discontent: the first step in the progress of a man or a nation...

[txorakeriak]

Things that annoy me these days (in no particular order):

• the snow. The weather doesn't seem to care much about the fact that winter is over. No, it brings us snow, storms and temperatures around -2°C with a dedication that is exemplary. I'm so fed up with it. When there's just a thin layer of snow on the streets, people suddenly forget everything

Comments

[dfotw]

I actually think your Discontent List is pretty nifty; getting to realise wxactly what's bothering you can be useful, I suppose. And I agree with most of these! The weather (will it ever stop being so cold?!), picfics (looked at one because everyone was squeeing about it, thought 'so what?'), and the rest of the nonsense that's plaguing the footie fandom and makes me distance myself from it everyday a bit more.

I don't think constructive criticism is any good nowadays, to be honest. If a fic gets one well-reasoned comment pointing out flaws, and ten 'ZOMG u def need to rite MORE lol!!11!!', guess which will outweigh the other? Most people aren't in fandoms to try and improve their writing skills, and the ones who are, are far in between. Or maybe I'm taking too gloomy a view... and don't get me started on LJ drama!

I'm going to read that Sparrington fic immediately (I'm in dire need of good fic!), though. Things that make you happy are good!

And I'm very glad those Spanish lessons are going well; though, if I were you, I wouldn't discount the Latin American accent so quickly. For one, it's easier to pick up... and there's lots more of us in the world! Our accents are prettier than the Spaniards (and besides, not even all Spaniards have the 'Spanish' accent... or should I say, most of them don't have it? XD)! Anyway, you know where my fics are, should you want to practice your Spanish with some! And if there's anything I can do to help (if you need materials, if you have doubts, or if you need to ask a question on Latin American vs Spanish), remember I'm here!

:)

[txorakeriak]

Hehe, when I found that Oscar Wilde quote which I then used for my subject line, I felt a lot more optimistic about the whole thing. XD I guess sometimes you just need to vent a bit, and everything's a bit less bleak afterwards. :D

Ah, is it that cold in Spain, too? I thought it was a bit warmer again - you guys always have better weather than we do! ;)

I really wonder what's wrong with the football fandom. It's definitely not the interesting, fun fandom it was a couple of years ago when I joined, and I don't think I've ever had so much nonsense in a fandom. Maybe I just didn't see the bad parts of my previous fandoms because I stuck to certain circles. Maybe the football fandom is bound to have nonsense by nature, because football is a sport that attracts people with all kinds of educational backgrounds, compared to fandoms that are based on books (especially classic literature or history). But I know for a fact that in my previous fandoms there were certain quality standards, that people didn't dare to post fic that was full of mistakes, that people cared enough about their fandom to do lots of research and always try to improve. (And I just noticed that I forgot to mention something really annoying in my list: GOSSIP. *pukes*) Well, maybe I'm just asking too much and should be content with what I have. From what my friends write about the Smallville or Supernatural fandom, I guess the football fandom is still one of the less crazy fandoms.

Yeah, I think you're right. secondratestar once said that there's too much arselickery going on on LJ, and I think that's exactly it. People don't have the balls to give constructive criticism so they stick to praise, and even if the comment is just one line long, it definitely outweighs a comment that is 10 lines long and includes constructive criticism. I guess I should finally accept that some people don't want to improve. They have the right not to want that, of course. But then I have the right to make a blacklist as well.

Hope you enjoyed the Sparrington fic! Do you know the feeling when you're down and surly and pray to the heavens that the next fic you read isn't badfic because you need a really good fic to make you feel better? This is exactly the really good fic to do that. :D

Ah no, it's not as if I'm discounting the Latin American accent or anything! In fact, the only thing that bothers me is that Latin Americans don't "lisp", i.e. they don't differentiate between s, c and z. For people who are learning the language, it's so important to differentiate because it helps you remember how certain words are written. Take globalización, for instance. In German, it's Globalisation. If you pronounce globalización the Spanish way, you know immediately that the word is written with a "z", not an "s". But I do know that certain parts of Spain don't "lisp" either (like Gran Canaria). ;)

Thanks so much for your kind offers! I'll definitely go check out your fics when I've learned a bit more. At the moment, my Spanish isn't really that good yet. XD

*glomps*

[txorakeriak]

Hahaha, I hope the quote was correct! I do remember you saying something like that, but I don't remember your exact words. Ah well, you're right anyway. I miss the good old days, too. I guess that when people get too comfortable around each other in a fandom, their effort ceases sometimes because they no longer have to impress everyone and mistakes are forgiven more quickly. Sad but true.

