2009-03-04, 00:24 | Link #1721 |
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Author
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 66
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Cheese is often stored in cellars and caves (or mines), usually for aging purposes. It has the advantage of being naturally cool, not too humid, and a fairly constant temperature.
(assuming we're not talking about very deep mines, of course).
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2009-03-04, 14:52 | Link #1722 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2009
Age: 35
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well completing a meal shows gratitude to the chef who prepared it for you? Because its not like in america were portions are so overly sized that you would be consider insane to eat say 32 oz steak in one sitting. Portioning wise I feel especially in asian countires eating whats given, especially with the mentality that food is surival, makes for the reason when you don't finish your meal, its a sign of disrepect, in other words the food wasn't good enough for me to finish the meal. I mean my grandparents would ask me when I didn't finish their prepared meal, because during their generation food was scarce compared to its insane over abundance in the developed world.
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2009-03-04, 14:56 | Link #1723 | |
Not Enough Sleep
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: R'lyeh
Age: 48
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Quote:
also some of these caves have certain bacteria growing in it. These bacteria is responsible for certain type of cheese.
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2009-03-04, 17:03 | Link #1724 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: PMB Headquarters
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Ozawa may face calls to resign
This is getting interesting... Currently, based on last month's poll results... Ozawa, leader of the DPJ is being favored by the public with an approval rate of 25% as opposed to the current prime minister Taro Aso at 8%. Supposedly, the opposition party would definitely win the upcoming general election with ease but things took a wrong turn over the recent discovery of a political funding coverup by Ozawa's top aide. This means that the overall trust by the public towards Ozawa's leadership has become questionable, as to whether he would make a better prime minister if the DPJ were to win the next general election. On the contrary, considering that Ozawa had maintained his position as leader of his party uncompeted three terms straight indicates that there isn't a better candidate within the DPJ that is more capable than he is. Honestly, I do hope that Ozawa would step down considering that the guy visits China at least once a year. On the contrary, if the shadow minister is removed, then who within the DPJ will be capable of replacing him and winning the upcoming election, then forming a superior ruling government and save the economy? I have many doubts. However, it is also not okay for Taro Aso to continue as prime minister when his approval rate is in the single digits. Koizumi Junichiro is still the best choice for prime minister but the only problem is that he has already announced his retirement a few months ago meaning that he can no longer represent the Liberal Democratic Party as leader anymore and for him to form a new party within a few months of time, then gaining the trust and approval of the public is close to unlikely in terms of success. That means there is currently nobody capable of leading Japan as prime minister. The only way to fix the economy and to be prepared to handle things on the international stage is to first dissolve the House of Representatives and hold a general election but there is no point of doing so when both prime minister candidates are in a fix. How will this turn out in the coming months? I wonder.. |
2009-03-05, 03:29 | Link #1725 | |
On a sabbatical
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Wellington, NZ
Age: 43
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Quote:
Actually, the reason is SIMPLE! It has nothing to do with culture. It's due to freshness. Leftover food is perceived as not fresh and may not be good for your body. As Japanese are very conscious of the little details, every little bit counts. But, I don't like the idea that we throw 30% of our total food, when we import 60% of it from overseas. I have a when I organize a party - make more of food that can last for a few days without compromising much of its quality, and less of those that can't. Usually cooked food I prepare less because you have to reheat. Things like sushi, I have more [My fridge is spacious by Japanese home standards - I live further out towards the countryside in Kagoshima]. Sashimi is an exception - it's not wise to keep sashimi for too long.
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2009-03-05, 03:35 | Link #1726 |
Junior Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
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The Elgin/Parthenon Marbles
Just after reading your reactions to the chinese sculptures...just wondering if you guys think the Parthenon Marbles should be returned or not.
http://www.elginism.com/20090214/1733/#more-1733 |
2009-03-05, 05:16 | Link #1727 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2003
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Apologies if this has been posted already, but it seems pretty relevant to this site:
Future of 'anime' industry in doubt Money, success elude; outsourcing, piracy abound Quote:
But still. |
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2009-03-05, 05:22 | Link #1728 | |
Observer/Bookman wannabe
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 38
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Quote:
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2009-03-05, 05:37 | Link #1729 | ||
Moving in circles
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 49
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Quote:
Meanwhile: Aso's reading blunders spark study spree Quote:
Last edited by TinyRedLeaf; 2009-03-05 at 08:40. Reason: Added Aso story |
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2009-03-05, 19:09 | Link #1730 |
Obey the Darkly Cute ...
