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Post by Bartbär on Jan 6, 2011 20:14:25 GMT 2
Tiina, I hope all goes well with your friend! My sister has been having problems with health for awhile now: something is wrong with her olfactory senses so everything smells disgusting to her, and thus she hasn't been eating in quite some time. She continues to go back to the hospital time and time again but they don't know what's wrong with her: all they seem to do is test her blood levels and make sure everything is "normal". They can't hospitalize her because of her damn insurance... anyway, it's been a big worry to everyone and it really sucks. Having to deal with anyone dealing with health issues is never very fun! Needless to say I hope whatever your friend is going through that it improves soon enough! Well, that's why I love creative licensing! (A translators best friend!) As long as the translation gets the same idea across, there is no such thing as a "wrong" translation thanks to creative licensing. Which in the case of German to English is a great thing, because it is so hard to find as beautiful words as German has and make it still sound like poetry in English. Last night I spent one hour on a single verse, manipulating and remanipulating words in order to try and make it more poetic and "rhyme". It's all a huge challenge, but I love it! To imagine that in some years I'll be having to do this but with entire collections of poems!
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Post by Bartbär on Jan 6, 2011 8:52:06 GMT 2
Bad: Been on the computer frequently lately, but not much on the forum. Good: The majority of the time has been spent productively. I've gotten addicted to translating German lyrics. I've grown tired of their being literally NO English translations of some of my favorite poems and songs. Sometimes I come across translations, but they are terrible or OVERLY literal: meaning that non-German speaking English who read them will not be very impressed either in the lyricism or in the native Language, meaning a bad translation can yield terrible artistic and literary destruction. My latest "project" has been taking up the task of translating lyrics of one of my favorite bands: Odroerir. I figured that since their music was based around Germanic/Norse Mythology which I've studied quite frequently that the task would be simple, but I couldn't have been more wrong. You don't learn mythological language easily, not to mention that I keep finding myself buried in various English and German texts of the Poetic Edda, in order to both demystify some language as well as ensure I'm not in any way plagiarizing anyones rendition of the Edda, including Odroerir's Bad: All this work has confined me to one place for too long. I've been getting headaches much more frequently now, but it's all been worth it. I've found my calling yet again! Just too bad I'm not fluent in German, but hey, that's part of what translating is for!
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Post by Bartbär on Jan 4, 2011 10:14:37 GMT 2
Happy belated New Year to all you Klaaners! I can't believe I didn't come here to wish it to you all sooner! Something is wrong with me for not doing that sooner! Bad: another damn headache Bad: the FOURTH already?!?! It felt like just yesterday that it was the first... not much longer before the new semester starts and I go back to being even MORE isolated than I already am on my break. Good: great music
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Post by Bartbär on Jan 3, 2011 22:42:15 GMT 2
I'd have to agree with Nordis, although I still say if you want to buy new than sure as heck go for it! I'm not completely savvy on the whole music industry, but from what I've learned through interviews and friends who are in the music business making money off of CD's is very minuscule. The bigger the label the more minuscule the profits are. Concerts and merchandise is where the money is at, because there is no real label market on these products, the labels main revenue is through CD sales by way of promotion, copyrights, and licenses on the music itself. Merchandise and shows have no real market value, there is no creative ownership to a T-Shirt outside the artists design, and thus merch and shows are always great sources of income for the band. CD's at 10 dollars a piece (at the absolute lowest that is, and that is EXTREMELY rare) is a pretty small cut, but even smaller when percentages and royalties are divided. Even my friend who works and has worked in the music scene in the past was only going to be making a fairly small amount on CD sales after being signed, and that was for an indie label. They sell CD's at roughly 10 dollars a piece, and give the band half the sales, but if they only print say 1000 CD's than the band can only make a maximum of 5,000 dollars, and that's ONCE all Cd's are sold. Sure that's still a pretty good deal, but that much can be made through tours and merchandising alone. Playing at a local bar in my area pays roughly 4-500 dollars a set, not much money once divided between 4 or more band members, but still in a number of sets on a small tour is still a good chunk of change, and that's not including merch sales. (Of course if those CD's sell at the concerts than an extra 5000 dollars is a nice chunk of change, so surely buy new CD's where you can!) Although I do enjoy buying new CD's wherever possible I also realize that I'm not exactly rich. I'd much rather download an album or buy it used for free or cheap and save up for a concert than to buy the CD's but not be able to afford the concerts. Sure