I was so focused on clearing out my to-do list on Saturday that I blanked on posting a study update and a new KotW.Ā š My bad. I did update my study log, though! And I learned relatively few new kanji last week, so I will save my next KotW for later. Anyway!Ā Ā
These are some pics of recent notes that I took. I remember when I first started I loathed to write in kana because I thought it would look too horrendous, so I stuck with romaji at first. Thankfully Iām more comfortable now, and actually prefer, writing examples in Japanese (minus kanji I havenāt yet learned). I reached a point, too, where I am finally referencing the katakana chart less and less since I use and see it more in my studies---which I made a nice dent in last week; albeit, a small one. Which is fine by me, since I am happy to make any progress at all when it comes to grammar.
I touched on all the main points in review of how my week went per my study log, but there are a couple things Iāll note here:Ā
Changing my goal fromĀ āreachĀ this section in the text by this dateā toĀ āspend this amount of time on theseĀ specific daysā is a big, big deal. It relieved me of pressure, as well as from feeling disappointment for not meeting my own expectations. Iām more relaxed, working at a pace that best suites my level of understanding, and search out additional resources and explanations when they are needed. I might be progressing slowly, but thatās okay. As long as I understand what I learn!
My trouble kanji is still giving my trouble! Aha. But rather than slam pause on learning new kanji, my solution is to keep those characters (and readings, if necessary) in my line of sight. I have them written and lined out on my desk, which is an easy reminder for quick studies a couple or few times daily (as well as when they come up in SRS reviews). My hope is that this kind of small but frequent exposure will help them stick a little more..
The Fifty Hours Club is amazing.Ā It keeps me motivated with d a i l y(!) self-studies, and Iām not sure if Iād otherwise be as consistent as I have been were I not taking on this challenge. I am also loving the act of writing out daily goals in the Discord server --- really, it keeps me feeling accountable, but Iāve learned how to fine-tune the dayās language goals based on how the previous day of study went. I believe I am a self-driven person, but Iāll credit Fifty Hours for the extra oomph I have in my study zeal.Ā
(ą¹ā¢Ģć ā¢Ģ)Łā§
(Currently at 15 hours and 25 minutes for Japanese, btw~! Coupled with my Deutsch hours, that around 30/50 so far.)
May this week be as productive as the last. Hereās my outlook:
1. Read Tae Kim for one hour at least three days this week. Iāll aim for: Monday, Tuesday, and Friday.Ā
Thursday will be a long day, and that will leave me feeling tired for Friday, but I also realize that Saturday wonāt leave me a lot time to indulge in Japanese. So, if there is one thing I can get done on Friday, I want it to be grammar.Ā
2. Kanji upkeep!Ā
Remember to do my Kanji Koohii reviews, and add in the new kanji Iāve learned through Heisig. Familiarize myself with readings, but donāt stress too much over it.
Review and learn kanji (with readings) daily via Kanji GardenĀ
3. Level up my Anki game
I considered doing sentences, as I am doing this with German, but Iām not at that level with Japanese yet. Intead, I imported a vocab Genki deckĀ that I hope try this week by Tuesday or Wednesday!Ā Ā
I should set at least 30 minutes aside on the assigned days. If I feel this deck isnāt working for me by the end of the week I will search for a different one.Ā
Last year, during my Scandinavian literature class in the Danish section, we had to read this book called "DobbeltgƦnger eller Den korte, inderlige men fuldstƦndig sande beretning om Klaus Rifbjergs liv" ["Doppelganger or The short, heartfelt but completely true account of Klaus Rifbjerg's life] by Klaus Rifbjerg.
I had no clue what I was getting into when starting this book.
I don't know much about the author himself ā and despite the title, I promise you, I don't think you will learn much from it either. I think I can recommend reading this book only because it's short, but if you're sensitive... Just be careful.
It made me really really sick. I understand that it was supposed to be grotesque and have shock value, etc. So, maybe I just can't... appreciate it ā and someone else will, I don't know.
I don't really want to spoil why exactly it was so bad, in case someone wants to read it and shock themselves too, but I also don't really want to leave this title without any further explanation. So I'll spoil it a little under the cut.
The book is from the 1980s but it takes place in the 1930s-1940s Denmark.
It's basically written like an autobiography, the author states that he remembers every single thing ever since he was born ā his birth included. The child character also has the thoughts and clearness of mind of an adult.
