July 2013 – Leeds's Singing Organ-Grinder

Hago Londres – Barcelona en bici

Dime si tienes un château en algún punto intermedio.

The Cali Word Games, plus a Civil War gag from Alfonso Guerra

Lenox, who has been discussing the role (roll-on, roll-off?) of Google Translate in quality public service provision, has passed along this little gem from the wider reaches of linguistic dilettantism – Colombia, where 1,221 medals were cast for the World Games without wasting precious time on letter-checking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itMv6sW-STk Lost Letters Departments have of course swept…

Elephant in the room

Neither the economy nor the train crash is Spain’s main news.

Tarjeta de visita, versión beta

Comentarios, porfa.

If the PP isn’t monstrously corrupt, why isn’t Bárcenas wearing cement shoes?

You’re not telling me the mafia’s stupid or forgiving, surely?

Is mistranslation sometimes merely an attempt to inject life into English, a dull, stumbling language?

Michael Gilleland < Christoph Irmscher < Longfellow: The difficulty of translation lies chiefly in the color of words. Is the Italian “Ruscelletto gorgoglioso” fully rendered by “Gurgling brooklet”? Or the Spanish “Pájaros vocingleros” by “Garrulous birds”? Something seems wanting. Perhaps it is only the fascination of foreign and unfamiliar sounds; and to the Italian or…

La vida de un organillero mexicano

Y cómo mejorarla.

Official vandalism of 19th century Barcelona lead-on-marble street signs

Check out Chordi (= Jordi: we use the same trick in English, where Geordieland sometimes -> Chordieland), and the continuing attacks on non-nationalists.

Basta lágrimas de cocodrilo sobre el cierre de Bar Marsella

Si nos importa tanto, ¿por qué no lo compramos?

¡Justo Bueno, pistolero de la FAI, está de vuelta!

El asesino en serie, entre cuyas víctimas fueron tal vez los hermanos Badía, desapareció de la versión catalanista del Valle de los Caídos (“sacrificats per la llibertat de Catalunya”) hace unos años, pero le han pegado de nuevo en su columna, al parecer con caca. Es fácil entrar en el sitio desde arriba, y me…