In my search for katakana expressions, I found a website that detailed 30 useful カタカナwords and key points about using them.
To start, one word I found interesting was a fairly common one that I had already run across:
１．アパート
Or, "apartment." What I found so interesting about this is that it actually tends to have a pretty negative connotation associated with it. It is usually more acceptable to say マンション which (while phonetically being "mansion," is just a better word for condo or apartment. So don't be shocked if your friend tells you they live in a mansion rather than an apartment.
２．ビーエス
I know what it sounds like, but it's just an abbreviation for "broadcasting satellite."
３．ファイト！
This one is commonly used as a cheer, not egging someone on to fight as it may sound if you know the English word. The best translation is "Go for it!"
４．オートバイ
This one means motorcycle, or, more directly, auto-bike.
５．サービス
This one sounds quite a bit like "service," right? True, but the actual meaning is "free of charge" or in some cases "self-sacrifice." This one tends to lead to some problems for customer service clerks, as people like to complain a ton and expect some self-sacrifice from workers.
This one's another anime theme, coming from "Lupin the III," as shown in the thumbnail. Though I love all members of the saxophone family, my favorite is easily the baritone or "bari" sax. For those not familiar with saxes or music in general, that's the big one, shown in the bottom-right window. I love the sound of the bari sax. I don't really know why, but belting out those really low notes feels so satisfying to me. The reason I'm saying this ties into the reason I really like this arrangement. Not only is this really jazzy, but the bari sax has an awesome bass walk that this guy performs really well. From the perspective of someone who has been playing for years, I'm very impressed with this guy's lung capacity and breath control. Enjoy!
A couple of weeks ago, I took a rare opportunity to hear a distinguished poet give a lecture about his life and views on nuclear weapons. I will admit that I had to miss the very end of the lecture (I had to go to marching band rehearsal), but I very much would have like to stay and hear him finish. Having never experienced life in Japan, I had never really thought about what it must have been like when the United States effectively started nuclear warfare by dropping those bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since he had lived in Japan for 25 years studied the topic, he really came back with a unique perspective on nuclear warfare. I found what he said about the factories/facilities that
manufactured the weapons taking blasphemous names to particularly interesting. For those readers who may not have been in attendance, one of the factories in Japan that manufactured the weapons took the name of the Buddha, using hiragana instead of kanji. In America, the name of the test of the atomic bomb was Trinity. Binard commented on how both nations blasphemously named these tools of destruction after the head figures of each country's most practiced religion. To me, it looks like a God-complex. As if these weapons have such immense power that they somehow match God. I found the connection that Binard made to be pretty profound, and as I said earlier, I wish I could have stayed until the end. Alas, we all have jobs to do, and the beginning of one of mine happened to cut into the end of another.
With that, I can only leave you with another video of some awesome saxophone music (featuring a trumpet this time!). This one's a cover of a vocaloid track called "Just Be Friends" and features some good improv. Enjoy!
