Messages between Megi52 and OrigamiSensei
Please have a look at my NEW Lolz (they are labeled as "F.B.I Cold Case"), and tell me what you think! You should also have a look at the comment I have included (it is the same in each one), as it provides a few pertinenrt details. Hope you enjoy them!
Oh forget it. The second character is the one used for woman, but it looks like the site is having trouble posting Kanji Characters. Damn! Oh well, if you would like to have any further kanji lessons, maybe you could give me your e-mail address, or Facebook or something (those ????? in my messages are where the kanji and kana are supposed to be, but it seems that the site can't recognize them!).
WARNING! TEACHING MODE ACTIVATED!: This a short lesson in the Chinese (kanji) characters that make up "1/2 Prince". Read in the "on-yomi" (??? - the Chinese reading) this is read as "1/2 Ouji" (1/2 ??). The first character "Ou" (?) means "king", while the second character "ji" (?) means "child". Thus, "Ouji" translates to "Child of the King" (remembering that Japan and China are largely male-dominated societies). As a point of interest, "princess" is "Oujo" (??), where the second character ()
WARNING! TEACHER MODE ACTIVATED! I was looking up "raccoon" on Wikipedia/Google (I forget why)and discovered something interesting that I felt compelled to share with you: There are raccoons in Japan, except there they are called "araiguma" (?????). Broken down, "arai-" is from "araimasu" (?????- To wash or clean), and "guma" is the adopted form of "kuma" (??- bear (animal)). Ergo, "araiguma" translates roughly to "washing bear" (probably due to their habit of washing their food before eating it)!. Interestingly enough, "toilet" in Japanese is "tearai" (????, or ??? in the complete kanji form): "Te" (? is the kanji, and means "hand"), and "arai-" from "araimasu" (???? with the kanji). So from this, "tearai" almost literally means "wash (your) hand(s)". Some of these kanji combinations just crack me up. Seriously!
Chapters 39 and 40 of "1/2 Prince" are now available to read!
Wow, cool! Australia had tramways systems in all state and territories, but was largely closed down by the 1960's. Melbourne still keeps a tramway system network operating, and is in fact THE largest in the world! I have been to Melbourne only once so far, and got to ride the tram. It was a lot of fun, but I find it hard to imagine it as a part of everyday life. My only exposure to American trams has been in movies like "The Rock" with Nicolas Cage, "Hulk" and other similar style of films, leaving me only with the impression that trams are easily destroyed! It hardly inspires confidence in them as a means of transport .... . By the by, another example of short-hand can be found in Law-Enforcement (at least, it is if the "NCIS" TV series is anything to go by). Short-hand/ text-speak is -in itself- not a bad thing, only it should be used in moderation, and not as a total replacement for normal speech!
WARNING! TEACHING MODE ACTIVATED: It is the changing education system. It seems to be centered more on technological savvy, than on personal knowledge. "Text-speak" itself is NOT supposed to be an alternative to proper spelling, but simply a way to compress a message to a more manageable size for electric/ electronic transmission. It has been around for about a hundred years now, with the invention of the telegraph (that thing that taps out Morse Code). Full messages would take forever, so it was sent "short-hand", or -as what we now call- "text-speak". "Short-hand" itself is still used nowadays, in things such as: taking down dictation, and those stenographers with their little typewriter in courtroom proceedings. By the way, what is "the public track system"? Is that like a tram system, or subway or something??
Good for you, girl! With this age of modern devices, like mobiles, pagers, and computers, there has been worry that the art of writing has been dying out. Spellcheck and predictive text means kids these days usually don't even have to start their brains working to spell correctly, and then wonder why their badly-spelled and -punctuated job applications get rejected (#_#) . Oh-My-God, did I say "kids these days"?? Aaargh, I'm turning into my father <(>_<)> !!
You spelt sentence wrong. It is:S-E-N-T-E-N-C-E. With JET, I think it is UP TO around 40 years of age. At any rate, it could be something to aspire to, if you are interested in following that kind of career path. It is the path that I have chosen to follow, so I am trying to promote the hell out of it! In regards to your paper, have you tried writing the draft out first by hand? Computer skills are all well and good, but there is merit to be found in handwriting, and it would be a shame to let those skills go to waste, even in this modern age. Whichever method you try, I wish you the best of luck! \(^,^)/
Iam including an address with this message (http://www.jetprogramme.org/). Just Copy and Paste. This the Japanese Teaching and Exchange Programme (or JET) set up by the Japanese government, and apparently run through their embassies throughout the world. Maybe it will prove to be an inspiration. Good luck with your paper!
