let's get it right dear, give a good fight dear

Agh. Comment to a friend:

[3:10 PM] Emilly Orr: Someone in SL is really sick. Just popped into a store to check a sales item, and a lady rezzed in next to me. Little titler over her head said "I've infected 12 people" [3:10 PM] Emilly Orr: It changed to "I've infected 16 people" while I was blinking at it, and I realized it ticked off every person she was close to.

It would be one thing if it were a tool that talked about the virus, and how important it is to stay at home when possible, and how easy it is to infect others, but...the way it was phrased makes it sound actively malicious. Like she was proud of virtually infecting residents.

This is not a joke, people.

Anyone remember this? I'd received one donation towards it, and today received another, and merrily went off to Akeruka to find my destiny. AKA the Valentina.

But...turns out I was wrong. Very wrong. A conversation in group, that led to a notecard to the designer, followed by a conversation with the designer, told me that Valentina was never a head that Mr. Koba made. So...who did make it, then?



Turns out it was from Altamura, after all. So...now I have to play with it until I figure out the limitations, and see how it looks post-demo. Wish me luck.

In other news, punctuation is important (and I apologize in advance for the formatting errors, I can't track it down and I'm just letting it go):

[10:12] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: jajajaja

It begins.

[10:12] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: noooo
[10:12] cxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: jajajajajajaja la apoyamos a ella ("we support her")

[10:12] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: lo pongo bello y despues compro esposas y se las coloco ("I love you and buy your wives and put them on"--oh, come on, Google Translate, that makes no sense)

[10:12] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: así como misstress ("as a mistress"?)

[10:12] Mxxxxx Fxxx: :v nosotras queremos ayudar, pero no expresa sus sentimientos, digo dudas ("we want to help, but don't express your feelings, I say..." Doubts? But doubts is duvida, so...?)

[10:12] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: ayudan y divierten al mismo tiempo ("help"? Maybe? Then "have fun at the same time")

[10:12] sxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: hay maldad aqui? ("there is evil here"?)

[10:12] Mxxxxx Mxxxx: muxa x lo q leo jaja ("muxa" failed to translate, the rest of it's close to "or what leo"?)

[10:12] cxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: jajajajajajajajajaja

[10:12] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: aaaaajajaja

[10:13] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: bueno ("good")

[10:13] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: el tiene una cabeza espantosa, como ya dije ("they have an amazing head, like my day")

[10:13] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: y ahora compro un shape precioso que no ha servido poara nada ("and now I buy a precious shape that hasn't served for anything")

[10:13] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: porque sigue feo ("why follow", but "feo" didn't translate)

[10:13] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: jajajajaja

[10:13] cxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: jajajajajajaj puede q lo este aplicando mal ("I can use this badly")

[10:13] Mxxxxx Mxxxx: eso es, si no sabe manejarse con el shape mejor comprar uno ("that is, if you don't know how to manage with the best shape buy one")

[10:14] Mxxxxx Mxxxx: evitara tener cabeza cono ("will avoid having headache as" I think?)

[10:14] cxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: primero deben usar los demos jajajajajjajja ("first they should use the demos", maybe?)

[10:14] Mxxxxx Fxxx: talvez es porke no compro todo lo de la style card .. falta skin, cejas y no se que mas tenga ..ojos pelo (" maybe it's because I don’t buy all of the style card .. skin is missing, I don’t know what it is but it’s still .. today at" was the best Google Translate could do)

[10:14] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: English please

[10:14] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: mmmmm

[10:14] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: no se nada de eso ("no if nothing"?)

[10:14] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: hare algo ("there is something")

[10:14] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: ok habla en ingles o habla en privato con tu amiga ("ok speaking in English, speaking in private with your friend")[10:15] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: :)

[10:15] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: lo enviare a este grupo ("send it to this group")

[10:15] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: jajajajajaja

[10:15] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: y que nadie separa que hable de él ("and that no one separates me from talking about him", which again, is not in Portuguese, but Spanish? But didn't this conversation start out in Portuguese?)
[10:15] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: ..

Now, that's not exactly what the mod said. She sapid "English please". That's a request, and not even an out of line one.

[10:15] Mxxxxx Mxxxx: banned to speak sanisxh [sxxxxx] lol

Banned? Who said banned?

[10:15] Mxxxxx Fxxx:

[10:14] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxx: English please a boy ask for help in spanish xD we try to help

[10:15] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: then you go in private

[10:15] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: and talk with him

[10:16] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: ooh

[10:16] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: sorry

[10:16] bxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: lol

[10:16] bxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: maybe some other spanish wants to prodive his/her knowledge too

I think you mean 'provide', here?

But, things seemed to be moving back on track...

