#but though i have been translating as a hobbyist for quite some time and have studied the language for several years | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

cheri-translates · 3 years

Text

[CN] Shaw’s S2 R&S - Glacier Navigation

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for a Rumours & Secrets, 冰川行舟, which has not been released in EN! 🍒

This R&S features S2 Shaw

In terms of sequencing, this is Shaw’s first S2 R&S!

[ Chapter One ]

On this rare break, a phone call from Shaw brings me to the entrance of Loveland University.

At the school gate, a huge “Welcome New Students" banner waves in the wind. The osmanthus petals at my feet exude the unique scent of late summer and early autumn.

I follow Shaw through the bustling crowd and towards the graduate student registration point.

MC: The registration office... this should be it.

Shaw: Are you sure it's here? Just look at these registering students - how do they look like graduate students?

MC: You’re clearly the one who doesn’t look like a graduate student, okay?

Shaw glances at the long line outside the door of the office. Clicking his tongue, he eventually stands at the back properly.

Not having to wait for long, the both of us reach the head of the line.

MC: You don't need me to accompany you for the registration, do you?

Shaw: What are you thinking? Are you treating me like a kid?

MC: Then why did you drag me along to school...

Shaw: I just took you out for a breather after seeing you squatting at home for a few weeks.

He waves his hand at me in self-assurance, turning his head and entering the office.

I lean against the wall, waiting for him. As soon as I take out my phone, the tall figure walks out of the office fiercely.

MC: ...how did you settle it so quickly?

Shaw doesn’t respond. He suddenly leans forward, his eyes almost within reach. His half-squinting eyes contain slight irritation.

MC: W-what do you want... Ah! Don't touch my hair!

I raise my hand to protect my hair, but my cheek ends up getting pinched twice by two of his fingers.

Shaw: This is your punishment for leading me to the wrong place.

MC: No way, we really went to the wrong place?

Shaw: This is the registration point for the Chinese Department. The Archaeology Department is in Zhi Hua Building.

MC: Zhi Hua Building... I remember now. I think we passed by it earlier.

Shaw: Really?

Knowing that I was in the wrong, I quickly lift both my hands up as a guarantee.

MC: Really, I definitely won’t be wrong this time!

Shaw: Fine, I’ll reluctantly believe you this time. The last time.

[ Chapter Two ]

Since heading to the wrong place led to quite a delay, the door to the registration office of the Department of Archaeology is completely empty.

Shaw knocks on the office door. Inside, there’s only one middle-aged teacher who is currently reading the newspaper.

Teacher: A freshman? Come, fill in this form. Did you bring a copy of your ID card? If you didn’t bring it, give me the original. I'll make a copy for you.

Shaw: I brought it.

Teacher: What about the one-inch photo?

Shaw: Here.

Teacher: Oh, the boy's ID photo is so handsome! Sit for a while, I have to make a record.

Shaw: Mm, thanks for the hard work, teacher.

The teacher sits in front of the computer leisurely, then casts a curious glance at the door.

Teacher: Is that young lady outside your girlfriend?

Shaw: No.

Shaw pauses, then adds on.

Shaw: Just a friend.

Teacher: Oh... I understand~

The middle-aged man reveals a meaningful smile, and can’t help but gesture at the young man in front of him

Teacher: Young people have to be braver. How can a boy be so shy!

Shaw suppresses the urge to roll his eyes, squeezing out words one by one from between his teeth.

Shaw: Teacher, are you done with the registration?

[Note] There are different ways of saying “you” in Chinese, depending on formality! When being polite and respectful, especially to an elder, 您 (“nin”) is used. When talking to friends or someone younger, 你 (“ni”) is used. SHAW USES 您 HERE BECAUSE HE IS A POLITE BOY

Teacher: Yes yes, sign here. There’s one more thing I have to tell you. Because you filled in your identity as an Evolver on the form, I’ll have to trouble you to submit a copy of the Evol inspection report.

Shaw: The notice didn’t mention that I had to bring it.

Teacher: It’s a new requirement. It conveniences the school in terms of management, so I hope you can understand. Last semester, an Evolver lost control of his ability and almost lifted the entire classroom. The STF were called down for a day, and it was very troublesome.

When he hears the term “STF”, Shaw’s expression stirs slightly. Then, he clicks his tongue impatiently.

Shaw: So troublesome...

Teacher: What did you say?

Shaw: Nothing. Can I hand it in another day?

Teacher: It's fine, just come back within five working days. Here, your notice.

Shaw: Thanks.

[ Chapter Three ]

Schoolmate A: Schoolmate, want to check out our e-sports club? We organise competitions every month, and you can receive exquisite merchandise!

Schoolmate B: Schoolmate, come take a look at our basketball club! Handsome guys and beautiful girls gather and keep fit...

Today happens to be the club recruitment day. When Shaw and I pass by the public square, students constantly stop us, asking if we wish to join their clubs.

I look at Shaw curiously, but he doesn’t seem to be interested in any clubs. He walks quickly, not even giving them a glance.

When we’re about to leave the public square, we are once again stopped by a student.

Schoolmate C: Schoolmates, I can tell at a glance that you’re both from the Arts Department, right? Tsk tsk, your outfits have such an artistic quality. I’m from the rock club of our school. Even though the club was only established this year, I believe we have great potential! Usually, the club will organise activities introducing various instruments and music appreciation for hobbyists. Our club president even formed a band himself! They’re performing over there. Do you two want to have a listen?

I initially thought that Shaw would once again ignore him and leave. Unexpectedly, he suddenly stops in his footsteps, then arches his eyebrows with interest.

Shaw: Oh? You guys have a band?

Schoolmate C: Of course! We don't do covers. They’re all original songs!

Shaw: Let’s have a listen then.

MC: Do you actually want to join this rock club?

Shaw: We’ll talk after listening.

After saying this, he walks towards the area surrounded by a cluster of people.

The venue is simple, but there’s a sizeable number of audience members. The band members in the middle are wagging their heads while performing a song.

The vocals are discordant, and the sound quality is inferior. I’m unable to hear the lyrics clearly, but the melody is really catchy.

MC: I didn't expect them to look like an actual band... Shaw?

Shaw: ...tch.

Shaw grabs my arm, leaving the scene without saying a word.

MC: What’s wrong?

Shaw: Hearing plagiarised songs dirties my ears.

MC: That song from before was plagiarised?!

Shaw: They copied an unpopular old song from the 80s. No wonder these people didn’t realise it. You should also improve your musical literacy so you wouldn’t be confused by copied songs.

MC: So what you mean is... I should listen to your band’s songs more?

Shaw: Of course.

I burst out laughing, and Shaw raises his eyebrows in dissatisfaction.

Shaw: What are you laughing at?

MC: No, no, I just think that you’ve always been very serious about your band...

Shaw: You seem pretty concerned about my band?

MC: Mm. I know that you really like this band.

Shaw glances at me, as though verifying the sincerity of my words.

Then, he turns his gaze away, and sunlight touches the corners of his sharp and slightly raised mouth.

Shaw: Even if it’s just for fun, I’ll do even better than everyone else.

He says these words matter-of-factly, as though so long as he’s willing, every difficulty can be stamped out by him.

Shaw takes a final look back at the noisy public square. Retrieving a pair of earphones from his pocket, he hands it to me.

Shaw: Wear it properly. I’ll let you listen to truly good music.

[ Chapter Four ]

Shaw: Let’s go. Also, we’ll stop by the supermarket along the way. I’m buying some daily necessities.

MC: I really couldn’t tell that you’d be willing to stay in a dormitory.

Shaw: Who said so? I don’t plan to stay in a dormitory.

MC: Huh?

Shaw: I never stay with outsiders.

Shaw: Anyway, there’s a small room in Live House, and I plan to live there. Rehearsals will be convenient too.

MC: Oh... but your place is really too empty. Aside from a bed, it doesn't look liveable.

Shaw: Hm? How’d you know that my place is empty?

MC: I...

I bite my tongue, hurriedly tossing out a reason to muddle through it.

MC: I don’t even have to think about it to know. Judging by your personality, your house definitely has nothing but bare walls.

Probably because of my self-assured tone, Shaw retracts his scrutinising gaze, pursing his lips.

Shaw: That’s not how you use “nothing but bare walls”. Did you even pay attention in school... Let’s go.”

[Note] The reason why Shaw says this is because what MC used was 家徒四壁 (“jia tou si bi”), which is an idiom literally translating to “nothing but bare walls”. However, this idiom is supposed to describe someone who is very poor!

Shaw has always been very proactive. When he finishes speaking, he quickly takes me to the nearest supermarket from school.

After a short while, the shopping cart is stuffed to the brim.

Shaw: ...wait. I asked you to get a washbowl for me. Why’d you get me three? Do you need to use three washbasins to wash your face every day?

MC: These three washbasins have their respective uses! This one is for washing your face, this one is for washing your body, this one...”

Shaw: Washes what?

MC: Fruits!

Shaw: So troublesome. I might as well buy fruits that I can eat directly without washing.

MC: This is a refined life, okay? If you think it’s too much, then I'll reduce... Hey, what did you put into the cart?

Shaw: Daily necessities.

Lowering my head to take a look, I see three boxes of animal-shaped clothes hangers. The chubby little animals have their cheeks puffed out, lying in the washbowls I’m buying.

MC: Wow, so cute! You’re quite good at picking things too! ...but why are you buying three boxes?

Shaw: I learnt from you. One box for clipping towels, one box for clipping clothes, and one box...

MC: Huh?

Shaw doesn’t finish the second half of the sentence, and I subconsciously look up at him, meeting his sly eyes.

Shaw: Since you came out to run errands today, I’ll give it to you.

Shaw leans against the door of Live House, quietly watching the taxi drown in the neon glow. Suddenly, the phone in his pocket vibrates slightly.

An unknown number appears on the screen. Shaw frowns, then lifts his hand to tap the answer button.

?: I heard you reported to school today?

Shaw: Looks like you guys are really free. You even have to bother about my enrolment in school?

?: How is it? Is everything going smoothly?

Shaw: It’s fine. Some situations cropped up, but I’m still in a pretty good mood. Also, you guys have to help me with something. The school wants me to submit an Evol inspection report. Forge one for me.

?: No problem. You can collect it from the usual place. Is there anything unusual about Nox from BS recently?

Hearing this alias, Shaw subconsciously glances into the distance. However, all that is visible is the gorgeous night of the city.

Shaw: She's been very busy recently, and seems to keep working overtime. That's it.

?: You know that’s not what we’re asking about.

Shaw: ...what’s the rush? I haven't finished investigating what you guys want to know.

?: Let me remind you not to mix in unnecessary emotions. Don't forget your mission either.

Shaw: I know. I'm hanging up.

The streetlights lining the long street light up in succession, dyeing Shaw’s hair in a warm colour.

He looks at the phone for a long time, and an untamed smile surfaces on the corners of his lips.

Shaw: I have the final say on how to deal with her.

He takes the long skateboard he had set by the side, lifts his ankle slightly, and skates into the night without hesitation.

More from S2: here

#mlqc #mlqc cn #mlqc spoilers #mlqc shaw

68 notes · View notes

chicago-geniza · 2 years

Text

waking up at 4 am on march 3rd to attend a workshop on yiddish, jewish-polish, & polish theater with the DYBBUK project, then logging on to my department's virtual conference at noon that selfsame day--when i don't even go there anymore--for a panel on walter benjamin & translation...i wish i knew how to quit academia. earlier i was brainstorming ASEEES 2022 abstracts as though i'd stand a chance of being accepted without institutional affiliation or a phd lol

i'm *literally* Just Some Guy & that *was* the endgame but also...i want...to stay in the game, for fun

they should have a subsidiary or auxiliary conference for hobbyists is what i'm saying. or just let me in. no i don't want to be a professor. yes i want to present a paper like 3x a year & schmooze with my friends. it's a social club? & also you exchange ideas? i thought everyone understood that was the function of conferences? you have stimulating, scintillating conversations & yell about your special interest to a captive audience & the university picks up your bar tab. that's why ASEEES is the most wonderful time of the year! (i have been informed that i radically misunderstood academia, but my understanding is much more fun, so i'm sticking with it)

14 notes · View notes

tiramisiyu · 3 years

Text

Tears of Themis: Lu Jinghe’s Birthday - NPC Interviews Part 4

Translation Masterlist

Event Story: 6.13 Decision to Compete | 6.15 Personal Instruction | 6.17 Building Block Dolls | 6.19 Participating in the Competition | 6.21 Birthday Celebration

Event Story Interviews: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Interview 16 – Female University Student

MC: Hello! Are you a participant in the building blocks competition? I would like to interview the participants of the building blocks competition and contacted you regarding this previously.

