The regular readers of this blog will remember my post on the Blogger site "Gay Irish Dwarfs" and the hits on that particular article from Google searches.
I've been checking in on the blog from time-to-time since then and even though the post has led to some hits, it's not been updated since June. The last post, titled "New York del fire" was, like the other post I linked to, easy to understand in part, but there were a few words that just didn't translate.
Take this first bit:
Ja da er vi i det store eplet igjen. Skjønt vi og vi frøken Blom. Det er jo bare meg.
Som kanskje noen har forstått har ikke jeg kamera. Men da et bilde sier mer enn 1000 ord legger jeg ut bilder tatt med Macen. Bildet er fra det minste "hotell" rommet i New York. Det er jeg sikker på. At det er minst altså. Det andre bildet er fra "lobbyen".
NYC er som alltid fantastisk. Møter masse hyggelige folk og jeg digger å være her. På onsdag reiser jeg til Berlin hvor jeg skal være til tirsdag. Skal bo i en privat leilighet, så det blir moro!
Flyturen fra Minneapolis til NYC varte i fantastiske 9 timer pga uvær over JFK.
At the translation service I use for Norwegian, I've found out he's talking about his hotel room in NYC, using a Mac to upload his photos, one shot is of the lobby of the hotel, he's meeting lots of nice people and he's travelling to Berlin on Thursay, living in a private apt. is fun. The last paragraph is about a storm that delayed his flight from Minneapolis.
Just regular blog stuff, just like I do, letting my friends and family know what's going on.
Then there was this:
Jeg møtte en brite i går som ble så full at han besvimte sittende på stolen sin. Rett før hadde han selvfølgelig bestilt en Corona og seks sambuca shots. Hvem de shottene var til er fortsatt et mysterium for meg. Etter å ha fått briten i taxi og sendt han i allefall i retning av noe som lignet på det hotellet jeg klarte å få han til å oppgi tuslet jeg hjem, kun avbrutt av ett fantastisk nattmåltid bestående av pannekaker og frukt. Takk Roar. Det var du som oppdaget denne oasen av en nattkafé.
The translation?
I met a Briton yesterday that was so full that he besvimte sitting in his chair. Just in time, he had of course, ordered a Corona and six sambuca shots. Who they shottene was to remain a mystery to me.
Having received the British in the taxi and sent him in allefall in the direction of something that is similar to the hotel I was able to get him to disclose tuslet I am home, only interrupted by a fantastic nattmåltid consisting of pancakes and fruit. Thanks Roar. It was you who discovered this oasis of a nattkafé.
Oh boy. Been there, buddy. I've besvimte while sitting in my chair, too, but it was after consuming a six-pack of Lone Star to wash down the shots of tequila. I also had a nattmåltid, but it wasn't pancakes and fruit. I think it was because I ate the worm.
It certainly wasn't an oasis of a nattkafé. I never DID find out who shottene me. I'm still p.o.'d about that.
I too have "received the British", but it was in a rental car. It was fantastisk.
September 8, 2008
Lost in Translation - Again
September 7, 2008
Origami Online
Our dear, late friend Brad's MSN Group.
"Learn to fold five original origami models. Not exactly for beginners, our models include both easy and intermediate projects. You'll find detailed instructions for folding five original models(so far)and all the help you might need. Just about any paper folder will find something to like here at Origami Online. Come join the fun!"
Origami Online
Update: That link is no longer valid as MSN Groups bit the dust several years ago. Groups may be gone, but Brad will live on in our memories.
Good grief, he would have shaken his head at such maudlin sentiment. I bet he'd be pleased that we still remember him, but he wouldn't have wanted any fuss.
In All Sincerity
Sometimes when I'm told to "Have a nice day!" and it doesn't seem particularly sincere, I will reply:
"Thanks anyway, I've made other plans."
September 6, 2008
Slow Ride - Foghat
Remember where you were, what you were doing, the first time you ever heard a certain song?
I certainly do with this one.
It was an early summer afternoon, I was sleeping in the back seat of a speeding car, on my way to a double shift on a drilling rig. I heard one of the guys in the front seat say something like "Where's the fog at?" After having only a few hours of sleep after a regular shift and knowing I had 16 more to go, I wasn't interested in anything other than a little bit more rest before I got to the rig.
Then the speakers blasted out the beginnings to this song.
It's not a favorite song of mine, but I'll always remember where I heard it the very first time. Needless to say, I didn't get a nap in before work.
Check out the guy's eyes right at 1:00 into the video. Creepy. That's how my eyes looked that day.
A Glowering Glow
A few days ago "glower" was the word on the Word of the Day feed in the right-hand column. I knew what the word was, what it meant, mostly because I've had many teachers, ex-girlfriends, my ex-wife and even my sisters and parents practice that particular expression on me many, many times.
glower \GLAU-uhr\, intransitive
verb:1. To look or stare angrily or with a scowl.
noun:1. An angry or scowling look or stare.
It made me think about someone just trying to learn the English language and what they would think of this word the first time they saw it.
The root of the word is "glow":
glow intr.v. glowed, glow·ing, glows
1. To shine brightly and steadily, especially without a flame: Embers glowed in the furnace.
2. a. To have a bright, warm, usually reddish color: The children's cheeks glowed from the cold.
b. To flush; blush.
3. To be exuberant or radiant: parents glowing with pride.
n. 1. A light produced by a body heated to luminosity; incandescence.
2. Brilliance or warmth of color, especially redness: "the evening glow of the city streets when the sun has gone behind the tallest houses" (Seán O'Faoláin).
3. A sensation of physical warmth.
4. A warm feeling, as of pleasure or well-being
So, two words, nearly alike, meaning almost the opposite in certain instances.
No wonder foreigners have so much trouble learning English.
Heck, no wonder I have so much trouble with it!
