The Gloryhole at 11,000 Feet

Read The Gloryhole at 11,000 Feet yesterday. Died from laughing! If you watched Smallville and visited its forum at Television Without Pity, you'll see what I mean.

The episode Memoria has just aired on Monday on my local TV. I've completely forgotten it because of my translation course. I only remembered it when my best friend called me last night to enthusing about it. It was one of the only three episodes that were worth watching in season three. Luckily, my friend hasn't taped over it yet so we're going to watch it again on Sunday. I'm so looking forward to it! Although our plan on Sunday was originally to talk about our next doujinshi :)

The Deer and the Cauldron

My translation lecturer on Monday mentioned Louis Cha (金庸)'s martial arts novel The Deer and the Cauldron (鹿鼎記) has been translated into English. (For people unfamiliar with martial arts fiction, Louis is the most celebrated AND the most popular writer in this genre and his works have been adapted into countless TV series and films). The translator John Minford said that translating it was even more difficult than translating the classics. I can totally see what he means.

I'm really curious how he solved all those seemingly impossible problems. So I went to the library today and borrowed the first volume. I haven't started reading it yet but I'm already bowled over by the extra bits the book has! It has a rather detailed map, a timeline of important historical event, a glossary of people and places, and a glossary of general terms. God, I really need to buy this book if only for reference in translating/writing about martial arts fiction.