Unlike conventional ant farms, this one is virtually transparent.

bq. Watch ants live, work and tunnel in the nutritious and non-toxic gel as they create series upon series of intricate tunnels. Easy to care for – Ants need NO food or water. The case is 6.5″x 5.5″x 1.25″.

bq. Antworks Includes:
– Case and gel
– Magnifying glass
– Ant catching/tunnel starting tool
– Instruction booklet with interesting facts about ants.

‘Interesting facts about ants’ recalls E.L. Wisty.

What happens when they eat all the gel – do you squirt some more on them?

Via Boing Boing‘s ads.

LATER NOTE: a webcam of a traditional ant farm at Steve’s Ant Farm. It looks as if this is a web designer’s site and he has chosen the topic for a sample fictitious website.

Eric Weiner finds there are radical differences between American and European email. YMMV

bq. Amerimail is informal and chatty. It’s likely to begin with a breezy “Hi” and end with a “Bye.” The chances of Amerimail containing a smiley face or an “xoxo” are disturbingly high. …

bq. Euromail is stiff and cold, often beginning with a formal “Dear Mr. X” and ending with a brusque “Sincerely.” You won’t find any mention of kids or the weather or jellyfish in Euromail. It’s all business.

I can’t confirm the following statements: Americans tell you their life story before getting down to the point of the mail; Americans reply immediately, Europeans weeks later; email in America replaced the phone, in Europe the business letter.

Another thing: on German mailing lists and UseNet groups, it’s not regarded as ‘breezy’ just to write ‘Hi’ or ‘Eric’ – friendly greetings and considered closes are expected as of right (not so in Britain, but I have a feeling Britain is not part of the remit here).

Anyway, I see that the German executive quoted has the same surname as the person who helped with research, who in turn is involved in the company quoted.

I love the heading: ‘How they do it: lessons for the U.S. from abroad’.

(Thanks to kalebeulimail)

Always worth reading again – a poem by Edward Lear with no particular reference to Easter.

bq. Who or why, or which, or what,
Is the Akond of Swat?

bq. Is he tall or short, or dark or fair?
Does he sit on a stool or a sofa or chair,
or SQUAT,
The Akond of Swat?

bq. Is he wise or foolish, young or old?
Does he drink his soup and his coffee cold,
or HOT,
The Akond of Swat?

…

bq. At night, if he suddenly screams and wakes,
Do they bring him only a few small cakes,
or a LOT,
For the Akond of Swat?

bq. Does he live on turnips, tea or tripe?
Does he like his shawl to be marked with a stripe,
or a DOT,
The Akond of Swat?

The Akond of Swot was the ruler of a state now in Pakistan, although I couldn’t find akond in the OED.

bq. In the 19th century the Akund of Swat rose to power. He was a Sufi ascetic with a highly charismatic and warlike personality who united the Swatis and made his capital at Saidu Sharif.

Pastiche

Some bloggers apparently think my entries are exactly what they would have written themselves if they hadn’t had something better to do. So much for vanity!

Rowohlt

At least two blogs link to the Zeit interview with the literary translator (and occasional inhabitant of Lindenstraße) Harry Rowohlt and add the word ‘Lesen!’.

I haven’t been able to use that word since Else Stratmann became responsible for it on TV and taught us that reading is Good In Itself (provided we don’t claim to like highbrow stuff like Proust).

I liked the Winnetou reference too, although what I read elsewhere in Die Zeit about Karl May’s take on the Armenian massacre was not so appealing.

Rowohlt gets up at 6 a.m. and does his 5 pages. He says he gets standard payment. Maybe he gets more royalties than some. It’s one of the mysteries of translation how literary translators survive. When asked if he admires other translators, he mentions Hans Wollschläger, and the interviewer suggests he must envy W. for translating Joyce’s Ulysses.

bq. Ich? Das soll doch bitte außer mir jeder machen. Diesen stinklangweiligen Kalauerer. Wenn einem bei Halbinsel, peninsula, nix anderes als Penis einfällt, kann ich das weder bewundern noch im Mindesten komisch finden. Arno Schmidt hat doch, ohne es zu wollen, viel Unheil angerichtet. Leute sagen jetzt »auf jeden Fall« und denken dabei Phall. Die waren sonst schon mit Pippi Langstrumpf ganz gut bedient.

Too true. By the way, I remember hearing Wollschläger on the Ulysses translation – it took him two solid years and I think he earnt the equivalent of 2000 DM per year. Not that I think money is everything – it’s just interesting.

Is writing quicker than translating?

Bloggers ponder. There’s definitely something in it. If a lawyer is writing on his special subject, he won’t have the terminology research to do that I will. Whatever the answer, the big problem is occasional clients thinking they can allow an author three weeks, and then a fourth, to prepare a brochure, and then get that translated in one week.

Today’s Zwiebelfisch in Spiegel Online deals with how (not) to write emails.

(Via kielanwalt`s mepHisto-bLAWg)