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That’s just not right, man. It’s just not right.
mirmarmelade
[info]linguaphiles
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As of this afternoon, I'm the proud owner of the electronic Van Dale Dutch/English/French/German large dictionary set! Yay! My uni uses these dictionaries and I love them, they are easy to work with and contain lots of extra information and idiomatic expressions. They have about 115.000 lemmas per language, I believe. I'm so happy! As much fun it is to leaf through my paper dictionaries, these will help me taking less than an hour on a few lines of text and there's something to say for that too :P


(I realize this sounds like a commercial but I'm just so excited! I'd never have bought them for myself because they're quite expensive, but I've been given them by my department as 'salary' for a tutorial I taught last semester. The Board didn't allow them to officially appoint a TA, but the department had the funds to let me choose a gift worth the pay I'd have gotten. I love how the department is doing everything possible to keep the students on their feet while the Board is ripping it all to shreds. No really, how's firing half the Linguistics staff while telling them to add to the curriculum and teach a 3-fold of the current student load a realistic and even good idea?)

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daisy_adair
[info]write_away
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Nature Within My Mind

Forever’s kept promise beyond the deepest of oceans, translucent by nature, the darkest of headaches Run between my best wish and I

My terror, my trouble, my constant With the mystery of its driving force, I swim for angels, under pressure And light sheds upon my waters Salty tears begin where the last ones dried  

purple_solle
[info]linguaphiles
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Hi,

I'm looking for books/papers on the use of the diminutive in German and Dutch. I'm mostly looking for (recent) comparative studies on its current use in both languages, but I'd be interested in anything at all about the topic, including suffixes in different Germanic dialects, the popularity of the diminutive in given names, and even just random anecdotes. My uni library doesn't really seem to have anything useful, so... what would be a good place to look?
hadeseus
[info]linguaphiles
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I hope this is allowed. If it isn't... sorry. DX

Hello, everyone.~

I was having a bit of a think about my (abysmal) learning strategies and methods the other day, and finally decided that I'd had enough of learning so slowly. So... if you don't mind, I have a few questions I'd like to ask so that I can improve the way I learn.

They don't have to be long answers if you don't want to write much; I just need all the help I can get, and I'm sure other people could benefit from your answers too. :)
  1. Generally, how long do you study for, per day? Do you take breaks after set periods of time or do you just keep going until you get fed up or tired?
  2. Do you learn exclusively from textbooks, take the immersion approach, both, or neither? (In other words, what materials do you use to learn?)
  3. How do you go about learning evil grammar rules?
  4. Lastly, how do you learn vocabulary (this is my biggest problem area!)? Word lists, flashcards, etc?
All answers are hugely appreciated. Thank you!
gilove2dance
[info]rayne_shippers
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So, 2009 is drawing to a close. We had many a good fic this year and we are going to celebrate them by hosting the 2009 Pretty Deadly Deadly Awards!!

This is just a reminder so you can start reading all the 2009 fics and taking note of which one you would like to nominate. I'm thinking of opening up nominations on the 2nd or 3rd of January.

2009 Banner
zeddish
[info]little_details
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Time: Now-ish, give or take a year.
Place: Multiple; See desc.
Searched: tags, parole, parole violation, hospitalisation under false name, abundant link hopping on Wikipedia relating to fraud and identity theft.

Situation:

Character is a two-time felon, released from prison on parole from Jean, Nevada (just outside of Las Vegas, which is where his place of residence is upon release). He's not (usually) violent, and doesn't have any "special" terms of his parole (ie, no non-contact clauses or anything). He's not been out of prison 24 hours before relieving a drunken tourist of his wallet. The tourist is a particularly stupid one, having his return plane ticket home in his wallet, so what started out as getting quick cash turned into the character leaving state with a stolen plane ticket and matching identity (which is admittedly vague and sort of hand-waved by saying that all driving license photos make you look like a toad. Which, they sort of do).

The plane ticket is a direct flight to Oregon, and circumstances have him more or less stranded in a particularly backwater part of the state for between a year and a year and a half. When an opportunity presents itself for the character to finally be able to go more civilised, everything goes to hell real fast, and the character winds up shot full of holes and in a coma for nine weeks (starts out at GCS 4, and gradually recovers from there. But I've got all that info, thanks to reading the tags here last night!). While he does recover, it's not a "full recovery." He's lost a lot of hand-eye coordination, and has some substantial gaps in his memory, mostly long term, as well as lasting physical injuries from being shot full of holes.


