Took one day to create what I wanted with
Inkscape.
Time was approximately between 3pm - 6pm and then
10pm - 12am.
So what is Inkscape? It's a free
and nifty vector illustration program. In other words -- it's the free
downloadable alternative to Adobe Illustrator. It's fast loading, and
has a lot of tutorial sites online to teach you how to convert what's
dancing around in your imagination to reality as tangible
expression. So what's the use of that? For example... As Valentine's
Day is coming soon, some of you might want to get a jump start, that you may
graphically express yourself... (and
unromantically, albeit economically sound -- by doing it this way, save some
money in the process. :D )
Rest assured though, by this way, your virtual
roses would not be pixelated - the beauty of vector illustration
programs allows scaling to infinity without degradation in quality.
(And the wonders of scaling and
multiplication ensure that the size and amount of your flowers
will satisfy even the most demanding date)
I guess people who graduated from art colleges or
graphic design courses would take maybe just 1hr or 2hrs to complete the stuff
like what I did... Yeah, so it doesn't mean that one can't do things without the
'paper' qualifications.. and there are more striking examples that I have come
across (with the exception of... surgery.)
Yes, so most of the time spent is to get past the
learning curve... and isn't the cornerstone of vector
illustration programs the Bezier curve manipulation tools --
commonly known as the "Pen" tool?
The history is that a French automotive engineer
found a way to define any conceivable curve mathematically, so what are the
implications? It's: that computers have a way to store, display and
manipulate all manner of curves and from that forms all the computer graphics
that we all know and love today.
In more recent ancient days though, draughtsmen had
to use a set of tools called French curves -- which
contrary to what their name suggests, do not imply some ooh-la-la voluptous
Madame (although you sure can use these tools to help you draw
one.)
Somehow, using this set of funny shapes (I am old
enough to remember that a teacher in high school still introduced those cute
doodads by stating "hey you guys... look here.. these funny shapes are not
models of dinosaurs") allows one to draw almost any conceivable curve. Their
method of use has dropped out of contemporary engineering syllabus, though. Just
like devices such as the slide rule.
And yup, discovered today too that you can get the
It's a beautiful font for your Chinese
characters.
With that, you can input Chinese characters into
your Inkscape .svg files.
As the package is rather large, you'll need to give
it some time to download (don't download only at the last moment when you need
it), or find another source.
Unzip the whole package, and copy-paste the .ttf
file into the Control Panel > Fonts folder. That file alone is 17,204 kB
!
And oh, be sure to get the Google Pinyin
IME download.
(I never checked what IME stands for, but it means
sth that lets you type in Chinese/Japanese/Korean characters by romanization
input method.)
Windows XP does have a language bar, the Japanese
input interface is OK, but the Chinese input interface is REALLY CRAPPY. I have
a hard time scrolling through the selection of the characters.
Previously, I have always used the antiquated
NJSTAR CJK IME all the while from the *Windows
95* era... it was only until year 2008, that I switched to M$ Windows
XP's Language Bar, after discovering that its Japanese input is acceptable and
has a mini-dictionary attached. And then added on Google Pinyin IME in about
November 2008 to solve the Chinese input problem.
Quote of the Day (QotD), 3 February 2009 :
Plus: Bonus: Word of the Day (WotD) too
Today's QotD (Quote of the Day):
"People only deserve as much as they expect."
- attributed once again to U Bill
Elaboration:
Quotes are not something that need explanation,
...yet this does not mean that they need be unambiguous. (and yes, and aren't the best quotes often, indeed, those which are ambiguous to the point of being paradoxical --?)
..but anyway... elaboration here it is (*sigh*)
People will only get as much as the answers from the interpretation from their own insight (or lack thereof.)
(And doesn't this rather serendipitously tie in with the quote above, in the first place?)
Fine print:
Another (perhaps) original quote from ubill, notwithstanding
parallel independent discoveries of this insight on other locations or
temporal periods. (but if you own a patent for this piece of intellectual property, however...)
To illustrate:
As Einstein's (at least, attributed to) conversation with a junior academic staff went:
"Professor, what test should we give the students today?"
"The same one that we gave them last week." ("... to take over the world.")
"But the questions are the same!"
"Yes, but the answers will be different."
Yes, the answers will be different, indeed.
###
Its corollary being: People are limited by their expectations.
( More (and much earlier before) than they are limited by their potential. (or lack thereof.) )
###
serendipity
(redirected from serendipitously)
ser·en·dip·i·ty (srn-dp-t)
n.pl.ser·en·dip·i·ties
1. The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.
2. The fact or occurrence of such discoveries.
3. An instance of making such a discovery.
[From the characters in the Persian fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip, who made such discoveries, from Persian Sarandp, Sri Lanka, from Arabic sarandb.]
seren·dipi·tous adj.
seren·dipi·tous·ly adv.
Word History: We are indebted to the English author Horace Walpole for the word serendipity,
which he coined in one of the 3,000 or more letters on which his
literary reputation primarily rests. In a letter of January 28, 1754,
Walpole says that "this discovery, indeed, is almost of that kind which I call Serendipity, a very expressive word." Walpole formed the word on an old name for Sri Lanka, Serendip. He explained that this name was part of the title of "a silly fairy tale, called The Three Princes of Serendip: as
their highnesses traveled, they were always making discoveries, by
accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of...."
