Japanese Pronunciation for Communication

From school Waseda University

It's a video for people who want to learn Japanese well, and its made by a very famous school in Japan : Waseda University.
Very different from any textbook, it's about how to speak correctly in Japanese. Different pitch at the first or at the end can result in very different meaning. We can also learn grammar at the same time because every time it gives an example, we get the meaning, so we can trace back to the original sentence to see how the grammar is used.

Pepper & Carrot Ep1 ~ 7

Some of the chapters are really short with no words, but unlike Asian comics,this is what foreign comics should be. Different episodes would use words for different situation, we do not learn these from the books, which is good because we don't quote everything from books.
It is relatively easy for me to read these episodes. The comic is more a like fantasy/game genre, which is likely to appear in the contents of games.

Turtle's Flute

Turtle's flute is about a turtle who can play a flute, and animals dance to the music whenever they hear it. One time, a man heard the music and thought that the turtle's making sound and she must taste good. The man later on lured the turtle and captured her, but his children were interested with her music and eventually got tricked to free the turtle.

Vocabulary

groan

• a deep, long sound showing great pain or unhappiness

We could hear the groans of the wounded soldiers.

stiff 

• If you are stiff or part of your body is stiff, your muscles hurt when they are moved

Sitting still at a computer terminal all day can give you a stiff neck.

strain

• something that makes you feel nervous and worried

He's been under a lot of strain recently.

Heart Attack Reflection

numb

• When she first heard the news, she was numb with disbelief.

 gasp

• When she saw the money hidden in the box she gasped in surprise

 break a sweat

• That test was so easy, I aced it without even breaking a sweat.

 I dont really listen to English song, and this is the song I found when I was in vocational high school. My teacher told us to do the cup trick which this channel did to cover the background music, so I found this song accidentally. I don't really read lyrics if I don't sing the song, so I purely find this song great to listen,and the singer, in my opinion is better than the original singer, also the instrument fits me too.

Heart Attack

Heart Attack
Originally by Demi Lovato
This is a cover by Sam Tsui and Chrissy Costanza
They are both american

Lyrics:

You never put your love out on the line
You never said "Yes" to the right guy
You never had trouble getting what you want
But when it comes to you, I'm never good enough

[Chrissy:]
When I don't care
I can play 'em like a Ken doll
Won't wash my hair
Then make 'em bounce like a basketball

[Chrissy/Sam:]
But you make me wanna act like a girl
Paint my nails and wear high heels for you
You make me so nervous
That I just can't hold your hand

[Chrissy/Sam:]
You make me glow,
But you cover up
Don't let it show,
So I'm...

[Chrissy/Sam:]
Puttin' my defenses up
'Cause I don't wanna fall in love
If I ever did that
I think I'd have a heart attack
I think I'd have a heart attack
I think I'd have a heart attack

[Chrissy:]
Never break a sweat for the other guys
When you come around, I get paralyzed
And every time I try to be myself
It comes out wrong like a cry for help

[Sam:]
It's just not fair
Brings more trouble than love is worth
I gasp for air
It feels so good, but you know it hurts

[Chrissy/Sam:]
But you make me wanna act like a girl
Paint my nails and wear perfume for you
You make me so nervous
That I just can't hold your hand

[Chrissy/Sam:]
You make me glow,
But you cover up
Don't let it show,
So I'm...

[Chrissy/Sam:]
Puttin' my defenses up
'Cause I don't wanna fall in love
If I ever did that
I think I'd have a heart attack
I think I'd have a heart attack
I think I'd have a heart attack

[Chrissy/Sam:]
The feelings are lost in my lungs
They're burning, I'd rather be numb
And there's no one else to blame
So scared I take off and I run
I'm flying too close to the sun
And I burst into flames

[Sam:]
You make me glow,
But you cover up
Won't let it show,
So I'm...

[Chrissy/Sam:]
Puttin' my defenses up
Puttin' my defenses up
'Cause I don't wanna fall in love
If I ever did that
I think I'd have a heart attack
I think I'd have a heart attack
I think I'd have a heart attack
I think I'd have a heart attack
I think I'd have a heart attack

How to speak so that people want to listen

Link of the TED
Speaker: Julian Treasure
Duration: 9:55

Words

• exhaustive

Including or considering all elements or aspects; fully comprehensive.

the guide outlines every bus route in exhaustive detail

•  Penultimate

Last but one in a series of things; second last.

the penultimate chapter of the book 

•  dogmatism

The tendency to lay down principles as undeniably true, without consideration of evidence or the opinions of others.

We lack the religious dogmatism and discipline of the other religions who are posing a threat to the very fabric of our religion

Reflection

This TED introduces about the reason why people don't want to listen to us at times and how should we improve it.
Me myself is not a good talker, but I know that's because I am not good at making conversation with people except my close family members.
Of course the talk is perfect, but the method may not be suitable for everyone.

E:Dictionary

morphs
to gradually change, or change someone or something, from one thing to another
When someone brings up politics at a party, a casual conversation can quickly morph into an ugly argument.

niche
an opportunity to sell a particular product to a particular group of people
They spotted a niche in the market, with no serious competition.

compelling
that makes you pay attention to it because it is so interesting and exciting
Her latest book makes compelling reading.

tout
to advertise, talk about, or praise something,especially as a way of encouraging people to like, accept, or buy something
A local car dealership was touting its services/wares on the radio.

iterative
(of a process) that involves repeating a process or set of instructions again and again, each time applying it to the result of the previous stage
We used an iterative process of refinement and modification.