Mihi cordis gravitas res videtur gravis...

Amor volat undique,
captus est libidine.
Iuvenes, iuvencule
coniunguntur merito.

Siqua sine socio,
caret omni gaudio;
tenet noctis infima
sub intimo
cordis in custodia:

fit res amarissima.

Russia...poetry...love

When I was 13 and obsessed with Victor Tsoy (earlier mentioned here), I found great solace in a line from his song that goes like this:

“Смерть стоит того, чтобы жить, а любовь стоит того, чтобы ждать”

“Death is worth living , and love is worth waiting .”

At 31, I still find solace in it.

And now, simply because I feel guilty for not posting, a little more translation.

Стань моей птицей - could be heard here

Диана Арбенина from Бонни & Клайд (2007)

стань моей птицей
стань моей птицей
чтобы во мне повториться
чтобы во мне повториться

стань моей кровью
стань моей раной
чтоб задыхаясь на плаху
чтоб на прощанье не плакать

чтоб четыре крыла по периметру неба
чтоб кричали тела горячо и нелепо
чтобы высохшим ртом по периметру пульса
не целуйся

стань моей крохой
стань моим сыном
чтобы во мне не остыло
чтобы во мне не остыло

стань моей смертью
стань моим страхом
чтоб задыхаясь на плаху
чтоб на прощанье не плакать

чтоб четыре крыла по периметру неба
чтоб кричали тела горячо и нелепо
чтобы высохшим ртом по периметру пульса
не целуйся

чтоб четыре крыла по периметру неба
чтоб кричали тела горячо и нелепо
чтоб четыре крыла по периметру неба
чтоб кричали тела горячо и нелепо
чтобы высохшим ртом по периметру пульса
не целуйся

стань моей птицей
стань моей птицей

Become My Bird

Diana Arbenina, from “Bonny & Clyde” (2007)

Become my bird
Become my bird
So you can be repeated in me
So you can be repeated in me

Become my blood
Become my wounds
So when gasping - on the scaffold
So no crying at farewell

So four wings - the perimeter of sky
So the bodies shall scream, hotly and absurdly
So the dry mouth won’t kiss
the perimeter of pulse

Become my little one
Become my son
So it won’t grow cold inside me
So it won’t grow cold inside me

Become my death
Become my fear
So when gasping - on the scaffold
So no crying at farewell

So four wings on the perimeter of sky
So the bodies shall scream, hotly and absurdly
So the dry mouth won’t kiss
the perimeter of pulse

So four wings - the perimeter of sky
So the bodies shall scream, hotly and absurdly
So four wings - the perimeter of sky
So the bodies shall scream, hotly and absurdly
So the dry mouth won’t kiss
the perimeter of pulse

Become my bird
Become my bird

Linguistic Confusions IV

Inspired by some posts I just read - incorrect spelling of words that results in distortion of meaning drives me nuts:

MAT - a woven surface to sit on, a border around a print, a padded sport surface, whatevs - generally a flat surface that covers something else
MATT - a shortened version of the name Matthew
MATTE - a dull finish on a surface

When did it become acceptable to substitute the first two for the third without any regard to meaning?

Linguistic Confusions III

This is a commercial message.

I recently read a book titled SEND: The Essensial Guide to Email for Office and Home by David Shipley and Will Schwabe.

While I haven't really learned anything I did not already know about e-mail etiquette from the abovementioned book (since I consider e-mail to be much like letter writing, which requires a certain decorum anyway...), I came across the following:

"Five Words that almost Everyone Misuses:

Disinterested - impartial or objective (not bored or uninterested).
Irregardless - not standard English; use "regardless" instead.
Nonplussed - confused (not nonchalant).
Penultimate - next to last (not last or really great).
Presently - shortly or soon (not at present or now)."

I am totally guilty of misusing three words on this list. I bet almost all of us are. And face it, EVERYONE who might be reading this is a good writer (even if some of us can't spell...)

On the other hand, I think this book should now be required in EVERY office and educational environment across the English-speaking culture. It's concise and funny.

End of shameless commercial plug.

Linguistic Confusions II

I learned the coolest word last week - in French - "paresseux" - doesn't it just roll off your tongue? it means "lazy" and perfectly describes the effects of 90 degree weather on cette l'étrangère. et maintenant, parce que je suis trop paresseux (or should it be "paresseuse" for my femininity?) je veux vous introduire une citation:

"C'est qu'en effet, madame, l'univers n'est que le reflet de notre âme."

- Anatole France, Le Crime de Sylvestre Bonnard

I haven't actually READ this novel, just a little bit in class, but I feel it's perfectly succinct of the way I've been feeling. If you don't understand the quote, too bad. I reserve the right to remain an intellectual snob. Go plug it into BabelFish or something.

Fictional Nostalgie...

I just saw Day Watch, a sequel to Night Watch - two films directed by Timur Bekhmambetov, and as far as I can tell, the first two Russian films to be widely released in the US since Burnt by The Sun in 1994. Russian cinema has a lot of great qualities, and I can't help but be upset that science fiction chock full of special effects is what it takes to show a Russian film in mainstream movie theatres. However, the films are great, the second one better than the first. You don't have to have seen Night Watch to enjoy Day Watch, as they recap the previous film for you (in English...Grrr...) in the first 5 minutes. Russian culture has long been aping Hollywood and American culture in general, so it's refreshing to see a film based on a Russian novel, filmed in Russia, and showing contemporary Russia without being judgmental or glorifying it.

As is the danger with foreign films always, the subtitles (rather, people who write copy for subtitles) have that issue of "literal translation" vs "how do we make it clear enough that Americans won't get lost when we keep calling a character 3 different names". I usually read the subtitles to see how faithful to the script the English language experience is. Today, a couple of times it was clear that there were 3 Russian speakers in the house - we all laughed at the following scene:

A witch goes to the bathroom in a cafe. (it's fantasy, bear with me.) We hear toilet flushing. Her friend knocks on the bathroom door, telling her it's time to go. When no reply is given, she opens the door, only to see a completely empty bathroom. The friend laughs, comments "she is good" in subtitles, and leaves.

This was funny because in Russian the friend said "smylas'" - which is slang for "gone", literally meaning "washed away" or - you can see it coming - "flushed." There is just NO way to translate puns, and this brings me to my rant of a couple of weeks ago - EVERYTHING is better in the language of the original.