Female University Student: I know. Could you make it quick? My movie’s about to start.

MC: Alright, alright.

START QUESTIONING

⊳ Reason for competing

MC: May I ask, why are you participating in this building blocks competition?

Female University Student: Because I like them. A lot of people in our club joined.

MC: Club?

Female University Student: Yes, a building blocks club. I’m the club president.

MC: Then you must be excellent with building blocks?

Female University Student: I’m alright. Lots of people in our club are really good.

⊳ Competition Theme

MC: Do you have any thoughts regarding the theme of this competition, “A Reconstruction of World-Famous Artworks”?

Female University Student: This theme is very rare. Our club is currently doing research on various famous works from different schools of art.

MC: Huh?

Female University Student: To win in the competition, we definitely can’t skimp on researching the topic.

⊳ World-Famous Artworks

MC: What do you know of world-famous artworks?

Female University Student: I’m not too knowledgeable on that, but there is a painting that left a deep impression on me when I was researching the competition topic.

MC: Which is it?

Female University Student: “Impression, Sunrise”. It’s quite challenging to reconstruct Impressionist artworks using building blocks.

MC: (As expected of the club president of a building blocks club – every sentence of hers has to do with building blocks.)

⊳ “Z”

MC: Do you know of “Z”?

Female University Student: I’ve heard of him. Apparently, he’s going to be a special evaluator at this competition. I specifically analyzed his works – there’s a certain level of difficulty trying to reconstruct them using building blocks. However, I’ll do my best.

⊳ Things she wants to say to “Z”

MC: Is there anything you want to say to “Z”?

Female University Student: Though I know little about oil painting, when I look at his artworks, I feel a force in them. Perhaps this is the passion he feels for art. I hope that he can continue to maintain this passion.

END QUESTIONING

MC: That ends the interview, thank you.

Female University Student: No problem. My movie’s just about to start, goodbye.

MC: Goodbye.

Interview 17 – Young Teacher

MC: (The young man over there is holding a lot of stationery. Is he a teacher?)

MC: Hello, I would like to interview the participants of the building blocks competition and contacted you regarding this previously.

Young Teacher: Ah, I remember you. Let’s start.

START QUESTIONING

⊳ Reason for competing

MC: Why are you participating in this building blocks competition?

Young Teacher: Because my work requires it. I am a building blocks teacher, and I mainly teach creative building block classes. My students and I were all very interested in the competition this time, so we signed up.

⊳ Building Blocks Teacher

MC: Building blocks teacher? It sounds like quite an interesting job.

Young Teacher: It is. My work is mainly to guide building block hobbyists on an introductory level and stimulate their creativity. I came to the stationery store today because I wanted to buy some teaching materials, since I’m planning to hold a class combining building blocks and painting.

⊳ Competition Theme

MC: Do you have any thoughts regarding the theme of this competition, “A Reconstruction of World-Famous Artworks”?

Young Teacher: This theme is very interesting. I was just preparing to research it in earnest. As a building blocks teacher, I need to set an example for my students.

⊳ World-Famous Artworks

MC: What do you know of world-famous artworks?

Young Teacher: I’m not too knowledgeable about them right now, but I’ve already downloaded a lot of pictures online and am planning to start practicing today.

⊳ “Z”

MC: Do you know of “Z”?

Young Teacher: You must be talking about the special evaluator for the building blocks competition? I heard that his “Shepherd Girl” might become the topic of the competitions and tried reconstructing it. It is a very difficult piece indeed.

⊳ Things he wants to say to “Z”

MC: If you had the chance to speak with “Z”, what would you say?

Young Teacher: From Z’s paintings, I can feel his passion for art, just like my passion for building blocks. I trust that he will be able to create even more, excellent drawings in the future.

END QUESTIONING

MC: That ends today’s interview, thank you for your cooperation.

Young Teacher: No problem. If you want to participate in the building blocks classes, you can reach out to me. My classroom is on the nearby commerce street.

MC: Sure.

Interview 18 – Earbuds-Wearing Guy

MC: The next interviewee is… ah, the young guy over there.

START INSPECTION

⊳ Manhua books

MC: (He’s holding manhua books? Whoa, there’s a really cute girl on the cover. He must love manhua a lot.)

⊳ Earbuds

MC: (He’s wearing earbuds – seems like he can’t hear me calling him…)

MC: (Since he’s also a participant in the building blocks competition, I should hurry and interview him.)

END INSPECTION

MC: Hello? Hello!

Earbuds-Wearing Guy: Ah, sorry about that. I was just listening to music.

MC: It’s alright. I would like to interview the participants of the building blocks competition, and contacted you regarding this previously.

Earbuds-Wearing Guy: Ah, I know. Let’s start.

START QUESTIONING

⊳ Reason for competing

MC: May I ask, why are you participating in this building blocks competition?

Earbuds-Wearing Guy: Because Tutu Jiang, who I like the most, posted a status on a social platform, saying that she would also be participating!

MC: Who’s Tutu Jiang?

Earbuds-Wearing Guy: A very famous manhua artist on social media. The manhua she draws are really good – they have a miraculous magic that can heal hearts. Tutu Jiang likes building blocks a lot – if I participate, I might run into her at the competition venue.

MC: Is what you’re holding… also Tutu Jiang’s work?

Earbuds-Wearing Guy: That’s right, this is Tutu Jiang’s new work “Sleepless Magical Girl’s Campus Life”.

⊳ Tutu Jiang

MC: “Sleepless Magical Girl’s Campus Life”? Sounds very interesting.

Earbuds-Wearing Guy: Right? This manhua is really touching. I ended up crying at the end. Tutu Jiang really is amazing – all characters are set up really realistically, like they’re living right beside us.

MC: Really? Then I’ll go read it when I have time.

⊳ Competition Theme

MC: Do you have any thoughts regarding the theme of this competition, “A Reconstruction of World-Famous Artworks”?

Earbuds-Wearing Guy: So that’s what the competition theme was. Though I don’t really have any talent in building blocks, I’ll do my best in studying for Tutu Jiang.

⊳ World-Famous Artworks

MC: What do you know about world-famous artworks?

Earbuds-Wearing Guy: I don’t know too much about traditional artworks, but I do know a lot about manhua. “Space Squadron”, “Monster Superman”… I’ve collected the full sets of all these super popular manhuas.

⊳ “Z”

MC: Do you know of “Z”? He’s a famous artist.

Earbuds-Wearing Guy: Artist? Does he draw manhua? I like manhua the best.

MC: No, “Z” mostly creates classical oil paintings.

Earbuds-Wearing Guy: Oh? That’s amazing!

⊳ Things he wants to say to “Z”

MC: If you had the chance to speak with “Z”, what would you say?

Earbuds-Wearing Guy: Since he’s an artist, he must be someone who’s as gentle and kind as Tutu Jiang. I hope that all kind people can obtain happiness.

END QUESTIONING

MC: That ends this interview, thank you.

Earbuds-Wearing Guy: No problem, bye!

MC: Bye!

Interview 19 – Jiang Mingyue

Jiang Mingyue: Lawyer MC? So it was you.

MC: Miss Jiang Mingyue? Are you also participating in the building blocks competition?

Jiang Mingyue: Yes.

MC: What a coincidence – let’s start then, as I’m planning to interview the participants of the building blocks competition.

START QUESTIONING

⊳ Reason for competing

MC: Why are you participating in this building blocks competition?

Jiang Mingyue: Because I’ve been pretty interested in building blocks recently. For the past while, I haven’t been able to concentrate, so my friends recommended building blocks to me. Sure enough, when I play around with building blocks, it really does make me focus.

⊳ Competition Theme

MC: Do you have any thoughts regarding the theme of this competition, “A Reconstruction of World-Famous Artworks”?

Jiang Mingyue: I’m planning to find some tutorials to practice on this theme. Though I’m only a beginner, I still have a bit of a desire to win.

⊳ World-Famous Artworks

MC: What do you know about world-famous artworks?

Jiang Mingyue: My knowledge may not be professional, but when I’m drafting designs, I often flip through famous works to look for inspiration. Paintings of different areas have often been able to give me different inspirations.

MC: (It sounds like a very effective method…)

⊳ “Z”

MC: Do you know of “Z”?

Jiang Mingyue: He’s that painter, right? I heard CEO Shen mention him when I worked with her. CEO Shen admired him a lot, and said that “Z” was highly sought-after in the upper-class circles.

⊳ Things she wants to say to “Z”

MC: If you had the chance to speak with “Z”, what would you say?

Jiang Mingyue: I recently heard rumours that “Z” was going to resign. If possible, I hope that he won’t be affected by the outside world’s complicated issues, and that he can create peacefully.

END QUESTIONING

MC: Miss Jiang, you seem somewhat different compared to before.

Jiang Mingyue: Do you mean that I look livelier? Actually… after Mr. Li’s issue, I thought for a long time. Now, I feel that one should look forward. Blindly blaming yourself and regretting will only make life worse.

MC: You’re right. I hope that your future will continue to improve.

Jiang Mingyue: Thank you.

Interview 20 – Shop Owner

MC: (This interviewee arranged to meet at the cake shop?)

MC: Hello! I would like to interview the participants of the building blocks competition, and contacted you regarding this previously. Is this a convenient time for you? It seems like it’s work hours here.

Shop Owner: It’s alright, I’m the boss of this shop. Besides, there aren’t that many customers right now. Let’s start.

START QUESTIONING

⊳ Reason for participating

MC: May I ask, why are you participating in this building blocks competition?

Shop Owner: Because I like building blocks a lot, and even participated in a few competitions when I was younger. This is such a rare opportunity, and it’s the first building blocks competition in this city, so I naturally must participate.

MC: When you were younger?

Shop Owner: Yes. After all, I dreamed of becoming a building blocks designer in the past. Though I’ve now opened a cake shop, I still create some building blocks pieces and post them on social platforms when I have spare time.

⊳ Competition Theme

MC: Do you have any thoughts regarding the theme of this competition, “A Reconstruction of World-Famous Artworks”?

Shop Owner: A competition with this theme is rare, although I have participated in similar ones before.

MC: Eh?

Shop Owner: Haha, that’s something that happened over ten years ago.

⊳ World-Famous Artworks

MC: Speaking of world-famous artworks, what do you know of them?

Shop Owner: I don’t know that much, but I remember that there was a customer before who ordered a very particular cake. Icing was used to recreate Van Gogh’s famous piece “Sunflowers” on the top of the cake, and it seemed like he was planning to give it to his best friend.

MC: That’s so creative!

⊳ “Z”

MC: Do you know of “Z”?

Shop Owner: I do. He’s that famous painter, right? I like his works a lot. His “Shepherd Girl” piece left me moved for a long time.

⊳ Things she wants to say to “Z”

MC: If you had the chance to speak with “Z”, what would you say?

Shop Owner: “Z” is very talented. I hope he can create more works.

⊳ Cake Shop

MC: So beautiful – did you yourself make these cakes in the shop?

Shop Owner: Yes. Making cakes is just like assembling building blocks – they’re both arts that rigorously test one’s creativity. Do you need to order a cake? I can give you a discount.

MC: I actually do have a friend who’s about to have his birthday soon…

Shop Owner: If so, how about you try the newest product that our store just came out with? We have taro mousse, sweet orange cheese…

MC: (She’s really good at doing business, never forgetting to promote her products.)

END QUESTIONING

MC: Thank you for your cooperation; that ends today’s interview.

Shop Owner: No problem, I enjoyed chatting with you. Next time you want to order a cake, you can find me too.

#Tears of Themis #tears of themis translations #lu jinghe #tot translation #just getting all these in before LJH's birthday tomorrow (in china time)

18 notes · View notes

nutty1005 · 4 years

Text

Xiao Zhan – Beijing Beijing

Translator’s Note: This article comes from PEOPLE Magazine 2020 2nd Issue.

In between “seems beautiful” and “very beautiful”, there can be one or many different views. For example, the phrase “famous after a battle” (TN: Xiao Zhan’s “Zhan” sounds like battle in Chinese), we could analyze the keywords in many ways.

