stop the translation: August 2006
STOPTHETRANSLATION says: play with the bounceicles. click them, drag them, bump them around. they're crazy!

Wednesday, August 30, 2006
「 bouncing away 3:06 PM 」

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Signing off, STOPTHETRANSLATION.

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Tuesday, August 29, 2006
「 bouncing away 8:53 AM 」


Cleopatra Stratan, the best thing coming from Romania post 1989.



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Friday, August 25, 2006
「 bouncing away 12:42 PM 」

Things to do, see and hear in NYC, 2

Line up to get tickets to see Meryl Streep in Brecht's Mother Courage at Delacorte Theatre in Central Park.
1. Why line up? Hmm, because it's free, because it's Meryl Streep, Brecht and by the way Kevin Kline joined the cast replacing Christopher Walken.
2. Why pass up? Because you have to line up at 6 AM in Central Park, actually make it 2 AM, that's when people seem to gather outside the Park and line up to line up inside the Park (which opens at 6 AM, got it?). You can also dole up about a hondo and get a "sponsored" ticket if you're really dying to see it.


Signing off, STOPTHETRANSLATION.

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Stop the translation, 2

I'm not a big fan of translated dialogue. Here's why. Try to remember any WWII English language movie, where German officers talk to each other in English with a German accent. And they are all american actors. Now, whether they want us to believe those Germans actually had knowledge of English language or they think the movie sounds more realistic, that's just silly. It became a trend, it caught up and I don't think it will stop anytime soon. Asking actors to cover certain accents where the character actually has one will always backfire one way or another. Unless it's Meryl Streep in "Sophie's choice" or Robin Williams in "Mrs. Doubtfire" it's a lost cause. Think about poor Renee Zellweger in "Cinderela Man" telling Jim Braddock "you are the pride of Bergen and the champion of my heart" with a silly Joysey accent. People were slapping their knees and choking with laughter just when the movie was supposed to deliver a dramatic moment. How about the unbearable accent of Lena Olin in "The unbearable lightness of being"? Beautiful novel, decent movie, hard to follow Sabina. And the beat goes on. I will go as far as saying that you don't even need to display an Elvis voice and look if you play the part. Unless you're one of the flying Elvis impersonators or a "do Elvis, no, do Bush, wait, do Nicholson" party clown you should stick to your craft and be someone more than a talking wax museum character.


Signing off, STOPTHETRANSLATION.

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Tuesday, August 15, 2006
「 bouncing away 11:48 PM 」


Beautiful picture of a beach in Mexico! A friend of mine was there. Shouldn't we all? "Forget Maui."


Signing off, STOPTHETRANSLATION.

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Big Country, Small Country – The new imperialism cover up

