Branches of learning

August 8, 2006

Boris Vian, citations aléatoires (random citations)

Filed under: Languages, Literature, Philosophy, Quotes, Study methodology — learningtree @ 11:30 am

Le plus clair de mon temps, je le passe à l’obscurcir. (I spend my clearest time blurring it away.)

J’ai le fâcheux travers de ne me satisfaire que de l’ultime. Aussi comprendrez-vous que je sois toujours mécontent. (I have the annoying characteristic of being satisfied only by the ultimate. You must understand how discontended I always am.)

Personellement dans mes classements, j’ai toujours un tiroir étiqueté “choses inclassables ailleurs”. Tiroir qui est extrêmement commode. Il y a beaucoup de choses dedans et c’est souvent parmi les choses les plus amusantes, justement parce que ce sont les choses exceptionnelles et, comme tout bon pataphysicien, ce qui m’intrésse c’est l’exception, le cas général pouvant être considéré comme une exception non exceptionnelle et par conséquent sans aucun intérêt. (In my categorization of things, I always have one drawer labeled “other inclassifiable things”. That drawer is very convenient. There are many things in that drawer, and they are often some of the most amusing things, exactly because they are exceptional things, and like any good pataphysician, what interests me is the exception, the general case being and unexceptional exception and therefore without any interest.)

Il est beaucoup moins indécent de coucher ensemble que de se regarder dans les yeux. (It is much less indecent to sleep together that to look each other in the eyes.)

Pour qu’il y ait passion, c’est-à-dire réaction explosive, il faut que l’union soit brutale, que l’un des corps soit très avide de ce dont il est privé et que l’autre possède en très grande quantité. (For there to be passion, that is to say explosive reaction, the union has to be brutal, that one of the bodies is very keen on that which is private and the other possesses is great quantities.)

Chez une femme, la beauté est signe de modestie. (In a woman, beauty is a sign of modesty.)

Pourquoi les chanteuses jolies sont-elles toujours mariées au saxo-ténor de l’orchestre? Et est-ce pour ca que tout le monde joue du saxo-ténor? (Why are the pretty singers always married with the sax-tenor of the orchestra? And is this the reason why everyone plays the sax-tenor?)

Les femmes compliquent la vie des hommes pour obliger ceux-ci à la simplifier et entretenir en eux la flamme créatrice. (Women complicate the lives of men in order to have them simplify it, and to maintain in themselves the creative flame.)

Quant à être galant… si on admet l’égalité de l’homme et de la femme, la politesse suffit et l’on n’a pas de raison de traiter une femme plus politement qu’un homme. (As of being gentlemanly… if we admit to equality of man and woman, politeness is enough and we have no reason to treat a woman more politely than a man.)

Ce qui compte, ce n’est pas le bonheur de tout le monde, c’est le bonheur de chacun. (What counts is not the happiness of everyone, it is be happiness of each one.)

On se rappelle beucoup mieux les bons moments; alors, à quoi servent les mauvais? (One recalls much better the good moments; so what are the bad ones for?)

On passe sa vie à romancer les motifs et à simplifier les faits. (One passes one’s life romanticizing the motives and simplifying the facts.)

July 31, 2006

Books read and books in progress. Anyone who read or is interested in reading these, do comment!

Filed under: FRUITFUL, Study methodology — learningtree @ 6:12 am

In progress of reading:

  • Das Unbehagen in der Kultur (Freud)
  • 万葉集 Manyôshû (old Japanese poetry collection) 
  • Hamlet (Shakespeare) 
  • Chinese Art at the End of the Millennium (New Art Media Limited, 2000) 
  • Investment in China – Opportunities in Private Equity and Venture Capital (Tsinghua University Press, 2003) 
  • Les Plus Belles Formules Mathématiques (Salem, Testard & Salem) 
  • 血卡门(黄碧云) Blood Carmen (Huang Biyun)
  • 道德经探玄(培真著)  Dao De Jing – In Search of the Mystery (Pei Zhen)
  • L’étranger (Albert Camus)
  • Winning with Software: An Exective Strategy (Watts S. Humphrey)
  • The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Thomas S. Kuhn)
  • En Verve, mots propos aphorismes. A collection of Boris Vian citations, Pierre Horay editeur 1970, 2002, Paris.
  • Paroles. A collection of poems by Jacques Prévert, Éditions Gallimard, 1949, France.
  • 奥の細道 Oku no hosomichi. Original haikus bu Bashô, as well as elaborations on the poems and the poet by Kadokawa Bunko, Heisei year 13, Japan.

