There may be countries such as Singapore, where officially the first language is not English. My mother tongue would be Mandarin (even though I'm Teochew), and if you go by country, Singapore lists Malay as the first language. So even though most of the 4 million or so Singaporeans, actually speak English as a first language, they may be categorised as using Mandarin, Malay or Tamil as their first language.
Other countries in a similar situation would include, for example, South Africa and Malaysia. Most of the population probably speak Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, Malay, Hakka, Tamil etc. as a first language, but English is a language of communication common across the different ethnic groups. So the number of 'English speakers' is really dependent on the methodology used.
Hindi fulfills a similar role as a common language in linguistically diverse India, so the counting the number of Hindi speakers is subject to a similar kind of dynamic.
32 in a few days. Margaret Thatcher's 1979 election victory is my first political memory, though I vaguely remember the Queen's Jubilee in 1977 - our street was decked out in flags and bunting. How times change.
what's your longest nonstop trip, monkeys?
36 hours - Kathmandu to London by way of Abu Dhabi and Bahrain on GulfAir. :)
The 36 hours was the flying time, including hanging around at airports waiting to change planes. It doesn't include getting to the airport 3 hours early to check in (and having all my bags searched for stolen treasures or weapons; due to the Maoist uprising in Nepal, they are very security-conscious and my bags were searched trip). It also doesn't include about 3 hours to get home from the airport (travelling across London and all the trains were messed up!). So it was probably around 42 hours from beginning to end.
Less tiring than it sounds! The view of the desert over India was great in broad daylight; I got something to eat and read some magazines and did some shopping at Abu Dhabi; Bahrain is a very comfortable airport to relax in and I tried to buy some shoes (all too small, unfortunately); and I may have dozed a bit on the flight over Europe - I can't remember watching the in-flight film anyway!
Fes, languagehat et al...
The closest North American equivalent to 'whingeing' (you can spell it like this too!) is probably 'kvetching' ... subtly different from whining and bitching...
Sorry, just had to add to this excellent thread.
Two other good Greenaway films :-
The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover. It also has books as one of its themes (the 'lover' runs a bookshop), as well as food, nudity, revenge and death, other Greenaway staples. It was made in the 1980s, when I think Greenaway was very angry, and is partly a diatribe against (Greenaway's view of) the philistinism of Thatcher's Britain and valuing money over culture (literary or culinary!) and love.
The Pillow Book. Also partly about text, and a bit of a 'skin flick' so to speak. It works better on the big screen than on DVD or video. An interesting story (inspired in part by the tradition of Japanese 'pillow books' - diaries kept by ladies of the medieval Japanese court) and with a revenge theme as well. Has the theme of the corrupting influence of money (in the shape of a publisher who blackmails the main character's father and corrupts her lover) in common with The Cook... Lots and lots of male nudity too. It's also a very visually rich film.
All of Greenaway's films, in fact, are visually very rich and are unusual for that reason; in some ways they are much more like paintings (those which inspire him - Renaissance masters, ukiyo-e etc.) than 'normal' films. He's definitely one of a kind, which is why you either love him or hate him.
One of the best films by one of my favourite directors... but languagehat is right, you either love him or hate him.
My interpretation of the film was slightly different. Prospero's character changes as the film progresses, from being a man who lives through his books, on his island on the fringes of life to being someone more able to engage fully with the world, and with the people he loves (his daughter); a scholar who becomes a more compassionate and well-rounded person by looking up from his books. The books are beautiful but no substitute living life.
Though it's been a while since I've seen it and the above doesn't go any way towards doing true justice to the full richness of the film.
I must admit that the 'Englishness' angle had never occurred to me; Greenaway is stylistically a very 'British' director, but I don't think he deliberately sets out to be particularly 'British'. (And he's a lot more than that too).
Good links, thanks homunculus. What is happening in Nepal right now is pretty scary, in some ways reminiscent of Peru in the 1980s (but for now, most of the country is still fairly safe; it's a bigger place than it looks on the map, when you factor in the mountainous terrain and the fact that transport between different parts of the country are difficult and complicated). The massacre of the royal family and subsequent acts of repression by the new king, as well as the failure of the main political parties to form a stable government, acted as a catalyst for the Maoist uprising.
The Nepali Times is probably the best online source of news and analysis about Nepal.
(I may be going back there next year if the situation doesn't deteriorate further).
For what it's worth, I really like the stuff that's being posted here, so carry on doing your own thing and don't worry about any other site... seems to be doing nicely by itself. :)
yhbc :- I get that too.
There may be countries such as Singapore, where officially the first language is not English. My mother tongue would be Mandarin (even though I'm Teochew), and if you go by country, Singapore lists Malay as the first language. So even though most of the 4 million or so Singaporeans, actually speak English as a first language, they may be categorised as using Mandarin, Malay or Tamil as their first language. Other countries in a similar situation would include, for example, South Africa and Malaysia. Most of the population probably speak Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaans, Malay, Hakka, Tamil etc. as a first language, but English is a language of communication common across the different ethnic groups. So the number of 'English speakers' is really dependent on the methodology used. Hindi fulfills a similar role as a common language in linguistically diverse India, so the counting the number of Hindi speakers is subject to a similar kind of dynamic.
posted by plep 18 years ago
In "Gamebooks."
