Didn't do anything (June 26)

[Squeaky Bunny]

Es muy borracho, Si?

EsTÁ muy borracho.

You too???

[The JAM]

No, you silly bunny, that would be ESTOY. Your response, however, makes me wonder if I should use ESTÁS

[Madmoonie]

Todas los personas en este foro estan LOCA!

(Perdóneme para digo el español mal. Lo siento)

[Wanderwolf]

Todas los personas en este foro estan LOCA!

(Perdóneme para digo el español mal. Lo siento)

Esta bien. Yo hablo español menos que usted.

Con mucho gusto,

El lobombre,

Viajero

(I hope that's about right. Most dictionaries don't have an entry for "Wanderer" in other languages.)

[Sableneko]

When did this turn into a Spanish lesson?

[StrangeWulf13]

I can safely say that more than half of the people here speak one or more languages.

Go ahead and think about that for a second.




Anyway, when your readers come from all around the world, it should be no surprise that when someone speaks a language other than English, the natives will inevitably critique and correct you. I feel kinda bad for those guys speaking Portuguese on the internet... 'cause us American schmucks keep asking if they're speaking Spanish...

Hey! That gives me an idea!

Q: How many Spanish-speaking people does it take to fix a website?

A: I TOLD YOU ALREADY!! IT'S NOT SPANISH; IT'S PORTUGUESE!!



Mmmm, yeeeeaaaaahhh... not my best work...

[EdBecerra]

That's why Rahan might reasonably expect to get singed once in a while, but Quentyn can equally expect to have to die while fulfilling his duties. (He's already as good as done it.)

Meh. The trouble with heroes like that is that Fate (or WhatEver) often appears to cheat - either in this life, or (should it exist) in the next. Rather like the Disney version of Hercules... the good guy gets a reward even after death. The heroes are getting more because they've given more. That always irks me, because it seems to cheat the guys who've paid their dues by standing in line, depending on seniority.

I like the idea of the "Deteriorata" being the theme song of the universe.

That way, the universe makes more sense. To me, at least.

You are a fluke
Of the universe.
You have no right to be here.
And whether you can hear it or not
The universe is laughing behind your back.

Heh.

Then again, maybe I'm just cranky and bitter.

[SolidusRaccoon]

Es muy borracho, Si?

EsTÁ muy borracho.

Master Bo?

[Wanderwolf]

Pardon the unpopular observation, but... well, Rahan isn't entirely wrong.

I mean, Quentyn gets censured by the council, goes to talk to the people who voted against him, and Master Rillcreek complains that Quentyn exhibited unprofessional behavior. So what's his response? He immediately falls back on what Rillcreek himself calls "hurt baby fawn" eyes. Rillcreek only half-jokingly calls Quentyn a "shameless manipulator".

Thing is, as Quentyn would likely answer, it's what works for him. He's half the size of other people his age (Kestrel excepted), so muscle and maturity don't really work as options; he doesn't have enough muscle, and people look at him and see a child. (I sometimes think that's part of the reason the gragum didn't get more upset; "The shaman got killed by this!?") He doesn't like having to play the "poor me" card, because he's bluntly sick of it. But it works.

Yours truly,

The observing,

Wanderer

[Straw]

Pardon the unpopular observation, but... well, Rahan isn't entirely wrong.

I mean, Quentyn gets censured by the council, goes to talk to the people who voted against him, and Master Rillcreek complains that Quentyn exhibited unprofessional behavior. So what's his response? He immediately falls back on what Rillcreek himself calls "hurt baby fawn" eyes. Rillcreek only half-jokingly calls Quentyn a "shameless manipulator".

Thing is, as Quentyn would likely answer, it's what works for him. He's half the size of other people his age (Kestrel excepted), so muscle and maturity don't really work as options; he doesn't have enough muscle, and people look at him and see a child. (I sometimes think that's part of the reason the gragum didn't get more upset; "The shaman got killed by this!?") He doesn't like having to play the "poor me" card, because he's bluntly sick of it. But it works.