Recent reads:

Cantonese

Filed under: Languages, Study methodology — learningtree @ 3:53 am

My learning project…tones2.JPGpronunciation.JPG

Cantonese particles and key vocab: o既 ke33 (genitive), o地 tei22 (as in 我o地), o刺 la33 (an exclamation), o系 hai35 (is located), 系 hai22 (is, to be), o个 ko35 (as in o个度)

Some useful (?) basic sayings:

上课soeng foo, 多的讲doo dit keng,韩语hoonyuu,部分boufen,集中zapzhong,学习hogsap,最近zoeigam,复习fok zap,已经yii geng,资料tzii liu,语言yu_yam,必须bit soei,太懒了 taai laan le,生日saang yatt,后生 hausaang,一暂 yad zan (过一会),录音log yam,(别送了 m sai soong la),多得doo dak,我返左工,泰医生,药yoek,屋企okkhei,laau,maaai yeeee, 10 fan zhong etc etc…

tau sîn, ngaam ngaam, ngaam sîn (a while ago)

zôi gan (recently)

fât yamm (pronunciation)

sôn hou (signal, as in, your mobile phone signal is bad)

okkhei (home)

sap fan zhung (10 minutes)

laau (angry)

gam maan (tonight)

gen ju (and then)

maâi yê (buy stuff)

ha_ng gâai (walk on the street)

lo_k gâai (go out on the street)

li yât zî (this time)

 cantonese_in_honzi.jpghandrail.jpgbroken.jpgkeep_clean.jpghead.jpgsmoke.jpgtrain.jpgpole.jpgno_feeding.JPG

i go buy stuff =我要去買D野

i will start talking to myself in cantonese = 我會開始同自己講廣東話

my company wants me to take photos in Asia =  我既公司希望我係亞洲影D相

they will put the photos in our presentation material and perhaps some brochures   =  佢地會擺d相 公開資料度,,或者會擺 d小冊子度

i want to open an account in a bank =  我想係銀行開go戶口

我地 we, ngo dei

乜ye what, mat ye

o黎 come, lai

聖誕節 Christmas, seng daan jit

你唔好逼我出絕招! Don’t force me to use my ultimate attack on you! lei m’hou ? ngo choet ? ?

睇下先。 let’s see first, tai ha si’n

我唔啱你(对)适合 。 ngo m ngaam lei ? ?

有冇大啲嘅size? do you have a bigger size, yao mou daai di ge size?

唔该,你知唔知边度有按摩嘅地方? excuse me, do you know where to find a massage place? m goi, lei ji m ji bin dou yao an mo ge dei fong?

做咩呀佢?what is he doing? zuo me a khoei?

教我有用嘅廣東话。 teach me some useful cantonese. gaau ngo yao yong ge gong dong waa.

你今晚想去邊? 想做啲咩呀? where do you want to fo tonight? what do you want to do? lei gam man soeng hoei bin? soeng zuo di me a?

我諗/想去睇戏。 我想去睇戏呀。唔,我諗下先啦  i think/want to watch a movie. i want to go to see a movie. no, i will think about it first. ngo lam/soeng hoei tai hei. ngo soeng hoei tai hei a. m, wo lam ha siin la.

我依家去睇戏 i am going to see a movie now. ngo yi ga hoei tai hei.

戏院。 movie theatre. hei yun.

仲(zhom?)有咩? what else? zhom yau me?

