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Post subject:
 Posted: Sep 22, 2007 - 10:46 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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Quote:
"pregnant" in Spanish
A fact that made my twelfth-grade Spanish class quite the hoot from time to time. It wasn't really a Spanish class... in the sense of those classes that are meant to teach you to speak Spanish. Nah. It was more like English class, but there wasn't any English in any of the books or in the classroom for that matter. Living near Washington as I did at the time, the class suited the "English" requirement for all the kids of South American embassy staffers (a very sensible measure on the part of the school -- literature in Spanish is as much of a bitch to write papers on as literature in English, though I'll take Borges over Bronte any day) and the foreign language requirement for those who didn't actually speak Spanish all that well. Had the school been really sensible, they'd have not obliged me to take English as well -- Pity me, my brothers: I was obliged to wrestle with Bronte and Shakespeare and then walk down the hall and wrestle with Borges and Cervantes.
Oh... yeah... Embarasada... almost every Anglo in the room got hung up on that one. They'd be all confused and perplexed until some kind soul whispered to them, "Dude... you just said you are pregnant."
The class was quite a time.
¿Dónde puedo cojer un autobus?
Comience con un taxi -- es más pequeño. |
_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 22, 2007 - 11:43 PM
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Site Admin
Joined: Aug 26, 2006
Posts: 440
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Feral wrote:
The only site performance issue I've noticed in the last two weeks is merging topics... the site seems to think I have an "invalid session" when I attempt to do that.
That's... interesting. OK, it's totally weird and I have no idea on any remedy. The PostNuke thing isn't really a competetive product, though it is easy to understand and it works, well most of the time. 
Feral wrote:
I shall have to rummage through the site using Internet Explorer -- the current version of Firefox claims to not be able to enable javascripts, but then they've been issuing massive updates on a remarkably frequent schedule.
Ahem, does the search function not work as well? I find it remarkable that Google so heavily promotes a product which is undermining its very basis. May I humbly suggest using Opera instead of the other browsers? It is pretty convenient and has no stupid habits of imposing its own funny ideas upon the user. I run Windows XP on my PC, it is fine with JavaScript. Or is it just the IE 7 which has this kind of problems? Rex Wockner put a notice to his blog: "This site doesn't work with IE 7 because Microsoft are idiots."
Rain wrote:
The only recourse for those of us who use Windows is to download and install Sun Microsystems' Java. That in itself is a risky enterprise. That particular platform is the target of a host of viruses. Personally, I have found that NOT installing Sun's Java allows for more trouble-free computing.
There is a way to protect your Windows system from attracting CATs (Curiousity-Associated-Troubles). Never, ever use your administrator account for surfing purposes. Simply create a new account with limited access level and use it for your daily work, it is worth the additional frictions. My system is clean for many months now, and the switching between the accounts is not that annoying as it might appear in the first days. Give it a thought, your system folder will be protected from those pesky things which are more difficult to get rid off than syph.
Feral wrote:
Being a "think-tank" allows the Foundation to enter into discussions with many different entities without being absorbed into any of them.
Rain wrote:
So...we're a lavender think-tank, huh? I feel shshshpecial!
Yep, thinking is what we do all day long, ney? Now that you mention this... finally I have something I can tell my friends inquiring me on what I am doing all day long -- why, I am working for a pink think tank!
The Parallel Republic is always a welcome friend and discussion partner to us, even if their idea of language quota proved impractical for us, at first. I have no quarrel with them on this issue, as long as they seek for other communication partners to fulfill their quota, and allow me to conveniently stick to English. Not that I were reluctant to learn French and Spanish for some general reasons, it's simply the lack of mental capacities on my side at this time in history. By Denneny, struggling to come on terms with English is hard enough. |
_________________
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of liberty must undergo the fatigues of supporting it." Thomas Paine
Last edited by vanrozenheim on Sep 23, 2007 - 01:43 AM; edited 1 time in total
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 23, 2007 - 12:12 AM
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Joined: Apr 12, 2007
Posts: 472
Location: NYC
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Vicky wrote:
There is a way to protect your Windows system from attracting CATs (Curiousity-Associated-Troubles). Never, ever use your administrator account for surfing purposes. Simply create a new account with limited access level and use it for your daily work, it is worth the additional frictions. My system is clean for many months now, and the switching between the accounts is not that annoying as it might appear in the first days. Give it a thought, your system folder will be protected from those pesky things which are more difficult to get rid off than syph.
