iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 23h

Yep, no disappointments yet but she raised the bar with that one 🙂

UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 23h

#BreakingKindSongs #MusicChallenge October 19: A song you wish to dedicate to someone, for any reason. Always my automatic choice, for mere sapnon ki rani www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rX-...

youtube.com

Ae Meri Zohra Jabeen 💖 | Waqt (1965) | Manna Dey | Romantic Old Hindi Song

YouTube video by NH Music Shorts

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 23h

It REALLY irks me when people insist that non-standard spelling = incorrect/questionable grammar. It saddens & disappoints me when a skilled writer does so in a book I'm enjoying #Reading, Vaseem Khan! The spelling's non-standard. There is nothing questionable about the grammar #Booksky

Text on an e-reader as follows.

Though he had once bought a t-shirt with the slogan, FITE DA POWA, he hadn't actually worn it because, A, he hated the questionable grammar, and B, he looked a bit of a tit in it.

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 18/10/2026

I'm looking forward to it, though I suspect Curtis Evans is likely to be right when he called "Though I Know She Lies" the pick of these five. I've enjoyed all 9 so far, average 'score' 4.3/5 , but that one was an easy 5/5, just outstanding. So Executors has its work cut out to match that😊

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 18/10/2026

You are braver than I. Sensibility is my third favourite Austen, after Persuasion and Mansfield Park, and having seen a couple of rather scathing headlines of review articles, I've decided not to risk it.

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 18/10/2026

It's a beautiful photo, thank you! As my Sunday is nearly over, I hope yours is all you wish it to be 🙏

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 18/10/2026

Given that LinkedIn is unashamedly proud of being produced by MelkorSoft, that seems apt to me

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 18/10/2026

BTW, you may use that brilliant new coinage "consolating" completely free of charge for 1 month, and only $2AUD per use after that🤦‍♂️

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 18/10/2026

I had a VERY happy Tongan friend this morning - saw a lovely pic of he and his adult son watching last night's game together. A very close mutual Rarotongan friend otoh is gonna need some serious consolating it seems😊

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 17/10/2026

Which is what makes them seem creepy to some, I suspect. 😊

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 17/10/2026

I know, right? Although if they KEPT as adults the functional third eye they're born with, THAT might be sufficiently creepy to remind some of snakes. 😁

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 17/10/2026

I gotta catch up with the Woods before the next ones arrive! 😍

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 17/10/2026

We see lots of Tongan flags around here. The first time I saw one, I thought it was an English (not UK) flag 😊

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 17/10/2026

YRCH! Happy we have none here (on land) but your husband's reaction made me think of my wife's when I asked if she'd like to do the tuatara encounter at a Zoo here. She saw this photo (zoo staffer's hand) & said "eww, like a snake!" When I said "no" she said "same thing, a lizard" again, "no"🙂

A tuatara sitting on a zoo staffer's hand

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 17/10/2026

If I had to pick a day, it would be the day in high school when I wore a windbreaker jacket to school put on backwards, for the sole purpose of finding out how many asked "did you know your jacket is on backwards?" to which my answer was, of course "no, really?"😁 The results were worth it

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 17/10/2026

TFW you look at the books pinned in your currently #Reading list and realise that (a) 30% of them have something very specific in common and (ii) one of your mutuals will instantly recognise what the commonality is 😁 #Booksky #Mystery #Romance #LangageLearning

Covers of ten ebooks
Humsafar: The World of Urdu Poetry
Quantum of Menace
Waltzing With the Earl
Slightly Married
The Foolish Gentlewoman
A Fatal Crossing
The Grave Tattoo
Black Agent
Let's Choose Executors
Teach Yourself Beginners' Urdu Script

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 17/10/2026

My infallible 4-step recipe for restoring equilibrium when annoyed/irritated/angry I. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso II. Molto vivace - Presto III. Adagio molto e cantabile IV. (Hey) Presto!

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 17/10/2026

You KNOW your wordplay addiction is 1000% outta control when LITERALLY the very first word that popped into your head when seeing this Indian restaurant's name was . Status🤦‍♂️😀 (also, seriously sounds like a must-vist for you if you ever visit Kirikiriroa, @totallyfilmi.bsky.social )

A sign saying "Mallus corner" - the name of a Malayali restaurant in Kirikiriroa, Aotearoa

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 17/10/2026

Make a celebrity sick Mohammed Rabies (maaf kijiye, Rafi saab)

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 17/10/2026

#BreakingKindSongs #MusicChallenge October 17: Song about regret or disappointment (nope, I got nuttin'😁) www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3Kv...