[10:16] Mxxxxx Mxxxx: talk with you boyfriend [jxxxxx] in private, yes lol
[10:17] Mxxxxx Fxxx: lol hahhaha why you get angry ..
[10:17] cxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: hahahaha (english laugh)

I mean, seriously, what's an English laugh?

[10:17] Mxxxxx Mxxxx: [jxxxxx] dont listen to your girl friendo you are not ugly, you can fix your shape,..
[10:18] bxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: they should do a disclaimer in group description
[10:18] bxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: "english help only"

Some groups do, some don't, it varies. But again, this is not what she said.

[10:18] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: no is not just english help but i understand spanish
[10:18] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: and the chat was not not only technical help
[10:19] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: myself when is needed i help in other languages as well but is not a convo is a technical help
[10:19] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: now if you want to play joke and laught and so in other language since is a chat for everybody you can go in private
[10:20] bxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i have read you before talking in ur native language too, and i can assure u it was not only [store] related
[10:21] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Sorry [Sxxxx], the fault was mine ... I did not know that you could not converse through this chat, that it should only be limited to "technical help" and in English
[10:21] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: [sxx], i can tell you was only about help a customer and was not a serie of jajajajajajjaja

[10:21] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: my convo
[10:21] Mxxxxx Fxxx: mmmmm yes and yes.. but like others all can close the chat, and if some one need help can say (o.o)/ hi i need help..
[10:21] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Although there is never a bit of humor, especially now when everything is so tense and complicated
[10:22] bxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: So spanish chat in banned from group from now on? just to be clear

Nope.

[10:22] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: [sxxx] if you want to do a humor for everybody then talk in english
[10:22] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: so all ppl can understand and partecipate to your convo
[10:22] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: no spanish help is allowed

And here is where things got somewhat hostile. By the end of this you'll understand why I said punctuation is important, but they were asking if Spanish, as a language, was banned, and the mod says this. Easy to misinterpret.

[10:22] mxxxx Rxxxxxxx:

[10:22] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: easy like this

[10:23] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: if you want to play and jerk and laught and so in other language then you go on private

[10:23] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I don't want to make humor !!! Humor is spontaneous and shouldn't be exclusive

[10:23] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: [10:08] Mxxxxx Fxxx: o x el* xD no sea que no seas el novio ("or x the * xD lest you not be the boyfriend", but again, in Spanish, not Portuguese?)

[10:09] cxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: jajajajajaja, dejalo como esta, asi nadie se fija en el ("leave it as it is, so no one notices")

[10:09] cxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: jajajajajjajajajajajajaja

[10:09] Mxxxxx Fxxx: jajajajajajaja que mala  ("how mean")

[10:10] Mxxxxx Mxxxx: si lo amas aceptalo tal cual es.. ("if you love it accept it as it is")[10:10] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: jajaja

[10:10] xxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: y saldra benefici ("and it will benefit")

[10:23] Mxxxxx Fxxx: haha i gonna ask to owner if is true

[10:22] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: no spanish help is allowed

[10:23] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: tell me where is the technical part her

[10:24] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: [mxxxxx] then you need to ask to me im the responssable about [the group's] chat

[10:24] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: and about many other things about the brand

[10:24] Mxxxxx Fxxx: so ask if [the shop is] racist or exist an other support chat in spanish

[10:25] bxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: they wer ejust making fun of the guy who wanted help, but just a lil. At last they tried to help

[10:25] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: and well i guess i was clear about what i mean if you didnt understood i can explain also in private

[10:25] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: and i help in portuguse too

[10:25] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: and i helped in spanish too

[10:25] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: now im done

[10:25] Mxxxxx Fxxx: you say

[10:22] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: no spanish help is allowed

[10:25] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: [the store] is not racist im brasilian

[10:25] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i said Spanish help is Allowed 

Ah, but you didn't, actually, you forgot a comma.

[10:25] Mxxxxx Fxxx: so is racist

[10:25] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i think you dont understand ..

I also think you fail to understand, or at least, you failed to catch the missing comma.

[10:26] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: ahh sorry missed the , after the no

FINALLY the penny drops. This whole convo could have been avoided, if she'd realized that when it started.

[10:26] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: so let me write again No, spanish help is allowed
[10:26] bxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: he just forgot the comma
[10:26] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: now im done did you solved the problem if you still need help in spanish you can write me in pv and i will help you about
[10:27] mxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I need some support in English...
[10:27] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: sure you can ask ^^
[10:27] bxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: im sry, i didnt read the whole convo , the "no spanish allowed" was what caught my attention
[10:27] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: lol
[10:28] Mxxxxx Fxxx: ok was funny here.. this get bored so .. good luck for all, is some have an ask about help [in the store chat] in spanish send mp maybe i can help .. have good day for all .. and i f i need help i hope never need help frome angry ppl lmao
[10:28] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: [sxx] i missed the coma after the no

Yeah, really. I mean, I figured that out about halfway through the chat, but...I understand why folks got upset.

