‘Arrival To Earth’ But It’s A Family Road-trip.

I love the attention to detail in this show! It always irks me when shows just use random physics equations for science-y scenes so this was a real delight when watching the episode

All of the equations that appear around Rok as she tries to figure out how to get to the Protostar are real equations and formulas needed to make the correct calculations.

Best language learning tips & masterlists from other bloggers I’ve come across

(these posts are not my own!)

THE HOLY GRAIL of language learning (-> seriously tho, this is the BEST thing I’ve ever come across)

Tips:

Some language learning exercises and tips

20 Favorite Language Learning Tips

what should you be reading to maximize your language learning?

tips for learning a language (things i wish i knew before i started)

language learning and langblr tips

Tips on how to read in your target language for longer periods of time

Tips and inspiration from Fluent in 3 months by Benny Lewis

Tips for learning a sign language

Tips for relearning your second first language

How to:

how to self teach a new language

learning a language: how to

learning languages and how to make it fun

how to study languages

how to practice speaking in a foreign language

how to learn a language when you don’t know where to start

how to make a schedule for language learning

How to keep track of learning more than one language at the same time

Masterposts:

Language Study Master Post

Swedish Resources Masterpost

French Resouces Masterpost

Italian Resources Masterpost

Resource List for Learning German

Challenges:

Language-Sanctuary Langblr Challenge

language learning checkerboard challenge

Word lists:

2+ months of language learning prompts

list of words you need to know in your target language, in 3 levels

Other stuff:

bullet journal dedicated to language learning

over 400 language related youtube channels in 50+ languages

TED talks about language (learning)

Learning the Alien Languages of Star Trek

.

Feel free to reblog and add your own lists / masterlists!

DS9 trivia from IMDB - Part 1

- Colm Meaney was initially reluctant about signing onto the series. Meaney was comfortable playing O'Brien on an episode by episode basis for Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987), and at the time, was unsure if he wanted to play a full time television role.  

- Although we only rarely see it, there is an ATM in Quark’s bar. It dispenses the various types of currency used by major races visiting the station: Federation credits, Bajoran litas, Cardassian leks, and Ferengi latinum.  

- Constable Odo was originally envisioned as a young Clint Eastwood type. When Rene Auberjonois was called in for his audition, the casting director told him that none of the previous actors had been “grouchy enough”. So Auberjonois improvised his lines using his most gravelly voice, and secured the role. Odo’s scoff eventually became such a character trademark that the screenwriters would often script it into his lines (as “harrumph!”), much to Auberjonois’ annoyance.  

- Michael Dorn did not want to reprise his role as Worf, since the daily make-up application was exhausting, and he was relieved to be able to move on. Dorn said that the salary he was offered made him reconsider.  

- The Dominion storyline was originally only meant to span two episodes. Ronald D. Moore and Ira Steven Behr lobbied to make the storyline on-going, but met with resistance from Executive Producer Rick Berman, who wanted to maintain an episodic format to the series. After Berman left production to oversee the launch of Star Trek: Voyager (1995), Moore and Behr were given more creative control over this series, making the Dominion War the main plot of the show, and adopting a serialized format.   

- Wolf 359, mentioned as the battle site between the Borg and the Federation where Sisko lost his wife, is a real star that is seven and a half light-years from Earth.  

- In Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Trials and Tribble-ations (1996) when Sisko and Dax see Kirk and Spock, Dax has the hots for Spock. In August 2017, Terry Farrell (Jadzia Dax) got engaged to Adam Nimoy, son of Leonard Nimoy (Spock).  

- The jars of “pills” in Dr. Bashir’s office were filled with M&Ms. In many instances during the early episodes, the level of the pills would change between shots because crew members kept stealing them. The problem was solved by epoxying the lids in place.   

- When Colm Meaney was fitted for his Deep Space Nine uniform, he made two requests of the costume designers. He explained that unlike the officers, the non-commissioned Chief O'Brien was a working man. So he needed to be able to roll up his sleeves, and he needed pockets for his tools. The costume department altered his uniform accordingly.  

