I don't drink beer. Actually, until this month, most I have remember tasting was budwiser when I was a wee child. I didn't like it. Over the years of an adult, I have tasted rum, martinis, and wine... Neither of which I liked. I did sample Sake, and I didn't mind that too much. Otherwise, never had beer than the early life memory. I've been curious though, why it was sought out by so many young and old adults. The culture behind it. As well, I was just looking for a different taste that I figured beer may have....
So, within the two weeks period, I have purchased Third Shift Amber Lager and Leinenkugel's Orange Shandy within a can. A small can. I see no reason to buy more than what I feel I'd drink. Overall, I'm not too impressed.
Third Shift Amber Lager thoughts: I bought this thinking I'd enjoy it as it'd have a darker taste to it. While I have nothing to compare this too, not even the Orange Shandy as of now, I found it... understandable why someone would drink this. I personally didn't dislike it, but I found myself unable to drink the rest when my stomach was full of deer meat. I would say the taste is slightly like Cooking rice wine, but with a deeper taste. Probably good for cooking. Other than that, I wouldn't know how else to describe it.
Leinenkugel's Orange Shandy: I thought I may enjoy this for the orange flavor, however... I was wrong. It tasted like I would imagine spoiled orange soda would taste like. Although, I don't think orange soda can spoil. Regardless, I found it very distasteful. It was much easier on the stomach though, unfortunately the beer didn't have a strong flavor. I found myself unsatisfied with each sip.
Over all, I'd probably go with the Third Shift Lager if I was forced to drink one or the other as I didn't dislike it. When I think back to the lager, I think to myself... it wasn't that bad, just wasn't that good. In the end, so far... beer hasn't won me over. It's just too... spoiled tasting to me. *shrugs* Maybe I'll find the taste that will wow me... So far, it isn't in beer, definitely not in soda or juices. Cooked food can sometimes do this, but as far as drinks... Mostly misses.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
Monday, November 18, 2013
Kanjimon: Gotta Catch Em All Entry 3:奴
My Source is from Jim Breen's WWWJDIC or http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?1C
Kanji Entry 3:
Character: 奴
On Reading:ド
Kun Reading:やつ、やっか
Stroke Count: 5
Radical:女
Possible English Definitions:Guy, Chap, Fellow, Manservant, slave
I found this kanji rather deceptive. I found this in dialogue of a game I'm translating, but used as a suffix, much like Kun,Chan,Sama are... However, from the variety of definitions that I received, it could either be very casual identification of friend or an demeaning insult. Although, I did find one entry through the WWWJDIC search where if it is used as a suffix, it is mostly demeaning. So, this is a tricky kanji in terms of connotation and usage. Honestly, I don't even think it is used often in other material. I could be wrong as my exposure to the japanese language is still limited overall, but so far, it seems a rare kanji as there are many other forms of insults that I see more often. However, it may be more used when speaking not in a casual setting? I don't know honestly.
On further inspection, I realized I was totally wrong on it being used a suffex in the sentence I pulled this kanji from. It has の in the sentence... this gives a totally different meaning. The sentence is「 フン、ユーグの奴、我々を息切 って何 を企んているかと思えば、アサシンと手を組もう というの か」, Essentially meaning, "Heh, Yuug's Slave, What plan does he have a hand in to use the assassin's team to catch us." ... at least, I think that is what it essentially means. I'm still not that good at reading sentences, but it makes sense!
End of Entry
Kanji Entry 3:
Character: 奴
On Reading:ド
Kun Reading:やつ、やっか
Stroke Count: 5
Radical:女
Possible English Definitions:Guy, Chap, Fellow, Manservant, slave
I found this kanji rather deceptive. I found this in dialogue of a game I'm translating, but used as a suffix, much like Kun,Chan,Sama are... However, from the variety of definitions that I received, it could either be very casual identification of friend or an demeaning insult. Although, I did find one entry through the WWWJDIC search where if it is used as a suffix, it is mostly demeaning. So, this is a tricky kanji in terms of connotation and usage. Honestly, I don't even think it is used often in other material. I could be wrong as my exposure to the japanese language is still limited overall, but so far, it seems a rare kanji as there are many other forms of insults that I see more often. However, it may be more used when speaking not in a casual setting? I don't know honestly.