Well yeah Rahan isn't entirely wrong but what other choices did Quentyn have? 'Be a man' like Rahan?

Eh anyway I think it's in everyone's best interest(including Rahan's) that Rahan thinks through just what he has been doing all these year and what for.

[on a sidenote with the different languages used here, in finnish Rahan's name translates into money's(the possessive case)]

[Lee M]

I can safely say that more than half of the people here speak one or more languages.

Go ahead and think about that for a second.




Anyway, when your readers come from all around the world, it should be no surprise that when someone speaks a language other than English, the natives will inevitably critique and correct you. I feel kinda bad for those guys speaking Portuguese on the internet... 'cause us American schmucks keep asking if they're speaking Spanish...

Hey! That gives me an idea!

Q: How many Spanish-speaking people does it take to fix a website?

A: I TOLD YOU ALREADY!! IT'S NOT SPANISH; IT'S PORTUGUESE!!



Mmmm, yeeeeaaaaahhh... not my best work...

"Operator, can you connect me to Spain?"
"Only if you're Portugal, sir."

Guess that's not my best work either.

[Squeaky Bunny]

No, you silly bunny, that would be ESTOY. Your response, however, makes me wonder if I should use ESTÁS

Si, estas. zzzzz

[Shyal_malkes]

what's funny is my brother is right now out there learning spanish so he can speak it in california.

[The JAM]

[...unWARP!!!]

Good evening.


Sorry, it's just that every time someone says something wrong in Spanish, it triggers the gamma energy in my blood and it transforms me into the Incredible Spanish Teacher

Now then:

Todas los personas en este foro estan LOCA!

(Perdóneme para digo el español mal. Lo siento)

Your predicate adjective should agree in number with the subject noun. Should be LOCAS. Also, you're doing an exclamation, and I suppose your keyboard isn't configured for Latin Americans. The initial exclamation point (¡) ASCII code is ALT-0161. The initial question mark (¿) is ALT-0191

You said perdóneme, meaning you're addressing one person, which I'd assume is me. You're also using the formal address, which I find flattering . If you're talking to more than one person, it's perdónenme.

"For" is a rather tricky word to translate. Para is used when meaning "toward", denoting ownership (eso es para él), or before a predicate adjective (eso es para correr).
Por is used when meaning "on behalf/instead of" (lo hago por él), ownership of action (escrito por él), or to answer the question "why" (¿porqué? por esta causa...)

Digo is I say. You should have used the infinitive decir.

Esta bien. Yo hablo español menos que usted.

Con mucho gusto,

El lobombre,

Viajero

(I hope that's about right. Most dictionaries don't have an entry for "Wanderer" in other languages.)

Hey, Wanderwolf, you actually said it right!! (I'll ignore missing accents if you don't have your keyboard configured for them).

I won't say Lobombre is incorrect, since it's a proper noun that you created. A good variant of hombre-lobo, "werewolf", but I assume your avatar isn't a werewolf, but an anthro wolf, which is completely different.

Viajero means "traveler", that is, someone with a defined destination. "Wanderer" is errante.

Spanish is quite similar to Portuguese, though it's a bit hard for me to understand when spoken (Portuguese sounds like someone is speaking Spanish with their teeth glued together). I can understand it better when it's written.

[singing]
....Na fila do cinema todo mundo se afogou...
[/singing]

Não estoy tomadu, Squeaky, é vocé quem está tomaduo...

Now watch as a Brazilian storms in here to correct me


Until next time, remember:

I

AM

THE

J.A.M. (a.k.a. Numbuh i. "Just because I'm imaginary doesn't mean I don't exist")

Good evening.

[WARP!!!]