it's not like concerts ever come through here, but to me listening to music in itself is an act of supporting the band: you'll take that CD and share it with others, those who like it will in turn do the same, and finding even 2 other people to enjoy a band who will go out and buy their music, merch, and go to their shows, is priceless to any band looking for support. Having said that though the whole nature of this is very ambiguous. There is no possible way to completely determine what the best possible way to support every single band is: indie bands can be better supported in ways that major bands cannot and vice-versa, so I guess it all comes down to what each person thinks is right in supporting their favorite projects. I guess that's the benefit to listening to mostly indie and underground music: support for those bands is easy to come by, especially considering it's not their dream to make a living off music, but merely to make music off their living. Heck, even our beloved Klaani members have to work jobs outside of their awesome music career! It's a shame all bands as good as them can't make a living off music, but the days of truly being a rockstar are slowly fading away.... that's another discussion though. Another argument to make is that for a number of the people I know who've purchased used CD's it was after already purchasing and selling the new CD's to begin with. Used CD's in that sense can be good for someone is looking at regaining a lost/stolen/sold collection without breaking their bank, afterall a poor fan isn't much support to anyone. (I guess that's why I'm a lousy fan! haha)
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Post by Bartbär on Dec 31, 2010 6:25:26 GMT 2
I've been listening to this as often as possible the past couple of days: www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SEQvhdLldQI absolutely love this project as I've mentioned before, but when I come across these songs on the album I realize just how wonderful it all truly is. This song in particular has such a heavy Chris Ziegler vibe, reminiscent of his latest Vinterriket and Nebelkorona works but with that extra folk influence. I'm not entirely sure what dialect this is in, but it's absolutely breathtaking... this song is just one large masterpiece and I could listen to it ad nauseum and never get sick of it! Much like all of his projects and side-projects.
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Post by Bartbär on Dec 29, 2010 10:04:26 GMT 2
Great post Nordis. I must say I don't think any of us have witnessed a true democracy, but that's not saying even then it's got it's problems. The majority rule thing really pisses me off. I have flirted with the idea of a Republic, namely because most of the well-spoken politicians in American History were those who built the damn country, and most of them envisioned a Republic. Again though it's hard for me to be political about anything. Politics absolutely intrigue me but at the same time completely disgust me. Everyone is so seemingly touchy about their political opinions and most of those people seem to be damn extreme in their beliefs. Whether it's left or right or up or down it's hard to find some middle grounders like myself... it's lonely in the middle haha I've flirted with the idea of anarchy, and a big part of me enjoys and agrees with it. Yet there are also big parts of me that wonderf it it's not one of those ideas that is a pipe-dream: an "ideal" (as ideal any political idea can possibly get anyway) future that is impossible because of one thing: human nature. I've noticed at least in America that people NEED a government, not because government truly is necessary but because they are so big on pointing the finger that government is the ultimate scapegoat. Even the harshest crackpot anti-government conspiracy theorists like government because then who else would they point their finger at other than themselves? In regards to the utopia of the communist doctrine I'd say the major fault there is that communism ISN'T equal, because despite every citizen grueling for food and water the one person on top is not. I also don't like the idea of equality period though. Unlike most I do not believe that everyone is equal, but that doesn't mean they don't have equal liberties. With that in mind a libertarian government would be pretty nice. It's just too bad though that with how people behave it's almost impossible to know if even that would be good. No political structure is at all perfect, because nothing accounts for individuality. Governments need to rule based on collectivism, because without jumbling everything up it would be impossible to rule. Sadly though without taking into account even the slightest existence of individuality a government can never truly be "ideal". And the same goes for pure individual-based leading. There's very little, if any, common ground, and sometimes I wonder if we'll ever really be satisfied with our government. Looking back I miss the Chivalric Monarchies: ones in which rulers ruled and everyone else could give a shit less what their politicians did because in reality as long as they were clothed, fed, could hold a family, there wasn't much to worry about. But "necessities" change (at least our perceptions of them) and with that so too must our political structure. Damn us, we think we are evolving every second of our existence, but sometimes I wonder if it's not really the other way around. Take not my words too seriously, I'm tired and this is a somewhat improved meditation. Hey, I've been absent from the forums lately so I have to type something don't I?
