CJ's musings to FAQs & comments......

 

 

Do you have subtitled dramas?

Nooooo~~~ reviled stuff sends shivers down my spine...all the way to tippy toes....

 

 

Do you trade dorama?

Nope. No time, no equipment, no inclination.

 

 

May I link to your site?

Sure, go ahead, you don't need to ask permission.

 

 

Do you have translations for such & such a drama? 

WYSIWYG.

 

 

Do you know where there are synopses for such & such a drama?

Saaaaa.........<tilts head>

 

 

Send me translations for xxx, yyy & zzz drama.

Hah! joudan ja nai yo!

 

 

Can you do detailed translations for xxx, yyy & zzz dramas?

'course I can, whether I want to is another matter altogether. I don't do requests unless it's for a fansub project & the requestor is a good friend of CJ's, which just about narrows it down to zilch. Almost.

 

 

When will you finish Virgin Road & Imoto Yo?

Never. They are set to self destruct when I run out of disk space.

 

 

How do you decide on which drama to translate?

I generally pick one drama from each season that I think I can bear watching over & over again. On the odd occasion I'll work on translations of older dramas for fan-subbing purposes. I do however, try to avoid dramas with silly acting, especially wide-eyed helpless looking girls bouncing up & down, breathlessly going "dou shiyou?"  half the time. Makes my hair stand!

 

 

How do you do your translations? Directly from watching the drama or from Japanese scripts?

Hell no!! What scripts? I could transcribe the dialogues in Japanese I suppose & I would have my scripts. Sometimes, I manage to get my hands on the Japanese novelized version of the drama if it's published. However, the novels don't usually follow the actual drama dialogue so more often than not, they end up being more of a nuisance than help. Nahhh, it's easier to just sit in front of the TV & translate the actual dialogue straight onto the web pages in my notebook. When I'm done with the last word spoken on screen, I'm pretty much ready to upload the page onto the site. 

 

 

How long does it take to translate a drama?

Simple, straightforward dramas like Majo no jouken & Summer Snow, approximately 5 hours to produce the waffly stuff. For more complex or rapid-machine-gun-fire dialogue dramas, anywhere from 8-10 hours, more if the content screams for research. Unit of time measure: 'per episode', but of course.

 

 

"Your translations feel very cold" / "There are a lot of grammatical errors in your translations" / "Your translations are hard to read"

Yes I know & it's intentional. It so happens that I am merely using J dramas for translation practice, & then sticking them up on this site as an afterthought. When I first started translating, my only goal was to get at the literal meaning, not produce Pulitzer prize novels for other people's reading pleasure. I didn't give a darn about grammar or politically correct English. However, starting with Ring ~ saishusho & Strawberry on the Shortcake, I have changed my style to more of a "meaning" translation, to quote a friend. It should be easier to read so perhaps that may please a few more readers. Talk about fussy.

 

 

"I only want the dialogue script, not the other who-said-or-did-what bits"

I suppose I could do that but I find translating that way boring as hell. So, if thou chooses to read CJ's translations, thou shalt just have to wade through the waffle waffle. 

 

 

"I get a headache reading your translations."

So do I. Take two aspirin & abstain from reading them. Works for me.

 

 

Where are you 'final comments?' / I can't find your 'final comments'

I am honored by the requests <genuflecting>. I shall endeavor to come up with something profoundly deep for each drama I translate from now on. I aim but to please. (Yeah right, be careful of what you ask for, anything a-la-CJ will most likely be something inane dripping with sarcasm.)

 

 

Do you know where I can find Takki's fan site etc...

What do you think I am, search engine?

 

 

You should add more pictures / screen captures / music to your site.

moshi moshi, this is not some teeny bopper fan site. This is a translation, I repeat, TRANSLATION site. Why do you think dramas are available on TV, Video, VCDs, DVDs etc? It doesn't make cow sense for me to waste time & disk space mucking around with graphic & audio files. Some folks suggested that I add screen captures to each line spoken. You don't wanna know the CJ reaction to that idea. 

 

 

Where are you from?

From virtual Yahoo Japan, hibernating. Woke up one bright & cheery morning, took a deep breath & bravely leapt into Yahoo USA....."Egads! It's alive!"  

