What is it with coffee shops and countability?
I’ve commented in the past on the Starbucks slogan “Less napkins. More plants. More planet.” *
Today, though, it’s Coffee #1 who have offended my grammatical – and poetical – sensibilites. Again, it’s napkins (or serviettes):
I’ve been over at Cantueso’s blog again, looking at translations of a poem by Hans Magnus Enzensberger and wondering about some of the phrases. In the blog comments, Cantueso says:
[the English] translation is much better and much more faithful than [my Spanish]
Not knowing any German, it’s hard for me to comment on that, but the coupling of the two adjectives ‘better’ and ‘faithful’ catches my attention. It makes me think of the Italian expression traduttore, traditore – ‘translator, traitor’.
Continue reading “treachery, forgery, or the sincerest form of flattery?”
Today is a day of reflection prior to the Spanish elections tomorrow, and the Junta Electoral has reminded us that on such days la ley prohibe todo acto de propaganda – the law bans the staging of any act of propaganda or electoral campaigning.
That has been ruled to include the recent protest gatherings – las manifestaciones y concentraciones – across the country, so I suppose I must keep quiet and reflect. (But without concentrating.)
I posted a picture of what I mistakenly thought was a white laburnum a while back, and am amazed how many people have since turned up here after searching on that term.
It makes me think that other people may find this picture of male and female kiwi blossoms useful:
Well, the post title says it all, I suppose, though the photo is a little misleading as the cat in question is now over a year old.
He was one of the more docile of the semi-ferals who keep down the rodent population in our over-sized garden.
I was particularly fond of him as he reminded me of the cat who was the inspiration for Clementine, a poem you can read in the post nine lives, from last year.
Continue reading “missing”
don't confuse the narrator 