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don-dake · 18 hours

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#Ideally，who wouldn't want this? But sadly，not everyone has this privilege…#Sigh…lovely drawing though!#Art #Wolves

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don-dake · 2 days

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『即使輸掉了一切也不要輸掉了微笑』

“Even when I have lost everything, I don't want to lose my (knowing how to) smile.”

Another vid (I think the programme is simply called “Smile”? But not 💯 certain) featuring Gregory Charles Rivers (aka 河國榮 Ho Kwok-Wing) that I think is interesting and as always, great for Cantonese listening practise too!

Like the previous video, I'm just going to do an English summary, but it won't be as detailed this time (because I'm tired) and I'll just highlight the parts I find most interesting (for the odd person who may actually enjoy my Cantonese centric posts/translations, featuring usually “not-globally-famous/old people” from a small part of the globe…😸) in the screenshots below.

(Date of interview: c. 2017–2019?)

Rivers's optimistic outlook on life at this time is especially poignant and awe-inspiring because in hindsight, not only is it known what eventually happened to him 😿, but at this time around 2017–2019, he had been hit by some deeply challenging life obstacles that may have overwhelmed and defeated another person completely.

Having undergone 2 major health scares (cancer and heart problems that resulted in two major operations) almost simultaneously, and that had left him in serious financial debt for a while, it's pretty admirable he could still keep his optimism in life! (until he couldn't anymore…😿 — but that had nothing to do with financial troubles, rather, it was a grief no one could really help him with…😿 RIP)

(full article can be read here.)

Brief summary of video:

Why and how he got into Cantonese and came to stay in Hong Kong for the rest of his life…basically, when he was still a medical student in Australia in the 1980s, he hit it off with the overseas students studying at the same university and most of them happen to be from Southeast Asia (Singaporeans, Malaysians and Hong Kongers, but mostly Hong Kongers), so he got surrounded by a lot of Cantonese, and gradually fell in love with the language and in particular, HK Cantopop culture.

Eventually, he lost interest in studying medicine and was failing his grades, and finally decided to move to Hong Kong to try to make a Cantopop career for himself. So he set out to do 3 to 4 part-time jobs for a whole year in Australia in order to save up enough for a one way ticket to Hong Kong…

(description of Instagram screenshot in the ALT Text)

…and he never looked back since!

🇭🇰🇲🇴 「儲錢，跟住買一張單程機標就飛到嚟香港。」

“So I saved up, and then bought a one-way ticket and flew off to Hong Kong.”

🇭🇰🇲🇴 「1987年5月31號夜晚九點幾。」

“The date was 1987 May 31st, around 9 at night.”

This was the day he arrived permanently in Hong Kong and was clearly a very significant and fond memory for him! 😺

🇭🇰🇲🇴 「一個鬼佬喺澳洲可以飛過嚟，想唱歌…雖然係嚟到30年嘅…」

“A Caucasian guy like me from Australia being able to fly over here (to Hong Kong), with only a dream of wanting to be a singer…even though I had to wait 30 years…”

🇭🇰🇲🇴 「不過終於都攞到最受歡迎男歌手奬嘅 (羞笑)」

“Even the likes of me can finally win a ‘Most Popular Male Singer’ award…(bashful laugh)”

I was unaware he had won any award for singing and in truth, it was likely not exactly a prominent music industry heavyweight award, but it clearly made him very happy and was a memory he definitely cherished and was grateful for so…good for him (sincerely)! 😺

(and winning ‘Most Popular’ was a sure sign he had been recognised for his efforts and approved by his adopted countrymen! Definitely meaningful and worth something too!)

🇭🇰🇲🇴 「即係證明咩都得啦！」

“So it goes to show anything can happen (dreams may come true if you never give up) !”