Have you ever attempted to use Vista with elevated User Account Control protections? It's a harrowing experience. The very first time one of those warnings went off in my face I almost suffered a stroke. I have UAC turned off by default on my system. I'm putting my faith on the firewall, windows defender and NOD 32. Basically, I'm riding without a saddle. But I've become very, very picky about the things I do install lately. No more keygens for pirated software. No more visits to crack sites. And no more allowing permission to web pages attempting to run or install active x dlls. I'm a reformed whore.
But I should create an alternate account on this system. If only because the admin account is disabled by default in Vista. Personally, THAT has been a royal pain in my tuchus. These gnomes on Microsoft's payroll act more like gremlins. |
_________________
Each of us inevitable; Each of us limitless - each of us with his or her right upon the earth; Each of us allowed the eternal purports of the earth; Each of us here as divinely as any is here. ~ Walt Whitman
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 23, 2007 - 12:25 AM
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Joined: Apr 12, 2007
Posts: 472
Location: NYC
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Feral wrote:
I was obliged to wrestle with Bronte and Shakespeare and then walk down the hall and wrestle with Borges and Cervantes.
Oh... yeah... Embarasada... almost every Anglo in the room got hung up on that one. They'd be all confused and perplexed until some kind soul whispered to them, "Dude... you just said you are pregnant."
The class was quite a time.
¿Dónde puedo cojer un autobus?
Comience con un taxi -- es más pequeño.
Well, that depends on the Bronte. Shakespeare's always been my kinda guy. I'm obsessed with Macbeth. The story and the language he used. I can recite whole soliloquy's from memory. J.L. Borges, well...never really cared for him. But he's a standard assignment in Spanish classes. Cervantes on the other hand...his importance to Spanish literature is comparable to Shakespeare's in English. Still, my favorite Spanish writers are Marquez, Neruda and Allende (the first and the last in translation...I have yet to read Neruda in English).
One note about taking the bus in Spanish:
When I first moved to Dallas, I needed to get downtown by bus. I asked a Mexican man "¿Dónde se coje la guágua para ir a downtown?" Not only was I unaware that the verb "cojer" is used as "to fuck" in Mexican Spanish (but ONLY in Mexican Spanish), but that they have NO idea what "guágua" means. That word is a Taíno word only used in the Caribbean. How the Taínos knew about autobuses is still a mystery to me. Regardless, the poor man looked at me like I had just landed from Mars.
By the way, Mexicans use "agarrar" for the verb "to take". To the rest of the hispanophone world, that verb means "to grab". |
_________________
Each of us inevitable; Each of us limitless - each of us with his or her right upon the earth; Each of us allowed the eternal purports of the earth; Each of us here as divinely as any is here. ~ Walt Whitman
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 23, 2007 - 01:27 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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| Ah, not just in Mexican Spanish. A Peruvian co-worker found my telling of the autobus joke to be almost hilarious. At least... his subsequent laughter interfered with his ability to perform his job function for a few minutes. It seems the bulk of South America is of that opinion regarding that verb. |
_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 23, 2007 - 09:22 PM
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Joined: Apr 12, 2007
Posts: 472
Location: NYC
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No, "cojer" CAN have a secondary sexual meaning in other places. So can "venir", the verb for "to come.", but only in the reflexive sense...i.e. "me vengo". Likewise only in the transitive sense can "cojer" be a sexual word in other forms of Spanish (as in "Está cojiendo pinga." ~ "He's taking dick.") Which is precisely the only way the verb "cojer" can be used with a sexual connotation. Only Mexico considers it a sexual word above all.
This is a curious divergence from the Castilian norm, especially considering the importance that the vice-royalty had on Mexican speech. |
_________________
Each of us inevitable; Each of us limitless - each of us with his or her right upon the earth; Each of us allowed the eternal purports of the earth; Each of us here as divinely as any is here. ~ Walt Whitman
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 24, 2007 - 02:32 AM
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Joined: Apr 12, 2007
Posts: 472
Location: NYC
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BTW, Fer...that joke on the Blizza, Blizza blog...it's not accurate. Dominicans speak the exact same variety of Spanish as Puerto Ricans. And, god knows, my mother (born in Altamira, in the mountains near Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic, but raised in Puerto Rico) would also agree. Cojer is just cojer in both San Juan and Santo Domingo. Of course you should really know the distinction between reflexive/intransitive "donde SE puede cojer" and transitive "donde puedo cojer".
Frankly, that meaning for "cojer" is an archaic survival of what was once a euphemistic use of "cojer" in Spain. Recall that the empire was implanted first and lasted longer in the Caribbean. Changes in usage in peninsular Spanish were quicker to be adopted there then elsewhere. It's one reason behind the total abscence of "vos" in the Caribbean and Spain.
