Wapsi Square Forum

L’Heureux said, “Aimez-vous marchez?

In proper Parisian French, that would be marcher.

However... Quebecois generally do NOT speak proper Parisian French. The languages have been drifting in separate directions, very loosely coupled, for nearly 300 years. And according to my daughters' former supervisor - a Parisian who occasionally had to do telephone support for Quebecois customers - the dialects are only MOSTLY mutually intelligible. (Although she expressed it in a rather less polite and evenhanded manner - my daughters learned some interesting French words.)

So, since my French never got beyond high-school level and that was >30 years ago, and I never learned Quebecois, as far as I'm concerned you get a pass on the French.

Warrl wrote:

L’Heureux said, “Aimez-vous marchez?

In proper Parisian French, that would be marcher.

However... Quebecois generally do NOT speak proper Parisian French. The languages have been drifting in separate directions, very loosely coupled, for nearly 300 years. And according to my daughters' former supervisor - a Parisian who occasionally had to do telephone support for Quebecois customers - the dialects are only MOSTLY mutually intelligible. (Although she expressed it in a rather less polite and evenhanded manner - my daughters learned some interesting French words.)

So, since my French never got beyond high-school level and that was >30 years ago, and I never learned Quebecois, as far as I'm concerned you get a pass on the French.

The French I speak is Quebecois via emigration and degeneration in the mill town I grew up in. Hence Lake's attempts to "fix" it...

What is there I literally typed on the fly as I was writing, so I am not surprised it's a bit degenerate.

I just noticed: TIMMIES! The sign of civilization in any Canadian town.

That and the ubiquitous Canadian Tire Centre...

A note on the recent episode: Meth cooking is FAR from a big city issue. It is frequent up here in the north woods of Wisconsin.

jwhouk wrote:A note on the recent episode: Meth cooking is FAR from a big city issue. It is frequent up here in the north woods of Wisconsin.

The problem is that it's basically kitchen chemistry - it's not all that difficult to do and doesn't require a ton of chemical engineering knowledge.

I very much was not joking when I sited it in a camper - it's not an unusual way to do things - a mobile meth lab.

Thanks to Al and the intrepid sheriff''s department, at least some of the scum are off line. Now, he needs to survive the aftermath.

Warrl wrote: - my daughters learned some interesting French words.

Taking 'pardon my French' to a new extreme, eh?

Just Old Al wrote:

jwhouk wrote:A note on the recent episode: Meth cooking is FAR from a big city issue. It is frequent up here in the north woods of Wisconsin.

The problem is that it's basically kitchen chemistry - it's not all that difficult to do and doesn't require a ton of chemical engineering knowledge.

I very much was not joking when I sited it in a camper - it's not an unusual way to do things - a mobile meth lab.

Thanks to Al and the intrepid sheriff''s department, at least some of the scum are off line. Now, he needs to survive the aftermath.

I had a house (that was cut into apartments) burn down. Your way has less effect on the neighbors. Also fewer sapient neighbors.

Just Old Al wrote:

jwhouk wrote:A note on the recent episode: Meth cooking is FAR from a big city issue. It is frequent up here in the north woods of Wisconsin.

The problem is that it's basically kitchen chemistry - it's not all that difficult to do and doesn't require a ton of chemical engineering knowledge.

I very much was not joking when I sited it in a camper - it's not an unusual way to do things - a mobile meth lab.

Thanks to Al and the intrepid sheriff''s department, at least some of the scum are off line. Now, he needs to survive the aftermath.

There used to be quite a bit of it around here... but certain 'mishaps' made it rather 'Darwinistic' to pursue. To the best of my knowledge, most of the Okanogan Valley is free of the labs...

Sgt. Howard wrote:

Just Old Al wrote:

jwhouk wrote:A note on the recent episode: Meth cooking is FAR from a big city issue. It is frequent up here in the north woods of Wisconsin.

The problem is that it's basically kitchen chemistry - it's not all that difficult to do and doesn't require a ton of chemical engineering knowledge.

I very much was not joking when I sited it in a camper - it's not an unusual way to do things - a mobile meth lab.

Thanks to Al and the intrepid sheriff''s department, at least some of the scum are off line. Now, he needs to survive the aftermath.

There used to be quite a bit of it around here... but certain 'mishaps' made it rather 'Darwinistic' to pursue. To the best of my knowledge, most of the Okanogan Valley is free of the labs...

*fistbump*

I read instalment #17 at lunch, and had several corrections to make to the French, but I lacked time. I will state them below.

But first, I have to say I just love how the little details make the whole piece believable. Like having CBC Radio Two play music in the Grey Gull diner (at that time of day, CBC Radio One would be talk shows of some sort), or having Tim Horton's coffee (yes, a ubiquitous feature of many, many Canadian towns...)

And now, the French lesson:
(There are several corrections to make, this time...)

Every time you say "ça", you are using a regular 'c' instead of a c with the cedilla.
“Bonjour, Goldeneye! Comment ca va aujourd’hui?” should be: “Bonjour, Goldeneye! Comment ça va aujourd’hui?”

