I’ve been using an open-source app xaalled Eqonomize!. Before that I was doing something similar, but with spreadsheets.

Kanji first sounds pretty good to me. You didn’t feel like it worked well?

I went through Genki I with Kanji mostly sidelined, and I felt like I wished I’d known Kanji better first. Having to look up how to write every character is a drag, and I don’t think using kana is a much better alternative.

You say you could read but not understand… I feel like that’s a step up from the reverse! (That being, “I’d totally understand thus if I could read it”) And I find that learning Kanji now is making it way faster to remember vocab.

I guess the lesson is just that it’s all important, skipping or putting off any of it doesn’t work so well.

My answer too. Dark Side is easier to get into, and I preferred it when I first heard both. But going back over the years I think Wish is the better record; I stay wanting to hear it.

LOL, I did take a semester of French in high school.

I guess it makes sense as an overlap - North America and Europe both have primarily English, Spanish, and French speakers in close vicinity. And Japanese cultural exports are just really popular.

I’m learning Japanese. On and off for years, but mainly the last couple. I’m still only at the advanced beginner stage, trying to work on my Kanji, reading, and listening.

Also learning Spanish, but I feel like I’m in a better spot with it. I took classes in school and have a decent foundation, just need way more practice. It’s on the backburner since I’d rather build on my Japanese.

For fans of this thread/topic, check out !languagelearning@sopuli.xyz . They have a weekly thread for progress and a few active folks. Lemmy also has more specific language learning communities that could stand to be more active.

Nothing wrong with posting here (looks like a solid answer already given!), but this thread seems like a good time to plug some relevant communities that exist and would probably be helpful for this kind of thing:

• !conlangs@mander.xyz
• !linguistics@mander.xyz
• !languages@lemmy.world

I’ve subscribed to a few, though I often find myself getting lazy about listening to them. So take my suggestions with a grain of salt.

Some I used to listen to, some I’ve wanted to listen to, some of these coworkers recommended in recent weeks that I have little to no idea about. Hopefully this helps you find something you like!

• Base.cs
• Book Bytes
• Coding Blocks
• Command Line Heroes
• CoRecursive
• HanselMinutes
• LambdaCast
• No Silver Bullet
• Signals and Threads
• Toolsday

I’ve replaced all my aimless Reddit scrolling with Lemmy. I’m not so purist I refuse to go there though - there’s still a lot of good info organized there, and it’s still decent for searches.

I’ve replaced Twitter too. Ironically Facebook is the one that sticks around, despite being probably the most user-hostile. That one’s built around people I know IRL and it’s not so easy to drop in a replacement. Even though it’s not very good for that or any purpose.

As for what to do there - again, it’s your call. Generally they have several flavors of weight machines, cardio machines, free weights, usually some kind of aerobics space.

You set your own goals and routines. In contrast with something like school, no one’s going to force you to exercise. You have to want to - whether that’s for the fun of it or to achieve some health result.

Gyms also tend to offer classes, or personal trainers you can hire if you want more structure.

You’re absolutely correct that you can do all that at home. Will you? I find that going to a place puts me in the right state of mind to do the thing. They do have a lot of equipment available, but you can mostly replace it at low cost by running outdoors or buying a few dumbells.

Likewise for the costume - when I started going, I was very worried about making sure I had gym shorts and running shoes and a sweat wicking shirt and a gym bag. I got that stuff and it did help, just mentally put me into the place for it. But after a while I realized I could just go in casual clothes (though my gym bans jeans) and it’s fine. Up to you what’s more motivating - workout clothes or reducing friction by wearing what you’ve got.

Memory has a way of being fuzzy and inaccurate. Probably not my actual first experience of it, and I’m probably combining several different occasions…

But I remember a new desk with a computer set up in the living room. My parents or brother set me down in front of it and asked what I wanted to look for, I could search for anything. The first thing that came to mind was to look for Zelda, so I got them to type in Zelda Link’s Awakening for the search engine. I ended up on a cool little fansite, and learned about the bomb arrows trick.

I always thought Regin Smidur by Týr captured exactly the kind of vibes I’d expect from Viking metal. But I’ve never known what the lyrics are about, and probably don’t want to.

If it ever does calm down and stabilize, beware. That means something expensive is about to break. It’s always something!

But really, it does get a lot less hectic after you close, get utilities and address records sorted, finish any big upfront renovations you want to do, and get most of your stuff unpacked.

I think so. If you’re a human and you’re not a jerk, then interacting on a platform you want to see flourish is a good idea.

It might fail. Any given platform may fail despite many people’s efforts to make it work. But that’s not a good reason not to try.

Yep, and you can grab an extension like Enhancer for YouTube to get customized looping behavior too.

There are lots of great things to do, but most important is to build a habit and keep working at it. Engage with the language every day, and work up to consuming content designed for native speakers.

Duolingo and similar apps are helpful, but don’t put all your eggs in that, or any single, basket. Also do Anki or some other flashcard thing. And at the very least a beginner textbook or grammar guide is good to have. Early on, mix time between textbook, apps, ‘comprehensible input’ videos. Work your way up to reading, and look for graded readers to get started.

(Also, as Duolingo gets worse, consider alternatives like Memrise and Mondly. Or even paid stuff like Busuu, Lingq, Pimsleur, Babbel, Rosetta Stone. Also, your local library may give access to Transparent Language or Mango. Although of course I can’t vouch for most of these personally.)

Another rec: check out !languagelearning@sopuli.xyz for a cool community. Good place to ask questions and get support.

There are probably a ton of cool learning resources specific to your target language. Look online for communities around it.

Yeah! Songs are a good addition to learning activities. You learn several words deeply, with great repetition, and it’s fun.

But I agree you need to be looking at lyrics and using a dictionary. It can be too easy to just listen to songs as music, and not get any language-learning out of it.

No. 1990 was, and will forever be, about 10 years ago.

I can see an argument for it. The Internet was widespread and accessible to common people, but governments and major corporations hadn’t really figured out how to completely abuse it yet.

But the real thing is probably that the peak of culture is probably based on whenever a person was between 5 and 25 years old. For most I think those were the good old days, no matter when they actually were.

A couple ideas:

One of the best things you can do to be active is walk/run/use cardio machines for long stretches of time. So,

• Get some wireless headphones and catch up on some podcasts, albums, or audiobooks you’ve wanted to check out.
• If you have a convenient way to set it up, you can try to get an excercise bike or treadmill in front of a TV screen, and watch or even game while you’re active
• Find some trails nearby. It’s more fun moving around if your focus is on sightseeing and exploration, instead of exercising

But also, gamification can be fun. Stuff like,

• Last time I did 3 sets of 12 reps of 100 lb, can I do more this time? Get an app and keep track, aim to increase either reps or weight when you can
• Last time I went a half mile in 20 minutes, can I do it faster this time?
• Yesterday I walked for 5 minutes, can I handle 6 today?
• Can I piece together a workout from some exercises that I don’t hate? One that gives me push/pull/legs? One that covers certain muscle groups? That planning can be kinda fun
• Likewise with diet, get a calorie counter app and try to eat with intention. Think of it like a strategy game for min/maxing numbers. Can I get a slight surplus? Deficit? Can I get xyz grams of protein a day, or stay below xyz grams of sugar?