[10:28] bxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: yes u did xD
[10:28] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: he asked if was not allowed to ask help in spanish
[10:28] Sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: and i said no, spanish help is allowed
[10:28] bxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i understood but she didnt

Well, I think everyone was equally lost, but still.

but I'm holding on for dear life, won't look down, won't open my eyes

We have invented a vampire computer. Is this a good thing?

[Zone] Toa the Veteran@takimeta2: guys does grammar still?

Wait, what?

[Zone] Lymille Trèflebleu@tiwiztiti: (Damn ***holes, U will recognize U when reading this : people help you then you threw them off your party ? poor ill mind, i'm sure U have no friends IRL)

And, in a conversational swerve...Just to explain this for folks who don't know--there are some really poor gamers who invite folks to go dungeon-delving with them, then, right as they reach the final room but after the final boss has been slain, they kick everyone off the team so they'll be the only one to open the chest. I don't know why they do this--it won't increase their chances of getting rare drops from the end chest, because that's completely random, so I just chalk it up to general wastes of oxygen being wastes of oxygen.

[Zone] Grayce@Audentia2: Grammar no
[Zone] Blackie Bravo@lesple: no, it are died

.......

No, "it are died"? IT ARE DIED??? Dear gods and little fishes.

Maybe they're right. Maybe grammar doesn't still. Weep for the future, y'all.

[Zone] Toa the Veteran@takimeta2: WAT WAIIII

Now, did you mean "What way?" or "Wait, what?" Either way, that's a fractured statement, Toa.

[Zone] Illeul@naughtnicht27: Handels Wateredhavian Hemd

And I have zero idea what you're trying to say, Illeul.

[Zone] Redbrimstone@redbrimstone3: bolje da nema

Nema bolje da ne bude ono što? Anyway, moving on.

[Zone] Jimmy@hanooka: Did they fix SP Already?
[Zone] Grayce@Audentia2: What's SP
[Zone] Grayce@Audentia2: Skill Points

What Grayce sai...waiiiit a minute. How come you're asking what SP is if you're the one giving the answer?!?

[Zone] Blackie Bravo@lesple: spell points

Nope.

[Zone] Grayce@Audentia2: Suggestive Phrophecies

Nope, but entertaining.

[Zone] Ghorbash Iron Hand@todi55: prevrni kamen,naci ces nekoga sa balkana

Kaj je kamen nacist? I'm so ccofused.

[Zone] Flinx@flinx66: Spell Plague Dungeon

That'd be SPD, and nope.

[Zone] Grayce@Audentia2: Silent Phone

That makes no sense.

[Zone] Grayce@Audentia2: Sucky people

Well, they are definitely a part of Neverwinter--people that suck are part of virtually any online gaming experience--but again, nope.

[Zone] Guardian@drogethxundussen: Bull to what anyone says: Professional Prophets don't make good money in the modern world!

It really depends on how you're billing yourself. Take a religious angle, you can generally make decent money bilking the unwary. If you're reasonably honest, though, "professionally" predicting the future--unless you're working the stock market--is going to be a moderately funded hobby, at best.

[Zone] Valdrin Avrymtor@poriah: only mormons can predict the future :l

How...does that work? Mormons are known for predicting the future? Since when?

[Zone] Guardian@drogethxundussen: Now our computers do it. -_- Taking all the jobs man!
[Zone] Black As Irish@blackirish29112: yes they do

Computers can't predict the future. They use predictive algorithms. The most you can get out of any computer--at least so far--is what you put in, so if you put in really good, amazing things, then it has a reasonable surety of getting it right most of the time...maybe.

But again, it's all based on the algorithms involved.

I think what we've basically had is a general failure to translate properly.



And when we're talking English to English, that's really sad.

don't you worry your pretty little mind

As with all JIRA postings, please please please remember to WATCH, not VOTE, on this one, because this would be a really good feature for future viewers of Second Life to enable.

Plus, it would allow people to auto-archive their transaction histories without having to remember to drop by their SL history once per month, and, by making it an opt-in automatic bit of code, those who don't merchant wouldn't have to bother with it, and those who wanted the archiving service could opt in.

Other news. I tossed this link up to some friends, because linguistically, it's a lot of fun, but as one of them had an odd time accessing it in the first place, I figured I'd just pull out my favorites here.