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Post by Bartbär on Dec 28, 2010 17:54:07 GMT 2
Arivse! That's awesome! Have a great time at the concert! It's hard not to enjoy a KK concert though! I wish I lived in a place where there was snow all year round, I'm already sad at the thought that the Winter will be over in some short months... Good: winter break. Bad: break is being wasted on being lazy and not very active with anything. I was having plans on practicing guitar, exercising, and reading. But I just end up being too lazy. Not too worried about ti though (although I do need to at least exercise more), afterall I only get a month off and that really isn't enough time to try and cram too many things into.
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Post by Bartbär on Dec 24, 2010 9:12:18 GMT 2
Aus dem Leben eines Taugenichts for 50 cents is an absolute steal, no matter the edition or condition. I have yet to finish the book all the way through in German, but that's because I'm not yet fluent and having to look at a dictionary quite frequently can destroy the mood. Really need to find a good English translation. Eichendorff is one of my favorite authors, and one of my favorite poets. Well, I think even when the time comes that I do lose weight I'll still wear XL shirts. I like looser fitting clothes, and since I'm a pretty big guy (even if I were skinny) XL will most likely be my size forever anyway, especially since it's almost impossible to find LONG shirts... being tall also has it's disadvantage in the metal shirt front.... yes. we need that thread for threads! Good: shopping season is close to a close. Today is the eve of christmas which means tomorrow I'll finally be able to unwrap the books I've picked out for myself as well as some others. Bad: can't get to sleep par usual.
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Post by Bartbär on Dec 23, 2010 16:20:57 GMT 2
Good luck my fellow True Metal Worrier (hey, good collective band name for our non-shakespearean project. ) And that's exactly what all the worry is about. The day we stop worrying is the day we no longer care about doing things well and right. I could use a productive day! same productive wishes to everyone!
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Post by Bartbär on Dec 23, 2010 7:37:08 GMT 2
I know what you mean about getting lost in XL shirts... they're like mansions that can fit a whole household and helping staff too. Damn, I REALLY need to lose weight if that's how much is supposed to fit in my barely fitting XL shirts. I'm damn sorry to hear about the customs problems you've been having there. Totally fucking insane. I guess that's one of the things we can appreciate about the US: i've never had any customs problems in the US, nor them trying to dispute the price on the green sticker or blablabla. I don't see why it can't just be that damn simple everywhere. And why the fuck must they ALWAYS refer someone to another person or another branch? I HATE that. Anyone should be able to answer such simple questions, but due to bureaucratic legalities they must always pass around the torch. Totally messed up if you ask me! I hope you get the package thing worked out soon enough and don't have to worry about any other problems. Good: still enjoying my recently cleaned room. It's amazing how much more peace-of-mind one has when there isn't clutter everywhere. I just wish I didn't have to worry about my parents and their pack-rat problems, because I can only imagine how much more happy I'd feel if my whole house was this clean! Too bad I always let it get dirty during school, which is the time it SHOULD be clean to help keep my mind at peace. Good: package I ordered from amazon arrived in time for christmas, and since they have the usual free shipping on order over 25 dollars I decided to get myself another book rather than pay for shipping. Bad: I'm once again unable to concentrate during my break, meaning I can't do anything active or positive. I enjoy being lazy and relaxing after a stressful semester, but I much prefer feeling like I'm getting things done. I can't concentrate while reading, and I can barely even concentrate while playing guitar... that's not a good thing.
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Post by Bartbär on Dec 22, 2010 17:27:00 GMT 2
Per: No worries, this beard isn't going ANYWHERE. Arivse: having to prove your age can be a great thing. It gives you the chance to show even MORE just how much older you really are. Plus when you feel like being immature and having a good time people just assume you ARE the age you are acting, rather than being regressed, like me donning a full beard and wild hair whilst making funny yet immature jokes and acting like a 5 year old.
