Oh, what a mess!

I’ve found myself at the point when I’m uncomfortable with english in casual conversations. Worries about grammar and proper sentences aside, language just stopped being second-in-line for thinking something up or grasping for similar words. I’m much more comfortable expanding simple questions in Japanese than with getting to the point with English — maybe that's snobbish, or maybe enthusiastic toward my new second main language. To be fair the situation reverses when it comes to written correspondence and texts, but this is always -uncharted-territory- less emotional and more logical — or formal (i.e. ritualistic).

Today I’ve finished the Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch which is by all means the most multi-layered book of PKD I’ve read until now and I clearly see how Cronenberg got his ideas and kicks for ExistenZ. Which is one of the best movies made until next century, strongly suggested for viewing. And language-wise that book is full of typical Dick-esque monologues and eerie usage of English — maybe influenced by Coine Greek and most likely by other personal traits of it’s author. If there are other foreigners who consider dialogues in his books similar to the English they compose and speak in their head, I would be delighted to read about your impressions. Especially so if you share Dick’s love of cowboy jargon and that weird language that started to extinct after the Dust Bowl. Reading heals.

To other news: My smartphone is ill and since manufacturers purposely don’t understand the term “software support” it’s prospects are grim — and so are mine because my only options are: 1. Finally-available foss firmware that costs me nothing; 2. second-hand handset that costs money. Both require me to backup re-activate and migrate a lot of data and security anchors back and forth while I’m unreachable for companies and institutions that require them to stay intact and rarely trust means other than material ID and SMS authentification (gross, I know). In bad-case scenario I’m going to lose my bank cards for a couple of months – I probably won’t miss them that much (as long as my cash lasts). In worst case scenario my phone will be bricked – as that’s inevitable sooner or later anyway I suspect that doing nothing promises same tradeoffs. Time will tell.

Another snippets of my personal November: > If you allow your child to use YouTube Kids, > then please note that you are agreeing to the new > Terms on behalf of your child as well. Wow, that is almost as bad as on-birth imposement of laws&duties of the country where poor child had happened to be born! Or loans that are carried to the surviving family members. Makes me wonder how easy it is to manipulate children with targeted advertising. Of course “YouTube kids” sounds pejorative anyway.