On further inspection, I realized I was totally wrong on it being used a suffex in the sentence I pulled this kanji from. It has の in the sentence... this gives a totally different meaning. The sentence is「 フン、ユーグの奴、我々を息切 って何 を企んているかと思えば、アサシンと手を組もう というの か」, Essentially meaning, "Heh, Yuug's Slave, What plan does he have a hand in to use the assassin's team to catch us." ... at least, I think that is what it essentially means. I'm still not that good at reading sentences, but it makes sense!
End of Entry
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
It's a slow progress, but it is progress.
I feel as if things have slown down a bit. It's been two months(?) before I finally transcribed up to Act 4 on this japanese version of a game. And while I have noted a relative increase in speed, I also noted that I still hit the same obstacles... that is the vocabulary I learn in study doesn't really fit in with the vocabulary in the game. Not everyone in the game is interesting in telling people hello, goodbye, where is McDonalds, but there are some overall common expressions and general grammar that has helped me tremendously. Specifically separating nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
Aside from that, I've noted I can somewhat read children stories in japanese. I still need help with an english counterpart, but I can manage. Other reading, like say Onizuka... not so much.
Either way, progress is progress. I'm 50 percent done with transcribing this game. I think I'll have almost 80 if not 100 percent transcribed before Christmas. I might be too optimistic though. With that said, I'll have to run a comb through all of my documents, find the missing Kanji(That which I couldn't decipher), and actually put it into comprehensible English, as well, re-organize them in a linear fashion than grouped up by town... as a script so I can properly Let's Play it.
I considered doing another Kanjimon entry too, but... eh. Maybe next week.
Aside from that, I've noted I can somewhat read children stories in japanese. I still need help with an english counterpart, but I can manage. Other reading, like say Onizuka... not so much.
Either way, progress is progress. I'm 50 percent done with transcribing this game. I think I'll have almost 80 if not 100 percent transcribed before Christmas. I might be too optimistic though. With that said, I'll have to run a comb through all of my documents, find the missing Kanji(That which I couldn't decipher), and actually put it into comprehensible English, as well, re-organize them in a linear fashion than grouped up by town... as a script so I can properly Let's Play it.
I considered doing another Kanjimon entry too, but... eh. Maybe next week.
Monday, October 21, 2013
My thoughts on.... Grand Theft Auto 5
I am a fan of Grand Theft Auto series. I enjoy the quality work that Rockstar generally puts out. I will say I feel GTA5 is overhyped, but it isn't bad. Actually, I think it's one of the better games than the others, but something is just missing in GTA5, and I haven't figured out what.
The story overall is kind of how I used to envision if the Three Stooges was a violent, organized trio. Thus that is the ride of the story. It isn't about the side characters, as majority of them are flat and uninteresting, but how much shit the three can handle on their own and as a team. I think it's quite a fantastic development of the three characters. I enjoyed it very much, and even made me think of my own personal relationships, specifically a close friend of mine who, to a degree, reminded me of Trevor. It's really frightening to think about.
I also like to note that this is probably the first GTA of the series that does not glorify crime. by that, I mean, the wealth doesn't make them powerful and happy. The people who do the crime are not always cunning, smart, or even remotely sane. There is a level of brutality that may actually exceed how actual organized crime really is. It's an interesting perspective.
Aside from story, the gameplay is a bit better as far as firefighting. Otherwise, I think it's a slight step down in automobile control and even police AI. I enjoy the new mechanics though like hiding and evading cops. There are even other subtle mechanics that I didn't know about until recently like being able to switch out cars and be undetected by cops if they didn't spot you in the new car.That's a hell of a good step in the right direction... but damn, they need to polish the driving and cop AI.
