Contradiction? What Contradiction?

I don't want to nitpick (no, for once, really...), but isn't there just a tiny lil' contradiction in the studies?
I mean:

Save your heart, but die of cancer?

All these medical studies are very cute, but they really give one the feeling that they're like weathervanes and the ones behind the studies change their minds almost every other year.

Bottom line: in the end, life is lethal.

Watching Sherlock (The Translation Edition)

I am still angry with the translation into French of Sherlock Series 2.

First, I'll be honest and point out that the faulty translation of the second episode was due to a massive typo on the broadcasting channel's website. They properly translated The Hounds of Baskerville.

However... there are many disappointing translations throughout the episode (tough job translation, yea, I know, but...).

I'm still convinced that they're dumbing it down, and I can prove it.

When Sherlock and John meet Gregory at the pub, there's an exchange that goes:

Gregory: I suppose he likes having all the same faces back together. Appeals to his...his...

John: Asperger's?

Now, if I retranslate the French version, John's line becomes: Autism?

Of course, this condition is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but there is the exact same word in French; the condition wasn't given another name.

Since John says "Asperger's?" in the original version, and there's the same word in French, the translation into the more generic "autism" cannot be justified by lip movements.

It's dumbing down that explains it. Because the audience is too stupid to know what it is, or to grab a dictionary to look it up.

Good job, guys! /end sarcasm



Not a Sheeple

I had a very interesting, if completely frustrating, chat with my mother tonight.

I post comments on another site where there are pages about anything and everything (from cool recipes to the latest political news all over the rock).

Earlier, I caught a page about a law that would allow the French government to put on trial anyone who'd visit extremists websites. It's only a project, but it's very dangerous.

Some people commented on the fact that if you're editing books, or writing, you can have a pretty funky web history, and that's true.

I pointed out that true terrorists are probably using things to hide (the really bad guys aren't stupid - if you think that, I hope you're not working in anything related to security - at any level!).

My mother gasped and asked if I'd posted that anonymously, which isn't possible on that site, in fact, and I told her so. She instantly reminded me of "ze war", back when walls had ears and the wrong word could get you sent to a camp, or shot to death.

Well, it's probably dangerous to tell (and type) the truth, but I'm still convinced that the real evil masterminds know how to hide.

That being said, monitoring the people who are fans of any form of extremism would be a good idea - if it didn't mean monitoring the whole wide web, which remains very totalitarian.

I told my mother I wasn't buying the smokescreen, and she gasped again, afraid for me.

What am I supposed to do? Roll over and obey blindly? *points at title* Sorry.

Second post of the day on the topic. Won't tell Mother this time, though.

Music, please!

Here's a classical music post...

A spot of Mozart perhaps? Let’s listen to the Requiem.

And some Vivaldi with Spring.

For good measure, a hint of Niccolo Paganini with Violin Concerto n°5.

A dose of Ottorino Respighi: Pines of Rome. I chose this version because whales are brilliant! :)

And some Beethoven to conclude with Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73.

The Latest Video from "The Heartbreaks"

Thanks to Louise Brealey (viva Twitter!), I discovered a page with the latest video of The Heartbreaks.

Here's what the page said: 

The Heartbreaks - 'Delay, Delay' video

Watch The Heartbreaks' video (shot in their hometown Morecambe) for 'Delay, Delay' (new single out April 30th). They describe the song as "an open letter to a friend imploring them to seize the moment and not live to regret missed opportunities."

Here's the video:

Album out in May.

Watching Sherlock (The Translation Edition - Updated)

After a quick poll in town (yea, I'm that kind of weird. Why?), it turns out that most people don't seem to mind that the titles for Sherlock Series 2 are poorly translated.
Well, I'm awfully sorry, but I do mind. This dumbing down is atrocious.

Now...
The dubbing in French...
I'd promised an update.
Here it is: *distributes ear-plugs* AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!
The choice of voices is odd. I didn't like the dubbing for Series 1, and the new characters' voices are utterly disappointing (not the fault of the actors and actresses, though).
A few references are completely lost in translation. If you don't know the original, the final result's decent, but if you do know the original, it's really disappointing.

I know that most French viewers won't mind, but it really could have been a sharper work...

Watching Sherlock (The Translation Edition)

All right.

Some people really don’t get marketing.

Some people should not translate anything.

I am angry furious.

I love Sherlock, and the series keeps getting better and better.

Since I’m “caught” between several cultures, I can watch the series dubbed in several languages.

Since I’m working across the small pond for the moment, I’m going to be able to watch the second series dubbed in French tonight on France 4, and seriously, I want to use a riding crop on whoever translated the titles.

If the one for the third episode is vaguely possible (The Reichenbach Fall into La chute du Reichenbach); Chute de Reichenbach (drop the first article and keep Reichenbach a place that doesn’t need a contracted article) would have been slightly better, I think.

However, the translations for episode 1 and 2 are, in my book, appalling.

The short story A Scandal in Bohemia was transformed into A Scandal in Belgravia. Apparently the average French viewer is just too stupid to know (or grab a dictionary, or even Google it) that Belgravia’s a district of London, because the translation is Un scandale à Buckingham (A Scandal in Buckingham). All right, not that (geographically) far, buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut… What a disappointment!

Sherlock is a very intelligent, witty series, and dumbing down the titles doesn’t bode well for the dubbing.

From the novel, The Hound of the Baskervilles, we got The Hounds of Baskerville. What’s the translation into French? Le chien des Baskerville, which gives (except if we’ve got a repeated massive typo throughout the France 4 website)… The Hound of the Baskervilles. Weirdly enough, translations on the Internet give the correct Les chiens de Baskerville.

Do they think that everybody will watch in French, and then swap to the English version? If people were that good in English here, I’d be out of a job!

Yes, translation is a tough job (been there, done that), but just seeing the translations of the titles is making me very afraid about the rest of the work (and yes, I’m aware that the translation for episode 1 could be seen as an adaptation – or even a shift of focus towards the ‘sweet little posh thing’, but I really think it’s a dumbing down of it. Sorry).

I’ve been a fan of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for too long to be nice about inaccurate, lazy, disappointing versions.

And since I’m the DVD-buying audience, I’m allowed to be growly.

I’ll post another message after the broadcast (either an apology, or a frustrated yell)……….

Fake Definitions: moronitude

Disclaimer: This is obviously a fake definition.


moronitude

Pronunciation: /ˈmɔːrɒnɪtjuːd/

noun

informal

The annoying behaviour that makes a so-called adult behave like a child, usually on purpose, and sometimes merely in order to annoy other people [Cf.: the origin of moron in early 20^th century, as a medical term denoting an adult with a mental age of about 8–12, from Greek mōron, neuter of mōros, meaning 'foolish']. Sometimes reveals a case of terminal stupidity:

It’s sometimes hard to believe that some people’s moronitude isn’t just a side of their bullying persona; take pro-lifers [/ˈanti tʃɔ̀jsərz/] for example, they sometimes attempt to exorcise the ones they deem possessed. I say, let’s call Bedlam!

Quick Question...

Yep... another one.

So, I get my blood boiling every morning as I finish my breakfast browsing the news. It's silly, but I'm not going to change...

The thing is, we've got some bipeds who do really heartless things, and I'm beginning to think that it might be a good idea to keep track.

I'm thinking about starting a "Wall of the Heartless Ones" or something, with a name, photo and a quick description of the latest heartless deed, and possibly a link to the article that got my blood boiling.

What do you think?