笨蛋挞就是我吧

[nnozomi]

· Still working slowly on the Guardian Chinese script, except now I'm stalled because I dislike the end of 24 and all of 25 so much. Must get on with it. Otherwise fortuitously, this process means actually rewatching the whole thing in little bursts; I always forget how intense the bomb scene is, how they're both out of breath from tension by the time the bomb is disarmed.
(Reminded me of setting Guardian to Rachmaninoff 3 as here, where you can "hear" the wires being cut; maybe if the wishlist fest happens again I should ask for a little snippet of this as an actual vid?)

·Speaking of requesting fannish things, clevermanka and I were talking about Yamaguchi Akira's artwork, and I realized I should nominate the general world of his paintings for Yuletide next year. Ideas?

· Happy translation of the week: writing about the freethinking educational journal ひと (person/people) and trying to come up with an appropriately nuanced equivalent English title, I settled on Mensch.
In other translation/interpretation news, I had to fill in as interpreter for a business colleague of my partner's. D, the colleague, spoke mostly Korean, put into English by his wife S, which I then put into Japanese for my partner, and back... They were very nice and it went fine, but it was the first time I've listened seriously to Korean in a while and I could tell how much I would have been able to understand ten years ago. I also found myself, unhelpfully, totally unable to say anything in Korean myself without having to cycle through Chinese words and syntax first. It was like having my brain braided.

· Two nice encounters on my way home the other night. The cats that live behind the temple usually meow demandingly at me and then run away; this time one said "meow!" very loudly and ran right up to me to head-butt me and slither around my knees, letting me stroke it all over. Its friend saw this and decided not to get left out, so for about five minutes I had two very demanding cats to cope with. Maybe they decided it was cold enough that humans could come in useful?
Also two ladies chatting in Chinese outside a little Chinese deli; one dropped some change and, when I [saw my chance and] picked it up, said absently 谢谢. Before she could switch to Japanese I said 不客气, and got to practice Chinese with them for a few minutes--speaking okay, listening terrible as usual, but they were very nice and the deli lady sold me a delicious 蛋挞 egg tart (h/t Wang Zhuocheng). Promising for future conversation practice and snacks...

· Rereading Sylvia Plath's early letters, another writer whose letters and diaries I prefer to her fiction and poetry. As a college senior, she writes to a boyfriend "my new philosophy of life is...in times of crisis Assume-The-Worst-But-Serve-It-With-Parsley (that last is out of my 'joy of cooking' book from the section on what to do with leftovers)." Words for our time.

·Photos: Two varieties of persimmons, a green-eyed cat, a Gaudi-esque train car, park lights at night (long story), parent turtle being roused from a nap by insistent baby, two morning glory views (the edge-on ones are on my veranda, where the morning glory, after months of sulking, has suddenly decided to bloom daily), and a shrine tree...umm...camphor tree.




Be safe and well.

Comments

[luzula]

"my new philosophy of life is...in times of crisis Assume-The-Worst-But-Serve-It-With-Parsley (that last is out of my 'joy of cooking' book from the section on what to do with leftovers)."
Ha, that's great.

And aww, insistent baby turtle!

[nnozomi]

There were so many turtles, a whole clan lined up on the sunny bank of this very urban little river! I couldn't get a good photo of all of them...

[china_shop]

I'm resisting the temptation to rewatch the bomb scene now, because it's very nearly time to log off for the night. But note to self! :D

I also found myself, unhelpfully, totally unable to say anything in Korean myself without having to cycle through Chinese words and syntax first. It was like having my brain braided.

Ha, I'm like that with Korean and French; I did three years of French at school, but when I reach for even the basics these days, all I get is Korean.

and got to practice Chinese with them for a few minutes--speaking okay, listening terrible as usual, but they were very nice and the deli lady sold me a delicious 蛋挞 egg tart (h/t Wang Zhuocheng). Promising for future conversation practice and snacks...

That's awesome! Go you! (Random aside: I'm a big fan of language exchanges. At one point, I had four Korean language exchange partners running concurrently. There's always someone who wants an opportunity to practice their English, and it's a nice balance when both of you are positioned as learners in one language and "experts" in the other. Ijs.)