I also hate racing games... why do they have them?
As well, I found all the side games boring. While they are well done, and probably do well on its own, but that is the problem... they are games of their own in a way. I don't want to play a game in my game. I want to be able to play THE game without annoying distractions. I do not understand the need to simulate life in a game. Granted, it does bring a sense of atmosphere with the area, but it feels unrelated and dry as oppose to GTA3-SA where the side missions granted you interesting side plots or unlockables.
My other problem... and this one I still haven't placed my thumb on it quite well, but it doesn't capture the spirit of SA. I understand that it is an entirely different game, and even reboot, but there was just something missing. I remember SA having a kind of mythos to itself. You would find landmark that seemed to have nothing to do with anything than breed rumors. Like a grave with a shovel in the middle of nowhere. The closest recapturing that weird, mysterious feeling is when you ran into such things in Red Dead Redemption. In GTA5, there isn't much interesting landmarks I noted. It felt like mostly desert, mountains, and boring water plants. It became too real and less of the imagined for me. It's a shame really.
To end on a better note, I do enjoy the graphics. Probably the only game where I stood at a cliff over an ocean watching the sun set, before stepping off to be eaten by sharks. The colors are magnificent when it reflects off the water. Honestly, I think GTA5 captures the beauty of water than any other game. It's really a beautiful game.
Well, that's that... It is a good game, some personal let downs, but it was worth the money I preordered the game with.I regret nothing.
The story overall is kind of how I used to envision if the Three Stooges was a violent, organized trio. Thus that is the ride of the story. It isn't about the side characters, as majority of them are flat and uninteresting, but how much shit the three can handle on their own and as a team. I think it's quite a fantastic development of the three characters. I enjoyed it very much, and even made me think of my own personal relationships, specifically a close friend of mine who, to a degree, reminded me of Trevor. It's really frightening to think about.
I also like to note that this is probably the first GTA of the series that does not glorify crime. by that, I mean, the wealth doesn't make them powerful and happy. The people who do the crime are not always cunning, smart, or even remotely sane. There is a level of brutality that may actually exceed how actual organized crime really is. It's an interesting perspective.
Aside from story, the gameplay is a bit better as far as firefighting. Otherwise, I think it's a slight step down in automobile control and even police AI. I enjoy the new mechanics though like hiding and evading cops. There are even other subtle mechanics that I didn't know about until recently like being able to switch out cars and be undetected by cops if they didn't spot you in the new car.That's a hell of a good step in the right direction... but damn, they need to polish the driving and cop AI.
I also hate racing games... why do they have them?
As well, I found all the side games boring. While they are well done, and probably do well on its own, but that is the problem... they are games of their own in a way. I don't want to play a game in my game. I want to be able to play THE game without annoying distractions. I do not understand the need to simulate life in a game. Granted, it does bring a sense of atmosphere with the area, but it feels unrelated and dry as oppose to GTA3-SA where the side missions granted you interesting side plots or unlockables.
My other problem... and this one I still haven't placed my thumb on it quite well, but it doesn't capture the spirit of SA. I understand that it is an entirely different game, and even reboot, but there was just something missing. I remember SA having a kind of mythos to itself. You would find landmark that seemed to have nothing to do with anything than breed rumors. Like a grave with a shovel in the middle of nowhere. The closest recapturing that weird, mysterious feeling is when you ran into such things in Red Dead Redemption. In GTA5, there isn't much interesting landmarks I noted. It felt like mostly desert, mountains, and boring water plants. It became too real and less of the imagined for me. It's a shame really.
To end on a better note, I do enjoy the graphics. Probably the only game where I stood at a cliff over an ocean watching the sun set, before stepping off to be eaten by sharks. The colors are magnificent when it reflects off the water. Honestly, I think GTA5 captures the beauty of water than any other game. It's really a beautiful game.