Xiao Zhan, born 1991. Could you imagine how you and I would be when we were 28? Xiao Zhan is like this –

Fan View

“His looks are totally my type” “As warm and gentle as jade, a gentleman who is peerless” “A precious boy with the soul as crystalline as prismatic glass”

“Famous after a battle”, is the most effective “wartime story”. Using this analogy in the entertainment business, there are many who had been battling for quite a while. Xiao Zhan is like this as well…

Audience View

The summer of 2019, the antihero Wei Wuxian (portrayed by Xiao Zhan), came from “The Untamed” into the living rooms of countless viewers, and straight into their hearts;

Platform View

As the Beijing TV Spring Night Spokesperson, as a celebrity with more than 20 million fans on Weibo, as Tencent’s “Most Popular Artist of 2019” and “Drama Actor of the Year”, as iQiyi’s “Breakthrough Popularity Actor of the Year”…

When we change our point of view, will the world become more interesting?

With regards to his looks, Xiao Zhan said he is “ordinary”, and only scored himself a 6.

With regards to his age, Xiao Zhan said his mother’s method of urging him to start a family has went from straight-to-the-point to indirect and tactful.

With regards to “famous after one battle”, is it really as straightforward as standing out from the big data and being ahead of everyone else? Xiao Zhan, who is 1.83m, reduced his weight from 70kg to 58kg for his outstanding portrayal of Wei Wuxian – is this really the result of a day’s work? Does anyone remember the hardworking youth, with a caption “Designer from Chongqing”, from the 2015 idol search variety show “X-Fire”? Does anyone remember that in 2016, after debuting as the lead singer for X9, Xiao Zhan admitted that there were instances of zero income, zero entertainment and zero social activities?

No matter whether it was “very beautiful” or it “seemed beautiful”, would it be free of worries?

Xiao Zhan looked down and smiled, slightly bashful, his expression serene, “Sweet worries.”

He actually loves Beijing so much

On 28 Feb 2019, I (a reporter) entered a dressing room in Beijing TV. The narrow and long dressing room had been split in the middle into two narrower sections. Near the corner, after the staff has dispersed, I finally set my eyes on Xiao Zhan, who sat obediently on a chair while styling his hair.

The stylist stood on the right of Xiao Zhan; to the left of Xiao Zhan was a giant suitcase. After we tried to push the suitcase aside, I managed to stand in the gap. In such a tight space, I could only put the phone in front of Xiao Zhan, on top of the opened makeup case, for voice recording. After some more effort from everyone, there was finally space for the phone.

He was covered in a white hairdresser cape, his long legs enveloped by a pair of black pants – his thick black hair was being kept in order, his handsome side profile, relaxed and natural attitude, polite words, and after some close observation, no piercings on his ears.

How did this unguarded Xiao Zhan look like?

There was no need for exquisite words, just simple and pure wonderfulness.

If it remained unimaginable, it would not be too complex to imagine the warm smiles of the good looking youths on the streets of Beijing. All of these people could have been born in Beijing or traveled to Beijing from their hometowns.

“Chongqinger” Xiao Zhan said, “Beijing, in fact, besides my hometown Chongqing, is my longest lived in city. If we use 2020 to calculate, it would have been 5 years. Beijing, is a striving city, and like any other youths, Beijing means dreams and endeavors to us – this is a city of ambition. Hence, as Beijing TV’s Spring Night spokesperson, I feel that this special meaning, I’m very happy and very excited.”

Indeed, during the release conference in the afternoon, when being asked about how he felt spending his “Year of the Rat” Spring Night with Beijing TV, and expressing that by singing, Xiao Zhan, who was nicknamed “The Little Chinese Music Archive”, thought about it seriously and suddenly sang, “I’m beautiful, beautiful, beautiful……”

Haha, this quick wit and humor was almost as cute as “The Chipmunks”.

Spring Night is a big event, and it required absolute secrecy. We secretly asked Xiao Zhan about Beijing TV Spring Night from his personal point of view. Xiao Zhan continued to be witty, “I feel it’ll be exciting, at least I’ll be performing with a… senior that I really like.” When asked who it would be, Xiao Zhan smiled, “Let’s keep it a mystery, and we welcome everyone to watch Beijing TV Spring Night!”

This “Chongqinger”, who still could not confirm if he could return to his hometown for Chinese New Year, would sometimes show his inner thoughts – “If I could go back I definitely would”, but yet his words lingered on Beijing TV Spring Night.

Xiao Zhan, he actually loves Beijing so much.

He actually likes Zhou Xun so much

Who are the actors that Xiao Zhan admires the most? If he were to pick two, it would be Zhou Xun and Tony Leung.

Xiao Zhan said, “I really like Zhou Xun, her views, her experiences, are all mesmerizing to me. She has many performances that give me the urge to rush into the screen to rescue her. Her performances are very vivacious, it feels like you’re beside her experiencing her performances with her, my attention is all on her, she just has great charisma.”

Xiao Zhan emphasized that he liked Zhou Xun all along, and as we stood and studied his side profile, his face, we suddenly remembered a classic scene from “Palace of Desire”, where the young Princess Taiping removed Xue Shao’s mask.

That year, Zhou Xun was 26, Winston Chao was 40, but it did not prevent her from portraying a young girl’s infatuation. This drama was almost 20 years old, and the female audiences at that time would exclaim that Winston Chao was “as warm and gentle as jade, a gentleman who is peerless”. If this seemed familiar, this phrase was also used by many of Xiao Zhan’s fans to describe him.

Time, in the long river of ages, cycles endlessly Memories, in our past and present lives, crosses endlessly

– Lyrics from “Yu Nian”

This is the lyrics from Xiao Zhan’s song “Yu Nian”, which is the ending song for “Joy of Life”. Who knew that time cycles? Who knew that memories crosses paths?

As of now, Xiao Zhan is similar in age to Zhou Xun’s age then. If we could time travel and Xiao Zhan were to act as Xue Shao, could we guess the ending?

And since we are at this point, we could add another statement – “Traffic” / “Celebrity” / “Actor” – what difference do they make in the face of time? If there are no answers, why not listen to Xiao Zhan’s “Yu Nian”.

Time will tell, it is just that we are too impatient – regardless of our need for speed, we still ought to seek the truth.

He actually admires Vincent van Gogh so much

Xiao Zhan, like many of us, went through the tough period of studying overnight for university entry examinations. He became a student of Chongqing Business and Technology University, majoring in Design. However, this did not prevent Xiao Zhan from becoming a “Top 10 Inter-school Singer”, he self mockingly called himself a “literary enthusiast”, but in fact became one of the stars in many girls’ eyes – someone who was good looking, tall, stylish and could sing and take photographs. Immediately after he graduated, he became a designer, but he would still be brought up by his ex-teachers, one of whom recommended him to participate in “X-Fire”.

When reviewing “X-Fire”, you would realize that Xiao Zhan had a round face, an obedient expression and mild temperament – in fact, you would think that he did not pose much of a threat. But as one by one, the youths started getting eliminated, as their teams were getting regrouped, as they were getting more and more difficult tasks, it seemed as though Xiao Zhan was being sculpted on the spot – his face became more chiselled, he started slimming down, his eyes started having the steady gaze of ambition… Talent search variety shows are, in fact, cruel and all the participants were getting re-sculpted and remodeled – whatever that was removed was not the meant to be in the final product.

So what did Xiao Zhan keep in his heart? These were all the passwords to his past – drawing, design and art. Like anyone who learnt design, they all had an artist that they favored, and they were all different. Xiao Zhan’s answer – Vincent van Gogh.

Xiao Zhan said, “I was asked previously – if I could have a conversation with a past personality, who would it be? I would just choose Vincent van Gogh, because I want to listen to what he had experienced then, how he lived then, such that he was able to create such a beautiful world and paintings. Such as “Starry Night” or “Self Portrait”, I feel that he was able to step away from himself, into very amazing angles, and then create them.”

Those who learned design would usually be able to draw quite well, and usually beyond the levels of self taught hobbyists. Hence, these would also become part of his self cultivation.

Xiao Zhan confirmed this, “Yes, I think starting from aesthetic views to detailed observation, I feel that there were definitely influences.”

On whether Xiao Zhan still went to art exhibitions, the question seemed like a luxury to him – his eyes widened, he straightened himself, and he started smiling widely, “There is very little time now for art exhibitions, I would see them via friends who went and posted in their social media, or those art-related media accounts.”

There could be no burden I could sway my head I could stay my steps I could surrender to you

– Lyrics from “Two Tigers”

This is the promotion song from movie “Two Tigers” sung by Xiao Zhan. There was once in a variety show that he was requested to use his facial muscles to move a cookie on the side of his face into his mouth, while singing. Before the game started, Xiao Zhan pointed at the camera and laughed, “I really do have an idol’s image burden! I really do have an idol’s image burden!” However, after the game started, you see no sign of his “burden”, just 100% into moving his facial muscles, working hard to get to the cookie.

What is an idol’s image burden? Is there art in an idol’s image burden? There are no answers, but we can look for it in Xiao Zhan’s “Two Tigers”.

Art often gave the answers to philosophy. For example, an idol’s image burden could be thrown away, hence it is definitely not art; Art follows the heartbeat, follows life, just like the Vincent van Gogh, a man whose life bloomed and withered like the summer flowers, in the hearts of people like Xiao Zhan.

This phrase “A designer who can’t sing isn’t a good actor” seemed nonsensical, but if you think about it, it seemed to suit Xiao Zhan a lot.

He actually yearns the audiences’ recognition so much

It seemed like Xiao Zhan did gain fame after a single battle, but it was not just one battle – there were more raging battles before then.

The dancing spirit, wearing bright red and green clothes, in “Monster Hunt 2” – the camera panned past him without a HD shot; The minor role of a special agent in “The Rookies” – with some onscreen time less than a minute… And there were more, such as “Star Academy”, “Oh! My Emperor”, “Battle Through the Heaven”, “Shuttle Love Millennium”… Never heard of them? Eh, well this proved a problem – how could there be so many people who became “famous after a battle”?

What next? Xiao Zhan happily shared, “If everything goes well, there would be three roles coming to meet everyone, two period, one modern.”

Alright, the modern role would be Doctor Gu of “Oath of Love”. In fact, there were already naughty fans yelling that they were going to register for Doctor Gu’s hospital. Two period roles from “Douluo Continent” and “The Wolf”. Which do Xiao Zhan like the most? Xiao Zhan was unable to answer, “I feel like I like them all. Three different roles, three different pace!”

So, for the audiences who are already familiar with the two roles from “Joy of Life” and “The Untamed”, which are the ones that are closest to Xiao Zhan himself?

Xiao Zhan shook his head, “They weren’t quite similar to me.”

With regards to his roles, his works, let us get to some quick Q&A.

Q: After experiencing the life of the role, would that some what affect yourself? A: I feel that there are some influences to my usual personality.

Q: Would it make you mature faster? A: I feel that it makes my life richer, it means that I have experienced multiple different lives.

Q: What is your long term goal as an actor? A: If we are talking about long term goal, it is definitely being able to act in a drama that I love, and then gain audiences’ recognition for that. I feel that this is my ultimate term goal.

Q: Which role do you like? How do you live with your roles? A: I feel that there isn’t the most loved, I’m just someone who enjoys the moment. For example, when I’m in the current role, I will invest myself entirely into that role, and then I will cherish him and love him. But when I have to go to my next battle, I will put him down and let him go. And then, I will invest all of my passion for the next one.

He actually likes to smile so much

Observing Xiao Zhan up close and personal – his head narrow, his face small and firm, the folded long legs were especially straight and long. Xiao Zhan, is really thin.

When asked if he was at his thinnest, Xiao Zhan smiled, “No, I was the lightest during ‘The Untamed’, it was shot with ‘Joy of Life’, that was the period. I feel like I’ve regained more than what I’ve lost.”

Wei Wuxian in “The Untamed” liked to smile, all the time, everywhere; Yan Bingyun in “Joy of Life” was cold, all the time, as cold as ice. These two roles shot at the same time, just the emotions were already poles apart – the effort in switching in between them definitely exhausted a lot of brain cells.

When asked if he remembered his longest working day ever since his debut, Xiao Zhan looked down and smiled, then exclaimed at the same time with me, “A few days!”

Whether he could mentally sustain the current pace was not the main point – whether he could physically sustain was hotly debated. On this, Xiao Zhan replied especially fast, “I could adjust to it, really! I personally preferred a busier schedule, the feeling of being busy, makes me feel more fulfilling, and more sense of security.”

“Sense of security” – Xiao Zhan used this phrase, how did he understand it?

