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Increasingly isolated
Friday, 14 December 2018 14:47The media are apparently quite fond of this phrase; they keep stating that Trump is 'increasingly isolated'. It's frankly getting boring, there are so many other ways of saying that. Even if you want to use the exact same letters! Have some anagrams...
And a nice way to describe him: Lying Asocial Resident.
Increasingly Isolated
=
Is Destroying Alliance
=
Lying Idiot Erases Clan
=
Alone, Dissing Literacy
=
Resignedly Antisocial
=
Is Destroying Alliance
=
Lying Idiot Erases Clan
=
Alone, Dissing Literacy
=
Resignedly Antisocial
And a nice way to describe him: Lying Asocial Resident.
A language peeve
Monday, 22 October 2018 17:07How, when and where did 'agnostic' come to mean 'I don't care about this'?
No, 'I'm agnostic on going out tonight' doesn't mean you're equally fine with going out as you are with staying in. It means that you do not know whether going out is happening tonight, and you are convinced that it's in fact impossible to know this.
Platform-agnostic software is literally software that has no idea which platform it's running on, and is certain that this cannot be known. If you want to refer to software that can run on all different platforms, what's wrong with 'multi-platform'?
Don't get me started on the non-literal usage of 'literal'. Because that's not going to be pretty.
No, 'I'm agnostic on going out tonight' doesn't mean you're equally fine with going out as you are with staying in. It means that you do not know whether going out is happening tonight, and you are convinced that it's in fact impossible to know this.
Platform-agnostic software is literally software that has no idea which platform it's running on, and is certain that this cannot be known. If you want to refer to software that can run on all different platforms, what's wrong with 'multi-platform'?
Don't get me started on the non-literal usage of 'literal'. Because that's not going to be pretty.
I like this song so much
Monday, 2 May 2016 19:40... that I made a transcription. Yes, another one by Professor Elemental, the chaphop rapper who also made Cup of Brown Joy. (Lyrics here.)
( Come on in, join the rest of us, we're all in here )
( Come on in, join the rest of us, we're all in here )
Storm (in Dutch)
Monday, 28 October 2013 21:47Een paar strofen over storm, die ik schreef toen ik achttien was. Ik weet niet eens zeker of dit nu twee aparte versjes zijn, of dat het er samen één is. Ik geloof dat ik het zelf indertijd als onaf beschouwde. Maar gek genoeg weet ik het nog.
O storm, jij woelig wonderbeest
Dans voort in woeste tuimeling
en hoor hoe ik mijn stormlied zing:
er is nog nooit zo'n storm geweest!
Zoals een verre minnaar maar
voor weinig dagen komt
Zo komt de storm, met harstocht wild
die woedt... en weer verstomt.
Juist als ik met mijn storm nog wat
wil dansen over straat
Dan merk ik hoe de stille stad
zijn trage gang weer gaat.
O storm, jij woelig wonderbeest
Dans voort in woeste tuimeling
en hoor hoe ik mijn stormlied zing:
er is nog nooit zo'n storm geweest!
Zoals een verre minnaar maar
voor weinig dagen komt
Zo komt de storm, met harstocht wild
die woedt... en weer verstomt.
Juist als ik met mijn storm nog wat
wil dansen over straat
Dan merk ik hoe de stille stad
zijn trage gang weer gaat.
This day just started with good news!
Besides managing the new European BookCrossing Supply Store, I also keep an eye on the BC Translation Project. Lately, it seemed to be a bit stuck so I posted a message, asking for new volunteers. So far I've 'caught' a Lithuanian, a volunteer for Arabic (yay!)... and this morning, I found a message from someone who can help with Chinese!
This is great because while Chinese is an incredibly widely read language, volunteers are hard to find. And we need more of them, because of the two versions: Traditional and Simplified Han.
Lately, we found a girl who was very motivated to work on Simplified Han, so I asked one of the older, once-active volunteers for Traditional Han whether she'd be willing to help with Simplified, now that there was someone else; she said yes. Those two volunteers have been discussing words and terms lately and they will soon start on the actual translation. That is already great. But now there is this new extra volunteer for Simplified Han! So now, in the end, we are very likely to get both versions translated.
If we can offer Chinese, Russian and Arabic versions of the BookCrossing website in the next year, that means that we have most of the world covered, language-wise. So many people read and write these languages. Just think of all the people reading books in these languages!
