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Kerrie’s TAC ’12 Team Žá / Romantics Log | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Kerrie Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Kerrie2 Joined 5184 days ago 1232 posts - 1740 votes  Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 145 of 236 06 August 2012 at 6:52pm | IP Logged | ||
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Okay, this is what I got done in July.
Spanish Movies 9. Stargate SG1, (Within the Serpent's Grasp - 1), EN audio, SP subs, 44 min 10. Los Hombres Que No Amaban a Las Mujeres, SP audio, EN subs, 157 min 11. Monsters, Inc. SP audio, no subs, July 15, 2012 12. The Lion King, SP audio, no subs, July 16, 2012 13. The Jungle Book, SP audio, no subs, July 17, 2012 14. Pan's Labyrinth, SP audio, EN subs, July 18, 2012, 113 min 15. The Big Bang Theory (S1 E 3-6), SP audio, no subs, July 18-20, 2012, 80 min 16. The Lion King, SP audio, no subs, July 21, 2012 17. The Sea Inside / Mar Adentro, SP audio, SP/EN subs, July 21, 2012, 120 min 18. Cinderella / Cenicienta, SP audio, no subs, July 23, 2012 19. Puss in Boots / Gato con Botas, SP audio, SP subs, July 30, 2012 Book 3. Un Mal Principio - Una Serie de Catastróficas Desdichas, finished July 4, 2012 (162 pages) Writing 10-20. Assimil Using Spanish (Advanced) Lesson 10-22 Mar Adentro was the first (new-to-me) movie I watched completely in Spanish, with Spanish subs. My brain can't keep up completely by ear only, but with the subs I felt like I understood everything with no problems. It was a lot of mental work, but I would say it was a complete success. Excellent movie, too. French Movies 21. Spiral (S1 Eps 1-2), FR audio, EN subs, July 5, 2012 Writing 27-39 Assimil Using French (Advanced) Lesson 11-39 I've realized that I need to work more on my French before I can watch movies comfortably. If I watch with English subs, I find myself not even listening to the French. I am about a month away from finishing the Advanced Assimil Using French, and I will be moving to Teach Yourself Improve Your French and a Practice Makes Perfect Grammar book after that. I will also be reviewing/shadowing both Assimil books, along with doing other LR, so I expect my (Super Challenge) progress to slow down here, but hopefully I can work on listening skills and grammar for a bit and come back to the movie list. I expect I will watch a few in the next month or two, but I will be working on other areas so that when I read and watch movies, I will get a lot more out of it. Maybe I will try French audio and French subs with a movie I'm familiar with, and see how that goes, since my reading is far stronger than my listening comprehension. Italian Movies 1. The Magdalene Sisters, IT audio, EN subs, July 2, 2012 2. Stargate SG1 (A Matter of Time), IT audio, EN subs, July 7, 2012, 44 min -- Stargate SG1 (The Fifth Race), IT audio, EN subs, July 7, 2012, 44 min 3. Stargate SG1 (Touchstone), IT audio, EN subs, July 9, 2012, 44 min - Stargate SG1 (Thor's Chariot), IT audio, EN subs, July 9, 2012, 44 min 4. Harry Potter e la Pietra Filosofale, IT audio, no subs, July 9, 2012, 150 min 5. Stargate SG1 (Tok'ra Pt 1 & 2), IT audio, EN subs, July 14, 2012, 88 min 6. Stargate SG1 (Point of View, One Hundred Days), IT audio, EN subs, July 14, 2012, 88 min 7. Stargate SG1 (Show and Tell), IT audio, EN subs, July 14, 2012, 44 min - Stargate SG1 (With the Serpent's Grasp Pt 1), IT audio, EN subs, July 14, 2012, 44 min 8. Harry Potter e la Pietra Filosofale (audiobook, Chapter 1), July 14, 2012, 34 min Writing 5-13. Assimil Italian with Ease Lesson 33-48 I am excited for Italian. It is my August 6WC language, and I find it much easier to understand spoken Italian. I am watching more movies now, and plan to finish Assimil Italian with Ease by the end of the 6WC. I am going to try some LR (Harry Potter probably). I love how easy it is to understand compared to French. :-) German Writing 5-8. Assimil German with Ease Lesson 53-60 German, German, German. I need to find time for you. I miss you. Bosnian/Croatian Movies 5. Sorry for Kung Fu, Croatian audio, Eng subs, July 6, 2012 6. Zivot je Cudo, Croatian audio, Eng subs, July 14, 2012, 148 min 7. Fine Mrtve Djevojke (Fine Dead Girls), Croatian audio, Eng subs, July 20, 2012 Edited by Kerrie on 10 August 2012 at 5:19am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Kerrie Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Kerrie2 Joined 5184 days ago 1232 posts - 1740 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 146 of 236 10 August 2012 at 5:49am | IP Logged | ||