For example, Xiao Zhan said that there were instances of him in bad temper, and then he was asked if he would flip tables. Xiao Zhan was slightly taken aback, and answered with a smile, “I can see that you’ve never done design, a designer is a contractor working for his clients, if the clients have opinions, you need to communicate properly and slowly convince them…”

Everyone has a different understanding and adaptation when it comes to “bad temper”, a lot of it came from experience and self control of emotions – similarly, our understanding and adaptation of “sense of security” would be different as well, because everyone’s sense of responsibility and experiences would be different. For a youth to openly bring up “sense of security” and fight for that, we could only choose to give him our blessings. Because, in the blur of the mind, we could almost see ourselves in him.

Before I could give him my well wishes, Xiao Zhan gave the readers and audiences an especially down-to-earth and warm blessing, “I feel that more well wishes are repeated too often. I will simply wish everyone a smooth path ahead, and then peace and safety would be nice!”

Finally, we would emphasize one point – Xiao Zhan really likes to smile!

Moreover, Xiao Zhan’s smiles are varied – there is gentle, healing, mischievous, surprising, confident, hearty, shy, embarrassed… and every one of these smiles could be extended into a language of its own.

There is this saying about a child who likes to smile…

His luck will never be lacking.

#xiao zhan #sean xiao #xiaozhan #肖战

57 notes · View notes

caustic-curses · 5 years

Text

HPHM Profile: Seth Drystan

Thanks to @hogwartsmysterystory for the profile!

IDENTITY

Name: Seth Abraxas Drystan

Gender: Cisgender Male

Age: 15

Birth Date: 4/10/1973

Species: Wizard (Half-breed Werewolf)

Blood Status: Half-Blood (MuggleBorn)

Sexuality: Bisexual

Alignment: Lawful Evil

Ethnicity: English

Nationality: British

Residence: Bristol, UK

Myer Briggs Personality Type: ISTP - The Detective

THE MAGE

1st Wand: Hornbeam| Dragon Heartstring core | 12in length | Pliant

Hornbeam selects for its life mate the talented witch or wizard with a single, pure passion, which some might call obsession (though I prefer the term ‘vision’), which will almost always be realized. Hornbeam wands adapt more quickly than almost any other to their owner’s style of magic and will become so personalized, so quickly, that other people will find them extremely difficult to use even for the most simple of spells. Hornbeam wands likewise absorb their owner’s code of honor, whatever that might be, and will refuse to perform acts – whether for good or ill – that do not tally with their master’s principles. A particularly fine-tuned and sentient wand.

Dragon Heartstring: As a rule, dragon heartstrings produce wands with the most power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. Dragon wands tend to learn more quickly than other types. While they can change allegiance if won from their original master, they always bond strongly with the current owner. The dragon wand tends to be easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, though it will not incline that way of its own accord. It is also the most prone of the three cores to accidents, being somewhat temperamental.

2nd Wand: Cedar | Rougarou Hair core | 10 ¾ in length | Supple

Whenever I meet one who carries a cedar wand, I find the strength of character and unusual loyalty. My father, Gervaise Ollivander, used always to say, ‘you will never fool the cedar carrier,’ and I agree: the cedar wand finds its perfect home where there is perspicacity and perception. I would go further than my father, however, in saying that I have never yet met the owner of a cedar wand whom I would care to cross, especially if harm is done to those of whom they are fond. The witch or wizard who is well-matched with cedar carries the potential to be a frightening adversary, which often comes as a shock to those who have thoughtlessly challenged them.

Rougarou hair: It was rumored to have an affinity for Dark magic, like vampires to blood.

Animagus: Asil Rooster

Misc Magical Abilities: Above average Legilimens but average at occlumency

Boggart Form: Himself fading into nothingness (being forgotten)

Riddikulus Form: A tap-dancing sparrow

Amortentia: It’s the scent of a blend of Mysore sandalwood, ambergris, violet leaves, French verbena & Florentine iris-translated into the following; the scent of smoke after a fire, woods in autumn, bittersweet chocolate

Amortentia: He smells laurels and orchid blossoms, the scent of parchment, and a faint hint of smoke mixing with iron. (Penny Haywood)

Patronus: Hippogriff

Patronus Memory: Asking Penny out on their first date and how much her eyes shone, smiling, as they danced.

Mirror of Erised: Being married to Penny whose 6 months pregnant with her second child, both of them happy as they hold the hands of their son.

Specialized/Favourite Spells: Impervius, Protego, Obscuro, & Finite Incantatem

APPEARANCE

Faceclaim: Gino Pasqualini

Game Appearance: (edited from a Slytherin chara, pretend his tie is red and gold)

Height: 5’9

Weight: 150

Physique: Mesomorphic

Eye Colour: grey eyes (C40 on 1998 eye color chart)

Hair Colour: Originally it was a dark red but a prank dyed it black.

Skin Tone: Ivory

Scars: Seth has 3 deep scars starting at his shoulders to his mid-back, he is self-conscious regarding them. He wears long sleeves due to some scarring on his forearms.

Inventory: Red-tinted glasses, a ring on either middle finger, and his lucky quill.

ALLEGIANCES

Hogwarts House: Gryffindor- current

Ilvermorny House: Wampus -former Organizations: Death Eaters and the Drystan family

Professions: Upon graduating-- Surveillor of Activity/ Investigator

HOGWARTS INFORMATION

Class Proficiencies:

Astronomy: ★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

Charms: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

DADA: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

Flying: ★★★★★★☆☆☆☆

Herbology: ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

History of Magic: ★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Potions: ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

Transfiguration: ★★★★★★★★☆☆

Electives:

Care Of Magical Creatures: ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆

Divination: ★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆

Quidditch: Member of the Audience (he failed the tryouts)

Extra-Curricular: Dueling Club & Potions Club

Favorite Professors:

Professor Sprout - Not only is she kind, warm-hearted, and gentle in her guidance, but she is genuine in her teachings. It is obvious that she cares about the subject. Her careful tending and motherly focus has made her a favorite teacher for Seth. He regards her as if she were a favorite aunt and heeds her guidance with the same respect.

Professor Flitwick- What he lacks in size, he makes him in his determination, heart, and ambition. Seeing that there was potential in Drystan, he motivated the Gryffindor towards success. Sure, his focus may seem a bit wavering at times, he means well. As he endeavors his students towards their personal best, he appreciates his sort of instruction.

Least Favourite Professors:

Professor Rakepick- Her teaching methods are a bit reckless and overambitious. She seems driven to prove something but he’d rather it not be at his expense.

Professor.Kettleburn- This instructor is a reckless idiot and he is amazed that he isn’t dead yet.

RELATIONSHIPS

Brother: Kain Daws Drystan | (17yo) 02/14/1971- Aquarius

He is proficient in nonverbal magic although he keeps this as a well-guarded secret

His distrust and blatant dislike of Seth are obvious in their interactions.

He aspires to be an Auror rather than a politician

Brother: Amos Jorah Drystan | (17 yo) 02/14/1971-Aquarius

He is aware of Seth’s conflicted orientation but has, in a roundabout way, offered support and understanding

Desiring to be a professional philosopher, Amos delves into its study. Get too close and you’ll become the subject for evaluation

As a secret arsonist, he is responsible for setting fire to the small shed when they were children. Seth has yet to forgive him and isn’t sure if he ever will.

Adoptive Father: Judas Irah Drystan | (41 yo) 10/15/1947 -Pisces

Hogwarts Alumni: Ravenclaw

Is involved in the political agenda of the ministry though such details are kept secret

He is a polyglot: English, Spanish, Russian, and Danish.

Biological Father: Kaizer James Messere | (43 yo) 03/18/1945 -Pisces

Yale Alumni- operating as a prosecuting attorney

Taxidermy hobbyist

He is aware of the magical community and is envious (Squib)

Biological Mother: Moriah Eden Drystan| (38yo) 09/18/1948 - Virgo

She is a Stanford University Alumni (yes, she’s a muggle)

While her wedding may have been a shotgun wedding, she always loved him and continues to do so.

She is a werewolf having been turned when she was only nineteen

Adoptive Mother: Liesl Nicola Wilde| (38yo) 06/22/1948 - Cancer

Ilvermorny: Horned Serpent Alumni

She adores the performing arts and is obsessed with quidditch

She has only been married for ten years but she’s close to calling it quits

Love Interest: Penny Haywood

Best Friends:

Rowan Khanna

Andre Egwu

Charlie Weasley

Rival:

Laurent King

Diego Caplan

Enemy: Hector Silva, Samuel Gabehart

Dormmates:

Hector Silva

Adrien Reyes

TBA

Pets: Hoodini- Female Barn Owl

Closest Canon Friends:

Rowan Khana

Bill Weasley

Hagrid

Murphy McNully

Closest MC Friends:

Dahlia Goldman

TBA

BACKGROUND/HISTORY

Seth was only two years old when his family life erupted into chaos. It was during a family outing to stargaze when Moriah’s new reality began to set in. As her limbs contorted in pain, Kaizer grabbed his toddler and ran to the car. There they waited out the gruesome terror until Moriah was herself once more. Fearing what this would mean, Kaizer devised a plan to fake Moriah’s death. As his finances began to spiral out of grief, he was forced to give Seth up for adoption. The result was the placement in his uncle’s house.

At the age of twelve, he began to feel a similar attraction to boys as he does with girls. It was slight confusion but he paid no attention to it. It wasn’t until a few months later when he began to develop a crush on his best friend that he realized something might be ‘wrong’ with him. He took a risk with his friend and found such affections returned. However, this wasn’t to be a happy occasion as his father beat him severely upon finding out.

He has dated Corbyn Reyes (ages 14 and 15, respectfully). This only lasted for 3 months as their personalities continued to clash. It was intense, explosive and with a force of wills to match. It didn’t help that they didn’t share similar moral values or understand each other’s signs of affection. They broke up on hostile terms.

The drama involving the Silva’s and Drystan’s have been carried down through the centuries with most of it being forgotten by the Silva’s. The Drystan’s, however, maintain that this feud was the result of Silva greed and impotence. No one really knows the story. With the somewhat-recent history involving the Silvas, the members of the Drystan family are assured in their ascension to surpass them; as is their right.

PERSONALITY

Charismatic: Sociable and somewhat understanding, Seth prides himself on the ability to win over almost anyone. It helps that he can read a person generally well.

Condescending. This is a part of his arrogance as he tends to talk down to those who he believes to be inferior to himself. This is obvious in his actions but, more often, it is evident in his manner of speech.

Diplomatic: This comes from being raised by a politician. He is sensitive (only to matters that counts) and is able to deal with the general public effectively and efficiently. This is provided nothing bigoted leaves his mouth.

Hedonistic: The finer things in life were made for him. Check the receipt. He was created for a lavish lifestyle. It may be a weakness but he’s fine with that.

Prejudiced: Muggle-borns and werewolves. There are probably more but these are the most common. He isn’t a fan of half-breed creatures and considers them to be revolting.

MISC

Likes: Potions, Dueling, Whittling, Astronomy, and cats

Dislikes: being surprised, pranks, indecisiveness, and windchimes

Hobbies: Playing the violin, wizarding chess, gardening, and dueling

#hphm profile #seth drystan #just seth things #regarding seth #oh the irony #Its beautiful

17 notes · View notes

toycarousel · 6 years

Note

What kind of exorcising do you do before you record?

I like to burn some sage and draw the curtains back during daylight. (Sorry Anon -- I know autocorrect is a cruel mistress, but I just couldn’t resist).

Nah, but as for vocal techniques that are helpful to use before recording, hmmm... there are quite a few out there (I remember being made to do some painfully absurd stuff backstage before plays, during high school), but the tactics I’ve found more useful have been ones that I actually learned during a ‘Voice and Movement’ course I took a while back that was actually very physical in nature~!!!

Like, one of my fave vocal warmups is to grab a sample paragraph of what I’m about to voice, voice it normally (just in my room, standing neutrally upright). Then, I go to a wall and push my hands flat against that wall with all my strength, as though I’m trying to move the wall forward (I do this for about 60 seconds, making sure that I’m not subconsciously holding my breath) I recite the paragraph while pushing, then I release, and read the exact same paragraph again while standing relaxed. My voice usually sounds much better after doing the Wall Push. ; P

Another vocal exercise I learned (in the same course) that I still find helpful (but that I really only do when I can actually convince a friend/family member to humour me with it), is one where, with that same sample paragraph (or a paragraph from anything you find easy enough to somewhat memorize), I ask someone to chase me around the room while I try to recite the paragraph. It sounds ridiculous, and trust me, it totally looks ridiculous too, but the, like, inherent fear of being chased around the room and avoiding someone around obstacles really helps take you out of your own head when it comes to voice acting, and acting in general. It can be fun, too, which eases some of the associated anxiety with recording, and gets you to kind of experiment with the way you speak.

