Student Teach Thyself: My Dubbed Podcast in Italian

Navigating the difficult task of teaching oneself Italian through the marvels of AI voice dubbing is a 21st-century twist on the ancient wisdom of “Physician, heal thyself.” That age-old saying, ripped from the heart of biblical narratives, pushes us towards self-reflection and repair before we set out to fix or guide others. When we apply this idea to the adventure of self-learning Italian — or any foreign language! — by using our own voices echoed back to us in Italian through AI wizardry, welp, it’s like we’re living in a high-tech remix of that proverb.

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Battlefield Acupuncture

Inspired by China, the United States Army plans to use acupuncture on the battlefield to bring health and healing to the wounded.

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Choose Your Eyes or Your Ears

We are celebrating “Deaf Awareness Week” in the USA as we honor the work and achievements of the Deaf on a worldwide scale. 

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Super Lucky Big Number

Yesterday I wrote a lengthy review about my new Cingular/at&t BlackBerry 8700c phone/PDA/slicer-dicer/messagemonster. I also decided to kill my current unlucky phone number because an opportunity of great passion and magnitude was unwittingly offered to me by the Amazon.com/Cingular/at&t/RIM/BlackBerry cabal that I could not refuse.

In my Lucky Lucky Number article I learned, to my great dismay, that my cellular phone number was UNlucky because it held four 4s and if you know anything about Chinese numerology, a 4 = Death. I have not ordered Chinese food from that guy since I learned he was mocking my “Lucky Lucky” number and not being genuine.

I love kidding around as long as I’m in on the cultural joke! So my phone number was Death x Four and even if you don’t believe in that kind of number energy, once you are made aware that dialing your phone number equals dialing death for some people, you begin to ponder the grander gestures of living where a phone number doesn’t have to kill someone when it is dialed.

Enter the cabal! When you sign up for cellular service with a new carrier you are assigned a new phone number even if you plan to use your existing phone number. Your newly assigned phone number becomes the Service Set Identifier (SSID) for the phone because when you use an old cellular number on a new service that phone number still belongs to say, Verizon, even though you’re on say, Sprint.

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Chinese Zodiac Year of the Dragon

After my “Lucky Lucky Number” debacle, I have been searching Chinese culture for further signs of my dismay, delight or demise and I discovered I was born in the Year of the Dragon: Chinese Dragon

People born in the Year of the Dragon are healthy, energetic, excitable, short-tempered, and stubborn.

They are also honest, sensitive, brave, and they inspire confidence and trust. Dragon people are the most eccentric of any in the eastern zodiac.

They neither borrow money nor make flowery speeches, but they tend to be softhearted which sometimes gives others an advantage over them.

They are compatible with Rats, Snakes, Monkeys, and Roosters. You are full of life and enthusiasm. You are popular and “fun-loving.” You will make a good artist, priest or politician.

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Lucky Lucky Number

If you are Chinese, or a numerologist, perhaps you can explain why every time I call my favorite Chinese restaurant to order delivery, the elderly Chinese man on the other end always says in a raspy, smoke-riddled voice “Lucky Lucky Number!” each time I provide my cell phone number.

My phone number has four fours in it and the last four numbers are 4040 — those are the only things I can think of that might be “lucky” when I rattle off my digits, but I’m curious if there is something else at play I’m missing?
When the teenaged Chinese delivery guy comes over and I open the door, the first thing he always says is “Lucky Lucky Number!” three times in a row as he smiles at me and nods.

He doesn’t speak much English and I don’t speak any Chinese so we smile at each other as he repeats that phrase and I hand over my money and he bows and I bow and he leaves and I’m forever left wondering what else is going in the world that involves me in which I have no clue in understanding.