair on his head.
Ok so besides getting the characters wrong, the knowledge of the characters was also incorrect. It any thing in this movie is supposed to go along with the original story then Chi Chi should have asked Goku if he is going to marry her yet, because as I said before Goku promised to marry her when they are grown up, and in this movie he turns 18, sooooo...
Then the movie says that Bulma doesn't know what the Dragonballs are but in the series SHE is the one who tells Goku about the dragonballs!!
I will stop here, because I was talking with my wife about this for about two hours after the movie and I decided I should make a petition of Facebook to have them make a Dragonball Z movie. so that is what I will do Because if they can't get the story right at least they can make a Better one with the DBZ story starting with the Sayian Saga!
More To Come.
When you talk about a "comic book movie" you have to know that there are already fans of the comic, especially if it is a blockbusting #1 Hit Manga like DragonBall!!! That is why the director should think of the fans first and foremost. An example of this is Xmen. Great movie. Because the Director stuck as close as he could to the comic without making it cheesy, DragonBall not so much.
I could probably list 101 things I didn't like about the movie, but because I am happy Fox even made the movie let's start with the Pros.
Pros:
1. Great Cinematography. If I can say anything about it I thought that it had a lot of nice camera work but the lighting and the color was a bit dark for the Dragonball feel of the Anime.
2. Costume Design. That member of the cast actually saw Dragonball on TV or read the manga. Goku (while fighting piikorro), Master Roshi, and Chi Chi for the most part all had fairly accurate costumes.
3. Overall non-dragonball fan enjoyment. I went to this movie with two of my friends that did not know anything about the story line, and for the most part they could actually understand what was happening. One of my friend said that he liked the movie. So if you are not a fan of Dragonball this is the movie for you!
Ok that is enough nice, now the Cons.
Cons:
1. STORY/TIME Line. Was there one? Yes. Was it the right one? NO! There were so many mistakes in the story, and the character time line was totally off! first of all they rush us in to an intro to Goku and we find out that he is living with is Gramps,' (who in the real story died when Goku was Very Young) So Goku should have been like five and then the intro would have made some sense. Chi Chi does not say anything to Goku about being betrothed to him!( in the real story Goku promises Chi Chi he will marry her when he is older.) Roshi lives in some two story house in the middle of the City and Kurririn is nowhere to be found?!?!(the real story puts Roshi on and island in the middle of the ocean and Kurririn comes over on a boat to be trained by him.)
I can go ON AND ON AND ON.
2. Character
My problem with the movie is that originally Fox had thought about casting Jackie Chan or Robin Sho as Goku, that would have been amazing. They are both great actors, and they already have a silly nature to them. The whole Idea was off when they decided to go with the Dragonball story instead of DragonBall Z. because when Goku turns 18 it is already pretty much DBZ!!
I mean Look at the pictures here.
To make the character look more like Goku they needed a lot more hair than what this actor had, and there is no hair in the actors face. Goku has Bushy eye brows and a ton of hair on his head.Ok so besides getting the characters wrong, the knowledge of the characters was also incorrect. It any thing in this movie is supposed to go along with the original story then Chi Chi should have asked Goku if he is going to marry her yet, because as I said before Goku promised to marry her when they are grown up, and in this movie he turns 18, sooooo...
Then the movie says that Bulma doesn't know what the Dragonballs are but in the series SHE is the one who tells Goku about the dragonballs!!
I will stop here, because I was talking with my wife about this for about two hours after the movie and I decided I should make a petition of Facebook to have them make a Dragonball Z movie. so that is what I will do Because if they can't get the story right at least they can make a Better one with the DBZ story starting with the Sayian Saga!
More To Come.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Japanese Cuisine
So many things have been said about Japanese Cuisine that are just not true. Most people think that the Japanese eat nothing but raw fish and tofu all day everyday. That is just retarded... I think that if people had an open mind about food and they promised themselves that they would try new things they would learn that there are certain things they don't like, BUT at the same time they will find themselves discovering their New Favorite foods. You should try thinking this way in different areas of your life. Don't be so Boring!
This pictured above is my most favorite Japanese food to date, Yakiniku. This meat dish is usually served with fresh white rice and o-tsuke mono(Fixins, Side items usually pickled veggies) . The best thing is that the meat cooks quickly because it is cut very thin. This allows you to dip the meat in the sauce and enjoy all the saucy goodness. If you live in the big cities of America or if you are a foreign national in Japan, TRY THIS FOOD. you will probably compare the cooked meat you eat to this dish once you have had it.
I know this one was short but I usually do this when I have down time and since I am new to the whole Blogging thing I will try to devote more time to it.
More To Come.
This pictured above is my most favorite Japanese food to date, Yakiniku. This meat dish is usually served with fresh white rice and o-tsuke mono(Fixins, Side items usually pickled veggies) . The best thing is that the meat cooks quickly because it is cut very thin. This allows you to dip the meat in the sauce and enjoy all the saucy goodness. If you live in the big cities of America or if you are a foreign national in Japan, TRY THIS FOOD. you will probably compare the cooked meat you eat to this dish once you have had it.I know this one was short but I usually do this when I have down time and since I am new to the whole Blogging thing I will try to devote more time to it.
More To Come.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
New Blog Old Topics
The main purpose in me starting this blog is because there are so many rumors about Japan and so many are true. The other purpose is to stop the Bad rumors about Japan. This Blog will try and send you to the Land of the Rising Sun in Text form. I have never done a blog before so I am going to do the best I can to make it fun and entertaining.
This picture is of my parents apartment in Japan and what I have seen there. If you can believe it the place was only about 750 square feet or Less. The thing is, that 750 is with 3 bedrooms, no living room, a small dinning room and kitchen and a very small bathroom. Some apartments I know of are about 100 square feet TOTAL. that is your bedroom, living room, dinning room, and kitchen all in one, and a small bathroom connected to it. These people just do what they can with the space. The many people in Japan have to live this way is that the inner city has to many people living there and not enough space. Don't get me wrong, there are lots of open areas in Japan. I have gone camping in the mountain regions of Ibaraki and there are wide open fields and tons of forests and woods all over. But closer to the city of Tokyo there is nothing but streets,towering building, and lots and lots of people, cars, motor scooters and bicycles. So if you really want to take a look at this busy little street in Ueno:
Or this nice "little" crosswalk in down town SHIBUYA
Yeah it's that crowded!
My favorite movie quote about Japanese living was on the Film "Gung Ho"
The main character says "In Japan you are never alone, you go to put your pants on and there is someone in there with you." If you have not already seen this movie, GO Watch it. It will really show you what Japan is like. And they pretty much are like that still today. well I think this is a good stopping point for the Blog. I want to start doing more when it comes to the Internet. I was thinking about starting a Podcast and Twittering a lot more. I hope you enjoy the Blog. I will end each one by writing.
More To Come.
P.S. Check out the website www.engrish.com yeah that's right ENGRISH. this site is so funny. If you know anything about the Japanese or even if you just want to see some of the funny Japanese products, it is to funny.
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