Toska (Russian)

Vladmir Nabokov provides a description of the word, which is otherwise untranslatable to English:

"No single word in English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. At less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In particular cases it may be the desire for somebody of something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level it grades into ennui, boredom."

Litost (Czechoslovakian)

The closest we can come to a semi-accurate translation into English, though it vastly understates the subtle nature of the word: Litost invokes the state of tormented anguish created by the sudden, startling comprehension of one's own spiritual misery.

Tartle (Scots Gaelic)

This is a fun word that should catch on for wider use, because it's pervasive in just about all cultures these days. A tartle is that hesitation or pause in introducing someone to someone else, because of the sudden realization you've forgotten their name.

Cafuné (Brazilian Portuguese)

This describes the act of tenderly running one's fingers through someone's hair. English actually uses an entire phrase for this one word.

Ya’aburnee (Arabic)

Pronounced "yah-AH-born-nay", the literal meaning is "You bury me", but that rather misses the point. It's the generally unstated, but yearned-for hope that they will die before the beloved, because it would be so difficult to live on if the beloved died first.

Ilunga (Tshiluba)

This is a multifaceted word that expresses three different mental states--and according to the BBC news, it's the single hardest word to translate on the planet because of it. It references an individual who is ready to forgive any transgression once, to tolerate any transgression twice, but who will never tolerate that transgression a third time. This is another one we have an entire phrase for, rather than one single word.

Tingo (Pascuense, an Easter Island language)

Fascinating word: this refers to the act of taking objects one desires from a friend by slowly and gradually borrowing all of them until they are in one's own possession. Yeah, there's nothing quite like that in English.

Saudade (Portuguese)

This word refers to the longing for someone, or something one loves, which is vital to the heart and yet lost. The Portuguese song Lágrima is an excellent example of the folk-music "Fado", which reflects this loss and longing.

L’appel du vide (French)

Okay, this is a phrase, technically, but it's a three word phrase that literally translates to "the call of the void", which becomes a five-word phrase, and both refer to that sudden, nonsensical, and instinctive urge to jump from high places.

while surviving this attack I soon learned how to battle back

Rue has new horns in new color packs! But she's made a teensy error on the blog post, so go to the new Everwilde location, look over that color pack option, then go to Ctrl-Shift-H for the Seraph options. Everything in the Moody Monday boxes are L$55 per pack; the rest retail at her normal, very reasonable price of L$175 per pack.

Solace Beach is asking its current customers and tenants, and interested parties, to comment on a low rating at WOT.com. What WOT does, essentially, is allow the consumer to check--online, or using downloadable tools, on the safety of any website on the net.

Some months back, the site updated with a new version of Joomia. Unbeknownst to any staffers, this particular install had a security flaw, and someone discovered it. There was a hacking incident that brought the website down, replacing it with a phishing program...I can't even remember for what, right now, but it was a minor nightmare. A few hours went by, and the breach was discovered, closed, and Solace Beach has had no further website-hacking problems.

But the damage was done, Solace Beach was listed as a phishing site, and dangerous. Warnings went out. Several major systems blocked the site from accessing their systems, and by extension, their customers, some of whom rent from us.

Ayesha Lytton is asking that, if you have experience with the website, if you'd go to WOT.com and register a favorable rating. One day of being hacked does not a dangerous site make, and since that time, there have been no further problems. All Ayesha wants is for the site to regain the rating it had before the incident, because it's not a phishing site, a hacking site, or dangerous in any way.

Want to know what live-action video gaming looks like? The folks behind BodyCount have you covered.

And Google Translate is going away as of December of this year. I'm torn between Damn, that many people have been abusing the service? and Screw you, you bastards. Honestly not sure which is the more 'truthful' reaction, so to speak. Find your alternatives now, get them hooked in place, and be prepared for a LOT of in-world translation services to break, and break badly.

And now, the ultimate Escapist Post Round-Up! Here's allll the links:

Part I: Wherein you, the faithful readers, read along on the conflict between the Escapist and Extra Credits.

