You know, unless you have the kanji you can't really be sure that a similar syllable means the same thing. . .

As I understand it, when karate came to Japan from Okinawa it was called "China hand," even though the Okinawan form may have risen independently from Chinese martial arts. I rather suspect it was called that because the Japanese didn't think much of Okinawa. The kanji used for China was sometimes pronounced kara, and someone proposed using the kanji for empty, also pronounced kara, instead. It's unclear who came up with the idea, but the spelling was popularized by Gichin Funakoshi, sometimes called the father of Japanese karate.

It is raining buckets here again. Oy. This is not what I signed up for.

Lightening and rain here too. That must be a hella big storm.

My god, this shit makes me crazy.

Jesus christ, it was like pulling teeth to get that article to load (your link didn't do it for me), and then to read the actual comment....this is why I've given up the whole Gawker family.

Not to mention the actual content of the essay or the comments.

Here's a pronunciation question inspired by ANTM: jaguar, jag-wahr or jag-u-ar?

I have no problem with the pronunciation. It's the spelling that's an issue. Blame them for that?

Blame a Frenchman: [link]

I disagree with the legislature and agree with Mark Twain -- the people should be called ar-kan-SOY-yers, not ar-KAN-sans.

How I learnt to get pegged and like it. Jezebel. NSFW language. Creepily SFW picture. Incredibly heteronormative assertions justified by "I was being funny!"

My god, this shit makes me crazy.

Oh my god, that guy is a douche. Seriously? Taking it up the Khyber Pass after asking your girlfriend to do it (rather, talking her in to doing it)? Does NOT remotely qualify you to "understand women." It means you are qualified to understand people who take it up the ass. That is all.

You're still a heteronormative douche with a boatload of assumptions. And you aren't funny.

Blame a Frenchman: [link]

Damn it, I really wanted that to be an actual Web site named "Blame a Frenchman."

I wonder if that URL is available...

Here's a pronunciation question inspired by ANTM: jaguar, jag-wahr or jag-u-ar?

I just got to that! I would say jag-wahr, except if I'm talking about a car and mocking the ads.

Jag-wahr. Or KITTY!!!

One of my coworkers is on NOVA. He's really articulate (a public outreach scientist) and has written a couple of books, but really, I like listening to him talk because he's got an awesome accent and voice. And huh, has a wikipedia page. Where I just learned he was born in Romania but raised in Israel, and served in the IDF as a paramedic. [link]

For some reason, I always thought he was Italian. Huh.