Frustrations of the Modern World

There isn't anything more frustrating than when something that usually works, stops working. Imagine, you're set to watch your favourite match on TV, or your favourite show (either the premier or the final) and your TV doesn't work.

You might take it calmly.  You might rationalize that machines sometimes break.  The key word in that sentence (for me at least) is the you.  You might, but I simply can't.  When I expect something to work, like the TV or computer, and it doesn't, I flip my lid.  I go absolutely ballistic.  Imagine a cartoon character...... you get the point.

I was all set to check something out on streaming video and it didn't work.  I haven't sworn like that in ages.  My poor cat was probably wondering why I was so worked up.  He probably hasn't heard that language since the hard drive in my last computer was so clogged that it took an hour just to do the startup routine.  I slapped that machine silly, in addition to teaching it all the expletives I knew in English, Japanese, Spanish, French and Korean.  That's right, I showed that machine who's boss.

Is it wrong to expect things to work?  Is that how disposable society has become?  When was the last time a machine made you so angry?

The problem has been fixed...without machine homicide...and it probably wasn't my machine, but something that originated at the source....but it still made me angry.

Tales of the Lazy

 

 

What if technology is too smart for someone's brain?  Today's smartphones put all kinds of information within easy reach, but does that matter if you don't reach for it.  That old question of whether a tree falling in the forest makes any sound if there is no one to hear it kind of applies.  Having all the information has no effect if you don't ask the question.

Several of my students confided in me recently that they wouldn't have come here (Canada) to study if they had known what the weather was going to be like.  (Of course, we were working on third conditional sentences, so perhaps they were just making a joke....perhaps....honestly, their facial expressions conveyed that there was some truth to their sentences--but I digress)  Several students did, in fact, make this assertion.  This is nothing new to me because I hear it every year.  However, I paused to reflect because every single student has a smartphone.  Every student can find obscure bits of trivia rather quickly.  My only question was, why didn't they know about the weather?

When I went abroad, now almost twenty years ago, I was armed only with a Lonely Planet guidebook, a look at an atlas and a few pamphlets from the Japanese Consulate (which contained some fabulously out of date photos even then--imagine how old they look now) I didn't have the opportunity to look up anything on the internet.  I read that book (and those brochures) cover to cover.  The truth is, nothing can compare to being there, but I did the best I could.  The funny thing is, I think I was better prepared than my students, who seem surprised at so many things.

I keep forgetting to ask them how they prepared for their trip.  Maybe I am afraid that they will answer honestly, that is to say, they really didn't prepare.  I am reaching that conclusion on my own anyway.  They can find every variation of the Harlem Shake known to man, but couldn't find out that it snows in Canada in the winter?  Seems too unbelievable to be true.  Sadly, it is. 

If I had to guess, they probably don't look up anything until it is staring them in the face.  I have this image of my students landing at the airport, and then having to enter the following words in the search box.  "Toronto, white stuff on ground, cold" and seeing what Google tells them.  You'd think that some of that might have come up when packing.

If I have said it once, I've said it a thousand times.  Smartphones, don't make smart people.

Like Nails on a Chalkboard

 

For the most part I am an easy going person.  Okay, that's probably an exaggeration, or probably an outright lie.  A lot of stuff bothers me.  I created this blog so I would have space to vent my frustrations with the world.  Today, it has to do with things people and their inability to pronounce things in Japanese.

What's so difficult?

I know it is already too late for words that entered English in the 1980's.  Nobody will every pronounce karaoke correctly.  The same goes for words like karate, sake,  and hibachi.  Sometimes there is nothing we could do; our inability was decided by companies and names were changed to reflect that.  Words like Mazda, Datsun, Godzilla (all of which are not written, spelled, or pronounced that way in Japan) were given to us, already altered.

The sad facts are that we change lots of words to English friendly pronunciation.  I certainly don't pronounce Volkswagen the way my German/Austrian/ Swiss students do.  I could (though I let them think it is impossible) but I don't.  It wasn't until I was in my mid twenties that I realized the word Braun, sounded exactly like brown. As a Canadian, I try a little harder to pronounce things in French--but don't we all?  I can't do that lisp like sound from Spain...though I have tried.

But I digress.....

Having a fondness for Japanese, I do wish it were pronounced better on television.  Maybe I am playing favourites, but it's my blog and I can do what I want.  And I want people to pronounce things in Japanese better.

Several things sparked this rant.  The first is that stores are now selling Japanese style breadcrumbs.  I think this is great, because the breadcrumbs are a great product.  What I don't think is great is that people can't pronounce "panko".  It drives me absolutely nuts every time that commercial is on.  It has gotten so bad that I have to quickly change the channel.

The second thing is the TV show American Ninja--no, I am not going to blather on about the word ninja, and stuff like that.  On the show, the final obstacle is called Mount Midoriyama...... yama means mountain.  Mount Midori Mountain.   It's worse than fingernails on a chalkboard.  Couldn't anyone do some research before they decided that was the title of the final obstacle.  Mount Rushmore Mountain?  Mount Everest Mountain?  Are your ears bleeding too?

Am I asking too much?

Are Scholarships Wasted on the Young?

Every day I am surrounded by people who are studying English on scholarships from their governments.  Don't get me wrong.  I am not unhappy for them.  I am, in fact, jealous.  I want a scholarship to go to a foreign country and study.

Some, not all, of my students get to study English in Canada because of these scholarships. Hopefully, they will go back home and utilize their English in their careers.  Those who aren't on scholarships, but are studying nonetheless, can hopefully do the same thing.

I said that I am jealous.  That is true.  I really wish there were scholarships for people in their early forties who want to go to Japan and study Japanese for a year.  The program could contain studying both language and culture.  That would be awesome.

These kinds of things are mostly given to young people, but wouldn't older, more mature (most of the time) people get even more benefit from them?  It is great that young people are given such experience, but we need to consider a few other things.  With age comes wisdom, or so the saying goes.  An older person would have the ability to see things more clearly, judge more accurately, and experience things more fully.  And then, wouldn't an older person be better able to articulate the things that were seen and learned?

Everybody is told to keep upgrading their skills.  Most workplaces want people to keep increasing their qualifications, or at least maintain contemporary skills.  Shouldn't this be the same for experiences as well?  It is certainly something to consider.