September is nearly half over...

We've packed what we can pack. The movers come Monday to take our library away. We will live out of boxes and suitcase for a week, then depart altogether while the floor peeps come in.

With library going away I've resorted more to TV, and I couldn't resist going back to watch Nirvana in Fire yet again. Between my last rewatch and this time, some team of actual humans (No AI) had gone through the, ah, somewhat problematical subtitles and cleaned up spelling, grammar, and meaning, clarifying a lot of small stuff that watchers who did not know Mandarin could only guess at.

It's just brilliant. Even though on this watch I see the problems with the end starting a bit sooner than I remembered, and I still believe that one more episode would have pulled together all the dangling bits and tightened up the emotional arcs, still the overall emotional velocity absolutely rams you straight through and beyond. For a couple of days I couldn't do anything but go back to look at scenes (some for like the twentieth time, or more). Not perfect, but even after ten years, for me it's the best television show ever made.

Well, back to your regularly schedule chaos.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

minnehaha

I lost the plot. Why are you packing?

K.

sartorias

New floors!

asakiyume

How great that they fixed the subtitles! Seeing an old fave is such a treat.

Really truly is!

thistleingrey

Best wishes for a smooth flooring transition (pun intended, I guess)!

Heh thanks! We'll need it!

cmcmck

Hope it all goes well!

Thank you!

elwendell

I've only ever watched the dubbed version of NIF, although I find the transatlantic accents annoying. I've always intended to rewatch with the original voices and subs one day. I agree totally with your contention that it is the best series to come out of China.

chawen

The dubbed version is an abomination! The original version is an entirely different experience.

Oh sometime when you are in the mood, you must treat yourself to Hu Ge's voice, which is as compelling as his face. I could never bear to listen to a dubbed version unless he did Changsu.

anne

I hope it all goes smoothly!

Your original recaps were why NiF was my second cdrama (after CQL). At the time I didn't have the energy to figure out how to watch it. Then I got Viki because they didn't translate "gongzi" as "childe" and look at me now...so thank you for setting me up to fall down the rabbit hole!

So very glad to have provided the Koolaid, heh!

I'm going to have to take another look at NIF myself now.

Yes yes!

azdak

I wholeheartedly agree with you about NiF being the best TV show ever made. I'm letting my Viki subscription lapse in December so I should watch it one more time before it goes (is it the Viki subtitles that have been cleaned up, or do you watch it somewhere else?)

I watch it at Viki. Its their subtitles that have been tightened up, and a few notes added about historical or poetic sources.

Thank you! I'm very cheered about the improved subtitles.

benbenberi

Great news about the NIF subtitles. I've been feeling the call to rewatch it again. It may be time!

Getting the floors replaced sounds like a really huge production -- are they making you actually empty out the whole house to do it???? (I need to get the carpet on my main floor replaced with wood/wood-like flooring at some point, but I dread even the thought of having to do the kind of prep it sounds like you're doing.)

Edited Date: 2025-09-15 02:36 pm (UTC)

It's a monster task if you've a zillion books like we have. The floor people will move the couch, tables, and EMPTY bookcases. So basically it's a 90% move.

ivy

I hope your flooring is boring (in implementation) and beautiful (in execution)! Travel is the time that I'm most away from my library, and I feel like I'm half the writer without it. Not being able to look anything up is terrible!

Yes! Looking at all those bare shelves gives me the grues.

Thanks for the good wishes!

athenais

I'm about to be between dramas and the news about the subtitles is encouraging, so I will give NiF a try (finally).

I hope you enjoy it. I blogged it a while back--it's pretty info-dense up front because the plot is so tight and so intricate.

Oached Pish

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