Update

[tarigwaemir]

Blair Hall Apts., on the Feast of St. Bartholomew

1. Meme from the last post: number 2 is right. schwimmerin, sub_divided and themadpoker were all correct. I looked back at the meme's instructions and realized that I wasn't supposed to post lies that were even slightly true, which means I cheated. (But "slightly" true? I work by Boolean logic here, either a statement is true or false.)

The first book I ever read on my own was "Cinderella" not "Sleeping Beauty" (the first chapter book was The Secret Garden). There are in fact four functional laptops in my house although no one's touched the last two (one of them dates back to 1994 and the other is the Sony Vaio I used in high school that is still technically functional despite its many other, um, issues). I was born in Korea but we first moved to Houston when I was five months old. I didn't move to New York until I was almost ten. My favorite German author is Hermann Hesse not Mann, and as tryogeru well knows, I don't in fact own all the Gundam Wing soundtracks (although I do own the first three OSTs plus the first Blind Target drama).

2. svz_insanity says that she likes the idea of a support group for blind_go writers. Anyone else up for it? I'll probably create a thread instead of an entirely separate community, but you can comment on it (anonymously, if you so choose) as much as you want.

3. For some unknown reason, I started compiling a character list for Ravages of Time. By the way, in the Korean translation, Meng calls Liaoyuan Huo "oppa" which means "older brother" but is only used by females (males say "hyeong" instead), even when she isn't dressed up as Diaochan. Is there a similar distinction in Chinese, and if so, does she use the female form in the manhua too?

4. Have been meeting people right and left, including sub_divided and her friend on Sunday for a Manhattan excursion, where we visited Kinokuniya, Midtown Comics, the Strand and the café in Barnes and Noble all in one afternoon. I came away with volume 7 of Ouran Koukou Host Club for paradiseraph's birthday present, and Calvino's If on a winter's night a traveler and Gide's The Counterfeiters for myself. I...still wish I got that $10 huge hardcover edition of The Decameron with excerpts in the original Italian (because the translators felt they couldn't adequately convey the concept of "magic"). But I don't have any space on my bookshelves, and my mother would be annoyed. My impulsive bookbuying has been significantly curtailed by the problem of shelf space. -_-

5. On Tuesday we went to a free concert by the Metropolitan Opera in Central Park. La Traviata, starring Hong Hei-kyung as Violetta and Kim Wookyung as Alfredo. Yes, Koreans in both lead roles. Isn't it nice? Hong Hei-kyung started off brilliantly (my mother commented that her voice has a similar timbre to Renata Tebaldi's although Hong lacks the exquisite control) but she cracked on two high notes in the middle of the first act and sang very cautiously after that, going very softly on the high notes. Quite sad. She recovered a little in the second act and was back in full force after the intermission, enough to give a beautiful rendition of Violetta's dying scene. I did think her voice sounded a bit, hm, tired even in the last two acts, although that may have been affected to depict tuberculosis. Kim Wookyung is making is debut with the Met this season, and he has one of those truly sweet tenor voices (so sweet, my mother says, that you could fall in love with the voice alone). Very light though, sounds almost like popera at points. Still, it was a good performance. Unfortunately, I didn't appreciate it as much as I should have because there were people walking back and forth in the Great Lawn throughout the performance, not to mention all the flashes of cameras going off (I have no idea why, since it was outdoors at night). I also don't have an affinity for Verdi; I have to concentrate to appreciate his music, and I wasn't in a condition to focus. -_-

Back to writing...hopefully.

Yours &c.

Comments

[jaebi-lit.livejournal.com]

The Strand is an evil place. Evil, evil, evil. By which I mean, a money sinkhole.

Camera flashes are so bright! I didn't realize that until I went to the Grand Canyon, and saw flashes from a mile away.

[troisroyaumes]

It is! My friend used to say that she'd go in there and come out with books that she'd never read, like a book in a foreign language that she didn't even understand but felt that she might learn someday. XD

Yes, they are, and they're extremely annoying when you're trying your best to focus on a faraway stage. ;_;

[schwimmerin.livejournal.com]

I win wooo! Oh and I should write you back once I stop being lazy. Yes, yes I shall.

[troisroyaumes]

Heh, no pressure. Write when you have something to say. ^_^ Or...you could send me a letter! XD

[mercurysblood.livejournal.com]

3. Not to my knowledge (based on modern tradition, and what's seen in books, media, etc.). IMO that translator is not doing a very good job of making it ambiguous. XD *beaten up for bad-mouthing people* Do you know which form a Korean eunuch would use to call a brother? If they use oppa too then I take it back.

[troisroyaumes]

No, eunuchs use hyeong as well, which is why I was so surprised. It's also odd because oppa is vernacular, while hyeong is the reading for 兄, and the translator has tended to choose words derived from Chinese rather than vernacular forms (actually, I found it difficult to read for this very reason). -_-;; Hrm, very confusing.