#Queued to post on 31st May to coincide with this significant date for #Gregory Charles Rivers #Ho Kwok Wing #Not even sure why #I'm just very inane I guess!#Video #Food #Cantonese #Canto Practise #My Eng Translations #Chinese Language #Language #HK Variety

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don-dake · 2 days

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programme title: 《創業者心路》

(rough translation: “Entrepreneur's Journey”)

Since looking up some Gregory Charles Rivers (aka 河國榮 — Ho Kwok-Wing) videos a while back, YouTube keeps recommending me more and more vids with him in it…not that I mind! I love his voice and the breezy way he spoke and it's good for Cantonese listening practise!

So here's a vid from c. 2014-ish since the programme mentioned he had left TVB — Hong Kong TV station that had hired him for 20+ years — six years prior and 2007–08 was the year he quit the station full time.

Apparently a sort of info-ed programme showcasing various folks from all walks of life who are trying or starting out an entrepreneur journey? And of course, this particular episode featured the aforementioned Mr Rivers, Ho Kwok-Wing.

I find this video quite heartbreaking now in light of what happened to him and his wife, but also still so inspiring and sweet (to get a glimpse of the mutual, quiet support he and his wife had for each other) and worth sharing and archiving here too!

video summary

(it's a little too time-consuming for me to translate everything word-for-word — even if the vid is not that long — so I'm just gonna give a translation in English, for the odd person (besides me!) here who may have more than a passing interest in this man, who's largely unknown outside of Hong Kong.)

Interviewer (Vincci):

“Entrepreneur's Journey” has showcased lots of successful entrepreneurs throughout the course of this programme but there are also lots of budding entrepreneurs who need our encouragement and support. This episode's main guest is too in need of some cheering on!

Voice-over:

Ho Kwok-Wing, a face that you and I (mainly Hong Kongers who grew up in the late '80s–early 2000s) are very familiar with.

Once gracing our TV screens in countless supporting roles, six years ago, he got really dispirited with TVB and decided to finally quit full time to try and strike out on his own.

But prospects for a foreign actor in Hong Kong are ultimately limited. Ho Kwok-Wing had very little job opportunities as an actor these last few years. To try and create another path (and earn a living) for himself, he and his wife decided to try their hand at a DIY trinket/jewellery business.

Vincci: So why did you think of starting such a business in the first place?

GCR/HKW: Not me really! I'm just an employee! (laughs) My wife runs the business! Really, it's because my wife has experience in the jewellery business, she has done jewellery exhibitions in places like Switzerland, USA, many times in the past.

So last year, when she decided to quit her job and after an extended break, gave serious thought to trying this business on our own, and how to go about it, what kinds of jewellery to procure…the whole shebang, she did all the homework, she's the one who knows (better).

She actually tried balloting (for permission) for (setting up) a (bazaar) stall many times before but wasn't successful until this time, our first try balloting for a place here in Sai Kung (西貢 — a peninsular in the New Territories part of Hong Kong). Even then, there was a 7–8 month waiting period.

Vincci: So what made you finally decide to leave TVB?

GCR/HKW: I'd been with TVB for 20+ years, I knew TVB would not give me any more room for advancement (as an actor). Although there were occasionally still good roles for me, (I knew) there won't be any more chances for me to go beyond being a supporting actor.

So I pretty much had only two choices; stay on and continue being a supporting (but increasingly dispirited) actor, or take a gamble and try to start something for myself (outside TVB).

So I decided to take that gamble. And even if I end up losing, I can at least say I've tried. If you don't try, you may have regrets for life…and you never really can know what the outcome will be!

Vincci: I know right now you're taking things on the chin, striving hard to get by, so did you ever think that this is too difficult and you should just go back to TVB for more job stability and call it a day?

GCR/HKW: Someone I've known for a long time just asked me a similar question this morning, like, why don't I go back to TVB? At least there'll be a base salary, and I told my friend, TVB does not do “base salary”! My friend was taken by surprise, thinking a contract with TVB would guarantee me a basic salary but the reality is, I'd only get paid if I actually had an opportunity to be in something! Being tied to TVB is no guarantee of salary stability.

