Gotta catch 'em all.

22. A walking catastrophe and language enthusiast. English, Spanish, Polish and Chinese - not necessarily in that order.

[tsunamiwavesurfing]

[alonesomes]

“You are making breakfast in every dream that I have of you. You are in the kitchen, your soft middle pressed up against the cold marble countertops like a vision too beautiful for the magazines, sprinkling dark chocolate chips over pancakes. I think for a brief second that I am dreaming inside of my dream, that I had to make you up twice, just to get it right. You, brushing your dark hair out of your face, smearing batter across your cheeks. You have come and made my dreams smaller, narrower. Filled them with sugar and your body humming in the same room as mine. I dream, now, of a normal life with you. A life where breakfast lasts until the sun goes down, until I have finished gazing at you from across the table, flour dried to your forehead like a kiss.”

— Caitlyn Siehl, Chocolate Chip Pancakes

[araekniarchive]

poetry is stored in the tags

[fangoffenharel]

“But in the end, stories are about one person saying to another: This is the way it feels to me. Can you understand what I’m saying? Does it feel this way to you?”

— Kazuo Ishiguro, in his 2017 Nobel prize acceptance speech (via smiththeteacher)

[snaplanguage]

Boustrophedon seems odd to us today but, if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. It makes tracking the text easier when you get to the end of each line. It also makes the text an uninterrupted line.

For language- and linguistic related materials for language lovers, check out the Snap Language channel.

[liu-anhuaming]

“人们躺下来，取下他们白天里戴的面具，结算这一天的总账。他们打开了自己的内心，打开了自己的“灵魂的一隅”，那个隐秘的角落。他们悔恨、悲泣，为了这一天的浪费，为了这一天的损失，为了这一天的痛苦生活。自然，人们中间也有少数得意的人，可是他们已经满意地睡熟了。剩下那些不幸的人，失望的人在不温暖的被窝里悲泣自己的命运。无论是在白天或黑夜，世界都有两个不同的面目，为这两种不同的人而存在。”

— 巴金，《家》

[universalfanfic]

writing advice: never italicize words to show emphasis! if you’re writing well then the reader will know and you don’t need them!

me: oh really??? listen up, pal, you can just try an pull italics from my cold, dead fingers

[alyxrae]

I feel this on a spiritual level.

[masterofthelivingforce]

bringing back this great example.

I can and will italicize the fuck out of my writing, thank you very much.

[i-want-my-iwtv]

you can pry italics out of my cold dead hands

[therealtsk]

he's entirely correct

[fixyourwritinghabits]

No author can tell you where their ideas come from, but here’s a few ways to find your own ideas if you struggled with it:

Read books both in and outside of your interest. If you struggle with focusing on reading, try audio books or fictional podcasts. If that’s hard, comics are great! Comics are awesome! Comics are relatively easy to consume and can teach you a lot about how to tell a story.

Other media is good too! Watch that TV show and take notes on what story beats interest you. Combine stories and see if anything sparks. An idea sounds easy, but finding an idea that works for you takes practice.

Go for a walk. Seriously. Do something activity that takes your mind off of everything and the ideas will just spring forth like Athena from your brain. This is why shower thoughts or short naps are useful - the second you stop concentrating on something, it’ll manifest.

Try prompts. You’ve got everything from online generators to gamified story decks. Tumblr’s got a whole tag.

Prompts don’t work for you? Steal. Okay, look, prompts never worked for me either. I can’t come up with a character out of the blue (I’m terrible at DnD). I can jamjar my favorite characters into a completely different genre ie Coffeeshop AU gone wild until they become completely different characters. It’s the perfect plan and no one will ever complain that their new favorite character feels a lot like their old favorite character. Trust me.

[sonneillonv-deactivated20220218]

Alternatively:

Get in the shower

Lie down and try to sleep

[fixyourwritinghabits]

I cannot personally recommend this based on the risk of getting water up your nose and having that tingly gross feeling for hours after.

[liu-anhuaming]

saw this breakdown of the new hsk vocab and thought y’all would like to see it (there’s a link to a higher res photo in the comments of this post)

[cloversnotes]

This is my first coding assignment for my software engineering class that started today. It’s going to be a really good semester.

[cloversnotes]

UPDATE: I got my grade back and

“100″

[cloversnotes]

Since this post has gotten some attention, I feel like it’s worth mentioning that this was just the first half of the assignment.

The second half, which we weren’t made aware of until the day we were meant to turn this one in, was to trade USB drives with the person sitting next to us and MODIFY their “unreadable” code without getting any help from them.

This was to teach us two things:

1) In this field, you’ll spend more time working with code written by other people than you will writing original code from a blank slate. The people who wrote the original code will probably not be around to help you. Learning to read code is IMPORTANT, even if it seems unreadable.

