XMind – Mind Mapping software
I’m a visual non-linear thinker and my thoughts/ideas usually come to me in random order. Therefore I like to use mind mapping software for many projects. It helps me to organize my chaotic ideas into a format that is easier on my brain and eyes.
With this type of software I can just brain storm, putting my ideas down as nodes without caring about what order they are in. Afterward I can look at all the nodes and group them where they make sense. If I change my mind about the order, it is easy to change. And if I have multiple relations between nodes, I can also show that connection. It’s great for creating a family tree or outlining a complex multi-step project.
For writing, mind mapping software is an indispensable tool. It helps with the overall structure of the story, getting me to organize my ideas before I start to write.
I use XMind mind mapping software. You can download a free version from their website. They also have XMind Pro for $49 which will allow you export the finished map into Word (and other options). Since I don’t use the export function the free version is fine for me. With it I create a visual outline that is like a skeletal frame work.
I start with a central theme, add major points (nodes), add subtopics etc. I can move them around until the arrangement makes sense. With a quick visual scan I can identify thin areas that need more material or superfluous areas that may not be needed.
Since it is visual it works much better for me than a linear outline. If you are also a visual non-linear thinker you might want to try it out.
-KRR
Movie: John Carter (of Mars)
The film is based on A Princess of Mars (1917) by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is the first installment in a movie trilogy based on Burroughs’ 11-volume Barsoom series of novels (1912–43). That’s right … written almost 100 years ago!
I admit I had not heard of this series before the movie came out, so many of my sci-fi loving friends gave me an immediate history lesson. Apparently Burroughs’s Barsoom series inspired many well-known science fiction writers (Bradbury, Clark) in addition to real life scientists (Sagan) over the years. It may have even influenced the early US space race. My friends also pointed out that, when comparing any similarities between this movie/books and contemporary sci-fi movies/books, you have to remember that Burroughs did it first.
Speaking of the movie … I loved it. I enjoyed every part of it. It did not disappoint in story content nor flashy shiny stuff. There was A LOT going on in this movie and it would be easy for anyone to get lost. There were many groups, characters, baddies and goodies … and a huge lightning fast puppy-critter. I enjoyed following along with each plot twist and turn. It kept my mind thoroughly entertained, which is hard to do nowadays. Unfortunately the bean counters at Disney considered the movie a bomb and hopes for a sequel are on hold.
So while we wait for the Ferengi accountants to approve the sequel, run (don’t walk) to your local bookstore and buy one or all 11 volumes of the Barsoom series if you haven’t already read them. That’s what I’m going to do right now.
– KRR
Bilingual, Multilingual and Monolingual
I am multilingual. I speak many languages, some better than others.
I give the thanks to my parents who spoke both Spanish and English at home. The neighbors and church congregation were also bilingual. Also thanks to my grade school teachers who, up to 5th grade, also spoke Spanish and English, and presented the daily lessons in both languages. Through exposure I learned both languages while growing up. Was I confused learning to speak both at the same time? Not really.
When I was very little and I was learning my colors, I didn’t realize that “redcolorado” was actually two words. I learned both words for red at the same time. And then there was “blueazul” etc. But as I got older I learned which words were Spanish, which were English and which were Spanglish.
A Word in Spanglish
That 3rd language was tricky. Yes, Spanglish is really a language, ask most bilingual Hispanic kids and they will tell you about the special words that only exist in the Spanglish vocabulary. It’s like a secret language, because to understand it you must first have a basic understanding of both Spanish and English. If you only know one of the 2 languages, you will be lost.
To eh-speak eh-Spanglish you must mix up your Spanish and English words in your sentences. And you do it on the fly. Sometimes the sentence will follow Spanish grammar rules and other times it will follow English grammar rules. When you can mix up the grammar in addition to the vocabulary, and understand when another is doing the same, then you are a true Spanglish speaker. Don’t laugh, es verdad.
In adulthood I began working for international companies and I learned other languages. I can speak a little of Italian, Portuguese, French, and German. I’ve also noticed that I can muddle my way thru a few other languages some European & some Asian. I seem to have an eye and ear for languages.
Language is about Culture
Learning another language is more than just a means to communicate with other people from different countries. Any language course worth it’s salt will not just teach you a new language in a vacuum, they will also teach you the culture of the peoples that speak that language … and variations of it.
The language of a group of people carries with it several customs and traditions. Learn the language and you’ll learn their culture. Learn their culture and you’ll learn their ways. Learn their ways and then you’ll finally understand what you are saying when you speak the words.
In James Cameron’s Avatar, the Na’vi phrase “I see you” carried a special meaning. The main character Jake Sully didn’t get the full meaning of the words until he learned the Navi‘s culture and traditions. Most cultures have similar idiomatic expressions – phrases whose meanings cannot be determined by the individual words that comprise the phrase. If you don’t know the culture and traditions behind the language, then how can you be sure you know what you are saying (or hearing someone else say to you)?
Language opens your Mind
If you can speak, read, write and/or understand another language and culture then you are opening your mind to other people’s way of life. It’s a big planet and we don’t all do things the exact same way or even for the same reasons.
I hate to generalize but, with almost very little exception, I have found that most monolingual people don’t care to learn about other peoples or their language. If they just want to live in their little corner of the planet, ignorant of other cultures, then fine. To each their own. But when a monolingual insists that others have to learn their language & culture (mostly because they are too lazy to learn anyone else’s language), then I take issue. I believe that everyone has the right to live in ignorance, but no one has the right to impose their ignorance on anyone else.
Now if that Tower of Babel fiasco hadn’t happened then we would all be speaking one language. But it did, and here we are, all on one planet with hundreds of languages and dialects between us. An invading alien force would have to bring along a damn good universal translator in order to communicate their intentions to the whole world… or just a few well placed warning shots should do the trick too.
Literature in other Languages
And if you are a student of literature, just imagine all the stories that are waiting to be discovered in the libraries of these other cultures. Some tales may seem similar but most will probably be very different from those found in your own culture. And as the saying goes “it loses something in translation” … and that is true. So instead of reading the English version of a foreign book, try learning the language and you’ll be surprised at how different the story reads.
And finally lets not forgot that Shakespeare can only truly be experienced in the original Klingon. 🙂
— KRR