For example, in this class, I had to memorize a Shakespeare sonnet, and my teacher set up a little obstacle course, then chased each student, in turn, around the room (in front of the rest of the class). And I will say that it helped my recitation of the sonnet MASSIVELY. Instead of trying to sound all proper “Shakespearian,” I’d end up shouting the line at random intervals (when the teacher got close to catching me), ended up genuinely laughing through other lines, and just kinda learned how to break out of this rigid idea of what I thought I “should” sound like. This sort of thing applies to all acting, imo, and I have asked family members to chase me around the house before a recording, ahahaha~!

Now, if you’ve got limited mobility, like say you’re disabled, or ill, and you can’t be darting around rooms or pushing walls with all your strength -- there are some excellent breathing exercises that I’ve used before recording as well~!!! And I use these more often, actually, as they’re easier to do in a pinch.

I’ll go into one of those here, and then just mention a couple lasting tips below that:

So, ‘Paced Breathing’ is always a good go-to warmup prior to recording. It’s a therapy technique that helps lessen anxiety for many people, by engaging the parasympathetic nervous system (inducing a natural calming effect). And it helps a person to connect to their diaphragm and stomach. The goal is always to breathe through your stomach and diaphragm, not your throat or chest. I mean, your chest will probably always move a little bit when you breathe, but place a gentle hand on your stomach, and when you breathe in, try to feel as through you’re filling your stomach with air so the hand gets pushed outward.

The paced part of ‘Paced Breathing’ is just timing related, and is the more calming aspect of the exercise. With one hand on your stomach (and breathing from the stomach), breathe in to the count of 4; breathe out to the count of 5. Then breathe in to the count of 4, and out to the count of 6. In through the count of 4; out through the count of 7... and so on, until you get to about 9 or 10 seconds on your out-breath. The breath in is always about the same number (4 is p standard). You don’t want to cause hyperventilation~!!! It’s also good to keep track of what your shoulders are doing during this exercise. Try to keep them down and relaxed, as opposed to hunched up and tense.

A few tips/good things to remember just prior to recording:

- Avoid milk/creamy foods and beverages before recording, as they can coat the mouth and throat and make enunciation more difficult~! Have plenty of plain water nearby, though~!!! : D Careful not to keep it so close that you accidentally spill it on your equipment, of course!

- Try to keep the back of your throat relaxed when you voice act. If your throat starts to hurt at ANY point in time, stop immediately, rest, and srsly consider not doing that particular voice... it might just be outta your range, and as you act, you’ll pick up more and more skills, and someday it might not be out of range anymore, and you can pick it up again then. But in the meantime, you don’t want to risk permanently damaging your vocal chords.

- If you’re about to voice act a character, try to connect with the character personally. Carefully pay attention to the emotions they’re feeling in the scene, and relate it to times you’ve felt similar. Treat characters like people, not like caricatures.

- Personally, when I have the space to do so, I’ll let my body and face do whatever they want to while I’m doing an initial (non-recorded) read-through~! Body language can help translate into believable vocals really well, in my experience (but you gotta be mindful of your body, or the microphone might pick up movement sounds, and/or, if you’re me, the mic might even get kicked halfway across the recording space. Even hobbyist mics like mine are too expensive to risk that. :’)

I hope some of this was helpful, Anon~!!!!!! xoxoxo

#voice acting tips #voice acting exercises #acting exercises #acting #theatre #vocals #vocal tips #anons #scotchasks

72 notes · View notes

magzoso-tech · 5 years

Photo

New Post has been published on https://magzoso.com/tech/the-flux-beamo-is-a-1500-laser-cutter-with-simple-but-powerful-software/

The Flux beamo is a $1,500 laser cutter with simple but powerful software

Laser cutters are in a fun place right now. Gone are the days when the cheapest machines were tens of thousands of dollars, and when the “compact” models were roughly the size of a freezer. They’ve gotten affordable enough, and small enough, that a DIY home hobbyist can add it to their toolset without taking out a second mortgage or needing much more than some desk space… but they’re still a rare enough machine that saying “I’ve got a laser cutter!” makes people look at you like you’re a friggin’ wizard.

One of the latest entries into this space is beamo, a compact, 30W laser cutter and engraver built by Flux — a Taiwan-based team you might remember for raising $1.6 million on Kickstarter with its Flux Delta 3D printer/scanner/engraver back in 2014.

As with Delta, Flux is turning to Kickstarter for the launch of beamo. They sprinted past their goal of $25,000 pretty quickly, currently sitting at roughly $350,000 raised with a little over a week to go. The early-bird models are going for $849, with the company pinning the final MSRP at $1,500. Shipping/taxes aren’t included in those prices, and can cost a couple hundred bucks, so factor that in to any purchasing decisions.

While I tend to be a bit hesitant when it comes to crowdfunded hardware (having been burned too many times by products that either never arrived or did arrive only to be total garbage), Flux has been down this road before; in addition to Delta, it also crowdfunded and shipped Beambox (a slightly bigger, pricier, but more powerful laser cutter) just a few months back. In the case of beamo, it seems like the Kickstarter is primarily meant to help get the word out, rather than literally “kickstarting” the process. Production is already underway, and units are already rolling off the line.

Flux sent me one of those early units to check out for a few weeks. I haven’t had it long enough to do what I’d call a “review”; with things like laser cutters with their myriad moving parts and… you know, lasers, new issues can pop up months after you open the box, as components wear and maintenance is required. So consider this more of a “first impressions” kind of thing.

My first impressions, though, are good.

For reference, I’d classify myself laser experience as… moderate. More than most people you’d randomly ask, I’d wager, but less than if it were my job. I’ve put a hundred hours or so into training/creating with those aforementioned freezer-sized pro lasers, making everything from custom etched pint glasses, to bespoke Christmas ornaments, to personalized rubber stamps over the years. I tend to look for excuses to shoot lasers at things.

Getting it running

My beamo unit came ready to go right out of the box, mirrors aligned, moving parts all lubed up. I plugged it in, set up some basic ventilation, ran through about 10 minutes of software installation and configuration and started firing away. It all just worked on the first shot.

Speaking of ventilation: you’ll need it. Laser cutting is basically a tiny, super controlled fire… and that means smoke. Depending on what you’re cutting, that smoke can be super noxious. Cutting wood? It won’t smell too bad, but it’s still not something you want in your lungs on the regular. Etching a logo into felt? It’ll smell like you’re burning a trash can full of hair. Beamo uses a 200CFM exhaust fan to pull smoky air out of the machine, dumping it out through a 4″ exhaust hose that you’ll need to run through a window (or, if you’re feeling extra fancy, a dryer exhaust-style vent through a wall.) Expect to need about 8″ of clearance between the machine and any wall behind it for the exhaust hose and its bends, unless the path to the window is a straight shot.

The exhaust system is decent, but you’ll probably need to fiddle with how the hose runs to get it just right. If you’re venting through a window, you’ll want to figure out a way of sealing up the open gaps around the hose to limit any fumes that might float back into the room. Put time into getting it right. If the room still smells smokey hours after you’ve cut, you’ll want to keep working on your ventilation. You don’t want to breath that stuff in, especially if you’re running the laser more than occasionally.

Beamo’s built-in touchscreen. You’ll mostly control it over Wi-Fi, but you can access some basic functionality and monitor job progress here.

If you’re new to laser cutting, you should also put the time into learning what you shouldn’t put in these machines. Some materials are safe to laser cut, but tend to catch on fire easily. Some materials will just melt and screw up your machine. Other things (PVC!) will straight up emit chlorine gas when you hit them with a laser. If you’re moving beyond the basics of cutting thin wood/acrylic/cardboard or engraving glass, research it.

So what SHOULD you cut? Woods are a good go-to (though you’ll want to limit it to less oily stuff — because, again, fire). Cardboard is fun to cut for things like spray paint stencils. Leather is good, with practice, and you can do all sorts of really neat stuff with acrylic. You can’t cut glass, but you can engrave it; same goes for rubber, though that’s one you’ll want to source from a place that sells materials known to be laser safe.

The thickness of the material you can cut tends to be limited by a laser’s wattage, while height/width is generally limited by the size of the work area. At 30W, beamo’s laser can slice its way through wood about 1/8″ thick; its work area, meanwhile, comes in at 11.81″ x 8.27″. You can make a lot of cool stuff within those bounds, but be aware of them — buying a bunch of material only to get it home and realize you’re a few watts short of a complete cut is a bummer. If you foresee needing deeper cuts or bigger pieces, beefier lasers exist without too massive a leap in price. As examples: Flux’s other laser cutter, the $2,500 Beambox, bumps the laser up to 40W and the work area up to 15.7″ x 14.7″; the $2,500 base model from competitor Glowforge comes in at 40W with a work area of roughly 11″ x 19.5″.

(One potential advantage of beamo over the company’s previously released Beambox: whereas Beambox requires you to regularly fill up a water cooling reservoir to keep it running, beamo’s water cooling is closed-loop, so the same water just keeps circulating. I’m interested to see how this holds up over time.)

Fire the lasers!

Got everything plugged in, ventilation set up and your materials purchased? Time to cut! Well, almost.

You’ll mostly be controlling beamo through Beam Studio, a free piece of software provided by Flux for Windows, macOS and Ubuntu. As far as laser cutting software goes, I’m really quite pleased with it so far.

Beam Studio is super straightforward, but darn powerful for a free companion app. If you’re looking to cut out basic shapes, etch text or lay down some bezier curves, it can do it. Want to etch a picture of your dog into some wood to make a keychain? Just drop an image onto the work area, scale as desired, then move a slider to tweak the black/white threshold until it looks right. You can work in layers, setting up a raster layer to be etched and then a vector layer to cut it out immediately after.

Beamo has a built-in camera system, allowing you to quickly scan the work bed before dragging and dropping your designs wherever you want them. The first time you connect to beamo, you’ll be asked to calibrate the camera — a process that was considerably simpler than I expected. Put a piece of paper on the work bed, and beamo will fire a quick test pattern into it. Beam Studio will then snap a picture of what it just etched, projecting an overlay of where it thinks the test pattern is versus its scan. Nudge the overlay around until everything is perfectly stacked, and you’re set. You’ll want to re-run this alignment process every once in a while (it’s quick) if you need precise placement.

The camera system here really is incredibly useful. After about 30 minutes with beamo, I was doing things that are at best annoying on camera-less cutters — things like etching a design, cutting it out, then immediately flipping the cut piece and etching on the other side without worrying about precarious placement. I just rescanned the work bed, dragged the image where I wanted it on the freshly cut side B, and fired away.

The camera is quick, but not instant. Scanning the entire work area takes about 60 seconds. If you only need a certain area scanned (like, say, the top half of the work area, or the rough area around something you’ve already cut), fortunately, that’s an option. Just drag the scanning boundary box accordingly.

If you need to do something beyond what the free software can handle (or if you just prefer working in apps like CorelDraw or Illustrator), Beam Studio can import JPGs, PNGs and SVGs.

While more capable than I expected, the software isn’t without its quirks. Beam Studio will try to keep you updated with a progress ticker, but don’t rely on it too much for predicting timing. I’ve had projects shoot up to 40% in the first 30 seconds, only to take five minutes for the rest to complete. There was an occasion or two where the software threw out an error in Mandarin that I didn’t want to dismiss without a quick pass through Google Translate… but for the most part, it was solid, stable and fun to use.

In its base configuration, beamo’s laser is manually focused, meaning you’ll need to focus things by hand each time you place new material inside the machine. Fortunately, focusing it is super straightforward: put material in, rotate a piece of acrylic attached to the laser head, lower the laser head until the acrylic is just barely touching the material, then lock the laser head back in place and lift the acrylic out of the way.

Flux says that it’ll ship a $250 add-on module that introduces autofocus to the mix, but I didn’t get to test that. They’re also working on a $499 rotary add-on that will let you etch designs onto cylindrical items (think shot/pint glasses), but out of the box, it’s flat stuff only.