And cojer is not catch, despite what the site says. Its meaning is "to take". And just like "take" in English, it forms a plethora of compounds (i.e. "encojer", literally, to take in...as in the hem of a clothing.) The idomatic term "to catch a bus" would sound utterly ridiculous in Spanish. You just can NOT catch a bus in Spanish, no matter how hard you tried or how big a catcher's mitt you used.
One final note...to use cojer in a sexual context in Caribbean Spanish is to literally descend to a level of vulgarity that even the vulgar shy away from. It's just that offensive. It is usually only used in reference to prostitutes. |
_________________
Each of us inevitable; Each of us limitless - each of us with his or her right upon the earth; Each of us allowed the eternal purports of the earth; Each of us here as divinely as any is here. ~ Walt Whitman
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 25, 2007 - 01:58 AM
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Site Admin
Joined: Aug 26, 2006
Posts: 440
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| If those little things which dare not speak their name turn out to be annoying, just say so. The troubleshooting makes less fun, but it slowly looks like what I want it to look like. The experience would be most certainly helpfull for the upcoming conversion to SMF. |
_________________
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of liberty must undergo the fatigues of supporting it." Thomas Paine
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 25, 2007 - 04:09 AM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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We shall not speak of these things that are not to be spoken of... but I think they might be spawning. Either that, or the GRD pixies sprinkled them with pixie dust and so making them visible.
I suspect that it is spawning. Everyone knows that while there are such things as pixies, it is a superstitious myth that they sprinkle anything with pixie dust. |
_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 28, 2007 - 01:46 AM
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Site Admin
Joined: Aug 26, 2006
Posts: 440
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I have tested the conversion from PNphpBB to SMF:
http://fufbuf.gayrepublic.org/
The conversion moves smoothly, you can test it all there. In case there is a consensus to move, I can make this within the next days. This forum will be taken off (or disallowed to post, whatever) and all you need to do is to bookmark the new URL.
Some extra-wishes like more beautifull themes etc will be served either when I find time, or you can simply twin a consisting theme and play with settings using a test account.
Enjoy. |
_________________
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of liberty must undergo the fatigues of supporting it." Thomas Paine
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 28, 2007 - 07:06 AM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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Mmmmmmm. Sweet.
So far I find few problems with it. Its search function is a little odd -- I was searching for topics that contained posts regarding General Pace in order to test the merge function (that works just fine). The search found instances of the string of letters PACE, all right. It just found them when included in the word MySpace as well. Adding the man's rank to the search did not limit it at all... it just added all the instances of 'generally.' (Note to self... stop using that word so much.)
The other thing is a trivial matter... everyone's signature line is missing it's first character. If that proves to be the worst of the translation difficulties... how pleasant!
Happily, the spammers who are so fond of that URL have yet to figure out how to post. (Though we've already collected two "new members" there since the conversion). |
_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 28, 2007 - 09:42 PM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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| I take that back... only one of the two new members at the test forum is new; the other is a really quiet member from here. So the cyborgs have yet to begin their assault. |
_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 29, 2007 - 02:35 AM
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Site Admin
Joined: Aug 26, 2006
Posts: 440
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There is something like a "Karma" in that forum, which has extraorbitant and unpredictable values... Are you sure that function works as it should?
So, shall we move or not? |
_________________
"Those who expect to reap the blessings of liberty must undergo the fatigues of supporting it." Thomas Paine
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Post subject:
Posted: Sep 29, 2007 - 04:44 AM
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Joined: Sep 06, 2006
Posts: 1754
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For myself, I like it. I think we should change over to it when it is convenient.
The Karma thing was just an experiment to see how it would work. I suppose that it might have a certain value with a larger (or more quarrelsome) pool of members. There is a phenomenon on large boards that many have noticed (and some people find quite objectionable): namely that while all posters are nominally equal, some posters are "more equal" than others. It is a fact that in any group, the opinions of some carry more weight than the opinions of others... even to the point of a variable interpretation of the rules. The Karma function is a crude attempt to quantify this phenomenon.
Clearly the current settings are of no use at all (one may 'applaud' or 'smite' as many times as one wishes with no time interval between 'votes'... and anyone with more than three posts to their credit may do so). Limiting the function to those whose post counts represent a greater investment in the board and putting much more stringent limits on its use might make it more useful. I can think of at least four Left-leaning forums that would benefit greatly from this sort of graphic display of public confidence in individual posters. After all... they are all great boosters for "democracy." The experiment would, I think, prove edifying.
I do not see any use that we can put this function to currently. Having turned it on to play with it a bit, I will shortly turn it back off -- but not before I take revenge on Kyle for "smiting" me.
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_________________
"If you want the freedom, the abilities, you have to find a way. Just don't be so passive. We are capable of so much more." -- Larry Kramer
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