- The character of Morn (Mark Allen Shepherd), the Lurian bar patron who is always seen sitting at Quark’s bar, was written as a nod to the character of Norm Peterson, played by George Wendt on Cheers (1982). Morn is an anagram of Norm. The mask worn by Shepherd originally had no opening for the mouth, so make-up artist Michael Westmore gave him lips over the course of the series, in case the character needed to speak. Several lines for Morn were scripted over the years, but unfortunately for Shepherd, these were always written out at the last moment. So Morn never said one word during the entire run of the show, leading to a running gag where bar patrons, station crew members and civilian residents often mention that Morn is excessively talkative off-screen, and “never shuts up.”  

Mmpphh

-incoherent babbling-

Should've posted this earlier but whatever

Yes, even in Star Trek the most famous machines have been essentially human in appearance (Data in TNG, the Doctor in Voyager) which IMO has always bugged me.

I will note that there have also been the exocomps and recently some other non-humanoid ones, but there aren't any individuals that are nearly as popular as those mentioned before.

I was chatting with my mom today about how unique Knight Rider is as a show for one reason only- having a character that's honestly, genuinely, and truly a car.

(Yeah, sure, there's Transformers, but watch any Transformers show and you'll see that they rarely keep the robots in car mode for any scenes. The car modes are almost exclusively used for scene transitions or for action set pieces.)

Knight Rider is different in that it challenges the viewer to imagine a character who is a car. This character is Kitt. There is no way for him to stop being a car, even when it's inconvenient for him, or even when it's inconvenient for the plot. Kitt, as a concept, asks the viewer to empathize- what would being a car genuinely be like? What challenges would that present? What advantages?

This is where most robots in fiction, and fiction that claims to analyze humanity through the lens of robot characters, ultimately fail. I'm hard-pressed to find another work of sci-fi with a lead character in such a genuinely divorced role from humanity. Most fictional robots have:

Hands, to physically interact with a human-scaled world in the way that humans do,

Faces, for humans to relate to, and

Eyes, for humans to look at, and tell where the robot is looking.

Kitt has none of these. He never gets any of these at any point. The show even reflects on this in episode 22 of season 1, where he projects eyes onto his screen for the little girl who's trying to understand him. Yet even this is temporary- he gets rid of them after only a minute, and the girl gets used to the real him accordingly. It's never portrayed that these attributes (of hands, a face, and eyes) are some kind of upgrade that Kitt is missing.

However, Kitt is still undeniably 'human', and this is the most important part. Kitt's way of thinking isn't alien just because his body is different. It's what he is thinking about that's been altered from the traditional human experience. This leads to a fascinating exploration of topics such as:

Accessibility. Kitt is constantly analyzing where his body can go and to what places he has access to. Even Michael Knight learns to start thinking this way as he grows closer with Kitt, to the benefit of them both. The question of what Kitt can do vs what he can't do given his body is at the core of Michael's problem solving when the show is at its best.

Priorities. What does Kitt care about? Again, it's deeply important that the first answer to this is "his friends", but barring that, what else? Things like a good road or the polish of bodywork become elevated in importance through his perspective.

Prejudice. A lot of science fiction has the trope of "robot racism", or the idea that there's a portion of humans who actively believe that sentient robots are not equal to humans. Knight Rider, however, never takes this easy drama. Humans treat Kitt differently, and sometimes with a shocking amount of disrespect (even after he's revealed himself to be a person,) but it's never out of malice. It's out of ignorance. The bulk of these humans have only the best intentions. This presentation reflects upon real-world prejudices through a different lens than the aforementioned trope, which has, by now, been thoroughly beaten to death.

Again, it's the fact that the show actively goes out of its way to tell the audience that Kitt has a soul (season 2, the episode literally titled "Soul Survivor"), yet doesn't shy away from the genuine differences he faces from being nonhuman, that makes it so damn compelling to me.

