[ICTHUS]

Originally Posted by BillSPrestonEsq

What province is he from? I

I'm not sure.

Were you about to continue with that thought, BSPE? There's an I within the quotes.

I made some really good fried rice last night. Brown rice, with soy sauce, sesame oil, some Szechaun spice seasoning stuff, and some peanut butter.

[BillSPrestonEsq]

Originally Posted by ICTHUS

I'm not sure.

Were you about to continue with that thought, BSPE? There's an I within the quotes.

I made some really good fried rice last night. Brown rice, with soy sauce, sesame oil, some Szechaun spice seasoning stuff, and some peanut butter.

I was just thinking that I can't distinguish a mongolian, somone from yakutsk, and irkutsk, or someone from Northern China. Then I thought of several people groups who live in all the above and decided it was a pointless comment. I have met a few Buryiats at school though over the years.

[ICTHUS]

Originally Posted by BillSPrestonEsq

I was just thinking that I can't distinguish a mongolian, somone from yakutsk, and irkutsk, or someone from Northern China. Then I thought of several people groups who live in all the above and decided it was a pointless comment. I have met a few Buryiats at school though over the years.

Oh, no. He definitely looks European.

So I'm wondering about something, wondering if I should post about this over in advice.

My landlord lives in this house, we occupy a basement suite. He keeps coming in here and knocking on various people's doors talking to them (usually the two Mandarin/Cantonese speaking guys, Claude and Allen) at all hours of the day.

Legally, that's not on.

Residential Tenancy Act (BC) (2008)

Protection of tenant's right to quiet enjoyment

28 A tenant is entitled to quiet enjoyment including, but not limited to, rights to the following:
(a) reasonable privacy;
(b) freedom from unreasonable disturbance;
(c) exclusive possession of the rental unit subject only to the landlord's right to enter the rental unit in accordance with section 29 [landlord's right to enter rental unit restricted];
Landlord's right to enter rental unit restricted

29 (1) A landlord must not enter a rental unit that is subject to a tenancy agreement for any purpose unless one of the following applies:
(a) the tenant gives permission at the time of the entry or not more than 30 days before the entry;
(b) at least 24 hours and not more than 30 days before the entry, the landlord gives the tenant written notice that includes the following information:
(i) the purpose for entering, which must be reasonable;
(ii) the date and the time of the entry, which must be between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. unless the tenant otherwise agrees;
(c) the landlord provides housekeeping or related services under the terms of a written tenancy agreement and the entry is for that purpose and in accordance with those terms;
(d) the landlord has an arbitrator's order authorizing the entry;
(e) the tenant has abandoned the rental unit;
(f) an emergency exists and the entry is necessary to protect life or property.
(2) A landlord may inspect a rental unit monthly in accordance with subsection (1) (b).

I'm just not sure how to approach him in a way that won't piss him off. Complicating the matter is that he doesn't speak very good English...

I'm actually really surprised. That Act gives tenants a hell of a lot of rights, if it's followed well.

[ICTHUS]

So, listening to a Puirt-a-Beul (lit. "mouth-music") set by Julie Fowlis, I got an idea for a phonetics experiment. I need to carry out research of a similar nature to this for a class I need to take at some point, LING 382 - Experimental Phonetics.

Basically, Puirt-a-Beul is really, really fast singing in Scottish Gaelic, designed for dancing, and very upbeat. According to Wikipedia, some of it may have evolved out of a time when the playing of bagpipes was frowned upon or proscribed (made illegal), to keep tunes in memory and to assist pipers in learning them later.

What if I got a recording of someone singing puirt-a-beul, and then a recording of them saying those lyrics in Gaelic. Then, I could compare the singing signal with the spoken signal (in a program like Praat or WaveSurfer) to determine how much distinctive phonetic data (e.g. stops (eg /p/ /b/ /g/ /k/), fricatives (e.g. /f/ /v/ /s/ /z/), and approximants (/l/ /r/ /w/)) is lost by speeding up production (remember, puirt-a-beul is sung much faster than Gaidhlig normally would be pronounced). Then if I could play the original puirt-a-beul recording as a source stimulus for several Gaidhlig speakers (who, ideally, had never heard the song before) to determine if, and to what extent, they caught the meaning of what the song was about, without the lyrics, I could get an idea of how much speeding up speech production hinders comprehension in Gaidhlig.