 

cont'd....

ugh, there are some really shitsukoi folks whose curiosity refuses to be ignored, wanting to know more about CJ. All I will say is that CJ is probably homo sapien erectus of asian-portuguese-dutch descent. How would I know, I wasn't around way back then; although on bad days it's more likely to be homo sapien horizontalus. Anyway, somewhere along the line, I inherited grumpy & cantankerous gene-producing DNA; it is a well-kept family secret but I am distantly related to Oscar the Grouch. Folks who gush orgasmically & do a good impression of having in their possession the IQ of a squid sorely test the limits of my ZEN. In my more sanguine moods, which are rare, I refrain from leaving a path of lobbed off heads in my wake. Satisfied?

 

 

2001/08/20

Whining & insults

I hate to comment about folks based on nationality but I've observed that quite a bit of the mail I get from Singapore tend to whinge a lot. Fortunately I've got some cool friends there or I'd be apt to think that whinging must be a national trait or something. With regards to my 'high & mighty, royal spoilt brat' statement on the planets aligning with CJ's mood, well, this 'royal highness' happens to merely work, oh, only 12 hour weekdays & weekends. The rest of the time, hmmmm, kindly excuse this royaliness for not being exactly thrilled about translating. It's not like I need the translations to understand dramas in the first place either. So, the royal decree is passed - folks that do not care for the way I write, nor my brand of sarcasm, nor what I have on this site, are gently reminded that they can exercise their freedom & go roam the other vast unexplored wilderness of Internet Kingdomland. It will be a great loss, but rest assured that this royaliness will do just fine. Sir Lancelot, off with their heads!! hehe.....

 

 

2001/12/5

Majo no Jouken

Oh for heaven's sakes, enough about Majo no Jouken already. If I go on bended knees, will the ranting & raving email about it stop flooding my mail box? No, I don't care much for Michi, I absolutely cannot abide women who insist on acting brainless. & Hikaru is nothing more than an angst-filled spoilt brat. Yes yes yes, you disagree with my comments, fine. To be honest can't even remember what I wrote waaaaaay back then. It's Jurassic, please, get over it. Yes, CJ's peeved. Anymore more whiny mail & I'm going into hibernation & pout forever.

 

 

2001/12/8

The whinging virus...

Egads!! I just got mail saying I was complaining too much about whiny mail! Ohh noooo~~~~!!! I've been hit by the whinging virus too! Struggle struggle gaboooosh!! Can CJ withstand the onslaught?!  gyaaa~~~~!!  Seriously, it appears to some folks that not only do I dislike people coming over to my site, but that this site is for my own pleasure only. Of course it is merely for my own pleasure!! What else would I get out of it?! You guys are certainly not paying me for doing any of this.  tako!!

CJ observation (eyes squinting into the distance in an attempt to look annoyingly pedantic) - folks from the West send mail generally saying "Great stuff! Look forward to your next translation project!" People in the East say "Great stuff but how come you don't have this translation? When will you finish the next episode? I want to read it now. I can't access your site, fix it. Send this, this & that translation to me. I want translation for this drama, I want translation for that drama, I want translation for this, this, this & that drama..." yada yada yada.  Haaarrrooooo??  Saint CJ I am not, the word 'altruistic' is not synonymous with 'CJ'.  wakatta?!  Hmmmph! (snort of disgust accompanied by dramatic toss of head, hair artistically flopping over eyes, nose up in the air.)  CJ's off to go get massive dose of anti-whinging medication.....ooooo, wobble wobble, titter totter.......
 

 

2002/4/30

Removal of email address

Due to the many takos that are baka enough to get their address books contaminated with viruses, I've decided to take my email address off. Thank you but I don't particularly care for worms & creepy crawlies so hopefully this should lessen the annoying number of infected email I get. Those that are dying to get in touch with me for lord knows whatever reason, well, I'm sure the more imaginative of you will figure out how to get a hold of me.

 

 

Links not working problem

If you happen to get a page popping up with a message that this site has exceeded the data transfer amount, sorry, you'll just have to check back again later. Traffic overload, Yahoo shuts the site down so ironically enough the problem resolves itself when folks stop accessing the site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

& the most frequently asked question that induces thunderous annoyance in CJ.....

 

When will the rest of the episodes be up?

Whenever I'm done with them. Practice your ZEN.

 

 

& CJ's musing of the moment.....

 

"I never read my own translations & I pity the folks who have to."  - CJ <grinning devilishly>