I was playing on guitar this too famous hit song by Vanessa Paradis with the chords below for nearly 5 years:
Em C D Am
This chord line also can also be applicated to 'Moi Lilota' by Alisee. Then I suddenly felt like listening to the original Joe le Taxi on YOU TUBE which made me realise that I was playing the wrong chords for ages... how shameful it was!! The proper one goes like this:
Em C Am D
This, with a major chord at the end, seems to give a rather positive impression than the old one I used to play... Of course the song is Cha-cha-cha it has to be more like cheerful. I just remembered now.
2008-07-31
2008-07-26
Yakitori at Iseya Kichijoji
After attending a Summer festival among the crowd and the heat, we decided to eat at Iseya renewaled recently. Anyway it was my first time to go there so I can't compare the difference with the old building.
Iseya now has 1st floor with air-conditioner but still keeps the standing part with a counter where you can see the grill and smell the smoke.
We sat on a small table squeezed with other customers holding our bags on our knees, and ordered a nice cold beeeeeer to start with.
The bar's recommendation was: home made Xiu Mai (dumpling) and brochettes of chicken and Kentucky oyster(photo : Kashira, Gatsu, Nankotsu) which I'm not that fond of...
My favourite was Xiu Mai made with juicy pork meat. As Iseya is Yakitori bar it might be more polite to recommend theire brochettes (which were still very nice) but as an impact I rather enjoyed their hearty Xiu Mai.
How to avoid Clumps of Sugar
Jusp put a piece of bread (about 4cm squares) in your sugar pot so that the bread absorb moisture.
(learned from Martha Stewart's recipe 'Rocky Ledge Bars')
(learned from Martha Stewart's recipe 'Rocky Ledge Bars')
2008-07-20
A Small Confidence becomes Motivation
I must admit that I was losing confidence with my language skills till I had a chat with my professor who also works as interpretor-translator.
I was ashamed to ask for his advise of keeping up with my skill or even to develop, as I knew too well that it was my lasiness that kept me away from learning.
Another friend posed him the question instead then he said:
'How can you improve your language skill when you just see a script in Arabic? or in the language you've never seen? Never.'
Then I realized there should be some way to go up and explore the hill of a language if you recognize a part of it.
He told us it took 10 years since he started studying language, till he got a work of using it. As many other language professionals say, the more you spend time studing, the more you earn.
It is never too late to start little by little. But never to hurry!
I was ashamed to ask for his advise of keeping up with my skill or even to develop, as I knew too well that it was my lasiness that kept me away from learning.
Another friend posed him the question instead then he said:
'How can you improve your language skill when you just see a script in Arabic? or in the language you've never seen? Never.'
Then I realized there should be some way to go up and explore the hill of a language if you recognize a part of it.
He told us it took 10 years since he started studying language, till he got a work of using it. As many other language professionals say, the more you spend time studing, the more you earn.
It is never too late to start little by little. But never to hurry!
2008-07-19
Hop Tac Xa ～ Vietnamese Slang
Railway Story is one of my favourite TV shows. The series last week was about Vietnam Railway; reportage throughout 40h trip from Sai Gon to Ha Noi.
Not to mention that the content was satisfying but I was rather paying attention to the staff members' list shown at the ending of the programme.
My eyes spotted at 'Hop Tac Xa ... Vietnam' which seemed a familiar name to me.
Hop Tac Xa = 合作社 (Hop=合 Tac=作 Xa=社)
The real meaning of the term is 'Corporative' where everything is shared and split evenly.
Then after a while I realized it was a slang in Vietnamese which means:
'to split the bill'.
If you stay in Vietnam for a certain time, you might realize at restaurants, that the bill is almost never shared among friends. It is usually payed by the most rich in the group or by someone who just had an income.
It is actually rude to share the bill, which can mean you won't accept the friendship in that group. So, you never 'Hop Tac Xa' with friends in Vietnam.
However if you are not comfortable with letting someone pay the bill, you can just say:
'Hop Tac Xa di!'
A very casual and frank way to suggest, and would surprise your Vietnamese friends of using this term as an etranger!
