flemmings | (no subject)

As Flow would have it, I was reading over that thread at

mikeneko's about the Horror! the Horror! the Horror! of Canada Post/ Escargot Canada's new regulations when there came a merry timble at the door- on a Sunday- surely the Greeenpeace people have better things to do on a freezing weekend before Christmas than come soliciting, must be kids selling chocolate bars poor bunnies, better limp down and get them in out of the cold for a minute. Did, could see nothing out the window in the upper door, must be very little kids what can their mothers be thinking of, open door... on nothing, and a white van taking off... and two packages on the porch. So

mikeneko and

incandescens, worry no more, your contraband has made it multas per gentes et multa per aequora, through many peoples and over many waves, to my doorstep. (And so did yours earlier,

mvrdrk, but of course you put 'no' on your label so I know you weren't worrying. ^_^)

Rot those damned customs labels though. I must train myself not to read them, now they have to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, in detail. No more 'gift' or 'personal use material' or 'toy' (on a vibrator, not that you wanted to know that.)

On a totally different note, interview with the maker of The Triplets of Belleville (in the Japan Times of all places, hmm.) Hadn't realized the triplets' cuisine was a nose-thumb at what the French eat, but OK. I did have a translator's twitch at rendering joie de vivre as 'the joy of life'-- I mean it is but it isn't, you know, any more than genki is 'healthy.' Joie de vivre is joie de vivre and doesn't translate into a language/ culture that doesn't *have* joie de vivre in the ordinary way of things. (No really, Anglo cultures don't. Consider the dominant ethos (ethoi?) of England, America, Canada, and Kiwi-land: puritan, the lot of them. The cheerful Ozzies may have their own version; I won't say they don't. But not us, outside Quebec.)

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(And now I have to struggle not to finish the quote. It's not my fault they did Catullus with us at school.)

Puritan lands, yup. No wonder so many people move to France and have television series made about them living happy lives and writing cookery books. (Throws tv guide across room.)

Ever notice how Catullus is about the only Latin poet whose poetry one can remember more or less automatically? Everyone else is too busy being clever-clogs with the placement of their words hmpf snort.

And yes, those gaijin living in France are annoying. Gauling, even, to coin a phrase.

Gauling, even, to coin a phrase.

(groans) You are very draconian in your judgement.

(modestly) I do my best to emulate the Stiff One. (Hmm yes that does have a dirty ring to it doesn't it.)

Just a touch.

*so sleepy*
Yaaay. On the plus paw, you know what's in packages so you can go ahead and open them and won't feel needless guilt or whatever.

This one (http://www.bsplayer.org/) is also s'posed to be able to handle wmv on a Win98 system.