happy more-sweets-day

[nnozomi]

because the actual name of the chocolate-company-sponsored Japanese event celebrated today sounds absurd anywhere else.
Daily life: I've been trying to do situps a couple times a day, counting them off in Chinese for 一石二鳥; this has the added benefit of making me feel like Wu Xie doing pushups (only without the fasting and fainting parts). In related non-fasting news, a little shop selling tasty "American cookies" has opened within walking distance, requiring some self-control.

Music: We had a full orchestra rehearsal today for the first time in over a year (with precautions according to the protocol the professionals have come up with). Knock wood we'll be able to continue for a while, who knows. It was tiring but comforting, and while I think Tchaikovsky 2 is a lot more repetitive than it needs to be, the development section in the last movement is a delight, positively 20th-century.

Books: I have a large backlog of quotable Mass-Observation entries (British diaries during and just after WWII); have a few amusing ones.

Nothing can persuade Captain Macgowan that “Yours Faithfully” is the customary termination to a business letter. He says it sounds like a love-letter: “Who else would you want to be faithful to except your sweetheart?” I put “Yours truly” now, although I have pointed out that that is nineteenth century. Captain Macgowan would rather be nineteenth century, he says, than write and tell a ship’s agent that he was faithful to him. (Edith Oakley, Glasgow secretary)

Ah well, it is all old stuff now and when I look at Norman I am so thankful I didn’t marry him, but of course had I done, he might have been quite different now. ("Edie Rutherford," Sheffield housewife)

I have always thought, and I still think, that all the hullaballoo about sex is due to the fact that it produces a pleasant sensation. ("B. Charles," Edinburgh antiques dealer)

Chinese: I've been downloading some Anki stuff thanks to helpful advice from tinny and falkner; I found an Anki deck made from sentences on the Chinese Grammar Wiki! Yessss. I'm still very tentative about Anki in general, but it's a good resource.

Writing: A lot of thinking about revisions based on advice from kind and helpful beta readers; I don't think I've had anyone do a close reading of anything I wrote since grad school (this is where I confess shamefacedly that my fanfic gets posted unbetaed), and it's a very illuminating process. Also I can kind of see the themes and the plot structure as they should be sort of hovering at the edge of my vision, but I am not smart enough to pull them together. You know those dreams where you're reading this fabulously satisfying novel, but you can't remember it when you wake up...?

Photos: The tag on the fruit says 晩白柚, banpeiyu. I want to float one in the bath. Also a fairly ordinary street and some of the usual seasonal flowers.



Be safe and well.

Comments

[philomytha]

I love the MassObs quotes! I was taught 'yours faithfully' for the most formal letters, but it seems weird to me too. And the flowers are gorgeous :-)

[nnozomi]

Thanks! MassObs is an endless source of delight. I was always taught "yours sincerely," I think; these days I use "many thanks" or "best" when I want to be pleasant and just "yours" when I'm irritated. ;)

[china_shop]

counting them off in Chinese for 一石二鳥

Ha, I know what you mean. Why does counting in a language you're learning help so much? Is it the associated sense of achievement?

Yay orchestra rehearsal!

❤ Pictures! ❤

[nnozomi]

Is it the associated sense of achievement?
I think it must be! I do it on long flights of stairs sometimes too. Now if only I could quit getting seven mixed up with nine...

♡

[china_shop]

I do it on long flights of stairs sometimes too.

Yes, me too! And on steep garden paths. And in Korean, I switch between different counting systems for variety. :-)

[nnozomi]

hana, tul, se', ne'... I was climbing a very steep bridge today (might post photos next time) and went through 1-10 in all the languages I could think of ;)

[oursin]

Many years ago, I spent some happy hours trawling through the Mass Observation 1949 'Little Kinsey' Sex Survey - this was published, finally, in book form with substantial commentary several years ago, but nothing beats looking through the reports of the people doing the 'street sample'.

[nnozomi]

nothing beats looking through the reports of the people doing the 'street sample'.
Oh yes--I'm an unscientific type who is always more interested by the anecdotes than the statistics. I'll have to look up the book as well, though!

[clevermanka]

when I look at Norman I am so thankful I didn’t marry him, but of course had I done, he might have been quite different now.
You dodged a bullet, Edie, trust me.

[nnozomi]

LOL. Edie's diary is a lot of fun, she does not mince words or respect persons and it's all very entertaining. Norman wouldn't have known what hit him.
(Also reminds me of the "Marry the Man Today (and change his ways tomorrow)" song from Guys and Dolls, do you know? We used to listen to it at home and my mom would invariably turn to me and say "But don't do that! It's bad advice! Men won't change!").

[clevermanka]

Oh, man, everything in Guys and Dolls is either bad advice or bad practice but damn it's fun to sing.

[nnozomi]

I love the songs! Such a good show.

[naye]

Ahhhh I wanna step through to that street...! And what gorgeous flowers! None are out in the forest yet, so I love seeing all the colors.

