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kascheFirst of all, sorry for dropping off the face of the earth last weekend! :O It's just that, er, we've had a little problem with the internet. (Just to be, you know, original. We never have problems with computers in general. *facepalm*) It turns out that when, last January, Dad finally got around to transfer our telephone subscription's contract from grampas's name to his, the company reactivated automatically the DSL line - but dad had to explicitly ask again for the same rate we had before.
Which he didn't.
...I never thought I'd be glad we had the "night & weekend" rate - which allows you to navigate as much as you want during the weekend and at night, while falling back to the default rate if you navigate on workdays.
We don't know yet how high the next bill will be, but if we had had the "flat" rate - navigation ad libitum at every time of the day for a fixed price, instead of just at night & on the weekend - it would probably have been three times as high. ;P
See? There's always the good side... ;)
(And one more good side is that I managed to finish my![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
rs_games submissions (two of them, LAST TIME I sign up for two instead of just one) with a day to spare! :P Well, two, as it turns out. I'll be sure to try and put them to good use. *g* )
So, I bought this book I totally loved. But it's not the one quoted above. (The power of misdirection!) That is an excerpt from another book, one I've first read, oh, probably ten years ago or so. Comme un roman, the original title is.
The one I've actually read just last week is Diario di scuola - Chagrin d'école - still by Daniel Pennac, who I probably would name as my favorite author, if I was forced to pick one. And boy, did I love it. It was the first real book I'd read of his in years - he had published new ones, but they were both screenplays. In which his style and his verve still come out, yes, oh if it does, but... an actual book is a different thing. I love the man so, so much. I love how his utter love for literature shines right through his writing, how devoid it is of arrogance, of conceit. How sincere it is. And how sincere he is also telling of his time in school, as far from stellar as it was. While my experience of school was quite different, there were still so many things, so many feelings I recognized. It did my heart good to read it.
But most of all, that book made me realize how long it had been since I read a book - be it a novel, or an essay, or anything else - in my own language. (Not speaking French, I only know Pennac through the excellent translation by Yasmina Melaouah.*) And I hadn't realized at all how much I missed it. It's not that I stopped reading altogether, because I didn't, but almost all that passed under my eyes these past few years has been in English - be it fanfictions or actual (real?) novels. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not really complaining - I actually love English, and I love reading in it - and I wouldn't be surprised if part of that love wasn't (still) due to the simple fact that I can. The pleasure of recognizing the signs on the pages, the meaning behind the words, behind the expressions, getting the jokes. Almost like learning to read for the first time, all over again. The "joy of the alchemist", paraphrasing Pennac once more.
That's good, and I like it, but reading in Italian is different. English is a language I understand, a language I can use, a language I can think with - but Italian is the language I feel with. I'm not sure I can quite explain that, but - hearing the same thing expressed in English or in Italian is not the same, and not just because of the different ways the two might handle a same concept. Italian is more instinctive. It reaches deeper. And you know the weirdest thing of all? I only realized it for the first time years ago, when I set down to do a translation of Minx's Door to the River, and I was rereading the end product a final time. I was so surprised that, well, I still talk about it now. ;P
...tl;dr, wasn't it. ^^; And be thankful I didn't end up talking about the differences between English and Italian (inspired by a friend's remark about how the English translation isn't so effective instead), or doing an apology of movie dubbing (I still much prefer the original, if I understand it, with the aid of subtitles if I need them, but I'm not really so dead set against dubbing, not if done well. Most attacks to dubbing I've seen - but I haven't looked too hard - seem to be based off the fact that dubbers are seen as people who just read a script, instead of actual actors. Sometimes I don't doubt that is the case, but I wouldn't call those dubbers. I would call them bad dubbers. There's a difference. ;D) (Oh! I'm not saying I don't like subtitles! I do, and I tend to prefer them over dubbing, actually. But that doesn't mean that dubbing is The Ev0l or entirely devoid of plus sides, either. :D ), so BE GLAD. ;)
O_o WOAH has this gotten long! And, er, I'm not really rereading it. I don't have the time. ^^; Hope it wasn't too hideous... *COUGH*
Love you all! Bye! :D
Which he didn't.
...I never thought I'd be glad we had the "night & weekend" rate - which allows you to navigate as much as you want during the weekend and at night, while falling back to the default rate if you navigate on workdays.