I am not sure about "snags". Maybe we Aussies are just weird. You have to remember that the word "kangaroo" comes from a white explorer asking an Aboriginal what the hopping creature was called, and he replied "kangaroo" (meaning "I don't know"), and the explorer wrote down what he said. Go figure! Good to know that you and your sisters are enjoying the website. The first hurdle to learning Japanese is the alphabet. You also have to remember that Japanese has THREE differnt alphabets (hiragana, katakana, and kanji), and that they are sometimes used all at the same time! When you start a formal class for the first time, you will probably start with roumaji - ie Japanese using English letters. Here is a little more Japanese for you (NEKO=cat; KONEKO=kitten [literal: child-cat in the kanji]; INU= dog; KOINU=puppy [it.: child-dog]; OTONA=adult [lit.: big person]). Good luck!
Warning: Teaching Mode activated! I am including a sydney-based web-address (japanese.about.com) for some introductory Japanese lessons. Fortunately, it is being run by a Japanese woman called Namiko Abe, so the pronunciations will be spot on! Hope this helps!
Excellent girl! Glad to hear that Japanese is one of your life ambitions! By the way, here are a few more Aussie speak idioms for you if you like: snags=sausages, barbie=barbecue, spuds=potatoes, Macca's=McDonald's. If we want to use a barbecue to cook sausages and potatoes, we'll say "I'm gonna chuck a couple of snags and spuds on the barbie". If we are wanting to meet outside a McDonald's restaurant, we'll say "I'll see ya outside Macca's". Also, we NEVER pronounce "er" if we can help it. Thus, "butter" is pronounced as "buttah", "water" as "watah", "sweater" as "sweatah", and so on. I admit it's weird, but it is one of the many reasons I find language so fascinating.
With the manga, I have found that it is good to know Japanese characters (specifically hiragana, and katakana). Sometimes, sound effects are left untranslated (ie in the original kana) to avoid spoiling the effect, usually in katakana (the slashy-looking script). Also, the background (e.g. street-signs) are also usually left untouched. This means that some of the effect in reading the manga is lost. Have you considered taking up Japanese? ;P (Listen to me, I'm already in Teacher-Mode! Hah! I am SO looking forward to Uni this year!). FYI, Uni is Aussie-speak for University.
I wouldn't worry too much about that (though I do admit that LOL-speak tends to grate!). I have finished reading 1/2 Prince to date (excellent suggestion, by the way!). Any more reccomendations, by the way? I'd like to try and expand my number of read titles (I tend to prefer comedy, fighting/magic, and some romance -something like Ranma 1/2 is good). Also, you should try Dr Slump series by Akira Toriyama (the same guy who did The Dragon Ball series, as well as art for the Dragon Quest games). Good luck with school this year!
It IS true about the road trip. HOWEVER, the money saved on petrol can be used to buy MORE manga, so it's not all bad! <;^^> Glad to hear you found a good website. I probably won't have all that much time to read either this year as I am hoping to get into University (see My Profile). The offers haven't come around yet, so fingers crossed, and wish me luck \(^_^)/!
Excellent to hear from you! A true bookworm will let nothing stand in their way between them and a good book! If you can get the money together though, you might want to see if there is a similar style of bookshop online, and order it via the internet. I don't know of any sites offhand (at least, not in America. Try Victoria-based chaos.com, but there are probably closer ones), but it could save you time and money (not to mention petrol). You could simply order online, and let the Post Office do all the running around! Anyway, Merry Christmas, and I'll see you in the New Year!
There is an anime of Negima, with a good musical soundtrack, and it shows a "chibi" Negi-Sensei during the interval. As for Kinokuniya bookstores, just copy and paste this address to find the American stores: www.macalester.edu/eastasianproject/japanvendors-in-usa.htm I am a little fuzzy on American Geography, so I am not sure if any are close enough to you (Actually, I hated doing Geography in High School!). I'll look for the "Battle Royale" books as soon as I can, and as for liking "Negi": "Dou itashimashite" (Trans: "You are welcome")
I have started reading 1/2 Prince on the website you reccomended, and I have to admit that I am hooked <;^^>. I am going to have to buy the book now as the internet is just too slow too keep up with my reading speed! Thank you for the reccomendation, and please pass on any more good manga. Domo arigato gozaimasu. ("Thank you very much" in Japanese).
A good place to shop for the manga books is a chain of bookstores called "Kinokuniya" (I am pretty sure that they are some in America). Not only does it contain a HUGE selection of manga, but also many anime DVD's, HEAPS of fiction and non-fiction books, Comic Omnibuses (or is it "Omnibi"? Whatever), an excellent Language selection, and usually a part of the store reserved for purely Japanese stuff: like the literature (Japanese magazines, books in Japanese, Japanese Language textbooks, etc), and Japanese toys & gifts ("Kimmi" dolls, "Hello Kitty" stuff, lacquered chopsticks and so on). Plus, all the prices are usually quite reasonable!
I have read you profile. Good girl! If you like manga, you should also try "Ranma 1/2", "Negima: Magister Magi", and "Free Collars Kingdom" - a 3-Part story about the imaginative life of stray cats in Japan. Also, there is a "Legend of Zelda" series of manga based on the Nintendo game series of the same name. I also have a Jack Russell Terrier (actually, he is my brother's), and his name is also Jake! Please contact me!
