Thursday, March 10, 2005

Sharper than a hound’s tooth

That describes prosecutors in Bentonville. Arkansas, who subpoened Murphy Smith to testify in the murder trial of Albert K. Smith, after Albert wrote Murphy a letter from prison. When Murphy appeared as called, a deputy refused to let the shih tzu into the court, citing a “no dogs” policy. Prosecutor Robin Green said “The dog was friendly enough and probably would have been a very cooperative witness.”

Sunday, March 06, 2005

Today's Culture Heroes: Gael Garcia Bernal and Jorge Drexler

These guys desserve credit for standing up to the marketing machine that is the Academy Awards. If you saw that show you saw Drexler's pained look as Carlos Santana and Antonio Banderas butchered his song from Motorcycle Diaries, "Al Otro Lado del Rio." Santana is Mexican-American and Banderas is Spanish, and neither is at all appropriate to perform the Uruguayan musician's song. When the Academy decided that Drexler wasn't a big enough name (and I guess Beyonce's Spanish must be even worse than her French), Gael Garcia Bernal refused to introduce the song in protest (the always obliging Salma Hayek filled in). When Drexel accepted the award he sang the song -- his version bore scant resemblance whatever it was that Santana and Banderas performed -- and accepted with dignity. Bravo, seƱores!

Photos below.

Jorge Drexler CD cover

Gael Garcia Bernal (foreground) and Rodrigo de la Serna in Motorcycle Diaries

Frozen Coagulated Culture: the launch

Another opening, another show ...

The marketing people will tell you to find a niche and fill it – drive a wedge into the cultural cacophony and gradually expand your slot. But that doesn’t interest me, so here anything goes. Generally though, my interests fall under the catch-all rubric of culture, and therefore the title, which comes from my first book-length translation, back in ancient times when I did technical translation. It’s out of print now, but you’ve probably read it. It was called Frozen Coagulated Cultures in Wine, Cheese, and Sauerkraut Production. You can’t get much sexier than that. Right?

(I expect this to replace my old LiveJournal. And don't forget www.rightreading.com, on the web since 1994.)