(Mind you, the way the show usually "explores" these themes is through the lens of comedy that relies on Kitt's differences being the butt of the joke. . . and that the inclusion of these deeper themes definitely do NOT cancel out the show's genuine problems with sexism/racism! But-)

I really do consider Knight Rider to be science fiction at (or at least close to) its finest. Which is an insane statement out of context, I realize, but I hope after reading this post you might be able to understand why. Knight Rider set the bar for robots in fiction for me and nothing has been able to compare since.

TL;DR: Kitt is a car. This is deeply profound.

75 MORE essential single-character verbs (单字动词)

People seemed to really enjoy my recent post 75 essential single-character verbs (单字动词)...so here's 75 MORE VERBS.

It was really difficult to put together the first list. I had a spreadsheet of literally hundreds of characters that I had to whittle down. So I was happy to give some of the eliminated characters a second chance.

Definitions are from MDBG. For some characters with additional meanings, I have bolded the meanings I want to highlight.

(76) 欠 qiàn - to owe / to lack / (literary) to be deficient in / (bound form) yawn / to raise slightly (a part of one's body)

(77) 顿 dùn - to stop / to pause / to arrange / to lay out / to kowtow / to stamp (one's foot) / at once / classifier for meals, beatings, scoldings etc: time, bout, spell, meal

(78) 逗 dòu - to tease (playfully) / to entice / (coll.) to joke / (coll.) funny / amusing / to stay / to sojourn / brief pause at the end of a phrase (variant of 讀｜读)

(79) 沉 chén - to submerge / to immerse / to sink / to keep down / to lower / to drop / deep / profound / heavy

(80) 挡 dǎng - to resist / to obstruct / to hinder / to keep off / to block (a blow) / to get in the way of / cover / gear (e.g. in a car's transmission)

(81) 晒 shài - (of the sun) to shine on / to bask in (the sunshine) / to dry (clothes, grain etc) in the sun / (fig.) to expose and share (one's experiences and thoughts) on the Web (loanword from "share") / (coll.) to give the cold shoulder to

(82) 聚 jù - to congregate / to assemble / to mass / to gather together / to amass / to polymerize

(83) 派 pài - clique / school / group / faction / to dispatch / to send / to assign / to appoint / pi (Greek letter Ππ) / the circular ratio pi = 3.1415926 / (loanword) pie

(84) 叠 dié - to fold / to fold over in layers / to furl / to layer / to pile up / to repeat / to duplicate

(85) 缠 chán - to wind around / to wrap round / to coil / tangle / to involve / to bother / to annoy

(86) 嫁 jià - (of a woman) to marry / to marry off a daughter / to shift (blame etc)

(87) 逼 bī - to force (sb to do sth) / to compel / to press for / to extort / to press on towards / to press up to / to close in on / euphemistic variant of 屄

(88) 喊 hǎn - to yell / to shout / to call out for (a person)

(89) 躲 duǒ - to hide / to dodge / to avoid

(90) 抓 zhuā - to grab / to catch / to arrest / to snatch / to scratch

(91) 藏 cáng - to conceal / to hide away / to harbor / to store / to collect

(92) 瞒 mán - to conceal from / to keep (sb) in the dark

(93) 挑 tiāo - to carry on a shoulder pole / to choose / to pick / to nitpick

(94) 扑 pū - to throw oneself at / to pounce on / to devote one's energies / to flap / to flutter / to dab / to pat / to bend over

(95) 踏 tà - to tread / to stamp / to step on / to press a pedal / to investigate on the spot

(96) 断 duàn - to break / to snap / to cut off / to give up or abstain from sth / to judge / (usu. used in the negative) absolutely / definitely / decidedly

(97) 捡 jiǎn - to pick up / to collect / to gather

(98) 拖 tuō - to drag / to tow / to trail / to hang down / to mop (the floor) / to delay / to drag on

(99) 肯 kěn - to agree / to consent / to be willing to

(100) 挖 wā - to dig / to excavate / to scoop out

(101) 摔 shuāi - to throw down / to fall / to drop and break

(102) 伸 shēn - to stretch / to extend

(103) 摸 mō - to feel with the hand / to touch / to stroke / to grope / to steal / to abstract