Turned up more than half an hour early in an
distant and unfamiliar neighbourhood for a meeting... no choice, had to pass the
time scouting on foot that unfamiliar neighbourhood, a welcome change from
familiar surroundings and all-too-often vehicular travel... when something caught my eye.
(insert suspenseful sound of mariachi-style
guitar strumming)
Sitting there was a large LCD
flat-panel display (Toshiba Regza) ..
However, what stood between us was an even
larger flat panel of sturdy laminated glass.
What was showing on it was the movie rendition of
"Mamma Mia". It was shown in local theatres recently, but I didn't get around to
watching it. There was also a live-action performance of it (funnily, the word
'live-action' never ceases to bring to mind that 'live-action Sailor Moon'
series. Of which I only ever watched about 2 minutes of one episode -- and not
again since, for easily-guessable reasons. Haha :D )
The sturdy glass totally insulated me from any
sound inside the shop... including whatever dialogue the movie was having. But
there were subtitles displayed, and for some strange reason that I still can't
figure out, they were Japanese subtitles.
Well the story seemed to be getting to the climax
part there so I continued watching the silent movie with the subtitles. This was
the first time that I did the exact opposite of watching Japanese dialogue
anime with English subtitles -- and this time, with no aural input
too.
It was the first time then that I
realized that I could follow the Japanese subtitles well -- and it's a
nice feeling when you realize it. (Ii kimochi da ne... yes, that very
same dialogue frequently heard in media from a certain popular
industry)
Well I never had cause or occasion to purposely
attempt that, so wasn't it rather fortuitous that I happened to be there at that
moment?
And so the ending part came and everybody broke out
into song which was translated as well in the subtitles.
It reminded me that I'm always engrossed with
English translations for Japanese songs -- that it's the first time now that I'm
watching a Japanese translation of an English song. I must say that in
my opinion I found that they did the translation quite well -- in the sense that
one could 'feel' what the song intends to express by just reading the subtitles
alone.
So what did I realize from here?
From past experience, when you can read
subtitles fast enough, that's a good sign. Which brings to mind
some fond memories of pausing (and constantly rewinding) karaoke videos some 15
years back. (Yes, when videos were still in VHS tapes, a device some of you may
have to visit a museum to see for the first time) Thinking back about it, I
wonder whether back then anybody could have ever conceived that some everyday
thing like YouTube could even ever exist (and try saying those last 3
words fast!).
To add, this actually did motivate me to walk into
the shop and state my noble intention of actually
procuring optical media goods of confirmed
legality.
However... at this moment, at justice's moment
of triumph... the shop said: "Out of Stock". (By the way, the recommended
retail price of the DVD quoted was RM 59.90.)
But that would not dampen my indomitable spirit of
justice!
(Unless, of course, they release the
optical media good of questionable legality which does contain
subtitles of original quality... as opposed to the China-home-brewed
subtitles of laughable, yet memorable
quality.)
###
So, what is the raison d'être* for
this blog?
Just in case, someday, some shady government agency
(for example, the Inland Revenue Department) erases my memory and returns me as
an unfeeling cyborg ultimate killing machine.
Then perhaps reading this blog entry again will
bring some emotion to pause me from my rampage of wanton destruction (and hence
be the only chance of saving the world.)
楽しい思いでだね。。。 それで それは 思い出話。。。
tanoshii omoide da ne... sorede sorewa omoide
hanashi...
*French for, "making it up as you go
along".
Since this is yet another repository for memories,
record some wise quotes here... Quotes, which are of course also subject to
the boundless fertility** of human interpretation...
ohoho...
1
Jan 23
Kevin quotes:"If u want to build a
ship,don't drum up the men to gather wood,divide the work and give
orders.Instead,teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea."10:56am -
Comment
Encouragement towards cultivating
a healthy yearning for the vast and endless sea:
"Dear villagers, please
be informed that our island is doomed due to the impending eruption of the
volcano anytime soon.
Have a nice day"
Seriously, I agree -- it is
a quote of weighty wisdom, which requires both understanding, and astute
application.
2
Jan 8
Kevin quotes: "Compassion is a mind that is
motivated by cherishing other living beings and wishes to release them from
their suffering."8:59pm - Comment
Kevin quotes: " Holding on to anger
is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you
are the one who gets burned."3:13pm - Comment
Under the burning sunshine, what are you
thinking?
urei no hitomi wa ima nani wo utsusu
What reflects in your sad eyes?
mayowazu ni irareru no nara STEP BY
STEP
If I stay here without any hesitation, step by
step,
tayasui darou kaze no you ni
it should be easy, just like the wind.
ikusen no namida wo koe
Overcoming thousands of teardrops,
akatsuki no kouya wo yuku
I head for the wilderness at dawn.
itsuka kizu wa ieru kara
Someday the wound will heal,
sagasu MYSELF
so I search for myself.
