The problem with telling laid-off journalists to Learn To Code is that $ORANGE_MAN=BAD doesn’t compile.
— JNo reading class this quarter
Given the state of California’s finances, I had my fingers crossed that my usually-small Japanese reading class would survive the inevitable cuts, but it turns out it was canceled for an unexpected reason: high enrollment in other classes in the department. There’s a contractual limit in how much one instructor can support, and my class was taught by the only salaried professor. Her time is already paid for, but each part-time instructor is a new cost.
Not sure what’s going to happen next quarter. Enrollment typically drops significantly in Winter and Spring quarters, as students discover that Japanese is the wrong language to study if you’re just trying to meet the language requirement to transfer into a four-year school, but that may not be enough to reinstate the class. She’s going to try to restructure it as an online class, but I’m not sure how it would work out. The group dynamics are a large part of what made it work, with people bringing in a wide variety of material and working together to understand it, with her guidance and cultural insight.
And I had some really fun stuff prepped for this quarter, too…
Fear My Genius!
I just clicked on the new iTunes “Genius Mixes” button for the first time, and this is what came up:
"But what kind of fools are they?"
The illiterate kind, the unintentionally honest kind, or the “we’ll say anything to get your attention” kind?
What'cha gonna do...
…when they come for you.
(and, yes, it’s actually called Rubber Duck Project 2009, or, locally, アヒルプロジェクト2009; both searches will pull up some decent pictures)
Words to live by...
…briefly.
「ンガイ・ングアグアア・ブグ＝ショゴグ・イハア、ヨグ＝ソトホース、ヨグ＝ソトホース……」
「イグナイイ……イグナイイ……トゥフルトゥクングア……ヨグ＝ソトホース……」
「イブトゥンク……ヘフイエ――ングルクドルウ……」
An-du-torowa
Decpihering loanwords in Japanese can be a bit of a challenge. Today’s example is アン・ドゥ・トロワ, an-du-torowa. I don’t think I’d have gotten it if I hadn’t found a video clip of a song by that name.
Dear SFGate,
I believe you have chosen the wrong word for the activity described in this headline:
Bay Bridge crews scuttle to fix span by Tuesday
[aw, they finally fixed it (the headline, that is). shame, really]
Dear Erika Yazawa,
(updated with Youtube embed, which actually works…)
You’re a very cute, very busty, quite popular, just-turned-18 member of a popular idol group, with numerous sexy photobooks and DVDs to your credit, and this is how they’re advancing your career? You’re not kidding? This is not a parody trailer?
