Chamelion's OT brag: My genius multi-lingual nephew

[chamelion]

Hi all,

My nephew, Stuart, has been into learning foreign languages since he was a little kid. I received an email from him today, and I'd like to share it with you.
I think anyone with an interest in learning foreign languages will find the links quite fascinating. As a thin tissue of justification for using this forum for such an off-topic topic, I should mention that Stu is also a jazz pianist whom I intend to record next time he visits us from Thailand, where he has lived and worked for the past nine years. Today I also learned a few interesting things about my late father via these video links. I hope you find them as interesting as I did.

Geoff
.............................................................

Hi All,
My appearance on the Thai talkshow Joh Jai last week seems to have gone down very well - the feedback to-date. so far so good!
Many non-Thai speakers have mentioned to me that they either watched it, but wanted to understand more about what we were talking about.
For the sake of universal comprehension, I have translated the program, dropped English subtitles onto it and uploaded it to Youtube.com for you.

Because of Youtube.com's upload limitations, I've divided the programme into 5 segments, each running for about 6-9 minutes.
You can find them all if you do a search for my username on Youtube - stujaystujay , or click on the links for each segment below:
Part 1 - Introduction to Stuart Jay Raj - Polyglot speaks over 15 languages - 6:47
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCITee_8ZnU

Part 2 - Multilingual Simultaneous Interpreting - The hosts put Stujay to the test - 8:57
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd1nNTyNAhw

Part 3 - Dreaming Dictionaries - 5:56
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfJl25rIWuM

Part 4 - Thinking in Meanings - 7:58
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6hWQ4keHJs

Part 5 - Hearing in Colours - 8:49
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_L9JE01kp4

For any of my students, I think you will get a lot out of what we covered during the show - with the added bonus of giving your Thai a workout. We actually go through much of the sign-language and vowel signs that are used in class in Part 4 of the interview.

The good news is that since going to air, my email box has been filling up and the phone ringing off the hook with feedback and new business opportunities. On the flipside, between this, other customers and the CTF programme, my feet have hardly touched the ground over the past couple of months and I think if I'm not careful, my body will start sending me signals to slow down a little! - In any case, fingers crossed that there will be a lot more of the positive to come in the ensuing months.

Have a great weekend - talk soon.
Stu

Stuart Jay Raj
Managing Director
Kogneit (Thailand) Co., Ltd.

[thracks]

That was truly amazing

[blue]

Wow. I'm always impressed by people who are multi-lingual, but man. That is just beyond. What impressed me most is how facile he is with all these languages. He has a special and highly unusual capacity.

Thanks for sharing.

[chamelion]

I just discovered that Stuart runs a fascinating blog. This is an excerpt dealing with pirated DVDs in Thailand, including a hilarious section on movie subtitles: http://stujay.blogspot.com/2006/11/pira ... -gone.html

Enjoy,

Geoff

[monkey man]

Thank you for sharing, Geoff.

It sounds like you oughta be proud.

Out of respect to you I've contacted my cousin and asked him to please try and download/rip this stuff; you know how crappy my connection is (and many monkesses would agree!).
I very much look forward to hearing and seeing it all.

Thanks again, mate.
Nicky

[Spikey Horse]

WOW! Thanks for the links chamelion -I've only watched the first two but will catch the rest sometime.

Being able to speak such diverse languages is amazing, I mean in terms of the kind of oral dexterity needed WOW!

Great to see some signing too - I'm learning sign ... for when I go deaf.... no that's not the real reason - and I always use earplugs live anyway.

[Shooshie]

But can he speak music???


Shooshie

[monkey man]

But can he speak music???
Shooshie

... I should mention that Stu is also a jazz pianist whom I intend to record next time he visits us from Thailand

[Shooshie]

I have to say that Jay is an amazing person. His demeanor is so calm and self-assured, and there seems to be no negativity surrounding him in any way. He's got the "right" kind of ego; that which seeks quality for its own sake, not for the sake of self-aggrandization. I'm very impressed with him.

And you, Chamelion, have special qualities, too. Didn't I once read some stories about your advertising jingles? Your ability to put together lines that form a verbal/audible hook for remembering a product? You obviously picked up some skills from the same place as Jay, and I'd say the "x-factor" runs in your family!

Shooshie

[chamelion]

Thanks for the kind words, Shoosh. Very much appreciated.

Cheers,

Geoff

[monkey man]

...He's got the "right" kind of ego; that which seeks quality for its own sake, not for the sake of self-aggrandization. I'm very impressed with him.

Well said, Shoosh.
I haven't heard or seen anything yet, but this attitude impresses me no end, especially in this day and age.
In fact, I believe this is possibly the main reason our industry's gone to the dogs, especially in the pop world.

FWIW, I always try to let the song "write itself".
Let it state its needs. Why murder it with your ego-driven idea of how it should be?
It's kinda like attempting to plan your life; who are you to know what you'll need in terms of the timing and content of challenges and subsequent "growth spurts" ?

And you, Chamelion, have special qualities, too. Didn't I once read some stories about your advertising jingles? Your ability to put together lines that form a verbal/audible hook for remembering a product? You obviously picked up some skills from the same place as Jay, and I'd say the "x-factor" runs in your family!

Agreed!
Yet more evidence might be those sweet little Christmas ditties he noodled out in the middle of the night, and was gracious enough to share with we lucky Unicorns.

Way to go, Geoffster, or should I say Mr. X?