🇨🇦 tunetardis

Thanks for that. It set me straight on a few things.

What do you think about microloans then (kiva, etc.)? Is that a better approach? I know it’s more grassroots than a gov program, and I don’t know how much of an effect they have in the grand scheme of things.

I’m interested in your take on the USAid funding cuts. It only made the news briefly where I am amid a long list of disruptions that have wreaked havoc closer to home, but I can’t help thinking this has to be one of the worst things that happened on a global scale?

Yeah the effect is most noticeable to me for thematic albums or something classical like a symphony. I really don’t want those interrupted!

And I feel like fewer bands are making thematic albums now because they don’t translate well to the phone experience. That’s a shame.

Others have covered the subtleties of how the sound could be reproduced on older players in a different way. But there may a psychological component as well? And I don’t just mean a nostalgia factor, though that could certainly be part of it.

One thing I miss is having a dedicated music player that will never interrupt my listening experience with a notification or anything like that. It’s the same reason I still prefer going to a theatre to watch movies. Zero distractions compared to a home screening and I feel like I can get far more immersed in it.

Ha! That’s a great idea!

Along those lines, have you considered the name Richmond? I ask a Chinese friend once why the Richmond district in Vancouver and the Richmond Hill suburbs of Toronto are basically China at this point. He said oh that’s easy! Richmond sounds like “rich man” to the Chinese ear. Who wouldn’t wanna live on Rich Man Hill?

Ooh that’s a tricky one! I looked it up and the most common character for it is a verb meaning something like to arrange for display? Good luck finding an English equivalent to that! There is a 2nd meaning of “old or ancient” which sounds a little more promising, though I can’t think of an English name with that meaning off the top of my head.

Apparently, Chen is the most common family name in Taiwan, and is really the same name as Chan, Tam, and Tran depending on where you live and what you speak. Not that that helps you any.

fwiw family names in English come typically come from several sources. They may be place names (e.g. London), descriptions of places (e.g. Ford: a shallow place where you can cross a river), occupations (e.g. Smith), or the name of a family business (e.g. if your name is Fox, your ancestor likely owned a tavern with a name like The Fox & Whistle or something random). If it’s an occupation that sounds too good to be true like King or Bishop, your ancestor was probably not royalty but served a royal estate.

Not that you need to follow any of that. Is there a Chinese ancestral name in your family you’re aware of? Maybe you could get it’s meaning and find a close English equivalent? I’m part Japanese myself, and Japanese family names are almost all of the descriptions of places variety. So say your name was Watanabe: a shallow place where you can cross a river. You might then choose to go with Ford as your English name? Just a thought.

killer bees