Part II: A couple positive, and several negative, responses to the conflict.
Part III: Ads, scary mesh constructs, and who (so far) has come forward on not getting paid for work done by the Escapist.
Part IV: More on the controversy, along with both the Yahtzee bring-him-to-PAX debacle, and also Yahtzee's bone-deep loathing for Joss Whedon.
Part V: Sex elves and fan rage.
Part VI: The death of Hellboy, strange fan art, hunts in Second Life, weird Disney projects and more fan rage.
Part VII: More from the JIRA That Will Never Die, and more fan rage (along with some direct responses from the actual participants).
Part VIII: Weird captions and even more fan rage.
Part IX: More from the JIRA That Will Not Die, Longbow "shoot-me-I'm-a-target!" costumes, and dear gods, more fan rage.
Part X: More fan rage, and a Meat Loaf song!
Part XI: Cosplay, Minecraft updates, upcoming car engine advances, and more fan rage!
Part XII: Goats, the first link set for the Escapist posts, an explanation of the Monkeysphere, inaccuracies corrected, and strange sidewise threats.
Part XIII: Corsets, bodypaint, and testing understanding so far.
Part XIV: Minecraft, Dwarven songs, goth-blocking, Underworld trailers, and discussion of donations after surgical costs were met.
Part XV: Comics, derailing, music, Escapist staffers, viewers, and trying to make sense of it all.
Part XVI: The West Memphis Three, cost breakdown on air flights and Seattle hotel stays, contracts and T-shirt costs.
Part XVII: Found art, Linden boosting, controversies on the Escapist thread, and more on donating after the fact.
Part XVIII: News on City of Heroes' First Ward, collectibles, literal videos, IP conflicts, and an astounding offer from Daniel Floyd of Extra Credits.
Part XIX: Bad fashion, Jack Harkness, and wrapping up the end of the thread.

Which brings us to now. Nineteen entries, 94 pages gone through, cannot believe I followed the thread out, and you all deserve a gold star if you've actually followed along (or even skimmed for highlights). Where are we at this point?

Well, I'm still waiting for the emails mentioned to be released in a non-Facebook form. (Though, from internal commentary in the 94-page thread, have they actually been released at all? That part's unclear.)

And I'm still looking for mentions from other threads of the emails. (Though in searching, I also found this, which is all sorts of fun to read through.)

So...from here we wait for more news. I'll keep everyone posted on when (or if) the emails ever become public. In the meantime, while I knew of Rule 64, I didn't know of Rule 63, which states that any male comic or video game character must, by default, have a female counterpart. Interesting.

Does the same thing work for female comic/video game characters? Are we ever going to see a Laurence Croft, for instance, or Wonder Man?

(Actually, I take that back--Wonder Man, pride and prince of the Amazons...that just doesn't make any sense.)

there are ghosts in there that tell you ferocious things (part II)

(Continued from Part I.)

Do you like to craft things? Like embroidery? Like Dr. Who? Scared of the Weeping Angels? We can work with that.

(from the random album; trying to download CoolVL)

Great. Now I can't even download viewers to crash on me, the sites are crashing before I can! Somewhere, on some ethereal altered plane, I am the comedy network.

But back to Miniascape, and Horror Night.

(from the haunts album. Raining blood in the bathroom.)

Today, Mr. Otsuka, the janitor, became very upset after cleaning the girls' bathroom. He complained of blood red floors and toilets, but we are a girls' school! Only adults bleed without wounds, and we are still girls! But he has heard a child crying, and he said he had seen an enormous bloody face, like a giant child, like a...baby. But no one has had a baby at this school.

And Mr. Otsuka said he saw someone at the far end of the toilet. It is a shameless story, but it is a scary one. I'm afraid to go in now.

There's a HUD you wear, going through the haunts. If you find journal pieces, find little scraps of bloodstained blessings, things will happen on the HUD. Also, if you find a place that says 'sit and hit escape', do so. The HUD will help activate special scenes (though it does seize your camera when this happens, be prepared for that).

(from the haunts album)

Everyone was crying in the principal's office before Mr. Mitsuru came in. He'd been cleaning, he said. He was very angry. He called us monsters.

Where have you been, he said. Who is in the hospital? That much blood, someone had to go to the hospital. Do I have to call all your mothers, he said. Tell me who is in the hospital.

We don't know. We cling to each other and cry, and we cannot answer his questions.

Once you're finished going through the haunt, you're going to realize how much went wrong at this school, and that's horrific all on its own. So in essence, this haunt presents two levels of fear--the initial OMG-that-scared-me-giggle stuph (standard, not boring, but standard), followed by the penny dropping once you realize what some of the scenes meant.

(from the haunts album)

Did I praise the school today, Rika-chan? Did I do that? The principal's uncle came by the school, or maybe he was someone's grandfather. He was so old he didn't seem human.

I ate a carrot for Mr. Takeshi, or maybe it was a mushroom. I can't remember. Today there's something on the shelf and I'm standing before the principle's office. What is happening he asks me. Why is it so noisy?

I don't know. I see the mushroom on the shelf and I pick it up and eat it. Or maybe it was a carrot.

(from the haunts album)

I heard there was a collapse where we store our bags. Somebody fell, I don't remember who. The teacher is paddling people who cry now. Look over your page, he tells us, do not say such things, this is a school.

In another room, Mr. Mitsuru falls over. I hear about it later. It is interesting and I think on it a lot. This is no longer a school, it is a fiasco.

