こんばんは!!

OK, It's time I finally said something.. again? about my meandering and shuffling course through language learning... self study. (cheers and clapping placed here)
Yeas, for the last... uhhh.. has it been a year + already? year or so, I have been attempting to teach myself Japanese. Talk about determination and tenacity!!? whew! I have learned a whole lot of little things, mostly online, along with a number of books for help.
learning the words/symbols/meanings, i have found, is one thing... learning what they sound like is a whole different ball of wax.

Thus far I have grouched through most of the grammar lessons I have found, (which hasn't been a whole lot really) and totally skipped over sounds in kanji... its a temporary thing though. I am learning to recognize and get the meaning of kanji first.. then back it up for the sounds they make so I can better pair them up with the words I have learned.

Along the way, I have found the occasional website or such, that I think has helped me learn and stay motivated. oh.. as for 'why' I am teaching myself Japanese? No super special reason.. I want to prove to myself I can do it. I want to be able to look at a manga.. or watch an anime, and have some idea as to whats going on. I want to be able to carry on, even a rough convo in Japanese.. and be able to be understood. To me, that's more than good enough.
I like how, of all the asian lingo's, Japanese sounds quite a bit like singing to me. speedy singing. :D

ok... so I've got this small list I'd like to share of places and games etc, that I have found helpful, what I liked and what I didn't like.

Top o the list...

-online- websites
Linguti
A bit like duolingo.. only for Asian languages
What I liked: what a terrific set of learning quizzes! with varying ways to work each question as well. writing, listening, multi choice and back and forth translation.It also tallys up your points and has a little 'store' to buy goodies with your hard won stars.
What I didnt like: the goodies were waaay too few in number. It only got me to level 9. *gasp* It's not complete! wheres your friends list? where to get more lessons, where is the explanations/textbook info? I really want there to be more to it!

Wanikani
It's not totally free.. but even the part that is, is well worth the look-see.
what I liked: very engaging quizzes. the memorizing by mnemonics is funny.
What I didn't like: after level 2 or 3.. the freebies are done and you have to pay to learn more. Even as I understand this... I'm a perennially poor kitty. This is also the case with its partner site, textfugu.


-games- for PC
Slime adventures.
For learning the meanings of kanji, this game is top of the mark with me.
What I liked: A simple game where even the free version will keep one occupied for hours at a time.
what I didn't like: Still thinking on this one.... perhaps the kanji list hasn't been updated in some time.. still has old obsolete symbols not used anymore, in it.

Jrpg
fun simple game that very quickly throws you head-first into deep waters.
What I liked: its a Japanese learning game. with sentences.
what I didn't like: I dont care much for jumping head-first into muddy deep waters. it gets too deep for me, very quickly and I run away from the game.

Worth a mention...
Koe
An up and coming Japanese learning game via Kickstarter, being painstakingly created for a hopeful first release this year. Looks like its going to be a blast!


-games- for the DS
Kageyama method
What I like: A great place for 'storing' what kanji you have learned to write/understand the meaning of.
What I dont like: Its all in Kana with kanji so you have to stumble about a little bit to find the right spot for kanji practice.

Kanji Sonomama
what I like: its a dictionary! with a tablet area for writing out kanji you want to know the meaning of.
What I dont like: a good percentage is in complicated Japanese as well.

Anpanman
(in special: Anpanman to asobo Aiueo kyoushitsu DX)
What I like: Its Anpanman!!! super bread with friends! easy to understand games. About perfect for beginners.
What I don't like: Whats not to like?


-books-
Japanese for busy people.
what I like: basic symbol study.. overview of numbers, time, etc..
what I don't like: its a text book.. doesn't keep my interest for very long. but still, its kept my interest for longer then most.

Beginning Japanese by Tuttle
what I like: applied Japanese in the form of study and comics concerning a girl new to the country and getting to meet her host family.
What I don't like: same as above. Its a textbook. difficult to keep my interest for very long. But has kept it longer than most.

Essential Kanji for everyday use.
what I like: good for figuring where to pick up random-ish kanji to study.
What I don't like: its a text book blah blah..

Kanji & Kana By Tuttle
what I like: great for that random kanji look-up stuff. think "dictionary" and youl have an idea.
what I don't like: getting used to how things are listed.

Websters new world compact Japanese/English dictionary
what I like: It's a stuffed dictionary in mini size.
What I don't like: um.. well, it doesn't have everything.

On the subject of Sand Fleas and Cats.

Ok, about a month or so, my poor kitty had to be rushed to the veterinarian. He was really very sick.. even though he didn't show it a whole lot. he had a weebilly walk, his jump had apparently headed for the cat Olympics without him. and he had totally gone off his food. Turned out he was seriously anemic to what the vet called "horrible sand fleas'. (still gives me the shivers). Those little buggers were literally sucking all the life blood out of him! so the vet gave him vitamins, a collar and a pill. Of the pill it was said you could see them vacating the kitty all in a flood. I saw nothing leaving at all. neither did anyone else. but it did seem to make the meow look a bit more comfy after a bit. He no longer had the flea party going on across his bod.

