Appreciating Small Booktubers! The Jay Dee Show 35

I put a lot of effort into one video this past week. It was a big one, and I’m pushing it out to many people. You see, just like here on this blog where I like to shout out other bloggers, on YouTube, I want to do shoutouts for smaller booktubers. I actually uploaded 4 videos, though 2 are the same, just on different channels.

On my main channel, I uploaded 3 videos. It’s not as many as I’d hoped, but the third one I uploaded I did a lot of planning for.

Starting off with some Authors Answer, I talked about my writing process.

And since July 1 was Canada Day, we enjoyed some of the events that were going on.

Then it’s the big one. The Small Booktuber Shoutout Tag. I talked about 12 channels that have fewer than 1,000 subscribers. And I tagged many people.

The other channel that I uploaded to was Tommy and Dad, the one for my daughter and I. But it was the same video as the Canada Day one above.

Over the next week, I’m going to get some more Japan videos up, and hopefully a couple Star Trek videos. I’ve been getting behind on the videos. Authors Answer #34 will be coming later today.

Which videos did you enjoy? Let me know in the comments section below!

We Went to Japan! The Jay Dee Show 32

Thanks to our trip to Japan, there was a lack of updates and videos. But since coming back, I’ve been able to put up a few videos, including Japan travel vlogs! There will be many more, though. I also did some Booktube videos. Since the last time, I’ve uploaded 6 videos with a couple more coming today.

All videos except one were uploaded to my main channel. The other was on my old channel dedicated to my daughter and I. I’m reviving it!

Starting off with my main channel, I talked about our trip to Japan before we left. Here it is!

And then we went to Japan with a silence on the channel for two weeks. But when we got back, I started on the Japan videos again. Here is the one all about our flight to Japan. And jet lag.

During our time in Japan, I celebrated a milestone. 1 year on Booktube! Here’s the video, and I’d like you to ask me some questions for a Q&A video.

The next Japan video was about readjusting to life in Japan. We visited many places which may seem mundane to people in Japan, but may be much more interesting for people who have never been to the country.

And finally, my daughter has a very important message about reading and school for you. Check it out.

As I said, there is a third channel! It’s called Tommy and Dad, and I started it long before my science channel. I actually started it when my daughter was only 2 years old. She’s 5 now. I’ve decided to make this into a family vlog channel which I will update a couple times a week. Check out the first video, all about Father’s Day.

Over the next week, I have new science videos coming, as well as a tag video which is very interesting. I’ll also resume Authors Answer and I’d love to have a Star Trek and/or Read the World video up, too. And of course, more Japan!

Let me know which videos you liked the most in the comments below.

Three Full Days in Japan Now

I just wanted to give you an update on things. We’ve been in Japan for three full days now, and our main objective has been completed (this sounds like a video game). We have six more full days here, including today.

Our first couple days were mostly just shopping, staying at the house, and visiting family. Our third day was our reason for coming, and that was yesterday. It was a very solemn moment, but gave me some big insights into Japanese and Buddhist culture. It was very interesting to be involved, but I was also a bit nervous about it, because I didn’t want to do anything wrong. I’ve recorded video for all of the days we’ve been here so far, though one video covers two days. I’ll try edit and upload as soon as I can, though my time with my computer is limited.

The next few days involve going to a few different places, mainly Tokyo and Yokohama. We’ll be visiting friends and former coworkers. We’ll also be spending tomorrow night in Yokohama and a couple nights later in the Tsukiji area of Tokyo, which is famous for its fish market, and of course, sushi.

I’ll update you when I can, upload videos when I can. Things should be back to normal next weekend.

My Daughter’s St. Patrick’s Day Project

Tomorrow, my daughter has a project due for her kindergarten class.  It’s a Leprechaun trap. And this is what we made together.

She did a lot of the colouring herself. The rainbow is hers, as well. Those yellow circles are gold coins. You see, a Leprechaun climbs the ladder, follows the coins, sees a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and falls through a trap door.

It’s not a masterpiece, but she loved making it with me. I even found her keeping it near herself while she watched My Little Pony on Netflix. She was protecting it. She’s pretty proud of it. When it was time for bed, she wanted to take it up to her room, but she’d just be distracted by it.

Tomorrow morning, I just have to remember to dress her in green.

My Daughter’s Weird Valentine

I’ll let you judge these pictures for themselves. My daughter put these up and called them lovely Valentine’s for us.

In case you’re wondering, these are from a match game she got for her birthday. The cards have been taken out. What do you think?

What’s Going on Inside My Head

Here’s what I’ve been thinking about recently:

• My daughter read her first book by herself. This is actually pretty exciting for me.
• I worry about the future of science in the US.
• Climate change is real. Stop trying to hide it.
• I wonder which team will draft me when I finish this season in the OHL in NHL 17 in Be a Pro mode.
• This had me laughing my ass off.
• Tomorrow is my daughter’s 5th birthday. This weekend will be the first time that we have a birthday party for her and invited friends. I wonder how it’ll go.
• What should I watch on Netflix?
• I loved the school group that came through at work yesterday. Amazing kids.
• I miss Japan.

