Bento Box Song: Sandwich Version

While watching Shimajiro, a popular Japanese cartoon of a tiger cub that teaches kids little songs, manners and safety, I stumbled across an uncommon variation of the classic Bento Box Song (“Obento Bako no Uta”) that features more Western food — sandwiches! It’s kind of a chant with hand motions referencing food words that sound similar to numbers in Japanese. It’s less of a counting exercise than the original, but fun nonetheless. I also dug up a comedy show riff on the bento box song that Japanese speakers may get a kick out of — the Osaka comedienne in the video clip takes issue with the vagueness of the original lyrics and makes up new ones after bullying her fellow singers.

I don’t want to infringe on the Shimajiro copyright, so I made a quick YouTube video of me singing the song and doing the associated hand motions (what was I thinking? Thanks to my Twitter followers for humoring me!). Full lyrics and an English translation follow. While I was at it, I made a little video for the original Bento Box Song to show the hand motions, and added it to the old post.

Translation:

In a bento box about this size
Put in some sandwiches
Minced parsley, top it with mayonnaise
3 strawberries, 3 mandarin oranges, 3 eggs, 3 bananas
3 macaronis with holes in them
and bacon with sinews running throughout

Bento Box Song (Sandwich Version)

Kore kurai no, obento bako ni (trace a rectangular bento box with both index fingers)

sandoichi sandoichi choitto tsumete (hold up 3 fingers, then 1, 3, 1, then mime packing a bento box. “Sandwich” in Japanese sounds like the words for 3 and 1.)

kizami parsley ni mayonnaise kakete (make a squeezing motion like squeezing out Kewpie mayonnaise)

ichigo san (put up one finger, then three fingers. “Ichigo” strawberry sounds like the numbers 1 and 5 in Japanese)

mikan san (put up three fingers, then three fingers again. The “mi” in “mikan” sounds like 3 in Japanese)

tamago san (hands over head like an egg, then put up three fingers)

baanana san* (do “jazz hands” on either side of your face like “peekaboo!”, then put up three fingers)

ana no aita macaroni san (make a hole with index finger and thumb, wave hand left and right)

suji no toota bacon** (run right hand up left arm from hand up to shoulder, pull down one lower eyelid, then make a muscle with the other arm)

* The “baa” in “banana” is a sound-alike joke referencing the “baa” in Japanese peek-a-boo (called “inai inai baa”). To play “inai inai baa“, the adult hides their face with their hands, saying, “inai inai,” then uncovers their face while saying, “Baa!” Coincidentally, “Inai Inai Baa” is also the name of a long-running TV show on NHK for toddlers and their parents, teaching them little songs like Guru Guru Dokaan (click for video). It’s along the same lines as “Okaasan to Issho” (With Mom), both popular with the preschooler set in Japan.

** The “be” in bacon sounds like “akanbe“, a teasing gesture used by Japanese kids like “neener neener”. When kids do akanbe, they pull one lower eyelid down to show the red inner eyelid and stick out their tongue. Not polite!

RELATED POSTS:

View the original article here

Sketch diary: Cancer, the ladyparts version

Today I started a 3-week course of brachytherapy. Unlike the 6-week course of external beam radiation therapy that ended on Friday, which definitely made me feel pretty horrible, brachytherapy is not supposed to cause any adverse side effects. We shall see.

I know that many of you want me to get back the regular programming of recipes, food fun and Japanese things, but I thought I’d take this opportunity to describe the treatments I’ve been getting, and how they’ve affected me. I see a lot of information about what breast cancer treatment involves, but very little about Other Lady Parts cancer, which is what I have. So, if you are squeamish or not interested, you may want to skip the rest of this page.

……

I have what is called endometrial cancer, or cancer of the uterus. It’s at stage IIIB - my cancer had spread a bit past my uterus down to my cervix and vagina. I do want to emphasize that this type of cancer is supposed to be very treatable, and most patients that are diagnosed early enough as I was survive and lead healthy lives afterwards.

My treatment has been in three stages. The first stage was a full hysterectomy - the surgeons took out my uterus and cervix. A long incision was made in my lower abdomen to perform this surgery, and months later I still have a small opening there (about 5 cm / 2.5 inches long) that is leaking strange body fluids, itches, and prevents me from putting any strain on my belly. The side effect of this is that my back hurts pretty much constantly, especially when I’m standing. (Walking is a bit better.)

The second stage was a six week course (5 days a week) of external beam radiation therapy, where a beam of strong radiation was aimed at what remains of my lower lady parts. This stage made me pretty sick, as I described previously.

And now I’m in the final stage, brachytherapy. Once a week for 3 weeks, I’ll go to the radiology center where the oncologist puts a stick that’s about the size and length of a corn dog into me, leaves the room, and lets the stick thing zap me from the inside with radioactive waves for eight minutes. It doesn’t hurt, it’s just a bit uncomfortable and you know, slightly embarassing in the way a gynecological exam is.

I’m still feeling some of the after effects of the radiation therapy like diarrhea and fatigue, but I do think it’s getting slowly better. I no longer feel nauseous. I’m still very moody though. I tend to go from one extreme:

Cranky as hell

to the other:

Pathetic

I try to distract myself as much as possible with things like music, podcasts, audiobooks and marathon sessions of past and present seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race. It’s a bit hard to do much reading, because my eyes are really tired much of the time, and for some reason I don’t have enough patience to make it through a full 2-hour movie - I either get a headache or fall asleep. Oh yes, and I make little doodles like the ones you see here.