Oh, did I? I don't remember, but I'm glad you were happy about it! You never know how people react to concrit, so I appreciate this a lot! Thank you! :)

We still need to write that fic about Iker and McShagger, remember? I may fail epically at writing down my ideas (*facepalm*) but I haven't forgotten about it! ;)

By the way, it's so good to see you here. I missed you! *HUGS* Hope everything's fine with you and your guy! :D

[txorakeriak]

Hahaha, yes, it does, doesn't it? XD *glomps* See, you say the best things. :D

I used to feel bad about saying anything bad about other people's writing because I'm far from perfect myself, but all this stopped one day when, after having been writing English fanfic for about two years, I went back to my early stuff and re-read it. And nearly died with embarrassment. I really wish people had given me concrit back then, then it wouldn't have taken me so long to improve! I still don't like my writing much, but at least I don't cringe anymore when I re-read my recent fics. But as I said, there are people who don't care that much about improving their writing, and giving them concrit is just a waste of time.

I'll definitely let you know when I'm ready! :D As soon as I get my RL sorted out, we can start plotting and writing! :D

Glad to hear you're well! And yay for finishing a mammoth essay. You definitely deserve some chillout time now! :D

I'm fine mostly, and a lot less discontent than I was when I wrote these posts (but that is why I write them, to feel better afterwards! XD), and very much looking forward to my trip to Amsterdam and Liverpool next month. :D And at the end of April/the beginning of May I'll get my new car! I can't wait! :D

[dfotw]

It's cold here too, yeah. At least in the barren and wind-swept plains of Castilla y León it is. Today was the first mildly springtimey day we've had in the whole year!

I think that what's happening to this fandom is what happens to a lot of the fandoms when they grow and expand to include people who are only in it to be 'popular' and not because they like the subject matter. At least, that's what I try to tell myself when I see no research, zero characterisation and idiotic nickames being bandied about. (and oh, about nicknames: Guti's is 'Chema', because his full name is José (male) María (female), a very common Spanish name that takes a female nickname; crazy Spaniards! XD) But yeah, it could be worse. I walked out of the Harry Potter fandom a few years ago with a few hairs singed by the nonsense flying about! XD

And I loved that Sparrington fic! Oh, I left a totally ramabling comment there, the writer must think I'm a bit of an idiot, but I enjoyed it so much! It washed the taste of silly fanfic from my mouth, but it left me torn between wanting to write (proper fic) and thinking that I can't really write anything worthwhile.

And yeah, I think that Spanish accent can help foreign students with their s/z/c spelling... although I have always wondered why it doesn't seem to do it for native Spanish speakers. Honestly, they *pronounce* the words right, and then they write them wrong! I don't get it! XD

Ah, I'm leaving you ramblings all over your journal. I'll shut up now!

:)

[txorakeriak]

*hugs* I'm sorry! I hope that spring has finally entered Castilla y León now, and that the weather isn't that cold anymore.

Good point - I think that's exactly the problem we're having. Too many people here don't care about the fandom itself as much as they care about being popular, and that makes them come up with tons of nonsense. I wish they wouldn't do that. The fandom has so many attractions, why not explore them?

(Haha, thanks for the "Chema" explanation!)

So glad you enjoyed the Sparrington fic! I'm sure your comment was muchly appreciated, and that likeahurricane7 didn't think you were an idiot at all. Because you aren't! *huggles* And hey, I'm sure you can write proper fic! Damn, I still have that Bojan fic of yours saved on my USB stick and haven't read it yet. FAIL. But I'll read it as soon as possible, and I'm sure it's a perfectly worthwhile fic! :D

Oh, well, I suppose one can't have everything. Correct pronunciation isn't really doing much for the spelling of some native speakers of English either, as LJ shows very clearly. ;)

And no, don't ever feel forced to stop rambling in my LJ, I love it when you ramble! :D