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Cantonese isn’t an especially hard language to learn, no.

Without prior exposure to tonal languages it can be easy to think of them as super hard. It’s similar to the idea Russian or Welsh must be impossible to learn because they have, like, “extra letters in the alphabet”. Cantonese only has 6 tones; Mandarin has 5 inc. the neutral tone. If you’ve ever sung along to “Bohemian Rhapsody” you’ve sung using different tones anyway.

Although I used a tutor for a time, I’d used online/audio resources, too. They’re out there. My Cantonese learning stalled (reached making simple conversations stages), but not because of anything about the language and I’d like to get back into it. Learning bad pronuncation didn’t really happen much. Resources guide you through it all, slowly, esp. at the start. If you’re worried ‘omg when asking how much is the rug I’m gonna insult several generations of their family 'cos muh tones’, you really aren’t. Sure, words that differ depending on tone exist, but it’s not like it’s every second word. Chinese people often think it’s cute when foreign people make the effort to speak their language. These days, being able to record yourself and compare to native speakers‘ pronunciation can help, too. One person who learnt it well solo and far from HK/China that springs to mind is Olly Richards. It’s perfectly doable. If you really want to, you could do it, too.

hello 🌷 is chinese (mandarin or cantonese) (particularly interested in cantonese though) really that hard to learn by yourself (or at all) ? i am interested in trying to learn it, some day, but i’d love to hear about others experiences first? i’m afraid a tonal language would be too hard to learn by yourself because it’s so easy to learn bad pronunciation? 

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From the article: “Starting on September 4, the public broadcaster will instead relay the state-run China National Radio Hong Kong Edition, [...] primarily in Mandarin, with some broadcasts in Cantonese.” (emphasis mine) It’s striking that the ‘Hong Kong edition’ will be mainly Mando rather than Canto. Yes, the BBC World Service is English-language; its Chinese replacement is, however, in the common spoken language of mainland China.

It goes on to quote RTHK head of corporate communications, Amen Ng, who says the channel “can enhance the cultural exchange between the mainland and Hong Kong,” Is the ‘cultural exchange’ two-way, or will only mainland culture be the mainstay of the exchange?

Actually I'm confused by the reason given: DAB services winding down, therefore DAB-only content needs migration to regular analogue radio. OK. But according to the BBC, they currently broadcast 24hrs on DAB - Channel 34 and on MW - channel 6 on 675AM.

Twenty years after the handover and RTHK Radio will now replace their BBC radio broadcast with China National Radio. This is an interesting story for me as I will be teaching Mass Communication in the second semester of this academic year. One thing that I learned about Hong Kong’s radio system is that under British Colonialism, radio and television were largely treated as commercial enterprises following the American model, rather than the British national broadcasting model.

For many Hong Kongers this news will be read as a further move toward the erosion of Hong Kong’s autonomy. It also serves as a reminder of how peculiar Hong Kong is, a truly liminal place where the BBC has a very odd sort of importance.

The press release from the RTHK reads…

Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) said on Friday that it will be ending its 24-hour relay of BBC radio and will broadcast a state-run channel in its place. The BBC World Service has been broadcast live on RTHK’s Radio 6 on AM675 since 1978. Starting on September 4, the public broadcaster will instead relay the state-run China National Radio Hong Kong Edition, which features news, finance, arts and culture, and lifestyle programmes primarily in Mandarin, with some broadcasts in Cantonese. However, eight hours of BBC World Service will be relayed live for eight hours overnight on Radio 4, from 11pm to 7am daily.

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Throughout his career, Carl worked as a science popularizer and as a professor of astronomy and critical thinking. He stayed true to his understanding of the world even in tough times—like when his little girl asked him if he would ever get to see his dead parents again:

He considered his answer carefully. Finally, he said that there was nothing he would like more in the world than to see his mother and father again, but that he had no reason—and no evidence—to support the idea of an afterlife, so he couldn’t give in to the temptation.

'Why?'

