Gamle Bilder: Bestum

Jeg lurer om det fins noen som kjenner igjen scenen hvor bildene ble tatt. Sannsynligvis er begge bilder tatt på samme sted - det ser jo ut som det er tilfellet. På baksida til det ene bildet står det skrevet "Bestum," så det fører meg til å tro at det kan være stedet hvor bildene ble tatt. Men det sier også Holmenkollen på kortet, vet ikke om Bestum ligger i nærheten.

Jeg vet ikke, derfor spør jeg...

Love Story in Harvard

I've been watching this Korean drama lately. Even though it's supposed to be set at Harvard, it was actually filmed at U So. Cal / UCLA. (I thought I caught a glimpse of a palm tree or two, which is rather strange for Harvard. The seashore scene is also decidedly un-Massachusetts like, and the clincher is the state highway signs are just like those in California.) For those who like romantic drama, it's a captivating story nonetheless. And of course the male leads are good-looking ;).

Surprisingly (to me, at any rate), the guy who played the strict Prof. Keynes is none other than Frank Gorshin. Frank who? Think "The Riddler" from the Batman TV series. I never woulda thunk it!

Haiku

A bright, calm morning
A white flash, but not the sun
Obaasan weeps

Hyperliteralist

We took a couple of days off to visit some Lincoln sites in Springfield. At the hotel, I told the baby to put his shoes by the door. Here you see his interpretation of my command. I suppose when you're only two, everything is pretty clear-cut, and "by the door" means exactly that: by the door. :)

Later on this week I'll try to post some pix from our visit to the Lincoln sites. (We didn't see any ghosts, so I'll try and enlist Gimp to tweak a picture or two accordingly. :D )

Japanese Pizza

Say no more:

You Think You've Got Problems.........!

(The following is something that I got from the Japanese language email group that I belong to.)

BIG PROBLEMS AT JAPANESE BANKS.

Following the problems in the sub-prime lending market in America and the run on Northern Rock Building Society in the UK, uncertainty has now hit Japan.

In the last 7 days Origami Bank has folded, Sumo Bank has gone belly up and Bonsai Bank announced plans to cut some of its branches.

Yesterday, it was announced that Karaoke Bank is up for sale and will likely go for a song, while today shares in Kamikaze Bank were suspended after they nose-dived.

Furthermore, 500 staff at Karate Bank got the chop and analysts report that there is something fishy going on at Sushi Bank where it is feared that staff may get a raw deal.

Another Thought of the Day

I was wondering: has anyone ever heard the word "petard" used in any way other than the phrase, "hoisted by one's own petard"?

Okay, Some Useful Japanese

To counter the previous post, I am putting up vocab that is eminently useful to the majority of the human race:

寝癖 - morning hair; i.e., hair that sticks up due to sleeping

Nice to know that they fret over "bad hair days" in other parts of the world, too.

You, Too, Can Learn Japanese

Or, at any rate, some entirely off-the-wall Japanese. Probably not very helpful if you want to order sashimi somewhere, but what's the point of learning anything practical?

Who said that learning Japanese wasn't fun?



Here is the video - for some reason the embedding no longer works. Maybe some day I'll figure that out.

In defense of the video, it helps you to learn some verb patterns :D

Something's lost.......

In the process of translating a recipe for Korean tofu cookies (sounds weird, but tastes great), I was stymied over a particular ingredient - I couldn't find it in any online dictionary, nor could I find it in my electronic dictionary. All else having failed, I found a different recipe with the same ingredient and asked Auntie Google for help. Here is her reply:

참마흑임자
Chamma heukimja

준비할 재료
Prepare ingredients

참마 100g, 흑임자 3큰술, 브로콜리 50g, 굵은 소금·소금 약간씩
Chamma 100g, heukimja 3 tbsp, broccoli 50g, slightly thick salt salt

만드는 방법
How

① 참마는 씻어 껍질을 벗긴 후 강판에 곱게 간다.
Wash and peel the skin peeling ① sometimes goes to the steel plates.

② 흑임자는 물에 담가 잠시 불린 후 커터에 담고 물 1컵 정도를 부어 아주 곱게 간다.
Shortly after the talks, called the water ② urban neighborhood in which to pour water 1 cup of very cool go.

고운 맛의 죽을 즐기려면 고운 체에 밭친다.
Enjoy the taste of fine die chee batchinda fine.

③ 브로콜리는 작은 송이로 떼어 팔팔 끓는 물에 굵은 소금을 조금 넣어 파랗게 데쳐 건진 후 얼른 찬물에 담가 헹궈 건진다.
③ broccoli in a small cluster from 88 to a little boiling salted water, putting a heavy blue water over the flour made in the talks dissolved iron.

④ 냄비에 간 쌀을 담고 물을 3컵 정도 부어 끓이다가 흑임자 간 것을 조금씩 흘려 넣으면서 죽을 쑨다.
Put rice in the pot ④ cross poured water 3 cups of the highway between the cities to put down as little say die.

너무 뻑뻑하게 느껴지면 물을 조금씩 더 넣으면서 끓인다.
It feels a little bit more water, so completely put the puree.

간은 소금으로 맞춘다.
Salt just fit.

⑤ 죽 그릇을 준비해 ④를 담은 후 브로콜리와 참마를 얹어 장식한다.
To prepare for a bowl after ④ ⑤ leather broccoli and barley to decorate them.

⊙TIP

참마는 껍질을 벗겨 강판에 간다.
Peel the skin and coat steel plates to go.

소화가 잘 되고 부드러운 죽을 만들기 위해서 곱게 가는 것이 중요하다.
To make death gentle and well-digested, it is sometimes important.

This is almost as good as tootle him with vigor.

