House of the Dragon’s Overreliance on Miscommunication
(Spoiler warning for episodes 1–7 of the TV show, but no Fire & Blood spoilers.)
Posts by Year
2022
2021
Historical simulation games, the good and the not-so-good
If you ask most people who know me to list one fact about me, I’d wager the first thing that’d come to their mind would be, “he’s a huge history nerd.” Histo...
Why tropes can be good, actually
Spoiler warnings: Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Avatar: The Last Airbender, A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Bright
Slight tricks to make your Chinese sound more native
It’s common knowledge that textbooks are useful for giving you a foundation in a second language, but following their directions to a tee will make you sound...
Pet names in Japanese and Chinese
I recently watched a video from YouTubers Rachel and Jun that discussed the use of pet names for your significant other in Japanese. Rachel, who is American,...
How I became more productive during the pandemic
Around November of 2020, I hit a low-point in productivity. I was planning a second novel (that I’ll hopefully publish) and trying to keep up with my other p...
The Rebranded Half of Roman History
Rome is one of the most globally-discussed civilizations in history. Stories such as the Punic Wars with Carthage or Caesar’s assassination have been repeate...
2020
Why I loved learning Mandarin Chinese
I wasn’t expecting to fall for a language, but Mandarin Chinese swept me off my feet. What started as a mild curiosity to converse with some of my friends tu...
The Story of Taipei
There is no other city in the world like Taipei.
Unorthodox Language-Learning Tips from a Polyglot
One ice breaker I like to tell people is that I can speak eight different languages — and flirted with two others. After all, it’s a feat I’m proud of and re...