Then he told me, very tenderly, that it can be dangerous to believe things just because you want them to be true. You can get tricked if you don’t question yourself and others, especially people in a position of authority. He told me that anything that’s truly real can stand up to scrutiny.

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‘I want you inside me,’ she gasped. 'Well, unfortunately, miniaturization and nanotechnology hasn't yet evolved to make that possible,' he replied.

Finally a Twitter account to rival Very British Problems for amusing awkwardness!

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Please talk about the mummy returns

pristinepastel said: Hey, i know you like the first mummy, but what about the mummy returns?

I HAVE RETURNED…after like a day. 

but what the people want, the people get!

RIGHT SO THE MUMMY RETURNS!

aka the only sequel that is 1000% just as good as the first one. like holy shit. 

ten years later and we meet our heroes again. rick and evie are happily married, going on adventures, and evie’s dream of becoming a respected scholar has come true and they’ve made a tiny human! 

the only unrealistic part being that they only had one kid, i mean they are still all over each other ten years later and you’re telling me they only had ONE kid.

okay. sure jan. 

but boy o’ boy is that one kid awesome! 

alex o’connell. this kid is literally:

50% evie super-klutz-genius. 

50% rick screams-at-things-that-are-illogical-to-scream-at. 

50% uncle jonathan’s sheer dumb luck and wit. 

10% i’m really bad at math. 

you get the point. HE’S GREAT. also the actor passed on harry potter because, JUST LIKE ME, the mummy 1999 was his favorite movie and he just HAD to be in the sequel. alex is just such a smart-ass little shit. that much like his mother, accidentally brings about the apocalypse by opening something he shouldn’t have:

ARDETH BAY TIME LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. he has a much bigger role in this one. GOD BLESS. (because he was supposed to die in the first one, but test audiences loved him as much as we do, so they kept his fine ass around) he still looks prettier than everyone and is still so done with white people once again. 

*after almost being killed on he bus* “this was my first bus ride.”*after realizing they’re gonna make him fly again* “why can’t you people ever keep your feet on the ground?”

he’s just such an awesome A+ friend goals, because while he probably needs to go be with other medjai to prepare for battle against anubis’ army (yikes), he stays with the fam to rescue alex. it wasn’t even much of a thought for him really, rick and evie just batted their eyelashes and he was like: *sighs* “these white people are always messing my shit up, but they are my white people.”

jonathan: still beautifully the same as ever. witty, clever, and would do anything for his family. 

“be quiet alex! if there’s going to be any hysterics, they’ll come from me!”

“if you see anyone come running out screaming, it’s just me.”

when he boasts about being a good shot and ardeth is internally like “i’m gonna die.” THEN HE SAVES ARDETH. hell yeah.

rick: he’s still screaming at things. BUT IN DAD MODE. he’s the ultimate dad.

“you, lighten up. you, big trouble. you, get in the car.”*sweetly* “honey, what are you doing, these guys don’t use doors.”“knowing my brother-in-law, he probably deserves whatever you’re about to do to him, but this is my house and i have certain rules about snakes and dismemberment.”

evie: still a super-klutz nerd, but with C O N F I D E N C E. little baby librarian is now a honey badger of ASK ME IF I GIVE A FUCK! and also a re-incarnated princess

“no harm ever came from opening a chest.”

rick: “i swear that kid gets more and more like you every day.”evelyn: “you mean more attractive, sweet and devilishly charming?”

we meet izzy, another one of rick’s ex boyfriends, who is a much more reliable mode of transportation than previously mentioned murder buses. 

imhotep: still emo. still wants to make out with his gf.

anck su namun/meela: hella good villain. she bomb af and 100% wants to take over the world. amazing. she actually has like a really cool role this time too!!! like so much screen time. 

the rock…i mean the scorpion king, he’s another emo villain with goofy cgi rendering and like 4 million terrible made-for-TV spin off movies that you are lying if you haven’t watched at least one of them and felt that utter disappointment. but who cares the rock is pretty. and this was his first acting role and the reason we have him where he is today. 