2) There is a strong brotherhood/sisterhood among programmers and software engineers. Respect that bond when you’re writing code and documentation. In my professor’s words: “When you write code, pretend that the person who will have to maintain it after you’re gone is a homicidal maniac who knows where you live.”

This class and professor are incredible.

[liu-anhuaming]

东张西望 『東張西望』 dong1 zhang1 xi1 wang4 to look in all directions, to glance around

张：望 『張：望』

向四处张望。 『向四處張望。』

【例句】他从站台出来，东张西望，却连一个熟人也没看到。 『他從站台出來，東張西望，卻連一個熟人也沒看到。』

风雨交加 『風雨交加』 feng1 yu3 jiao1 jia1 wind and rain occur at the same time, used to describe awful weather

风雨一齐袭来。形容天气十分恶劣。 『風雨一齊襲來。形容天氣十分惡劣。』

【例句】就在那个风雨交加的夜晚，他离开了人世。 「就在那個風雨交加的夜晚，他離開了人世。』

不言而喻 bu4 yan2 er2 yu4 it goes without saying, it is self-evident

言：说明，解释；喻：明白，了解 『言：說明，解釋；喻：明白，了解』

不用说明就能明白。 『不用說明就能明白。』

【例句】企业的发展，需要借鉴先进的管理经验，更需要有优秀的人才做后盾，这是不言而喻的道理。 『企業的發展，需要借鑑先進的管理經驗，更需要有優秀的人才做後盾，這是不言而喻的道理。』

归根结底 『歸根結底』 gui1 gen1 jie2 di3 in the final analysis, ultimately 

归纳到根本上。 『歸納到根本上』

【例句】不管别人怎样把舌头做刀子，归根结底还是以事实为凭。 『不管別人怎樣把舌頭做刀子，歸根結底還是以事實為憑。』

[polly-grd]

Food vocabulary in Chinese

Chinese : pinyin: french // english 

吃 : chī : manger ; prendre ses repas // to eat, to have a meal 

饿 : è : faim ; avoir faim // hungry, starving

米饭 : mǐfàn : riz cuit // cooked rice

米 : mǐ : riz // rice

面条 : miàntiáo : nouilles // noodles 

拉面 : lāmiàn : nouilles étirées à la main  // hand-pulled noodles, ramen (Cf. 抻面 chēnmiàn)

抻面 : chēnmiàn : nouilles étirées à la main // hand-pulled noodles (Cf. 拉面 lāmiàn)

炸酱面 : zhájiàngmiàn : nouilles assaisonnées de sauce de soja // noodles seasoned with soy sauce

汤 :  tāng : eau chaude, soupe, potage // hot water, soup

shāng : 汤汤 : shāngshāng : qualifie un courant puissant et impétueux // qualifies a strong current of water.

酸辣汤 : suānlàtāng : soupe pékinoise à base de fromage de soja, de nouilles, de piment et de vinaigre // soup made with tofu, noodles, chilli and vinegar, from Beijing. 

鸡蛋汤 : jīdàntāng : soupe aux œufs // soup with eggs

鸡蛋 : jīdàn : œuf de poule // chicken egg

蛋 : dàn : œuf // egg

油豆腐 : yóudòufu : tofu frit // fried tofu

春卷 : chūnjuǎn : rouleau de printemps // spring rolls

饺子 : jiǎozi : raviolis // Jiaozi, dumplings

油条 : yóutiáo : beignets torsadés // fried dough food

羊肉 : yángròu : (viande) mouton // sheep meat, lamb

羊 : yáng :mouton, sheep

牛肉 : niúròu : (viande) bœuf // beef meat

牛 : niú : bœuf ; taureau // cow, bull 

猪肉 : zhūròu : (viande) porc // porc meat

猪 : zhū : porc ; cochon // porc, pig

猪排 : zhūpái : côte de porc // pork chops

鸡肉 : jīròu : (viande) poulet // chicken meat

烤鸭 : kǎoyā: canard laqué // roast duck

肉串 : ròuchuuàn : brochettes de viande // meat skewers

鱼 : yú:  poisson // fish 

大马哈鱼 : dàmǎhāyú : saumon // salmon (Cf. 鲑鱼 guīyú) 

鳟鱼 : zūnyú : truite // trout fish 

金枪鱼 : jïnqiängyú : thon // tuna 

鲈鱼 : lúyú : bar ; loup // striped bass fish 

龙虾 : lóngxiā: langouste ; homard // lobster

牡蛎 : mǔlì : huître // oyster

蔬菜 : shūcài : légume // vegetables

吃素 : chīsù : manger, être végétarien // to be vegetarian 

白菜 : báicài : chou chinois // chinese cabbage 

土豆 : tǔdòu : terme courant pour la pomme de terre  // most common used for potato. (Cf. 马铃薯 mǎlíngshǔ,  洋芋 yángyù, 山药蛋 shānyàodàn)