I've friends (colleagues) who sometimes only get to do about 1–2 projects a year, and if you'd signed an exclusive contract with TVB, that means you can't take on other projects outside of TVB.

[n.b.: these are not so-called “top tier” actors; their pay is not that high to begin with and they don't have much bargaining power to negotiate for much salary increment or more job opportunities, so many are actually struggling to get by.]

Vincci: So these past 6 years must be pretty difficult for you…after all, opportunities in the entertainment industry are quite limiting in Hong Kong…

GCR/HKW: Difficult…yeah a little…I'm probably…like what you read about in the papers too, in that group of people who are basically living on their savings right now…seeing our savings shrink, shrink, shrink, shrink, shrink! (chuckles) Right? But…we're not giving up (yet)!

Voice-over:

Due to Hong Kong's sky-high rental prices, Ho Kwok-Wing and his wife cannot afford a brick and mortar store and can only afford this “nomad” style of business, moving every other month, going along with where the bazaar goes. And this weekend, after two days of being under the humid, 30°C weather, they have only managed to make about HKD$2000 (approx. USD$250) in total.

But enduring these hardships is not just for making a living, but for personal ideals (and dreams).

Vincci: So the transition from being someone on TV to now running a (modest) business (in a street bazaar), is there any sense of awkwardness/difficulty for you to be seen as falling on hard times and doing this to earn a living?

GCR/HKW: Difficulty…no I don't actually feel so. Because I've long treated Hong Kongers as my friends and they too have embraced me as a local and good friend, like, I'll smile and greet anyone (who recognises me), we'll all smile and wave, pose for photos, I'll sign autographs, everyone's been real friendly! It's a really fun and enjoyable situation really! And I'm after all just an ordinary person, not some global superstar like (Maggie) Cheung Man-Yuk for example! If a real superstar suddenly has to go from superstar status to selling trinkets at a bazaar…then yeah, they may find it hard to make that change!

But I'm OK with this and everyone (the people he's met so far) understands I'm not some big star, and ultimately we are all people and have to make a living somehow, so no one has made me feel awkward about selling jewellery at a street bazaar.

Vincci: So I know you're trying your best to also earn enough to cut your own album all this while but we all know this is a very uncertain industry and there's really no telling what the response will be like even after putting in all your effort and finances into it…

GCR/HKW: Yeah…and it really feels like all your finances can vanish any minute, going with this endeavour. Especially nowadays when people can pirate music so easily, to the point that some people don't think albums are worth buying anymore and they actually feel entitled to free music…

Vincci: So why do you still persist trying to break into the music industry?

GCR/HKW: Well because my main goal when I first came to Hong Kong, has always been to have a music career.

Voice-over:

Ho Kwok-Wing's perseverance in pursuing his dreams, even when knowing fully he's likely making a losing investment, this “gritting one's teeth and just making the best of things as they come”, this inextinguishable fighting spirit is certainly something to be inspired by and learn from!

GCR/HKW: With dreams, you have to have a lot of patience sometimes, be prepared for disappointments and also feeling utterly defeated. After so many years, and I've been in Hong Kong for 27 years now, I've learned to take disappointments in my stride.

This week's disappointments may turn into next week's joys. So this is how I deal with life now: Keep an optimistic outlook!

And I wish everyone who has unfulfilled dreams like me all the best and may your dreams come true!