Well, that's that... It is a good game, some personal let downs, but it was worth the money I preordered the game with.I regret nothing.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Kanjimon: Gotta Catch Em All Entry 2: 似合い
My Source is from Jim Breen's WWWJDIC or http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?1C
Kanji Entry 2:
Kanji: 似合い
Kun reading: にあい
English meaning: Well-matched, suited
For this kanji, I just pulled randomly from Great Teacher Onizuka manga which may be something I'll be doing for right now as I haven't came across Kanji that I felt was worth noting on a blog. The kanji was picked from the first volume while flipping and stopping at a random page and pointing at a kanji.
The sentence is 「なかなか似合ってんじゃん！」in the manga. From what I know of pictures and context, probably roughly meaning "Aren't you well dressed" or something along that line. I tried to validate this through Google Translate, but it decided to crap itself than give me anything coherent."And Jan are you become quite", I'm fairly sure that isn't it.
So, the word is obviously best used in terms of how someone is dressed. Seems to give connotation it can be used to describe how appropriate something is together, but maybe I'm adding too much English sayings.
The kanji is a composite of Two kanjis: 似 and 合... Yep. I was planning to extend upon this, but three kanjis entries in one entry? That doesn't make any sense! THERE GOT TO BE ORDER IN HERE, DAMN IT!
Kanji Entry 2:
Kanji: 似合い
Kun reading: にあい
English meaning: Well-matched, suited
For this kanji, I just pulled randomly from Great Teacher Onizuka manga which may be something I'll be doing for right now as I haven't came across Kanji that I felt was worth noting on a blog. The kanji was picked from the first volume while flipping and stopping at a random page and pointing at a kanji.
The sentence is 「なかなか似合ってんじゃん！」in the manga. From what I know of pictures and context, probably roughly meaning "Aren't you well dressed" or something along that line. I tried to validate this through Google Translate, but it decided to crap itself than give me anything coherent."And Jan are you become quite", I'm fairly sure that isn't it.
So, the word is obviously best used in terms of how someone is dressed. Seems to give connotation it can be used to describe how appropriate something is together, but maybe I'm adding too much English sayings.
The kanji is a composite of Two kanjis: 似 and 合... Yep. I was planning to extend upon this, but three kanjis entries in one entry? That doesn't make any sense! THERE GOT TO BE ORDER IN HERE, DAMN IT!
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Quest for Glory:So you want to be a translator
In the beginning, I always wanted to learn japanese when I was in high school. Of course, there was no class for it, and there was even a 'nerd' stigma behind it since manga and anime were looked down at. So, I never bothered. As well, learning german through the class, I felt maybe I couldn't learn a language, specifically Japanese which is considered difficult.
Skip a few years after, I fond myself going through my list of games I have enjoyed. Specifically Exile. I did an LP of it, actually. I was so obsessed at finding the real experience of the game that I found a pc-98 and a PC-88 emulator. Didn't know japanese, and just played as much as I can. Upon this, I found and purchase a japanese game of Yu-yu hakusho for the PCEngine which I also LP'd. This started my desire to learn japanese. Mostly out of necessity since I didn't understand the game much, so I tried to figure out the booklet. I didn't get too far, but did understood ths and that from the use of Google Translate and the Hiragana\katakana chart. This is probably the first step in where I am now (Unfortunately, that isn't very far as of my current writing)
I then decided to partake my quest... to transcribe, translate, and then Let's Play a japanese game that I have quite a love for. I am writing out every japanese character, sentence, and commands I can from this game. I'll translate it the best I can, then proceed to write a script for me so when I LP it, I know when or what to say as I doubt my active reading will be quick.
This is the main reason I developed this blog is to write out my progress. Maybe a bit of hope for exposure since, well, it'd be nice to be recognized and even possibly asked to do jobs as a translator... A man can dream damn it!
