Hokudai/Cast 115: Energetic Love

Here is Jackal and Wolf's new video for their song "For Love," one of two songs on today's Hokudai/Cast. The other song is "Tripping" by After the Ice. They have a video on their site, too.

_______________________

Hokudai/Cast: Your fun-service podcast for learning Japanese, English, and Chinese.

Hokudai/Cast 114: Optimistic Love

Click on the Title to hear Hokudai/Cast 114
Click on Posts on the player at left.
Click on Hokudai/Cast 114 to hear these notes.

What is SNS?
What does SNS stand for?
Who uses SNS?

SNS stands for Social Networking Site. Social Networking Sites are things like blogs, MySpace, MyFace, and other sites where you can communicate with strangers over the internet. Flickr (a photo sharing site) is a popular SNS for people who like photographs, for example.

Many people use SNS. If you post to an online forum, you are probably using an SNS. In fact, many large companies such as IBM, Dell, Microsoft, and Coca Cola use SNS to advertise their products, talk to consumers, answer questions, and ask people questions. Large companies are starting to communicate with people using SNS.

If you use SNS and can upload audio or video, can type in two or three languages, and enjoy talking with people, perhaps you should look into getting a job at a company as the SNS person. It might be fun and you'll definitely learn alot while getting paid. Just a thought.

______________________

Hokudai/Cast: Your fun-service podcast for learning Japanese, English, and Chinese.

Hokudai/Cast on MySpace

Hokudai/Cast on MySpace

Click on the player at Left to hear this post.
Click on "MySpace Promo"

A
New
and Exciting Development?

Hokudai/Cast is now available on MySpace.
at
http://www.myspace.com/hokudaicast

or click on the link above or below

_________________________
Hokudai/Cast: Your fun-service podcast for learning Japanese, English, and Chinese.
•
Hokudai/Cast on MySpace

Special Hokudai/Cast video: 初恋 by NJ

Here is a simple video using NJ's 初恋 (First Love) which can be found at GarageBandUsersClub.Net. The video was taken, of course, at Hokuriku University.

初恋 by NJ will also be featured on our Hokudai/Cast 114 coming next week! Along with a Trilingual Lesson dealing with words like boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, husband and other words related to love. Please enjoy our special video episode.

Also, Hokudai/Cast has a MySpace page. Check out Hokudai/Cast on MySpace (http://www.myspace.com/hokudaicast)

HatsuKoi (First Love) from The DinoSoar on Vimeo.

_________________________
Hokudai/Cast: Your fun-service podcast for learning Japanese, English, and Chinese.

Hokudai/Cast 113: Creative Hunger

Click on the title to hear Hokudai/Cast 113: Creative Hunger
Click on 'Posts' on the player at left.
Click on Hokudai/Cast 113 to hear this post.

What is Alternative rock? Back in the 1970s it was rock music and musicians who couldn't get a contract with a record company. But back in the 70s it was called punk. Punk musicians played what they wanted and didn't expect to make any money. Ironically, punk music created the foundation for the inventiveness of Nirvana, a huge success. Nirvana began as a garage band, then became a grunge band and finally, a success.

And now, besides alt rock we also have alt rock music videos. Here's one by The Plastic Surgeons of Rock and Roll.

The Plastic Surgeons of Rock n' Roll alt video from flush studios on Vimeo.

_____________________

Hokudai/Cast: Your fun-service podcast for learning Japanese, English, and Chinese.

Hokudai/Cast 112: What Are Cheerful Pains

Click on the title to hear Hokudai/Cast 112
Click on 'Posts' on the player at left,
Click on Hokudai/Cast 112 to listen to this post.

I've said it before and I will probably say it again, but if you learn about roots, prefixes, and suffixes - about what they are, what they mean and how they are used to make English words - you will probably be able to improve your vocabulary - and spelling - quickly and easily.

In Hokudai/Cast 112 we have great possbilities. We use the prefix im - it means 'not' - to learn three words. Start with plausible, probable, possible. Add the prefix im and we get impossible, improbable and implausible.

With just two letters - i and m - we learn the antonyms of plausible, probable, and possible. And now, we can learn synonyms of these three words, too. They are all synonyms (although they carry a slightly varying degree of meaning).

By the way, antonym is made up of a prefix (ant) and a root (onym). Ant means opposite and onym means name. Similarly synonym is made up of a prefix (syn) and the same root (onym). Syn means same. So, what does synonym mean? That's right: the same name or the same meaning. See, roots, prefixes, and suffixes are fun!

________________________
Hokudai/Cast: Your fun-service podcast for learning Japanese, English, and Chinese.

Hokudai/Cast 111: What is Retrospect?