Overview of the languages involved in the project, and their current status.
Swedish looks like it's mostly done, but that's because it uses Norwegian as a template.
Besides managing the new European BookCrossing Supply Store, I also keep an eye on the BC Translation Project. Lately, it seemed to be a bit stuck so I posted a message, asking for new volunteers. So far I've 'caught' a Lithuanian, a volunteer for Arabic (yay!)... and this morning, I found a message from someone who can help with Chinese!
This is great because while Chinese is an incredibly widely read language, volunteers are hard to find. And we need more of them, because of the two versions: Traditional and Simplified Han.
Lately, we found a girl who was very motivated to work on Simplified Han, so I asked one of the older, once-active volunteers for Traditional Han whether she'd be willing to help with Simplified, now that there was someone else; she said yes. Those two volunteers have been discussing words and terms lately and they will soon start on the actual translation. That is already great. But now there is this new extra volunteer for Simplified Han! So now, in the end, we are very likely to get both versions translated.
If we can offer Chinese, Russian and Arabic versions of the BookCrossing website in the next year, that means that we have most of the world covered, language-wise. So many people read and write these languages. Just think of all the people reading books in these languages!
Overview of the languages involved in the project, and their current status.
Swedish looks like it's mostly done, but that's because it uses Norwegian as a template.
Lekker stom
Wednesday, 11 January 2012 12:06Uit de online Stentor van vandaag:
Dit is een 'of'-vraag. Hoe verwacht je dat iemand die beantwoordt met ja of nee?
Wie hier ja invoert, zegt daarmee: Ja, ik koop er nu snel een of ik wacht op de nieuwe krachtpatsers.
Wie nee kiest, zegt: ik doe geen van beide.
Ik kan me niet voorstellen dat dat de antwoorden zijn die de vraagsteller in gedachten had.
Dit is een 'of'-vraag. Hoe verwacht je dat iemand die beantwoordt met ja of nee?
Wie hier ja invoert, zegt daarmee: Ja, ik koop er nu snel een of ik wacht op de nieuwe krachtpatsers.
Wie nee kiest, zegt: ik doe geen van beide.
Ik kan me niet voorstellen dat dat de antwoorden zijn die de vraagsteller in gedachten had.
Zitten op de kademuur
Friday, 28 October 2011 12:04Dit is een vertaling van 'Sitting on the Dock of the Bay' van Otis Redding. Ik heb hem gemaakt.
'k Zit hier in de morgenzon
Zal hier zitten als de avond komt
Grote boten komen aan
Ik kijk ze na als ze weer gaan
Eenzaamheid is mijn kameraad
Jaren lopen jagen en jachten
Geloof dat ik het hier maar bij laat
'k Zit hier in de morgenzon
Zal hier zitten als de avond komt
Grote boten komen aan
Ik kijk ze na als ze weer gaan
Ik blijf maar zitten op de kademuur
Bij eb en vloed, uur na uur
Heb hier op de kademuur
'n Zee van tijd.
Ik zit hier op niks te wachtenBij eb en vloed, uur na uur
Heb hier op de kademuur
'n Zee van tijd.
Eenzaamheid is mijn kameraad
Jaren lopen jagen en jachten
Geloof dat ik het hier maar bij laat
Ik blijf maar zitten op de kademuur
Bij eb en vloed, uur na uur
Heb hier op de kademuur
'n Zee van tijd.
Bij eb en vloed, uur na uur
Heb hier op de kademuur
'n Zee van tijd.
Weet je, alles is nou eenmaal zo
Niemand geeft je wat kado
En ik ben nou eenmaal ook niet anders
Dus ik laat het gewoon maar zo.
Ben naar de havenstad gekomen
waarvoor ik mijn huis verliet
Zonder doel en zonder dromen
en met niets in het verschiet
Ik blijf maar zitten op de kademuur
Bij eb en vloed, uur na uur
Heb hier op de kademuur
'n Zee van tijd.
I don't get it
Friday, 22 July 2011 11:43I don't get 'IDGI'. Yes, I know what it means, but is it really too much work to type that out? It's all of four short words... or five actually.
And I don't even know about 'IDEK'...
And I don't even know about 'IDEK'...