DON'T BE AFRAID kawaru koto wa osoreru koto ja
nai
Don't be afraid, change is nothing to
fear
Kimi ga kimi de aru naraba WE'LL BE WITH
YOU
As long as you remain as yourself, we'll be with
you
odayakana hi wo yumemite
Dreaming of peaceful days...
michinaki tabiji wa tsudzuku
this roadless journey will continue.
(sorrowful violin outro)
[Kanji lyrics]
幾千の涙を越え
思いは荒野を行く
いつか傷は癒えるから
探す、myself
焼け付く日差しの下君は何思う
憂いの瞳は今何を映す
迷わずにいられるのなら step by step
たやすいだろう風のように
幾千の涙を越え
暁の荒野を行く
いつか傷は癒えるから
探す、myself
Don't be afraid, 変わることは恐れることじゃない
君が君であるならば we'll be with you
穏やかな日を夢見て
道無き旅路は続く
At this moment, I am somehow, being uncharacterisically
'emo'. I always pride myself on not being susceptible to mood swings i.e. being
unperturbed** but
Somehow the sorrowful violin intro to this song and
the melody enhance the feeling of melancholy.
Was it the emo that came first that I took note of
the song... or was it the song that triggered the emo in the first
place ?
Whichever, the lyrics reinforce the atmosphere
regardless of the answer to that question.
From the anime "El Cazador De La Bruja"*
and
The lyrics and translation were taken from the
fansubs from TV-Sized opening song.
For me it is a departure from the usual (as is being
emo too??)
Instead of the usual of: Listening to a song
incalculable number of times over the days and months... or years... and then
only one day unexpectedly getting into the mood that connects to it and to write
about it...
...just played this anime to see whether the
optical media of questionable legality is in good working condition or warrants
a product satisfaction guarantee return... and heard the song then, just
once.
Instead of the usual of: Then searching for the
full version of the song, listening to it again an equally incalculable*** number of
times over , going through an incalculable number of dictionary
searches,
interpreting and choosing the words to word it out
in a way that appeals to whatever emotions intended to be expressed by the song
at that moment in time...
...taking it directly from the fansub, and the
TV-Sized one at that too... (only the second time I've done that, but the first
time was relatively recently... a habit forming?)
One thing remains the same though: Typing out all
the kanji... in this case I'm thankful that it's just the TV Size version (I
definitely know... after the past experiences of diligently going through typing
out full-length kanji lyrics)
Although it is taken from the fansub... but
since ever -- I never post about a song that I don't feel
for.
###
1) *Spanish for "The Witch Hunter". That's not an
important point of today's topic, however. Just including it here to satisfy
my seemingly-obsessive desire for completeness and detail.
2)
To keep in line with the running-gag of 'consistency '
as shown in the South Park Anime-style music video "LET'S FIGHTING LOVE" (a.k.a.
Marvelous Pole) -- translating the commonly interspersed English phrases in Japanese songs back
into Japanese in the translated lyrics (DAIJOBU, we do it all the
time!)
It seems out of place in a post of such 'gravity'
as this one, but true to nature, I can't resist.
(And yes, it's *also* that irresistible compulsion
for completeness and detail again. But, isn't the song exhorting one to "remain
as yourself"?)
Hence,
DON'T BE AFRAID kawaru koto wa osoreru koto ja
nai
Should be translated as:
KOWAGARANAI DE, change is nothing to
fear
and
Kimi ga kimi de aru naraba WE'LL BE WITH
YOU
As long as you remain as yourself, WATASHI-TACHI WA
ANATA NO SOBA NI IRU
and even the song performer as well:
savage genius
野蛮な天才
yaban na tensai
...
3)
From the title of the
anime... "El Cazador De La Bruja"... Hence, doesn't it inevitably
follow that the opening song title translation is:
La dirección de la luz
"The Direction of The Light"... rendered in Spanish
as well?
4) **The word "perturbed" doesn't mean "being masturbated by
a pervert."
This is one English-English translation(?) that is totally unnecessary... but as the song lyric in point 2) exhorts...
5) ***"equally incalculable"... = It strikes me that... isn't this a mathematical
impossibility?
(I can't help but to notice it.)
Somehow, at this point, the gravity of the melancholy seems to be
removed, which kind of self-defeats the emotion expressed (or rather, at this rate, intended to be expressed) by this post.
So what remains at this point is an indescribable emotion, which still cannot be expressed...僕のこの気持ちは、やっぱり伝えられない。。。 残してのはへんな感じだ。。。
In the book intriguingly entitled "Whatever You
Think, Think The Opposite", the author exhorts as follows, as regarding to
ideas:
"Give away whatever you have, that leaves you with
nothing, and that makes you having to go out to find out more."
This flies in the face of conventional wisdom which
tells us to keep aces up our sleeves.
But the idea of thinking the opposite triggers us
to realize: by keeping stuff, they become obsolete; you never clear your stock,
so how can you replenish?
It forces us to keep on generating an endless
supply of aces that will never become obsolete.
If the old ones do not go out, how can new ones
come in?
Words are not supposed to live in a
book,
but by your actions, become something that is
real.
2.