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So. According to my plan, I have to do an Assimil lesson a day for Spanish and French until they are finished. Yay, motivation from the consistency log. (Okay, there's only three or four people following it, but still.) I set myself a goal. And now I have this problem. It's called lesson 33. If anyone is interested in what Using Spanish is like, it's really a wonderful book. I'm not sure if it's just me tonight, or if this lesson is just . . . really, really out there. This is not my thing. 1. Loves with uncertain profile, the most unhinged dreams, the less probable desires, fantasies that enclose the most of excess, 2. they are all torrents that drag the essence of life and that, raffling the meanderings of the week, run to the mouth that is Friday, 3. the day of Venus, the one with magic charm. 4. Yes, in the hands of its night we can find the burning torch of desire, 5. pulled by the time to the one who, long ago, enjoyed lonely the rank of the eve; to Saturday. 6. This displacement, almost geographical, converts Sunday into a day of undertow in a vast desert of mirages and apprehensions in which movement is more reticent 7. and in which imagination evokes Monday with black letters 8. as dark and sombre as the hold of the galley on which hundreds of slaves row without knowing where they are going to or where they are coming from, 9. ignorant of another project and hesitating about theirs, maybe because of remembering that 10. "on Tuesday don't marry and don't embark". 11. The sun of the week only begins to rise on Wednesday and, though pale, 12. its rays already announce warm promises that, as arrows, they go off to conquer the horizon piercing through Thursday fast. 13. In fact, on Friday, already at the time of waking up anxiety colours sensations and objects in a different way: 14. snow is less cold and whiter and if it rains the sky is not so grey. 15. Everything is invitation to excess, even the phone rings more frequently. 16. The alternatives - friends, anniversaries, appointments, dances, cinemas, parties, dinners... - are so many and they are so attractive that one can even decide not to decide but to wander through adventure the whole night. 17. The frantic leisure of Friday is inspired with the furious dream to which every human being aspires once: to sleep in the arms of Venus. (Do you want to see the Spanish version? LOL) Okay, I can appreciate art, especially art painted in words. But I am really not in the mood for this tonight. Maybe I will come back to it another time when my brain is in the mood for it. (By the way - does anyone know if this comes from somewhere, or if the Assimil writer was just in a mood the day he wrote this? It seems rather poetic to be written for Assimil. Okay, now that I have spent most of my allotted Spanish time venting, I am going to listen to it a few times through. Haha. Watch me fall in love with it or something. :-) Edited by Kerrie on 10 August 2012 at 5:49am 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Kerrie Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Kerrie2 Joined 5184 days ago 1232 posts - 1740 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 147 of 236 11 August 2012 at 2:33am | IP Logged | ||
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I know I like to see what other people have been watching for their Super Challenge movies, so I will share what I've seen recently. Spanish Mar Adentro / The Sea Inside - (from IMDb) "Life story of Spaniard Ramón Sampedro, who fought a 30-year campaign to win the right to end his life with dignity. Film explores Ramón's relationships with two women: Julia, a lawyer who supports his cause, and Rosa, a local woman who wants to convince him that life is worth living. Through the gift of his love, these two women are inspired to accomplish things they never previously thought possible. Despite his wish to die, Ramón taught everyone he encountered the meaning, value and preciousness of life. Though he could not move himself, he had an uncanny ability to move others." This topic is very real to me, as I have a severely handicapped brother, and it's a topic that has been talked about for many, many years in my family. Very moving story. On a language note, this was the first movie that I watched (that I was not already familiar with) with Spanish audio and Spanish subtitles. My brain cannot keep up with the audio only, but with the