Kamis, 31 Agustus 2006

Alan Siegrist, a professional Japanese-English translator, member of both Japan Association of Translators (JAT) and American Translators Association (ATA), has finally solved the mystery of gibberish “Asian Font”.

With Alan’s help, I have compiled this following chart:



Obviously the characters themselves might be correct and have meanings in both Chinese and Japanese.

However, the characters have nothing to do with the English alphabet, yet many tattoo shops consider this template as a valid translation tool, and using it to translate English names and words into Chinese and Japanese.

Alan has also mentioned:

"There are no equivalents for the letters V and W. This looks like the right side of , but is the closest full character I can find. This looks like the radical in the top-right of . This looks like the radical in the bottom-left of . * The character for "Y" is a mystery, looking something like 米米産 as one character.

If you look carefully, you will note a pattern of where the partial radicals come from:

(C) = (D) + (A)
(G) = (I) + (H)
(N) = (O) + (P)
(R) = (T) + (S) "

We have also found an actual website that is still currently selling this gibberish "Asian font" along with some other designs for $64.99.


Selasa, 29 Agustus 2006

Well, having been threatened with harassing for not posting here I am, back at it once more.

But first the excuses - the excuses for no posting for a whole month:
You see, not content with the crazy merry-go-round that writing has become in my life, I decided to up and get married, and have been away on my honeymoon for the last three weeks. A wonderful, bizarre, surprising and very real experience with my beautiful best friend.

Yet that is now all done, and the rush of life returns.

Since I have been gone, people have left such enthusiastic and encouraging remarks, many brilliant insights and questions, and not a few Half-continent word challenges. I shall now endeavour to address all these.

Kaollaku asks: "Any plans to release a version of the Almanac that he carries around as a companion book?"
random misfit asks: "i know ur making another 2 books but have u considered the wandering almanac orthe incomplete book of bogles?"
There is hope that this might be possible, certainly Dyan my publisher at Omnibus Books (the lady who discovered me as it were, who took that risk) and I have talk with great enthusiasm about such things, but it remains to be seen if MBT is successful enough to allow such volumes to be made. Sure would love it, both exist in very rough draft forms. We'll just have to wait and see.

midwishin asks: "Is it just me or does the half-continent have a vague resemblance to the south-eastern corner of Australia. If so, does this mean that Rossamund is traveling to Adelaide, or is it Melbourne? (My bet is on Adelaide.)"
Yes indeed the Hc does quite intentionally have resemblance to the south-east of Oz. Being raised in Adelaide has shaped my instinctive internal landscape and I naturally find it the foundation for an imagined world. That being said, the connection is not absolute, so High Vesting is not a corollary for Adelaide (that honour belongs more to Brandenbrass, but even then the compass points are turned on their heads = north is south, south is north), neither is Wörms or Gottingenin a proxy for Melbourne. The landscape of Rossamünd's peregrinations is much like the places I know so well, behind the Adelaide hills, from Stirling to Strathalbyn, via Meadows and Maccelsfield - a strange hodge-podge of European and native vegetation, straw brown hills and cool gully breezes. Those who know Kuitpo forest, for example, might recognise something of the Brindleshaws there. It's a well known axiom that a writer should write what they know, and I know these places well.
Even so, I do not tend to transplant a whole real place into the Hc as is - it is more the sense, the impression, the vibe, the general view of it I use, to help make the Hc places more real within, more like a memory of somewhere I have really been than just a vague, hard to grip invention.

midwishin asks again: "The title of the series is Monster Blood Tattoo, however in the book it's always written as monster-blood tattoo. Why is there no hyphen in the title?"
Being that I am a illustrator and designer by training and trade, I felt the omission of the hyphen on the cover worked better visually, and that it would be acceptable to address this apparent 'error' by using the hyphen correctly in the text itself. I did not intend to offend, just sometimes practice needs to be subordinated to aesthetics - but only sometimes, and I hope those who struggle with this will extend me a little leeway for the sake of a nice design.

markus asks: "Quick question: Was the word "Fulgar" derived from the word "Trafalgar"? "
The answer to that is "no". Fulgar comes from the Tutin (Latin) 'fulgur' = lightning, thunderbolt, 'fulgoris' = lightning, flash, brightness -and is also found in fulgaris, the metal-bound rods used by fulgars, coiled in copper (also known as fulgurite).