"my new philosophy of life is...in times of crisis Assume-The-Worst-But-Serve-It-With-Parsley (that last is out of my 'joy of cooking' book from the section on what to do with leftovers)."

That's wonderful. (I immediately read it aloud to my partner.) ♥

a Gaudi-esque train car

Ohhh, I'm head over heels for that: I want whoever did it to come and decorate my house! :D (The cat looks quite evil to me, hee!)

[nnozomi]

I did three years of French at school, but when I reach for even the basics these days, all I get is Korean.
Yes! Exactly how it is.

I'm a big fan of language exchanges.
It's a good idea! I hate anything that resembles teaching English conversation, so I haven't looked for exchanges per se, but I have a Chinese ex-colleague who very kindly gives me an hour of Chinese conversation over Zoom weekly.

<3 <3 <3

[china_shop]

but I have a Chinese ex-colleague who very kindly gives me an hour of Chinese conversation over Zoom weekly.

Oh, that's cool! I haven't tried anything via the internet (I'm still very much a Zoom noob), but I should think about it. Not that I'm actively learning atm -- I started falling out of Korean study when I fell into Guardian. /o\

[nnozomi]

I haven't tried anything via the internet (I'm still very much a Zoom noob), but I should think about it.
yeah, we were originally going to meet in person (she lives in the next town over), but with corona, work, her kids etc., it ended up being easier to do it online. I feel guilty for not being able to pay her in coffee and cake for her time, but other than that it's a great experience and she's very patient...

I started falling out of Korean study when I fell into Guardian. /o\
Korean's not going anywhere! If you ever decide to pick it up again it'll be easier the second time.

[trobadora]

Still working slowly on the Guardian Chinese script, except now I'm stalled because I dislike the end of 24 and all of 25 so much.

*hugs* For me, there are good moments in there! But some bits ... :(

I always forget how intense the bomb scene is, how they're both out of breath from tension by the time the bomb is disarmed.

So so good! :D

Reminded me of setting Guardian to Rachmaninoff 3 as here, where you can "hear" the wires being cut; maybe if the wishlist fest happens again I should ask for a little snippet of this as an actual vid?

Oooh, that is a fantastic idea!

I also found myself, unhelpfully, totally unable to say anything in Korean myself without having to cycle through Chinese words and syntax first. It was like having my brain braided.

Ha, I know what you mean, and that's an awesome way to put it. (All my Chinese is routed through English as it is ...)

"my new philosophy of life is...in times of crisis Assume-The-Worst-But-Serve-It-With-Parsley (that last is out of my 'joy of cooking' book from the section on what to do with leftovers)." Words for our time.

Indeed! Great philosophy. :D

a Gaudi-esque train car

Oooh, that is gorgeous!!!!!!!

[nnozomi]

For me, there are good moments in there! But some bits ... :(
I'll probably find more of the good ones when I go back to them! (If all else fails I can console myself with that episode 25 BTS video of Z1L cracking up in the middle of a take...)

(All my Chinese is routed through English as it is ...)
Interesting!

<3 <3 <3

[clevermanka]

this time one said "meow!" very loudly and ran right up to me to head-butt me and slither around my knees
Awwwwww!

Those persimmons look delicious.

[nnozomi]

Those persimmons look delicious.
I have never figured out what to do with persimmons! They rarely taste as good as they look raw, and I don't know how to cook/bake with them at all...

[clevermanka]

There was a persimmon tree across the street from my old office building (a huge, old one--the kind with the little round ones) and I would harvest a handful on fall afternoons to eat with my lunch 😄 I just ate them plain, but they were very different than the ones I've seen in stores so idk. I agree the store-bought ones I've tried aren't as good.

[nnozomi]

Love the idea of persimmon windfalls! Maybe I'll try growing some on my balcony next year? Although my track record is not that great. Somebody I was reading...maybe Annia Ciezadlo's book about food and the Middle East...? mentioned Midwestern persimmon pudding in passing, I think, which sounds very good.

[awanderingcoyote]

I love seeing all your interesting photos! :D And that cat looking out through the window they look very 'hrumph'! looking!!

[nnozomi]

very 'hrumph'! looking!!
Perfect phrasing :) 🐱

[elenothar]

trying to come up with an appropriately nuanced equivalent English title, I settled on Mensch.