你有D咩啊?你想要D咩啊? what do you have? what do you want? lei yau di me a? lei soeng yiu di me a?

仲(zhom?)有啲咩? what else do you have? zhom yao di me?

baa lau都咁嘅了 (I am always like this) 我不溜都系甘噶啦  ngo baat lau dou hai gam ? la

我成日都係咁   我不嬲都係咁  ??

成日用嘅 usually/always used. seeng yat yong ge.

搵/揾。 search. wan.

呢度嘅电视广告好多  tv here has so many commercials. ni dou ge diin sii gong gou? hou do

揾机会讲廣東话。 look for opportunities to speak Cantonese. wan gei wui gong gong dong wa.

学讲白话。 learn to speak Cantonese. hok gong bak wa.

你话呢 ? what do you say? lei wa le?

see daan le。是但啦 whatever you say.

乜都无所谓,是但啦 whatever goes, whatever you say. mat dou ??? see daan le

你鍾意啦。你讲算。 whatever you like. what you say goes. lei zong yi la. lei gong suyn.

我觉得。 i think/feel. ngo gok dak.

我可以每日都用廣東話唸嘢 i think (to myself) in Cantonese every day. ngo ho yi mui yat dou yong gong dong wa lam ye.

對唔住,我要寫D嘢先 sorry, i have to write something (now). doei m ju, ngo yiu seh di ye siin.

我希望 到一月底 就識講一D廣東話,一D有用o既,平時成日都要講o既廣東話  i hope by the end of January to be able to speak some Cantonese, some useful Cantonese, Cantonese that is spoken daily. ngo hei mang dou yat yut dei(?) jau sik gong yat di gong dong wa, yat di yau yong ge, peng si seeng yat dou yiu gong ge gong dong wa.

電視都無嘢睇,仲有幾個鐘頭先到紐約機場,好悶呀 there is nothing to watch on tv, there are still several hours to go before we land in New York, so boring. diin sii dou mou ye tai, zhom yau gei go zong tou seen dou Niu Yoek gei choeng, hou mun a.

July 28, 2006

Jacques Prévert, French poems

Filed under: Languages, Literature, Poetry, Study methodology — learningtree @ 3:02 pm

 

La Belle Saison

A jeun perdue glacée

Toute seule sans un sou

Une fille de seize ans

Immobile debout

Place de la Concorde

A midi le Quinze Août. 

 

Le Jardin 

Des milliers et des milliers d’années

Ne sauraient suffire

Pour dire

Le petite seconde d’éternité

Où tu m’as embrassé

Où je t’ai embrassée

Un matin dans la lumière de l’hiver

Au parc Montsouris à Paris

A Paris

Sur la terre

La terre qui est un astre.

July 27, 2006

近日要開始用廣東話写0野 Starting to write in Cantonese today

Filed under: Languages, Music, Study methodology — learningtree @ 7:49 am

就系一個學語言嘅辦法。 It’s just a method of learning language.

問題系我電腦冇繁體字或者廣東話字嘅輸入法! The problem is my computer does not have a traditional character nor Cantonese character input system!

今晚我讀左3本書:一本系老子道德经,另外系法國詩集同法國小說。 Tonight I browsed 3 books: one on Laozi Dao De Jing, one French poetry collection, and a French novel.

跟住呢,我就開始系0尼度收集一下廣東話嘅歌词啦。Will also start to collect some Cantonese song lyrics here.

我试一下翻译成英文。 I try to make an English translation *will improve it later.

 

歌曲:金银岛 Gold and Silver Island
歌手:容祖儿 Joey Yung

带备结他 半夜借去了魔女的扫把

Carrying a guitar, borrowing a witch’s broom at midnight

跟飞天猪放假 逃难禁锢去吧

On holiday with the Flying Pig of Heaven, go ahead and (??)

吃啖雪芭 与大鸟斗快飞 飞出老家

Eating… (??)

