u/whereisdaegu

There's no shortage of perfectly fine listening resources for Italian learners, but I'm being a bit pickier.

I'm looking for some files (MP3s, I suppose) that I can put on my smartphone and listen to on loop while I'm walking to work, riding the subway, &c.

But for now, I only want A1/A2 vocabulary and/or very, very simple sentences. Just something in the background that I can appreciate passively and let it all sink in for reinforcement. I know a few thousand words already but can't practice easily in speaking (I'm an American living in Korea).

Anyway, I'm not looking for podcasts, short stories, chit-chat, news broadcasts, or anything like that right now. I would like literally just someone saying the words in Italian, then in English. Straightforward stuff.

Can anyone direct me toward resources like that, anything you've had success with or enjoyed?

I've been using this app for years, so I think I already know the answer, but:

As I'm browsing the MU website (like this), is there any way to send issues to or remotely download them on my phone without having to manually search for and add them in the app itself?

If not, then that should be a thing.

Everybody has their own take on AI and how much AI involvement is okay in whatever, blah blah, et cetera. AI is probably the most tedious topic of conversation now, and I say that as someone in a profession in which everyone, everyone, is trying to get away with using it.

But still, I prefer keeping AI content out of the YouTubers I follow/support, by which I mean I'd rather just unsubscribe and forget them. There's always another YouTuber.

Which Lego YouTubers (reviewers, commentators, pencil-necked little Floridian punks living in mommy's basement and screeching about Star Wars, whoever) routinely use AI in the production of their content? I don't have a pitchfork or torch to chase them around with, but I'd like to know so I can stop bothering. Their zero effort = my zero effort.

I don't have any creators in mind. The question just occurred to me as I was looking for something else.

If you know of anyone and can confirm it, please share a link or image. I know it's hard to spot and be sure of AI use most of the time, but I'd rather avoid a witch hunt.

It's been confirmed by the producers of DS9 that the Hunters (from Season 1's "Captive Pursuit") were the first recognized Dominion species to visit the Alpha Quadrant. These Hunters were after the Tosk, a prey species capable of great evasion and adaptation.

I've long wished that in later seasons of DS9, at the peak of the Dominion War, we had just one episode dedicated to the Tosk and their collective effort to throw off the oppression the Hunters had long placed on them, and perhaps they could have played a small part in freeing the Alpha Quadrant from the imperial designs of the Founders.

Alas, it was not to be, and nobody listened to 17-year-old me typing fruitlessly into the abyss of the 20th century internet.

Still, it would have been cool. Maybe IDF or whoever might one day publish a limited series of hidden stories from the Dominion War. I am but a lowly professor of creative writing now, but I might fart around and come up with a passable story, hint hint.

Regardless, the Tosk could have been the unsung heroes of the Dominion War, especially on the Gamma Quadrant side. Maybe someday. Maybe.

Allamaraine count to four

Allamaraine then three more

Allamaraine if you can see

Allamaraine you'll come with me...

There are so many wonderful episodes and plotlines in the history of Star Trek, but sometimes... I just can't. Either Tom Paris is a super-evolved salamander or Picard has beamed down to Ligon II or Spock is having his brain reconnected, but it's just not worth the time.

My all-time worst is DS9's "Move Along Home." I'm not going to carp about it too much because as a rule, first- and second-season Trek is mostly bad. But it's single-handedly the worst episode of the best Trek series, and here I am, standing high atop that hill, ready to die on it.

Which episodes make you groan, roll you eyes, and skip ahead?

Daegu is getting very close to its record high temperature (40C/104F) set in 1942, but it looks like it might stall around a mere 39C (102F). All this suffering for nothing!

AccuWeather, BBC Weather, and the Google composite of weather sources all have Daegu clocking in at 39C today and then cooling very slightly as the week progresses, with temperatures remaining steady until at least mid-August.

Meanwhile, it looks like Yangsan and its 42.5C have stolen Daegu's title as the hottest place in Korea. But with weather like this, who cares? Go ahead, keep the title, Yangsan -- we could use the break!

Downtown Daegu sizzles. (Source: Newsis)

Whether you've lived in Korea, traveled for work or fun, or just want to go someday, what food is synonymous with your experience with Korea?

For me, there's a lot. I've been living in Daegu for a long time. But nothing quite says "I live in Korea" quite like sitting down to a dish of kimchi jjim (김치찜) -- steamed pork and mugeonji (묵은지). There's usually also a dish of boiling-hot kimchi jjigae (김치 찌개), in case you didn't get your fermented cabbage fix. It's...a lot.

Otherwise, it's been a long, long time since I had something and thought, hey, it's Korean food. It's just food now. Naengmyeon (냉면), soju (소주), even oi sobagi (오이소박이), everything. I'm glad I've had the chance to make Korean food a part of my daily life. ^^

People keep saying Korea is futuristic and/or technologically advanced, but where is that coming from? I'm not saying it is or isn't either, but from my perspective as a long-term resident, I'm not seeing it.

Korea's modern and mostly developed in most areas, but I'm not seeing any glimpses of the future or advanced technology unless you compare it to some drastically under-developed countries.

But maybe I'm just not seeing it for some reason. People who think Korea is futuristic or technologically advanced (compared to countries in a similar developmental class), what are you seeing and where do you see it?

I'm assuming people in Korea and people who want to visit (or have taken a short trip) are going to have different answers, so that's why I'm curious. Maybe I have a blind spot.

The Japanese series Midnight Diner is one of my favorite binge watches, and as I go through all five seasons (and two movies) once again, I'm curious about the Korean remake by SBS -- '심야식당,' AKA Late Night Restaurant. (They say it's based on the original manga, but visually it drips of the TV series.)

Does anyone know where I can find the episodes? There's just one season, but I'm curious to see how they reinterpreted the concept for a Korean audience.

The Japanese series Midnight Diner is one of my favorite binge watches, and as I go through all five seasons (and two movies) again, I'm curious about the Korean remake by SBS -- '심야식당,' AKA Late Night Restaurant. (They say it's based on the original manga, but visually it drips of the TV series.)

Does anyone know where I can find the episodes? There's just one season, but I'm curious to see how they reinterpreted the concept for a Korean audience.

Daegu's gearing up for this year's Chimac* Festival in Duryu Park, to be held from Wednesday, July 1, to Sunday, July 5.

Details are still falling into place, but you can check out the festival's delightfully weird website here: Daegu Chimac Festival.

*It pains me to spell it that way, but that's what they decided on ages ago. For the record: chimaek.

Um. Okay. (Source: chimacfestival.com)

I rarely use Karrot myself, but a friend was just telling me about how she was trying to sell something and a potential buyer kept asking for a lower price, a lower price, a lower price... And when my friend put her foot down and said no, her asking price was fair enough, the other person got angry and said he couldn't resell the item for a profit unless the price was lower.

But I've noticed a lot of dropshippers and people who just want to flip items, especially the free stuff, and it's like, damn, really? So I'm wondering what other quirks (to put it nicely) the rest of you have experienced or seen.

I was thinking of taking a little trip to the Japanese island(s) of Tsushima next month. I know there's a ferry from Busan, but that's all I know.

Has anyone gone from Busan to Tsushima? And what did you do on your trip?