When giving is not the problem, but whether others
can accept it is the problem.
yasashiku shitai kedo, daremo sunao ni uketeiru
dekimasu ka dekinai ka, mada tashika nai koto desu.*
Although you want to be kind, not everyone can
accept it.
Or even Realize it for what it is
Even if they realize, doesn't mean that they will
Appreciate it
But does that mean that you should do any different
from what you Want to do?
What I know is that: to not execute up to the full
force of my ability is ...painful.
It is the feeling that somehow one is limiting
one's ability.
It may come across as too overbearing,
but rather than holding myself back
I'd rather find people who have the capacity to
accept it
rather than restricting myself.
Humans have a tendency to reject perfection and
thisis perhaps well illustrated by one part of the dialogue in the Matrix which
I remember most clearly.
The first Matrix was designed to be a paradise (the
Garden of Eden comes to mind)
...they cannot accept Perfection... and as they
rejected it the whole batch (of human-cell batteries) was lost.
As a result, they had to redesign the Matrix to
represent a shitty world, that humans can accept it and go on with their purpose
in life (which is to generate electricity for bots.)
*The Japanese language as rendered here might be grammatically suspect in that same manner as that most recently seen in the South Park Anime-style Music Video -- "LET'S FIGHTING LOVE" (a.k.a. Marvelous Pole.)
3.
Living in caution
Live in too much caution.
Require certainty before
announcements.
But isn't there a danger in living
in caution - a hidden danger - and isn't that which is hidden
the most insidious, the most dangerous?
Previously I would always want to have everything
reasonably certain before I make an announcement... notify others about
developments.
But now, I have to make "before-hand" calls -
instead of "after-hand"* calls.
*This grammatically-suspect, albeit catchy
terminology, was first encountered in another blog... which has other
delightfully memorable phrases quaintly translated from the Chinese, one example
such as:
"Who doesn't know his mum is a woman?"
:D
(Anyway, now that we mentioned it, that phrase "who
doesn't know his mum is a woman" is aptly used to describe the utility of
"after-hand" calls.)
4.
Execution.
Many people have gone into the execution stage
before I have, much earlier than I have.
I guess to be a good executor (of course you don't
want to go to the execution stage as the executed), one important thing to
reflect about is,
one's attitude towards problems, "*Sigh* why does
this have to happen to me". "Sigh, what did I get myself into now."
Not that, but instead,
come out and solve problems.
After all, isn't living all about coming out and
solving problems.
It sounds a bit masochistic but rather than
expecting things to always go smoothly in a day, it is better to be masochistic
than unrealistic.
So, how does it feel to cut loose, without any
safety net?
After all, some things have to be done, and
somebody needs to do it.
5.
Line up what you want to do for the day, and do
it.
Don't over-tire yourself, by realizing that things
need time to come to fruition.
Time is an ingredient in itself - by rushing things
or trying to accelerate completion, ironically, you exclude an ingredient in its
making - which has the exact contradictory circular effect of making completion
impossible.
With the things I do to relax, I wonder whether
there's any differentiation between what is 'work' and what is 'relaxing'
because the things that I do to relax needs 'work' as well.
6.
New words learnt today:
Learning is an ongoing process (and don't human
beings get better at what they do everyday?) but didn't record down any in a
long time.
確かな事実 【たしかなじじつ】 (n)
established (certain) fact
確かな筋 【たしかなすじ】 (n) reliable
source
確かめる(P); 慥かめる
【たしかめる】 (v1,vt) to ascertain; to check; to make sure;
(P)
自信なし 【じしんなし】 (exp) (I am)
uncertain; unsure
心許ない 【こころもとない】 (adj-i) uneasy; unsure; unreliable
あの人の言うことはどうも心もとないわね。 [F] I cannot place confidence in his
words
誰にでも 【だれにでも】 (conj) (adv.
equivalent of 誰でも) (See 誰でも) (uk) anyone (used with positive verbs); anybody;
everyone; whoever
１度や２度の失敗はだれにでもある。
Everybody fails once or twice.
その犬は見知らぬ人には誰にでも吠える。The
dog barks at all strangers.
ほとんど誰も同じ授業に行くことはありません。 Almost no one goes to the same
classes.
私は誰も見ていないことを確かめた。I
made sure that no one was watching.
誰しも 【だれしも】 (n) (1) (more emphatic than 誰も) (See
誰も) (uk) everyone; anyone;
(2) no-one (with neg. verb)
誰しも礼儀正しい人が好きだ。
Everybody likes polite people.
人間は誰しも死を避けられない。 No
one can avert death.
接受 【せつじゅ】 (n,vs) receive;
intercept
接受国 【せつじゅこく】 (n) recipient
country
受け止める 【うけとめる】 (v1,vt) to catch; to stop the blow; to
react to; to take; (P)・・・はぁ、どう状況を受け止めればいいのかしら。 [F] ... Aaah, just how am I supposed to cope with
this I wonder?
cómo me duele perderte - by Gloria Estefan.
or in plain English,
"how it hurts me to miss" (especially when trying to catch the girl when you execute a salsa drop)
So, what to do, but for me to painstakingly translate for your (yess, you!) benefit to sing along in the car during that daily commute to work? Con amor ~! ^__~
Como duele el dia nublado
How it hurts, this cloudy day
cómo el tiempo es tan pesado! sí
How time feels so heavy! yes
porque a diario pienso en ti.