巡逻风之谷一次 秘密配制钥匙

Go once round the Valley of Wind, have a key secretly made (?)

 

不想够钟归家 不想再听废话

Don’t want to go home in time, don’t want to listen to any more nonsense

公主可会赏识我吗 不想上锁 我要疯癫疯一下

But will the prince recognize me? I don’t want to be locked up, I want (??)

 

人人逃走 这是最轰动大潮流 全体快踏上金银岛

People are running, in a tumultous torrent, stepping on the Gold Silver Island (?)

全城寻宝 你投痒 天都可以偷 不需要怕丑

The whole city is searching for the treasure. You give up to the urge. Even the heaven can be stolen. No need to be coy

人人逃走 要尽快赶及大潮流 何必坐定去等电话

People are running, trying to quickly join the torrent; what’s the use of sitting waiting for the phone to ring?

全城寻宝 我共你今晚起势偷 抢不到不放手

The whole city is searching for the treasure. (??)

 

到达了吗 要共你说说JY式笑话

Have you arrived? I want to joke with you (??)

狮子邀请你去齐齐跳跳舞吧

The Lion invites you to dance

要你狂嗌哗 你抱住你藏宝箱锁了吗

(??)

 

谁人想打开一试 马上送上钥匙

If someone wants to open it, send the key immediately.

 

火鬼放出烟花 攻击我的扫把

The devil of fire blasts fireworks to attack my broom.

身体都已布满沙 仙女散花 有你欢呼都不怕

(??)

 

人人逃走 这是最轰动大潮流 全体快踏上金银岛

People are running, in a tumultous torrent, stepping on the Gold Silver Island (?)

全城寻宝 你投痒 想偷请你偷 不需要怕丑

The whole city is searching for the treasure. You give up to the urge. Even the heaven can be stolen. No need to be coy

人人逃走 要尽快赶及大潮流 全身进入我金银岛

People are running, trying to quickly join the torrent; wholly entering my Island of Gold and Silver.

平时场面太闷 我打开这缺口 通宵也不放手

(??)

February 26, 2006

Federico Garcia Lorca

Filed under: FRUITFUL, Languages, Literature, Study methodology — learningtree @ 5:51 pm

Was reading Federico Garcia Lorca’s Poema del Cante Jondo (Andalusian Spanish for “deep song” or “grand song”) and Romancero gitano while sipping beer with a light lunch on Sunday. Great way to spend an afternoon :) Lorca bases his writings on Andalucia, its places and culture (region in southern Spain on the Atlantic and the Mediterranean)

I was thinking, these poems have been written in the 1920’s and by 2020’s a hundred years have passed. Right now, in the beginning of the new century, 1920’s is still no so far away and it is still possible to identify with what went down 80 years ago in Andalucia. The feelings, sounds, passions, lives… I felt sad at the passing of time which carries the past inevitably further and further away… in 2030 the Andalucia of 1920’s will perhaps be something exotic, a remote footnote of history such as the Great Goldrush or the Congress of Vienna? Too far apart for feeling…

“El ROMANCERO GITANO (1928) es, con justicia, uno de los libros más célebres de la poesía en lengua española.”

Baladilla de los tres ríos

El rió Guadalquivir
va entre naranjos y olivos.
Los dos ríos de Granada
bajan de la nieve al trigo.
 
¡Ay, amor
que se fue y no vino!

 
El río Guadalquivir
tiene las barbas granates.
Los dos ríos de Granada,
uno llanto y otro sangre.

¡Ay, amor
que se fue por el aire!

 
Para los barcos de vela
Sevilla tiene un camino;
por el agua de Granada
solo reman los suspiros.

¡Ay, amor
que se fue y no vino!

Guadalquivir, alta torre
y viento en los naranjales.
Dauro y Genil, torrecillas
muertas sobre los estanques.

¡Ay, amor
que se fue por el aire!

¡Quién dirá que el agua lleva
un fuego fatuo de gritos!

¡Ay, amor
que se fue y no vino!