The Hc was and continues to be conceived for adult tastes - for my tastes - I want it to be solid, for consequences in it to be real and genuinely dangerous, for concepts to feel plausible even if they are make-believe. As a I child I loved reading books that did just this, and so in inventing for myself as a adult, am doing the same for me as a child too. I intend Rossamünd's story to be enjoyed by all, not just children, that though the protagonist might be a child, and the books released by children publishers, I do not want people thinking that means it is only for children - I intend it just as much for adults.

And just a note regarding the Explicarium, for almost every entry in it, I could have included ten times as much information and each of those entries were there only because they occurred in the story itself. There is definitely much more of the Hc to be explored, and I have no intention of covering it all in just the MBT series.

... and I thoroughly approve and am powerfully encouraged by the use of Hc words as handles or in everyday conversation. Very cool.

For breakfast I had Coco Pops [TM] and a banana smoothie (very expensive with banana prices as they are).

And now: Half-Continent synonyms for real-world terms #004
Several folk have taken up the challenge and given me nice meaty words to tackle. Thank you.

football = football (sorry about that but that is the honest truth - I considered this one years ago, even figured out teams that play in an inter-citystate league) though the Tutin for it is follisa, and for a football player a follisator.

tweezers = unguidigia said "un'gwi'dij'ee'ah" or privers.

stethoscope = viscerausculator said "viss'ser'orz'skew'late'or" or cardiausculatologue said "kar'dee'orsk'kew'latt'oh'log".

lighter = flint-and-steel (I gather you mean a cigarette-lighter or such like).

obsolete = hmm, well in one sense the word is just the same but there are vernacular renderings: "gaffed" or "turned to vapours" or "gone to snot" - which is a reference to the Phlegms, an ancient race, the progenitors of the Attics and the Tutins, now extinct, also found in the term Phlegmish science, meaning ancient, hard to understand or defunct ideas.

Is this ok Ninjana, it's been a while I know, but dread of your heckling is motivation indeed!

NOTE: MBT = Monster Blood Tattoo, Hc = Half-Continent

http://www.bmezine.com/tattoo/A60828/high/bmepb336135.jpg

This photo was submitted to BMEzine.com's gallery in August 28th accompanied with the following caption:

"lettering that was suppose to say Jason"

(by Doc, A & B Productions, Brown City, Michigan)

Another sucker of the downloadable gibberish “Asian font”.


Sabtu, 26 Agustus 2006

Reader Robert found this photo posted in one of Lostcherry.com’s pages and would like to know what the phrase meant.


http://www.lostcherry.com/viewimage.php?u=163773&albumid=0&i=1420980233

The top character means “very, too, much; big; extreme”, and the bottom one means “break wind; fart; buttocks”.

In Chinese slang, especially in internet lingo, 太屁 means “lame” or "pathetic".

Update: August 27, 2006 - According to the original website, the tattoo is supposed to be "fat ass".

If that is true, the top character should be , not .


Jumat, 25 Agustus 2006

I saw this shirt in Guess' store window today.

Short Sleeved Tee at Guess store 1

Short Sleeve Tee at Guess store 2

When I asked the sales lady what the Japanese on the shirt meant, she replied "that is CHINESE" but still did not know what they meant.


Rabu, 23 Agustus 2006

I saw this photo in someone's MySpace page. He has since then closed his MySpace account, but the photo is still available at photopile.com.


http://www.photopile.com/photos/LORDCHINO/Tattoos/243692.jpg

I assume the last character is , which means "fortunate" or "lucky".

Notice his username "Lord Chino"? I am unsure about if he is referring to

1. Trousers made from coarse twilled cotton fabric
2. Spanish word for Chinese


Selasa, 08 Agustus 2006

I caught a glimpse of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart tonight, where he made fun of Condoleezza Rice's Chinese character tattoo.