He's been living in Oregon under his assumed name -- not his real one, and so that's what he's admitted as. In theory, anyway. Ideally, I would like for him to be discharged before anyone realises what had happened. Finding out as soon as the day after would be ideal, actually. Basically, during his time in hospital, he's not tied to either his parole violation or the crime he *tried* to commit the night he got shot.

Tentatively, he's told by the police officer that covered everything up to get out of Oregon and never come back (pseudo-crooked cop; wound up with the money the felon character had tried to steal for himself, so she had every reason to want him to go away and shut up, rather than be arrested and blow her cover). To make sure he doesn't come back, the cop gives him no small sum of money, which he uses to go to New York, where he has history from before his first conviction. Whilst in Manhattan, he continues to live under his assumed name until something happens (the insurance/fake name at hospital thing, hopefully) to call police attention to him.


How could I make this situation work, and what would wind up happening to him when the police catch up with him in New York? I would very much rather like him to avoid a life without parole prison sentence, but I do want for him to have to deal with some of what's happened. A bit of hand-wavery is fine, but I would like it to be *believable*.


FTR: this is not actually for a fic, but for a roleplay, which is why I want him to avoid prison.
bookwormprinces
[info]little_details
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This question is pretty simple. I'm writing a story and I want my guy to take my girl to a hockey game. But I need to know the name of a rink where NHL teams play that is near Colorado Springs.

I looked at Cadet Ice Arena, which is actually in CS, but it says it is only for college athletic conferences.

googled/wiki'ed: NHL hockey rinks, ice hockey rinks in colorado, Cadet Ice Arena

Thanks in advance. :)

ETA: Thanks, guys! Pepsi Center in Denver will work great. :)

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amarmylaidie
[info]little_details
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Setting: London, England 1896

I have a character in a story I'm working on who is a heavy absinthe drinker. I've done some research on the effects of absinthe back then, and I'm coming up with some mixed answers. What I know is:

-Absinthe manufactured today is not hallucinogenic.
-Thujone, an ingredient in pre-ban absinthe, was not actually a hallucinogen, and some think that the people who said it made them hallucinate in the 19th century were making it up.
-There is a theory that it might have been the green dye put into absinthe that made people hallucinate, so the thujone had nothing to do with it. I can find very little information on this idea, though, so I'm not sure how sturdy it is.

So, the information I've found is a little unclear. Every account I've seen on being drunk on absinthe is modern and so the formula is obviously not the same. I'd like to know if anyone has ever seen any reliable 19th century accounts of being drunk on absinthe, if you know anything about its production, its effects, any info at all on the 19th century formula, I'd love to hear it.

The hallucinogenic effects are the most important. Right now, I have my character hallucinating. If there's no way he could be doing so simply by drinking the stuff, I'd like to know. Thank you so much!

Search terms used: absinthe, absinthe hallucinations, Victorian absinthe, 19th century absinthe, thujone in absinthe, green dye in absinthe

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simonjrogers
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Courtesy of Jerome, there is now a  selection of Trail of Cthulhu wallpapers in the resource section of the website.

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swampfaye
[info]linguaphiles
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How would I write that in Japanese Characters? (working on a Christmas Present!)
theunixgeek
[info]linguaphiles
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 I've been using the "Integrated Chinese" series to learn Mandarin with relative success and I'm finishing up Level 1 Part 2 in the second (older) edition. I want to purchase Level 2, so should I get the older 2nd edition or the newer 3rd edition (Level 2 Part 1)? Which one is a better resource?

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alsunwunderland
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Read more... )

: Serenity
Mood: creative
Background Noise: Defying Gravity-Glee Cast

lil_yoni01
[info]fictionwriters
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This is my very first entry to any lj community EVER, so critiques and comments are very much welcome :)

Title: Chalcedony Series - First Book: Four Seasons
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Drama, Mystery, Romance(?)
Format: novel
Rating: T
Warning: (in current chapter) mention of nation violence
Summary: (story) In the land of Zenobyie, where the Kingdoms are isolated, alienated, hidden or ruined, there is a child of the lost Element that will bring Light to his home.