On words and gender
Saturday, 25 September 2010 08:58Someone on the menstrual_cup community over at LJ got a friendly warning from a mod, because she addressed the group as 'ladies'. This form of address is discouraged, because not all the users of this group 'self-identify as women'.
While I do realise there are transgendered people using cups, this irked me somewhat, and I did feel like responding on the comm. Then I thought better of it and decided to post on the special comm for contacting the mods. Then I thought better of that, too, and decided to post it on my own journal instead. Here is what I'd intended to post:
I dunno. Maybe I'm transfobic. Or just really insensitive, and need to get with the PC times. I should not call myself a woman, either: the word these days is ciswoman, for a woman who's always been one and feels that she is in a correctly gendered body.
Someone else, elsewhere, wrote an excellent overview of the virtues of menstrual cups. She began her story with something like: 'Why you need to know about this, if you're a person who menstruates'.
That sounds awfully stilted and artificial to me. If I'd written that, and been in a PC mood, I would have shortened the last part to '...if you menstruate'.
Still, is it really too far-fetched to assume that generally, people who menstruate are women? Would it make anyone's life harder if one does? Does it make me a bad person if I do?
Genderless words, of course, would be a neat way to avoid the problem alltogether. How about 'gentlefolks'?
While I do realise there are transgendered people using cups, this irked me somewhat, and I did feel like responding on the comm. Then I thought better of it and decided to post on the special comm for contacting the mods. Then I thought better of that, too, and decided to post it on my own journal instead. Here is what I'd intended to post:
Honestly, I get so much mail addressed to a Dear Sir... is it really a problem for anyone to be called a lady when s/he is not?
Aren't we making gender far too important by placing emphasis on the genderedness of words like these?
Plus, I'm a woman, and I don't regard myself a 'lady'. But do I mind being called one? Nahh. It sure beats 'Hello, humans who may or may not self-identify as women and who may or may not menstruate'.
Aren't we making gender far too important by placing emphasis on the genderedness of words like these?
Plus, I'm a woman, and I don't regard myself a 'lady'. But do I mind being called one? Nahh. It sure beats 'Hello, humans who may or may not self-identify as women and who may or may not menstruate'.
I dunno. Maybe I'm transfobic. Or just really insensitive, and need to get with the PC times. I should not call myself a woman, either: the word these days is ciswoman, for a woman who's always been one and feels that she is in a correctly gendered body.
Someone else, elsewhere, wrote an excellent overview of the virtues of menstrual cups. She began her story with something like: 'Why you need to know about this, if you're a person who menstruates'.
That sounds awfully stilted and artificial to me. If I'd written that, and been in a PC mood, I would have shortened the last part to '...if you menstruate'.
Still, is it really too far-fetched to assume that generally, people who menstruate are women? Would it make anyone's life harder if one does? Does it make me a bad person if I do?
Genderless words, of course, would be a neat way to avoid the problem alltogether. How about 'gentlefolks'?
Choose from one of the following five options
Tuesday, 26 January 2010 12:56The sentence above is translated from the phone maze that my internet provider has in place. It has me foaming at the mouth and stark raving 'round the bend within twenty seconds, every time I need to call their help desk.
I'm currently in an e-mail conversation with them, doing my best to explain why. It seems it's very hard to grasp; someone (presumably a manager) stepped in to explain politely that it's easier for people if they know beforehand how many options there are, before they actually need to make a choice. But that was hardly the point (for values of 'hardly' that equal 'not at all').
Am I off my rocker? Am I the only one seeing the problem with that sentence?
I'm currently in an e-mail conversation with them, doing my best to explain why. It seems it's very hard to grasp; someone (presumably a manager) stepped in to explain politely that it's easier for people if they know beforehand how many options there are, before they actually need to make a choice. But that was hardly the point (for values of 'hardly' that equal 'not at all').
Am I off my rocker? Am I the only one seeing the problem with that sentence?
Writer's Block: BFFs
Sunday, 6 December 2009 11:46[Error: unknown template qotd]
My pedantry, let mi show u it.
I don't answer Writer's Block questions that obviously no one could be bothered to check for correct grammar, before putting it up on LJ for the whole membership to see.
My pedantry, let mi show u it.
I don't answer Writer's Block questions that obviously no one could be bothered to check for correct grammar, before putting it up on LJ for the whole membership to see.
