A few months ago I decided I needed a Tablet for doodling directly to the computer. In the past when I wanted to draw an illustration or embellish someone’s photo with a mustache, I would have to draw it out on a piece of paper (or photo as in the case of the mustache), [...]

In preparation for the move to a new server and CMS, I’ve been revamping (and sometimes totally redoing) much of the old content from TJP.
Since I’ve spent just about all the creativity I had working on the move, here is an old article I wrote probably around 2000 about a few interesting katakanaized English words:
カタカナ語 [...]

Here is a fun word I just heard:
(from Kenkyusha’s 新和英大辞典)
ひょうへん　【豹変】
a drastic change in character
～する suddenly change; change character; become somebody different; change one’s spots

This is an interesting word. First, let’s break it down:
豹 hyou leopard (the big cat)
変 hen change (into)
You may think it means to suddenly become as ferocious as a leopard, but [...]

I have spent several weeks reading up and playing with Drupal, the new Content Management Software (CMS) we are looking at for www.TheJapanesePage.com.

I’ve spent weeks and I am just now starting to feel like I understand how it works - on a very basic level. I am used to simple to admin CMSes. [...]

Ok. It’s taken me weeks to finally get to it, but I finally made a quick video showing off Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary SD card for the Casio XD-GW9600. This is Jack Halpern’s kanji dictionary for English speakers learning kanji.
This does NOT come with the Casio XD-GW9600 but is sold separately as an [...]

Good news about coffee.
Apparently coffee has soluble fiber, more antioxidants than blueberries and regular drinkers have a lower risk of heart disease.
This is good news for Japan.
When you think of coffee in Japan, nay, when you think of Bottomless cups of American Coffee* in Japan, only one thing comes to mind - Mister Donut.
ミスタードーナツ [...]

The Wall Street Journal has a site dedicated to news on technology with a growing video site. Most interestingly are the videos from the Wall Street Journal’s D conference which brings the industry’s top movers and shakers together for an informal chat.
If you are a technology news junkie, you may want to check it [...]

Building upon the first podcast, this episode covers adding a か ka at the end to change a statement into a question.

何か食べたいです。　I want something to eat.
nanika tabetai desu.
[Note: the 'I' is assumed, but it just as easily be 'you' in the right context.]
To make that into a question, just add か
何か食べたいですか？ Would you like something [...]

Since I ordered an MP3 player (see this post), I logically decided I should make a podcast.
Here is the first one:

I’d love to hear comments and criticisms since I’ve never done this before.
Phrases covered:
何か食べたいです。 nanika tabetai desu. I’d like something to eat.
何か飲みたいです。 nanika nomitai desu. I’d like something to drink.
The focus is on the ーたい [...]

While casually reviewing my stats, I noticed someone had found this site by searching Google for “japanese word for clay”. Of course my name is ‘Clay’ but I kind of doubt our web surfer had that meaning in mind. I’m sure he meant… the dirty word.
No doubt he left the site disappointed since, [...]