Thursday, February 28, 2008
Tomorrow Looks Good
In January my hours at work got cut in half and Steve's company eliminated his twenty hours of overtime a week. God has blessed us, though, and we've been (barely) making it. Today I got word that I will be starting my second job tomorrow. The competition was fierce, but they think that I am the right person for their business.
"What is the business?" you ask: the business is what you give to someone when you want to tease them, but that doesn't matter now. My new job is at a small book store. They . . . We sell new and used books of various types. I frequent the bookstore already and I love it, so I really want to help make it a success.
Here's the deal: I may be helping to plan future acquisitions in the religion section (Christian is the largest section, but Judaism, Islam and various "Eastern" religions are also represented). So, I'd like you to give me your religion suggestions and wish lists: authors, books, and subjects. You don't have to answer right now, I'll do a separate post soon where we can discuss your answers. Maybe I'll give my "wish I had time to read it" list.
"What is the business?" you ask: the business is what you give to someone when you want to tease them, but that doesn't matter now. My new job is at a small book store. They . . . We sell new and used books of various types. I frequent the bookstore already and I love it, so I really want to help make it a success.
Here's the deal: I may be helping to plan future acquisitions in the religion section (Christian is the largest section, but Judaism, Islam and various "Eastern" religions are also represented). So, I'd like you to give me your religion suggestions and wish lists: authors, books, and subjects. You don't have to answer right now, I'll do a separate post soon where we can discuss your answers. Maybe I'll give my "wish I had time to read it" list.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
6:30
That's right, it was 6:30AM when the construction workers started hammering outside Bennett's window this morning. Furthermore, I could find no specific noise provision in Boise City Code that would apply. I realize that they have to finish a house per day, but they are currently going home at 3pm, couldn't they make it 4 and let us sleep?
Monday, February 25, 2008
Killer: Pumpkin
So, Gina and I were at the doctor's office with TANK this afternoon when Killer got home. He ate pumpkin pie. We had half a pie left (Gina and Bennett ate two pieces and he had four yesterday), he ate the rest. Half a pie. All at once. Wow. And he sees nothing unusual or embarrassing about it.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Wake up and Go Home
What do you do after an opera? Well today I listened to Haydn after listening to some Wagner on Pandora. No, I'm not especially cultured or anything, being a musical moron (I know less about music than almost any other mainstream field of inquiry), I just happen to like the variety and depth of textures presented by classical music. It seems like no one but the great composers has discovered that silence can be more moving than noise, that the drum need not run the show, that variation in volume is as important as change in tempo.
Some people like Haydn because he wrote such an amazing variety of pieces (104 symphonies) or because he was an outstanding person (just read a little about him), I like him because he wrote his Symphony 94 with shocking changes just to wake up the people who normally fall asleep at the symphony.
Some people like Haydn because he wrote such an amazing variety of pieces (104 symphonies) or because he was an outstanding person (just read a little about him), I like him because he wrote his Symphony 94 with shocking changes just to wake up the people who normally fall asleep at the symphony.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Prayers
Hi people,
Please be praying for Killer's dad. He has cancer and was supposed to get an operation today, but when he got there he had blood clots in his lungs, so they have to put it off for two months (in addition to the month or so they waited already to get into the hospital they like best).
Please be praying for Killer's dad. He has cancer and was supposed to get an operation today, but when he got there he had blood clots in his lungs, so they have to put it off for two months (in addition to the month or so they waited already to get into the hospital they like best).
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Lectionary Readings
Hi People, Over on Blogum Nemo Legit I am trying to start regular translations of the lectionary for our new Wednesday night church group. Right now the notes and introductions to the passages are very limited, but over time I hope to expand them based on the comments I receive. Tell me what you would like to know about the passages and translations. The translations may not be perfect either, I am only spending short blocks of time on it so, ask if you think something might be questionable, or if you see a real difference from what you're used to. I'll probably spend the most time on Psalms because they have some special concerns related to their poetic and illocutionary content (see no. 4 in Lefevere's factors in translation below).
Book review: Andre Lefevere's _Translating Literature: Practice and Theory in a Comparative Literature Context_.
Watch out if you are offended by coarse language and sexual situations. Lefevere handles these issues well, but he does include translations of passages concerning things like ancient pubic depilatory practices and Cattulus' use of the F-word. His point seems to be, if you are going to pursue translation, you'd better be prepared to approach texts that offend you. When you do, you should have already considered your responsibilities and commitments in these situations before they arrive and become insurmountable.
The offence and embarrassment factor aside, Lefevere presents a clear and systematic introduction to literary translation, and insight into the reasons virtually all translators who produce significant volume will violate their stated goals and rules.
According to Lefevere, there are four factors in translation:
1. Ideology (the guidelines by which you live; personal worldview)
2. Poetics (how to render poetic devices: rhyme, off-rhyme, meter, etc in culturally appropriate ways)
3. Universe of Discourse (cultural differences between source and target cultures/ Author and modern society etc.)
4. Illocutionary Language (language used primarily for effect, like the use of formal and informal dialogue)
They actually come in this order of priority, regardless of translators expressed intent. Translators tend to find it imposable to move on to poetological considerations if they have to break their own ideological commitments to do so. They will, should the conflict of ideologies be dealt with, minor or absent, be unable to reflect the historical considerations before making (expressly or not) decisions on how to render any poetry/ form/ genre in the text under consideration. Should they fail to make a decision (again, this is seldom done consciously) about if or how to reflect the source culture's context (such as the literary parallels in the minds of the author and readers) in the text, translators will be unable to deal with the problems caused by the fact that language has connotations and implications that go beyond the unit of the word. Rather than giving pat, easy, and, therefore, wrong solutions to these problems, Lefevere tries to help the reader consider what types of things might cause issues and gives open ended options to the reader.
His advise is basically, decide what your ideological and poeticological commitments are and let them guide you through the problems of different worldview and the gap between languages.
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