We don't know yet how high the next bill will be, but if we had had the "flat" rate - navigation ad libitum at every time of the day for a fixed price, instead of just at night & on the weekend - it would probably have been three times as high. ;P
See? There's always the good side... ;)
(And one more good side is that I managed to finish my
rs_games submissions (two of them, LAST TIME I sign up for two instead of just one) with a day to spare! :P Well, two, as it turns out. I'll be sure to try and put them to good use. *g* )24"You will never get a boy who, at night, is right in the middle of an engaging story, you will never get him to understand, witha demonstration limited just to the boy himself, that he has to stop reading and go to sleep." It's Kafka writing this in his diary, the little Franz, whose dad would much have preferred seeing him spend all his life's nights doing sums.
So, I bought this book I totally loved. But it's not the one quoted above. (The power of misdirection!) That is an excerpt from another book, one I've first read, oh, probably ten years ago or so. Comme un roman, the original title is.
The one I've actually read just last week is Diario di scuola - Chagrin d'école - still by Daniel Pennac, who I probably would name as my favorite author, if I was forced to pick one. And boy, did I love it. It was the first real book I'd read of his in years - he had published new ones, but they were both screenplays. In which his style and his verve still come out, yes, oh if it does, but... an actual book is a different thing. I love the man so, so much. I love how his utter love for literature shines right through his writing, how devoid it is of arrogance, of conceit. How sincere it is. And how sincere he is also telling of his time in school, as far from stellar as it was. While my experience of school was quite different, there were still so many things, so many feelings I recognized. It did my heart good to read it.
But most of all, that book made me realize how long it had been since I read a book - be it a novel, or an essay, or anything else - in my own language. (Not speaking French, I only know Pennac through the excellent translation by Yasmina Melaouah.*) And I hadn't realized at all how much I missed it. It's not that I stopped reading altogether, because I didn't, but almost all that passed under my eyes these past few years has been in English - be it fanfictions or actual (real?) novels. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not really complaining - I actually love English, and I love reading in it - and I wouldn't be surprised if part of that love wasn't (still) due to the simple fact that I can. The pleasure of recognizing the signs on the pages, the meaning behind the words, behind the expressions, getting the jokes. Almost like learning to read for the first time, all over again. The "joy of the alchemist", paraphrasing Pennac once more.
That's good, and I like it, but reading in Italian is different. English is a language I understand, a language I can use, a language I can think with - but Italian is the language I feel with. I'm not sure I can quite explain that, but - hearing the same thing expressed in English or in Italian is not the same, and not just because of the different ways the two might handle a same concept. Italian is more instinctive. It reaches deeper. And you know the weirdest thing of all? I only realized it for the first time years ago, when I set down to do a translation of Minx's Door to the River, and I was rereading the end product a final time. I was so surprised that, well, I still talk about it now. ;P
...tl;dr, wasn't it. ^^; And be thankful I didn't end up talking about the differences between English and Italian (inspired by a friend's remark about how the English translation isn't so effective instead), or doing an apology of movie dubbing (I still much prefer the original, if I understand it, with the aid of subtitles if I need them, but I'm not really so dead set against dubbing, not if done well. Most attacks to dubbing I've seen - but I haven't looked too hard - seem to be based off the fact that dubbers are seen as people who just read a script, instead of actual actors. Sometimes I don't doubt that is the case, but I wouldn't call those dubbers. I would call them bad dubbers. There's a difference. ;D) (Oh! I'm not saying I don't like subtitles! I do, and I tend to prefer them over dubbing, actually. But that doesn't mean that dubbing is The Ev0l or entirely devoid of plus sides, either. :D ), so BE GLAD. ;)
O_o WOAH has this gotten long! And, er, I'm not really rereading it. I don't have the time. ^^; Hope it wasn't too hideous... *COUGH*
Love you all! Bye! :D
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no subject
on 2008-05-05 02:00 pm (UTC)OH I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND! Reading a Japanese
DIRTY MANLOVE COMICnovel is such a challenge and it's a lot more work, but it's like each word I recognize is a thrill. WIth English books on the other hand I can just dive in and wallow in booky goodness. <33no subject
on 2008-05-06 03:19 pm (UTC)But it's not only just that, is it? It isn't just the fact that it's yours - distinct languages will handle the same things differently. I mean - I can't speak for Japanese in the slightest, but I've found that English tends to be more... direct, sharper maybe, dry - wonderful for jokes and the such, I've found. *g* Italian instead is a more rounded, slower language - as suits a kind of people who quite tend to talk in circles, I guess. ;D
I HEART YOU!
