"Clarifying rather glib assumptions..."

• Counting Eskimo Words for Snow is a fine palliative for Sapir-Whorfian brain rot.


• Learn Japanese by playing a videogame? Check out Project LRNJ. The FREE adventure game is droll — reminds me of the SNES version of Star Ocean with a little Zelda tossed in. The idea is to wander around and solve a puzzle, while fighting slime monsters that can be defeated by learning (and swiftly recalling) both Japanese syllabaries (hiragana and katakana) plus 100 kanji. The Members Only game is $20 and drills you on 2,000 kanji — I'm not sure the story line can sustain that much intensity, though.