As with every single laser I’ve ever worked with, working with a new material — or even, sometimes, the same material from a different source — requires some fiddling. You’ll be tweaking the speed at which the laser moves, the power of the laser and how many passes it makes over the same path; you want to keep the power low enough to minimize scorching and maximize the life of the laser, while making sure you’ve done enough repeat passes to cut completely through. Beam Studio comes with a bunch of presets for different materials that can get you pretty close (and you can save your own favorites, once you’ve found them), but expect to experiment a little when you’re working with a new material for the first time. Buy extra material.

As for noise: operating with fans running full force, it’s not what I’d call “quiet,” but it’s not so loud that it’s uncomfortable to sit next to. The company’s specs pin it at around 65 db — louder than your average conversation, but a bit quieter than, say, a vacuum. The fans do whir endlessly when the machine is idling, so you’ll probably want to cut the power between cutting sessions.

If for some reason you need to open the lid while the laser is operating, beamo’s built-in automatic kill switch will cut power to the laser to protect your eyes. Close the lid again and the job can be resumed right from where you left off. While the company says that the acrylic lid provides sufficient eye protection for beamo’s 30W Class 1 laser (though they note that you shouldn’t stare right at the laser beam, lid or not), I absolutely recommend picking up and wearing a pair of CO2 laser safety goggles, especially when it comes time to pop the machine open and do any maintenance. Speaking of…

Foreseeable maintenance

Maintenance is an inevitable part of owning a laser cutter. As noted, I’ve only had the laser set up for a few weeks and everything came well configured, so I haven’t had to go digging under the hood yet. If something suddenly breaks on me during my time with the cutter, I’ll update this post accordingly. But either way, maintenance will be part of the process for owners.

Even if nothing breaks unexpectedly, some of the parts involved are “consumable” and thus expected to wear down with use. The lens, mirror and laser tube, for example, are expected to last about a year with regular use, according to the company’s estimates. The team says those parts should cost about $19, $9 and $139 to replace, respectively, and you’ll be able to buy them through their online store. Plan ahead for those recurring costs, and make sure you’re comfortable with the idea of eventually tearing the machine apart before you dive in.

You’ll also need to keep things clean to keep them operating well. Burning stuff dirties the optics, and dirty optics lead to weaker cuts and faster wear. You’ll want to pop the work bed out regularly to get rid of any debris, and keep all the moving bits lubed. There’s more to keeping a laser cutter working well than say, an inkjet printer.

Overall, though, so far so good. The machine looks pretty great on a table; it’s not quite as shiny and Apple-y as a Glowforge, but it should blend into a home office or studio pretty easily. It’s light enough to be easily moved by two people, and took me all of a few minutes to get up and running. If you don’t mind the occasional software hiccup, can figure out sufficient ventilation, are mostly working on projects that fit within beamo’s wattage/work area capabilities and are down to get under the hood for maintenance, beamo seems like a solid machine so far.

#Uncategorized

0 notes

metagento-blog1 · 5 years

Text

The Way to Learn Your First Programming Language

Introduction

Programming is a really useful and fulfilling avocation. There are few better feelings than when somebody sees you using a schedule that you lashed together to make your life simpler and says that it looks really helpful. Many people have, at any point in their lives, actually wanted to be in a position to do something in their computer or telephone and been unable to. If you know a programming language, then there's often a fair chance that you're able to write a program to do that job yourself. When there are a huge number of programming languages, a lot of them have a great deal of similarities; this means that after you learn one language fairly well, in most cases you'll be able to pick up a new one far faster.

Limits

One thing which all new programmers must come to term with is the amount of time learning a programming language takes. Although whenever you have become a specialist you will be able to write many programs quickly, you need to remember that lots of programs have taken whole groups of specialist developers years to create. So it's necessary to understand that knowing a programming language or even several is not enough to compose a number of the more complex applications you've seen. Don't look upon this new hobby for a means to save yourself a lot of money, as composing your own version of most of the apps that you need to cover now will probably be out of your reach.

The most important thing that a new programmer has to know is the"Learn Programming in 24 hours" kind of books are not really correct. A more accurate title would be"Learn Programming in 10,000 hours". If you place 24 hours or a week to learning a language you will not be creating the next Windows or a new, state of the game. It is possible to learn how to write an app in 10 minutes, and really all you want to learn a new language is the favourite search engine, however you will not be a specialist. The only way to become an expert is much like studying the violin; the response is practice, practice and practice some more.

Selecting Your First Language

Now that we've analyzed the constraints and managed some of the unrealistic expectations, people who are wanting to learn to code will be happy to know that programming isn't a hard matter to begin learning and won't require that you pay out huge amounts of money. If you're reading this article on-line, you already have the tools to begin with some languages, so let's think about what your initial language ought to be.

Traditionally the primary language a programming newcomer learns is Visual Basic or Python. The very first point to understand is that both of these languages are very different. The simplest difference is one of cost. Python is totally free; you may begin writing python today with just a text editor on your computer, though if you are on Windows, you will probably need to install it first. However Visual Basic, often abbreviated to VB, is both free and not free. On the upside, VB can be simpler for newcomers to understand because it allows you to build the ports (the part of the program that the user will see) by dragging and dropping the different parts much like designing it in some basic art program. The version of VB novices learn is generally Visual Basic 6, but that is quite outdated and has been discontinued. So nowadays the version learned is frequently VB.NET which can be considerably less simple for novices.

VB.NET must be developed in what we call an IDE (Integrated Development Environment); this is essentially a distinctive program you use to write different programs. They also exist for Python, but their usage is completely optional. The free VB.NET IDE is Named Visual Studio Express. In the time of writing, the most recent version is Visual Studio Express 2010. Unfortunately, using the free version of the IDE you are restricted with what you can do, and some programs you make cannot be commercially sold on. Regretfully, the full paid version of this IDE isn't affordable, and not suitable for a hobbyist, but luckily to learn VB the free version is enough. In practice, very few commercial applications are manufactured in VB nowadays, however the Visual Studio IDE allows you to use many other languages. The familiarity you may develop by using it will also allow you to utilize the power of the IDE for development in a number of different languages. Some will assert that almost every language can be developed in a text editor and they are by far the most flexible manner to code. While this is technically true (and I do suggest trying development at a text editor to compare when you receive a little better), I would strongly advise studying your first language using a proper IDE.

While traditionally, individuals learn Python or VB first and those are normally what is educated at schools, I wouldn't suggest either of these. I'm of the opinion your first language must continue to be useful to you it has served the purpose of helping you learn the fundamentals of programming. When I had to recommend one of them for novices, it would be VB.NET as frequently the most complicated part of programming is that the graphical side of things and in VB.NET that is quite easy because of the drag and drop interface. Both of these languages are often used as introductions since they are extremely tolerant of errors, and allow you to be confident in programming principles without worrying about lots of the more complicated matters.

For those brave souls among you, I would actually suggest Java as your first language, even though it could be complex, and is consequently not a common choice for a first language. Java apps are different to most others because they don't run on your computer. The consumer downloads Java, then your code runs on what's referred to as a VM (Virtual Machine). This means that your code runs in a distinctive place Java sets up for it - a bogus copy of your computer - and manages the translation of this to the true device for you. This means that Java programs are"cross-platform", meaning they will for the most part run on Windows, Mac, Linux and most other operating systems.

Java is a fantastic language to understand, since it's quite prevalent and useful. Furthermore, it's very powerful, and is readily available free of charge for both hobbyists and business applications. However, in contrast to VB and Python, it does not tolerate mistakes and requires you to be quite particular about everything. It is likewise an object-oriented programming language, which is a very complex problem which I will briefly attempt to summarise. Languages like Python and VB are what is known as procedural languages, meaning that the lines of code are run one after another, whereas Java is an object-oriented language. Object-oriented development is a phrase thrown around a lot these days in the programming world, and although not always appropriate it's usually considered a good idea. At the most elementary level, an object-oriented program is all about objects. An object is an"instantiation" of a"class". A class is a routine used to describe something like a kitty. The class contains both the information about the cat such as its name, age and owner as well as"methods" which are essentially activities the cat can do, such as miaow. An instance of this class"cat" would give you a specific cat. Nonetheless, this isn't a Java tutorial, so if you're brave enough to experiment with Java that you will encounter yourself in more detail. It is worth noting that VB.NET and Python both have support for object-oriented development, and Java has the capacity to be utilized procedurally, but these aren't the languages' primary intended uses and are not often used. If you did not understand that comparison, don't worry about it too much. Object orientation is hard to get your head around, but any basic Java or other object-oriented language tutorial will have you understanding everything in that paragraph.

A final reason Java is a good first language is that it is similar in many ways to Javascript, which is an entirely different class of language. Javascript is a scripting language (as is Python), and learning Java will mean you understand Javascript reasonably well. The difference is between scripting languages and normal programming languages is outside the scope of this article, but as a large generalisation scripts are generally used for automated tasks while programs are used interactively by users. This is not totally true, as both types of language are used for both tasks and most web programs are built in Javascript.

As for the actual language you pick, it is entirely up to you. Some may choose the traditional beginner languages or be brave and experiment with Java. Some of you may already have your eye on a language or fancy one of the more specialist languages like Scheme or Prolog. Whatever your choice, the way you will learn how to program is the same.

IDEs, Yes or No?

Many of the purists say that IDEs are a bad idea, and are packed with unnecessary tools and menus that take up disk space and time to learn. While this is true, I feel that an IDE is definitely worthwhile. Many people offer free IDEs, such as Eclipse and Netbeans, for the more popular languages. There is also Visual Studio, which I mentioned previously; it is very intuitive, very powerful and it supports many languages (much as Netbeans and Eclipse do). If you chose to use Java I would suggest Netbeans, as there is a packaged version of Netbeans with the JDK (Java Development Kit). Most languages need an SDK (Software Development Kit) to work with them, and getting it installed properly and linked to the IDE is often the hardest part of the procedure. Visual Studio already comes with the development kits set up, which makes life easier, but other languages like Java and Python can be quite hard to set up properly. This is why I suggested the Netbeans + JDK bundle for those experimenting with Java, as it handles the complex set up for you, which will save you hours of suffering.

There are, in my opinion, three major advantages to using a fully featured IDE. Firstly, they are usually extensible, meaning that there are many free plug-ins that could make your life a lot easier when you get a little more advanced. Secondly, and most importantly, is the ease with which an IDE allows you to debug your code. Most IDEs let you set breakpoints in the code, which will make the program stop when it gets to that point and let you step through it line by line, so you can examine the contents of all the variables at any time. (For those of you who do not know what a variable is, I will briefly explain. A variable is a bit like a train station locker. You ask for one big enough to hold what you want to store, and if what you want to store is the right shape, it can be stored there. When you write a program, any data you want to store temporarily will be held in one of these until you are done with it.) As the old programming saying goes, if you have not found any bugs, you are not looking hard enough. Almost no non-trivial program will work first time, and trying to work out where the problem lies without the use of a debugger is a pain I would not wish on anyone. Finally, an IDE will often give you advice on how to fix issues in the code. This can be very useful for fixing bugs, and saves you having to resort to Google every other minute.

Learning the Language

Now that you have a language and an IDE, it is finally time to learn the language. This, as you may or may not be surprised to learn, is not complex at all - it is simply time consuming. To learn programming for the first time, there is no better way than exploration. Buying a book that walks you through steps will not teach you anything, as you will not understand the reasoning behind what they are doing, and people often get disheartened by the tedium.

The key to learning programming is to have a goal. Think of a task, such as a system to keep track of where you are in all the various TV shows you watch, or a system to let you look at all the books you own in a particular category, or, if you feel brave, try to replicate part of something that you use on a regular basis. My advice would be to start small, perhaps by making a sequence of message boxes that insults the user or a really simple calculator. It is important when you first start that your goals are interesting, challenging and entertaining. If you try to make really boring programs you will quickly get disheartened, so try to inject some comedy into your program. The calculator is a very good introductory program, but after you get the general idea it is important to set quite ambitious goals, as if you keep doing simple things you will never learn anything new. It is important to try to incorporate some of the knowledge you have gained from previous work. One of the reasons most books fail to teach programming well is that they use small examples for each thing they introduce, whereas what you really need to do is plan the task without considering what you will need to accomplish it. This means you will be able to code some of it using what you already know, but most importantly, you will not know how to code some of it. The best way to learn is to learn by doing. Go for a full program that does a task you wanted to do on a computer in the past, work on it, and when you are finished you will have learned a lot and you will have a useful (or at least entertaining) program which is far better than some toy program demonstrating lists.