no subject
on 2008-05-06 05:30 pm (UTC)And apparently with languages like Italian and English, there's about 80% vocabulary overlap, but with Japanese it's only 20-30%. So the amount you could learn in 400 hours of formal instruction for a European language would take 1000+ hours for Japanese. @____@
And there is that too!! I don't really know the difference between English and other European languages because when I was studying French I never really got to that level but Japanese is the craziest language! It's really weird reading Harry Potter in Japanese because they have to add all these levels of formality that just don't exist in English thought. XD
no subject
on 2008-05-07 03:11 pm (UTC)Aw! So much more kudos to you for knowing it so well. :O See? See? You're brilliant! I was right! ♥
Hahahahaha yes XD I remember one of the first things the teacher said was that English people would use "you" even when talking to the Queen ;D (We've got levels of formality too - but we're really just got the two. ;P Or maybe three... but definitely not more than that. *g*)
no subject
on 2008-05-07 05:23 pm (UTC)I know nothing well! I just have a tendancy to remember the random things that aren't very useful in the long run, and then bring them up in conversation ALL THE TIME to the confusion of many. XDDD
Japanese has FUCKED UP LEVELS OF FORMALITY. I suppose English could have more formal ways of speaking, but it's not really a general thing as more as it is case-specific. (I wonder if Italian is similar to French in terms of formality? I need to learn more langauges!!)
no subject
on 2008-05-06 03:20 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2008-05-06 05:26 pm (UTC)(ALSO YOUR ICON! IT'S ALMOST TIME! *EXPLODES*)
no subject
on 2008-05-07 08:16 am (UTC)I mean. I was at the usual bar to have breakfast this morning, and I saw that they made Indiana Jones icecreams. Which are really pretty normal icecreams, but with Indiana Jones names. It's silly and ludicrous and sad and I still wanted to try at least one.
I'm so ridicolously excited! They're even satarted showing the movies again on tv! Except they ALWAYS DO IT ON FRIDAYS, which is the night I AM NEVER HOME. :O I can't see mroe than half an hour of it ;__;
no subject
on 2008-05-07 05:25 pm (UTC)DID YOU HAVE ONE!? I KNOW I WOULD HAVE!!
Come over to my house! We have the box set! <3333
Ok, now I know what I'm doing today. XD
no subject
on 2008-05-05 02:06 pm (UTC)Dubbers are, in many cases, actors. But it's not the same to be in a recording room reading, more often than not, poorly translated text, than acting the movie. Not to mention that dubbing takes away half of the original actors' acting: an actor can do and say a lot with their voice.
To me, dubbing will always be a disrespect for the original work, for the audience who is getting a half assed, mutilated version of the original piece. Dubbing is the 3v01.
But I love you all the same :)
no subject
on 2008-05-05 02:38 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2008-05-05 03:16 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2008-05-05 04:54 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2008-05-06 02:51 pm (UTC)an actor can do and say a lot with their voice
Which is why I said the bit about dubbers being actors as well. :) It's not the same - but believe me, it can get close enough. Do keep in mind that my experience withd dubbed movie is probably different from yours, and/or from Americans. Here in Italy, every single movie is dubbed. Always has been, for as long as I can remember. To see a movie in original language + subtitles, the only way is
internetrenting the dvds - there is a (as in one) cinema I know around here that shows movie in original language, but it does so only every now and then, and only with pretty famous titles. Those who (like me *g*) go out of their way to see the original are mostly seen as snobs. ;) ...in fact, come to think of it, of all the people I know there's only one other who does....with that 10000 words paragraph, I meant to say that we've built experience at it, and skill. It can be done well. I mean - if what you say was entirely true, then they would feel fake as well, wouldn't they? It would be annoying, and prevent you from losing yourself in it - but it doesn't. Most of the times, it really really doesn't.
And the bad thing is that subtitles isn't really an alternative to dubbing, in that regard (dubbing takes away half of the original actors' acting), you know? :( If you don't know the language well enough to be able to use subtitles only as an aid, you will end up spending half the movie (or more than half - I've never been a particularly quick reader) reading the lines and missing out on so much of the acting, the body language, the glances and suchlike. I stuck my tongue out at dad, when he moans and complains when he sees I'm watching a movie (well, one he would be interested in) in English and with subtitles, but I half understand him too.
HEHEHE. Can you tell I love discussions like this? ;D And I LOVE YOU! ♥
no subject
on 2008-05-06 05:26 pm (UTC)THANKFULLY movies like "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" were so wonderful in general that they started changing people's idea that foreign movies were all cheesy action flicks and they've started doing subtitles for a lot of them..