Learn Something New Every Day

Today's vocabulary word: pleonasm.

I always thought that the phrase "red, ripe tomato" was kind of silly...

Konichiwa

Here are some flashcards to practice recognition of Hirigana or Katakana. If that's too easy, try this.

Clear as Mud

Today I had the honor of entering the 21st century, at least in terms of the voting machine. Instead of the usual paper punch ballot, the polling place was equipped with electronic/computerized machines on which we cast our ballots. It really wasn't too difficult for me to figure out, but I pity the older generation that has to adapt to this change, which also resulted in a longer wait at the polling place - normally, it's just in-'n'-out service, but with the all the mini-tutorials going on, there was at least a ten-minute wait.

So, in light of this progressive technological step, I will post the following email, received from a friend of mine on this selfsame day:

You have to be old enough to remember Abbott and Costello, and too old to REALLY understand computers, to fully appreciate this. For those of us who sometimes get flustered by our computers, please read on... If Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were alive today, their infamous sketch, "Who's on First?" might have turned out something like this:

*COSTELLO CALLS TO BUY A COMPUTER FROM ABBOTT*

ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO: Thanks. I'm setting up an office in my den and I'm thinking about buying a computer.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: No, the name's Lou.

ABBOTT: Your computer?

COSTELLO: I don't own a computer. I want to buy one.

ABBOTT: Mac?

COSTELLO: I told you, my name's Lou.

ABBOTT: What about Windows?

COSTELLO: Why? Will it get stuffy in here?

ABBOTT: Do you want a computer with Windows?

COSTELLO: I don't know. What will I see when I look at the windows?

ABBOTT: Wallpaper.

COSTELLO: Never mind the windows. I need a computer and software.

ABBOTT: Software for Windows?

COSTELLO: No. On the computer! I need something I can use to write proposals track expenses and run my business. What do you have?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yeah, for my office. Can you recommend anything?

ABBOTT: I just did.

COSTELLO: You just did what?

ABBOTT: Recommend something.

COSTELLO: You recommended something?

ABBOTT: Yes.

COSTELLO: For my office?

ABBOTT: Yes.

COSTELLO: OK, what did you recommend for my office?

ABBOTT: Office.

COSTELLO: Yes, for my office!

ABBOTT: I recommend Office with Windows.

COSTELLO: I already have an office with windows! OK, let's just say I'm sitting at my computer and I want to type a proposal. What do I need?

ABBOTT: Word.

COSTELLO: What word?

ABBOTT: Word in Office.

COSTELLO: The only word in office is office.

ABBOTT: The Word in Office for Windows.

COSTELLO: Which word in office for windows?

ABBOTT: The Word you get when you click the blue "W".

COSTELLO: I'm going to click your blue "w" if you don't start with some straight answers. What about financial bookkeeping? You have anything I can track my money with?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: That's right. What do you have?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: I need money to track my money?

ABBOTT: It comes bundled with your computer.

COSTELLO: What's bundled with my computer?

ABBOTT: Money.

COSTELLO: Money comes with my computer?

ABBOTT: Yes. No extra charge.

COSTELLO: I get a bundle of money with my computer? How much?

ABBOTT: One copy.

COSTELLO: Isn't it illegal to copy money?

ABBOTT: Microsoft gave us a license to copy Money.

COSTELLO: They can give you a license to copy money?

ABBOTT: Why not? THEY OWN IT!

(A few days later)

ABBOTT: Super Duper computer store. Can I help you?

COSTELLO: How do I turn my computer off?

ABBOTT: Click on "START".......

Looking forward to the day of Linux hegemony.....

Fun With Languages

I thought that I would provide some examples of the type of difficulties that translators are likely to encounter. Consider the following proverb:

A rolling stone gathers no moss.

English speakers generally interpret this expression positively - staying in one place for too long indicates stagnancy, staleness, and an unwillingness to tackle challenges or new experiences. Hence, a stone in constant motion is a picture of vibrancy and freshness. It denotes someone who is free because he's not tied down.

The Japanese and Koreans have a virtually identical proverb; however, its connotation is largely negative. Being described as a "rolling stone" would indicate that a person lacked maturity and commitment, since he was unable to stay in one place long enough to form roots or build a foundation.

Of course, the differing perceptions of the same proverb illustrate the role culture plays in understanding languages. In addition to linguistic capabilities, translators must possess more than a passing familiarity with the culture(s) of the languages they are dealing with, in order to avoid potential confusion, misunderstandings, and other faux pas.

Other examples:

In English, when we have eaten enough, we announce "I'm full." In Norwegian, however, "Jeg er full" would be the equivalent of saying, "I'm drunk." A better way to phrase it would be, "Jeg er mett" ("I'm satisfied").

English speakers say something like "I'm hot" to indicate that they are feeling the effects of temperature. However, in German, "Ich bin heiss" has sexual connotations. "Es geht mir heiss" (lit., "it goes me hot") is decidedly safer.

Not all phrases are potentially confusing; sometimes, a word picture is employed that is comprehensible even though it is not exactly how English speakers would say it. The Norwegian equivalent of "like two peas in a pod" is "like som to dråper vann" (like two drops of water) - perfectly understandable despite its differences from the English expression. Similarly, English speakers talk about "sleeping like a log/baby," whereas Norwegians and Germans both say "sleeping like a stone."

Needless to say, I think it is interesting to learn different languages and become familiar with the various ways of expressing oneself. Knowing more than one language gives a person a richness that is simply unavailable to monolingual speakers. In closing:

What do you call someone who speaks three languages?
Trilingual.

What do you call someone who speaks two languages?
Bilingual.

What do you call someone who speaks one language?
American!