I have said that you learn by choosing to do projects where you are unable to do certain sections, thus requiring you to learn, but how do you go about finding out how to do them? It's simple, and most likely the way you found this article. Go to your favourite search engine (like Google) and search for what you want to do - for example, search "drop down list Java" to find some examples of using drop down lists in Java. Because you will need it for another task, and not just to re-do the same thing the examples did, you will have to play with the examples you find and try to get them to do what you want. Just search each bit you need, and before long you will find that most of the basics are as natural as waking up in the morning, and you did it all without spending a small fortune on books, without getting bored and hopefully while being entertained. To this day, if I am bored, I sometimes break out one of my very first programs which is just a list of boxes and a random number generator. It is your task to try to fill all the boxes such that the numbers the random number generator gives you are in ascending order - if you don't leave space and can't fit a number in a hole then you lose and must start again. It's a simple program, but it took a lot of work when I first made it and I learned a lot from the experience.

Once you have a few decent sized programs under your belt, you will find that you know the language well. You will also find that it is rare, no matter how well you know a language, to be able to write a program without resorting to Google at least once just to check something. So with that in mind, it could be argued that you learned the language without ever actually trying to learn it. Clearly there are standards and good practices that you may not pick up on your own, but as you see more examples and read the comments you will find you adopt your own standards rather rapidly.

Learning Another Language

Once you have learned one language, whatever it may be, the most valuable thing you will have learned is all the key words for searches. When you want to do something in a new language, you need only search what you want to do and the language name. However, by now you will know the names used to refer to what you want to do, allowing your searches to be more effective and yield examples and answers much more quickly. As the fundamentals of programming are mostly the same, regardless of the language you use, you will hopefully be able to guess at the meaning of most of the code much more effectively once you locate an example, allowing you to pick up most of the language very quickly indeed.

Conclusion

If you take nothing else away from this article, remember that the best way to learn a skill is practice, practice and practice some more, so don't expect to become an expert overnight. Remember that programming is not something that can be learned overnight, and that to become a passable expert you probably need to spend at least 10,000 hours programming, so you will need to find ways to remain motivated. Don't think of it as learning to program - rather, just start programming, and before you know it you will be an expert. Programming is a skill, and while it is quite simple once you have the feel of it, it can be quite daunting to see your little calculator that took you a week and then to consider a modern game like"Batman: Arkham City" and realise just how far you've got to go. Want to know more info click magento 2 buy now button extension

0 notes

silverscreenname · 5 years

Text

Silent Despair - Pregame Relationships

Atsu Mozuna - Ultimate Vending Machine Placement Scout

There’s an art to this kind of work, as I understand it. ‘Eye level is buy level’, and all that — they employ a lot of of the same behavioural principles we do with camera work and set design, determining where the viewer’s attention should be at any one time. Location, location, location… I’d really love to take notes on her process, but I suppose she’d be out of a job if she were the type to so easily give her game away.

B.B. - Ultimate ASMR Chef

Autonomous sensory meridian response… sounds a little like Foley. I’d never heard of it before, but it’s not as if I can’t appreciate careful use of audio to influence an audience.

Oh. Now there’s an idea, actually. I hope they don’t mind chatting about their work, because this could be a great opportunity for a bit of research…

Cape - Ultimate Costumist

Back in my assistant days, I saw his work feature in several dressing rooms. There’s a certain stigma attached to taking costume design out of house, but quality is quality, as far as I’m concerned… does he wear that persona of his even offline, I wonder?

Diantha Engberg - Ultimate Speed Skater

I watch figure skating competitions quite often, but I’ll admit to changing the channel whenever speed is concerned. To me it’s more about how you get from A to B rather than how long it takes, I suppose. That’s mere personal preference, though — she’s doubtless quite the athlete.

That, and… there might still be a chance that she can demonstrate a triple lutz?

Elliot Morgan - Ultimate Bartender

The London nightlife, mm… I can see Mom leaning over some insanely colourful, umbrella-filled concoction to pat him on the head already. Is he the type to listen to a patron’s woes, or more of a Rick Blaine affair? I suppose we’ll soon find out.

At any rate, I hope his relationship with alcohol hasn’t been soured so much as mine with coffee.

Flerida Belmont - Ultimate Illustrator

Akuma no Akumu has been on my shelf for some time, and that’s largely due to its illustration catching my eye. A style like hers can elevate an entire work, I think — it’s been a while since I’ve been so pleasantly reminded of Itō Junji. Does she stick to digital or do some of it by hand? I hope it’s the latter, if only because I’d like to take a look.

Hisanobu Fubuki - Ultimate Pastry Chef

To a hobbyist like myself, someone who can bake like him is truly something else. I had a run-in with his work once before, while on a visit to Hakone Shrine, and ended up eating enough for three… not that I’m proud of having broken my policies so completely, mind. The point is, the standard he keeps can’t be understated.

Katsutoshi “Rune” Fukuyo - Ultimate TCG Player

And here I find myself completely in the dark. These sorts of games probably come down to a combination of probability and personality, similar to poker, but that’s about as far a guess as I’m willing to venture for now.

Speaking of personality, though — he sounds like a cocky one. The type you’ll either get along with famously or infamously.

…I feel a headache coming on.

Khal - Ultimate Merchant

‘Anything one requests’, mm. Sounds entirely suspect, but I suppose calling a businessman suspect is like calling the sky blue. Mom and Dad will have heard of him, no doubt, but I haven’t yet had the pleasure… well, we’ll see what he’s about soon enough.

Kihaku Horikawa - Ultimate Taiko Drummer

Taiko — now there’s something easy to appreciate. I’m not one for festivals, but the percussion is what keeps a Noh drama’s tension on that vital razor-thin edge… Has he ever played in a production of Hagoromo? What about Sakidera Komachi? Ah, I’ve got to pick his brain…

Kossetsu - Ultimate Graffiti Artist

Seeing their message splayed out across the grey walls was a rare treat for those of us unfortunate enough to have to make their daily commute along Tokyo’s subways, I thought. It makes me happy to know they’ve gone on to do even more since then, and as for us ending up in the same class… that could be quote a stroke of luck.

Mitama Takaki - Ultimate Art Appraiser

Art appraisal… personally, I firmly believe beauty to lie in the eye of the beholder, so it’s not a practice I’ve ever paid much thought. Still, though, discovering a museum full of fakes is an impressive thing, and she’d be endlessly valuable to those who truly care about having the ‘genuine article’, I suppose.

Oliver Waters - Ultimate Screenwriter

To be an artist means never to avert one’s eyes.

Rikka Tsurugane - Ultimate Vaper

Let’s see — Tsurugane, Tsurugane… oh.

…Heheh.

Reminds me of when Dad used to sit me down on the kitchen counter so I could see him outside — blowing the smoke out through his nose, pretending to be a dragon. As soon as I tell him about this, he’ll start begging me to get him a lesson or two. I wonder if I could win Tsurugane-san over…?

I wonder if they smell the same.

Seichou Shirane - Ultimate Hacker

His page leads to… nothing, really.

Wait. Is this what it means when they talk about ghosts in the machine? God, he’s the real thing, isn’t he? How does he type so fast? How does he he deal with all those dozens of boxes popping up as he’s typing? What should I ask first? What should I ask first?

Setsuko Kagura - Ultimate Secretary

A corporate background, through-and-through… I know a little of what it means to act as someone’s right hand. To have come this far, she must be able to bear it with more grace than I can.

Shizuka Hakoniwa - Ultimate Utaite

…Nico Nico what.

Just — just a second.

…A sort of cover artist, then. Why don’t they ever just— oh, never mind. Let’s give her a listen.

Ah. Pretty voice, all right… that much requires no translation.

Tatsu Ito - Ultimate Urban Legend

Urban legends? I believe it’s rare for such things to travel farther than cloakroom gossip, now that the age of word-of-mouth has largely ended. She must be quite the storyteller… I hope she won’t mind a chat or three. Who knows — I might end up with an adaptation on my hands.

Yves - Ultimate Horror Writer

Speaking of adaptations — I’ve wondered, in the past, whether or not Kizmet could be on the table in future. Has she ever considered bringing it to the screen? Subversions of the usual horror tropes are too rare and enjoyable to resist, I feel. Oh, but to maintain the novel’s perspective, we’d have to do something a little unique with narration…

Well, at any rate — if nothing else, having a fellow writer around might ease the mind some.

#silent despair #relationships

1 note · View note

qqtranslation · 5 years

Text

“Four Fortune Tellers” by Wu Nien-jen

Ah Duan was blind in both eyes. Everyone called him Blind Duan, and back then, he was the resident emotional therapist for our coal-mining village.

Whenever times were tough, people would go to Blind Duan. He’d tell them that July would be an inauspicious month for their families, but good times would arrive after the weather cooled down in September, and making money would be a piece of cake. Many of Blind Duan’s fortunes went like this, and after hearing his words, his listeners would submit to the hardships life had dealt them.

But what if September still wound up treating them poorly? Blind Duan would then ask for the birth dates of all the people in the family. After all, there was bound to be at least one person out of the whole family who had offended some kind of deity, right?

Everyone believed Blind Duan’s words, and so they were able to withstand any kind of hardship they faced. Their faith gave them strength. Even the Three People’s Principles state the same thing, don’t they?

My father once had a streak of particularly bad luck for an entire year. At the end of the year, we tagged along with our mother to his “check-up”. This time, just like those prophets who became popular ten, twenty years later for doing “Past Life” readings, Blind Duan explained that in his previous life, my father had been a corrupt official. As retribution for his past crimes, in this life, he would barely be able to make enough for us to get by. Any surplus finances would go straight to repaying his debts from his past life.

Upon hearing this precise description of my father’s life, my mother completely succumbed to his fate.

Since we still had time left, she then said: “Please do a quick reading for my eldest son.”

I had just been discharged from the army that year, and my future was about as clear as a thick screen of fog. Blind Duan simply used his thumb and forefinger to pinch it out, and began to explain that in a past life, I had been a “Vegetable Stall Lady”, which essentially means a woman from the prostitutes’ quarter. Its implications for my current life thusly include the fact that my “stage name” would be known to many, but my real name known to few. I would have an aversion for binge drinking and social gatherings, and a propensity for doing housework. Most of my work would be completed at nighttime, and there’d be people from all different lines of work offering to patronize me, whose tastes I’d have to cater through various methods and maneuvers.

Though he wasn’t finished speaking yet, my sisters burst into hysterical laughter, and were rushed out of the door by our mother. Later, they told me that the reason they had laughed was that they couldn’t conceive of my scrawny and unsightly self as a midnight cowboy, let alone have big-talking gasbags from various trades provide me monetary compensation.

But only a few years later, Blind Duan’s words were proven to be indeed true. For instance, many people now know my pen name, Wu Nien-jen, but not necessarily my autonym. I usually do my writing at night, and sure enough, all of the investors and directors that have approached me make up an array of colorful characters. Blind Duan, meanwhile, has long since passed away.

***

The year I turned thirty, a friend of a friend told me he was determined to meet me. Our mutual friend told me that this person was very interested in fortune telling, and learned about my work through reading my short stories and screenplays. After learning my birth dates from the friend, this person found me quite interesting, and was set on sharing his findings with me.

We met on a misty, drizzling afternoon at Café Astoria. Since I had to meet someone soon after to discuss a screenplay, he explained to me quickly and concisely that this year, my thirtieth year, would be the year that I finally set myself free and achieve great things. He stressed that I could not, by any means, let this opportunity slip away, and sternly told me that Taiwan would go through major changes in the next ten years because “all of the rich, successful people you see on TV and in the papers? Their fortunes are short-lived”.

That was the year 1981. I had just graduated college, and managed to win a Golden Horse Award in the first year that they gave out money prizes. I won nearly twenty thousand dollars. I used the money to get married, completing yet another one of life’s big events.

As for Taiwan’s major changes? There have of course been many. In the following ten years, the people have shifted from being too petrified to speak ill of the President, to turning this very practice into a new social movement. But as I gradually lost contact with my friend, I was never able to encounter this fortune-telling hobbyist again.

***

Father was plagued with illness in his later years. One day, while he was fast asleep at the hospital, I went with mother to Nanrong Road in Keelung in search of a new fortune-teller to provide us with his guidance. This one was just like Ah Duan, blind in both eyes.

