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Recent Posts
Author Archives: Confanity
Extrapolator extraordinaire
Sherlock Holmes again! 一を聞いて十を知る (Ichi wo kiite juu wo shiru; “Hearing one; knowing ten”) Definition: Having great powers of reasoning and understanding. Learning one part and understanding the whole. Hearing just a little bit about something is enough for the … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Kotowaza
Tagged a word to the wise, Analects, Sherlock Holmes, 十を知る, 一を聞いて
2 Comments
An apple a day… may help.
医食同源 i.shoku.dou.gen Literally: medicine – food – same – source Alternately: Just as medicine is used to cure diseases, eating well is key to maintaining one’s health. The best defense against ill health is a proper balanced diet (as an … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged doctor-chef wars, good diet, health, medicine, 医食, 同源
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Magic Monday – Bigger than baby steps
Small Steps (Unseen Travel; Shadow Travel) This odd but versatile spell involves repeated physical entry and exit into and from the Shadow (the spiritual reflection of the material plane). It reduces the difficulty and stresses of this passage by making … Continue reading
Darker than Black… is not a sequel
青は藍より出でて藍より青し (Ao wa ai yori idete ai yori aoshi; “Blue comes from indigo and is bluer than indigo.”) Definition: “The student has surpassed the master.” Alternately, hard work and study can lead to greater levels of ability than innate talent. … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Kotowaza
Tagged blue, bluer than indigo, colors, dyer's knotweed, 藍, 青, indigo, Xun Kuang
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A scene in every horror movie ever
I’ve done themed posts several times in the past, picking a yojijukugo or kotowaza based on the number of the post, or some event or holiday happening around the same time. This is the start of a new sub-project, in … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged horror, searching blindly, Sui-Tang jiahua, trial and error, 摸索, 暗中, 模索
1 Comment
More words; more mamas
There’s been a bit of a breakthrough on the “mama” front. First, let’s take stock of the kid’s cognitive and linguistic development. He’s picking up more words, for starters. He clearly understands the names of meals (he gets excited when … Continue reading
Posted in Musing, Nonfiction
Tagged cognitive development, linguistic development, the kid
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Magic Monday – A spell for finding Nemo?
Old Salt Song This song, or chant, is an example of hedge-magic: a ritual, or slow-cast spell, primarily preserved and practiced by common folk rather than academics or specialists. Every fishing village or port town along the coast of the … Continue reading
[Star Trek reboot reference]
This is why I check after every post goes up to make sure everything actually went as scheduled. 一寸先は闇 (Issun saki wa yami; “One sun ahead is darkness”) Definition: What lies before us, even an inch away, is darkness (metaphorically). … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Kotowaza
Tagged darkness, 闇, sun, units of measure, unknowability, 一寸
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♪ Whatever you want, is fine by me…. ♫
Great for next time you want somebody to choose where to eat, perhaps! 付和雷同 fu.wa.rai.dou Literally: attach – harmony – thunder/lightning – same Alternately: Having no thoughts or opinions of one’s own. Bonelessly going along with whatever other people around … Continue reading
Posted in Japanese, Yojijukugo
Tagged blindly following, Book of Rites, 礼記, 雷同, no opinion, 付和
3 Comments
Magic Monday – Forget-me-do
Reap Memory This ritual allows memories to be extracted wholesale from the victim’s mind. The magician must speak with the victim on multiple occasions for a significant amount of time (at least about half an hour), on each occasion making … Continue reading
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