Saturday, June 18, 2011

Knowledge is power. ()

And therefore sources of knowledge are veritable wells of real-world experience points.

Never say I didn't make it interesting.

Anyway, during my day-in, day-out Japanese study extravaganza, I am discovering more and more how very helpful being interested  in many different facets of Japanese culture (classical and pop) can be for one's vocabulary.

Even when it comes to high-level JLPT stuff. Who knew, right?

Thus, as a way to escape from studying amuse you dear readers, I thought I'd make a list of the more notable/useful/surprising bits of vocab I've gained on my travels through Japanese culture.

Number 1: 嘘がばれた - get caught in a lie
Source: Daily conversation/modern slang

Number 2: ~たて - just (finished/completed/done) ~; i.e. できたて, just finished
Source: 焼き立てジャパン!!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Waiting is the worst part. (待っているのが一番辛い。)

Especially when you, like me, have a stomach prone to stress and thus a near constant case of indigestion beginning from the submission of the application and lasting until some undetermined point at which I will decide that there is no longer any need for stress in my life.

... that may be, in fact, when I am dead.

I have been, after all, stressed almost constantly since I decided to apply for this thing. You know, as separate from the stress stemming from my regular bouts of existential crisis, paranoia, and general feelings of dread about the future.

... but, quite frankly, if I'm not stressed, I don't feel that I'm accomplishing anything. So, while this may be horrible for my upper digestive tract, it really is good for my overall mental wellbeing, no?

... oh, well.

How about some nice, classic BUCK-TICK to make up for the decidedly dull and dreary nature of today's post?



This video, which I believe is from 1989, documents three very important things:

1. That BUCK-TICK was indeed, at one point, popular enough to be on television, despite what you may hear.

2. That Imai was always a little terrifying unintelligible unique.

3. That Toll's truly remarkable hatred of change was established very early on in his career.*

*For those of you who aren't fangirls not in the know, this was very soon, if not immediately after the band's "hair spring" debut period. Look who didn't get the new hairstyle memo. 

It also demonstrates that signs of Atsushi's "woman" stage were evident as early as '89, but we all know about that.



This is Edo, signing off wondering if it's better to be stressed with or without "Dress" stuck in your head.

PS- Damn it, I said this, thought it was clever, and can't bear to see it lost so quickly in the ether:

"I have dreams about being called 'Doctor'...and believe that sonic screwdrivers should come standard issue with every PhD."

I never said a word about fangirls.

Friday, June 10, 2011

Oh, dear. (あらまあ。)

Ah. Hah.

Well, you skip a week of posts, that's laziness, but you skip an entire month (ok, and then some) and I think it evolves into something like commitment, don't you?

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Anyway, what with the moving back to America-land, applying for the MEXT research scholarship (application sent off last Friday, thank you for asking), and the daily grind of kanji-studying, novel-reading and Wii-exercising, my life has slowly devolved into a daily humdrum not exactly conducive to thrilling bouts of bloggery.

Succinctly put: no ideas, no posts, kids.

So in the interim, I thought I'd share a refreshing bit of fashion-feminism with you all. Because if I can't be amusing, I can at least be supportive of the counter-heteronormative, yes?

http://www.manrepeller.com/

I think the url speaks for itself.

Nevertheless.

Down with conformity! Oppose the skankily-bedecked public image! Declare your existence as separate from faceless sexist drudgery! FIGHT THE POWAH!

Yup.

This is Edo, signing off not feeling nearly as guilty about this whole blog-neglect thing as she probably should.

PS- Let it be said that I know next to nothing about high fashion (since I don't think ロリタ系 and Vivienne Westwood really count), nor do I really find myself anything like entranced by clothing that makes my frugal soul hide and cry under the bed. I just like to see people doing things that fight the heteronormativity running rampant and unchecked in our society. Right? Right.

I also like getting my thesis-buzz-word out there as much as possible. Boo. Yaka.