甘薯 : gānshǔ : patate douce  // sweet potato. (Cf. 白薯 báishǔ，番薯fānshǔ)

萝卜 : luóbo : navet // turnip

甜菜 : tiáncài : betterave // beet

 菠菜 : bōcài : épinard // spinach

生菜 : shēngcài : laitue // lettuce

西葫芦 : xīhúlú : courgette // zucchini

 西兰花 : xīlánhuā: brocoli // broccoli

茄子 : qiézi : aubergine// eggplant 

酱油 : jiàngyóu : sauce de soja // soy sauce

 蚝油 : háoyóu : sauce aux huîtres // oyster sauce

蒜 : suàn : ail // garlic

咖喱粉 : gālífěn : poudre de curry // curry powder

辣椒粉 : làjiāofěn : paprika // paprika

孜然 : zīrán : cumin // cumin, caraway

芝麻 : zhīmá : sésame // sesame

亚麻子 : yàmázǐ: graines de lin // linseed

果酱 : guǒjiàng : confiture ; marmelade // jam, marmalade

比萨饼 : bǐsàbǐng : pizza // pizza

三明治 : sānmíngzhì : sandwich // sandwich

腊肠 : làcháng : saucisse ; saucisson // sausage

薯条 : shǔtiáo : frites // fries

牛排 : niúpái : tranche de bœuf grillée // steak ; beefsteak

汉堡包 : hànbǎobāo : hamburger // burger

————————- little extra because I’m french : 

田鸡 : tiánjī: grenouille // frog (Cf:水鸡 shuǐjī, 青蛙 qīngwā) 

蜗牛 : wōniú : escargot // snail

 面包 : miànbaō : pain // bread

[anarchblr]

the Spanish word for “work” —trabajo— comes from “torture”, “to torture”, or “instrument of torture”

[doubleca5t]

Nosotras vivimos en una sociedad

[dialectcoach]

Bad news! This is true of every language in which "to work/to labor" comes from "tripaliāre" or "labōrāre." So not just Spanish, but also French, Portuguese, Italian, English, Catalan, and quite a few others. In societate habitamus.

[stevemccurrystudios-deactivated]

“We read to know we’re not alone.” - William Nicholson, Shadowlands

[snakewaist]

Xu Lizhi (Chinese: 许立志, 1990 – 30 September 2014) was a Chinese poet and factory worker. Xu worked for Foxconn and attracted media attention after his suicide, after which his friends published his collection of poems.

[anxietyproblem]

[siumerghe]

Tang dynasty women playing polo, paintings by Wang Kewei

The word polo is thought to derive from the Tibetan pulu, the wood from which the ball was made.  

Much controversy surrounds the origin of polo. Tibet, China, Iran, India, and Central Asia have all been proposed as homelands for the game. It remains possible that the game had more than one point of origin, though a recent study has argued convincingly that polo developed in northeastern Iran out of the equestrian chase games played by the mounted nomads of Central Asia in the last centuries before the Common Era.

Polo probably was introduced to China sometime between the end of the Han period (206 B.C.E.- 220 C.E.) and the early part of the Tang dynasty (618-907). It seems likely that it was introduced by the Xianbei tribes that controlled northern China from the fourth to sixth century. The ruling house of the Tang dynasty, the Li family, itself had Xianbei ancestry, at least on the maternal side. The Xianbei, because of their nomadic origins, had a great fondness for horses, a trait that (like many aspects of their culture) was inherited by the Tang dynasty. It is also notable that the Xianbei accorded higher status and more physical freedom to women than the Han Chinese, so women became avid polo players under the Tang dynasty.

The emperors of the Tang dynasty such as Zhongzong, Xuanzong, Muzong, Jingzong, Xuanzong, Xizong, and Zhaozong were all supporters and participants themselves in the polo sport. In the 6th year of the Tianbao era (747), Emperor Tang Xuanzong issued a special order, and declared that polo would become one of the subjects for military training.

Polo was wildly popular during the Tang dynasty but it was also dangerous; riders thrown from their horses were frequently injured or killed. So sometimes donkeys were used instead of horses - as a safer alternative.

The Tang era terracotta figurines of polo players, both male and female, were unearthed in China. The game is also depicted on paintings and on frescoes in excavated tombs.   

From Tang times on, the education of the upper class became more bookish, and martial skills, such as horsemanship, archery, and swordsmanship, came to play a lesser role in the elite life. So polo also gradually lost its popularity and completely fade away by the Qing dynasty. 

Women stopped playing polo much earlier - when the conservative Neo-Confucian teaching grew in popularity after the Tang dynasty fall. For women, Neo-Confucianism placed extra emphasis on chastity, obedience and diligence. A good wife should have no desire other than to serve her husband, no ambition other than to produce a son, and no interest beyond subjugating herself to her husband’s family. Of course, this left no space for physical training, horsemanship and sport.

https://sites.asiasociety.org/arts/asiangames/power02.html