I learned a new word for "chilly" today

肌寒い (はだざむい). Indeed it is.

A hollow victory!

Barring a sudden society-ending solar flare or other such cataclysm, I wager that my offspring will one day know the torments of Mario's parties, and the worth of their associated victories.

I've probably said it before, but one of the things I love about studying Japanese (though this probably applies more broadly to language study in general) is the discovery of similarities. Some English expressions are exactly or nearly the same as Japanese expressions, in literal construction.

Here's such a one:

むなしい勝利（しょうり）, which means "hollow victory." むなしい has some interesting applications:

























むなしい夢 - the futile dream of relying on your skill to achieve Mario Party victory.

DC Sakura Matsuri

I just wanted to write a few words on my recent, protracted silence. For a couple of years now I've been the volunteer chairman for  JETAADC. It's been a good experience; I've had fun and made friends, but now I need to recapture a little of my time and energy to redirect to other spheres of my life.

There have been a few loose ends for me to tie down (I have been expending all my writing juices on emails and other materials, thus no blog posts!), and my current role will be nearly finished after tomorrow, with the annual Sakura Matsuri Street Festival in DC. You see, this year the JET Program will finally have a formal presence. There are always a ton of JET alumni volunteering throughout the event, but now we'll have our own table, of which I've been one of the primary organizers. We're going to be disseminating promotional materials, and awarding prizes (while supplies last) in exchange for the answering of Japan-related trivia questions.

We're also going to have pins available for JET alumn, although I wish we had some way to "announce" their availability to all who qualify.

So if you're in the DC area, stop on by the Festival. And be sure to visit us for a JET sticker and some candy.