subtitles on, I could follow the movie without any problem. There were two or three minutes of legal talk in the courtroom that I re-watched with English subtitles, but otherwise, I had no problem understanding the complete story, and I don't think I missed anything. It was a superb movie, and the fact that I followed it completely in another language made it even better. :-) Puss in Boots / Gato con Botas - (from IMDb) "Years before meeting Shrek and Donkey, the adorable but tricky Puss in Boots must clear his name from all charges making him a wanted fugitive. While trying to steal magic beans from the infamous criminals Jack and Jill, the hero crosses paths with his female match, Kitty Softpaws, who leads Puss to his old friend, but now enemy, Humpty Dumpty. Memories of friendship and betrayal enlarges Puss' doubt, but he eventually agrees to help the egg get the magic beans. Together, the three plan to steal the beans, get to the Giant's castle, nab the golden goose, and clear Puss' name." What?! Since when were Jack and Jill infamous criminals? I thought all they did was eat the candy of the witch's house! I watched this in Spanish with Spanish subtitles, and was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed the entire movie. Some of the crazy accents lost me, but with the subs, I had no trouble following it. I had never seen it in English. I think kids books and movies are a great way to get more exposure to our target languages. F*cking Amal / Show me Love - (from IMDb) "Åmål is a small insignificant town where nothing ever happens, where the latest trends are out of date when they get there. Young Elin has a bit of a bad reputation when it comes to guys, but the fact is that she has never done *it*. Another girl in her school, Agnes, is in love with her but is too shy to do anything about it. For different reasons, Elin ends up at Agnes' birthday party as the only guest. They have a girl's night out together but after that Elin desperately avoids Agnes, refusing to even consider her own homosexuality." The whole sexuality thing aside, this was a great teenage angst movie. Anyone who grew up in the 80s and 90s should appreciate the struggles kids these girls went through. Heck, anyone who has grown up past their teens can appreciate the need to fit in, and how ultimately, we need to come to the realization that we have to be our own person. The Milk of Sorrow / La teta asustada - (from IMDb) "Fausta is suffering from a rare disease called the Milk of Sorrow, which is transmitted through the breast milk of pregnant women who were abused or raped during or soon after pregnancy. While living in constant fear and confusion due to this disease, she must face the sudden death of her mother. She chooses to take drastic measures to not follow in her mother's footsteps." This was a very disturbing film. Through the haunting look in Fausta's eyes, you can feel the fear she lives with. Powerful, disturbing, thought-provoking. The Orphanage / El Orfanato - (from (IMDb) "Laura, a former orphan, raises her adopted son Simón together with her husband Carlos in an old house and former orphanage where she was raised. While at the orphanage Simón tells Laura that he has five invisible friends which she believes are a product of his active imagination. Laura decides to reopen the orphanage to cater for disabled children and throws a party. During the party Simón tries to persuade Laura to go and take a look at his friends cabin but she's too busy. Later on she sees a mysterious masked boy and realizes that Simón has also disappeared. Laura feels the presence of other people in the house and months later Laura invites a team of parapsychologists to try to unravel the mystery." Another really good movie. Who knew there were so many good Spanish films out there? Bizarre, powerful, heart-breaking. Italian Life is Beautiful / La Vita è Bella - (from IMDb) "In 1930s Italy, a carefree Jewish book keeper named Guido starts a fairy tale life by courting and marrying a lovely woman from a nearby city. Guido and his wife have a son and live happily together until the occupation of Italy by German forces. In an attempt to hold his family together and help his son survive the horrors of a Jewish Concentration Camp, Guido imagines that the Holocaust is a game and that the grand prize for winning is a tank." Buon Giorno, Principessa! Academy Award winner. Good movie. 