After calculating father’s birth dates, he said: “Life has been tough for him, but death will be arduous as well. This poor man… I would suggest you simply follow his wishes. Try not to quarrel with him anymore, for that would make things harder for you as well.”

Upon hearing this, mother buried her face in her hands and started to weep. In a low voice, she thanked the fortune-teller.

At that point, the fortune-teller finally noticed my presence. He offered to read my fortune as well. After I told him my birth dates, he actually laughed, and said: “You’ve also lived a tough life, but while your father’s was physical, yours is emotional. Though you’ve had food and clothing all your life, and a wide friend circle, you continue to endure emotional and spiritual burdens. This was all meant to be. That’s all I have to say. Wouldn’t you agree?”

He called himself a fortune-teller, but to me he was like a master, opening up the path of enlightenment to me.

I think this blind fortune-teller might still be around, but as he said, all of this was meant to be, so I have no need to ask him any more questions.

In my lifetime, I have met four fascinating fortune-tellers. These are only three of them.

As for the last one? Their words have yet to be confirmed. It is not convenient for me to reveal their identity as of yet, so I will hold off on that topic for now.

Translated by Chelsea / Jan. 2018

吴念真：四个相命师 / 《这些人，那些事》

#wu nien-jen #translation #taiwanese literature

0 notes

tiramisiyu · 3 years

Text

Tears of Themis: Lu Jinghe’s Birthday - NPC Interviews Part 3

Translation Masterlist

Event Story: 6.13 Decision to Compete | 6.15 Personal Instruction | 6.17 Building Block Dolls | 6.19 Participating in the Competition | 6.21 Birthday Celebration

Event Story Interviews: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Interview 11 – Middle-Aged Woman

MC: (This auntie looks quite classy.)

MC: Hello, I would like to interview the participants of the building blocks competition. I contacted you regarding this previously.

Middle-aged Woman: Ah, it’s you, young lady. Let’s start.

START QUESTIONING

⊳ Reason for competing

MC: May I ask, why are you participating in this building blocks competition?

Middle-aged Woman: Because I am currently writing a book related to building blocks. When I saw news of this competition, I signed up to participate.

MC: Writing books? Are you an author?

Middle-aged Woman: I am a sociologist, and I mostly research major societal issues. Building blocks are my next topic.

⊳ Competition Theme

MC: Do you have any thoughts regarding the theme of this competition, “A Reconstruction of World-Famous Artworks”?

Middle-aged Woman: Based on my current inquiries, this is a relatively special theme. It’s been a long time since it has appeared. The last time was around 15 years ago, and a young woman took the grand prize. This was also the first time that a woman took first place in a building blocks competition.

⊳ World-Famous Artworks

MC: What do you know of world-famous artworks?

Middle-aged Woman: My apologies, I don’t know too much about art. However, if I have the chance, I very much would like to perform research regarding female artists.

⊳ “Z”

MC: Do you know of “Z”?

Middle-aged Woman: I do. My daughter likes this artist a lot. She showed me Z’s new works before – he changed from the past portrait works that were common to depicting the shepherd girl scenery. That painting makes me feel relaxed and happy.

⊳ Things she wants to say to “Z”

MC: Is there anything you want to say to “Z”?

Middle-aged Woman: I hope that he can create more works and leave some more treasures for this time and age.

END QUESTIONING

MC: That ends today’s interview. Thank you for your cooperation.

Middle-aged Woman: No problem. Goodbye, young lady.

MC: Goodbye!

Interview 12 – Zheng Ze

Zheng Ze: Miss Lawyer, we meet again.

MC: Zheng Ze? Are you also participating in the building blocks competition?

Zheng Ze: Yes, I didn’t think that the person who asked to interview me was you.

MC: Then let’s start.

START QUESTIONING

⊳ Reason for competing

MC: Why are you participating in this building blocks competition?

Zheng Ze: Because I heard that “Z” would personally make an appearance at this building blocks competition as an evaluator. For that issue last time, though I requested Pax’s CEO Lu to help me express my apologies, I didn’t apologize in person, so I still felt apologetic. If I participate in the competition, I might be able to see “Z” and say sorry to him in person…

MC: (He’s talking about the counterfeit “Z” artwork issue before...)

MC: Don’t worry. “Z” will definitely feel your sincerity and apologies.

⊳ Competition Theme

MC: Do you have any thoughts regarding the theme of this competition, “A Reconstruction of World-Famous Artworks”?

Zheng Ze: I like this theme very much. Though I don’t know much about building blocks, painting is my specialty. To see “Z”, I will study to the best of my ability.

⊳ World-Famous Artworks

MC: What do you know of world-famous artworks?

Zheng Ze: This is my specialty. I’ve recently been learning Friedrich’s painting techniques. His “Wanderer above the Sea of Fog” uses snowy mountains, fog, and lighting to express majestic spiritual power – it’s incredibly unique.

MC: This painting… I don’t think I’ve heard of it.

Zheng Ze: Yes, this painting is rather unpopular - it’s never been exhibited in Stellis City. But if you have the chance, you must see it for yourself.

⊳ Things he wants to say to “Z”

MC: If you meet “Z”, is there anything you want to say to him, aside from apologizing?

Zheng Ze: I would like to discuss painting techniques with “Z”. His usage of Rembrandt’s lighting is superb. If I can speak with him, I would surely benefit from it.

⊳ Recent Circumstances

MC: It’s been a long while since we saw each other. Are you and your wife doing well?

Zheng Ze: Thank you for your concern. We’re doing very well, and Ruirui’s illness is gradually improving. Back then, CEO Lu helped me a lot. I’m very grateful to him.

END QUESTIONING

MC: Alright, that ends today’s interview. Thank you for your cooperation.

Zheng Ze: No problem. Goodbye, Miss Lawyer.

MC: Goodbye!

Interview 13 – Tired Young Man

MC: (This interviewee looks really tired…)

MC: Hello! I would like to interview the participants of the building blocks competition. I contacted you regarding this previously.

Tired Young Man: I remember you. Let’s start then – after the interview I’ve got to get home and sleep.

START QUESTIONING

⊳ Reason for competing

MC: May I ask, why are you participating in this building blocks competition?

Tired Young Man: Because my favourite painter will be serving as this competition’s special evaluator. He’s a very mysterious person and has never revealed himself in public. This sort of opportunity is so rare that I definitely can’t miss it.

MC: Favourite painter… is that “Z”?

Tired Young Man: You know “Z”?

MC: Yes, “Z” is very well-known. Lots of people came for this competition because of him.

⊳ Competition Theme

MC: Do you have any thoughts regarding the theme of this competition, “A Reconstruction of World-Famous Artworks”?

Tired Young Man: This theme fits with my major very well. I’m very interested in it.

MC: Major?

Tired Young Man: Yes, I am a grad student at Stellis University, majoring in oil painting.

⊳ World-Famous Artworks

MC: As a student majoring in oil painting, you must know a lot about world-famous artworks, right?

Tired Young Man: I wouldn’t say that I “know a lot”, but I have once written a thesis related to Rembrandt. Rembrandt is skilled at using the contrast of lighting, giving his paintings a dramatic feeling. This is also what I am aiming for.

⊳ Things he wants to say to “Z”

MC: If you were to meet “Z”, is there anything you want to say to him?

Tired Young Man: Ah… I’d probably want to thank him.

MC: Thank him?

Tired Young Man: Yes. There was once a period when I wanted to give up on art, feeling like I didn’t have enough artistic talent. Z’s artworks gave me the courage to continue. I want to tell “Z” that his excellence encouraged many people like me, and that he’s set an example for all of us.

⊳ Reason for tiredness

MC: You look quite tired. Did you not sleep well?

Tired Young Man: Mm… I actually haven’t slept for two days.

MC: Huh?

Tired Young Man: I’ve had a lot of inspiration for these past few days and ended up staying at the art studio for a bit longer. Though I’m just an unknown student right now, one day, I will become an artist whose name people will know.

END QUESTIONING

MC: That ends today’s interview. Thank you for your cooperation.

Tired Young Man: Okay, then I’m heading back to the dorm. So tired…

MC: Do your best! Make sure to pay attention to your health while drawing.

Interview 14 – Middle-Aged Uncle

MC: Hello, I would like to interview the participants of the building blocks competition and contacted you regarding this previously. Are you alright? You look very tired.

Middle-aged Uncle: It’s fine, I just got off work. It’s always like this when we’re rushing on projects. Go ahead and ask what questions you have.

START QUESTIONING

⊳ Reason for competing

MC: May I ask, why are you participating in this building blocks competition?

Middle-aged Uncle: To get the competition prize. I’m a building blocks hobbyist, and I’m dedicated to collecting all building block sets. There is only one set of Austin’s “Future” series, and I definitely can’t miss this chance.

⊳ Building Blocks Hobbyist

MC: You must love building blocks a lot?

Middle-aged Uncle: Yes, I’ve been collecting them for nearly twenty years. I even have a collection room at home that’s specifically to display the sets. Each time I see them, my mood improves, and they make work worth it no matter how tiring it is.

⊳ Competition Theme

MC: Do you have any thoughts regarding the theme of this competition, “A Reconstruction of World-Famous Artworks”?

Middle-aged Uncle: This sort of theme is rarely seen, and it’s personally my first time seeing it.

⊳ World-Famous Artworks

MC: What do you know of world-famous artworks?

Middle-aged Uncle: I’m not too knowledgeable on art, though I’ll be studying for this competition.

⊳ Profession

MC: If I may be so bold, what is your profession?

Middle-aged Uncle: I am a social platform programmer. Don’t look at how much hair I’ve got, because actually…

A gust of wind blew past, and the uncle rushed to press down on his hair.

MC: (So it was fake hair…)

⊳ “Z”

MC: Do you know of “Z”?

Middle-aged Uncle: I do. It’s that guy who often appears on the hot searches. Each time he appears on there, I have to work overtime. He’s clearly just an artist, yet he’s so popular – it really is inconceivable.

⊳ Things he wants to say to “Z”

MC: If you had the chance to speak with “Z”, is there anything you want to say to him?

Middle-aged Uncle: I hope that the next time he puts out new works, he won’t choose a holiday or the weekend. I want to be able to take a break.

END QUESTIONING

MC: That ends today’s interview. Thank you for your cooperation.

Middle-aged Uncle: No problem. I’ll be heading home then.

MC: Okay, thanks for your efforts at work!

Interview 15 – Young Boy

MC: (This interviewee… is a little kid?)

START INSPECTION

⊳ Soccer ball

MC: (It’s not a surprise that a boy of this age would like soccer, taking the ball wherever he goes. Although, Lu Jinghe probably liked art the most when he was little…)

⊳ Head

MC: (He’s sweating a lot and his hair is wet. He probably just finished exercising, then?)

MC: (So he’s also a participant in the building blocks competition. I should hurry and interview him.)

END INSPECTION

MC: Little friend, are you a participant in the building blocks competition?

Little Boy: I am, big sister.

MC: Where are your parents? They aren’t with you?

Little Boy: Mom said I’m already a big kid, so I can be interviewed alone. Let’s start!

START QUESTIONING

⊳ Reason for competing

MC: Why are you participating in this building blocks competition?

Little Boy: Because I really like playing with building blocks, and I’ve participated in lots of competitions. This competition is different from the ones I’ve done before, so I wanted to try.

MC: Lots of competitions? What sort?

Little Boy: Hm… robot competitions, racecar competitions, programming competitions…

MC: That’s amazing!

⊳ Competition Theme

MC: Do you know what the competition theme this time is?

Note: The game showed that the boy was the one to say this line, but logically speaking (and based on the next line), it probably is MC’s line.

Little Boy: I do! It has to do with art, and it’s called… Uhh, I can’t remember…

MC: That’s fine, it’s already great that you know that it has to do with art.

⊳ Soccer

MC: You’re holding a soccer ball, so did you just finish a game of soccer?

Little Boy: That’s right! Aside from building blocks, I like soccer the most. Though I accidentally fell, I didn’t cry at all. I’m already a man!

MC: (What a strong kid.)

⊳ Robot Competition

MC: What’s a robot competition like?

Little Boy: You use blocks to create a robot to complete set movements. Like shooting baskets or moving things… and also kicking soccer balls.

MC: Kids these days really are way too amazing!

END QUESTIONING

MC: Alrighty, that ends today’s interview. Thank you, little friend.

Little Boy: No problem. Ah, mom’s here to pick me up. See you around, big sister!

MC: See you around!

#Tears of Themis #tears of themis translations #lu jinghe #tot translation

1 note · View note