(from the haunts album)

Today, Mr. Hida comes out of the principal's office and begins to berate us. The door is large and requires effort to open. He opens it and comes out and he closes it. Then it opens again behind him. He says we are being playful. He says it's our fault the door is opening. He says we need to stop playing pranks.

He was cleaning the office with the door open, he said, and it kept closing. He blames us for that too. He says he is going to tell other teachers about our pranks, and make sure everyone knows. He says we need to stop giggling.

We're not giggling. We're not looking to see who is, we don't want to know. But it's not us.

(from the haunts album)

If you wash your hands in the bathroom, will you see children you know in the mirror? I looked back and I heard someone talking next to me, but no one was there. I started to cry, and the child in the mirror cried with me. I am afraid to look. I am afraid it will be someone I know. I am afraid to know.

There are no specific Windlight settings for this, and there are no recommendations to set the mood, but we ran on Midnight for the sim time and everything was fine. Feel free to play around for maximum creep factor.

(from the haunts album; don't hide in the well.)

I still feel it's rather early in the year for a serious haunt, but nevertheless it's well done and sufficiently creepy at some point or another for nearly everyone. The only hazard is the repetitive rezzing of prim haunts; there are moments where the sim does stagger from the load.

But it's worth a trip, definitely. Take some time, wander; there's one long L-shaped school building, and one small gymnasium/concert hall, and of course, the pool. Also, there are three rooms total where people have made things to go along with Horror Night. Some of them are really innovative, like the skin, and some are just beautifully made things, like RokuMeiKan's Blue Rose kimono, with a thorn-and-rose-bedecked obi. There's a few gachas, for people who like the random factor, including the one for the flashlight at the front gate (free, but you can keep clicking it for different-colored flashlights!).

All in all, highly recommended, four out of five skulls, and that only because if there are a lot of folks on the sim, lag gets dire from the prim effects.

there are ghosts in there that tell you ferocious things (part I)

[19:12] Yuri Ellsmere: Yeah well my horse broke its leg the other day...so I shot him....dunno why you shoot them though...cause now I have a horse with a broken leg and a gunshot wound...

Moving along...Miniascape is hosting their Horror Night again. I first heard about this from Serenity Semple's blog (and why yes, I did get that skin!), but I wanted to go through it for myself.

(from the haunts album. Really, Japanese schoolgirls bleeding on the grass and hovering in midair is normal. No, really.)

We began. Horror Night is set in a long-abandoned school, high on a hill over a creaking wooden bridge. The bridge was fantastic; it's a good time to make sure your volume's set at a good listening level, because there are effects here and there (though, eerily enough, it's pretty quiet for a haunt. That in itself gets unnerving in a couple of places).

There are also journal entries that you can find scattered about. They advance the story, but really only if you speak and read Japanese; if you don't, they're more oddly stilted guidelines. But the haunt's enjoyable without speaking Japanese fluently, or at all.

(from the haunts album. The school pool's a bit tricky.)

Today was slow, we heard the news of the teacher that was beaten. It was a nice touch, but we, too, are in crisis, because the school is dangerous. Students died in the pool, they drowned, and we hear that if we go by the pool, we can see them, pointing at us. I haven't, but once I was sent to the pool, and I was dragged in, and I nearly drowned! They lie to us when they tell us these things aren't happening!

It depends on whether you want to wander and just look at things, or get caught up in the story. If you want to get caught up, click on everything you can find to click. Things will happen. You'll get a bit more of whatever happened at the school with each click.

(from the haunts album; walking through the front door.)

There are seven wonders in this school, or so we're told. So far no one knows the seventh wonder. It is strange, only six are known, but Mr. Black said the children would not know the seventh wonder unless we died. Perhaps when one of us does, we'll know. I just don't want to die because of a prank.

We found, when we went through it, we didn't speak a lot. The silence of the place unnerved, but also seemed profoundly appropriate. That we walk, and take in these happenings in silence.

(from the haunts album. Hovering schoolgirls again.

I cannot write, I am too nervous. I've seen her, I've seen right through her. I mumble and talk in front of the mirror landing, asking her to go away. But still we have to take tea to the teachers, up and down those stairs.

I blame the mirror for why Mitsuru fell. Well, Mitsuru is stupid, but she's never fallen before, only there, on the mirror landing.

Obviously, some images I haven't given here. For one, it's a haunt; if you want to go, you'll see them. But also, because some are so individual, they're hard to take good pictures of, and maybe that's the point--that experience of a haunt is better than preservation.

(from the haunts album.)