(104) 绕 rào - to wind / to coil (thread) / to rotate around / to spiral / to move around / to go round (an obstacle) / to by-pass / to make a detour / to confuse / to perplex

(105) 飘 piāo - to float

(106) 碰 pèng - to touch / to meet with / to bump

(107) 染 rǎn - to dye / to catch (a disease) / to acquire (bad habits etc) / to contaminate / to add color washes to a painting

(108) 搁 gē - to place / to put aside / to shelve

(109) 铺 pū - to spread / to display / to set up / (old) holder for door-knocker

(110) 托 tuō - to trust / to entrust / to be entrusted with / to act as trustee

(111) 捧 pěng - to clasp / to cup the hands / to hold up with both hands / to offer (esp. in cupped hands) / to praise / to flatter

(112) 剥 bō | bāo - to peel / to skin / to shell / to shuck

(113) 挠 náo - to scratch / to thwart / to yield

(114) 填 tián - to fill or stuff / (of a form etc) to fill in

(115) 瞅 chǒu - (dialect) to look at

(116) 蹲 dūn - to crouch / to squat / to stay (somewhere)

(117) 溜 liū - to slip away / to escape in stealth / to skate

(118) 坠 zhuì - to fall / to drop / to weigh down

(119) 撩 liáo - to tease / to provoke / to stir up (emotions)

(120) 牵 qiān - to lead along / to pull (an animal on a tether) / (bound form) to involve / to draw in

(121) 装 zhuāng - adornment / to adorn / dress / clothing / costume (of an actor in a play) / to play a role / to pretend / to install / to fix / to wrap (sth in a bag) / to load / to pack

(122) 望 wàng - full moon / to hope / to expect / to visit / to gaze (into the distance) / to look towards / towards

(123) 编 biān - to weave / to plait / to organize / to group / to arrange / to edit / to compile / to write / to compose / to fabricate / to make up

(124) 冻 dòng - to freeze / to feel very cold / aspic or jelly

(125) 抛 pāo - to throw / to toss / to fling / to cast / to abandon

(126) 喷 pēn - to puff / to spout / to spray / to spurt

(127) 刻 kè - quarter (hour) / moment / to carve / to engrave / to cut / oppressive / classifier for short time intervals

(128) 逃 táo - to escape / to run away / to flee

(129) 偷 tōu - to steal / to pilfer / to snatch / thief / stealthily

(130) 吐 tù - to vomit / to throw up

(131) 摁 èn - to press (with one's finger or hand)

(132) 瞪 dèng - to open (one's eyes) wide / to stare at / to glare at

(133) 递 dì - to hand over / to pass on / to deliver / (bound form) progressively / in the proper order

(134) 扭 niǔ - to turn / to twist / to wring / to sprain / to swing one's hips

(135) 轮 lún - wheel / disk / ring / steamship / to take turns / to rotate / classifier for big round objects: disk, or recurring events: round, turn

(136) 混 hùn - to mix / to mingle / muddled / to drift along / to muddle along / to pass for / to get along with sb / thoughtless / reckless

(137) 揪 jiū - to seize / to clutch / to grab firmly and pull

(138) 卷 juǎn - to roll up / roll / classifier for small rolled things (wad of paper money, movie reel etc)

(139) 瞧 qiáo - to look at / to see / to see (a doctor) / to visit

(140) 刺 cì - thorn / sting / thrust / to prick / to pierce / to stab / to assassinate / to murder

(141) 搜 sōu - to search

(142) 遮 zhē - to cover up (a shortcoming) / to screen off / to hide / to conceal

(143) 争 zhēng - to strive for / to vie for / to argue or debate / deficient or lacking (dialect) / how or what (literary)

(144) 撤 chè - to remove / to take away

(145) 闪 shǎn - to dodge / to duck out of the way / to beat it / shaken (by a fall) / to sprain / to pull a muscle / lightning / spark / a flash / to flash (across one's mind) / to leave behind / (Internet slang) (of a display of affection) "dazzlingly" saccharine