Not to mention that the content was satisfying but I was rather paying attention to the staff members' list shown at the ending of the programme.
My eyes spotted at 'Hop Tac Xa ... Vietnam' which seemed a familiar name to me.
Hop Tac Xa = 合作社 (Hop=合 Tac=作 Xa=社)
The real meaning of the term is 'Corporative' where everything is shared and split evenly.
Then after a while I realized it was a slang in Vietnamese which means:
'to split the bill'.
If you stay in Vietnam for a certain time, you might realize at restaurants, that the bill is almost never shared among friends. It is usually payed by the most rich in the group or by someone who just had an income.
It is actually rude to share the bill, which can mean you won't accept the friendship in that group. So, you never 'Hop Tac Xa' with friends in Vietnam.
However if you are not comfortable with letting someone pay the bill, you can just say:
'Hop Tac Xa di!'
A very casual and frank way to suggest, and would surprise your Vietnamese friends of using this term as an etranger!
2008-07-18
Souffle at Rokusei Satei
I sat down in relief at the corner of Rokusei Satei Cafe and ordered Souffle with Coconut & Mango Sauce for a taste of nice Summer breeze.You read the instruction card : 'How to eat our Souffle' while the souffle has been baked (20mins).
The sauce melts so tenderly inside the souffle and harmonize with the sponge. Gorgeous!
The girl who explained me the way on the phone also showed me neatly on the map how to get to the next destination...to a hunt for Konpeito*!!
*Japanese traditional star-shaped sweets made of sugar and flavourings. It takes 10-20 days to form the particular shape of Konpeito.
2008-07-07
Input and Output
To keep up and develop your language skill,
you might think (or at least i used to think just simply) the best way is to speak in that language when communicating with others.
but you start forgetting that language because you don't live in that country anymore and lost opportunity to speak and listen so that your hearing skill would be maintained naturally.
well, that was MY own excuse of being too lazy to stick with language learning for the past 3 years till now when Mr.N gave me some training advise:
it is certainly important to speak in that language (output) but there is always a limit of vocabs and phrases if the communicators are not native speakers.
so this is where 'input' plays its role.
just read, read, read, read, read... whatever you're interested in to start with (input) in order to enrich your vocabs and expressions you might need for communicating.
then write, write, write, write, write... (output) so that you can easily find the missing expression you might want to use and forced to go and get the missing word you're looking for (in a dictionary etc).
so here is the 4 basic ways that everyone knows already...
(but is annoyed to continue because you can't see the result).
#1 speak with friends/family with that language > output
#2 listen, listen, listen > input
#3 read, read, read > input
#4 write, write, write > output
here is what i do ...
#1 speak > try to find and speak with native friends (once a month)
#2 listen > films, news (3times a week)
#3 read > TIME magazines, novels (everyday)
#4 write > mails (everyday), BLOG!!
Quitters never win, winners never quit.
you might think (or at least i used to think just simply) the best way is to speak in that language when communicating with others.
but you start forgetting that language because you don't live in that country anymore and lost opportunity to speak and listen so that your hearing skill would be maintained naturally.
well, that was MY own excuse of being too lazy to stick with language learning for the past 3 years till now when Mr.N gave me some training advise:
it is certainly important to speak in that language (output) but there is always a limit of vocabs and phrases if the communicators are not native speakers.
so this is where 'input' plays its role.
just read, read, read, read, read... whatever you're interested in to start with (input) in order to enrich your vocabs and expressions you might need for communicating.
then write, write, write, write, write... (output) so that you can easily find the missing expression you might want to use and forced to go and get the missing word you're looking for (in a dictionary etc).
so here is the 4 basic ways that everyone knows already...
(but is annoyed to continue because you can't see the result).
#1 speak with friends/family with that language > output
#2 listen, listen, listen > input
#3 read, read, read > input
#4 write, write, write > output
here is what i do ...
#1 speak > try to find and speak with native friends (once a month)
#2 listen > films, news (3times a week)
#3 read > TIME magazines, novels (everyday)
#4 write > mails (everyday), BLOG!!
Quitters never win, winners never quit.
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