leonard267 Posts

You must be rather proficient in the language if you want to take JLPT 2! I struggle with the grammar personally speaking. Test me on particles and I feel like throwing someone out of the window. I hate listening comprehension. Japanese is spoken incredibly quickly. It almost feels like an Indian language in that respect.

To tell you the truth, I feel that Japanese has grammar as complex as English, spoken as quickly as Indian languages and has vocabulary and characters imported from the Chinese language. Not the best mix.

As for me, I find Chinese characters (I refuse to call it 'kanji') easy because I have some knowledge of the Chinese language. Knowing Chinese does help with your Japanese.

(Learning Chinese on the other hand is really difficult unless you are brought up with it since young because it is hard to write and hard to utter. The grammar is easy though unlike Japanese.)

You are a father? I admire you. I have a nephew (son of a cousin) who I find very hard to keep under control. He is two years younger than your son, the same way I am two years younger than you. How do you manage?

Having a family is something very faraway for now but I will have one someday. Raising a family is really a matter of responsibility rather than a wish for me.

I am a self-proclaimed non-writer and so one of my annoying traits is to publicise whatever I have written at every opportunity. I can tell you my nephew inspired me to write this:

https://www.fakku.net/forums/writing-and-fanfiction/winter-2014-concerning-morality-and-the-human-life-cycle

(You can check the other posts I have made in this section that contain that same bloody link)

There are many subsections that cater to different tastes and hobbies. I am guessing you might want to share your experience handling HVAC systems in either the Random Section or the Technology Section (not so relevant but I consider HVAC technology) under the forum. There is a Sports and Fitness Section too.

(As for me I frequent the Chat Topics and Forum Games because my mental age is the same as those who frequent that section.)

I am going to work in a construction site as a site engineer. (I am a trained in civil engineering) I think we need HVAC engineers to deal with environmental control if we want a building erected. Would like to know about HVAC personally.

I am interested in writing myself. Here is a sample of what I have written. Responses are mixed with some (I suspect a minority) loving what I write and others loathing it.

https://www.fakku.net/forums/writing-and-fanfiction/winter-2014-concerning-morality-and-the-human-life-cycle

My tastes are however more towards non-fiction and I think I have gained a little notoriety for saying that I hate how the first book of the Song of Ice and Fire series was written.

If you have any ideas and need help though, feel free to share them with me. I will make remarks. There is a thread I have made that serves like a much slower version of a chatroom:

https://www.fakku.net/forums/chat-topics-and-forum-games/the-writers-lounge-114269/page/11

Is your Japanese up to scratch? I have been learning it for ages but I am not fluent in that language.

I believe today is the birthday of the above user? I am reminded what the Buddhists feel about their birthdays. They will always remember it as the day where their poor mothers have to go into labour. As for me, that reminds of my entry I have submitted months ago which I would encourage the user above to read once more!

Someone must post a picture of Bosshi in this thread or some other thread. Will photography be allowed I wonder?

I am a bit relieved to hear that. As for me, I am not really proud and don't want to seen reading some of the material on the website but writing nonsense stories on this website is fine.



Wonder if it is in your tastes. This is the entry that landed me the title "Fakku Non-Writer".

https://www.fakku.net/forums/writing-and-fanfiction/winter-2014-concerning-morality-and-the-human-life-cycle

I am now working on a translation of an article about Japanese attitudes towards sex. I might send you a link once I am done with it.

PS: I am around your age but I am heading to work very soon. Looking forward to it personally.

Very good Xenon. We both appear to demand realism in something that is fictional, i.e. not real. (Major reason why I take to newspapers rather than A Game of Thrones) In due time you will become a leonard267, cynical, soulless and demented. By the way, I am back.

On a more serious note, I think I have already told you how I felt about this story haven't I, crazr? It (The story) is understandable. There is plot progression but I can't bring myself to criticise the plot because of the nature of the plot. For some reason, I don't have much to say about erotic stories like yours that come off (that is a compliment) as a plot for many of the comics posted on this website.

It is every boy's fantasy I will give you that unless you are a boy called Shikinokami.

Would like to put forward a few more questions.

