Archive for the ‘Resources’ Category

Rikai Widgets on the Nipponster Japan Toolbar

On October 23, 2008 in Announcements, Japanese Toolbar, On the J-web, Resources, Suggestions Please

Working on too many things…

Thankfully I made time for things that matter too.

I have caught up with my email (inbox zero!) and replied to all comments (hopefully).

I also added some goodies to the Nipponster Japan Toolbar for you.

They are from Rikai’s “syndicate me” page.

By putting them on the Japan Toolbar users like you can access them right from your browser! (good for extra laziness)

Here is what it looks like:

Of course you have to download/install the Japan Toolbar if you haven’t already (it’s easy).

Here are the rikai widgets in action (of course with the toolbar you don’t have to come here to use them):

Kanji of the day -

Kanji recall quiz -

Japanese phrase of the day -

Japan photo of the day -

I have the sneaky suspicion that I have set these up on the toolbar wrong (they may not update daily), I will check them later to see if they update. If you notice any problems let me know, yeah?

And if you have any suggestions for the Japan Toolbar just let me know. I’m at your service.

Have a great day
DailyJ

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playing catchup, japanblogger.net, and some widgets from Rikai

On October 21, 2008 in Announcements, Resources

I’m still behind shedule with email and commenting, but slowly making progress.

I put up a link to JapanBlogger.net as a top link on dailyJ.  Jblogger is great and it seems to complement the other top links, plus I told Billy I would put it there if he relaunched the site.

I am working on something with some widgets I found on Rikai. You can add them to your website. Rikai language widgets

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JLPT not worth it? Rather likely. And All Japanese All The Time

On October 01, 2008 in Interviews we'd like to do, On the J-web, Resources

As a hater of standardised testing this post on AllJapaneseAllTheTime about the JLPT makes a lot sense.

Khatzu is another amazing writer (like yesterday’s firefly). I’ve always liked Khatzu’s blog but haven’t spent as much time on it as I probably should (I wish I had 48hrs in a day. Of course, I’d only give you 24 ), so I thought I’d make up for that with a little post.

My favourite part of the post is that is a really cool rant (which I’m also known for. ok, maybe mine aren’t as cool) and at the same time very informative.

Khatzu, if you are reading, keep up the great work!

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Jim Breen. Japan-related tools

On September 24, 2008 in Nerd Rant, On the J-web, Resources

Warning: Nerdy content to follow

Hopefully, you know who that man in the title is. Yes, I am going on another rant about Jim Breen.

To me, he is one of the most interesting characters on the J-web.

His was one of the first Japan-related websites I ever visited (all of my Japanese teachers recommended him). And his wwwjdic (J/E dictionary) and Japanese page are two of my favourite www resources.

But more than that, I love his interest in Japan-related tools.

I think that tools have been overlooked some lately on the J-web (Nihonhacks’ post about rikaichan is a pleasant exception). Or maybe they are just taking new forms (like JapanSoc as an example of a tool). Either way, I am excited to see what tools we dream up next.

Anyway (before I get off topic here), what I really want to mention are some interesting articles and lecture notes from Jim Breen’s past classes at Monash University.

Two of my favourite subjects are Japan and computer technology (especially web tech). I would have loved to have taken one of Jim’s classes!

There is an archive of Jim Breen’s papers. Now these are some high quality Japan-related web rants!

I found a few interesting ones that the nerds amongst us might also like (see the end of this post), but I will only highlight one. It relates some to Nipponster and the way Japan-related information (and information in Japanese) is organised and searched.

WWW Search Engines and Japanese Text

An interesting quote from the article:

“…it is known that both Google and Yahoo use Basis Technology Corp’s Rosette Language Analyzer software”

I had never heard of that software. I know that Google is currently working on one of the largest translation software projects in history. It will be interesting to see what this technology brings about. I wonder who at Google Japan is in charge of this type of research and what they have to say about it.

What do you think about all of this? I always look forward to seeing what others have to say about these things, so please comment!

And have a great day,

DailyJ

p.s. Koichi has a good post about using Jim Breen’s Japanese dictionary on the iphone.

p.p.s. More interesting Jim Breen articles:

Japanese translation and the computer - the past, the present and the future

Computing in Japanese; what are the frontiers now?

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Web 2.0 expo, in Tokyo

On September 20, 2008 in Announcements, Resources, fun

The webmaster over at altsearchengines.com sent me an email about the Tokyo Web 2.0 Expo.

It looks interesting.

