Beginner's Nico Nico Douga Class, Sept. 30, 2009

湿気=humid
蒸し暑い=muggy
It is humid/muggy.


river
liver
low
row
law
raw
a draft beer
They serve Heinekin on tap.

What do you have on tap?

Are you pregnant?
She is preggers.
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remember
remind
memory
1. ~ me again?
2. I can’t ~.
3. I have a bad ~.
4. My ~ is going.

4. My memory

1. Remind me again?
2. I can’t remember / recall.
3. I have a bad memory.
4. My memory going.
=I am losing my memory.

My ~ is going?

My eyesight is going.
My looks are going.

He's just a memory.

懐かしい=That brings back memories.

That reminds me.

senile
I think I'm going senile.
I must be going senile.
spaced out / spacey
Ah, those were the good old days.

Nico Nico Douga Mixed Lesson, Sept. 27, 2009

Nico Nico Douga Mixed Lesson
Sept. 27, 2009

too much

They over did it.

That must have hurt.

That's gotta hurt.

変態
He looks like a pervert.

shame

It's a shame.

What a shame.

I'm embarrassed / ashamed.
I'm embarrassed / ashamed of ~.
I'm embarrassed / ashamed of my test results.
I’m ashamed of him.
As a Japanese person, I’m ashamed of him.
As a Japanese person, I’m embarrassed for him.
-------------------
“in” idioms:

That style is in. =
That style is popular.

That style is out. =
That style is not popular.

I was in time.=I was not too late.

I was on time.=I came
at the agreed upon time.

descriptive situation
in <--> out /outside　
It is in the box.
It is outside (of) the box.

Get on the horse.
Get up on the horse.

action situation
in <---> out of
He put it in his pocket.
He took it out of his pocket.
----------------------------
to show amount of time:

PAST:
I have not ~ in 3 months.
I have not seen her in/for 3 months.
----------------------------
FUTURE:
I’ll see you in a few days.

I’ll see you after Oct. 1st.
I’ll see you after the party.

----------------------------------
The end.

Sept. 24 & 25, 2009

season=季節

It is unseasonably warm.=It is warmer than usual.

Good expression: right around the corner

Fall is right around the corner.

Autumn is right around the corner.

I’m almost completely over my allergies.

I’m almost completely over my ex-girlfriend.

I’m almost completely over the divorce.

I’m still not over him.

I’m almost completely over her death.

death=noun
to die=verb
to be dead= adjective
to kill
to murder
He ~ from cancer. (died)
That zombie is ~. (dead)
Vampires are also the living dead.
He ~ of cancer. (died)
He ~ of/from cancer. (died)
He has been ~ for over 10 years. (dead)
This is the 10th anniversary of his ~. (death)
Help me! I am ~. (dying)
This is the 10th anniversary of his ~. (death)
I am afraid of ~. (death)

to kill

to murder
------------
I LOVE the following article that I found on Japantoday.com
------------
Headline is: Gasoline thief arrested after hopes of quick getaway dampened

a) SAITAMA — A man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of attempting to steal gasoline after he unwittingly filled his car’s tank with water and the vehicle became stranded shortly afterwards, police said.
b) Fujio Hirakawa, 56, allegedly stole the liquid from an 18-liter plastic tank in a gardener’s workshop in Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture, sometime between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, believing it to be gasoline.
c) But the 56-year-old gardener, who had suffered a similar theft of gasoline from the tank two weeks previously, had deliberately refilled it with water.
d) On Wednesday morning, the gardener found the tank empty and during a search came across the suspect’s car stranded in a wooded area about 200 meters from the workshop, and called police.
e) According to police, Hirakawa has admitted to the allegations, saying he had no money. He is being charged with attempted theft and trespassing.
-----------------
Vocabulary:
-----------------
thief, robber=泥棒

robbery=盗難

arrest=逮捕する

to dampen=to make weak, to take away the excitement of st

arrested on suspicion of=arrested because police think

on suspicion of=～の疑い［嫌疑・容疑で、～の疑いを掛けられて

to attempt to=to try to

unwittingly=without knowing

a vehicle=a car, a bicycle, a plane, etc.

to strand=to leave

allegedly=申し立てによると、伝えられるところによると

Examples:
He allegedly did it.
Fujio Hirakawa, 56, allegedly stole the liquid from an 18-liter plastic tank.

liquid=液体

deliberately=わざと, on purpose

to come across=to find

to charge sb with st=（人）を～の罪で告訴［告発］する、～のかどで（人）を告発する［摘発する・罪に問う］、（人）を～のことで非難する

trespassing=不法侵入

---------------------------------

would-be: someone who tried to do st
He is a would-be killer.
A would-be robber was arrested.

