📖 Read pages 40-47 of Japanese from Zero! 1

📖 Read pages 40-47, Lesson 1–Hiragana あいうえお, of Japanese from Zero! 1: Proven Techniques to Learn Japanese for Students and Professionals (Volume 1) 6th Edition by George Trombley and Yukari Takenaka (From Zero!, , ISBN: 978-0976998129)

Spent some time working on improving my actual writing skills as well.

So far I’m really liking this book after having looked at a list of many others over the past year. It quickly covers a lot of simple stuff that was otherwise hard won by reading bits and pieces of other books. They do an exceptionally good job of laying out the beginning pieces. I appreciate some of the workbook like exercises which make this a better book for a much broader range of learners.

📖 Read Arthur’s Loose Tooth by Lillian Hoban

Read Arthur's Loose Tooth by Lillian Hoban (HarperCollins)
Arthur, afraid of pulling his loose tooth, and his little sister, Violet, learn something about being brave in the seventh adventure about two favorite chimps.
Not as solid as the Francis series, though this did have one or two nice moments. The illustrations were a bit too simplistic and much less realistic than they could have been.

How does a kid with only one tooth manage to loose it before he has more?!

I’m not sure which book I liked less, this or The Berenstain Bears Visit the Dentist. Though that one did have an entertaining set of pages which included an instrument that was colloquially called the “Yankers!”

Rating: 2 of 5 stars

Favorite quote:
“What!” said Arthur. “I am not scared to go upstairs in the dark!”
“I know,” said the baby-sitter. “But sometimes I think you are scared of a little soap and water.”

📖 Read Arthur’s Birthday Party by Lillian Hoban

Read Arthur's Birthday Party by Lillian Hoban (HarperCollins)
Arthur is having a gymnastics party for his birthday, with prizes for balancing, tumbling, and rope climbing. Arthur is sure that he will win the prize for best all--around gymnast. But his little sister, Violet, and her friend Wilma have been practicing-and they may have a surprise in store....
Simple to read and a vaguely interesting plot. Not as good as the Francis series though. Nothing funny here.
Rating: 2 of 5 stars

📖 Read pages i-29 of Japanese from Zero! 1

📖 Read pages i-29, Welcome and Pre-Lessons A-C, of Japanese from Zero! 1: Proven Techniques to Learn Japanese for Students and Professionals (Volume 1) 6th Edition by George Trombley and Yukari Takenaka (From Zero!, , ISBN: 978-0976998129)

Sped through some of the early pieces because I’ve got some reasonable experience with many of these parts

📖 Read One by Kathryn Otoshi

Read One by Kathryn Otoshi (KO Kids Books)
Blue is a quiet color. Red’s a hothead who likes to pick on Blue. Yellow, Orange, Green, and Purple don’t like what they see, but what can they do? When no one speaks up, things get out of hand — until One comes along and shows all the colors how to stand up, stand together, and count. As budding young readers learn about numbers, counting, and primary and secondary colors, they also learn about accepting each other's differences and how it sometimes just takes one voice to make everyone count.
What a great simple concept for a book about how to stand up to bullies. I know a lot of adults who could stand to read this book.
Rating: 5 of 5 stars

📖 Read pages 75-96 of Ramona the Brave by Beverly Cleary

📖 Read pages 75-96, Chapter 5: Owl Trouble, of Ramona The Brave by Beverly Cleary (William Morrow and Company, , ISBN: 0-688-22015-0)

The comment about Ramona being brave comes from this relatively lackluster chapter in which Ramona gets upset with her apparent choice of being called a tattletale or allowing Susan to be a terrible copycat. I can attest that the picture of a six year old making a growl-ly face and panther hands is true to life.

📅 Friday Coffee Meetup: Building Companies While Running Startup Accelerators on Three Continents

RSVPed Attending Building Companies While Running Startup Accelerators on Three Continents
From Hong Kong, to Los Angeles, to the Vatican. How running three very different startup accelerators over five years changed the way I think about entrepreneurship. Multiple program formats, 100+ companies, tens of millions in funding, lots of customers, exits, all across three continents. The talk will focus on: • Commonalities growing companies face across locations. • Getting results: How I try to trick people into learning. • Next steps in thinking about the future of company growth. Bio Paul Orlando enables companies to grow. He is Incubator Director and Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at USC. Paul has founded and operated successful startup accelerator programs in Hong Kong (focused on mobile development), Los Angeles (focused on growing a wide range of companies with founders affiliated with USC), and Rome (the Laudato Si accelerator, partnered with the Vatican and focused on environmental technology). Companies Paul has worked with have raised tens of millions in capital, served millions of customers, and have been acquired. He has authored several related academic case studies available on Harvard Business Publishing. Paul also helps larger institutions innovate, develop, and grow, especially in lowering the risk of innovation projects, speeding up learning cycles, and transitioning past legacy business models and products. Paul has been featured in media including Forbes, TechCrunch, Fast Company, and the Wall Street Journal. He was a winner at the TechCrunch Disrupt Hackathon. Paul has a BA from Cornell, an MBA from Columbia, and speaks Mandarin. Twitter handle: @porlando Speaker email: paul.orlando@gmail.com Date: Friday, February 23, 2018 from 8:15 AM to 9:30 AM Location: Cross Campus, 85 N. Raymond Avenue · Pasadena, CA Venue is located on the 2nd floor. Free street parking until 11:00 am; except where valet signs are posted. 90 minutes free parking is also available at nearby parking lots.
Acquired Japanese from Zero! 1: Proven Techniques to Learn Japanese for Students and Professionals (Volume 1) 6th Edition by George Trombley,‎ Yukari Takenaka (From Zero!)
Japanese From Zero! is an innovative and integrated approach to learning Japanese developed by professional Japanese interpreter George Trombley and co-writer Yukari Takenaka. The lessons and techniques used in this series have been taught successfully for over ten years in classrooms throughout the world.Using up-to-date and easy-to-grasp grammar, Japanese From Zero! is the perfect course for current students of Japanese as well as absolute beginners. In Book 1 of the Japanese From Zero! series, readers are taught new grammar concepts, over 800 new words and expressions, and also learn the hiragana writing system. Features of Book 1: * Integrated Workbook with Answer Key * Over 800 New Words and Expressions * Learn to Read and Write Hiragana * Easy-to-Understand Example Dialogues * Culture Points about Japan * Bilingual Glossaries with Kana and Romaji ...and much more!
Purchase price: $30.08
Paperback: 338 pages
Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.7 x 9.7 inches