Intersemester notes
Feb. 3rd, 2003 06:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tarigwaemirAd Mundo Exteriore,
Five days offline, and what do I see? Inboxes and LiveJournal full to the point of being frightening. I am as Internet-obsessed as any other American adolescent, but having a slow connection makes me almost afraid to log on to MSN. All those emails and posts to read and answer, all those sites I want to visit, all the skins to download...In other words, temptation to waste three hours of precious time. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem...
Actually, I'm typing this offline, waiting for the computer to actually connect. This MSN 8 program is not only bulky, badly designed and inefficient, but also crash-prone and probably full of errors.
I've finished Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections, which I concede is creative and ingenious and innovative, etc., etc., etc., but it was difficult to enjoy. I mean, considering that it's about a midwestern American family, going through various stages of midlife crises and/or depression, it couldn't be further detached from the world I live in. I suppose for the critics it captured the essence of being American and suffering the changes in ideas and ideals and ideologies, but as an Asian-American, who has lived on the East Coast all her life (and yes, those nine years in Houston counted as East Coast), it couldn't be more alien.
One would expect that reading fantasy would, well, be escapist, and yes, it is to a certain degree. On the other hand, all the books I really enjoy are probably closest to me in terms of mental familiarity. Even contemporary mainstream books like The Lovely Bones focus on something I can relate to myself, like family life. The Corrections has very few chances for that kind of connection. I don't understand these characters very well, and it's hard to experience their world through their minds. And, well, the fixation on fecal matter and urine may have been thematically important, but was it necessary to describe the smell of rancid urine? I tend to have overly vivid reading experiences, and I nearly threw up on those particular passages. Sheesh.
(Don't get me wrong! It's an amazing book in many respects. Just not at all my type of story.)
L.P. and I also got to see The Hours, which was a good movie. Not a bad one, not at all. I don't think it deserved Best Drama Picture though. I'm sure it was really interesting as a book, but the parallels between the three women became a bit trivial on screen, and there wasn't enough time to expand on the really interesting details. Also, I think Nicole Kidman was the only really outstanding actress. L.P. disagrees with me (in fact, she hated the movie until the New York Times review revised her opinion). But Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore really got on my nerves--their acting was overdone to the point where even I, the film-illterate one, could notice and wince. I suppose it was good overdone acting, but as a certain author likes to rant, good acting isn't good acting if you can tell that it's good acting. That's redundant, but oh well, who cares? It conveys the point; function served. Hmph.
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pornkings has an interesting LJ entry on political vs. social, to classify it abruptly. I've been thinking about it during my long ride home from math class. It overturns, in some ways, Mr. Boyle's statement that government functions to maintain balance between freedom and authority in society. It's also, in other ways, an affirmation of the Platonic ideal behind the "philosopher-king" concept--not too surprising, I realize in retrospect, considering Aristotle was the starting point. In any case, I think, ahem, my schoolmates should read it, though I'm sure none of them actually well. After all our posing and posturing on political issues, it should be a refreshing look to reconsider things from a more abstract point of view. Also, it does relate to Ms. Airoldi's lens for The Scarlet Letter last year, though you may not see the connection.
Long entry, neh? I'm sure most of you have given up by now. Well, nyah. ::sticks tongue out childishly::
tryogeru has most graciously given me all the scanslations for Hikaru no Go manga. (That reminds me...Sorry, Tryo-chan! I forgot! I'll give you .hack//SIGN next time.) Anyway, Hikaru no Go is really good! I'm already in the stages of extreme obsession. As soon as I have spending money again, I'm going to splurge by buying all 18 manga volumes. Sai is adorable, and I know oniichan would love him, since he has vague similarities to Vash. Actually, he reminds me more of Count D from Pet Shop of Horrors, another vague connection, but stronger than Vash. And well...Hikaru and Akira are lovestruck, in my opinion. I think the premise is rather original--who would write a whole series on the game of Go and carry it off so well?
In any case, it has inspired me to continue learning Go, or baduk as we call it in Korean, picking up from when I was seven years old. Father bought a badukpan, a set of stones, and two books, one of which is the Korean translation of a beginner's guide published by the Japanese Go Institute. O_O First lesson: how to play omok, or five-in-a-row. Second lesson: what is connected and what is broken in a game of baduk, then a first game which resulted in Father constructing a net of white stones that appeared out of nowhere and encircled all my black ones. Not a single black stone left on the board at the end of the game. Scary.
This time, Father's going more slowly, and he's given me the book to read. It's actually pretty interesting, seeing the similarities and differences in terminology. In Korean, the "stars" are called "flowers" and moku are called jip. Last thing we covered was what shapes are alive and dead, which sounds either very insane or very profound, depending on which language you're speaking. I'll be reviewing the standard shapes until next vacation, at which time I'll play my first game and lose. Hah. Father's pretty good, actually. (There's apparently a really good Go player at my church whose wife offered to have him teach me instead. Father was a bit insulted.) Anyway, I'm not to become too good at the game, according to Father, since he knows of fellow schoolmates who grew so obsessed that they wouldn't even eat. Oh, and they failed all their classes. I don't think he has anything to worry about, since I'm not even good at chess.