Nico Nico, Mixed Level, Sept. 18, 2009

She smells.
She stinks.
She is stinky.
That milk smells funky.
That donut tastes funky.
Let’s get funky.
=Let’s dance. or Let’s have sex.

We’re through.

I’m breaking up with you.
I’m finished with you.
It’s over.
You’re finished.
I’m done. = I’m finished.
You're finished.
You're through.
You're done.
You’re history.　
=I’m gonna fire you. = I will get my revenge.
We’re history.
That’s history.

Bureaucratic reform
first hurdle

DPJ must put politicians
in charge of policymaking,
as pledged, to maintain
voter support

a campaign pledge=
a promise made
during a campaign

Hatoyama's cabinet
Hatoyama's administration

incoming administration

Experts warn that the
new government will
need to show tangible
results to maintain
voters' support.

tangible=real



By ALEX MARTIN
Staff writer
After a historic landslide victory in the Aug. 30 election, a new Cabinet was launched Wednesday, led by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan.
The incoming administration's first big test is whether it can follow through on its promise of administrative reform, wresting power from the bureaucrats and putting politicians in charge of policy and the budget.
Experts warn that the
new government will
need to show tangible
results to maintain
voters' support
until next summer's Upper House election, which will decide the long-term fate of the DPJ-led government.
"Bureaucrats will begin complying with orders once they feel that the new government will be around for a while. In that sense, I think policies should be implemented quickly while Cabinet approval ratings are still high," said Koichi Nakano, a political science professor at Sophia University in Tokyo.

Nico Nico Douga Sept. 16, 2009

This is what we studied tonight!

Ichiro ~ the record.
Noripi was released from ~.
Hatoyama became ~.

Ichiro broke the record.
Noripi was released from jail.
Hatoyama became Prime Minister.

首都=capital

I play tennis once a week.


Today’s word is “touch”
That movie touched me.
touched=感動した

touching
That movie was ~.
His story was ~.

touchy
神経質な、怒りっぽい、敏感な、
気難しい、ピリピリした

Why so touchy?
Don’t be so touchy.
He's not usually this touchy. :
He's not always this touchy.
彼はいつもはこんなに
カリカリしてないんだけどね。

Beer helps me take the edge off.

How do you say the following in English?
1. 首相
2. 〜を誓う、断言する、固く約束する
3. 役人、官僚主義的な公務員
4. 政治

1. a prime minister
2. vow
3. bureaucrat
4. politics
Hatoyama becomes
prime minister, vowing to
end bureaucrat-led politics
inefficient
a stickler for rules

Bureaucrats have a
reputation for being
sticklers for rules.

Sept. 9, 2009

Even before the ball fell in front of the Seattle bullpen, fans stood to cheer Ichiro, who led off a game with a hit for the 215th time.
"It kind of moved me that the fans here in Oakland celebrated for me. When I would come here for visitor's games in my rookie year, the fans would sometimes pelt me in the head with coins and throw ice cream at me. I remembered that, so it felt somewhat good to do it here," Ichiro said.
--------------------
Let's study this...

Even before + st happened
Ex: Even before I met him,
I hated him.
I felt sick even before
I got to work today.
I knew he had failed
even before he told me.
I knew I loved her even
before we had spoken.

in front of st=何かの前
It’s right in
front of you.

My house is in front
of the gas station.

Fans stood to cheer.
People stopped to listen.
People stopped to watch.
She sat to rest.
She paused to listen.
He tried to listen.
He tried to understand.
I struggled to understand.

to cheer: 応援する

for the 215th time.
for the first time
for the second time

I went there for the
first time yesterday.

He was sick for the
first time this year.

I will meet her for the
first time tomorrow.


kind of
I am kind of hungry.
I am kind of tired.
He is kind of weird.
She is kind of pretty.
I was moved.
The song moved me.

to pelt sb
They pelted him with
coins and ice cream.

somewhat=(formal) kind of
I am somewhat tired.

kind of=
somewhat=
in a way=
sort of=
in a sense=
in a matter of speaking=

Listening Practice.