[nnozomi]

thanks! <3 I'll trade you some flowers for some snow--I love the colors, but I don't know how I ended up in a subtropical climate.

[tinny]

this has the added benefit of making me feel like Wu Xie doing pushups

Muahahaha! Worthy goal. :D

I have a large backlog of quotable Mass-Observation entries

Those are hilarious!

I found an Anki deck made from sentences on the Chinese Grammar Wiki! Yessss. I'm still very tentative about Anki in general, but it's a good resource.

It doesn't have the most sophisticated user interface, but it does the job it's supposed to do without hassle, and for free. Which is the deck from the Grammar Wiki? I think I'd like to try that, too. (I really should finally get that Guardian deck finished, and get back to actually learning my spoonfed deck vocab. Oi.)

Also I can kind of see the themes and the plot structure as they should be sort of hovering at the edge of my vision, but I am not smart enough to pull them together.

Awww. <3 I think it's one of those things that need to percolate. It'll come to you. A novel is a very long piece to get straightened out, and it takes time.

photos

I adore the blue flowers! <3 And the pink ones are pretty, too.

[nnozomi]

Which is the deck from the Grammar Wiki?
I think it's called the "Chinese Grammar Wiki Study Deck," it turned up when I tried searching on the AnkiWeb site for "Chinese Grammar." Let me know what you think.

thanks for the kind words re writing (and again for all your help)--that's a good way to think about it. I like the "percolate" image, small drips of coffee/inspiration gradually appearing...

♡

[chestnut_pod]

Azaleas and camellias, some of my favorites! How lovely.

I'm intrigued by what the Japanese take on American cookies might be -- have you found any particular favorites yet?

[nnozomi]

You know more of the flower names than I do! (The pink winter flowers we call camellias are either tsubaki or sazanka and I've never learned which is which...).
I am a simple person easily satisfied with soft cookies containing a lot of chocolate, but there was also one with a nice Earl Grey flavoring, and one with figs in... clearly more research is needed ;) I'll keep you posted.

[marycrawford]

I love the flowers, and the Mass Obs quotes! Where are you reading these, in book form, or? I was told about the diaries by a friend, so I know what they are, but I haven't found them for myself yet.
I know the street is ordinary to you, but to me it's fascinating and recognizably Japanese. What I love is how many houses have quite complex arrangements of plants and greenery in front, or in pots on the stoop - that house on the left, with the scooter in front of it, for example. And the sort of cluttered aspect that comes with all those wires hanging over everything (the Netherlands are so small that all our electric/cable wires are underground, everywhere, so to me this looks exotic).

[nnozomi]

the Mass Obs quotes! Where are you reading these, in book form, or?
These all come from a three-volume series edited by Simon Garfield, each featuring four or five diarists, two books set during the war and one after: (pause to look up titles) We Are At War, Private Battles, Our Hidden Lives. They are probably my favorite collections, although there are other good ones too, and individual diarists like Nella Last, Olivia Cockett, Rachel Dhonau and so on. All highly recommended.

Good eye on the street! The way people use the, like, two square feet in front of their houses to make lavish gardens is one of my favorite things about city walking here. Not everyone likes the vast amount of wires overhead, but I've gotten to appreciate them, like a kind of cityscape calligraphy.

[marycrawford]

Thanks for the details on the Mass Obs! I'm going to have t do a deep dive and find that series, it sounds excellent.

The way people use the, like, two square feet in front of their houses to make lavish gardens is one of my favorite things about city walking here.

Yes! I absolutely love that, I wish that aesthetic was more common in other places. We do have some people with doorstep gardens, but in Japan it just seems to be such an established thing.

[nnozomi]

I'm going to have to do a deep dive and find that series, it sounds excellent.
Let me know what you think when you get to it!

I wish that aesthetic was more common in other places. We do have some people with doorstep gardens, but in Japan it just seems to be such an established thing.
I mean, the other thing about (urban) Japan is that while there are exceptions, most of the houses are not pretty--put up in the 1970s on and either functional or ugly. In the Netherlands (well, I've only been in Amsterdam), like most European cities, the background buildings are low-key beautiful. So it's six of one, half-dozen of the other...

[marycrawford]

I mean, the other thing about (urban) Japan is that while there are exceptions, most of the houses are not pretty--put up in the 1970s on and either functional or ugly. In the Netherlands (well, I've only been in Amsterdam), like most European cities, the background buildings are low-key beautiful. So it's six of one, half-dozen of the other...

Hee, yeah, well. Of course Amsterdam is not representative, and we have a ton of awful new build neighborhoods too, but I know, it's definitely "grass is greener on the other side", for me. I loved visiting Japan, both urban and not-so-urban - the second time I was there we walked the Kumano Kodo, which I still think about often and would do again, like, tomorrow, if I could.

[nnozomi]

Oh, I would absolutely visit the Netherlands tomorrow if I could (and it's certainly time I saw other cities as well as Amsterdam). The Kumano Kodo isn't that far from me in terms of the country as a whole. When everything settles down we'll have to do something about this ;)