Now, we knew about the usual fleas, the place we chose to live in, had been/is infested with them since move-in. Sometimes they got really bad and other times they gave it a rest. other then the ongoing combat though they were kept in some check. These fleas, we grew to learn, were of a 'soldier' variety. some of them, when they bit you, seemingly took a chunk out and sent you squealing in pain and slapping the suddenly pained area to get it to quit. They were also very resistant... to just about anything we threw at them. Flea bombs, sprays, diatomaceous earth, and household nonsense.. it didn't seem to matter. but I knew next to nothing of sand fleas. What are they? I took to the net to find out and... I'm still not sure. There seems to be a great deal of confusion as to just what these things are and what it is they do or don't do.

The fleas in my place are both large nearly black critters about the size of a small mosquito, with compact bodies and a jump that could have them on your shins and knees in no time at all. Others are smaller and lighter colored with the same sort of jump. they either bite you one here, one there... like the usual flea sort, orr when they get really bad, they cluster. they are quick lil buggers too and they disperse from before your very eyesight like the flow and speed of the scarab beetles in the mummy movies. A flea comb and a bit of soapy water will catch some of them, but they will replace what you took away very quickly. and I was getting close to considering shaving the poor kittycat just to maybe even the playing field a bit and have a better chance of getting them off of him. (I'm still considering it)

So the net insists that these sand fleas live at the beach and have an issue with salt. -.- comeon now, does this make sense to you, really? They habitually live on an ocean's sandy beachside, which is naturally salty, and they cant handle salt? the net also seems to think they are not a flea but a good-sized crab... that they tunnel under the skin and leave marks at their location. that they arn't to be confused with sand hoppers and flies. and that they don't live in people's houses. ok, so if all that is true, what are the tiny little buggers in my carpet and on my cat?!

I can tell you they are not flies, crabs, or chiggers. Nor are they your 'usual' fleas. they are far more resistant... and persistent. I know that soapy water will clear off some of them for a time. I know that baking soda seems to decrease at least, their activity for a time as well. I know fleas can be caught between your fingers... but I have difficulty trying catch one of these tiny speed demons and when I do, they look just like a little flea... an adolescent flea? they will bite and flee more often then do the bigger ones as well.

So what works on these teensy tiny hopping vampires? good question. I'll have to get back to you on this one.
Any good ideas? ... please?

Asheron's calling... pick up the phone!

This is a bit of an update for an old game I learned to love. Asheron's Call. It seems the powers-that-be for this game, have pretty much given it up.. even as there is still a fairly tenacious player base.

They are no longer updating with new content... since about 2000something. just.. keeping up the maintenance is all they are doing now.. i think.

I would say it has gone FTPlay.. but it hasn't really. you still have to pay a $10 fee to get into the game.... or about double that to -maybe- rescue old characters if you have them.

Which sucks to me. I have been away from Asheron's Call for so long now, I couldn't even hope to recall the info I might still, by some stretch of a miracle, have in their login severs. I do recall character names... not that I think that would help. (Although, it did for Everquest2, which I think I had truly the best experience in getting through, what could have other-wise been a serious headache for me, as well as the folks attempting to find my account. Seriously.. the person helping me found it straight away! I was really impressed!)

I remember Indy the best of my household there. It was during the time, just following the addition of the blue-skinned player race. She was clumsy, thought she was an Angel who had, lost her wings.. was always falling or jumping off of things. She had even been interviewed once by someone called Snowimp. (see the story here.)

It was christmas time.. and she was in a little snow village with the guild leader, beating on big naughty snowmen. Second in household command, was the original me. where Indy took the most deaths title, I took the title for the most ridiculous deaths. Indy fell off mountains, died via verindi or a winged sprite, I died due to thrown snowballs. -sigh- Well, I loved home lots more then running errands anyway. I miss ol Belmont a lot. He was like a big protective and huggable teddybear to me. I miss Odin and other friends I knew there as well. ah Dereth.. I wonder what all has changed since I have seen your wondrous explore-worthy expanses.

testing testing... 1 2 3.... Is this thing turned on?

testing ...


well.. guess that doesn't work.

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sanders n friends "friends on the other side"

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6 year old with impared sight singing and playing bohemian rhapsody on the piano. Talent, Tenacity, and having a great deal of fun while he's at it.

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(Old) Movie Dance Scenes Mashup music: Uptown Funk

(Mark Ronson ft.Bruno Mars)

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A program plug... Now, you know its not really like me to plug software (or hardware for that matter) but there's a few out there worth the effort of passing along imo, so bear with me a little.


"Stickies" by Zhorn software

This little program pretty much does everything really useful you could possibly want in a free stickies program. It will color your words, it will remind you with music and/or a shaking alert box of attention!! of those birthdays and appointments you might be forgetting. it even has a scrolling feature for those terribly verbose moments that will not fit within regular stickie space. It is a well and thoughtfully written out program. I have never seen it glitch or lose data on my PC (unless it was my fault for erasing it.) Really need to check this one out!