@JimRion@bookwor.ms
@JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

JimRion

@JimRion@bookwor.ms

日本在中英訳者・ライターです。
Author, freelance writer, JtoE translator. Mystery fiction, sake, shochu, culture, and more.

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

JimRion, to random
@JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

LOL.
Sometimes I make the mistake of thinking that, no matter how morally bankrupt and parasitic large corporations and financial institutions are, they at least display some basic ability in things like maintaining a facade of public competency. Then I see things like how Mizuho replaced its old purpose statement of " One Mizuho: Building the future with you" with "Proactively innovate together with our clients for a prosperous and sustainable future" and remember, no one actually knows what they're doing.
One of the biggest banks in the world, and that's how they express themselves.
https://www.mizuhogroup.com/news_release/20230720release_eng.html

JimRion, to random
@JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

Does that headline in my last boost from the Mainichi make any sense? I feel like it's just gibberish but...

JimRion, to random
@JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

LOL she changed "contributes to increased success rates" to "contributes to increasement of success rates" and I think I want to cry.

JimRion, to random
@JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

Dear Japanese-English translators: What do you do with "Tokyo Dome"? As in, "This is as big as 100 Tokyo Domes!"
There are so many options that I almost just want to give up and leave it. I mean, it's essentially a meaningless platitude in Japanese, anyway. The majority of people in Japan have no real sense of how big Tokyo Dome is, so it's all just... Big.

FlockOfCats, to random
@FlockOfCats@famichiki.jp avatar

Got an email confirming my Arby’s order.

Too bad I didn’t order it, or live on the same continent as the Arby’s. Could do some curly fries.

JimRion,
@JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

@FlockOfCats I think you're supposed to eat them, actually. But hey, we all have our peccadilloes.

JimRion, to random
@JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

Hm. I have an editorial note that has me conflicted. The original was a reaction to a horrific story, and the character says something like:
「うっ…相当ひどい殺され方...」
I translated it as "My god, what a horrible way to die." The editor's comment is "Would a Japanese person say this? Maybe if Christian but probably not..."
The answer is, of course, that a Japanese person wouldn't say any of the words I have written because they speak Japanese.
In a less pedantic response, I could say that Japanese people do say "My god," but not in response to something horrible. In English, though, we often say it in exactly this situation, so it conveys the sense and tone perfectly well.
Now, I could use some random sound "gulp" "Ugh" or whatever, but it wouldn't fit the very serious tone of this general passage well.
Now, the editor is not particularly familiar with Japan. He "likes" Japan but he's never been here, if you catch me.
So. Hm. I'm not sure it's worth pushing back, but I'm also not sure how to change it.

BlackAzizAnansi, to random
@BlackAzizAnansi@mas.to avatar

Has mass protests ever caused any Presidential administration to change their foreign policy?

JimRion,
@JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

@BlackAzizAnansi I keep wondering this. (And about online petitions.) When's the last time mass protest in the US resulted in change at the national level?

kimlockhartga, to books
@kimlockhartga@beige.party avatar

@bookstodon Hey, I love me some Penguin Random House as much as the next reader, but I'm also interested in the indies, which are usually more daring than the Big Five.

Favorite indie publishers? Please add to my list:

Two Dollar Radio
Bluemoose
Unnamed Press
Coffeehouse
Small Beer
Graywolf
Catapult
Driftwood
Black Spot
Future Tense
Copper Canyon
Tin House
Dzanc
Melville House
Quirk
Blackwater
Red Hen
City Lights
Algonquin
Black Rose
Hellbound
Wakefield
Fledgling

#bookstodon #books #indie #publishers

JimRion,
@JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

@kimlockhartga
I'm partial to Pushkin Press, but then again, they do pay me 😉
@bookstodon

craiggrannell, to random
@craiggrannell@mastodon.social avatar

For people who’ve never heard of a partwork, they’re subscriptions that build to a collection. They’re usually sold in newsagents or via mail. Sometimes you’re building something akin to a movie prop. Others are figurines. Many are crafts. Quite a few of late are graphic novels. I have some of those, because they’re a great way to get hardcover collections. (The 2000 AD books were £10 – about $12.50 – for volumes that had around 250 pages each and that had never been in hardcover before.)

JimRion,
@JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

@craiggrannell
These are pretty big here in Japan. Models, robots, DVD collections, all kinds of them. Is DeAgostini a major player in your parts, too?

redhero, to random
@redhero@famichiki.jp avatar

What are those long faced cat like animals that live in Tokyo called? We saw one today.

JimRion,
@JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

@redhero
Palm civet/ハクビシン?

JimRion,
@JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

@FlockOfCats
@k8 @redhero
If it's meat, it's good eats.

JimRion, to random
@JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

I did a translation for a museum event that takes place on May 5th, and the title in Japanese is "資料館へGo Go Go!" and I took the easy way of making it "Go Go Go To the Museum"
Now the client is wanting something punny and my dadjoke skills are failing me. "May you be the fifth one to the museum? "May you have Five Times the Fun?" "May Fifth is Five Times the Fun!"
I should charge more for this...

juergen_hubert, to Germany
@juergen_hubert@thefolklore.cafe avatar

Beware the dreaded Hoop Dragon!

@germany @folklore
https://www.patreon.com/posts/here-be-dragons-27195774

JimRion,
@JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

@juergen_hubert @germany @folklore
In the US, there are old legends about a "hoop snake" that does the same thing!