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Ninja lessons for J-bloggers

On September 18, 2008 in Announcements, Helping Japan Bloggers, Resources

Attention Japan-bloggers and webmasters: 

Nick over at Longcountdown.com recently posted about a collection of over 70,000 video tutorials!

Included in the collection are video tutorials for web developers (html, css, php, javascript, etc.)

These, young grasshopper, are your lessons in the ancient art of J-blogging.

Enjoy.

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JLPT hacks! - today on the J-web

On September 13, 2008 in On the J-web, Resources

Web superstar Thomas Hjelm of NihonHacks.com has posted some great tips for all of us looking to beat the JLPT beast.

First on the list:

How to buy your JLPT applications online!

And if you liked that one you’ll love this one:

The “motherload” - 17 years of past JLPT tests!!!
I also dug up some more good JLPT info from Quaisi.net

We’ll beat that test yet!

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JapanBlogger.net - an answer to our need

On September 11, 2008 in Future of the J-web, Helping Japan Bloggers, On the J-web, Resources

I have been talking some recently with BillyWest about his newest creation, JapanBlogger.net

If you haven’t checked it out yet, now is the time.

For Japan-bloggers and your everyday Japan-enthusiast alike JapanBlogger.net is an indispensable site.

The concept is something that was long talked about, even here on DailyJ (see Chris’s comment in this post)

So let’s look at some of the main features of JapanBlogger

#1 The dynamic blog roll.

This makes a great edition to any Japan blog. Nick from JapanSoc worked together with BillyWest on this. Great work!

#2 Besides rating blogs, JapanBlogger is a good blog directory. Users can comment on blogs and others can read and find out about more blogs in one sitting than they could if they had to go to each blog individually.

#3 It works also as a blog portal. This is a subtle difference but an important one.

When a user clicks on a blog, that blog opens up in a new window and can be closed out taking the user right back to JapanBlogger to browse other blogs. How cool is that?!

I’ve been using it quite a bit lately and have to say it is a fun and easy way to surf J-blogs.

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Finally some grown-up Japan content! - The Message Garrett & Ken are broadcasting about Japan and why you, J-blogger, should listen - An exclusive interview with Trans-Pacific Radio

On September 10, 2008 in Interviews, Resources, fun

 

(Here it is as promised, with apologies for lateness) 

That title is probably the longest title I have ever written (and I am notorious for long titles!), but I think it is a fitting one. Well, maybe not if you thought “grown-up content” meant something illicit. None of that here, sorry pervs.

For one, the long title is fitting as this is the longest post I have ever posted. I know several people have said “Don’t divide up the interview posts on DailyJ.” To you I say, I have listened. This interview is all in one post. To everyone else, the real reason :

This interview with Trans-Pacific Radio flows so well and really speaks so much for itself that I just can’t put it into pieces and it needs no commentary from me. Garrett and Ken answered my questions so masterfully, and left me (in awe) thinking “we could learn something from these people!”

So, dear reader, I am giving you this interview in one sitting. But I suggest you sit and read it many times. I also strongly suggest you head over to TPR, go there often, and take in some hearty Japan-related knowledge. It is there for you to study and savour.

The other reason why I think the title is fitting is that it (hopefully) encapsulates the message TPR has regarding media coverage of Japan.

J-bloggers, I know you love the wacky, weird and wonderful of Japan. The food, the entertainment, the gadgets (amongst other things…). We are a bunch of Peter Pans running our mouths about Neverland (and I guess that is ok, but…)

Today we grow up (at least a little). So sit up and pay attention because today Garret and Ken are at the podium with a message so meaty it just might put some hair on that boyish chest

Without further ado, let’s hear from Garrett:

DailyJ: What is the mission/vision of TPR? What is it all about? And what motivated you to start it?

Garrett: Basically, I listened to a fair number of podcasts - I’ve always been a radio fan (but bought my first TV just before my 28th birthday - go figure) - and I was happy to see that there was a good bit of interesting content available (NPR and Chicago Public Radio got into podcasting early and made a sizable number of their shows available in this new format.)  However, the lack of coverage of East Asia was yet again made obvious.   Here was one of the world’s most populous and wealthiest nations - Japan - in a region containing nearly half of the world’s people and a good deal of its growth in economic terms as well as terms of political influence, and it was all but ignored in the Anglophone media!
 
So, long story short, I wanted to help fill that gap.  I wanted to start a podcast, Ken was already blogging.  He turned me onto blogging and, within maybe thirty seconds, convinced me that a blog was the ideal platform from which to launch a podcast, so that’s what we did.
 
