another "I'm still alive" post

Sorry, sorry, sorry. I want to do more of these, it's just a matter of time and being busy. Tokyo moves fast, and to make enough money to stay afloat and study hard every day is a full time job, plus other things I stack on that. March is also one of the BUSIEST months of the year in Japan. Blah blah excuses etc. I have a movie half-finished I'll get around to it as soon as I am able.

Remember, I take submissions if anyone wants to prepare a movie template for this blog? *cricket chirps*

Happy trails and study hard!

Happy new year!!

Hey folks, happy 2010. To make a long story short (too late) without going into a ton of detail (that's what my other blog is for) it's been a hell of a ride lately, and I haven't had any time to work on new movie templates. However, once I've caught up with my 1500+ overdue flashcards in anki and am back on track, I should have time to do more. I see this blog, while by no means immensely popular, has some people following it, so I'll do my best to help myself help you help me. =D

I think I passed jlpt2, but won't know until mid-February. =/ Either way, I have no plans on working toward jlpt1 at the moment, as I've decided it would make more sense to review what I know, improve more relevant speaking/reading skills and hopefully get a killer translation job before the year is out. How's that for new years resolutions?

JLPT got me by the balls

Sorry for no posts. The Level 2 JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) is fast approaching, now 13 days away, so I am left to the less efficient but more practical methods of rote memorization to try and cram cram cram until the test. I should continue this blog some time early next year.

If anyone would like to contribute in my stead, just let me know! :)

It's alive, it's aliiiiiive!

I had a thought that now would be a good time to write in a little intercession post, and low and behold, it's been precisely 3 months to the day since I started this blog! With over a dozen movies under the belt, can I say this method has helped my ability to read and retain Japanese on-yomi? The answer is a resounding Y E S!!!

I remember reading on a forum (perhaps the RTK ones) something about how "the only good way to memorize on-yomi is through vocabulary. I couldn't disagree more! At least in my experience. For example, sometimes I have tried to remember them via cross-referencing vocab in my mind However, since they're all compounds, (2, 3, 4 characters) they are easily confused this way! If I think, ok, it's the けい from 経験... but god, which kanji was pronounced けい again?!? It can lead to lots of problems. And, as is the whole PURPOSE of the life-changing book "Remembering the Kanji," I wanted to break out of just boring, repetitous rote memorization. Yaaawwwnnn.

Some tips in execution of the method that I've worked out recently:

-Whenever you find a scene where you want to associate the image with a character, pause the movie. Watch that scene while writing the character and repeating the on-yomi to yourself 10 times or so. Remind yourself of it later, after the movie is finished.

-Don't worry about learning every character! As I've mentioned before, partial retention is all we are going for here. Naturally, some templates (lists of on-yomi groups) will contain not so memorable stories from not so memorable scenes. When the vocab comes up (I do 100+ flashcard through anki a day, myself) take a look at the template, remind yourself of the scene. Eventually, it will stick! And, as with RTK, eventually the story/movie scene will be long forgotten, whilst you retain the on-yomi!

I know this site only has a handful of followers, but for those who are trying this experiment with me, keep it up! I plan to keep this going strong as long as possible.

Over and out,

-Ben

P.S. Star Wars is next, I think. ;)