I don't want to describe the entire plot of it, but the "shocking" part of it is the amount of child sexual abuse described from the perspective of the child. And not only is the literal toddler (the character gets older as the book goes, but all sexual intercourses are happening to them when they're 2-9 years old, I think) describing it. It's also written in a way that the child enjoys it and encourages it a lot. Except for the last sex scene where, as far as I remember, the child gets r*ped by a nazi soldier.
I think there's some place for interpretation, that you can stop and give it a moment ā if the character really experiences those things or is it just their imagination? At least I assume so, because it does have quite positive reviews.
But honestly, I wasn't able to think about it nor am I able to think about it now, because of how disgusting and explicitly described it was.
So, I think ā excluding whatever context it had at that time and the author's intention ā it's the worst book I've ever read.
I like Robert and Aaron, I really do, but I think they are wasted in stupid stories like the Joe Tate feud. Dull, far-fetched and makes Robert look like a cartoon villain and Aaron like the village idiot sitting next to him adding nothing to the scene. Meanwhile, there is so much they could do with the Seb story in terms of conflict and character development for Robert, Aaron and even Liv, but instead we get 20 minutes of this rubbish.
My (slowly more annoyed) response to this is looong so Iāll put it under a read moreĀ
I respectfully disagree? Sure if youāre not enjoying the Joe/Robron story right now thatās fine, youāre entitled to not enjoy something, but weāve had months ofĀ āgood guyā Robert and I think they needed to do something to show he can still be snarky and awful, but in a fun way? Like how every now and again they do a story to show Cainās bad side, and theyāre definitely evolving Robert into a Cain kind of bad boy, someone the audience roots for even when theyāre doing terrible and illegal things, rather than a straight up villain. Joe is finally a worthy adversary for Robert; his scheming against the Whites got tedious because it was so one sided, they were too gullible and naive, whereas Joe and Graham are the opposite. They used Robert as a villain at times last year, but theyāve redeemed him and vastly changed his role in the show since then, so I donāt think we can say heās aĀ ācartoon villainā in this plot, especially since weāve only seen 1 episode of Robert VS Joe, and even from this one episode I think itās clear that if anyoneās the panto-villain here itās Joe, using lines likeĀ āIāll make him payā and targeting Robert for almost nothing.Ā
How exactly does Aaron look like the village idiot? Seriously Iām so confused how you got to this conclusion? Theyāre having Robron put up a united front, and when Aaron told Robert to stop winding Joe up, he stopped. Aaronās pulling the strings with this whole thing really, because if Aaron saidĀ ādestroy himā Robert would, and if Aaron tells him to stop weāve already seen that he will. Theyāre a team, and Aaron being by Robertās side in this is to show that Joe is going up against both of them. Aaron lets Robert do the snarking for one episode and somehow heās a village idiot and adding nothing?Ā Youāre saying itās dull, but weāve seen only 1 episode. You think itās far fetched, but weāve seen only 1 episode. Youāve decided the characters look bad in this plot, but weāve only seen 1 episode.
Personally Iāve seen more than enough conflict about Seb to last a life time, and Robertās had months of character development with Seb already. Do I want to see more of Robron and Seb? Absolutely, loads more. But you only have to read spoilers to see that weāre getting more Robron+Seb, and I love that theyāre going to contrast Robron as loving husbands and dads alongside this feud with Joe, it seems like itāll show the complexity of their characters really well. Also Livās storyline is unfolding and we know itāll involve her family, what youāre asking for is literally about to happen.Ā
I know I started this sayingĀ ārespectfullyā and it may not have come across as respectful, but I donāt understand writing off the storyline after one episode? How many times have we watched an episode and collectively been likeĀ āmeh that was pretty shitā, but we donāt assume it represents the whole story arc, and I truly didnāt see the issues with the episode that you did anyway. Robron are currently involved in the Rebecca/Lachlan/Seb storyline, the Liv storyline, the Chas storyline, and the Joe storyline. They have so many different roles right now and weāre seeing so many sides of their characters, so reducing them to ācartoon villainā andĀ āvillage idiotā feels purposefully obtuse. Honestly if youāre not enjoying the range of content weāre getting for Robron right now then I fail to see what kind of story would be good enough for you.Ā