(146) 耍 shuǎ - to play with / to wield / to act (cool etc) / to display (a skill, one's temper etc)

(147) 忍 rěn - to bear / to endure / to tolerate / to restrain oneself

(148) 摇 yáo - to shake / to rock / to row / to crank

(149) 戳 chuō - to jab / to poke / to stab / (coll.) to sprain / to blunt / to f*ck (vulgar) / to stand / to stand (sth) upright / stamp / seal

(150) 晃 huàng - to sway / to shake / to wander about huǎng - to dazzle / to flash past

Stardrive is the saddest woobie to ever grace Transformers media and I want to protect her so badly. Nobody has ever loved her, and she’s barely been shown respect or recognized as a person. I reread the whole mini today and I remembered she was very sad but the depths of sadness she experiences still got me. And she’s only five years old!! I wanna see her school days and her adventures before meeting Prowl. I want her to show up in another continuity. She deserves the world!

75 essential single-character verbs (单字动词)

When I started consuming more native Chinese content, I quickly discovered an area in which my knowledge was lacking: single-character verbs. In my experience, it’s very easy to focus on learning words consisting of two or more characters and overlook single-character words.

Driven by curiosity, I went through my Anki deck (and also wracked my brain) to generate a list of characters/words that I have learned over the past couple years (roughly). Then I selected 75 verbs that are fairly common and important to know. They skew towards intermediate and advanced vocabulary.

Definitions are from MDBG. For characters with additional meanings that I am not yet familiar with, I have bolded the meanings I want to share.

(1) 抢 qiǎng - to fight over / to rush / to scramble / to grab / to rob / to snatch

(2) 救 jiù - to save / to assist / to rescue

(3) 扶 fú - to support with the hand / to help sb up / to support oneself by holding onto something / to help

(4) 催 cuī - to urge / to press / to prompt / to rush sb / to hasten sth / to expedite

(5) 夹 jiā - to press from either side / to place in between / to sandwich / to carry sth under armpit / wedged between / between / to intersperse / to mix / to mingle / clip / folder / Taiwan pr. [jia2]

(6) 咬 yǎo - to bite / to nip

(7) 砸 zá - to smash / to pound / to fail / to muck up / to bungle

(8) 毁 huǐ - to destroy / to ruin / to defame / to slander

(9) 嚷 rǎng - to shout / to bellow / to make a big deal of sth / to make a fuss about sth

(10) 塞 sāi - to stop up / to squeeze in / to stuff / cork / stopper

(11) 贪 tān - to have a voracious desire for / to covet / greedy / corrupt

(12) 拆 chāi - to tear open / to tear down / to tear apart / to open

(13) 掏 tāo - to fish out (from pocket) / to scoop

(14) 跪 guì - to kneel

(15) 摘 zhāi - to take / to borrow / to pick (flowers, fruit etc) / to pluck / to select / to remove / to take off (glasses, hat etc)

(16) 拎 līn - to lift up / to carry in one’s hand / Taiwan pr. [ling1]

(17) 扛 káng - to carry on one’s shoulder / (fig.) to take on (a burden, duty etc)

(18) 拽 zhuài - to pull / to tug at (sth)

(19) 愣 lèng - to look distracted / to stare blankly / distracted / blank / (coll.) unexpectedly / rash / rashly

(20) 搂 lǒu - to hug / to embrace / to hold in one’s arms

(21) 垮 kuǎ - to collapse (lit. or fig.)

(22) 撑 chēng - to support / to prop up / to push or move with a pole / to maintain / to open or unfurl / to fill to bursting point / brace / stay / support

(23) 甩 shuǎi - to throw / to fling / to swing / to leave behind / to throw off / to dump (sb)

(24) 围 wéi - to encircle / to surround / all around / to wear by wrapping around (scarf, shawl)

(25) 愁 chóu - to worry about

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It took me forever and two days to finish, but I think it‘s my new favourite painting. A toast to Captain Liam Shaw 🍷🖖🏻