Jon Stewart makes fun of Condoleezza Rice's tattoo
Videos: 4.12 MB Divx, 2.39 MB Windows Media, and mirror

This is after the Daily Show aired a clip showing Condoleezza Rice tried to use a Chinese phrase to describe American's war in Iraq (or terrorism in general?) during a news conference in August 6, 2006.

By the way, the term Condoleezza Rice used does not actually mean "danger+opportunity=crisis". My good friend Mark Swofford at Pinyin.info has posted an essay by Victor H. Mair on this misperception.

The character on Condoleezza's shoulder means "pig".


Update: August 9, 2006 - After receiving two emails from readers that felt the need to share their inside knowledge about The Daily Show with everyone, I just want to point out for those who hasn’t already know, The Daily Show is produced by Comedy Central, and it is a satirical television program.

The show is hosted by “the most trusted name in fake news” Jonathan Stuart Leibowitz, also known as Jon Stewart.

Another headline from the Gullible Readers’ Digest: Is Ali G, Borat Sagdiyev, Bruno, and Sacha Baron Cohen the same person?

Say it ain’t so!


Senin, 07 Agustus 2006

In August 7th issue of Maclean’s magazine (Canada’s leading weekly magazine), there was an article titled Botched in Translation about Hanzi Smatter by Nancy MacDonald.

maclean's magazine August 07, 2006
(larger view)

Besides the rectangular tidbit at lower right corner of the page about “Polish grannies making skimpy, see-through women’s thong using traditional crochet patterns”, I thought the parts about tattooist 6ix Acheson (yes, that is his name “6ix” with a number in it) and Dr. Gerald Boey were very good:
“[6ix] Acheson thinks accuracy is a responsibility shared equally by client and artist. ‘Even if the client comes in carrying a drawing, they shouldn’t just blast it on.’”

“‘Unfortunately, it’s a buyer-beware market,’ cautions Dr. Gerald Boey of Vancouver’s Arbutus Laser Centre, a specialist in laser removal, noting that about 20 percent of those with tattoos are considering removal.”
Thanks Nancy!


Jumat, 04 Agustus 2006

I was talking to a friend of mine Marc about a new Asian-themed restaurant just opened in northern Scottsdale called Ten Asian Bistro. A quick browse through their website, I have spotted something that is not quite right. Under each item in the rollover menu, it has a corresponding character.



For someone that is not familiar with Chinese or Japanese, one might think the characters are actual translations of “home”, “menu”, “general info”, and so on.



These are random characters that are there to give the website an “Asian” feel. Especially when is used for both “home”, “décor”, for “general info” and “reservations”.

Recently in Phoenix New Times, Stephen Lemons wrote this about another Scottsdale restaurant called Ippei Japanese Bistro:
“Ippei general manager Justin Cohen would not allow any photos of his restaurant's food. His lack of confidence is telling… Ippei aims to be destination dining, but it is not there yet. As of now, I'd rather do the five or six hours via car to L.A. But if you're in Ippei's vicinity, you could do worse. After all, both McGrath's Fish House and the White Chocolate Grill share the same complex.”
Ouch.

I was about to post this, then I got an email from Igor with this photo of a Japanese restaurant he visited.


http://flickr.com/photos/ushkarev/197491685/

What are those characters in the left plaque? It could be due to poor lighting, but doesn’t the chef appears to be more Hispanic than Japanese?

Domo Arigato, Senor Avocado San.

P.s. Do not even get me started on the establishment known as P. F. Chang’s.

Selasa, 01 Agustus 2006

Miara tipped me about during one of Carlos Mencia's monologues in season one of Mind of Mencia, Carlos has talked about people getting tattoos.


video: 3.35 MB windows media or YouTube
“…Let me get this straight, you got a tattoo in jail from a guy that has failed English and Spanish, but now he knows Chinese, is that what you telling me?

You have 26 letters in English and Spanish kicked his ass, but 1,300 characters in the Chinese language…

Are you retarded?! I can’t wait till this guy ends up in Chinatown and some Chinese guy goes: ‘oh, that is a beautiful tattoo, so you love to suck *bleep*…”
Having a tattooist who can't even spell words in English correctly to do your tattoo in another language would be a problem... It does sound like that person I recently got those angry comments from...