There’s a new game in town, a political one, exclusively political. Just like all the games of this nature it will end up on a dusty shelf, unused and eventually recycled. But it’s a fun game to play. Unlike Monopoly, where being the Bank is a bit boring unless you have a knack for financial martyrdom, this new adult form of entertainment gives you deeper chills only if you choose to play the part of Big Country. Although something tells me you don’t get to pick a role. Not really.
It’s been a long time now since the US established itself as the standard for both Big Country and big power. Desperately trying to keep up with the trend, the big old countries and powers of Europe sheepishly decided to form an acronymic disaster called EU. Oddly enough, their decision regarded, involved and included, but never asked for approval from, the entire continent!? The Small Country never had a say in this, taking it to the chin the old fashion way by keeping it quiet. Or did it? When there’s a big all encompassing plan there’s always a smaller one that’s better and more likely to succeed. Even a “no plan at all” plan or a “follow the crowd” plan can have a rosier ending than that. I mean, where did this infatuation with territorial bonding come from? In Europe? Come on, imperialism never stood a chance there. Unless of course you look back instead of blindly running forward, trying to catch a modern chimera called…Big Country.
Some small Arab countries are trying to flex their muscles against an overpowering Big Country? Forget it. And forget the UN. I doubt they have anything potent to come up with towards the Muslim world and just like another ubiquitous organization of the same proportions and futility, the UNICEF, it barely stays afloat trying to justify its ancient rules and inflated budgets and members. And as far as the British involvement is concerned, well, it’s only a common language and a bland second grade mentality that’s keeping that alliance alive. How about some leverage? Is it possible that some nations have simply forgotten their own history? There is not going to be a World War III and nobody’s going to push “the button”. Nuclear bombs, oil, freedom of speech and occupied territories are, one way or another, obsolete. Either you open the closed door and walk into the future or you stand proud in front of it and wait for the little people to open it for you so you can march in with defiance. Well, it’s not going to happen because the little people are already in.
But, basically, Big Country is marred in delusion. The thought that one day all nations under God will be divided in no more than two or three united territories of international culture and language gives salivating dreams to all the self proclaimed commander-in-chiefs. It also gives any reasonable human being a long yawn. The disintegration of the yet to be alive EU and the failure of an impossible task that US has burdened itself with, that of defining the imaginary borders of a so called Free World, are both inevitable and refreshing. Disintegration and failure, that doesn’t sound like fun, does it? I’ll take the Small Country. Let’s begin.

P.S. If you ever wanted to be a political commentator or a journalist of any kind, you couldn’t possibly miss Mike Wallace’s last interview. Hopefully it was his last one and hopefully you had a chance to see the unedited ninety minutes of it, as shown on CSPAN. All we could see throughout Mike’s mumblings, his drunken gestures, his senile reactions, his utter lack of thought and most of all his strident impunity was a thoughtful, well-intended, realistic and honest president of a country that, in the eyes of everybody who takes their history lesson via local media, is fervently harboring terrorism. And I’m not even sure that’s true. But it certainly looked like that. Bye bye, Wally!


Signing off, STOPTHETRANSLATION.

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Thursday, August 10, 2006
「 bouncing away 10:48 AM 」

The goods, 1

Definitely among the goods of the year:

1. Watching the 2006 New York Mets playing pain-free, spotless, joyfull baseball. Ya gotta know da roolz though. www.mets.com

2. "The Illusionist", starring Ed Norton. Take it as a recommendation, the premises are just too attractive. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001570/

3. "Castles", the new Coldplay album, due up for December 2006. Yes, it's out there, do your homework if you can't wait. No link, Big Brother is watching.



Signing off, STOPTHETRANSLATION.

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Wednesday, August 09, 2006
「 bouncing away 7:45 PM 」

Stop the translation, 1

I'm one of the happy people able to live in two languages. And I'm very happy with both. There's no burden whatsoever in switching the channels. That's why it's painful, hilarious and unbearable when you hear or read any of those dreadfull "skilfully knitted" mixed-breeds language.
Please, pipes are not "paipe" and the quarters are not "cuorere". Si nici nu "avem fun".
I am ready to admit that between any two languages there's a ZONE where words will sound or look similar. And you should enjoy it. But it's just for fun. Anytime you'll read my ZONE you'll know what I mean (if we share the same two languages, that is).


Signing off, STOPTHETRANSLATION.

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Am, n-am.

Am sa inaugurez scrierea in ZONA cu expresia "sint uluit". Desigur, sint adeptul pe viata al i-ului din i, nu din a. Revenind, sint uluit, cum spuneam, sau cum spune americanu', I'm numb. Asadar, amnam.


Signing off, STOPTHETRANSLATION.

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Things to do, see and hear in NYC, 1

1. Guy on his cell: So, she’s driving, right, and she goes “Wow, dear, isn’t that the most annoying thing ever, I mean ever!” and I’m like “No, hun, that’s watching you drive.”
2. Three women are having breakfast at 7 AM on a Tuesday at SERAFINA, sidewalk table, on Broadway, no less.


Signing off, STOPTHETRANSLATION.

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