Some other annoying side effects: small itchy welts appearing all over my body (though they disappear quickly), a couple of larger and painful blisters, and developing hemorrhoids because of the constant diarrhea.

And, there’s no other way to say it but -

My recent tests have been good though, so everyone is optimistic about me making a full recovery (or as full as one can get - I’ll have to watch out for a relapse in some years). If you take anything away from this though: ladies, please get regular tests, especially if cancer runs in your family. I had neglected to do so, until it was almost too late. (As I’ve said on these pages before, my mother got cervical cancer when she was the same age that I was last year.) Cancer really sucks, no way around it. Bah, cancer. Bah.

View the original article here

Fluenz Version F2: Mandarin 1+2+3 (Win/Mac) with software DVDs, audio CDs, podcasts, and Navigator. Learn Chinese with the latest upgrade.

The only interactive language program featuring real teachers who guide learners every step of the way, explaining in English the intricacies and shortcuts of Chinese. Ideal for those who thrive in a teacher-oriented learning environment, who need to understand how the language works in plain English, and who seek relevant Chinese they can actually use while in China.
The team behind the application combines recent Harvard and Cornell graduates, some of whom went to China to learn the language and understand the specific challenges for English-speakers, seasoned Chinese teachers trained in the teaching of Mandarin to non-Chinese learners, and veterans of technology start-ups.
Fluenz Mandarin 1+2+3 is composed of 75 full sessions that each include up to two hours and thirty minutes of training. Every session features a set of clear, common sense tools that progressively increase the learner's range of communication. Instead of endless expressions that follow simple present tense sentences no one really needs (This is an apple, The woman runs), Fluenz builds steadily from useful structures like questions and commands (Where can I get a taxi?, Stop here), and useful vocabulary (restaurants, transportation, directions, etc.) to more and more complex speech. The third level focuses on work-related activities through intensive training with the past tense, the present progressive, subtle forms of description, measure words, conditionals, and strategies for using the right word order.

Price: $519.00

Click here to buy from Amazon

Bento Box Song: Sandwich Version

While watching Shimajiro, a popular Japanese cartoon of a tiger cub that teaches kids little songs, manners and safety, I stumbled across an uncommon variation of the classic Bento Box Song (”Obento Bako no Uta”) that features more Western food — sandwiches! It’s kind of a chant with hand motions referencing food words that sound similar to numbers in Japanese. It’s less of a counting exercise than the original, but fun nonetheless. I also dug up a comedy show riff on the bento box song that Japanese speakers may get a kick out of — the Osaka comedienne in the video clip takes issue with the vagueness of the original lyrics and makes up new ones after bullying her fellow singers.

I don’t want to infringe on the Shimajiro copyright, so I made a quick YouTube video of me singing the song and doing the associated hand motions (what was I thinking? Thanks to my Twitter followers for humoring me!). Full lyrics and an English translation follow. While I was at it, I made a little video for the original Bento Box Song to show the hand motions, and added it to the old post.

Translation:

In a bento box about this size
Put in some sandwiches
Minced parsley, top it with mayonnaise
3 strawberries, 3 mandarin oranges, 3 eggs, 3 bananas
3 macaronis with holes in them
and bacon with sinews running throughout

Bento Box Song (Sandwich Version)

Kore kurai no, obento bako ni (trace a rectangular bento box with both index fingers)

sandoichi sandoichi choitto tsumete (hold up 3 fingers, then 1, 3, 1, then mime packing a bento box. “Sandwich” in Japanese sounds like the words for 3 and 1.)

kizami parsley ni mayonnaise kakete (make a squeezing motion like squeezing out Kewpie mayonnaise)

ichigo san (put up one finger, then three fingers. “Ichigo” strawberry sounds like the numbers 1 and 5 in Japanese)

mikan san (put up three fingers, then three fingers again. The “mi” in “mikan” sounds like 3 in Japanese)

tamago san (hands over head like an egg, then put up three fingers)

baanana san* (do “jazz hands” on either side of your face like “peekaboo!”, then put up three fingers)

ana no aita macaroni san (make a hole with index finger and thumb, wave hand left and right)

suji no toota bacon** (run right hand up left arm from hand up to shoulder, pull down one lower eyelid, then make a muscle with the other arm)

* The “baa” in “banana” is a sound-alike joke referencing the “baa” in Japanese peek-a-boo (called “inai inai baa”). To play “inai inai baa“, the adult hides their face with their hands, saying, “inai inai,” then uncovers their face while saying, “Baa!” Coincidentally, “Inai Inai Baa” is also the name of a long-running TV show on NHK for toddlers and their parents, teaching them little songs like Guru Guru Dokaan (click for video). It’s along the same lines as “Okaasan to Issho” (With Mom), both popular with the preschooler set in Japan.

** The “be” in bacon sounds like “akanbe“, a teasing gesture used by Japanese kids like “neener neener”. When kids do akanbe, they pull one lower eyelid down to show the red inner eyelid and stick out their tongue. Not polite!

RELATED POSTS:

View the original article here