As an interjection, one would tend to say "Bon", not "Bien" (though not in all instances). But the ones you have do need to switch:
“Bien, on va?” should be “Bon, on y va?” (Notice the extra 'y' needed to indicate we're about to go somewhere...)

When used as part of a question, "allons-nous" means "are we going to", such as when saying "Allons-nous commencer bientôt?" (Are we going to start soon?) But the way you used it is incorrect:
“Bon – Allons-nous!” should be “Bon – Allons-y!” "Allons" is in the imperative, so there is no need to mention "nous", and "y" indicates direction. Let's get moving (somewhere).

I can understand not finding accented letters on a US keyboard, but you do know of the character map, right?

"Sur", without any accent on the 'u', means "on" or "on top of". "Il est assis sur la chaise." ("He is sitting on the chair.") or "Il a déposé le livre sur la pile." ("He placed the book on top of the pile.")

"Sûr", with the circumflex accent, means "certain", "sure". "Je suis sûr de ce que j'avance." "I am certain of what I am talking about." And "Bien sûr" means "of course", or "certainly".

Also, "J'ai fini avec ca" sounds like an attempt at a literal translation of "I'm done with this." But in French, it would be used more to indicate being done with something you were using. "J'ai fini avec ça, tu peux t'en servir." "I am done with this, you can go ahead and use it." To get the meaning of what you're trying to convey, it would be better to go with "I have had enough of this", or "I have had enough of waiting for you"

Consequently,
“Bien sur – but you’re so SLOW. J’ai fini avec ca – get on.” should be “Bien sûr – but you’re so SLOW. J'en ai assez – get on.” or “Bien sûr – but you’re so SLOW. J'en ai assez de t'attendre – get on.”


Thus ends the French lesson.

For now.




By the way... I'm still looking for Lockehaven...

I now know:

• It's near Route 3
• It is protected from the Atlantic by an island that is in the way
• It has a rail trail coming out of town
• It is near highways 103 and 203

Incidentally, Lockeport does have a railtrail leaving town, and is on the inside of an island (i.e. on the side facing the mainland). But even if it's not near that town, I'm guessing it's somewhere on the SW shore of NS.

I'll find those centaurs yet!

Lockeport, NS has a causeway (Locke St. runs along the causeway), immediately followed by Brighton Rd. And in that area, Rte 3 is called Lighthouse Rte...

Tell me again, that Lockehaven is not really Lockeport?

Just Old Al wrote:You're despicable...

I was pretty sure that Daffy was the reference you were making... thanks for confirming it.

We were having a "problem" with meth labs and drug houses exploding and burning down for a while . . . One notorious one burned to the ground and the local firefighters refused to enter because they weren't properly equipped . . . power company turned off the power, eventually, and then the fire department watched it burn . . . FD was amazingly disorganized that night.

Oddly, the fire was reported by an outsider passing through town . . . none of the locals had seen/heard/smelled anything.

Since the courts were insisting on catch-and-release for the criminals at the time . . . well, . . .

--FreeFlier

*applauds*
I've been up in Vermont for the past week on a visit, so I'd fallen behind on the forum. Just read the story in one go tonight.
Y'know, Al might find himself having to hide out with one of the ursamorph hermits, until the meth lab brouhaha dies down. A remote cabin, snug and secure, but lacking in amenities. No outhouse, for one.
Thus answering the age old question about ursa and woodlands.

lake_wrangler wrote:Lockeport, NS has a causeway (Locke St. runs along the causeway), immediately followed by Brighton Rd. And in that area, Rte 3 is called Lighthouse Rte...

Tell me again, that Lockehaven is not really Lockeport?

What part of "I ain't sayin'" is hard to understand here? Leave the poor nags alone...

I laughed. I cried. I can't wait for the final act.

jwhouk wrote:I laughed. I cried. I can't wait for the final act.

It ain't done yet...

Billens: "Yanno, he could have just asked us. International carry permits ain't that hard to get.

Brandi: "You think he would have even asked? And you know damn well Daisy would have said no, anyways."

Billens: "Point. Though I think we should go through the process, anyways. Better'n getting our number one researcher get blown away."

Brandi: "True. Just no Maxi 14's."

Billens: "They already have'm. Didn't you read that part of the story in the PT?"

Brandi: "You know as well as I do most of the stuff in the PT is minotaur crap."

I had a lot of fun reading the latest instalment... (#20 - the wife's reaction)

I can't put a voice to it, but Edward sounds British, to me, in all his glorious unflappableness... that phone call to Buck was pure genius!

lake_wrangler wrote:I had a lot of fun reading the latest instalment... (#20 - the wife's reaction)

I can't put a voice to it, but Edward sounds British, to me, in all his glorious unflappableness... that phone call to Buck was pure genius!

He's been with them forever - so there is little he has not seen. In any case, any reaction but what he showed would simply not be in the proper traditions of a good butler.

Daisy's temper is legendary. Al toes the line for a good reason - the one or two blowups that they've had have made for some truly spectacular fights. He may be dumb, but he ain't stupid.

Thing is that they are both passionate people - and that comes out in both positive and negative ways.