How fluent in your Japanese? Could you read a newspaper or order dinner with that language? I really need the practice.

Do you take to reading nonsense? I pride myself as a nonsense writer. I would like to blow my own trumpet and say that I have won some kind writing competition a few months back by writing nonsense.

It has been quite some time since I have last posted here. Those few who are mad enough to go through every single letter I write would point out that I lack creativity and all of my work can really be described as making fun of the work of those who put in tremendous effort to come up with something fictional, quite removed from reality and of questionable value in the real world.

So I decided to change tack for this particular post. I would instead attempt to translate work of those who put in tremendous effort to come with something non-fictional. There is one problem with that though. I myself am not sure of whether it is truly real or not going by the very jaw-dropping title of "A Foreign Student in Japan Says: "The Japanese are ****ed-Up! (Pun very much intended)"

I leave it to readers to judge the veracity of the contents by sharing this link. I hope their command of that hard to read, hard to write and hard to utter Chinese language is up to scratch!

http://bbs.tiexue.net/post2_3859341_1.html

For readers who are unable to appreciate and read the most spoken language on the face of this planet, I am in two minds. My subconscious mind wishes to say "shame on you" while common sense tells me to tell you "not to fear". You will be treated to an unreliable translation by this Non-Writer anyway:


I studied and lived in Japan for five years in the 90s. For those who wish to know, I learnt media studies and linguistics during my time there. I was of the belief that the Japanese and the Chinese were of similar stock and so share the same reservations towards matters pertaining to the birds and the bees.

That was naïve of me. You see, the both the Chinese and the Japanese practice Zen Buddhism but their attitudes towards Buddhism are vastly different. Also, the Japanese are an open (and by open I mean decadent and ****ed up) society just like Europe and America but even so their attitudes towards sex are unique and certainly different!

Most would find their attitudes towards sex completely unacceptable. Risking the execration of my readers, I say, with no intention to exaggerate or admonish the Japanese, that they are twisted for they suffer little to no inhibition where sex is concerned. They engage in sexual activity that would be considered taboo in other cultures without compunction. But who am I to admonish them? They might have their reasons for behaving like the inhabitants of Gomorrah and Sodom. It might be an accepted way of life for all I know!

今日は、皆さん isn't it? I am one of the few Japanese learners that love Chinese characters and often get chastised for not calling them 'kanji'.

Do you happen to take to nonsense written by a self-proclaimed nonsense writer? I have so much to share!

By the way, I am pleased to make your acquaintance. Out of interest, do you mean roleplaying as in writing about being another character or literally being another character?

Haven't interacted with the user above for quite some time. I wonder if he or she remembers me.

That depends if I have the time to do so which I really doubt I have. That is not to say that I have ideas in my head. I already have an idea how a parody of your entry would be like. (I think you might find it a bit unflattering to your entry if I wrote it out)

I criticised Anamnesis for lacking an introduction. Here, it lacked a conclusion. I could have explained (briefly) what is up with all of the eye opening and eye shutting.

I didn't really get the how the rumination about stress and the funeral were related to each other. It could do also with a brief explanation. Like, 'Indeed, I was in similar circumstances. My grandfather's premature death must have led me to be prone to stress.'

The transition to our main character ruminating about whether he would do things differently in his deathbed I did not understand. Was he thinking if he would regret his decision if he were not to take part in the ceremony? I looked back at the previous sentences for clues but instead found lines about drinking at Starbucks.

It is very short, which is not a bad thing but I could not understand it fully. More words could have been written to make me understand the digression about talking about psychiatrists, imagining being on your deathbed, school starting and ending, Halloween so on and so for.

Indeed the only parts where I thought made sense were the last few paragraphs. Why did the main character wish to participate in that ritual long after his grandfather's death? It must have been what both the main character and his grandfather did while the latter still drew breath.

Not the hint I am referring to. Martin introduces The Others without any warning.

I quote:

"Down below, the lordling called out suddenly, “Who goes there?” Will heard uncertainty in the challenge. He stopped climbing; he listened; he watched.
The woods gave answer: the rustle of leaves, the icy rush of the stream, a distant hoot of a snow owl.