Lleva azahar, lleva olivas,
Andalucía, a tus mares.

¡Ay, amor
que se fue por el aire!

Andalucian terrain… the Sierra Morena mountains to the north and the Bética ranges to the south. The Guadalquivir with its tributary, the Genil River, physically define Andalucia. The Sierra de Cazorla. The south-west marshlands of Doñana National Park. “Fifty percent of the Andalusian territory is mountainous, one-third is found at an altitude above 600 metres, including an extensive high plateau and 46 peaks higher than 1,000 metres. For its altitude – Mulhacén and Veleta both measure over 3,400 metres high – the Sierra Nevada, in the heart of the Penibética Range, rises as queen of the heights.”

Andalusia is divided into eight provinces named after the capital cities of these provinces: Sevilla, Granada, Córdoba, Cadiz, Málaga, Huelva, Jaén, Almería.

Andalucia

Andalucía: Tema y visión (from Poema del Cante Jondo – Romancero gitano, Edición de Allen Josephs y Juan Caballero, CATEDRA Letras Hispánicas, 2004)

Es indispensable distinguir aqui entre la Andalucía que Lorca ve, descubre y emplea, y aquella otra pseudo-romántica Andalucía de macetas y elementos “populares”. Quizá en esa misma palabra “popular” sea donde resida gran parte del problema de distinguir entre la Andalucía verdadera y la falsa de “pandereta”, de la “españolada”, de la época de Bizet, esa Andalucía zarzuelera que ha ejercido influencia hasta dentro de Andalucía, y que, fuera de ella y fuera de España, ha creado un estereotipo lamentable.

It is indispensable to distinguish between the Andalusia that Lorca sees, discovers and employs, and the other pseudo-romantic Andalusia of flowerpots and “popular” elements. Perhaps in that same word “popular” it is where a great part of the problem resides to distinguish between true Andalusia and the false one of “tambourines”, of “españolada”, of the time of Bizet, that “zarzuelised” Andalusia that has exerted influence even within Andalusia itself, and which, outside of Andalusia and Spain, has created a lamentable stereotype.

Ortega lo apuntó bien en abril de 1927, en el artículo que todavía hoy se discute, “Teoría de Andalucía”, al afirmar: “Lo admirable, lo misterioso, lo profundo de Andalucía está más allá de esa farsa multicolor que sus habitantes ponen ante los ojos de los turistas”.

Ortega – hombre del norte, como él mismo dice, y filósofo – enfoca con originalidad este “problema” de identidad andaluza, tan necesitado de aclaración para nuestros fines. Aunque no estamos de acuerdo con la segunda parte del artículo donde enuncia su “ideal vegetativo”, sí creemos que en la primera parte – la historia – ha acertado al señalar la autoconciencia andaluza y lo que ella puede significar.

Ortega pointed it out well in April 1927 in his article “Theory of Andalusia”, which is discussed still today, affirming: “the admirable, the mysterious, the profound of Andalusia is beyond that multicoloured farce that their inhabitants put before the eyes of the tourists”.

Ortega – a man of the north, as he himself says, and a philosopher – views this “problem” of Andalusian identity with originality, a needed clarification for our purposes. Although we are not in agreement with the second part of the article where it enunciates the “vegetative ideal”, yes we think that in the first part – the history - it has guessed right when indicating the Andalusian self-awareness and what it can signify.

January 23, 2006

Starting an open source software project from scratch

Filed under: Programming, Study methodology — learningtree @ 3:53 pm

I have some ideas for useful software which I would like to have for my own use on my computer, PDA and mobile phone. Preferably cross-platform and user friendly. Really simple stuff, actually. Mainly tools for study and research. But I don’t have the time nor expertise to program these by myself or to find a good application online.

Any hints where to find help for a project like this? An open forum for software project ideas?

Here some pieces of advice… But where to find a one-stop-shop? http://programming.newsforge.com/article.pl?sid=05/01/19/0334244&tid=25&tid=132

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