On pronouns
Tuesday, 17 November 2009 21:25Currently I find myself more and more disliking the usage of 'they, them, their' as a genderless pronoun. It grates on my ears. It feels so... plural.
Yet, we see it a lot and it's clear why people use it: because the English language, as does the Dutch, lacks a genderless or gender-neutral pronoun.
It's not for want of trying, though. There have been many attempts of inventing one. But none of them sounds good to me. (Yes, that's a matter of personal taste.)
I know better than to propose a new standard. But I may very well start using a 'standard' of my own, even if it's only here, and possibly on the BookCrossing forums.
I'm currently thinking of 's/he, hirm, hirs'. As in: I saw hirm, as s/he was getting into hirs car'. Clunky? Yes. Workable? Yes? No? Thoughts... ?
On a related note: I remember reading about such a proposed set of words in a favourite book. It was The Bone People by Keri Hulme. I remember the words she used in the Dutch translation: lij, lem, laar. But I can't for the life of me remember which words were mentioned in the English original!
I've even asked on BookTalk and no one knew. Frustrating.
Yet, we see it a lot and it's clear why people use it: because the English language, as does the Dutch, lacks a genderless or gender-neutral pronoun.
It's not for want of trying, though. There have been many attempts of inventing one. But none of them sounds good to me. (Yes, that's a matter of personal taste.)
I know better than to propose a new standard. But I may very well start using a 'standard' of my own, even if it's only here, and possibly on the BookCrossing forums.
I'm currently thinking of 's/he, hirm, hirs'. As in: I saw hirm, as s/he was getting into hirs car'. Clunky? Yes. Workable? Yes? No? Thoughts... ?
On a related note: I remember reading about such a proposed set of words in a favourite book. It was The Bone People by Keri Hulme. I remember the words she used in the Dutch translation: lij, lem, laar. But I can't for the life of me remember which words were mentioned in the English original!
I've even asked on BookTalk and no one knew. Frustrating.
Nachtvorst (in Dutch)
Monday, 12 October 2009 09:56This is language-related and not really translatable. So it's in Dutch. Sorry!
Er wordt nchtvorst voorspeld.
Ik heb als kind heel lang gedacht dat 'nachtvorst' een ander woord was voor Sinterklaas.
Het verschil tussen een bisschop en een koning is voor een kind niet zo heel eenvoudig te doorgronden. Hun kleding, zoals je die op plaatjes ziet, lijkt nogal op elkaar. Zo heb ik ook eens aan mijn moeder gevraagd wie er hoger was, een keizer of de Paus.
En Sinterklaas opereert natuurlijk vooral 's nachts.
Verder wordt er vaak gesproken over nachtvorst rond de tijd dat de eerste speelgoedfolders met Sint Nicolaas erop in de brievenbus vallen. Dus.
Er wordt nchtvorst voorspeld.
Ik heb als kind heel lang gedacht dat 'nachtvorst' een ander woord was voor Sinterklaas.
Het verschil tussen een bisschop en een koning is voor een kind niet zo heel eenvoudig te doorgronden. Hun kleding, zoals je die op plaatjes ziet, lijkt nogal op elkaar. Zo heb ik ook eens aan mijn moeder gevraagd wie er hoger was, een keizer of de Paus.
En Sinterklaas opereert natuurlijk vooral 's nachts.
Verder wordt er vaak gesproken over nachtvorst rond de tijd dat de eerste speelgoedfolders met Sint Nicolaas erop in de brievenbus vallen. Dus.
Feel free to laugh
Tuesday, 24 February 2009 18:52...but I've just ordered a SheWee.
It's a plastic device that allows women to pee standing up, while keeping their pants mostly on. Yes, I guess you could call it a substitute penis. Only for one of its functions, though, obviously :-)
I thought it would come in handy while travelling. Especially when out on a bike ride: there's always so much clothing you need to take off before you can get to the bare essence, so to speak.
Being Dutch, frugal and not inclined to buy the first thing that comes along, I did a little research and found several similar products, all with really silly names:
the P-Mate is not reuseable, the Whiz Freedom (also known as Whizaway) and the Freshette were fairly expensive especially with postage, and the GoGirl, while cheap at a modest 5 dollars, isn't even available outside the North-American continent. [insert really smart pun on 'continent' and 'incontinent' here]
The SheWee, however, could be mine for a mere £11 (about €12 or $16) which seemed fair.