Because every day I think of you.
qué bien grita el silencio!
How great are the silent screams
qué bien duelen los recuerdos! sí
How hurtful are the memories! yes
porque todo habla de ti. Because all of them are about you.
qué delicia tu sensualidad!
How delightfully sensual you were
qué locura cuando te sentia muy de cerca,
How crazy I felt when you were close
y ahora que estas lejos hasta el universo ha muerto!
And now that these are all far away the universe feels dead
cómo fue que tu dejaste de querer? Why did you want to stop?
te olvidaste del ayer,
You forgot the past,
de nuestras miradas de nuestra piel?
When our eyes were on each other?
no te duele asi perder
Does it not hurt to lose
lo que fue perfecto y acordado fiel?
What they agreed was perfect and faithful?
lo que me queda por decir
What I have left to say
es cómo duele perderte ay! ay! ay!
is how it hurts to miss ay! ay! ay!
cómo me duele...
how it hurts ...
qué pequeño se hace el cielo!
How small Heaven is
qué humillante es el deseo, sí
how humiliating it is, this desire, yes
porque ya no estás aqui!
because you're not here
qué sincero se hace el frío
how sincere the cold feels
como hiel mi sufrimiento!
as is my suffering
ya no se lo que es vivir! this is no longer what it is to live
qué delicia tu sensualidad!
How delightfully sensual you were
qué locura cuando te sentia muy de cerca,
How crazy I felt when you were close
y ahora que estas lejos hasta el universo ha muerto!
And now that these are all far away the universe feels dead
cómo fue que tu dejaste de querer? Why did you want to stop?
te olvidaste del ayer,
You forgot the past,
de nuestras miradas de nuestra piel?
When our eyes were on each other?
no te duele asi perder
Does it not hurt to lose
lo que fue perfecto y acordado fiel?
What they agreed was perfect and faithful?
lo que me queda por decir
What I have left to say
es cómo duele perderte ay! ay! ay!
is how it hurts to miss ay! ay! ay!
cómo me duele...
how it hurts ...
qué delicia tu sensualidad!
qué locura cuando te sentia muy de cerca,
y ahora que estas lejos hasta el universo ha muerto!
cómo fue que tu dejaste de querer?
te olvidaste del ayer,
de nuestras miradas de nuestra piel?
no te duele asi perder
lo que fue perfecto y acordado fiel?
lo que me queda por decir
es cómo duele perderte ay! ay! ay!
cómo me duele...
con amor, ` Bill ~ (never had the habit of putting my true name on posts, but since everyone on another blog kinda insists...)
those broad shoulders, I wish they
were only for me
yasashisa wa tokidoki
zankoku dakara
motomeru hodo kotae wo
miushinau
Because kindness sometimes can be cruel
I seem to be losing sight of
the answer
I've always been hoping for.
ame agari no matsu
niji ga mieru nara
ima arukidasou namida ga
hajimaru
While waiting for the rain to
stop,
if a rainbow
appears...
Now, as I walk, tears start to
flow.
kimi ga iru kara
asu ga aru kara
hitorikiri ja ikite yukenai
kara
konna ni chikaku ni
kanjiru
sore ga ai deshou
Because you're
here
because there's
tomorrow
because being alone, I
can't live
Feeling you this close
to me
could this be
love
namida mo kazu mo
itami wo kimi wa shiteru
kara
suki to sono me no naka
ni
tashika na imi wo
sagashite
egao wo mitsuketai.
Counting my
tears
because you too
understand this pain
To make sure of these
feelings
I’ll look for it in
your eyes,
I want to see your
smile.
nani mo iwanai demo
konna kimochi ga
kimi no mune ni
chikarareba ii noni
Even without saying
anything
these
feelings...
to draw strength from your
heart
how nice would that
be
sugoshitsuzu machi wa (tsuzu-ku
continue)
iro wo kaeru kedo
hora omoide ga mata hitotsu
fueta
going through the
city
although the colors may have
changed
but see, yet another memory comes to
mind
kimi no kotoba no
hitotsugi no tsu wo
ima wa dakishimenareru kara
kitto
futari de kasane a atte
yuku
sore ga ai
deshou
your
words
could this be
love
dare moshi nagai
ashita ga made iru to
shitemo
daijobu mono nakanaide
kimi to te to te wo
tsunaide
aruite tsuzu yuku.
It may take
long
But tomorrow is still
there
It’s alright, don’t
cry
Hand-in-hand together
with you
We continue
walking.
futoshita
shunkan
______ kimochi ja naku
sugoshitsuzu ______ yuku mono na
no
ai suru kimochi
wa
...moment
...not these
feelings.
...
...the feeling of being in
love.
kimi ga iru kara
asu ga aru kara
hitorikiri ja ikite yukenai
kara
konna ni chikaku ni
kanjiru
sore ga ai deshou
Because you're
here
because there's
tomorrow
because being alone, I
can't live
Feeling you this close
to me
could this be
love
namida wa kazumo
itami wo kimi wa shiteru
kara
suki to sono me no naka
ni
tashika na imi wo
sagashite
egao mitsuketai.