...Tari
Five days offline, and what do I see? Inboxes and LiveJournal full to the point of being frightening. I am as Internet-obsessed as any other American adolescent, but having a slow connection makes me almost afraid to log on to MSN. All those emails and posts to read and answer, all those sites I want to visit, all the skins to download...In other words, temptation to waste three hours of precious time. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem...
Actually, I'm typing this offline, waiting for the computer to actually connect. This MSN 8 program is not only bulky, badly designed and inefficient, but also crash-prone and probably full of errors.
I've finished Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections, which I concede is creative and ingenious and innovative, etc., etc., etc., but it was difficult to enjoy. I mean, considering that it's about a midwestern American family, going through various stages of midlife crises and/or depression, it couldn't be further detached from the world I live in. I suppose for the critics it captured the essence of being American and suffering the changes in ideas and ideals and ideologies, but as an Asian-American, who has lived on the East Coast all her life (and yes, those nine years in Houston counted as East Coast), it couldn't be more alien.
One would expect that reading fantasy would, well, be escapist, and yes, it is to a certain degree. On the other hand, all the books I really enjoy are probably closest to me in terms of mental familiarity. Even contemporary mainstream books like The Lovely Bones focus on something I can relate to myself, like family life. The Corrections has very few chances for that kind of connection. I don't understand these characters very well, and it's hard to experience their world through their minds. And, well, the fixation on fecal matter and urine may have been thematically important, but was it necessary to describe the smell of rancid urine? I tend to have overly vivid reading experiences, and I nearly threw up on those particular passages. Sheesh.
(Don't get me wrong! It's an amazing book in many respects. Just not at all my type of story.)
L.P. and I also got to see The Hours, which was a good movie. Not a bad one, not at all. I don't think it deserved Best Drama Picture though. I'm sure it was really interesting as a book, but the parallels between the three women became a bit trivial on screen, and there wasn't enough time to expand on the really interesting details. Also, I think Nicole Kidman was the only really outstanding actress. L.P. disagrees with me (in fact, she hated the movie until the New York Times review revised her opinion). But Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore really got on my nerves--their acting was overdone to the point where even I, the film-illterate one, could notice and wince. I suppose it was good overdone acting, but as a certain author likes to rant, good acting isn't good acting if you can tell that it's good acting. That's redundant, but oh well, who cares? It conveys the point; function served. Hmph.
pornkings has an interesting LJ entry on political vs. social, to classify it abruptly. I've been thinking about it during my long ride home from math class. It overturns, in some ways, Mr. Boyle's statement that government functions to maintain balance between freedom and authority in society. It's also, in other ways, an affirmation of the Platonic ideal behind the "philosopher-king" concept--not too surprising, I realize in retrospect, considering Aristotle was the starting point. In any case, I think, ahem, my schoolmates should read it, though I'm sure none of them actually well. After all our posing and posturing on political issues, it should be a refreshing look to reconsider things from a more abstract point of view. Also, it does relate to Ms. Airoldi's lens for The Scarlet Letter last year, though you may not see the connection.Long entry, neh? I'm sure most of you have given up by now. Well, nyah. ::sticks tongue out childishly::
tryogeru has most graciously given me all the scanslations for Hikaru no Go manga. (That reminds me...Sorry, Tryo-chan! I forgot! I'll give you .hack//SIGN next time.) Anyway, Hikaru no Go is really good! I'm already in the stages of extreme obsession. As soon as I have spending money again, I'm going to splurge by buying all 18 manga volumes. Sai is adorable, and I know oniichan would love him, since he has vague similarities to Vash. Actually, he reminds me more of Count D from Pet Shop of Horrors, another vague connection, but stronger than Vash. And well...Hikaru and Akira are lovestruck, in my opinion. I think the premise is rather original--who would write a whole series on the game of Go and carry it off so well?In any case, it has inspired me to continue learning Go, or baduk as we call it in Korean, picking up from when I was seven years old. Father bought a badukpan, a set of stones, and two books, one of which is the Korean translation of a beginner's guide published by the Japanese Go Institute. O_O First lesson: how to play omok, or five-in-a-row. Second lesson: what is connected and what is broken in a game of baduk, then a first game which resulted in Father constructing a net of white stones that appeared out of nowhere and encircled all my black ones. Not a single black stone left on the board at the end of the game. Scary.
This time, Father's going more slowly, and he's given me the book to read. It's actually pretty interesting, seeing the similarities and differences in terminology. In Korean, the "stars" are called "flowers" and moku are called jip. Last thing we covered was what shapes are alive and dead, which sounds either very insane or very profound, depending on which language you're speaking. I'll be reviewing the standard shapes until next vacation, at which time I'll play my first game and lose. Hah. Father's pretty good, actually. (There's apparently a really good Go player at my church whose wife offered to have him teach me instead. Father was a bit insulted.) Anyway, I'm not to become too good at the game, according to Father, since he knows of fellow schoolmates who grew so obsessed that they wouldn't even eat. Oh, and they failed all their classes. I don't think he has anything to worry about, since I'm not even good at chess.
...Tari
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(no subject)
Date: 2003-02-04 08:45 am (UTC)Gee golly, I sure wish that I had a Go teacher....meso meso meso
You did check out the vol. 18? meso meso meso..
O.o
(no subject)
Date: 2003-02-07 07:19 am (UTC)I could put you in contact with the person, but I don't think he's a real Go teacher. Just very good at the game.
...Tari