----------------------------------------

Rumination - Cultural Awareness --- Historic Landslide Election in Japan

Hey, gang! How’s everybody, um, it’s been a real interesting recent couple of days in Japan – even though I’m not there I try to stay connected with what’s going on in the country, and as most of you living there know there was an amazing and historic election last Sunday, the thirtieth. And the LDP, the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan – which has basically ruled uninterrupted since 1955(or the 1950s, it might not be 1955), lost basically. And Taro Aso who is the current prime minister resigned and the head of the LDP resigned and will step down and be replaced as prime minister by Yukio, let me make sure I get his name right, Hatoyama, Hatoyama-san, who is the president of the new ruling party, The Democratic Party of Japan, The DPJ. So, um, you know, he’s not a young guy. He doesn’t seem to necessarily – I’m talking about Hatoyama now, uh sorry – he doesn’t seem to be as charismatic as say Koizumi, who was kind of the Clinton of Japan for his reign as prime minister. But the main reason I’m turning on the camera and I’m talking about this a little bit is that, you know if you’re going to go live in Japan, or if you’re gonna apply to JET this fall in a couple of months, um, know a little bit about the country that you’re going to live in. Um, and I think this goes a little bit beyond learning Japanese a little bit. Try to learn a little bit about the way things work in Japan. And while, you know, as a gaijin in Japan you will never be eligible to vote, um, of course many of the policies, etc, that will be discussed will be completely out of your realm of, uh, you know, you won’t care, and you know they’ll be out of your realm of understanding. Um, but to know a little bit about the political system in Japan and how it works, how people get elected, um, you know in this day and age of Wikipedia and the ease of information on the internet, while it’s not all, of course, reliable, it’s really, um, you know there’s no excuse, basically, for not being more informed and, uh, if you’re gonna go live somewhere I think it behooves you to try to find out a little bit about that country. So, when I was in college, back in 2002, 2003, finishing my degree, I minored in Japanese studies, and one of the classes I took was, uh, a politics in Japan course, Modern Politics in Japan course.
And we basically looked at the Twentieth Century. Um, and so I learned a little bit about how it works. And it’s a very complicated system. I won’t lie. You know there’s proportional representation and a parliament but the amazing thing is that one party, even in coalition, but basically one party, the LDP has held control of Japan for a long long time. And that’s no longer the case. And even though their name is the “Liberal” Democratic Party, they were basically almost the equivalent of the Republican Party of the United States. They were a fairly conservative party. Um, now, even Tokyo Cooney who I follow on Twitter and has lived in Japan much longer than I did, you know Twittered about or Tweeted or whatever the hell you call it, um, that, um, you know, how much actual change will we see, um, but basically the main articles that I’ve been reading, and I’ll put some links in the side, um, to like Japan Times on line so you can read some articles in English, um, is you know this wasn’t, this wasn’t an election, this result did not come about because people were, um, you know, realy rallying about a certain policy or anything of substance in the issues, it was really pent up frustration and anger at what many Japanese voters saw as the LDP’s, you know, mishandling of the economy, bungling of, you know, certain issues, just insane bureaucracy which can overwhelming at times in Japan. And wanting a change. And I think it’s no coincidence that this came a year after kind of the sweeping change and promise, uh, you know, uh, hope of, hope of change promised by Barack Obama. And Obama is an amazingly popular figure in Japan right now. Um, so that kind of thing, you know, is uh, you know just very interesting to watch from an outsider’s perspective. Um, but if you’re in Japan this last couple of weeks. I’m sure you got tired of all the trucks blaring the election stuff in your ears and you’re happy that it’s over, but it is interesting. And even my crappy local San Diego paper which is the Union Tribune”. The, uh, headline on the front page on, this was Monday, right. Yeah, Monday the 31st, was the Little League team from a local area, Tula Vista won the Little League World Series. Now, I’m not belittling that as an accomplishment and to San Diego locals this is a huge huge deal. And I’m sure this is the only paper in the United States where that made the front page. And, uh, my hats off to the boys. I watched the games. I cheered. Everything.
But on the second, you know, under the fold,
as they say in newspaper parlance was a story on the front page about, um, the landslide victory of the Democratic Party of Japan. Um, and saying “voters anger grew as the economy fizzled”. Um, and they won 308 seats of the Lower House, um, the 480 seat Lower House. And this guy who is, um, 62 years old,
Yuko Hatoyama, and he was trained as an engineer, um, at Stanford University in America of all places, um, will probably become the next Prime Minister of Japan.
So, you know, know that fact. You know, if you’re gonna go for your JET interview or something, know who the Prime Minister is. Um, there’ve been a few in my five years of being in the country. Some of them didn’t last very long. Some of them were definitely forgettable.