Read more... )

nataliewitch
[info]pimp_my_altar
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I posted a picture of our household altar back in November. You may remember the cat. ;) Here are some updated close-ups of a few of the shrines, including my Athena shrine.The temple room is this way... )

Mood: cheerful

e_moondragon
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[First post here :)  ] So I'm having surgery tomorrow. I'll be in the hospital up to 2 weeks. Here's a pic of my altar I set up, things that were easy to travel with, and convenient, and decently inconspicuous... I put it in the corner of my desk in my room. (Right = west)

The pentacle I actually picked up from a craft store at Xmas time one year but have never really used it. I just thought it was cute and hang itup on occasion as a decoration. But I figured it would be good for a hospital, and it looks "christmas-ie."

got my water (W) and salt (E) in the chalices, My quarts crystal is at East, and I put my incense cone at North because I think it makes more sense to have Air there, and that's how I was trained. If you think of the X and Y axis it makes sense for Air to be at north, since male is Y and that would make it North and South like an XY axis. It basically lines up masculine with N/S and feminine with E/W. I hope that makes sense.

I got my bell for South, since I didn't want to travel with a blade and risk it being stolen by airport ppls, or just having it in my hospital room. I'm more about being conspicuous I guess, so this way the nurses and staff won't think twice.

(Just an fyi, I posted a longer story of my journey for surgery in spiritual terms in  [info]pagan but I wanted to post a pic of my altar here.)

Hope everyone has a happy Yule :)
storyjunkie
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There are links below. You know what to do.

Folks that I support year-round:

Colorado Public Radio - do you know where your information comes from?

Donors Choose - I even made a Giving Page Please consider donating to some of these classroom projects.

Doctors Without Borders or Médecins Sans Frontières. Good people, doing what's needed.

Bonfils Blood Center - of course. Though, this one doesn't come with a receipt, as I give life-blood every so often, rather than cool cash. I hit 50 pints this year!



Folks that I supported today. Happy Solstice! May light come to those who need it most:

FINCA a micro-loan organization. Given the field I've found myself in, this one was a natural fit.

Mile High United Way

The Denver Rescue Mission - Now, everyone who knows me, knows that church and I have an ... odd ... relationship. The Denver Rescue Mission walks their talk, and the talk of a thousand others besides.


And, of course, check folks out at Charity Navigatory if you're at all unfamiliar with an organization that's caught your eye. The impulse is good, but sometimes people are not, or y'know they may just be really inefficient.

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harehare
[info]linguaphiles
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what is the meaning of "nothing ever promised tomorrow today"?
it's from kanye west song, heard them say.
thank you in advance

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sarahetc
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vt_browncoat
[info]rayne_shippers
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I just saw this version of Govt Mule's "Beautifully Broken" and it screams Jayne thinking about River to me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHJzudE0TpU

Warren Haynes mixes his own lyrics and song with Prince's "When Doves Cry"

If you ever get a chance to see the "Mule" in concert... do so.


Brian

Mood: awake
Background Noise: Beautifly Broken, Govt Mule

joho07
[info]linguaphiles
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Hello everyone,

I discovered Josef Hader a few days ago (well, a friend introduced me), and although I'm german I'm really having trouble with his austrian accent. Can anyone help me?



Here's what I got so far )

Danke schön!
sugar_fey
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My paid account runs out on the 24th. Meh. Oh well! First of all, since I probably won't have time to post before Christmas:

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas, Blessed Yule, Blessed Midsummer (if you're in my part of the world) and all round Happy Holidays! I love you all and hope your days are filled with joy.


As for me, I went camping in the Blue Mountains with friends over the weekend. Epic fun times were had. The first day we had an epic water pistol battle that involved us bushbashing through a regular forest of reeds up river, all the while making jokes about how this was like a bad Vietnam War film. We split off into small groups and launched blitz attacks against each other, ambushing other groups through the reeds. Much amusement. Then we had the admittedly rather foolish idea of climbling onto a friend's four wheel drive and sitting on the bonnet and roof while he drove donuts and figure eights. I was on the bonnet, holding onto my friend who kept nearly falling off. Fun yet extremely scary!

The best part? Sitting under a starry sky that you can only see in the country. Breathtaking.

~Every little thing we do is magic.~
kathy_kostinsky
[info]beadwork
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Inhabits only forest regions in the north of Madagascar

Peyote stitch
sarahetc
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corvidaen
[info]fictionwriters
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Greetings, literary livejournal! Currently, I only wish to be known as Corvidaen. I've been writing for a very long time, but have only taken it seriously in the past few years. I'm working on a fantasy series at present, and hope to print the first part in late Spring/early Summer. I usually do epic, eccentric time-space plots, but the story below is my one and only successful attempt at something shorter. Enjoy (:

Note: This is pretty much finished. I simply fail at formatting.

