If you are curious about what I particularly enjoy when it comes to music, French singer songwriter “Fishbach” has everything I love! Her deep voice and slightly dark and dreamy melody blend together perfectly packaged in a theatrical aesthetic. She mixes my favorite genres: electro pop, rock and new wave. Her songs carry a strong reminiscence of the songs played on […]
Today’s excerpt is where Murakami meets one of his favorite American author’s relative. Author: Murakami Haruki (村上春樹) Title: “やがて哀しき外国語” (Yagate kanashiki gaikokugo) 先日ペンシルヴェニアに住んでいるシンシア・ロスさんという人から、夕食に来ないかと言う招待の手紙をいただいた。その手紙によると、シンシアさんは実はスコット・フィッツジェラルドの孫にあたるということである。(…) 彼女は僕がスコット・フィッツジェラルドの小説の翻訳をしていることを人づてに聞いて、興味を持ってわざわざ招待してくれたのだ。 Senjitu Pensiruvenia ni sundeiru Sinsia Rosu san to iuu hito kara, yuushoku ni konai ka to iuu shoutai no tegami wo itadaita. Sono tegami ni yoruto, Sinsia san wa jituha Sukotto […]
I came upon an interesting article about a 466-year old kimono house, so I wanted to share it here with you. https://kimonocouture.worcesterart.org/introduction-to-chiso
Japanese language is constructed within layers of nuance. The speaker can convey feelings through grammatical choices such as the politeness levels, particles, pronouns, verb auxiliaries, and more. Grammar in this way acts like “body language” similar to how facial expression, gesture, and tone can reveal the person’s status or intentions. I will be going over these […]
Previously, we started to explore the Japanese pronoun “I,” and will continue to review the most common examples and uses. The “I” pronoun provides an indication of the speaker’s identity or personality. It is how we label ourselves and one of the reasons why there are so many options available. 私 (watashi): neutral in both gender and […]
Today’s listening comprehension is from Alphonse Daudet’s autobiographical book “Le Petit Chose” (1868). I recommend listening first, and trying to guess the meaning, or even just catch the words that you know. You can then read the text below for additional help. I am reading the text twice, first time fast and second time slower. […]
The recent Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe vs Wade stunned many people around the world, including the French. For French people, the US is an important model for fundamental rights (as written in the linked article: “Les États-Unis ont un poids important comme modèle de défense des droits fondamentaux.”). The shockwave of this decision inspired several […]
The shocking news of former Japanese prime minister Abe Shinzo’s (安倍晋三) assassination just recently broke. Since gun violence is so rare in Japan, and usually associated with the yazuka, this is particularly stunning for the Japanese people. It wasn’t until I lived in the US had I ever even heard any gun shootings, as I had spent […]
“Hominis est errare, insipientis perseverare” 🇫🇷 L’homme commet des erreurs, seul l’idiot persiste 🇺🇸 Men make mistakes, only the fool persists Another variation “Errare humanum est” is interesting, because the verb “errare” in Latin means not only “to make mistake” but also “to wander, lose one’s way.” The English “to err” kept the first meaning, […]
« Semper avarus eget » – Horace 🇫🇷 L’homme avare est toujours dans le besoin 🇺🇸 The greedy man is always in need 🇯🇵 強欲な者は常に貧困である Gouyoku na mono wa tsuneni hinkon dearu