It’s definitely very different than America where, you know, once you’re president you get those four years. It’s not that way in Japan. And go to Wikipedia, and take, you know the 30 minutes it takes to read about the election process in Japan and the government in Japan. Just know a little bit about the country you’re gonna go live in. Um, you know and definitely learn the name of the prime minister, and, uh, you know, definitely, it’s interesting to be in Japan. All my kids, you know, and I teach fairly young kids, all knew President Bush and then, of course, they knew Barack Obama. About England, it was interesting, I gave a quiz question: “What is the name of the Queen of England?” And I gave 3 choices: Elizabeth, Beatrice, and Helen. And I made up numbers. Well, of course, Elizabeth, I used the second. And most of the kids knew her name. But if you had asked any of my kids, “Who’s the Prime Minister of England?” None of them could have told you. So, I’m not saying that, you know, that it doesn’t go both ways, etc. That there’s not cultural ignorance on all sides. And I couldn't stand her and tell you who the Prime Minister of New Zealand is currently. I mean I just don't know. But um, you know, if you're gonna go live in that country I think it it it really is up to you to try and learn a little bit about that country. And you should follow this story. I think it's gonna be interesting. Hopefully a few Japan vloggers, um, you know, I know some of you shy away from discussing politics but will at least maybe comment on what it's like in the country. Ah, you know, how your Japanese friends, etc. have reacted to this situation, and if anything really does change, it'll be interesting to watch. OK? So that was it. Peace from America. And I'll talk to you soon.


to be continued...

ニコニコ動画 生放送 Sept. 3, 2009

Look! Someone took my video from YouTube and put it on Nico Nico DOUGA!


http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm8059791
---------------------------------------
Is Yuki here? No? Then we can talk about her behind her back.

人の陰口を言う

Good ways to say: もう行かなくちゃ！
I have to go.
I gotta go.
I better be going.
I gotta get going.
I better hit the road.

a receding hairline=はげて後退｛こうたい｝する毛の生え際

ケツあご=a cleft chin

富士額｛ふじびたい｝◆額の髪の生え際が富士山｛ふじさん｝のような形になっているもの。女性にこれがあると夫が早死に｛はやじに｝すると信じられていた=a widow's peak


鼻くそ=a booger (countable, ball type)=or snot (uncountable liquid type)

目やに=eye booger

耳あか=ear wax

へそのゴマ=belly button lint/fuzz

べたつくもの［汚物］=gunk

汚いもの、かす、ベトベトするもの=crud

(safe) --> --> --> --> --> --> --> --> --> (dangerous)
shoot -> darn -> crud -> crap -> damn! -> shit! -> fuck!

出目=bug eyes, googly eyes,
Ex:His eyes popped out of his head. = He was surprised.

出っ歯=¥buckteeth

彼は出っ歯だ。=He has an overbite.

〔前歯の〕過蓋咬合=｛かがいこうごう｝=an overbite

しし鼻=ブタ鼻=pug nose/pig nose

〔爪の根元｛ねもと｝にできる〕ささくれ、さかむけ=hangnail

You should get your nails done.

canker sore=（潰瘍性）口内炎｛（かいようせい）こうないえん｝、口内糜爛

たん= phlegm

The end!

Watch the video again and study hard!

Nico Nico Douga Sept. 2, 2009

Beginner's class

I have a cold today so my voice is strange.
He has a nasally voice.
nasal/nasally=鼻声
------------------------------
Listening:
------------------------------
1. How ya doing?
2. How are you?
3. How old are you?
4. How's your meal?
5. How about a drink?

Would you like something to drink?

-------------------------------
Telephone English:
-------------------------------
1.
A: Mr. Ito, please.
B: どちら様ですか？

2. ただいま席を外すしています。

3. ただいま電話中です。

4. では、伝言をお伝えねがいませんか。

5. 戻りしだい、電話を頂けますか。

6. 戻り次第、こちらからお電話をさせていただきます。

7. 彼女は他の部署に移動になりました。

1. May I ask who's calling?
Who's calling, please?
Who's calling?
X Who is this?
X Who are you?

2. I'm sorry, but he's not at his desk at the moment.
I'm sorry, but he just stepped out.

3. I'm sorry, he's on another call right now.

4. Can/Could I leave a message?

5. Could you have him call me when he gets back?
Could you have him call me when he gets in?

6. I'll have him call you back when he gets in/back.

7. I'm sorry, but he's no longer working at this branch.
I'm sorry, but he's no longer working in this section.
----------------------------------------------
投票する=to vote
Did you vote?

選挙=an election
The elections were last Saturday and Sunday.

党=a political party
The USA uses a 2 party system.

野党=the opposition party
The opposition party won.

与党=the ruling party
The ruling part lost.

政治家=a politician
I don't trust politicians.

候補者=a candidate
He is a candidate for the Liberal Democratic Party.


当選=to win an election

落選=to lose an election

• elected by a landslide
《be ～》圧勝で当選する
He won by a landslide.