youtube.com

Edith Piaf - Non, Je ne regrette rien

YouTube video by ondrejtis

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 17/10/2026

#IsmuasMonthOfMusic #MusicChallenge Oct 17: A song with a surprisingly good acoustic version (Surprisingly, I did not know this Aussie classic even HAD an 'unplugged' version) www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wvoe...

youtube.com

Midnight Oil (unplugged) - Beds are burning

YouTube video by Kyoto

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 17/10/2026

#DavidsMonthOfMusic #MusicChallenge Oct 17: A song from 5 years ago In just 5 years, this song has cemented the badge shown as a clear statement of identity - see "35" on anything and you know the person's ethnogeographic affiliation. #Aotearoa www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEOy...

youtube.com

Ka Hao - 35 (feat. Rob Ruha)

YouTube video by Ka Hao

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 16/10/2026

Yes! I've long held nastaliq to be the most beautiful script there is. Learning it is strange because while Hindi & Urdu diverge A LOT in higher registers, at beginner level they're still basically a digraphia. So I'm learning to read a language I already more or less know. Humbling!

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 16/10/2026

It really is - I might soon be able to use ANOTHER 'dictionary' I've had for ~15yrs and barely even opened 😂

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 16/10/2026

What's the problem? A guaranteed lifetime cure for any iron deficiency, stop complaining. 🤣

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 16/10/2026

"Ultra pretty" - exactly! The beauty of that script is a big part of why I want to learn it

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 16/10/2026

In every form of dance, it's that aerobic aspect that staggers me. How dancers manage to convey emotions through gestures and facial expressions while in the middle of an extreme workout leave me in awe.

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 16/10/2026

Specifically, it helps me with reverse engineering. when I know what a word/phrase in the TY book is from Hindi, that book helps me make sense of the medials especially. I've made more progress in a few hours with it than in weeks before without it. Shame aboutUrdu's Schrödinger's vowels, but 😁

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 16/10/2026

The script is a modified form of the Arabic script. The problem is the language is not Arabic.😁

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 16/10/2026

It's a game-changer, a lifesaver. I have "Teach Yourself Beginners Urdu Script" but the format is weird and the print quality in both the paper book and PDF is not great. Using the book you gave me along with it is transformational. So many anas have dropped It's nearly a rupee! 😁THANK YOU

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 16/10/2026

That's an, um, interesting translation. The phrase simply says, "I am very happy" - in Roman "main bahut khush hoon", more or less. (vid. T.E. Lawrence on transliteration)

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 16/10/2026

In transliteration 🙄 In one lesson "parega"cane up. I told her it got me singing "Jo vada kiya vo" but she firmly insisted that "parega" & "paDega" are COMPLETELY different. I know there are a lot of REAL differences between the two, can't waste time/mental energy on that bakvaas while learning.

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 16/10/2026

I've paused my Urdu lessons with a tutor because learning to read is taxing both neurons to the max AND she would INSIST these two are not the same at all (spoiler: they're ~identical ) So, a quick poll: Which version of this one phrase (describing me after 15 hrs work today) looks prettier? 😊

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 16/10/2026

I should add that I have the Platts app on my phone and have used the website often, so using the dead tree copy is simply a celebration of being able to read enough final form Urdu letters to get my money's worth from something I bought two decades ago😂

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 16/10/2026

Due to my CP, I read only digital books, except for 20 or so (mostly Indic) dictionaries & language textbooks. One of them has sat unused for 20 years because while ’2 out of 3 ain't bad', the 1 I can't read is the 1 that the entries are listed in. 🤦‍♂️ I now feel like I might FINALLY get to use it💪🏾

A copy of
A Dictionary of Urdū Classical Hindī and English by John T. Platts

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 16/10/2026

Tell me you're an old Arsenal fan without telling me you're an old Arsenal fan 😆

Text as follows

Thinking about hoisehold cleaners what comes to mind when you think about Ajax?

Dennis Bergkamp

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 16/10/2026

So, I was utterly wrong about Hungarian (quelle surprise!), and partly wrong about Basque 🤦‍♂️ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...

en.wikipedia.org

List of languages by type of grammatical genders - Wikipedia

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 16/10/2026

And some have many, MANY more - Basque & Hungarian are two I can think of, iirc

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UncleRobin @unnclerobin.eurosky.social · 16/10/2026

For this ullu da pattha learning to read Urdu is VERY hard. So being able to grok all but 2 of the words on this list by reading enough letters to see words I know in Hindi was exciting. That the key to deciphering the other 2 was in a book gifted to me by an award-wining translator? Priceless!🙏😍

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