Alas, this isn't Cape Breton Island or the Outer Hebrides and I haven't got access to a community of native speakers of Gaidhlig. In a perfect world, however, I'd love to do this sort of study.

*edit* Actually, yes I do have access to a community containing some native speakers. The folks over at Foraim na Gaidhlig...

[ICTHUS]

This is quite possibly the coolest thing I've ever seen. Liam Ó Maonlaí of the Hothouse Flowers and Paddy Keenan from the Bothy Band (the latter being one of the formative groups in the sort of modern revival of Irish traditional music) went to Mali and jammed at a music festival in the desert with Maliese musicians.

There's nothing quite like seeing Paddy Keenan playing "The Humours of Ballyloughlin" on Uillean pipes with Liam Ó Maonlaí accompanying on some kind of African skin drum, before an audience of African people in the middle of a desert, dancing to the music as if it were the most natural thing in the world for them, or Ó Maonlaí sitting with Keenan in a circle with musicans from the other side of the globe and a musical tradition totally alien to their native Ireland..jamming and actually making the styles mesh.

I've been feeling kind of blah lately. My psychiatrist warned me about this after I discontinued my medication because of the side effects. I think I'll go back on it in spite of the side effects. I've been feeling paralyzed again, which is not good.

[passinthru]

In regards to side effects from medications, some of the side effects do pass with time. It could also be worth a conversation with your psych about other meds that could be effective for you with fewer side effects.

We are not Biblical scholars and therefore are not able to intellectually hold our own in this arena regarding a woman's role. However, we decided a long time ago that God wasn't an ******* and that He did know what He was doing when He created men and women. We also decided to believe that God is righteous and just, and that we'd rather He stay unfair.

That being said, I do understand the struggle you are having with it. If we think about it for too long or too hard we can end up tied of in knots and very angry. At that point we lose sight of the Gospel and end up nit-picking verbs and context which we personally do not find to be helpful in the slightest.

oh and having gay landlords? have at it. Just don't join them for an orgy.

[ICTHUS]

Originally Posted by passinthru

In regards to side effects from medications, some of the side effects do pass with time. It could also be worth a conversation with your psych about other meds that could be effective for you with fewer side effects.

Good point.

We are not Biblical scholars and therefore are not able to intellectually hold our own in this arena regarding a woman's role. However, we decided a long time ago that God wasn't an ******* and that He did know what He was doing when He created men and women. We also decided to believe that God is righteous and just, and that we'd rather He stay unfair.

That's a good perspective to have.

oh and having gay landlords? have at it. Just don't join them for an orgy.

Heh. Not going to happen. Also...they asked someone else to move in, and the place was way too small anyway.

---------------------

I'm eating a breakfast consisting of:

Miso soup

- Chicken broth
- Miso
- Sesame oil

Corn tortilla with refried beans and cheddar cheese

It's good.

----------------------

I keep being amazed by stuff I run into by Liam Ó Maonlaí. The latest song of his I discovered is a séan-nos song dating back to the Cromwellian genocide in Ireland (roundabout 1650) that he recorded while on tour in the Czech Republic. Traditionally, séan-nos (lit: "old style") song is sung a cappella, but Ó Maonlaí accompanies himself on piano in this version. The...emotion...he puts into this song is incredible. He looks and sounds like the song is truly affecting him.