JimRion, to random
@JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

Listen, I know that the whole "WTF Japan" thing gets a little old, but...
I arrived in Kusatu, Shiga and went to look for the rental car office. It was on the second floor of a building with a hotel, the Hotel Boston Plaza. Going through the hotel, I went up the escalator, turned into a hallway, and saw...
This.
WTAF?

JimRion, to random
@JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

Walking around and smelled something fantastic. Turns out it was Õrale, as recommended by @lana. So, here I am.
God, I would pay just to sit here and soak in the smell!

JimRion,
@JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

Let's fucking goooo!

BlackAzizAnansi, (edited ) to random
@BlackAzizAnansi@mas.to avatar

What's your favorite story about one of your family members?

JimRion,
@JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

@BlackAzizAnansi
When I was trying to do some genealogy research, I couldn't find ANYONE with our last name, so I asked my folks what was up.
Turns out my paternal grandfather got in a fight with his family at around 18, left home and just made up a whole new name. I guess it was easier back then.
Thing is, he only moved like 15 miles from home. The next county over. I mean, who does that? Gets so damned mad at his family he changes his whole actual name, but stays in the neighborhood? You just know they ran into each other at fairs and all. Their kids probably played against each other in baseball games.
And that was essentially where we still lived. Growing up, I had all these cousins nearby I never even knew about. It's crazy.
And I only learned this at 44 goddam years old.

JimRion, to books
@JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

(I saw this on Bluesky, figured why not bring it over here?)

Repost with your five favorite reads from this year.

  1. A Sense of Place by Dave Broom
  2. Henna Ie 変な家 by Uketsu 雨穴
  3. Waybound by Will Wight
  4. Mouse or Rat by Umberto Eco
  5. Redshirts by John Scalzi
JimRion, to random
@JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

Right, so, fuck Duolingo. Deleting all my data and sending some (assuredly useless) terse emails.

https://www.reddit.com/r/duolingo/comments/18sx06i/big_layoff_at_duolingo/?rdt=41230

JimRion, to random
@JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

Dear checkers: if a Japanese loan word is in M&W (like umami), it doesn't require italics.
And if it's a proper name (i.e. capitalized) it doesn't require italics.
Thank you for your understanding.

JimRion,
@JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

@dwvcd Oh, lord, yes. That or bold or... Some other kind of emphasis. 「」equaling "" is a VERY rare thing, honestly. They almost always end up looking like square quotes.

lcamtuf, (edited ) to random

deleted_by_author

    •
    JimRion,
    @JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

    @lcamtuf
    Amen to all of if this. If you pay, you should own.
    What did you replace Lightroom with? I resisted it for so long but I haven't found anything with both the functionality and the file type support (i.e. Sony's new ARW format).

    FlockOfCats, to random
    @FlockOfCats@famichiki.jp avatar

    Hey guys, what’s your favorite nog?

    JimRion,
    @JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

    @FlockOfCats

    theotherotherone, to books

    Following up on an earlier thread asking about similar to Agatha Christie mystery writers...

    My understanding is are Japanese mysteries in a western orthodox style. So, what are some examples of Japanese mysteries NOT in a western orthodox style? Basically non-honkaku. I went down the rabbit hole a bit this weekend and learned about honkaku, but now I want to find, in a sense, traditional Japanese mysteries, if there is something like that.

    @bookstodon

    JimRion,
    @JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

    @theotherotherone @bookstodon
    There isn't, really. The concept of the detective/mystery was adopted pretty much wholesale from Western influences. So, what is now called Honkaku really is just saying "classic," in that it follows the rules of fair play etc. that authors like Edogawa Ranpo took from the West. At the same time, these writers really did adapt the basic ideas of Western detective fiction to Japan. They used traditional Japanese settings, ideas, imagery, and issues quite consciously. They often take place in temples or isolated rural villages and such, and often use Japanese historical or folk motifs in the murders, for example.
    There have, of course, been reactions and diversions from there--the Shin-honkaku style arose in the 1980s or so, as a kind of respectful commentary/rebellion against the traditional style. They're more modern, more poppy, and ironically less "Japanese" in their nods to the deeper traditional culture. They're more focused on young, urban folks enjoying the affluence of the period.
    So, Japanese mystery in and of itself was a borrowing from the West, but if you want a more traditional flavor in the works, the old Honkaku is far more Japanese than later iterations.
    As to going back before honkaku, there really isn't anything identifiable with the genre. I mean, Honkaku goes back to the 1920s, so it's not like it comes much later than the birth of detective fiction in the West, either.

    TarkabarkaHolgy, to books
    @TarkabarkaHolgy@ohai.social avatar

    So here is a question to the @bookstodon community: what is the best book you have read this year?

    JimRion,
    @JimRion@bookwor.ms avatar

    @TarkabarkaHolgy
    David Broom, "A Sense of Place":
    A gorgeous book about whiskey and Scotland.

    Gordon Shepherd, "Neurogastronomy":
    A fascinating, accessible but still scientific explanation of how humans actually experience flavor.
    @bookstodon

  • All
  • Subscribed
  • Moderated
  • Favorites
  • •
  • JUstTest
  • kavyap
  • DreamBathrooms
  • thenastyranch
  • magazineikmin
  • tacticalgear
  • khanakhh
  • Youngstown
  • mdbf
  • slotface
  • rosin
  • everett
  • ngwrru68w68
  • Durango
  • megavids
  • InstantRegret
  • cubers
  • GTA5RPClips
  • cisconetworking
  • ethstaker
  • osvaldo12
  • modclub
  • normalnudes
  • provamag3
  • tester
  • anitta
  • Leos
  • lostlight
  • All magazines
    •