I served for a number of years as an associate dean for diversity and inclusion, and one of the things we struggled with was the culture of demographic sameness that academia often creates. Faculty tend to have contacts in their circles for long periods of time, which can be a good thing in terms of… Continue reading Black History Month and Beyond
Month: January 2021
2000 listens
I’m very pleased that Ba Ren Chi’s music on Jamendo has close to 2,100 listens at this point, only a few months after the first release back in October of 2020. By far the favorite piece so far, according to the stats, is Lalo Sí with a little over 700 listens on its own. That’s… Continue reading 2000 listens
How Loving Your Source Can Make Your English Translation Into Doggerel
I think that some translators must have a terribly sad streak inside, but let me start with doggerel since it’s lighter. By doggerel I don’t only mean the unintentionally funny or the inventive and exploratory. To get a sense of these, for the funny end of the spectrum, try William McGonagall’s “The Tay Bridge Disaster”: … Continue reading How Loving Your Source Can Make Your English Translation Into Doggerel
On Imaginary Islands and Real Ones
For many years when they were still trying to map the world, explorers thought there was an island or even something bigger in the northern Pacific between Russia and North America. This was one of the possibilities anyway, between the land being connected (no Bering strait) or there being nothing large out there at all,… Continue reading On Imaginary Islands and Real Ones
Da Levante
Decided to add Soundcloud to Ba Ren Chi’s outlets. Composed a new song for the occasion: “Da Levante.” It’s here. Had quite a ball making this. I hope listening takes you somewhere. At the same time, I remastered “Oni Daiko” with a slight change in instrumentation that makes a big difference to my ear. Now… Continue reading Da Levante
Aspersion and Aspersions
While translating Propp’s Historical Roots of the Wondertale, my colleague Miriam Shrager and I wondered a bit over the “sprinkling” (окропление) that comes up occasionally in fairy tales, often in the context of crossing between this world and some other, magical one (“she sprinkled the door with water”). This, so claims Propp, is a remnant… Continue reading Aspersion and Aspersions
Russell Scott Valentino 