Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Professional Frustrations; Also, Why People Pay For Translators

Editing! It has untold joys. Our journal, for a variety of unpleasant reasons, has not yet published the second issue of the year. What year would that be? Why, 2006! Four complete issues with copyrights are waiting in the queue. Backlog? What backlog?

So the other editor in chief and I asked the office which funds us, would it be a possiblity to get money for a freelancer, just for a couple weeks, to catch up to 2007? It now being May. Of 2007. And angry emails from authors accumulating daily.

Instant hysteria on the part of our paid staff members. Furious and condescending emails to the other EIC and myself! How dare we ask a question without asking his permission first! It must never happen again! Bad, bad editors! No biscuit!

Excuse me while I go bang my head against the wall for a while. For insulting, destructive condescension, I have my advisor! Isn't that enough?

***
My sweet adorable spouse, in a fit of industry combined with thesis-writing (oh, the things people will do to avoid writing a thesis), decided a to cook a World Corruption Index dinner every week for Shabbat dinner. He's started at the bottom of this.

Anyhow, the next one is Ivory Coast. I looked up recipes for him last night, since Ivoiriens speak French and all. Without further ado, I present you BabelFish's translation, in the hope it will bring you as much joy as it brought me. Turns out? Not easier than translating it myself.
To prepare chickens: to empty and flame them. To clean meat offals carefully. In a pan, to make cook during 10 hearts minutes and livers with water salted, scented of a sheet of bay-tree and branches thyme. To finely chop the piece of boiled ox, the hearts and the livers then onion. To add the bread soaked in milk and drained, as well as the powder of peanut. To bind egg, to salt, pepper, then to mix well with a spoon out of wooden. To powder of a pinch with grated nutmeg. To fill chickens of the scented mince and to sew them nothing to let escape. In a casserole, oval preferably, to pour oil and make gild chickens on all the faces. To make heat the bubble and sprinkle the gilded poultries with it. To leave simmer. Cooking is finished when the meat became tender. To then serve chickens in a dish that one can furnish with salads or sections of plantains.
P.S. Not really ox. In case you were worrying. Also, no bubbles will be harmed.
P.P.S. And no milk either.