Joined the Mayqueeze.

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Joined 3 years ago
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Cake day: June 12th, 2023

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  • It’s a Tuvix level decision I’m glad I didn’t have to make. I think reuniting a child with their biological parent is a general, understandable guideline. And if you look at this clusterfuck in sequence, the first crime in this case - the illegal invasion of Bajor notwithstanding - is Rugal’s abduction by Dukat’s aide and his subsequent depositing in an orphanage. If it hadn’t been for that, Rugal would not have had Bajoran foster parents. Who were understandably not very nuanced about the Cardassians. (There must have been a way to raise him not hating his “kind” unconditionally as he does. So they carry a small dose of guilt for this mess in my opinion.) Which led to Rugal biting Garak.

    The biological dad makes a convincing case that he was fucked over. Rugal is fucked no matter what. Sisko went back to where this train was sent on the wrong track and corrected that. I can kind of see the logic of that decision. He had to weigh different factors and decided to give less weight to Rugal’s wishes over the crimes that preceded him ever being in a position to express them this way.

    Tough call but he (somehow, there doesn’t appear to be a legal system with a metal sphere gavel and the social worker from Mrs Doubtfire presiding just yet) had to make one. And there probably isn’t a right decision.





  • Japanese kids learn the alphabet in primary school to do Romanisation of their own language and then for English class. There are no problems with the former because they can see and read those everywhere. English is a particularly difficult alphabet language to read so that’s hard. But on a certain level there is relief that there aren’t an additional 2000 Kanji characters to learn to be able to read it. It’s a radically different language so it’s hard either way.

    Mandarin learners must pick up Pinyin, at least in the mainland, fairly early. I’m guessing primary school as well.

    Both Pinyin and Romaji use the alphabet to make sounds that don’t exist in English. Like rya in Japanese or the distinction between q, ch, and zh in Mandarin. Both mainly use qwerty keyboards for typing their own language.

    Gendered languages flummox even learners from the country next door. The biggest obstacle to learning English in Asia isn’t the different writing system or even the insane spelling conventions of English or French. It’s mastering indefinite and definite articles, when to use either or none, that makes them pull their hair out. It doesn’t matter which European language you pick, it makes no sense, it’s vibe based more than anything, and it isn’t the same between French and German or English and Spanish. So knowing one language already is only of limited use.

    I’m going to theorise that a writing system with spaces between words helps learners to grasp what is an equivalent unit in their own language. To a point because you get words like antiestablishmentarianism in English or Verwaltungsfachangestellte (an administrative assistant in the public service sector) in German and all bets are off.


  • I have a feeling that the people who could judge that best probably aren’t present in an English language forum.

    I think if we look at the spectrum of popular international animation with South Park America on the low end and Miyazaki output at the top, the care put in to make the spoken word match lip movements often correlates to where you are on that spectrum. And there is a lot of stuff trending towards the low end. They probably don’t do 20 retakes on a line read during voice recording. No matter what language they are doing.




  • Not much. You nurse it for a while. And most of the time, our human instinct for adapting to a changing condition kicks in. There is truth to the adage that time heals all wounds. I would add it may not heal it entirely but sufficiently.

    A broken heart is like that. After a while you get used to it. And you’ll probably move on without realising it. And until you get there, distract yourself. Only hardcore introverts benefit from being alone.

    So much for the platitudes. Every case is different. You may realise in time that extra steps are necessary. Like a physical move or a change in profession, etc.





  • Don’t travel to places where it’s illegal. And if you do, don’t try to acquire anything while in places where the legislation has real teeth. Chances are if weed is illegal, any fun substitute will be as well. Depending on where you are going a positive blood test, should you get in trouble with the law for whatever reason, may still get you in trouble even if all of the weed in your bloodstream was consumed where it was legal to do so. That’s also something to consider two months ahead of your trip abroad.

    If you are so worried that you cannot break your habitual use you may want to investigate your use pattern even while you are where it is legal. Marijuana addiction is not a huge societal problem overall but it can be for the individual.