'Nuff said. Il Grido Antonioni, 1957 - (from IMDb) "After living seven years with the mechanic Aldo, having a daughter with him, the simple woman Irma is informed that her absent husband had just died in Sydney. She becomes upset when Aldo proposes to marry her and she tells him that she is going to leave him. Unable to explain how much he loves her, Aldo takes their daughter Rosina and travels with her, meeting different women in different places, trying to establish a new relationship and fill the emptiness of his sentimental life. He visits his former lover Elvia; he meets and lives with the widow Virginia, who owns a gas station; he lives with the prostitute Andreina. But these relationships never complete the needy Aldo." It has a rating of 7.8/10 on IMDb, so I was hoping for something better. It just never really grabbed my interest. I kept waiting for it to get better, and it just didn't. I get the whole lost, don't belong to anybody thing, but I didn't see much to the movie besides that. Oh well, you can't win them all! Any and all suggestions for films would be much appreciated. I've been perusing "best of" lists online and have had pretty decent luck recently, but I'm always open to suggestions. I have lots of movies left to go! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| kanewai Triglot Senior Member United States justpaste.it/kanewai Joined 4678 days ago 1386 posts - 3054 votes Speaks: English*, French, Marshallese Studies: Italian, Spanish | Message 148 of 236 11 August 2012 at 2:43am | IP Logged | ||
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Lesson 33 sounds awful! Those are the kind that I try to do quickly and move on, though
I can't think of anything so strange in any of the courses I've done yet. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Kerrie Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Kerrie2 Joined 5184 days ago 1232 posts - 1740 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 149 of 236 11 August 2012 at 2:55am | IP Logged | ||
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You know, I read over it a few times, listened to it five or six times, then moved on. I am not a poetry type. If I'm in the mood, I can appreciate those kinds of things, but in general, it is not my thing. And I really don't think it will hurt my Spanish in the long run if I don't spend a lot of time on something like that!
Some of the French lessons are doozies, too, but only in the sense that they contain enough information for a week's worth of study. One of these days, I'll post one of them, too, so people have an idea. I thought about it last night, but it was already late. :-) Edited by Kerrie on 11 August 2012 at 2:55am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Kerrie Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Kerrie2 Joined 5184 days ago 1232 posts - 1740 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 150 of 236 26 August 2012 at 12:19am | IP Logged | ||
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A few more movies..
Spanish Altiplano / High Plain - (from IMDb) "War photographer Grace, devastated after a violent incident in Iraq, renounces her profession. Her Belgian husband, Max, is a cataract surgeon working at an eye clinic in the high Andes of Peru. Nearby, the villagers of Turubamba succumb to illnesses caused by a mercury spill from a local mine. Saturnina, a young woman in Turubamba, loses her fiancé to the contamination. Ignorant of its true source, the villagers turn their rage on the foreign doctors, and in the ensuing riot Max is killed. Grace sets out on a journey of mourning to the place of Max's death. Saturnina takes drastic measures to protest against the endless violations towards her people and her land. Grace and Saturnina's destinies merge. ALTIPLANO is a lyrical and probing film about our divided but inextricably linked world." Really good movie, amazing music. XXY - (from IMDb) "This is the dramatic story of a intersexed 15-year-old. She lives with her parents, who have to cope with the challenges of her medical condition." This was pretty good, too. Another coming-of-age story. The Davinci Code - (from IMDb) "Symbologist Robert Langdon is thrown into a mysterious and bizarre murder. Alongside Langdon is the victims granddaughter and cryptologist Sophie Neveu, who with Robert discovers clues within Da Vinci's paintings. To further find the truth, Robert and Sophie travel from Paris to London, whilst crossing paths with allies and villains such as Sir Leigh Teabing and Silas. Wherever their path takes them, their discovery which is about to be revealed could shake the foundations of