Laughing a little at the irony of loanwords 😂

I think the first time I watched Guardian I stalled out in the mid-twenties for the same reason. I tend to not remember the bits I didn't like (much more fun to concentrate on the majority that I do), but there definitely were some

... I just considered if I could do Chinese to German (or vice versa), and the answer is very much a no without having English as a buffer. On the other hand, I can't do Latin to English or vice versa, that needs to be routed through German. Ah, brains.

[nnozomi]

Laughing a little at the irony of loanwords 😂
yeah, I guess "mensch" in that sense is a double loanword really, German --> Yiddish --> English.

the answer is very much a no without having English as a buffer. On the other hand, I can't do Latin to English or vice versa, that needs to be routed through German.
Fascinating! trobadora was saying the same about Chinese and English above. Latin and German maybe stick together because of the cases???

[elenothar]

Oh, in my case it definitely has less to do with the actual similarities of the languages such as cases, and everything to do with which language I learned them in. I did Latin at school for seven years, and all the translation and vocab learning was Latin to German, so I have no connection at all to English with Latin. And now I'm learning Chinese in English rather than German and creating the same kind of connection.

[nnozomi]

I did Latin at school for seven years, and all the translation and vocab learning was Latin to German, so I have no connection at all to English with Latin. And now I'm learning Chinese in English rather than German and creating the same kind of connection.
That makes good sense. No wonder I get confused sometimes during Chinese conversation with my ex-colleague Yu-jie, our common language is Japanese, but most of my Chinese is filtered through English...

[sakana17]

I love the photos! Especially the turtle parent and baby. <3 And the park lights.

I could barely get through episode 25 the first time. Since then I've watched it at least two more times, and there are some nice scenes I always forget about because there's...the rest of it. 加油!

in times of crisis Assume-The-Worst-But-Serve-It-With-Parsley

That is so fitting, yes.

[nnozomi]

And the park lights.
The park lights were actually part of a huge and very, very surreal light-up art exhibit: https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/news/teamlab-is-taking-over-a-botanical-garden-in-osaka-and-it-looks-surreal-051122 Had to be seen to be believed.

Since then I've watched it at least two more times, and there are some nice scenes I always forget about because there's...the rest of it. 加油!
As I was saying in another comment, I can always console myself with that BTS video of Z1L falling over the sofa laughing...

[sakana17]

Oh, wow, the art exhibit is impressive!

I can always console myself with that BTS video of Z1L falling over the sofa laughing...

That's my thought, too, whenever I think of episode 25.

[nnozomi]

Oh, wow, the art exhibit is impressive!
It was A LOT in person. I think part of it is permanent? so recommended if you ever come visit and want a very weird evening :)

[tinny]

Yamaguchi Akira's artwork,
Ooooh, I'd never heard of them. They're amazing. And it's all very technical and serious until bam! Motorbike horses! :D

It was like having my brain braided.
Oh man, I know what you mean. Languages. Fascinating. Brains. Also fascinating.

Promising for future conversation practice and snacks...
Woo! \o/ First contact established! \o/

Photos
I always wonder how many cats you meet! (There are cats around here, too, but I think I just never see them because I don't walk but always bike.)

My faves here are the park lights (very atmospheric <3) (I hope the story is not a scary one), and the tree from below.

[nnozomi]

I forget how I came across Yamaguchi Akira to begin with, but I LOVE his artwork, especially the cityscapes, train pictures and so on--very precise, very imaginative and funny, and pretty to look at too.

There are a lot of stray and semi-stray cats around here! No shortage of city suckers to feed them :) They're officially considered a nuisance but they do stick around.

Re the park lights, see https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/news/teamlab-is-taking-over-a-botanical-garden-in-osaka-and-it-looks-surreal-051122 . I didn't even try taking pictures of some of the strangest ones, but they were very pretty. (And I'm especially fond of those big shrine trees... <3)

[superborb]

Apparently, the trick to keeping multiple languages separate is to make sure to study them all simultaneously, or your brain will start to just lump the unpracticed ones together...

[nnozomi]

make sure to study them all simultaneously
Oh wow, I wonder how that would work, and whether it would be easier with related languages or completely unrelated ones (would the hints outweigh the confusion?). Can we run some experiments? I want to try it :)