So that's the one I ordered.
I can't wait for my newly bought freedom to arrive so I can, pardon the pun, give it a go.
It's a plastic device that allows women to pee standing up, while keeping their pants mostly on. Yes, I guess you could call it a substitute penis. Only for one of its functions, though, obviously :-)
I thought it would come in handy while travelling. Especially when out on a bike ride: there's always so much clothing you need to take off before you can get to the bare essence, so to speak.
Being Dutch, frugal and not inclined to buy the first thing that comes along, I did a little research and found several similar products, all with really silly names:
the P-Mate is not reuseable, the Whiz Freedom (also known as Whizaway) and the Freshette were fairly expensive especially with postage, and the GoGirl, while cheap at a modest 5 dollars, isn't even available outside the North-American continent. [insert really smart pun on 'continent' and 'incontinent' here]
The SheWee, however, could be mine for a mere £11 (about €12 or $16) which seemed fair.
So that's the one I ordered.
I can't wait for my newly bought freedom to arrive so I can, pardon the pun, give it a go.
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Writer's Block: You, the Object
Saturday, 12 July 2008 14:08[Error: unknown template qotd]My body? Now, if the question said: mind, then I could sort of relate. Sort of, because the question would still be very badly phrased.
If my mind was inside an inanimate object, would it still be inanimate?
I think that instead of answering the question I will rephrase it.
"Imagine being an inanimate object. Choose one that already exists, or make one up. And then describe yourself."
There. All better now.
If my mind was inside an inanimate object, would it still be inanimate?
I think that instead of answering the question I will rephrase it.
"Imagine being an inanimate object. Choose one that already exists, or make one up. And then describe yourself."
There. All better now.
This is quite interesting (at least, I think it is)
Friday, 11 July 2008 23:59I found something odd in the boxes of books that I'd gotten for BookCrossing recently.
A book in Esperanto! I'd never seen one of those before.
A book in Esperanto! I'd never seen one of those before.
( Click to see it! )
Writer's Block: An Artist Is...
Thursday, 31 January 2008 22:29[Error: unknown template qotd]No. I'm not an artist, I'm a craftsperson.
Artists express themselves in their work. I don't. Even though I use paint, which makes most people think of art and artists, I don't use it (mainly) to express myself; I merely strive to create a fine looking decoration or advertisement. If I've done a good job, then my work is artful. But that doesn't make it art.
Artists express themselves in their work. I don't. Even though I use paint, which makes most people think of art and artists, I don't use it (mainly) to express myself; I merely strive to create a fine looking decoration or advertisement. If I've done a good job, then my work is artful. But that doesn't make it art.
Ik vind 'klimaatontwrichting' een prima woord. Het klinkt alsof er iets uit de rails loopt, en dat is ook zo.
Het voelt in veel opzichten allemaal nog 'normaal'. Maar het kan alleen 'normaal' aanvoelen door gewenning. We zijn gewend dat warm weer prettig is, zeker vroeg in het voorjaar; als het te vroeg in het jaar te warm is, zien veel mensen dat als aangenaam. En dat is het ook, maar het is ook verontrustend, als je erover nadenkt. Laten we dat vooral doen en blijven doen.
Gisteren regende het; mijn moeder had het over vies weer. Maar na een beetje denken en praten waren we het er over eens dat het eigenlijk heel mooi weer was. Want die regen was erg nodig en welkom. En dus was het mooi. We moesten er alleen even anders naar kijken.
Toen zijn we gaan wandelen, in de lichte regen. Alles was fris groen en nat en het rook lekker. Mooi.
Ik heb wel eens gemaild naar Weeronline, om te vragen hoe ze aan hun weercijfer komen, wie er eigenlijk bepaalt dat strakblauw en warm het mooiste weer ter wereld is, en of er ook een bovengrens zit aan de temperatuur waarvoor Weeronline een hoog rapportcijfer toekent. 25° C is mooi? Okay. En 30°? 35°? 40°, is dat ook nog mooi, of gaan er dan toch dingen mis?
Ik kreeg antwoord: het weercijfer is objectief, want het wordt berekend door een algoritme. Kennelijk heeft dat algoritme een mening over de prettigheid van het weer, en die mening is niet door mensen ingevoerd? Nou, schiet mij maar in de feestverlichting (LED, graag).