Yaba is not a four-year school. So why do people tell me so often about seeing grade-school girls here? We are afraid to go into the classrooms, because we will be drawn to the blackboard, but we are afraid not to, and the children don't go away. I am always looking for them now, always. If I die will I stay here too?

There does seem to be a disconnect between whatever happened to the girls, and whatever happened to the grade-schoolers. The grade-schoolers are generally depicted as little dolls, or--in one case--little half-dolls, which is even more disturbing. But as said, it apparently was only a middle-school facility, so why are there so many really young students?

(from the haunts album. He looks angry.)

I still have no idea on these two. I don't know enough about Japanese haunts to name them. They just hovered in the hallway...staring at us, staring at each other.

(from the haunts album)

Today the weather is bad, and we have a pool full of visitors. We are afraid to go into the pool with them, we fear we will all be pulled under. But word is spreading about Mayumi-chan and the child.

Mayumi-chan is dead. And the child is dead. She had a child. She wasn't old enough to have a child, and who was the father?

I think the child is lonely, too. I hear it crying in the hallway and in the bathroom. I see Mayumi-chan in an empty room, and there is water at her feet.

She looks lonely, too.

(from the haunts album)

I want to play at puzzles with Tamotsu, who is mean. I want to help to scatter the ashes. I want to find the original puzzle and bring it to Dahlonega.

Burikka is caterwauling like a baby in the corner. Tatari is saying I am not spending enough time with her, and more time with Gan. Is she jealous? How can she be jealous? She watches me darkly when I am with Usse, too.

This may be a terror trope that only clues in when one has gone to a school that insists on uniforms; mine didn't, so mostly what I get from crowds of similarly-clothed girls is Wau, how many kids died at this school, anyway?

(from the haunts album)

I was called to the office, Mr. Nakahara told me to go. I don't know why I turned around, but after I left the classroom, I did, I turned, and all the desks and chairs were moving. They blocked the door and I could not get back in. I am trapped out in the hall, and my friends are trapped inside the room.

I am wondering if Mr. Nakahara hates us enough to curse us, the black curse, and I am not afraid to cry, I am just afraid. He has mentioned the curse before, telling stories to the other teachers.

(from the haunts album)

Today we study in the science lab, and the room seems filled with bones. Some of them are from an adult, we are told, but many are smaller. Are they the bones of children? Are they the children who died here? Did our teachers clean these bones, preserve them, display them for learning later?

The teacher says when we die, our souls leave, but our bodies become bone and stay. Even the girl who died with the child became bone. I want to smile at her the next time I see her, but I do not want to die and become bone.

The teacher is droning on about the science of bones, and I was bored. I reached out to touch a bone and it cracked. I wanted to hide, but the teacher came over and stared at me. I'm sorry! I'm sorry I cracked the bone!

There are two endings, named, evocatively enough, "GOOD END" and "BAD END". I don't know enough Japanese to tell you which is which, but I don't think the end prizes really change. To get them, wait until you've gone through the entire school, then go outside again, and track down the shrine in the corner, next to the pond. Click the shrine and you'll be told which ending you got, and be ported to a room where you can pick up some fairly trivial gifts, all things considered.

With this one, the joy really is in the haunt itself, not what you get afterwards. And that's actually a good thing, because the haunt is great.

(More in Part II.)

German wine, turpentine, Gertrude Stein

First thing: I want to point out the new shiny on the sidebar. My first official sponsored ad!

Now, granted, it's a lousy deal, all things considered--if someone clicks through, and if they watch the video, and if they end up pre-ordering the game--in the UK--then I get 22 cents on the transaction.

Yeah. Not kidding.

But I'm just thrilled to have it on the page. Look! Portal 2! It's coming out! (Yes, I am excited about it, even though I, erm, haven't finished the first game yet...What? I'm slow with physics puzzles! I have no time! Grr!)

And I figure I will toss my obligatory seasonal shout-out to the Amazon link. I have stuph. Stuph you might be interested in. And if you buy through that, I get yet another negligible sum, which Amazon won't pay me unless it gets pretty high. (Not kidding about that, either. I got a grand total of $4.63 from holiday shopping. That sum's been erased from my Associates account, because if it's not up to $10, they don't even bother sending out a gift card.)

So why am I bothering? Okay, first, the Portal 2 ad is cool. It gets in on cool points alone. Hells, if the advert rep had written me asking to put it up for nothing, I admit, I might have done that.

Second, I keep the Amazon link around because it's become a secondary wishlist--I can point folks who might want to buy things for me to the blog, and they can ponder the oddity of some of my choices, but they get a pretty good idea of likes and dislike, and, moreover, things I don't have. I'm not huge on having things, but I'm not averse to them either.

Anyway. Enough of that. Next up, Google Translate doesn't go far enough.

