TGIF: French language school commercial February 26, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff, TGIF.3 comments
Language schools always have the best commercials. This one made me chuckle and is sure to make you laugh as well.
TGIF: Scout and Paws February 20, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff, TGIF.1 comment so far
Sorry for the delay in posting today’s video. Friday kind of snuck up on me. I hope you enjoy this cute little ad, which reminds me of one of the first videos I put up with the bilingual cat. It isn’t quite as funny, but it is amusing all the same.
Massage is not a luxury February 16, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Business practices, Fun stuff, Random musings.8 comments
I am a firm believer in the necessity of massages. When you sit at a computer as much as we do, your muscles tend to stiffen up and get sore. In addition to practicing ergonomic posture I also try to get a massage once a month. One of my students at Kent took my advice about ergonomics and investing in a good desk chair and bought a massaging desk chair. She’s never regretted it.
My neck and shoulder muscles spasmed over the weekend, and I developed a tension headache from the pain. I tried to get an appointment on Sunday at Massage Envy despite the fact that I have an hour massage scheduled at my favorite spa on Friday. Instead I went in for a 20-minute massage today and ended up signing up for a membership, which gives you one 1-hour massage a month for just $49 and discounts on additional services. She loosened muscles I didn’t even realize I had in my head and neck in just 20 minutes, and I feel great.
Monthly massages are one expense that I can get behind, especially since Massage Envy is much cheaper than my favorite spa. If you have a Massage Envy near you (they have 800 locations nationwide) I highly recommend joining. The clients there raved about the package when I was signing up. I’m looking forward to treating myself to a monthly massage with a certified massage therapist and being less tense. Does anyone know if you can write the expense off as a business expense? I’ll have to call my CPA and ask…
TGIF: 16 Language Love Song February 12, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff, TGIF.add a comment
In honor of Valentine’s Day on Saturday, here is a cheesy, yet clever little song showing you how to say I love you in 16 different languages. I’m willing to bet most of you linguists will be able to identify all 16 of them.
And here is an interesting video featuring even more languages (even if some of them are phonetic and not 100% correct). It was made in 2008 by a young German, but it is still relevant today. I particularly like the little bit for the Germans towards the end. If you don’t have a Valentine I’ll be happy to be your Valentine.
So Happy Valentine’s Day!
Alltag bei Sprachmittlers: Übersetzer und die lieben Kunden February 9, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff, German culture.add a comment
Someone on one of my German-speaking listservs shared this link with us a while ago, and I found it too priceless not to share with you. It’s in German, but I might get around to translating it for the non-German speaking folks – providing the humor translates. It depends on how tomorrow goes.
TGIF: Man vs. computer February 6, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff, TGIF.add a comment
There are plenty of videos on Youtube of folks taking out their aggressions on their computers. Here are a couple of my favorites.
The video that started it all:
Angry German Kid (a.k.a. Der echte Gangster, Slikk or Leopold) is a 15-year-old actor from Bergisches Land, Germany. He plays a character, Der echte Gangster, a parody of a wannabe gangster. This video is him overreacting because he wants to play a video game. Remember folks, he’s just acting.
And my personal favorite:
TGIF: A trip down memory lane January 30, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff, TGIF.2 comments
Here are two ads from Compaq Computer Corporation featuring John Cleese from the mid to late 1980s. I can’t get over Compaq’s idea of a portable computer. Ah, that brings back memories. Remember how we used to have to boot from a floppy? What? You’ve never heard of a floppy? Oh you kids these days… I think my dad still has some if you want one. Lord knows he can’t use them with his new computer, which doesn’t even have a diskette drive :-). Enjoy!
Best. Complaint. Letter. Ever. January 27, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff, Random musings.3 comments
Since we are jet setters (I was just pricing a flight to Paris for tomorrow for a funeral but decided it simply didn’t make sense to try to organize a trip that last minute) I thought you all might appreciate this complaint letter to Richard Branson (the CEO of Virgin Airlines and Virgin Records), which was written by a man who flew from Mumbai to London. Trust me. It is totally worth jumping to Crazy Days and Nights to read it.
On another note, when did Bombay become Mumbai and how did I miss the memo?
The the impotence of proofreading by Taylor Mali January 26, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff.1 comment so far
This fun little poem was brought to my attention on one of my listservs. You can learn more about Taylor Mali and check out his work at www.taylormali.com.
The the impotence of proofreading
By Taylor Mali
http://www.taylormali.com
Has this ever happened to you?
You work very horde on a paper for English clash
And then get a very glow raid (like a D or even a D=)
and all because you are the word’s liverwurst spoiler.
Proofreading your peppers is a matter of the the utmost impotence.
This is a problem that affects manly, manly students.
I myself was such a bed spiller once upon a term
that my English teacher in my sophomoric year,
Mrs. Myth, said I would never get into a good colleague.
And that’s all I wanted, just to get into a good colleague.
Not just anal community colleague,
because I wouldn’t be happy at anal community colleague.
I needed a place that would offer me intellectual simulation,
I really need to be challenged, challenged dentally.
I know this makes me sound like a stereo,
but I really wanted to go to an ivory legal collegue.
So I needed to improvement
or gone would be my dream of going to Harvard, Jail, or Prison
(in Prison, New Jersey).
So I got myself a spell checker
and figured I was on Sleazy Street.
But there are several missed aches
that a spell chukker can’t can’t catch catch.
For instant, if you accidentally leave a word
your spell exchequer won’t put it in you.
And God for billing purposes only
you should have serial problems with Tori Spelling
your spell Chekhov might replace a word
with one you had absolutely no detention of using.
Because what do you want it to douch?
It only does what you tell it to douche.
You’re the one with your hand on the mouth going clit, clit, clit.
It just goes to show you how embargo
one careless clit of the mouth can be.
Which reminds me of this one time during my Junior Mint.
The teacher read my entire paper on A Sale of Two Titties
out loud to all of my assmates.
I’m not joking, I’m totally cereal.
It was the most humidifying experience of my life,
being laughed at pubically.
So do yourself a flavor and follow these two Pisces of advice:
One: There is no prostitute for careful editing.
And three: When it comes to proofreading,
the red penis your friend.
TGIF: Grammar bullies January 23, 2009
Posted by Jill (@bonnjill) in Fun stuff, TGIF.2 comments
One of my pet peeves is people putting an apostrophe to pluralize something like CD’s or 1980’s <shudder>, but I had to chuckle at his comments about Lynne Truss, the author of Eats, Shoots & Leaves. I happen to like her book, and I imagine you do as well. But then again I also love The Deluxe Transitive Vampire and The New Well-Tempered Sentence by Karen Elizabeth Gordon. As translators we can’t help but become Grammar Bullies. I hope you enjoy this – and hope you can understand what the dudes in the video clip are saying, because I was totally at a loss. It’s still a cute little clip.
Musings from an overworked translator 