[Acolyte]

Meh. The trouble with heroes like that is that Fate (or WhatEver) often appears to cheat - either in this life, or (should it exist) in the next. Rather like the Disney version of Hercules... the good guy gets a reward even after death. The heroes are getting more because they've given more. That always irks me, because it seems to cheat the guys who've paid their dues by standing in line, depending on seniority.

I'm not sure why you think marking time is as valuable as achievement. What makes you so sure that the guys marching in place actually are using what they've been given to the best of their ability? IMO, it's virtually certain they're not. The only real difference between them and a hero is that a hero does, regardless of whether he's a Questor or an accountant.

[JakeWasHere]

So, there's part of me that feels for Rahan - he's done his time, he ought to get something for it. Instead, Fate or God or the White Stag or whatever came along and tapped Quentyn on the shoulder, not Rahan.

Well, that's grace for you. No one ever deserves it, not even those who get it, so it's useless for one to complain that he was more worthy of it than someone else. It's what you do with what you're given that counts anyway. What you're given matters of course -- the more you're given, the greater the expectation. That's why Rahan might reasonably expect to get singed once in a while, but Quentyn can equally expect to have to die while fulfilling his duties. (He's already as good as done it.)

It's less a matter of what Quentyn did to deserve it, than what Rahan did to not deserve it. Before Quentyn was called, Rahan was already being a d__k to him on almost every occasion.

I think the main difference between Quentyn and Rahan is humility. Quentyn has too much of it, while Rahan doesn't have enough.

[Earl McClaw]

Meh. The trouble with heroes like that is that Fate (or WhatEver) often appears to cheat - either in this life, or (should it exist) in the next. Rather like the Disney version of Hercules... the good guy gets a reward even after death. The heroes are getting more because they've given more. That always irks me, because it seems to cheat the guys who've paid their dues by standing in line, depending on seniority.

I prefer Heinlin's opinion on heroes:

Nature abhors a hero. For one thing, he violates the law of conservation of energy. For another, how can it be the survival of the fittest when the fittest keeps putting himself in situations where he is most likely to be creamed?

(Or was that Heinlein? David Gerrold? Somebody find out for me, please!)

As for favoring senority over achievement, I'd suggest treating senority / longevity as one of several types of achievement. Not the most important, nor the least. Making it to the front of the line is fine. Making it to the front having done good things along the way is better.

[EdBecerra]

I'm not sure why you think marking time is as valuable as achievement. What makes you so sure that the guys marching in place actually are using what they've been given to the best of their ability? IMO, it's virtually certain they're not. The only real difference between them and a hero is that a hero does, regardless of whether he's a Questor or an accountant.

Doesn't matter if they're giving to the best of their ability. What matters is that they gave TIME. Time is something you can't get back, and I begrudge every friggin' second I have to spend on someone or something else that doesn't give me pleasure. I have a limited supply of time, therefore, its value is - to me! - infinite.

Now, if I had both an infinite supply of time, and the means of being in more than one place at one time (or being able to redo the same moment over and over again as I please, criss-crossing my personal timeline), then the value of my time (to me) would drop significantly.

(Honestly, I can't understand all the crap so many fantasy novelists hand out about the angst and boredom of eternity. Hell, can't an elf or a wizard learn to just *veg out*? There's nothing quite so enjoyable as turning off your brain and just... existing, without a thought in your head. Now, maybe a few MILLION years might be enough to cause me to feel ennui. Maybe. But I digress.)

[EdBecerra]

I think the main difference between Quentyn and Rahan is humility. Quentyn has too much of it, while Rahan doesn't have enough.

I'll buy that. Particularly because that's one of my pet peeves. Humble people irk me to no end. Braggarts I enjoy, but humble people annoy me, and sincerely, deeply humble people - them I want to just throttle on the spot.

[Shyal_malkes]

see, that's just it Ed. you'de probably hate me if we actually met. not that I am humble (indeed as in screw tape letters to boast of one's own humility is to destroy that humility) but I do try to be. without at least a pinch of humility we never learn anything.