Official Off-Topic Thread

[ter-o]

I haven't seen Watchmen the movie yet but I bought the book few days ago and now I'm half way through. Gotta say that despite the fact that it's at times pretty heavy reading and really confusing because it jumps back and forth in time and places, I've still managed to stay along and boy, what a comic it is! I can't wait to finish it!

FYI huZba & co, if you still don't have the Watchmen comic, buy the finnish version of the book. It's better quality print than the english version here in finland and the translation is exceptionally good. I usually buy stuff in english, because the language is much richer but in this case I think you'd really benefit from buying the finnish version.

[Larwick]

buy the finnish version of the book. It's better quality print than the english version here in finland and the translation is exceptionally good.

I bought the special edition hardcover from Amazon and was taken back by the quality of the print, so i'm not sure how much better the finnish version could be.

[ter-o]

Well at least where I bought the book (Akateeminen), the english version was softcover and the paper and print quality weren't nearly as good as the finnish version which was hardcover. Also since the story is so multi-layered and deep, I think it would be easier to really get into it if you read it with your native language, even if your english is fluent. It still makes a difference to read it with your native language. And since the translation is very, very good which isn't always the case, I can't but to recommend it to my fellow finnish people. Of course I don't mean that the finnish version is superior to every version that is out there but I must recommend the finnish version because comic hobbyists here in finland might overlook it without examing it just because it's translated and often translations are bad or medicore at best. But that isn't the case here (I've read now 4/5 of the book).

[Larwick]

Oh of course yes, i agree about reading in your native language. The print quality is probably more related to the hardcover though. 

[Emtch]

If I recall correctly. . .

"Jag tyckar om ol og kvinnor."

This is pretty much the biggest part of what I still remember after a Swedish language course I took some long time ago.

You must have the *thing* for acquiring new language knowledge.  I'm getting through my 11th year of learning English and still have problems with it.

Not to mention German and Spanish, but these I know at a less-than-elementary level.

Actually it's "Jag tycker om öl och kvinnor" 

What do you mean when you say having the thing, do you mean being entusiastic or have a natural talent for it?

I think it depends mostly on having good teachers.
I really wanted to learn spanish in the beginning and I got perfect results on the tests. Then I had a worthless teacher who was really terrible at spanish, then it went downhill.
It seems most Spanish teachers in Sweden are like that, because when I chose Spanish in High School none of the other students knew any spanish either from 4 years of spanish lessons.

[Shrike]

I would say both, but having a good textbook is priceless. I have a great teacher who does voluntary work in Mexico, and my textbook is Vistas.  I also seem to have a natural talent for it.  My friend knows English, (natively) a lot of French and Latin, and hopes to learn more Spanish next semester.

[skw]

Actually it's "Jag tycker om öl och kvinnor" 

You see, I don't even remember this one correctly.  Mycket braa!  Tack, tack!

What do you mean when you say having the thing, do you mean being entusiastic or have a natural talent for it?

I mean having an inborn talent for it.  Besides, in the most part, the age has the biggest impact, viz. the younger you are when you start, the biggest the chance you will be able to develop a given language to a native speaker level.

Polish class, anyone?

[Shrike]

I think that is true as well, the current best in my Spanish class is a 10-or-so-year-old.  I'm second, 13, and from there it pretty goes by age.  Sort of.

I've been sick since Sunday...   
Just a question, I'm sort of curious...
Who else here is homeschooled?  It wouldn't surprise me if I was the only one, just wondering.
I love homeschool.

Later
Shrike

[NaCl]

Where do you live Shrike? In America, I was under the impression that homeschool was mostly an excuse for parents to teach their kids some twisted religious crap, and dissuade them from a scientific understanding of things.

[Shrike]

*sigh*
Yes, generally in America it's for religious reasons.  I do live in America, and there are certainly some crazy-ass moms who teach kids seriously messed-up things.  But public school proved a little too conformant to my parents when my brother tried it until, I wanna say 3rd grade?

Anyway, we went through a lot of things after public school and ended up with homeschooling.  No-one in my family is religious in any way, and being homeschooled allows one to learn in a way that is modified by the student's learning habits and also allows you to focus on what you think you're going to end up in.

If you remain unconvinced, my friend Chelsea won several Irish harp worldwide competitions for her age (18) and now is absent at Harvard.  I myself am pursuing Art and will be participating in a Model United Nations this year, and have been in a few art shows.

I like it, it's quite easy-going and usually proves for an unusually intelligent person.  It certainly is not for everyone though.  Lot's of people do it even though the teachers (parents) were never meant to teach children, or adults for that matter.