I've only myself to blame
Feb. 9th, 2026 10:41 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
james_davis_nicoll(The preamble is about 6000 words)
Rawlin's New Hair
Feb. 9th, 2026 09:15 pmlb_lee
Still hear you saying.
Feb. 9th, 2026 08:56 pmhannahOn the way back, I took a longer route through Riverside Park. I didn't get to see my brother and his wife coming in from Brooklyn, but I saw the Hudson covered shore to shore with ice - not solid ice up and down the horizon, but to the other side of the river and back, which is more than I've seen in a long time. I don't think it'll stay much longer, and for all that I didn't like being so cold, I loved knowing there was that much ice on the river.
ongoing (reading)
Feb. 9th, 2026 07:10 pmchazzbannerMy other 'collections' of this kind aren't meant to be games, though I find them amusing.
English PhD students file a reading list in their general dissertation area, usually divided into three parts: written texts, theory, secondary materials (articles).
This gave me an idea: I'd do this, only with books I'd already read. :-)
One obvious topic was Golden Age Hollywood.
Heading: “Golden Age” is defined as the 1910s through the 1940s, but I continue with a few people from the 1950s, during the decline of the studio system. I’ve included some who were British but worked in Hollywood for much of their careers.
Section One: Histories: These are books on Hollywood and Los Angeles history, American movies, the movie studios, and books about specific Hollywood movies or events.
Section Two: Group Biographies and Oral Histories
Section Three: Biographies: "Biographies of actors, directors, producers, writers, and others in the movie business"
Sections: Biographies and Memoirs (and Letters)
Yes, I still read books on Golden Age Hollywood, and add them to the list.
I showed an earlier version of the list to j-wat and he approved of its comprehensiveness. All I needed to do was add a list of Films.
Lol! It wasn't as if I would actually write a dissertation--! :-). It got me to thinking about how I'd divide up the films. Silents, pre-Code (but some are silent?), screwball comedy, film noir, western, musicals. Or have sections on certain directors.. Griffith, Lubitsch, Wilder, Ford, Sturges, Capra, Stevens, Wyler, Hitchcock -- where would it end?
Nope, I won't add films - I'll just watch them!
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AI teaches spoken English in Taiwan
Feb. 10th, 2026 12:33 am![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
languagelog_feedTaiwan education ministry adds AI to English speaking test:
New system gives students instant feedback on spoken English
Lai Jyun-tang, Taiwan News | Feb. 3, 2026
Is this a first in the whole world? Or is it already common in many countries?
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s education ministry has added artificial intelligence to its English speaking assessment system to help students better learn and practice spoken English.
Liberty Times reported Monday that the upgraded system uses artificial intelligence to score pronunciation and analyze spoken answers in real time. Education officials said the move supports Taiwan’s 2030 bilingual policy by placing greater emphasis on practical communication skills.
Tsai I-ching (蔡宜靜), a division chief at the ministry’s K-12 Education Administration, said the system is free for students from elementary school to university and covers listening, speaking, reading, and writing. She said the new speaking tasks include open-ended questions and information-based responses to mirror real-life situations and international test formats.
The system evaluates pronunciation accuracy, fluency, rhythm, vocabulary use, grammar, and how well responses match the question, according to the education ministry. After each test, students receive instant, personalized feedback and learning suggestions, the ministry said.
At Changhua County’s Shengang Junior High School, students use the system to practice speaking beyond textbook exercises and gain a clearer understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. Teachers also guide students to use the feedback to refine pronunciation and sentence structure.
In Keelung City, Cheng Kung Junior High School applies the test results to build a learning cycle that links assessment, feedback, and improvement. The approach has helped boost student motivation and engagement, per CNA.
Selected readings
- "Artificial Intelligence in Language Education: with a note on GPT-3" (2/4/23)
- "AI panics" (11/27/16)
- "English as a prestige language in Taiwan" (11/29/20)
- "English as an official language in Taiwan" (12/8/18)
- Ralph Jennings, "Isolation-wary, Chinese-speaking Taiwan moves to make English an official language", Los Angeles Times (10/15/18)
(no subject)
Feb. 9th, 2026 06:07 pmthedarlingone![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
roguesandwraiths -- initially as a fallback position for the Rogue Squadron Discord server since Discord is being a butt about age verification, but I'm hoping to get some chatter going there whether Discord explodes or not. If you enjoy the X-wing books or related media, please feel free to join us!Me-and-media update
Feb. 10th, 2026 11:43 amchina_shopIn the Neighbours poll, 56.8% of respondents know their neighbours well enough to nod and wave, 52.3% have each other's phone numbers/email and chat in passing, and 22.7% socialise/lend things. In ticky-boxes, cat photos came second to hugs, 59.1% to 70.5%. Thank you for your votes! ♥
Reading
Listening to Barrayar (Bujold's Vorkosigan saga) with Andrew. Other than that, just a little bit of fanfic.
Kdramas
I'm cooling on Behind the Bar because a lot of the cases are deeply unpleasant.