Counting my
tears
because you too
understand this pain
To make sure of these
feelings
I’ll look for it in
your eyes,
I want to see your
smile.
Just turned on this song… just
felt in the mood today, gave it two listens and somehow got triggered to write a
translation for this. Yes, I must be in that moe moe mood
again.
Suzuka… this anime, I’ve mentioned
it in my previous post… which was written quite some time back… but just
imported it to this blog here.
Listening to this song and seeing
the visuals in this music video, and the second music video of the previous
Suzuka post… it sure does bring back memories.
That’s because … about the second
video of the previous post (the one with ‘atmosphere’), the same thing that
happened to the main character happened to myself before … No, I’m not referring
to the unceremonious rejection, being
slapped hard by the girl and the consequent usage of copious amounts of tissue
paper to stem the unceasing tears.
Recently, from a trip to the Japanese Summer Fest Charity Sale
(article at Preston Toh’s blog and Shin-Otaku) I returned with a set of Suzuka
manga. Yes, I have the whole anime set and yet I got the manga as well… I never
imagined I would actually purchase it but oh well… the price it was offered at
was also unexpectedly irresistible.
I guess why I inexorably warmed up
to this series is because I can relate to it. In particular the feeling of
stepping into a competition. That’s probably because the same experience that
happened to the main character happened to me as well. Although I never
seriously competed competitively but I’ve always been blessed with a pair of
fast legs. As late as university days… I was involved in a 100m race, as part of
some internal competition. One which I didn’t have much expectation for when I
got ready at the starting blocks. And even when it started, I had an extremely
slow start… 1/3 of the way into the race and I was fourth,
but...
Surprisingly though, from that
point onwards I warmed up into the rhythm and accelerated with ease ahead of the leader as soon as
just after the 1/2 mark...! That I even surprised myself (and the now-previous
leader too). And it all looked like I was heading for a glorious
come-from-behind win... But then, as in the video, the whole scene turned into
‘negative’ color snapshots, as what could happen to pair of fast legs with no
regular training... running flat out... happened.
Suffice to say I didn’t do a
victory parade later. But the feeling of the adrenaline rush you get when you
surge ahead... I’m glad that, in my young days, I had the opportunity to
experience that.
Yes, and of course too the
experience of those other feelings
... in particular, the one as expressed at the opening of the video -- "L'apparition de cette fille, que j'ai vue par hasard a
ma future ecole... fut tout simplement merveilleuse... et plus belle que tout ce
que j'ai jamais vu".
###
For this translation, I don’t even
know the name of the song (although I very much would like to) and as such don’t
have and can’t find the romanized lyrics or anything at all... so for some
sections there, I just have to guess.
Unlike the translations that I’ve
done before, I didn’t translate every word strictly literally this time, rather
I just went at it with a more relaxed state of mind.
To just relate the story that the
song tells.
There were some segments that I
couldn’t catch - if you could, help me out - but I think almost the entire
meaning of the song is captured in the parts that I did, especially the parts
sung in the chorus melody (marked in blue.)
I especially like the part when
she sings “kimi to te to te wo tsunaide”. Many times I've listened to this song but I never noticed anything about it...
and I thought I wouldn’t, so when I suddenly 'heard' the meaning, I surprised myself... as it
was when I was not really trying hard to do anything.
A complete translation would have
a literal translation, followed by the kanji and kana and a vocabulary list...
but I’m just content with knowing and sharing right now, what the gist of the
song means.
Didn't write for a very LONG time. So was browsing
through my old blog entries here and came across this song again.
And in a bit of a 萌え萌えmoe moeatmosphere today, so ...
A ballad is a story told in song. I originally
posted this up on Valentine's Day, this year
(2008), which was before I started this Joomla-powered blog on White Day, 2008. Well, I finally got up to transfer that entire page
(original link here) to this Joomla page. It featured
the opening song of the anime Suzuka - both the "TV
Size" anime intro's music video and the full song's music video -- the latter
with more 'atmosphere'.
So, here it is:
Thursday 14 February 2008
"Ballad - INTRO"
A ballad is a story told in
song.
And what day more appropriate than today... and what ballad more suitable to begin... than START LINE...........?
スタートライン romaji STARTLINE by COACH☆ from Suzuka涼風
(OP)
Your profile
looking up to the blue sky,
Is like the paused spiral of time. I am always striving hard,
to hide my feelings,
It
becomes suffocating (yearningly) and
painful.
aoi sora miageru yokogao
tomatta toki no
rasen
itsudemoijippari de
kimochi kakushite
iru
setsunakute (koishikute) kurushiku naru
I am not really that strong,
I'm
just afraid of the distance between the two of us.
I
want to feel your touch, my heart. And if I
can reach it even by taking the long
way,
sonna ni tsuyokunai hazu hontou wa
futari no kyori ni okubyou ni naru sawatte hoshii no MY HEART toomawari shitemo tadoritsukeru no nara
Start line, the story that unties
a knotted heart.