Click on the Title to Hear Hokudai/Cast 111.
Click on Posts on the player at left.
Click on Hokudai/Cast 111 to Hear these notes.

Perhaps you have heard of prefixes, roots, and suffixes before. Here is a quick refresher. Many words in English have two or three parts: a root (the base) and a prefix or a suffix (or both). The prefix comes in front of the root. (Pre means 'before') and the suffix comes after the root.

Here is an example:

• dict - this is a root; it means 'say' and we find it in words like dictation, dictator and diction.
• pre - this is a prefix and it means 'before.' We can see it in preview and previous.
  

If we put these two parts together we get predict. 'Predict' means 'say before something happens.' In a sentence: "A fortune teller claims he can predict when I will fall in love."

We can add a suffix to predict to make a new word.

• able - this is a suffix and it means 'can' or 'able to.'

If we add it to predict, we get the word Predictable which means 'able to say before something happens.' In a sentence: "She told him she wanted a divorce. His reaction was predictable."

Finally, we can add another prefix to make a completely opposite word.

• un - this is a prefix and it means 'not.' We can see it in words like unlikeable, unsure, and, from Alice in Wonderland: unbirthday.

We can add 'un' to 'predictable' and we get Unpredictable. 'Unpredictable' means 'can not say before something happens.' In a sentence: "You should stay away from crazy dogs because their actions are unpredictable."

Knowing the parts of words helps you build your vocabulary easily. If you know what the parts mean, you can make a good guess as to what a new word means. Knowing the parts of words also helps you learn to spell new words easily.

Many prefixes, roots, and suffixes in English come from Greek or Latin.

Check out some of these sites for lists of prefixes, roots, and suffixes.

• Games Using Roots
• General Roots and Prefixes
• Fourteen Basic Prefixes and Roots

Good luck.

Hokudai/Cast: Your fun-service podcast for learning Japanese, English, and Chinese.

Hokudai/Cast 110: Jack and A Trip

Click on the title to hear Hokudai/Cast 110.
Click on "Posts" on the player at left.
Click on "Hokudai/Cast 110" to hear these notes.

The name 'Jack' is often used as a generic name for men. If you don't know someone's name, you can safely say, "Hey, Jack, come over here." And the person won't be offended. Why Jack has become a generic name, no one is sure but it has been used for at least 400 years.

A 'jack of all trades' means a person (not necessarily a man) who can do many things. He has learned many trades: carpentry, plumbing, painting. He might be able to do many things but he might not be the best at any of them. The complete phrase is 'Jack of all trades, master of none.' That means he can do many things, but is not the expert in any trade.

A Renaissance man or woman is someone who can do many things well. Leonardo DaVinci was a Renaissance man, for example. The Renaissance was a period of time when the arts and sciences flourished and many people were both artists and scientists. A Renaissance man, then, is opposite a Jack of all trades - he or she can do many things very well.

And now, for no particular reason, a short trip by car through a small part of Kanazawa.

Hokudai/Cast: Your fun-service podcast for learning Japanese, English, and Chinese.

Hokudai/Cast 109: What is Golden Week?

Click on the title to hear Hokudai/Cast 109: What is Golden Week?
Click on 'Posts' on the player at left.
Click on Hokudai/Cast 109 to hear this episode.

Tae Kwon Do is originally from Korea and the parts mean 'strike or break with the foot' (Tae) and 'strike or break with the hand or fist' (Kwon) and 'method' (Do). Every year Hokuriku University invites a Tae Kwon Do group from Korea to demonstrate their sport and it is quite amazing. They jump pretty high and split wood being held by another person who is standing on the shoulders of another person. (There are both men and women in the group.)

Tae Kwon Do Demonstration



Tae Kwon Do - Spirit - Click here for more free videos

What is Golden Week? A series of Japanese national holidays that all fall in a nice row about from April 29 (Showa Emperor's birthday) to May 6th (Children's Day.) During the week people go to their hometowns or tourist resorts or other countries. The freeways, train stations, and airports are very busy.

Hokudai/Cast: Your fun-service podcast for learning Japanese, English, and Chinese.

Hokudai/Cast 105: Africa Rocks

Click on the title to hear Hokudai/Cast 105

This is the first in a short series about Africa. What do we know about Africa? Most of us, when we think of Africa, think animals: lions, elephants, and millions of pink flamingos. But what is it really like? Let's find out.

Drifting with the wind in South Africa:



Jackal and Wolf performing their hit 'Jackal and Wolf'

__________________
Hokudai/Cast: Your fun-service podcast for learning Japanese, English, and Chinese.