For example:
the one that had me noping out is a doctor being accused of murder because a man she unsuccessfully treated on a plane is a convicted paedophile. (I ffwed the scene, so I don't know if the failure was deliberate.) The doctor is suspected because she treated the man's young victim in the past, and also refused to treat him then.Other TV
We finished Wonder Man. I liked it a lot -- imperfect characters, and the redemptive power of friendship, woohoo! (I didn't end up slashing the leads; Ben Kingsley is kind of terrible. But I could be persuaded.)
Still going on The Pitt. Finished our rewatch of We Are Lady Parts season 2. ♥ ♥ ♥
And a couple of movies: The Friend in which Naomi Watts inherits a great dane from a friend; full of humanity and grief. And Dancing the Invisible, a documentary about Jill Bilcock, an Australian film editor who's worked with Baz Luhrmann and many others; fascinating, full of close creative friendships and competence porn.
Audio entertainment
Relistened to John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme season 9, which is a series of interlinked sketched about multiple generations of a family. Being me, I still want OT3 fic for the most uptight/least likeable character, his wife and their good friend, lol.
Also, Writing Excuses, a Death of 1000 Cuts writing ramble, and one episode of You Can Learn Chinese. (Taking a mental health break from the politics.)
Writing/making things
I posted my first fic of the year, a belated
fandomtrees treat for teaotter:Title: Honey Tea (1761 words) [General Audiences]
Fandom: 조립식 가족 | Family by Choice (South Korea TV)
Relationships: Kim Daewook/Yoon Jeongjae
Characters: Kim Daewook, Yoon Jeongjae, Kim Sanha
Additional Tags: Empty Nest Syndrome (sort of), Medicating with Alcohol, Insecurity, Define the Relationship talks, Friends to Lovers, Co-parents to lovers, Non-Linear Narrative, Set during episode 9
Summary:If ever there was a night for obliterating himself, it was tonight. The facts of Sanha leaving and the trials he’d face in Seoul were too depressing to contemplate, so Daewook let himself brood over smaller, more selfish miseries. His apartment was empty. Haejoon had left, too. Everything was changing, the family disbanded, and where did that leave Daewook? Left behind again. Thrown aside.
I'm currently noodling one of the things I started for Yuletide, but I'm not quite sure where it's going.
I've attempted two Lady Parts drawings, neither of which came out right. But I have smudgers/blenders now (much thanks to those who suggested them!), so I'm messing around with shading more, which is fun.
Life/health/mental state things
Yesterday I wrote, drew Saira, drove, made a huge batch of dumplings, and stayed up too late doing dishes. Today, to no one's surprise, my arms are grumbly. So after this, we're going for a walk in the local bird sanctuary.
Some life-admin to-dos are looming over me. Avoid, avoid, avoid.
Food
I'm pretty sure the part of my scribbled down Korean pork dumpling recipe that says 20 ginger is actually supposed to be 2T ginger. If I'm right, I used way too much.
Good things
Andrew and Halle. Smudgers! Learning. Dreamwidth. Fandom. TV and audiobooks. Sunshine and going for walks. WIPs. Early night tonight. The dishes are done -- thanks, past me!
On the subject of the Oxford/serial comma
I have firm opinions
14 (51.9%)
I have moderate preferences
9 (33.3%)
I'm officially neutral
1 (3.7%)
I don't know what it is
0 (0.0%)
always use it!
11 (40.7%)
only use it when necessary!
4 (14.8%)
never use it!
0 (0.0%)
each to their own
5 (18.5%)
I still don't know what it is
0 (0.0%)
other
2 (7.4%)
ticky-box of buying a random bargain bin product, imprinting on it, and spending the rest of your life trying to track down replacements
15 (55.6%)
ticky-box full of walnuts
10 (37.0%)
ticky-box full of squirrels with stopwatches
10 (37.0%)
ticky-box full of thirteen ways of putting on your shoes
5 (18.5%)
ticky-box full of hugs
17 (63.0%)
Nobody told me there was a new episode of
Feb. 8th, 2026 02:06 pmconulyYou can watch episode 1 here.
Also, since I have a few videos:
( Hobey Baker, probably gay hockey player from the early 20th century )
( Curling and all the nitty-gritty )
( The magnetic shadow effect )
I was listening to an audiodrama
Feb. 9th, 2026 10:47 amconulyand they took the time at the start of the most recent episode to talk about a charity in Minnesota that will bring food safely to people. I don't have the name of the charity, it's not on their website right now.
But what really struck me is that they spent a few minutes on this and never once mentioned or even alluded to why some people might need food to be delivered safely.
I'm not sure what I think about that, but I'm sure I don't like it much.
( Read more... )
annathecrow posting in dreamwarsHi,
welcome to the weekly chat corner.
If you're into exchanges (and aren't already following the comm), the May the Fourth Exchange nominations are now open.
Are you into exchanges? Some people aren't so I'm curious. What do you think of the tradition, whether you are or not?
(Not specifically SW, I know. Feel free to talk about anything else of course, as usual.)