Author
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: On the whole, I'd rather be in Kyoto ...
Age: 66
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Or maybe he should level up his manga material and go for the late teen and grownup manga
Related articles also discuss how his blunders have bumped up the market for continuing education and self-help books on kanji in Japan. No one wants to make an Aso-blunder in public so he's like an anti-posterchild for good reading skills. "Practice hard or you'll look like Aso giving a speech"
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2009-03-05, 23:38 | Link #1732 |
Moving in circles
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 49
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Can you read Japanese? If you do, you'd realise that a sentence written entirely in kana can be just as difficult to understand, because there are so many homonyms in the language. There's an important reason why kanji is used in written Japanese, after all.
The problem arises, as suggested in the quoted article, from the use of one kanji for more than one native Japanese word. And since that's a legacy issue, I don't see how it can "solved" other than through very diligent study. That's why I regard Japanese as one of the most murderously difficult languages in the world to master. Chinese may seem intimidating because of its many more thousands of characters to remember but, in truth, its grammar is far simpler and therefore much easier to grasp. |
2009-03-05, 23:42 | Link #1733 | |
Senior Member
Author
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Philippines
Age: 47
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Quote:
Furthermore, Aso not able to read more complicated kanji is just as bad as having a shoe thrown at him.
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2009-03-06, 00:20 | Link #1734 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2009
Age: 35
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Quote:
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2009-03-06, 00:44 | Link #1735 | |
Senior Member
Author
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Philippines
Age: 47
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Now they've started giving out cash... at least in some parts, as a questionable measure:
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national...06TDY02305.htm Quote:
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2009-03-06, 01:24 | Link #1736 | |
Aria Company
Join Date: Nov 2003
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Quote:
Have you ever given a speech infront of cameras on national, perhaps international television? The issue here isn't understanding it, it's pronouncing it when making a speech. I suspect the problem is that when under pressure he defaults to the pronunciation he's most used to seeing automaticly. A problem that can be easily addressed by more preperation for the speech or writing those parts in kana. It's that he's not the best public speaker more than he isn't proficient. I doubt he'd make those same mistakes while reviewing documents in his office.
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2009-03-06, 02:28 | Link #1738 |
Aria Company
Join Date: Nov 2003
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True, but it'd be better than saying the completely wrong word because he misread the kanji. Really that's the lazy solution anyway. The better one would be the "reherse a bit more first" option. Once again, I suspect this is more a public speaking issue than a lack of proficiency. According to the article some of the mistakes are with basic kanji. In other words, he understands it and knows what he's supposed to say, but when he's actually reciting it, he makes some basic mistakes.
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2009-03-06, 03:39 | Link #1739 | |
On a sabbatical
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Wellington, NZ
Age: 43
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Quote:
Not really. It's still more complex than the simplified Chinese.
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2009-03-06, 09:40 | Link #1740 | |
Moving in circles
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Singapore
Age: 49
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Quote:
For the complex use of any language, not just Chinese or Japanese, you have to know its literature and history to understand some of its deeper, more subtle, nuances. I happen to have been an English literature student, which is why my understanding of English is very different from most people in my country. But that doesn't prevent them from becoming fluent in the language and, in fact, many of them are. Chinese is easier than Japanese, in my opinion, because its grammar is far simpler to master. For a start, you don't have to worry about tenses in Chinese. That alone makes life so much easier — you don't have to worry about stupid tense conjugations, like you do in Japanese or English. Yes, you're right about how some Chinese characters also have different pronounciations depending on the context, but the difference lies in frequency — there are far fewer such instances in Chinese than there are in Japanese. And then, there is the practical matter of keigo, which is an everyday concern in Japanese. While highly classical, esoteric forms of Chinese do exist, those forms are no longer used in vernacular speech today — their use is highly specialised and mainly limited to niche literary circles. But that is far from the case in Japan, where you have to watch how you say your words depending on who you're addressing, or you'd come across as being rude, a major social taboo. So, nope, I don't believe I'm "trying to emphasise how difficult Japanese is" by comparing it to Chinese. It really is a very difficult language for a non-native to master. Sure, Chinese is difficult too, especially for Westerners, but I don't think I've oversold its "simplicity" either. Hell, even I struggle with my mother tongue, so of course I understand the pain of studying Chinese. |
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current affairs, discussion, international |
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