Title: The Wailing Cat
Length: 1798 words
Rating: General audiences
Warnings: Nothing of the usual, but I must inform you that it's loosely based off a dream and, therefore, is quite strange.

The world was dark and cold, with a strange mix of primitive, muddy alleyways and skyscrapers shining brightly... )

Mood: cheerful
Background Noise: Black Mirror - Arcade Fire

paft
[info]paft
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For some obvious reasons. Two writing deadlines, the busy season at work, and lots of personal obligations. There's so much I'd like to write about. Nothing earthshaking, but some fiction, some memories, maybe a recipe or two. A strange memorial/birthday party at a friend's house, the last visit we'll ever make there, with the usual exercises in profound but dignified grief and helpless confusion and drunken heartbreak. Snow dumped on my family in North Carolina and stranding some friends here in San Francisco, and short stories to be finished and posted and others to be sent out.

I hope after this weekend...

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paft
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the Expansion of Godwin's Law

...being a middlebrow Beltway writer, Milbank just has to add the standard middlebrow Beltway false equivalency, in which calling out grossly irresponsible rhetoric is equated with the grossly irresponsible rhetoric being called out.

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mynuet
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I'm still not entirely sure what I think of this, but I just realized I'm already a day late so I figured I'd go ahead and post. It's kind of PG, but nothing graphic or beyond what was seen in the tv show/movie, I think.

Harvest )
madam_silvertip
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I have a very picayune question, though potentially important:

How much freedom of movement would a military chaplain have had in a British division in the Korean war? Would an officer in the division have the power to say to him, "You're going to X company," and would he then have to stay there? Or would that be decided by someone with rank over both of them? If no one with superior rank had given an express order, would he have some liberty to travel from one division to another (wherever need is greatest, that kind of thing)?

Another way of framing the question is, what would be the chain of command directing a chaplain's movements, would he have any ability to decide himself about his comings and goings, and who ranks him. (Wikipedia says that the lowest rank of a British military chaplain is equivalent to a captaincy.)

American viewers will probably think of Father Mulcahy who was ALWAYS with the 4077th, but that might not have been realistic unless the chaplain was specifically assigned to that station and told to stay--some of them seem to have traveled around a lot in their own jeeps.

The character in question has got caught up in the Battle of the Imjin, and I have him as an itinerant pastor in a jeep. He ends up with the Northumberland Fusiliers through his own choice. Not with the Glosters, because in the first place the bravery of the Glosters' Rev. Davies was such that I don't want to take anything away from that, and in the second place it appears that past a certain point it was impossible to escape being taken prisoner by the Chinese if you were with the Glosters (though the jury is still out as to whether the pastor could have visited the Glosters at some point--which would again require being able to leave). But the Fusiliers was a dangerous enough assignment. I intended to have the pastor's witnessing the (very bloody) Imjin fighting be something of an accident of fate, because his jeep got fried in a minor collision outside Uijeongbu.

Thanks in advance. (I have "To the Last Round" by Andrew Salmon and it is a magnificent resource for anything to do with the Battle of the Imjin, but these questions are outside its scope.)
trishy_h
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Hello lovely linguaphiles!

A friend of mine is moving to China and since we met in Spanish class I've decided to make him a little (mostly joking) phrase guide for his new travels! Can you guys help me out with the gaps? I need Mandarin help especially. Please forgive my lack of accents with the spanish.

hola - hello - nee how
adios - goodbye - ?
por favor - please - ?
gracias - thank you - ?
me gustas tu - I like you - ?
? - you're hot - ?
? - what's your number? - ?
? - one tequila, please - ?

Thanks so much!

ETA: You are all awesome.
america_divine
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Happy Solstice, everyone!

 

This is our altar, honoring the new and ever-renewing Sun, the material sustainer and Universal Logos.

It also expresses personal work, including a magical/spiritual change of name (after twelve years with the prior one).

The lucky baby in this basket usually lives on the Goddess Fortuna altar and is named "Mojo".

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Urban Fool
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If you’re listening to a rock star in order to get your information on who to vote for, you’re a bigger moron than they are. Why are we rock stars? Because we’re morons. We sleep all day, we play music at night and very rarely do we sit around reading the Washington Journal. ~ Alice Cooper
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