Bid farewell to our tears, and let's walk towards the
future. I will learn to embrace in my heart, the
kindness that I've discovered. So
please, Just stay as you are for
now.
START LINE kokoro himotoku STORY
namida ni sayonara shite mirai
wo aruiteyukou
mitsuketa yasashisa mune ni daiteyukeru kara
onegai, ima
dake wa sonomama de ite
Your breath almost touches me,
Like the unstoppable spiral of
love.
I want you to look for me, even though we are right next to each
other.
I want to meet you (I want to touch you), so much that tears are
flowing.
todokisou anata no
toiki
tomaranai koi no
rasen
mitsukete hoshii no sugu tonari ni iru noni
aitakute (furetakute) namida wa dechau
I hid the inner feelings of my trembling heart.
Teach me the
magical charm of courage.
Please help me, my dear.
Please give me courage
to put them into words.
yureteru mune no oku wo kakushiteru
yuuki no omajinai wo
oshiete tasukete hoshii no MY
DEAR kotoba ni dekiru yuuki wo
kudasai
Start line, the story that spins the future. I want your smile and tears to be only for me, But I
think I'll be happy with just your kindness. So please, Just
stay as you are for now.
START LINE
ashita wo tsumugu STORY
sono egao
wo namida wo hidorijime ni
shitai kedo
anata no yasashisa
dake de ureshii to omou
onegai, ima dake wa sono mama de ite
Start line, the story that unties a knotted heart.
Bid farewell to our
tears, and let's walk towards the future. I will
learn to embrace in my heart, the kindness that I've discovered. So please,
Just stay as you are for now, just for
now.
START LINE
kokoro himotoku STORY
namida ni sayonara shite mirai wo
aruiteikou
mitsuketa yasashisa mune ni daiteyukeru kara
onegai, ima dake wa ima dake wa sonomama de
ite
And as usual, educational material for make benefit ... .........well, make
benefit whoever who can gather some benefit from there... I'm happy... (most
especially if that whoever happens to be me)
成
る(P); 為る 【なる】 (v5r,vi) (1) (uk) to become; to get; to grow; to be; to
reach; to attain; (2) to result in; to prove to be; (3) to consist of;
to be composed of; (4) to succeed; to be complete; (5) to change into;
to be exchanged for; (6) to play a role; (7) to be promoted (shogi); (P)
Since I've already noted so much... why not might as well just do the same for the chorus as well...
himo 紐
紐 【ひも】 (n) (1) string; cord; (2) man who is financially dependent on a
woman (such as a gigolo or, in the case of a prostitute, a pimp); pimp; (P) [Ex][G][GI][S][A][W]
Well, it was just an afterthought to note these words here since I
already knew the meaning... but it looks like my benevolent action was
rewarded... as I get to know some interesting meaning... that I previously did not know...
That was the "TV Size" version of the song... for 'atmosphere'. For completeness, here's the full-length version of the song... against a different backdrop... with even more 'atmosphere' ...than the modest 1 minute of the "TV Size".
There's a PV for this song also, but I did not include it because it
doesn't give the same mood; it doesn't have the same 'atmosphere'.
Kibun ga chigai datte ~!
START
LINE, from this
anime: Suzuka
...which I finished watching in ... early 2007 I
think... wading through all 26 (twenty-six) episodes
or so, which I feel is just the appropriate length for an anime... somehow
hearing that some animes can run until... like... "Episode 269" and are still running...
doesn't seem to appeal to me to begin watching ones as such...
"Why did Mahathir ever step down? Or even need
to step down?"
This question lingering ever since... he stepped
down. And especially since he started going 100% flaming after his hand-picked
successor's arse.
Well, today is 916, the proposed date of the
'switch-over' of the government. Notice that, if you look carefully, it is a
palindrome of sorts - reversed upside-down, it would still
read the same.
...and what better date ... and what
better title ... that would lead us into the actual plotline of events...? (coming
soon to theatres near you.)
'916'
Mahteer (Eric Tsang) is faced
with rumblings both from within the party and throughout the country ever
since his dismissal of former deputy leader, Unwar.
With it being 'not so comfortable' sitting in the
main seat anymore, it makes sense that he publicly withdraws, but at the same
time, he wants to continue having all his projects still running and the
benefits reaped still ongoing. So he needs to choose a non-threatening
hand-picked successor.
Whoever who becomes the successor must be an
obedient, unambitious one and follow 100% the experienced mentor and
predecessor's 'recommendations', that is, keeping in place all policies and
all projects as they were.
Looking for such a suitable candidate, he settles
on Bardwee (Tony Leung Chiu Wai). Bardwee
(with his deputy in the background)
Bardwee used to be in a opposing clique which had become out of favour, and by
doing him the 'favour' of bringing him back once again to favour and
prominence -- as the future Prime Minister in-waiting, no less -- Mahteer
hopes that these facts have been sufficiently impressed upon him, thus
ingratiating him to the 'outgoing' leader.
Thus, from this clever maneouvre, no more ongoing
heat and criticisms from the after-effects of the Unwar conviction will cease
to be leveled at Mahteer, as he has already publicly gracefully withdrawn, his
projects and benefits from them will still continue, and all problems just
queuing up that the Prime Minister is responsible to solve...
will not have to be solved by him... but by whoever becomes his successor.