It seems odd to me now, but less than two years ago, I knew next to nothing about blogs or blogging and had an entirely erroneous impression of the blogosphere as a self-congratulatory network of shut-ins working on vanity projects.  Now I know that some of the vain self-congratulators sometimes go out as well.  Ken and I frequently meet readers and listeners to drink and chew the fat.  (I’m kidding about the vain, self-congratulating thing.)
 
Since we started in August of 2006, the number and quality of blogs focusing on the serious side of Japan have increased, which is simply awesome, in both senses of the word.
When I write, talk, or do research for TPR, I have a sort of guiding philosophy: “Japan is an actual country, just as much as any other and it is allowed to be interesting in its own right.”
 
The weird and wacky side of Japan has a place - and it is real, don’t get me wrong - but it represents only a tiny slice of the people here and an even tinier slice of what’s important.
 
In the Anglophone media, the French presidential elections will be followed for months, with insightful editorials, analyses, and more!  What does Japan, with nearly three times the population and many times the economic might get?  About as much space as the oft-maligned cat up the tree.  And when Japan is mentioned, it’s either with a focus on the weird and wacky, a string of unresearched cliches about salarymen, or with an eye toward what it means for the US military.
 
I think that’s disgraceful.  I’m not vain enough to think that TPR can do much more at the moment than be a place where those interested in Japan can discuss the issues of the day, but I think TPR, and a handful of others, is taking steps in the direction of rectifying a serious problem.

DailyJ: So, as you take those steps, where do you see the site going in the future? What will change, what will stay the same?

Garrett: TPR will keep improving at releasing podcasts and articles on a regular basis.  (At times, it feels like we’ve bitten off more than we can chew.)  We hope to keep TPR News a regular distillation of the main events making headlines in Japan and get it out there more often.  Seijigiri, our political show, and BizCast Japan, the business show, of course, keep attracting more and more listeners, so we hope to make those shows better.

Over time, I hope our “this day in history” posts will be numerous and detailed enough to cover the entire calendar, would like to more regularly write editorials and revive our Shasetsu category, and branch out into other areas of audio work.

We have a new look in mind for TPR, too.  We’re excited about that.  It’ll enable to do a lot more with the site and make it more accessible, useful, and, we hope, interesting to the steadily growing number of people who visit TPR every day.

                

(Update: From the time they answered the interview earlier this year, TPR has been really busy. Here is a breakdown of TPR’s current features)

DailyJ: Since we are talking about your different categories and content, which would you say have been your favourites? And why?

Garrett: This is a very difficult question for a few reasons.  First and foremost, we try to avoid posting anything we don’t like.  Most of our posts tend to be rather long-form for a blog and often include audio.  The time when one of us dashes off a quick post are rare.
Second, I’ll freely admit that different programs and different types of posts require different things from us.  TPR News, for example, often involves three people researching, writing, recording, and editing with one of us putting everything together as a final step.  Obviously, that’s quite a bit different from a show like Seijigiri, where Ken and I are together in a room and nothing is scripted.  Then there are the Shasetsu and Rekishi posts, which are solo efforts and tend to take longer to prepare.

Now that I’m done dodging the question, I’ll answer by telling you which posts I most enjoyed producing.
In no particular order:

Nova Employees: Their Voices, Their Stories: This was really Ken’s baby, but I enjoyed it as well.  There were a few technical hurdles to overcome, a lot of people to coordinate, and it was highly time-sensitive.  This might be the closest thing to actual journalism TPR has done.

Seijigiri #10: Ken and I clicked on this one, I just remember it going really well and being a lot of fun.

おい、いじめをやめろ！目を覚ませ、先生！(Bully, knock it off. Teacher, wake up!): This was the first long opinion piece I wrote on TPR and it got a really good response.  I’m locquacious, I like it when I can sit back and just tell a story.

Nippon Pro Baseball’s Central League (日本プロ野球のセ・リーグ): We were drinking beer, talking about baseball, and Chris sang the Swallows’ take on “Tokyo Ondo,” which means we had a valid reason to say ” kutabare Yomiuri” over and over again.  What’s not to like?  I also really like the way the musical template for the NPB on TPR shows came out.

The “Comfort Women” Resolution (HR 121) Passed: Why That’s Not Bad : There was so much stink about this issue and it was so stupid.  Sometimes it’s nice to be absolutely right and hit a nice, fat, slow one like this.

