Translating a Hesperian book is neither a simple nor lonely task

"When Hesperian translates a book into Spanish, we send the translation for review by individuals and groups we hope will use the book when it is finally printed."

deceived by my own phone ...

in an age of too much information about who's calling, even from the ringtone one selects for a specific caller, i have become an anti-social person. yesterday evening, i received a call from "unknown." i get some of those everyday. i feel that if the person is really looking for me, they'll leave a message - quite an assumption.

yesterday, unknown turned out to be Federico. fortunately, he's one of those people who leave messages, and i skype-called him back. but i did kick myself for being way too smart for my own good.

yesterday too, Markus called. at least his german phone communicates with my phone and i was able to read his name on my caller ID.

i guess a solution would be to systematically answer all unknown calls to figure out how many sources of unknown there are. but, the anti-socialite in me may prevent my inner-scientist from succeeding.

I've been looking for apartments. Requirements are similar to previous relocations: near downtown area, walkable to public transportation (Caltrain), no (or limited) carpeting, nice kitchen, possibly standalone house.

While talking with a coworker, it dawned on me that this is a fabulous way to "trick" myself into thinking that I'd moved - even if it's only down the street. That would save me from my 3-year-must-leave-city-state-country move, if that is still somewhere inside of me. Besides, T would kill me if I pulled another one of those, especially since he just adjusted, 5 months into his arrival.

Good god! The latest Sarah Palin interview killed me. Let me just dissect:

Firstly, as one of the people who've trekked, without the financial support of parents (or lack of job), this is a very offensive response to the question, "why didn't you get a passport until 2006?"

Palin: I'm not one of those who maybe came from a background of, you know, kids who perhaps graduate college and their parents give them a passport and give them a backpack and say go off and travel the world. No, I've worked all my life. In fact, I usually had two jobs all my life until I had kids. I was not a part of, I guess, that culture. The way that I have understood the world is through education, through books, through mediums that have provided me a lot of perspective on the world.

C'mon, this is a woman who went to 4 other schools before graduating in journalism from Univ. of Idaho! She understands the world through education?!

What about the XIX century argument regarding proximity of Russia as a national security concern? Does she even know where decisions get made in Russia? Has she any idea how close Moscow really is to Alaska, or how hard it is to get the Russian army to mobilize through Siberia and Kamchatka? Arg.

Palin: We have trade missions back and forth, we do. It's very important when you consider even national security issues with Russia. As Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where do they go? It's Alaska. It's just right over the border. It is from Alaska that we send those out to make sure that an eye is being kept on this very powerful nation, Russia, because they are right there, they are right next to our state.

Finally, this last comment demonstrates her foreign affair credentials, and her complex, nuanced understanding of the Mideast crisis/history.

Palin: We don't have to second-guess what their efforts would be if they believe … that it is in their country and their allies, including us, all of our best interests to fight against a regime, especially Iran, who would seek to wipe them off the face of the earth. It is obvious to me who the good guys are in this one and who the bad guys are. The bad guys are the ones who say Israel is a stinking corpse and should be wiped off the face of the earth. That's not a good guy who is saying that. Now, one who would seek to protect the good guys in this, the leaders of Israel and her friends, her allies, including the United States, in my world, those are the good guys.

I'm not sure this post has a point, except that it's amazing how unprepared this woman is for dealing with the vice-presidency on international affairs, or even understanding the complexity of the different types of people who live in this country. There're good and bad countries, and privileged and working people. The world of diplomacy, internet, and modernity seems to have passed her over.


[source of interview: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/09/25/eveningnews/main4479062.shtml]

random thought about spiders in my office ...

the outside of my office bldg is crawling ... literally. and, there is a gap between my window and wall, large enough for a spider to set up her net right there: inside my office. no good. yesterday, a nice man came to spray my window area, inside and out, to keep the spiders at bay.

but, as i walked from the train to the office today, i noticed all these beautiful, big, spiderwebs on the hedges and ivies along the way. those spiders happened to be born (or have landed) in the perfect location, the beverly hills of spiderland. but, the spiders on my window, by the same luck of the draw, landed in what could be called a favela. the spiderwebs that they can build are scrawny, patched, and susceptible to mudslides (aka, window slides, vacuum cleaners, and poisonous gases).

for a moment, as i admired the dewey spiderwebs on my way to work, i felt sad for brining in the destructor of the spiderwebs.

but, i got over it pretty quickly.

['Drops on spider web' On Black by Massimo Pelagagge, http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/onblack.php?id=469662135&size=Large]

I love translated signs. So much room for entertainment.

MLM took this pic at the Oakland Zoo, perhaps in front of the bat exhibit. It made no sense to me at all when I first read it. Then, husband translated it: "Please, do not let your children stand on the barriers or pull on the net. Thank you."

I love the random use of accents - as if saying: sprinkle to taste.

It is really amazing that the Oakland Zoo - in California for Pete's sake - would not have proper spanish translations ... because I'm pretty sure that even California-born-spanish-speakers wonder what "gross" or "total" one could possibly be pulling on. "Neto" means gross or net, as in net weight or gross error ... it does not, ever, mean "net" as in the thin net between me and dangerous animal.

SFMom challenged me (and a whole bunch of other readers) to navel gaze by picking 3 books lying around the house and sharing the names.

yeah. tough thing to do when most of the last 15 years of book collecting is safely living at my parents in Mexico. i guess what these books reveal are a bit of what i've been able to recollect of that me ...

1. Caravan of Dreams, by Idries Shah - actually a book i found at Cody's bookstore in Berkeley last summer when HJ, NS and I were living in the dorms, and represents the way of life I learned at home. when i looked for the link to the bookstore, i discovered it closed this past June! sigh.

2. Mujeres de ojos grandes, by Angeles Mastretta ... an old favorite book of short stories about amazing women - and it offered a new way of looking at 'lo cotidiano' ...

3. A tour of the calculus, by David Berlinksi ... kinda speaks for itself, and a most entertaining read (does that reveal that i am a geek?)

Hard to stay within three ... wonder what would happen if I had to pick one? Eeeck.