This is not news to anyone, least of all me. But I almost wish I hadn't used their new service to view alternate translations.

This is what I was planning to send to a client who's behind on his tier:

[M],

Du hast auf Sendung #[his parcel] abgelaufen. Wenn Sie immer noch interessiert an der Anmietung von uns bist, dann schreiben Sie von der Tier-Station, die hier zu finden:

[landmark to his sim's tier station]

und zahlen mindestens eine Woche von Tier (auch wenn man mehr bezahlen, wenn Sie möchten). Und vielen Dank für die Wahl Solace Beach!

sanfte Brise,

Emilly Orr
Trost Strand Gutsverwalter

Which was supposedly a word-for-word translation of this:

[M],

You've expired on parcel #[his parcel]. If you're still interested in renting from us, please drop by the tier station, which is located here:

[landmark to his sim's tier station]

and pay at least one week of tier (though you can pay more if you like). And thanks for choosing Solace Beach!

Fair winds,

Emilly Orr
Solace Beach Estate Manager

Then I started breaking it down. First off, this passage:

Wenn Sie immer noch interessiert an der Anmietung von uns bist, dann schreiben Sie von der Tier-Station, die hier zu finden:

on a retranslation, actually says this:

If you're still interested in hiring us, please write about the animal station, which can be found here:

Huh? Hiring us? Animal station? But it doesn't stop there. The next bit of text is even more confusing. This:

and pay at least one week of tier (though you can pay more if you like). And thanks for choosing Solace Beach!

becomes this:

and pay at least a week of animal (even if you pay more if you want). And thank you for choosing Solace Beach!

So my first question is...what animal is a "tier", exactly? Come to find out, "tier" is a very general German word. It simply means that--animal. Any animal. All animals.

Okay, so that passage has to go. What about:

You have run out of time on your lot. If you are still interested in renting from us, please drop by your rental box, which you can find here:

When translated (and translated back) that becomes:

You have run the time on your lot. If you are still interested in hiring us, please write about your rental box, which can be found here:

Still not crazy about the 'hiring us' part. Okay, what about:

You have no more time on your lot. If you are still interested in staying with us, please drop by your rental box, which you can find here:

That becomes:

Sie haben keine Zeit mehr auf Ihrem Grundstück. Wenn Sie noch Interesse an einem Aufenthalt bei uns sind, dann schreiben Sie von Ihrem Charme Box, die Sie hier finden können:

which in turn becomes:

You have no time to more your property. If you are interested in staying with us yet, then post your charm box that you can find here:

*facepalms*

When did it become "charm box"? Okay, try three:

You have no time on your lot. If you are still interested in staying with us, please drop by your payment place, which you can find here:

Which becomes

Do not have time on your property. If you are interested in staying with us yet, just look at your payment place that you can find here:

Okay! Better!

Stilted as hell, but better! I think we can move to the next passage.

So let's try this:

und zahlen mindestens eine Woche mieten (wenn man mehr bezahlen, wenn Sie möchten). Und ich danke Ihnen für die Wahl Solace Beach!

which becomes:

and pay at least a week rent (if you pay more if you want). And thank you for choosing Solace Beach!

Cumbersome. Okay, how about:

and pay at least one week of rent. One week will do, but you can always pay advance rent if you want to do that And thank you for choosing Solace Beach!

That gives us this:

and pay rent at least a week. A week will do, but you can always pay advance rent, if you do want to thank you for choosing Solace Beach!

Oh, the hell, that's nearly word salad.

Think think think. How about:

and pay at least one week of rent. Pay more if you want. And thank you for choosing Solace Beach!

That becomes:

und zahlen mindestens eine Woche mieten. Mehr bezahlen, wenn Sie wollen. Und ich danke Ihnen für die Wahl Solace Beach!

which in turn becomes:

and pay rent at least a week. Pay more if you want. And thank you for choosing Solace Beach!

Okay. That's terse, but okay.

Somehow "Fair winds", which is my typical sign-off, becomes closer to "gentle breeze", which isn't per se bad, just...odd. But I can live with it. At least until I come up with a new sign-off. And "Solace Beach" becomes "Trost Strand", which is something to do with land and consolation, which...isn't actually that far off.

But dear gods, if this was what I was sending German people, the Russian people must have been really, really flummoxed! To say nothing of the Portuguese, the Turkish, the Spanish, the French, the Japanese...I mean, we are an international grid, and if I don't know the language personally (I only know a few words in a smattering of languages, I am woefully undereducated where language is concerned), I have to turn to machine translation. We all do.

But I think I'm going to start taking more time on each card. Because the eyes on the other end deserve to not bug out in grand confusion. Though at least the giggle factor is high...