Martha Stewart’s period of home detention ends today. I referred recently to electronic anklets. Martha Stewart is said to wear an electronic bracelet on her ankle:

Wednesday, one of the most famous bracelets in history is expected to come off Martha Stewart’s ankle.
As the electronic watchdog is removed, it will mark the end of her five months – and three weeks extra for minor violations – of home confinement in Bedford, N.Y.

It seems the more common term. But apparently they are sometimes worn on the wrist.

(Via rebecca’s pocket)

Robert Peyton, another lawyer whose New Orleans blog I read (a non-legal blog, Appetites), is alive and well but has lost his house:

bq. However, if I start posting recipes about how to braise rats, or roast “long-pig” you might want to start worrying about me.

An Italian online florist offers sentences for every – or no – occasion. Discovered (but how?) by Noel at flefo.org.

bq. These flowers show you my attraction for you. I wish you an happy onomastic.

bq. In spite of your faults, you always appear to me very beautiful.

The language of flowers:

bq. As already mentioned, a only flower is generally suitable only for the loved person as affection symbol. In this case it will be appreciated any kind, also a simple violet picked up by the eyelash of a ditch.

It has something of Paul Celan, and yet at the same time it’s completely different.

Here’s the Italian opening page with a choice of languages.

Clarity is an international association promoting plain legal language. It publishes the journal Clarity in May and November.

You can get PDFs of old issues on the website. I hope the latest May 2005 edition will be available online in November!

It isn’t written for translators. But it can be very useful in indicating the meanings of archaic legalese and indicating what is a term of art and what isn’t.

But the latest edition was really interesting for legal translators. Here’s the cover (click for an enlargement):

The best of all were the articles by William Robinson and Ian Frame, two translators (Robinson is no longer a translator, but in the Legal Revisers Group), on why the English of EU legislation is as it is. I’ll post a brief summary when I get round to it.

Some Germans, possibly in this case a typist, don’t understand English. One wonders how they manage to communicate with Deutsche Telekom.

Udo Vetter reports the following extract from a summons to a hearing in a criminal matter in Hamburg:

bq. Zu der Verhandlung werden geladen: als Zeugen:

bq. POK A.
POM D.
best regards, Ken K.

Now if anyone translated that into English, the translator would get the blame.

(Polizeioberkommissar, Polizeiobermeister)

Ernest Svenson, Ernie the Attorney, ist in New Orleans geblieben, wahrscheinlich ohne Möglichkeit zu posten. Am Sonntag schrieb er:

bq. So I tried to leave New Orleans today at 12:30 pm but after 4 hours of driving I had only made it 15 miles. I was alone and tired so I decided the safe play was to return. It’s kind of sad when the ‘safe play’ is to go back and wait to be pounded by the gnashing fury of a Category 5 hurricane.