"An Raibh Tú An gCarraig" - "Were You At the Rock"

The song is basically a code. It would be sung in public, and the second verse would be a response, and depending on the response, the people would know if it was safe to go to their secret location, which would be an outdoor altar somewhere in the forest or in another place no one ever went, set upon a rock, with a priest who would have been on the run from the authorities (priests had to register with the authorites and there were bounties for priests who did not register - the bounty for bringing in the head of a priest was the same as bringing in a wolf's pelt - thirty pounds), and say Mass. So, the first line is the Irish. Second line is the literal English translation (and it is actually fairly literal, translating 'tú fhéin' as 'you yourself' for instance - that translation maintains quite a bit of Gaelige's idiomatic structure) and the third line is the metaphor - only a Catholic would know the code, so that even if you were a fluent speaker of Irish you wouldn't know what this song referred to unless you were 'in the know'

I'm going to learn this song for a session. I'll record it at some point, a cappella. You don't have to be a Roman Catholic to find this song breathtakingly beautiful. You don't have to be a Roman Catholic to find it absolutely flooring that such a beautiful piece of music arose out of a time of such inhuman cruelty in the name of Christ. That's what this song is about for me.

A note about Ó Maonlaí's pronunciation in the link above. I've noticed that he tends to slur some of his speech in Irish, particularly when he is singing really quickly or singing a text which is particularly emotional. I found another recording of it (a cappella, like a traditional séan-nos tune) by Lasairfhíona Ni Chonaola, and she pronounces it much more clearly, albeit in her pecuiliar Aran Islands/Inis Oirr dialect of Irish. I'll be using Ni Chonaola's recording for pronunciation purposes, but probably adopting Ó Maonlaí's style of singing, as I like his free-form, meter-less version better.

An raibh tú ar an gCarraig? Nó an bhfaca tú fhéin mo ghrá?
Were you on the rock? Or did you yourself see my love?
Were you at the Mass? Did you see the Virgin Mary?


Nó an bhfaca tú gile, finne, agus scéimh na mná?
Or did you see the brightness, the fairness or the beauty of the woman?
Did you take communion? And say the rosary?


Nó an bhfaca tú an t-úll? Ba deise is ba glaise bláth?
Or did you see the finest apple that came from the healthiest flower?
Did you see the chalice? Did you see the sacrifice of the Mass?


Nó an bhfaca tú mo Valentine? Nó an bhfuil sí dhá claoí mar táid ará?
Did you see my Valentine? Is she being subdued as they are saying?
Did you practice the faith? Are we being persecuted as they are saying?


O bhí mé ar an gCarraig, is chonaic mé do ghrá
O I was on the rock and I did see your love
I was at the Mass; I saw the Virgin Mary


Agus chonaic mé gile finne, agus scéimh na mná
And I saw the brightness, the fairness and the beauty of the woman
I received communion, and said the rosary


Agus chonaic mé an t-úll, ba deise is ba glaise bláth
And I did see the finest apple that came from the healthiest flower
I saw the chalice, and saw the sacrifice of the Mass


Agus chonaic mé do Valentine, is tá sí dhá claoí mar táid ará.
And I saw your Valentine; she is being subdued as they are saying.
And I practiced the faith; we are being persecuted as they are saying.

[Chrysostom]

I didn't know you had a new blog. Howdy again, Ryan.

[passinthru]

Originally Posted by ICTHUS

Good point.

It's totally worth having that conversation because we know a good number of people who are side effect free on their meds. It just took some time to get the right combination of medication and dosage. Here's hoping you too can find that balance.

That's a good perspective to have.

It's been helpful for us with a lot of things that are "controversial" within Christian circles to step back and look at who God is, instead of focusing on the argument. I know that there are things that I struggle with - like the mass genocide aspects of the Old Testament at which point all we can do is trust in the character of God. We've been spending a fair bit of time lately looking at grace and what that really means. It has simplified a lot of things for us.

For us, we're looking these days not at the people who are following the Saviour, but instead at the Saviour Himself. People are flawed, us just as much as anyone else. We would hate for someone to look at our life and think that is all there is to Christianity. The only standard is that of God Himself. We can look at how those around us interpret His words, but at the end of the day we are called to account for our own life, not theirs.