#Gregory Charles Rivers #Ho Kwok Wing #Video #Cantonese #Canto Practise #My Eng Translations #Chinese Language #Language #HK Variety

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don-dake · 2 days

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#I love that out of all the seats it ultimately #Chose the *Priority* ones #Fella certainly knows which ones it deserves!#Great MV and song #Coyotes

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don-dake · 2 days

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非食物、冒牌燈籠魚。

日式朱古力田螺麵包同埋…？

邊件先係真實嘅田螺包呀？（笑）

嗰日食緊日式田螺麵包時，就諗到屋企有呢一隻幾好笑嘅公仔朋友。遠啲睇緊佢嘅時候，尤其係喺背後，真係同真實麵包有九成似喎！於是影咗呢幾張相嚟做個比較。似唔似真實麵包呀？(笑)

而講到公仔同頭先啱啱提起到Sacabambaspis之事，就諗到屋企仲有另外一隻搞笑嘅朋友…

嚟介紹一下我哋屋企嘅薩卡班甲魚公仔朋友 (同佢嘅狗仔死黨，「忍仔」) 吧！佢嘅名叫「馬鹿魚」。睇到忍仔噉由佢手上吊住馬鹿魚，好似打燈籠噉，噉可唔可以話馬鹿魚其實係一條冒牌燈籠魚呢？(笑)

頭先仲諗緊Sacabambaspis中文應該點叫先啱，於是乎，就上網查下。原來只係直接翻譯成「薩卡班甲魚」就係嘞！

#Dake Rambles #Cantonese #Canto Practise #Chinese Language #Language #My Snapshots #Merch #Food #Tsum #Nemu Nemu #My Shiba Gang #Shiba Plush #BakaSakana #Shinobi

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don-dake · 2 days

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Sailing

#Surf Surf Surf!#Shiba Inu #Dogs

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don-dake · 2 days

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A poll for Cantonese-speaking people out there 😛

Please don’t give it away if you know! And please reblog if you voted!

#一睇到就即刻諗到…淋*…籽*…詳* 😉 (唔得多講！再描述落去就泄漏天機嘞！笑)#For the rec. I voted 1! 😺#Cantonese #Chinese Language #Language #Polls

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don-dake · 2 days

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A tiger bursting to freedom after being rescued from a poacher’s snare in the Russian Far East.

#William Wallace voice: FREEDOM!#Tigers

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don-dake · 2 days

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捷運車站及車廂內禁止飲食

#(笑) 是呀！把你的炸鷄排和珍珠奶茶夢給砸碎了！廢柴也真夠狠嘛！(笑)#Metro Taipei Ad #Mandarin #Chinese Language #Language

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don-dake · 2 days

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RIP Kabosu, who inspired one of the most influential memes of all time; Doge.

2/11/2005 - 24/5/24

#Hope you both have fun over the other side of the rainbow #Thanks for the fun you both gave humankind through the #Memes #Shiba Inu #Dogs #カボス #Doge #波波 #Cheems

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don-dake · 2 days

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#Glad his wish was finally respected #History #Yuri Knorozov #Asya #Cats

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don-dake · 2 days

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The Tangut writing system is infuriating.

So in 1036AD or so, Yeli Renrong, a Chinese official of the Western Xia Dynasty was tasked with developing a writing system for the Tangut language.

He made the wrong decision at every single step in the process.

So most people attempting to create a writing system will default to an alphabet, a syllabary (based on syllables or mora, as with two of Japanese’s system), or an abjad (based on consonants, as with the Arabic and Hebrew scripts). But the hero/villain of our story chose to go with a system of logographic characters. And this is perfectly understandable, as he was a Chinese scholar and the Tangut language is a member of the Sino-Tibetan language family.

Using the Chinese ideogram script for Tangut would unify its literature and literate class with the wider Chinese sphere, allowing for readers of this minority language to easily adapt to the greatest body of literature in the world and heaven, albeit after learning the use of certain grammatical auxiliaries and syntax differences.

Yeli Renrong did not do this.

Instead, he developed an entirely new writing system, which looked like Chinese but fractal. Now, Chinese is famous for its complicated system of strokes, but actual characters are quite varied in their stroke count, with most sentences fluctuating in stroke count and form so it’s easier on the eyes and rather beautiful, particularly with the correct choice of calligraphy or font.

NOT TANGUT.

Tangut says fuck that noise and just jams about twenty strokes in every character, so every sentence is an assault on the senses.