Mary

Before I had an idea but I kind of feel it deeper now. How have you come to understand the meaning of the word in a more powerful way? Do you feel you have a maturer understanding now?

I've been to a few funerals. Usually I get a laminated card that has some kind of generic memorial poem on it. Often feels inauthentic and kind of bland. My grandfather was really much more than the poem the funeral service distributed to memorialize him.

If it was your funeral and you had to choose a poem to print on laminated cardstock with rainbows on it, what would you choose? What would it express? What comfort would you offer to those in attendance?

A funeral card is a kind of memorabilia that can be of deep significance. My brother flew to NY for my grandfather's funeral and only had it to bring back. The one I have is still important to me, but I wish it felt more personalized to the man I knew.

Please post what memorial poems you like or, if you feel inspired, create one in the comments below. I'd love to read it.

I sometimes listen to a Bob Marley tune ("Three Little Birds") on repeat. It helps me catch a rhythm and somehow the physical movement helps me write fluidly. What are your methods? Can you recommend some tunes?

My brother has a good story. Some kid in high school dissed his hat. They got into a brawl. In the principle's office they got a stern lecture and when the principle left they burst into laughter. They've been friends for nearly two decades.

I'd like a best friend. I'm looking to be inspired by your stories. I'll try to ask questions in the comments. Thanks.

Do you listen to a certain piece of music? Do you eat something you used to like to eat? Do you watch fuzzy animal videos?

I'd like to build a list here. I've been around long enough to have seen many questions of great personal distress, of people giving up on life or themselves or their partners.

I've been in those situations. I am in the situation now of wanting to just be kind--to myself, to others. Please inspire me and the others focused here to kick back, relax, and enjoy the day.

When was the time when you felt like your answer had an amazing effect? When have you felt most fulfilled?

It's been a while since I've come to answer here on Y!A, but I remember receiving messages of thanks, and sometimes, of astonishment. I had an intuitive response and guessed something that stunned the asker into a kind of remembrance of the ability of a person (even a stranger) to listen and to get and to offer something useful. It was a wonderful day!

Using Microsoft Office Word 2007, I am trying to indent one paragraph. I select the paragraph. Microsoft indents the whole page. I try to decrease the indentation of the surrounding paragraphs. Microsoft de-indents the whole page. I cannot indent just the one paragraph. I am frustrated. How do I fix this?

Examples:

Since I have a test tomorrow, I went to liaison with my teacher about subjects likely to be tested on.

Because my Japanese speaking skills are poor, I would not make a good liaison between a school and its foreign exchange students.

I've had liaisons with several tutors for conversation practice.

I've worked in liaison with chemistry tutors right before the test.

Even though he's 40 years old, he's never had a liaison before.

I'm trying to show the difference between "original story" and "fan fiction" by using the example of "manga" and "doujinishi."

In the U.S, the word doujinishi means fan fiction, but it has also come to mean fan-made erotica. I'm worried that in Japan, doujinishi means "hentai."

Here is my sentence:

でも、英語で「original story」と「fan fiction」の違いは「漫画」と「同人誌」の違いです。だから、もし私は英語で話すなら、「original story」言いません。日本語では、多分「同人誌」は「オリジナルストーリー」ですか？

My friend knows that I wrote a story based off a movie, so it is a derived work. He suggested I use the word オリジナルストーリー because I had an unusual homework assignment where I would write a story analysis based off my own work. His suggestion makes my meaning clearer, but I'm not sure his understanding of the English phrase "original story" is exactly correct. I want to tell him the difference by using Japanese. I am learning Japanese at the same time my friend is learning English. He is better than I am, but we have been communicating in Japanese thus far.

It's like a miracle that ice in a Hydro Flask container can stay alive for hours on end when I walk about in the hot Hawaiian climate.

I was looking at watches on Amazon and one of the reviewers mentioned this phrase. As in, a watch approved for prison inmates to wear. I'm curious what the specifications are.

Will mostly eat rice and raw egg (tamago kake gohan 卵かけご飯) for the next month and am looking for some soy sauce recommendations to keep things interesting.

I like US Kikkoman but I'd like to try something new and especially suited to tamago kake gohan. I'd like to broaden my range and besides, I live near a Japanese food store. Can you tell me what's good?

The dimensions of the XBOX 360 game case are 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches and it weighs 4 ounces.

The buyer wishes that the shipping cost be $4 and under.

Also, I'm a total beginner at this business, so can you suggest ways to package the item so it arrives securely?

Thank you!

I was reading Steve Jobs's Stanford address where he says he dropped out of college then "dropped in" on a calligraphy course at Reed College. It was an uncalculated move that later spurred the integration of "beautiful" typography on personal computers with Apple's Macintosh.

As Job says, "None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. ... It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. ... Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later. " (http://news.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061...

Typography and aesthetic appeal is an important part of Apple's brand identity.

I am in college now and have taken some unusual classes, among them The Science of Sleep, Introduction to Creative Thinking and, this fall, The Hero (a course on hero mythology in popular culture). I'd love to hear the experiences of others who took courses that seemed unlikely to have "practical applications," as Jobs said, but made a significant and unexpected contribution later on in life. I also welcome answers that deal with serendipitous events outside of college.

I'm trying to keep my EFC (expected family contribution) level as low as possible. Basically all that's in my checking account is refund money. I saw this line on the FAFSA website when filling out my FAFSA: "do not add student financial aid into your account balances," but I need more information than that. I am worried and would like confirmation.

I was born American, because although my mother immigrated from Japan I shared none of her culture, because she coped with the struggles of a new country by severing her ties with the one she left. My father, a Caucasian of mixed European heritage whose family came to the US a few generations back, was also detached from any sense of real cultural identity or familial belonging, so he adopted the morals and values of a certain religious group instead.

My parents joined based on the culture created by this religious group, and they tried to stress its importance during my upbringing. In a way, I had a double identity not because I was American and Japanese, but because I was part of this religion that was at odds with ordinary American society.

Recently I've wanted to forego my parent's culture and substitute the Japanese cultural identity in its place to feel some sense of heritage. I've begun to learn the language. In the process I've concluded that I have no interest in learning the shoulds and should-nots of another culture; conforming to expectations is always suffocating.

I've been feeling mistaken, however, since it seems that heritage does not abide in blood. I wonder if you likewise agree that blood does not carry with it a sense of identity. I wonder how one can find personal fulfillment without regressing to the comfort of being told what to do, either through religion, blood, or society. I wonder how to begin a healthy cycle.

Looking to do an acting scene onstage for an acting class in college. Tell me where I can find a site or resource that lists scenes for three people. Best if the scenes are meant for stage.

Thank you.