And in the queue are not a few problems... due to
the unaccountability of the usage of almost 30 years of petroleum and other
national revenue (skilled industries, trade, etc.) coupled with the world
environment of rising commodity prices, especially petroleum, which no one had
made preparations for the nation to be able to benefit from future price rises
NOR be shielded from bad effects thereof, the successor will be hard pressed
to present a performance of comparable stature, or even to try to not have
poorer performance. Simple analogy, it's like having RM 1 million when you
started out as the CEO, then you use RM 999,999 for lots of 'advertising' and
projecting a good image to all the shareholders, and then when it comes for
you to retire ... you say to your successor as CEO .. "Congratulations! I've
chosen you from among so many to become my trusted successor. Nah... here's RM
1. Help me to look after and make sure my ongoing works are still running,
will ya?"
(And with that Mahteer, in accordance to venerated tradition, 'golden basin wash hand'.)
...
So it looks like it solves multiple problems
in one fell swoop. Clever!
But Bardwee is not so stupid. He thinks to
himself, "Wah, like this you mah very untung. All the benefit you take, all
the shit I eat". Knowing this, when he takes the reins, with the outstanding
landslide approval given by all the gang members after his appointment, as
soon as possible, he cancels all the projects of his predecessor and
implements many of his own with his own teams of people.
Knowing that he will be hard pressed to even begin
to do anything impressive with the little that he is given to take over, he
does not even attempt to shine up to the achievements of his illustrious
predecessor, instead, he tries to accumulate as much as he can, while he
can, and tries to stay in power as long as he can, in the process, buying
properties in Australia and a yacht in preparation for his retirement.
Doing all this of course will exacerbate the
problems under the ever-challenging business conditions, and unmitigated high
prices cause the gang members to become restless and unruly.
Eventually, to address the unrest he names a
successor and announces a succession plan with solid timeline! However, his
hand-picked successor supports him to stay on longer, out of respect.
("Nah. Here's 10sen. Take it and all the best in continuing the efforts
"we've" made so far, alright? Cheerio!" "Wah like this you mah very untung...
all the benefit you take, all the shit I eat")
Meanwhile Unwar (Anthony Wong Chau Sang) has been released
from prison by Bardwee to keep Mahteer under threat i.e. make it not so
convenient for the former leader to move around. But day by day, Unwar
continues to grow in influence, gathering many disgruntled ex-gang members.
Matters all come to a head on the fateful date
'916'. Not long after, Unwar, being backed by overwhelming popular support by
many gang members shifting their allegiance to him, becomes the new leader.
However, it is revealed to the audience: Bardwee
is actually a mole planted by Unwar a long time ago, trained with all those
qualities to be an obedient, unassuming, non-threatening, clean and loyal
member of the gang.
Bardwee the mole.
Bardwee is expelled as part of the act.
Unwar planned to take over all along, from a long time ago, even before that one day
when he challenged Mahteer, thus forcing Mahteer's hand to dismiss him
forcefully. However, he anticipated that he might need to go to jail if his
direct Plan A failed, thus he had a Plan B all along. In the case of a
'failed' Plan A, his jailing would cause the effect of popular discontent
among the gang members, and his Plan B will start running.
Plan A.
Unwar in jail.
Bardwee will destroy BN from the inside by deliberately being unpopular and
losing support, but at the same time as compensation, he is given full licence
to accumulate as much as he needs in whatever way that he can, both ways
paving the road for a popular Unwar return to the helm and as preparation for
himself to retire when his services are done... thus serving multiple
purposes in one fell swoop. Clever! Plan B.
So it has been confirmed that leadership has been
transferred to Unwar... Bardwee quietly leaves the office by lift, however, at
the same time, one of the ex-subleaders of a gang division Kir
(Dion Lam Dik-On or better known as 'Del Piero') in his hurry to
destroy evidence before the new leadership takes over the office,
inadvertantly also destroys all records of Bardwee, the mole, being the actual
saviour and hero of the story. Dion Lam
Dik-On as Kir.
Bardwee reaches the ground floor and walks out the
front door to catch his ride to the airport.
At the same time Unwar walks into the building, but they don't notice each
other. The
classic scene.
However, moments after Bardwee steps out of the building, he is set upon by a
crazed BN die-hard supporter and shot to death.
Thus, in the end, nobody ever finds out that he was a mole.
Coming to a theatre near you.
### THE END. ###
If you don't understand the meaning of the word
'satire', please, stay far, far away. THANK YOU ~
many intuitive search methods, including stroke recognition
capacity for speech readout of Chinese characters (refer to author's site)
words searched automatically link to its most common phrases
Flash tutorial included in the download
and many more!
Just helping him to host these useful software up, they are available here in the Downloads section if you are not able to download directly from his site.
The writeup, setup and usage instructions, etc. are all at his site as well as inside the zip package.
r
n-d
p
)
p, Sri Lanka, from Arabic sarand
Plan A.
Unwar in jail.
Plan B.