Although, I'm sure nobody would hire me at this rate as I have the japanese ability of a baby. Actually, a baby may have a stronger vocabulary than I.
Time to write out my progress:
I am roughly 50 percent within the game as far as footage is recorded for my transcribing work. 40 percent transcribed with kanjis labeled.
As far as my general Japanese, been doing a lot of flashcard practices and studying the Genki Textbook. This has expanded my vocabulary, but limited to the textbook in use and perhaps in real life situations if I had to express a SIMPLE thought in Japanese. I know for a fact that I can ask where a McDonalds is at, so I will never be hungry in Japan... just fat.
Skip a few years after, I fond myself going through my list of games I have enjoyed. Specifically Exile. I did an LP of it, actually. I was so obsessed at finding the real experience of the game that I found a pc-98 and a PC-88 emulator. Didn't know japanese, and just played as much as I can. Upon this, I found and purchase a japanese game of Yu-yu hakusho for the PCEngine which I also LP'd. This started my desire to learn japanese. Mostly out of necessity since I didn't understand the game much, so I tried to figure out the booklet. I didn't get too far, but did understood ths and that from the use of Google Translate and the Hiragana\katakana chart. This is probably the first step in where I am now (Unfortunately, that isn't very far as of my current writing)
I then decided to partake my quest... to transcribe, translate, and then Let's Play a japanese game that I have quite a love for. I am writing out every japanese character, sentence, and commands I can from this game. I'll translate it the best I can, then proceed to write a script for me so when I LP it, I know when or what to say as I doubt my active reading will be quick.
This is the main reason I developed this blog is to write out my progress. Maybe a bit of hope for exposure since, well, it'd be nice to be recognized and even possibly asked to do jobs as a translator... A man can dream damn it!
Although, I'm sure nobody would hire me at this rate as I have the japanese ability of a baby. Actually, a baby may have a stronger vocabulary than I.
Time to write out my progress:
I am roughly 50 percent within the game as far as footage is recorded for my transcribing work. 40 percent transcribed with kanjis labeled.
As far as my general Japanese, been doing a lot of flashcard practices and studying the Genki Textbook. This has expanded my vocabulary, but limited to the textbook in use and perhaps in real life situations if I had to express a SIMPLE thought in Japanese. I know for a fact that I can ask where a McDonalds is at, so I will never be hungry in Japan... just fat.
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Kanjimon: Gotta Catch'm All! Entry 1： 以
Throughout my blog, I shall be trying to document one kanji a week. Very difficult kanji by that. Kanji that when I sit on my computer chair trying to figure out what the hell I am looking at since my project, which I don't believe I have talked of at this point, requires me to decipher bits of bits of Kanji in low resolution. Imagine making words out in alphabet soup, but instead, it's a bit of spilled rice.
My Source is from Jim Breen's WWWJDIC or http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/cgi-bin/wwwjdic.cgi?1C - this place. Quite handy.
Kanji Entry 1:
Character:以
ON Reading: い
KUN Reading: もって
Five Strokes
The main radical, I believe, is 人.
English Definition: By Means of, Because, In View of, Compared with
I came across this Kanji during my work on a translation project. I found it to be very alien, so I had a difficulty in figuring out where it would be in the dictionary. In hind sight, should have been obvious that 人 is the radical, but it looked very alien at first sight! Especially in low-res.
So far, I don't think it is a standalone word. By that, there is always a kanji with it, so that obviously makes it an adverb or adjective. The definition site doesn't exactly express this, but since から is used for the Grammar context of Because, it'd only make sense it'd be more of a description than Grammar or action\noun.
The kanji I found it used in is 以上 or いじょう, and I have the definition as NoLessThen, but it can also be Further and the end. So, the context is a measurement of sorts.
Sentence I found using it, 「 でもこれ以上、引き止めるのはワガママですものね。」I'm not 100 percent on translation, but I think it's saying along the lines of, But to hold you here any longer is selfish.
I think that is it for this Entry.
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