Hey - you know that many of these are back in print?
posted by plep 18 years ago
In "The Medieval Bestiary: animals in the middle ages."
[this is good]
posted by plep 19 years ago
In "Curious George: So how old are you really?"
32 in a few days. Margaret Thatcher's 1979 election victory is my first political memory, though I vaguely remember the Queen's Jubilee in 1977 - our street was decked out in flags and bunting. How times change.
posted by plep 19 years ago
In "Curious George: Long Haul Flight"
what's your longest nonstop trip, monkeys? 36 hours - Kathmandu to London by way of Abu Dhabi and Bahrain on GulfAir. :) The 36 hours was the flying time, including hanging around at airports waiting to change planes. It doesn't include getting to the airport 3 hours early to check in (and having all my bags searched for stolen treasures or weapons; due to the Maoist uprising in Nepal, they are very security-conscious and my bags were searched trip). It also doesn't include about 3 hours to get home from the airport (travelling across London and all the trains were messed up!). So it was probably around 42 hours from beginning to end. Less tiring than it sounds! The view of the desert over India was great in broad daylight; I got something to eat and read some magazines and did some shopping at Abu Dhabi; Bahrain is a very comfortable airport to relax in and I tried to buy some shoes (all too small, unfortunately); and I may have dozed a bit on the flight over Europe - I can't remember watching the in-flight film anyway!
posted by plep 19 years ago
In "Indians abused at US military camp in Iraq"
With a population of around one billion (compared with 300 million Americans), India is the largest democracy on the planet, surely?
posted by plep 19 years ago
In "Newton's Manuscripts Online."
[this is good!]
posted by plep 19 years ago
In ""My Mind is a Web Browser""
Fascinating - thanks for the link.
posted by plep 19 years ago
In "100 faces of Arturo Brachetti, master of metamorphosis."
[this is good]
posted by plep 20 years ago
In "MeFI selectively open"
Fes, languagehat et al... The closest North American equivalent to 'whingeing' (you can spell it like this too!) is probably 'kvetching' ... subtly different from whining and bitching... Sorry, just had to add to this excellent thread.
posted by plep 20 years ago
In "Monkey Love."
Congratulations. :) .
posted by plep 20 years ago
In "An Old Favourite."
Two other good Greenaway films :- The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover. It also has books as one of its themes (the 'lover' runs a bookshop), as well as food, nudity, revenge and death, other Greenaway staples. It was made in the 1980s, when I think Greenaway was very angry, and is partly a diatribe against (Greenaway's view of) the philistinism of Thatcher's Britain and valuing money over culture (literary or culinary!) and love. The Pillow Book. Also partly about text, and a bit of a 'skin flick' so to speak. It works better on the big screen than on DVD or video. An interesting story (inspired in part by the tradition of Japanese 'pillow books' - diaries kept by ladies of the medieval Japanese court) and with a revenge theme as well. Has the theme of the corrupting influence of money (in the shape of a publisher who blackmails the main character's father and corrupts her lover) in common with The Cook... Lots and lots of male nudity too. It's also a very visually rich film. All of Greenaway's films, in fact, are visually very rich and are unusual for that reason; in some ways they are much more like paintings (those which inspire him - Renaissance masters, ukiyo-e etc.) than 'normal' films. He's definitely one of a kind, which is why you either love him or hate him.
posted by plep 20 years ago
One of the best films by one of my favourite directors... but languagehat is right, you either love him or hate him. My interpretation of the film was slightly different. Prospero's character changes as the film progresses, from being a man who lives through his books, on his island on the fringes of life to being someone more able to engage fully with the world, and with the people he loves (his daughter); a scholar who becomes a more compassionate and well-rounded person by looking up from his books. The books are beautiful but no substitute living life. Though it's been a while since I've seen it and the above doesn't go any way towards doing true justice to the full richness of the film. I must admit that the 'Englishness' angle had never occurred to me; Greenaway is stylistically a very 'British' director, but I don't think he deliberately sets out to be particularly 'British'. (And he's a lot more than that too).
posted by plep 20 years ago
In "Today in Kathmandu was the fourth day"
Good links, thanks homunculus. What is happening in Nepal right now is pretty scary, in some ways reminiscent of Peru in the 1980s (but for now, most of the country is still fairly safe; it's a bigger place than it looks on the map, when you factor in the mountainous terrain and the fact that transport between different parts of the country are difficult and complicated). The massacre of the royal family and subsequent acts of repression by the new king, as well as the failure of the main political parties to form a stable government, acted as a catalyst for the Maoist uprising. The Nepali Times is probably the best online source of news and analysis about Nepal. (I may be going back there next year if the situation doesn't deteriorate further).
posted by plep 20 years ago
In "I say we mutiny!"
For what it's worth, I really like the stuff that's being posted here, so carry on doing your own thing and don't worry about any other site... seems to be doing nicely by itself. :) yhbc :- I get that too.
posted by plep 20 years ago
(limited to the most recent 20 comments)