The Others made no sound."

Where did that come from?!


I could have written something like,

"Out of the corner of Royce's eye appeared an emaciated figure who looked a bit like a moving ice sculpture. They are creatures out of the nanny stories Royce was accustomed to listening to (even at the age of 18) and were never properly named. It was said that those who encountered them were either turned into one of their kind or spirited away. All those who heard that nanny story must have cried, "UDDERS" after listening to their nannies describing that creature. Since it would be too crass to christen those near mythical creatures as Udders, the nanny teat suckling inhabitants of Westeros decided to refer to them as Others."

At least these monsters are given an introduction. (There, part of the Song of Ice and Fire parody completed!)


Back to topic, thank you for the second draft. It made much more sense than the first. The descriptions of Tara, Xander et. al qualify as introductions that I could understand. So too were the motivations of the characters chiefly the gang wars between the Hounds and the Sabers. With that, I can understand the story.

I am in agreement with high_time over here. You are right to say that it felt like FGRaptor's winning entry titled Regret (which I disliked). My tastes are rather old fashioned when it comes to reading. A normal narrative where the characters and setting are introduced properly (some say spoon-fed) and where time skips or changes in location made sense is what I prefer.

A problem I encountered with the entry is the sheer amount of characters introduced. With the possible exception of the Hubert and Vianna, I have no idea who the characters in the entry are and what do they do. The sudden change in setting and plot from being bullied at the playground to experiments that questioned Einstein's laws was mind boggling to me. (I can never figure out that the experiment involved time travel until you pointed it out.)

I personally prefer a bit of foreshadowing or at least a bit of exposition of what happened in each scene so as not to be confused as to what is happening. Describing who is yelling "Hissatsu" and for whom he is fighting for would help.

It is hard for me to make out anything from this other than vague references to the theatres of WWII and the Vietnam War followed by a veteran relating his experiences to someone else (?) because how it is written. Perhaps it all boils down to a matter of taste. I have made it clear (if you had the misfortune to read my many arguments with many users in this forum) that I dislike stories written like these.

I was told that I require 'imagination' to appreciate stories like these. I am afraid to say that I don't like using my imagination to figure out plot when I am reading be it a book or a document. You can arrive at any conclusion!

There is one thing that I thought made this entry better than FGRaptor's though. It is how brief and concise the first few parts were. Don't take my criticism too hard. It is really just a matter of taste over here.

Goes to show that I learn something new everyday! For some reason, I didn't detect that our main character had had an irrational fear of performing nor did I detect a wish to overcome that fear. It felt that the female lead was playing a prank on the main character who had an interest in music but had no desire to participate in competitions. Why did our hero allow this? Why did he earnestly prepare for a competition he didn't want to enter? Does he have feelings for her? So I thought.

So I didn't look too much into the words, "Better luck next time." and "Oh, and since you started this, you better believe I’m dragging you out to each and every one.” A sentence reaffirming that the main character has had his interest in performance kindled would help I thought.

The climax was alright for me. I thought that the climax was the time when he was walking towards the stage, when he was on the stage looking for whoever placed him there, feeling very nervous. It is not only limited to only the time when he played the piano though I still remember that the main character wasn't performing at his best somewhat. I still roughly remember the climax so I think he did a good job where that is concerned.

My issue is more with a lack of resolution. What was gained by entering the competition? (He entered the competition because of the female lead. Perhaps he might have thought of performing well to impress the female lead though this entry didn't spell it out. Now that he didn't perform as well as he ought to, what next?) Sound of Destiny left a hint here and there but I thought it could be fleshed out. I don't think the entry was about piano playing. It has more to do with the relationship between the main character and his sort-of-love-interest. Either the climax or the resolution ought to have dealt with that.

Twice a year I think. It depends on the users who wish to organise them. You can start a competition yourself if you want to.



All the more reason to frame my entry and keep it for posterity. I used coloured font for that you know. I take that back.

Back to topic, congratulations to me and I think I have left remarks for most of the entries that are mentioned here with the exception of Dawn of Dark's work (which I might get to)

Since everyone loves my work so much, I see incentive for coming up with yet even more.