translations
Thursday, November 10, 2005, 07:44 PM - General, French
Well, well.
How much does it annoy me to be put on the spot to translate something from French into English?
If you happened to be a fly on the wall in my house at the moment, you would hear a very common conversation (usually one-sided), where I beat myself up for not being able to retain words, but, being able to understand most conversations, or able to sit through French movies and come out understanding (mostly) : but! Not actually having the ability to construct the words / phrases together all the time.

I seem to be able to ask the student what they think the word is, they say it, I say yes or no. I look in the dictionary, and kick myself for not remembering the word that I knew what it was when I saw it.

So today: I had a student present me with a document to describe fashion trends, for the next season, using almost like a brain-storming style of set-up (words that don't always link up, strange combinations of words, French sayings etc...) She wanted me to help her translate it. It is a particular vocaulary, like most of the students I teach, so I am probably being unjustly hard on myself.

Bref, (as the French say):
I was driving to my most unfavourite job this morning (only because I drive a three hour round trip to teach people for four hours; starting from 6:30am), it was beautiful this morning. Most of the trees have lost their leaves now, and as the sun was coming up, the bare trees were sillouetted against the reddening sky.
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colder
Wednesday, November 9, 2005, 08:26 PM - General
I have been listening to Radio National's All in the Mind almost straight for the last few days, (catching up on the podcasts), I have found out some really interesting things. It is a really well produced program.

It is colder today.
Your breathe makes mist and there was a thin film of frost on the windscreen this morning when I ran the wiper blades over it.
Not looking forward to the cold again. I am told it might be worse than last year... I thought that was bad enough. I don't make a good Northern France inhabitant.
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riots
Tuesday, November 8, 2005, 07:58 PM - General, Politics
I am having some problems understanding why the American press brings up the fact that the rioters in Paris (and elsewhere) are Muslims. I haven't heard this term labelling the rioters until now. Yes, sure, they are, mostly, but... I am not saying the French are perfect or anything, because I do agree that they like to think that they treat everyone equally (when they don't). No one is perfect I guess. I just didn't like the mention of insinuating that they were extremists, instead of just rioting because they were trying to prove their point.
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new blog
Monday, November 7, 2005, 08:38 PM - General, Art/Design
I have been annoying the man to help me set up a blog for ages. So here is it.
I was asked by Shaw-han of The Blue House for the usage of another piece of work for a CD cover. This is the original work:


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