(The only dubbed movies I'll watch these days are Miyazaki ones.. Really, CHRISTIAN BALE! <333)
no subject
on 2008-05-05 08:40 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2008-05-06 07:46 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2008-05-06 09:24 pm (UTC)no subject
on 2008-05-07 07:30 am (UTC)no subject
on 2008-05-06 02:14 am (UTC)You know, I felt verymuch this way when I lived in Japan and spoke/read Japanese day in and day out! It pleased me immensely to be immersed in a different language and to use it competently... but I only ever felt true when I was speaking/hearing English. Does that make sense? Your English is way better than my Japanese was, I'm sure. XD
no subject
on 2008-05-06 02:15 pm (UTC)"The ecstasy of perfect recognition"
on 2008-05-08 05:02 pm (UTC)ALSO. Sorry I've been crap at responding to emails! The old inbox is getting full again... but while I'm here, I think I might just lavish a little love on your icon. <3
Re: "The ecstasy of perfect recognition"
on 2008-05-10 09:26 pm (UTC)ALSO. No worrieeeeeeeees! :o I am always here for my sweetheart! <33333
AND AND AND. Is it bad that I can kind of see Alain/Cuthbert? :o I don't know, it was something in the scuffle with the Big Coffin Hunters. Alain saves (temporarily) the day and something in me goes, hmmmm...
AND CUTHBERT. I like him so much and yet we already know he's going to die! AAAAAH DON'T WANNA. ;_;
Re: "The ecstasy of perfect recognition"
on 2008-05-11 01:49 am (UTC)It's like... Alain loves Cuthbert, Cuthbert loves Roland, and Roland loves.... the Tower. Haha. Though really, Roland is constantly thinking about how much Eddie is like Cuthbert, so it's almost as though he's not REALLY gone. :3
I know of some really smashing good Cuthbert/Alain fic too... *rubs hands together* I'll point you at it when you're done with Wizard and Glass, if you like.
Re: "The ecstasy of perfect recognition"
on 2008-05-11 05:14 pm (UTC)Yes? Really? So it's not just me? ♥♥♥ And oh, I think I'm really going to take you up on your offer because AW I LIKE THE PROSPECT SO MUCH. I've kept far, far away from fanfic so far, as I'm afraid I'd end up spoiling myself, but oh. I want that so much. ♥
MWAH!
Re: "The ecstasy of perfect recognition"
on 2008-05-11 11:32 pm (UTC)Hee, but I may have to draw you some Cuthbert/Alain things now. I made a sketch of Cuthbert that I never finished, but that's about it so far...
http://joannaestep.com/misc/darktower/cuthbert.jpg
Re: "The ecstasy of perfect recognition"
on 2008-05-12 09:15 am (UTC)*TACKLE GLOMPS TO THE END OF A WORLD THAT IS MOVING OOOOOOOHHHN*
(Ooooh and! :o Have you received anything yet? I can't remember if it's too soon yet for it to arrive there or not. :( )
Re: "The ecstasy of perfect recognition"
on 2008-05-12 05:18 pm (UTC)Ah, and I haven't received anything! *starry eyes* *_* Omg, how exciting that I should be looking, though! You are really the apple of my eye, you know? <3333 I CAN'T WAIT! <3
Re: "The ecstasy of perfect recognition"
on 2008-05-13 04:01 pm (UTC)Okay, when you say "apple" I totally did not think "pig (http://www.troubling.info/wp/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/t_roosevelt_suckling_pig_32.jpg)". XD what were we saying about my brain again? ;P
AND WAAAAAAAAAH so you got it! :D I hope you'll have fun with it! ;)
*WRAPS AROUND JOU BLANKET-WISE*
Re: "The ecstasy of perfect recognition"
on 2008-05-13 04:43 pm (UTC)AUUUUGH, TERRIFYING PIG PICTURE! ...Perhaps you'd rather be a banana than an apple? (Though I'm already laughing myself silly at the new mental images that've likely jumped into your head at the prospect)
I DO HAVE MY DVDS, OMG. I am going to have myself a time. *pulls BruniBlanket around shoulders and sips tea*
AND NOW I GET YOUR COMMENT TITLE TOO! :O
on 2008-06-02 09:33 pm (UTC)HAHAHA. If my braing is scary already on its own, you sure like to play with it, you mean thing you. XD
And aw, I like the (mental) image between the asterisks! ;P