Heh. Not going to happen. Also...they asked someone else to move in, and the place was way too small anyway.

Okay, posting when we're tired, not so smart - can't quite believe we said that. :/ Having enough room is important.

I'm eating a breakfast consisting of:

Miso soup

- Chicken broth
- Miso
- Sesame oil

Corn tortilla with refried beans and cheddar cheese

It's good.

mmm - sounds yummy. Also sounds like about 1/2 your daily sodium intake right there *grin*

The song is basically a code. It would be sung in public, and the second verse would be a response, and depending on the response, the people would know if it was safe to go to their secret location, which would be an outdoor altar somewhere in the forest or in another place no one ever went, set upon a rock, with a priest who would have been on the run from the authorities (priests had to register with the authorites and there were bounties for priests who did not register - the bounty for bringing in the head of a priest was the same as bringing in a wolf's pelt - thirty pounds), and say Mass. So, the first line is the Irish. Second line is the literal English translation (and it is actually fairly literal, translating 'tú fhéin' as 'you yourself' for instance - that translation maintains quite a bit of Gaelige's idiomatic structure) and the third line is the metaphor - only a Catholic would know the code, so that even if you were a fluent speaker of Irish you wouldn't know what this song referred to unless you were 'in the know'

We're amazed at the ingenuity of people through the Ages - it is so cool how they found ways to do what they believed in despite the odds stacked against them.

I'm going to learn this song for a session. I'll record it at some point, a cappella. You don't have to be a Roman Catholic to find this song breathtakingly beautiful. You don't have to be a Roman Catholic to find it absolutely flooring that such a beautiful piece of music arose out of a time of such inhuman cruelty in the name of Christ. That's what this song is about for me.

We've found that most things that really impact people have come out of times of inhuman cruelty.

[ICTHUS]

Anyone who fances themselves a decent vocalist should check out my thread in the vocals forum and help me out.

[ICTHUS]

Things are starting to get bad here.

[BillSPrestonEsq]

Originally Posted by ICTHUS

Things are starting to get bad here.

Praying, no idea how they are getting bad, (I keep thinking storm here, with a lot of the US getting trounced, and a few of our members right in its path) Ryan.

[ICTHUS]

Originally Posted by BillSPrestonEsq

Praying, no idea how they are getting bad, (I keep thinking storm here, with a lot of the US getting trounced, and a few of our members right in its path) Ryan.

Well, for one thing, I've been ill, GI-wise. Second, my landlord 'clarified' and said he wants me out by October 1st, not November 1st. Third, he and his wife locked the laundry room for 2 days and didn't open it until this morning. I have no idea if they're going to lock it again so I'm going out to get laundry soap and doing a bunch tonight.

This is really really ****ing illegal. I'm going to the RTO on Monday. I really support the tenancy laws in this province. I've read the Residential Tenancy Act through and know my rights and responsibilities as a tenant, and I actually have a hell of a lot of rights. In general, it's a very equitable piece of legislation and it's a pity that someone purporting to rent out their home isn't required to read, understand, and agree to abide by the Act. It should be the landlord's responsibility to know the law, really.

I have a currency exchange firm wanting to schedule an interview with me on Monday. I could be a teller for them. It doesn't sound like my ideal job, but it sounds like a job. Honestly there's nothing I'd like more than a job, a steady place to live, and some stability. At least if I hate my job I'll be in a place of stability to look elsewhere. I want a place to call my home, not just a roof to crash under for the month. Please pray.

[ICTHUS]

So there's a guy named Ed who goes to our church who said he'd be willing to act as an interpreter for me and my landlord - he's from Hong Kong and speaks fluent Cantonese. I might be able to resolve this without going to Arbitration.

+1

[ICTHUS]

Thank you for...dealing...with that situation, BSPE.

I have an offer of $1000 (2 months rent + damage deposit returned) to move out by the 1st. There's no sense in refusing that kind of offer. It would be stupid to take the guy to the RTO and get next to nothing but an order that I can stay here in a place I hate anyway when this is on the table.