thank you mummy returns for giving the world actor rock johnson #blessed

THE ROMANCE AGAIN:

normal action movie sequel romance: same guy. different girl. repeat of first movie’s romance. hehehehhehehehhEHEHEHEHHEHH. 

not here bitch. 

rick and evie’s love has only grown stronger. they still bicker like old ladies at bingo night. the still look at each other like they hung the moon. they’re still disgusting jonathan because they CANNOT KEEP THEIR HANDS TO THEMSELVES. one kid my ass. they still support each other and protect each other like crazy. they love each other so much and it’s so healthy and pure and there is some good in this world mr. frodo.

the bottom line here is. what’s the point of watching the mummy 1999 if you aren’t going to watch the mummy returns immediately after?

JUST DO IT.

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Lighthouse Tuesday

“Logical consequences are the scarecrows of fools and the beacons of wise men.”

-- Les Éclaireurs Lighthouse (the Enlighteners or, the Scouts), known locally as Faro del fin del mundo (the Lighthouse at the End of the World), Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina Photographer: Ricardo Martins (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

#lighthouse tuesday

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Damn

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Lighthouse by Henry Farrer, 1880.

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me: I'm gonna write something

also me: ok but what if you don't write it perfectly

me: shit you're right I better not write it at all

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(x)

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Moose can run faster than any human on earth, and more than twice as fast as the average person. They can swim, at speeds beyond the fastest swimmer. Their weight can be equivalent to over 20 bags of concrete, heavier than any human in recorded history. Fully grown, they tower over cars. As if that wasn't enough, moose can jump over obstacles 7ft or more. Oh, and they're fully capable of killing bears and wolves. Moose. Coming soon to a car park or residential area near you.

if you’ve never seen one before

deer are smaller than you think

raccoons are bigger than you think

bears are smaller than you think but you were pretty close

otters are bigger than you think no even bigger than that

wolves are bigger than you think

wild cats are smaller than you think but hopefully you’ll never see one

chipmunks are smaller than you think

so are mice but you’ve seen a mouse right

you were right about the size of moose, mostly

pigs are bigger than you think

coyotes are that size

so are foxes

woops bears are bigger than you think but only that one type

this is an informational post about mammals if you know more please do tell

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This is the first picture I took when I got to Hong Kong. 

I am quite sophisticated and very mature.

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Have these people not come across science fiction ever? I think there was a Dr. Who ep similar to this. Yeah, things didn’t work out well.

Researchers said they have grown a mushroom from a fungus found in a 20-million-year-old geological formation under the Pacific seabed off Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture.

The scientists with the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) are working to confirm their hypothesis that they have revived a mushroom that used to grow on land eons ago.

“What we have found may be ancient fungal species that were there even before humankind was born,” said Fumio Inagaki, deputy director of the JAMSTEC Research and Development Center for Ocean Drilling Science. “That could help elucidate evolution mechanisms of fungi.”

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stop giving insecure people trust issues 2k17

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Beggar's Chicken (叫化鸡)

Here is the traditional method of cooking Beggar’s Chicken. Legend holds that homeless beggars would once leaf chickens from local farmers, cover them in mud and throw them in a fire pit. Once cooked, he would crack the dried mud and eat the chicken. In China, a particularly sterile clay is used to cook these birds. Here, it is replaced with a simple dough and aluminum foil wrapper.

The chicken is first marinated in brandy infused with spice flavors and then stuffed with stir-fried onion, pork fat, preserved mustard leaves, mushrooms, and more spices.

This little beauty is baked at decreasing temperatures for a total of 4 hours.

太好了！

Everything turned out perfectly. The meat was falling off the bone, the bird was aromatic, and the lotus leaf provided just enough tea/musk flavor to the skin. This dish brings together two flavors that I love, the lean meat of chicken and the spices of the mustard leaf pork belly. For me, this was a real treat. It wasn’t everyone’s favorite at the dinner table, but I’m glad I was able to make it.

I really love my cookbook, its recipes are a finely tuned art. 

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