Posted by jerry on November 17th, 2005 — Posted in Journal, Writing
The other day at Gus’ cafe I met the Korean translator of my book for the first time. Dr Young-Min YUN met me with a big smile and we ordered coffee and some food. We discussed how he came to translate my book. “Ah,” he said “There is a story to that…” and he told me of the Graduate student who had suggested jointly translating my book into Korean, and how, having secured the rights from Routledge, the student then told Dr Yun that the language was too difficult – leaving him with a choice: either lose some face by withdrawing the project, or completing the project himself. It took 12 months, and the result is in every major bookstore in Korea.
I asked him about the title – I had laboriously tried to translate the new title – the @ sign gave away that the title had changed, and I knew that the word after @ was ‘Internet’ – so I knew that it was ‘Something @ Internet’ and not ‘Virtual States’. Young-Min smiled again “The word is ‘State’ – so the title is ‘State @ Internet'” I was curious. “You see…” he explained “‘Virtual‘ is not an easy concept to translate into Korean and I had to come up with something that would be easily understood as somehow summing up the book”. I complimented him on his choice.
He clearly enjoyed the project and asked me animatedly about the concept of ‘liminal space‘ and how he found the concept really useful. He has been using the book on his university courses since 2002 when the translation was published.
All too soon lunch was drawing to a close and we each had other appointments. We signed each other’s copies of the book. “one more thing” he said, and quickly produced a camera. We called over a waitress who smiled when we asked her to take a photo of us together.
Young-Min YUN and Jerry Everard
We stood and shook hands. “Anyonghi kyeseyo” I said and Young-Min’s eyebrows rose “Ah you speak Korean!” “just a few phrases” I said and we parted as the rain began.
Cheers
Jerry
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Posted by jerry on April 15th, 2005 — Posted in Journal, Writing
… so over dinner we were discussing how to spend tomorrow together, and Sharon suggested she might like to spend her voucher at the bead shop. Interesting concept: a ‘voucher’. I wondered if it might be Norman French perhaps derived from the morphemes: vous and cher – you and dear (in both senses of ‘valued friend’ and ‘your expense’. I wondered if perhaps, like computer the word originally meant a person – in this case who vouchsafed for something, provided a third party guarantee – and indeed it seems I was not far wrong. It does derive from the Old French, including versions of voch, vouchier etc which meant to claim or to invoke – ultimately from the latin Vocare, to speak or to call (hence giving one’s word). But the term is first recorded around 1325 – somewhat after the Norman invasion of England, but perhaps it took a while for the word to be absorbed into the language and customs of the time.
According to the Oxford Dictionary the voucher was indeed a person, who did the vouching and the vouchee was the one vouched for. This seems to have predated the widespread use of a written guarantee.
By 1531 the word ‘voucher’ was being used in terms of a piece of paper that provided a guarantee as solid as the thing itself – in that case the reference was to the revovery of a voucher which would stand as good as if the land it represented were recovered in payment.
So tomorrow, Sharon will present her voucher which will stand in place of the money previously paid as guarantee that the payment was made before any goods were exchanged, and receive in equal value the beads that were virtually purchased before she even entered the store, enacting a tradition of trade that predates the widespread literacy of the modern era.
Cheers
Jerry
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Posted by jerry on April 14th, 2005 — Posted in Writing
Three items of news have gained some prominance today: the Indonesian volcanoes erupting in the vicinity of the recent earthquake and tsunami activity; a deadly flu virus distributed across the world in flu testing kits; and a first look at one of the oldest stars in the universe. Amidst all these cataclysmic natural forces and plagues, it seems almost churlish to remark on a politician breaking an election promise doesn’t it? Why should we be worried about an erosion in health care funding promises in the face of tectonic plates doing their bump and grind in the Sunda Strait.
The way the media has juxtaposed these items – the way the volcanic activity demonstrated precursor signs that perhaps might have given some warning – alongside a politician signalling a promise of further erosions to come, gives a kind of air of natural forces to the acts of our political leaders. Quite clever when you think about it!
Cheers
Jerry
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Posted by jerry on February 24th, 2005 — Posted in Journal, Technology, Writing
The other day I was confronted with a message on my computer:
“Please do not press any keys or move the mouse while the installation completes…
… Click to continue”
now, what are we to make of this? Should I collapse in a heap of indecision? If I click the mouse will I damage the installation process? *sigh* I sat immobilised for perhaps five minutes before deciding that the click was designed to continue the process, and that – as long as I refrained from other mouse moves or further key strokes – the installation of the offending software would be unaffected.
But supposing English were not my first language, and that I had not had the benefit of a university education in the subject – this contradiction (literally speaking in opposite directions) would at best be confusing, and at worst would decrease my confidence in my competence at operating a computer. If it were an isolated case, it might pass off as a minor aberration, but it was from the same software company that insists we click to shut down. . . Need I say more?
Cheers
Jerry
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Posted by jerry on February 7th, 2005 — Posted in Journal, Writing
Some people have WAY too much time on their hands – and I love em for it! You may have heard that Samuel Pepys’ diaries are being fed as a blog one day at a time, well, now this creative person (aka Matt Webb) has done the same for Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks – yup – a page a day by rss feed – all 1600+pages! – A minor pity it doesn’t have images, but the text is quite tantalising 🙂
Click here to see it in blog format
Cheers
Jerry
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