mankind." I wanted to see the movie because I've been thinking about reading this in Spanish for the Super Challenge. I really enjoyed the storyline, but as a movie, it could have been done better. (I know, the movie is in English. I watched it with Spanish audio, though. It was interesting listening to French accented Spanish.) Italian Peter Pan (Disney) - (from IMDb) "An adaptation of J. M. Barrie's story about a boy who never grew up. The three children of the Darling family receive a visit from Peter Pan, who takes them to Never Land, where an ongoing war between Peter's gang of rag-tag runaways and the evil Pirate Captain Hook is taking place. I think most of us have seen this at some point, maybe decades ago for some of us. :-) It was interesting to watch in Italian, though. There is so much pirate talk that there were times I had no clue what they were saying! Fists in the Pocket / I pugni in tasca - (from IMDb) "Alessandro, a young epileptic with paranoid inclinations, decides to relieve Augusto, the only sound brother, from the burden of a numerous family plagued with hereditary diseases. After a first aborted attempt, the dreadful series of accidents/murders is started by pushing the blind mother into a ravine. Then comes the turn of Leone, the idiotic brother. Will Alessandro be able to bring to completion his obsessive project?" And you thought your family was dysfunctional? This was weird and bizarre and chilling, and left me rather perplexed. I'm not really exactly sure what to think about it. Il Postino / The Postman - (from IMDb) "Pablo Neruda, the famous Chilean poet, is exiled to a small island for political reasons. On the island, the unemployed son of a poor fisherman is hired as an extra postman due to the huge increase in mail that this causes. Il Postino is to hand-deliver the celebrity's mail to him. Though poorly educated, the postman learns to love poetry and eventually befriends Neruda. Struggling to grow and express himself more fully, he suddenly falls in love and needs Neruda's help and guidance more than ever." This is a classic. Really great movie. For anyone who has seen it, I have a question. Mario has a really strong accent, which was hard to me to understand at first. Is this a regional accent? It almost felt like the accent was being used to show he was in a lower socioeconomic class or less educated or something. I'm just curious about that, since I know that tv/film in the US often uses different accents or dialects to portray things like that. More to come.. I have been busy watching movies this month. It started out with a Harry Potter (in Italian) marathon, then just turned into a multilingual hunt for really good movies. I've looked at a lot of "best of" lists to find good picks, and so far I keep getting good ones. To be honest, I was more worried about the movie part of the Super Challenge than the book part, because I love to read, but I've never been a big movie fan. I thought I would just watch all ten seasons of Stargate SG1 in all of my target languages, but I have been finding a lot of good movies. I'm surprised how much it has improved my listening comprehension for Italian and Spanish so far. Edited by Kerrie on 26 August 2012 at 12:20am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Kerrie Senior Member United States justpaste.it/Kerrie2 Joined 5184 days ago 1232 posts - 1740 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 151 of 236 27 August 2012 at 7:09am | IP Logged | ||
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I'm getting really frustrated with Assimil's Using French. I just passed lesson 50 after about a week's hiatus. It's taking me more than an hour to get through each lesson, yesterday it took almost two hours. It was over four minutes long. It's too much for one day, and I don't like starting something and only doing half of it, although I suppose I might do that for the rest of this book. Only 20 lessons left.
Ugh, ugh, ugh. Ugh. I want to be done with this thing. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| sillygoose1 Tetraglot Senior Member United States Joined 4425 days ago 566 posts - 814 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, Spanish, French Studies: German, Latin | Message 152 of 236 27 August 2012 at 2:59pm | IP Logged | ||
I felt the same exact way with Using French at around lesson 55. I had to just stop using it because it became too much of a burden. :/ 1 person has voted this message useful |
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