Having Tobias Harris and Adam Richards on for two editions of Seijigiri each: I’m ashamed of the audio on these, but the interviews and conversations are great.  Tobias and Adam are both great guys with great heads on their shoulders.  It’s not often you can sit down with people who are so knowledgeable and so interesting and excited about what they’re talking about.  It was a blast having those guys on.

Finally, just because it would be bad form for me to list every post on the site here, I’ll say that I look forward to every episode of BizCast Japan.  It’s the only show on TPR I’ve never been on and that’s apparently a good thing because it’s fantastic.  No one else in the world does what Alby and Ken do on that show, no one else even really tries.

I hope anyone and everyone who reads this interview, though, will stop by Trans-Pacific Radio, take a spin through the archives as well as the new stuff and find out for themselves what they like best (I hope there’s something.) 

“Hi, this is Ken, picking up where Garrett left off…”

DailyJ: What part of running TPR do you like the best?

Ken: To be honest, I enjoy prepping for shows the best. Although it depends on the topic, we sometimes spend a considerable amount of time discussing the issues, reading up on them or sending emails back and forth. That’s where I’m really able to let myself think about what I want to say, and try to find a space that hasn’t been discussed thus far.

I also like the time spent in discussion on the comment threads. It’s great to hear from other people and to get into the issues a bit more. There’s almost no point in creating the shows if there’s not going to be a follow-up discussion.

DailyJ: Can you tell us a bit more about how others can contribute to TPR?

Ken: At the moment, getting into the comments thread is the easiest way to contribute. We’re always willing to have people come on our shows and offer their viewpoints or share their expertise. One thing we would like to do in the future is have more interviews and bring on more of the people who are writing about Japan in general.
 

DailyJ: Are there any new projects you are working on?

Ken: In terms of TPR, right now we’re working on a new design for everything. We’d like to have some new shows, but that’s still a few months away. I spend a good amount of time researching and writing for Japan Economy News as well.
 

DailyJ: What would you say really makes your site unique and how can readers get the most from it?

Ken: I think the site’s unique in terms of the content being put out there. It’s unfortunately rare to find much about politics or business in Japan that is not owned by corporate media. That said, there are other people writing very well about Japan and Japanese politics. Tobias Harris, MTC (Shisaku) and Jun Okumura all have insights that we wish we could have. In a sense, we might be “outsiders”, but we’re willing to talk about and deal with Japan as we feel an ordinary, analytical long-term resident of Japan would. We live here, intend to always live here, we love Japan and want to take a critical eye at what we see. I think our content reflects that. We’ve turned to audio perhaps since we both enjoy talking so much.

I would say that my favorite releases are those we haven’t done yet. I know everything will get better, and that we will have a broader view on Japan. Now, we cover politics, business, general news and Japanese baseball. We’ve been graced to have Mr Debito Arudou contribute his pieces to our site. We can only hope to continue to raise and discuss important issues and how Japan can be a world leader not only economically, but also hopefully in terms of a well-guided foreign policy.

There you have it, one of the best interviews ever to grace DailyJ. Garrett and Ken, I definitely owe you one for your time and patience. And thank you for giving all of us a window to your thoughts on Japan and media.

There is so much more for you to see and hear on Trans-Pacific Radio. So, dear readers, as you head off to there I wish you…

A great day,

DailyJ

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Linux rant - (blame Nick)

On September 02, 2008 in Nerd Rant, Resources, fun

Warning: Nerdy content to follow

I am editing some interviews with Japan-related webmasters for future posts. Those should be coming soon. I want to get back to what DailyJ is all about, but it is a battle with the clock.

In the meantime, inspired by Nick’s nerdy posts about php code, I’ve decided that it is OK to gratify my inner nerd. So today’s post is about Linux! (and bilingual computing)

<– respect the penguin

puppy linux to be exact.

Linux, for the uninitiated, is a FREE (as in beer) Operating System (like windows or mac os).

Puppy linux is a super light version of linux and it is relatively easy to use. On top of that it is one of the operating systems that is part of the new bilingual computing movement (operating systems that can toggle between languages).

Now, before I go further, let me warn that even the easy to use versions of linux are tricky for the newbie.

It is a trade between time and freedom.

It takes a bit of time to get use to linux, but the freedom linux gives can’t be beat.

For one, I have my entire OS and files on a CD and USB pen drive combo (you can fit it on just a USB drive too).

So I can just pop my cd and my USB drive into any computer and have everything I have at my home computer…

Including Japanese!

(info on getting puppy linux speaking Japanese)

For the nerdy who would like to ask questions/discuss I’ve created a forum thread about Linux on JapanLabs

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