What have you been thinking about recently?

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you had a great Christmas. I know I did. My daughter had an incredible Christmas, as she got a lot of things she wanted. And this was one of them:

She’s always wanted a toy kitchen set, and this one looks really good. Quite realistic looking, and she’s really enjoying it. She also got a lot of things for PAW Patrol, My Little Pony, and Barbie.

I got some books, a movie, a new wallet, and my sister and I are sharing an XBox One S! We have Final Fantasy XV, NHL 17, and Minecraft, which I’m sure we’ll enjoy. Also, something we ordered several weeks ago finally arrived this week: Cards Against Humanity! We played a game tonight, and this was one of our rounds:

The one on the right was our “4th player” Rando Cardrissian, a player who was just random cards. I had the middle group of cards. The game is hilarious. I love it! Have you ever played it?

Something I wanted to talk about was you. That’s right, my readers. I want to thank all of you for reading, following, and commenting. You are what makes doing this blog fun and worthwhile. I appreciate every one of you.

I made a video on YouTube that has a message that I think applies to this blog, as well. Please watch.

I hope you all had a great Christmas! Let me know what you got and how you spent your day.

The Final Two Weeks of 2016

It’s already half way through the second last week of the year. I just finished three days of work with a Christmas concert at my daughter’s school. She sang a couple of songs with her Kindergarten class, but spent half the time looking behind her at the screen. But it was fun.

My next five days, I have no work. The next four days I’ll have a lot of down time to be able to work on many things, including my blog, videos, and reviews. After that, it’s Christmas! And that is a day I’m really looking forward to. The best part is watching my daughter open her presents. We still have to wrap all the presents, though.

After that, I go back to work, and I’ll be busier than usual. Longer hours and an extremely busy workplace. December 26th may be one of the busiest days I’ve ever experienced. There are some things I might not be able to do very much of, and that’s make videos. Blog posts should continue as usual, though.

But I’m really looking forward to getting a blog post and video up on Christmas Day. They’ll actually be done before then, but will be scheduled to go up. I hope you’ll be looking forward to them.

What’s the rest of the year like for you?

Best Christmas Ever?

When I was a kid, I loved Christmas. It meant toys. It meant turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy. It meant two weeks off from school.

This Christmas is totally different. This time, my daughter gets to have her first Christmas in Canada with a Christmas tree and plenty of presents. There are some things that she’s been wanting a lot. On Christmas morning, she’s going to be excited. She’s going to be so incredibly happy. I don’t care so much about what I’m getting. I want to see her reaction. I want to watch her open her presents. I think seeing her happy is the best present I could ever get.

And on a side note, I’m going to have a special video up on Christmas Day. It’s not related to this blog, but I think the message can apply to this blog, as well. I’ll be leaving a post with a similar message. Look forward to it!

The Multilingual Desire

Ever since I started using Duolingo to study languages, I’ve had a growing desire to learn multiple languages. There are many languages available on that platform, and it continues to grow.

My experience learning languages started in 1986 when I was 9 years old. I studied French in school until 1994, when I was 17 years old. I didn’t take French in grade 12, but instead challenged the final exam and passed it easily, getting full credit for the class. I was good at it. I had confidence that I could learn languages easily.

In university, I took a class in Japanese and enjoyed it a lot. I did very well in that class, and it helped me a lot when I moved to Japan in 2005. I had full intentions to learn the language and become fluent. I studied it on my own. However, I worked entirely in English. My interactions with Japanese people were with friends who spoke English well, coworkers who spoke English, students who I taught English, and people in shops. It was when I went shopping or out to a restaurant that I was able to use Japanese. As a result, I have no problem going shopping or ordering in a restaurant in Japan. My confidence in speaking Japanese didn’t grow at all. I didn’t speak well enough to have a conversation with my wife’s parents, or even with my wife. My listening improved, but my speaking did not. That’s my fault.

I started using Duolingo to relearn French. I also started doing Esperanto, since studying it has been proven to help people learn other European languages more quickly. I also started learning Spanish.

My studying has stalled recently. I’d like to get myself back into it. I’d like to focus on French and Japanese. French will be useful for future job prospects in Canada, while Japanese will be useful for me with my family and my in-laws. And since we plan to travel to Japan often, I can use it there.

But I don’t want to stop there. I want to get back into studying Spanish, as well as German, Norwegian, Russian, and Irish. My family heritage includes German, Norwegian, and Irish. My grandfather was born in Russia, so a lot of research into his family history has to be done in Russian. I think it would help. And I’d also like to learn Tagalog. I have some Filipino friends, and I think it would be fun to be able to understand what they’re talking about.

Are you using Duolingo? Are you studying a language? Let me know in the comments section below. Also, you can check out my Duolingo profile and add me as a friend.