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Post by Bartbär on Dec 22, 2010 2:47:36 GMT 2
Great photo Arivse, I concur with Tiina that it's nice to know the face behind the posts. Don't worry, if it wasn't for my beard I too would be donning a baby face. Not that I wouldn't mind looking younger (sometimes I feel like I look way too old, and I don't always like that) but I just can't bring myself to getting rid of the beard. haha
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Post by Bartbär on Dec 21, 2010 7:39:34 GMT 2
That's bullshit sister. It's one thing if they are new mates that you are not acquainted with, but the fact that it's the same people you've been around the entire time under the same field of study is really frustrating. I'm not sure what to make of it, but even if they perhaps aren't doing it in spite of you it certainly seems that way. Sadly if you've already talked with them about it and they still do it than I wonder what their reasoning is behind it. Quite fucking arrogant if you ask me. Nothing pisses me off more than when people do that: I've had to put up with it in high school with all the mexican immigrants who would talk shit about their fellow classmates to one another in spanish during class... Had I known spanish to listen to them and insult them back I wouldn't have minded that much, but even than I find it really disrespectful. When someone is alone and NOT sharing an apartment with a non-speaker of their native language than they can speak it all they want to one another. But sharing a room with someone who is present and who they previously only spoke English around is just ridiculous... I'm sorry to hear they've made this sudden change, and I hope they turn around soon enough. Let us know how it goes! Bad: I won't be able to see the lunar eclipse tonight... it has snowed practically all day here, and although I love that fact, it has left thick clouds everywhere. Unless the heavens clear up within the next couple of hours I'll pretty much be screwed. If anyone can get a good pic of it please do share!
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Post by Bartbär on Dec 20, 2010 21:12:39 GMT 2
@nordis: What was the occasion or event for showing the Conan film? You are quite fortunate to see an original real at cinema! That is one of my favorite films, and it's too bad I was born years after it's release and never got to see it on the big screen. If I were rich I'd rent out a theater and have a viewing of my top movies that I never got to see in cinemas. Bad: woke up with headache and still having trouble clearing the congestion out of my chest and nose, causing me to have trouble sleeping. Good: it was snowing pretty heavy here (still not heavy enough!) and I got the opportunity to go on a long walk to the forest to take some pics, which I'll share some soon enough, although I'm not good at photography at all. Good: at least ONE of my final grades were posted... I hope the rest will be posted today as well. Here's hoping I got straight As! *fingers crossed* Good: cleaned my room yesterday after a long messy semester of me being a pig. Now the room is clean, but I broke the 12 dollar bulb in my lamp while moving it around, and now can't read at night until I buy a new one...
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Sauna
Dec 19, 2010 16:07:00 GMT 2
Post by Bartbär on Dec 19, 2010 16:07:00 GMT 2
Americans are just lazy, rather than change the word we just Anglicize the pronunciation. (I always preferred the Finnish way: imported words are made to sound Finnish. At least that's what I've read and heard for the most part). I suppose it makes sense for him to pronounce it the English way when talking with English natives. Just as my French friend always seems to try and pronounce French loanwords the "English" way rather than giving his perfect French pronunciation of them. In regards to the nudity taboo: I guess I don't really understand that taboo. It's ironic that the more developed a society seems to become the more prudish they become also, at least in terms of sexual acceptance. Of course the body can be sexual, but it isn't always at a sexual state and being able to enjoy things while naked should just be natural. I admit that since I've grown up in America I have a little bit of that inhibition since it's been a part of my environment, but I don't agree with that nature and must fight it whenever it will arise, which in America is never. I don't think we here have ONE single event which is done nude: sure there are nudist colonies and people when they are locked up in their own house and have all blinds shut will do things, but in terms of a public situation or a group gathering it is a huge taboo. If I were to hold a sauna party and be naked in the sauna EVERYONE would jump out and never talk to me again. haha *note to self: good way to break communication with unwanted people*
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