Star Wars: Surprising Message of Hope

All thoughts are with Berlin. I had intended to make a wreath like the ones I saw in the Christmas market in Leicester Square. The events of yesterday have dulled that enthusiasm. The oranges and limes are still sitting in the fruit bowl.

I bought the fruit bowl at the May Day market in London’s Little Venice. The photos of the house boats festooned with decorations remain largely unused. Using those pictures didn’t seem right after the murder of British MP Jo Cox by a right-wing extremist. She was murdered on my younger son's birthday.

19^th December 2016 was not a good day. It was my birthday. No real celebration at my age. My younger son and I simply went to see the new Star Wars film, Rogue One, at the cinema. The Rebel Alliance were fighting the Evil Empire again. Artificial Intelligence rated the probability of succeeding as basically nil. Yet, humans still clung on to hope and fought. It was a shock to hear of the Christmas market events in Berlin afterwards.

As we offer our condolences to the bereaved and injured today, we should still hold on to our values and religious tolerance. London’s answer to terrorism has always been to carry on with daily life and cherish what is important. We hold on to a HOPE that transcends any religion that good will ultimately triumph over evil.

Star Wars Rogue One poster above Christmas Market, Leicester Square

French inspire Lumière London

London lit up...

... both with lights and smiling faces. 

London's first light festival fascinated both tourists and Londoners alike. The French-inspired Lumière London had everyone marvelling at light displays across the city. Even Sunday's early morning snow and a cold winter's night couldn't keep them off the streets.

I started my walk between light displays at Oxford Circus. It was great to be able to walk around Central London unimpeded by traffic. Sometimes progress was slow due to the sheer numbers out on the street - despite having all the road and pavements to walk on.

Normally if you lay down on your back in the middle of Oxford Circus, you can expect to be flattened by one or more double decker buses. Some spectators braved the cold road surface to get right underneath 1.8 London by Janet Echelman. The changing colours were glorious from any angle.

Light display hanging over Oxford Circus

Heading down Regent Street, I found my favourite musical light display, Keyframes. I loved the moving light figures on the front of Liberty House. This display was originally created by Groupe LAPS for the famous Fête des Lumières in Lyon, France.

Another Lyon creation appeared further down Regent Street and in Piccadilly. I found it fascinating to watch the movements of  Les Luminéoles. The fish floated and swooped above our heads, gradually changing colour. It was spectacular sight against the night sky in a very familiar street.

Further on down, there was another surprise... an enormous, noisy elephant. You could even see Catherine Garret's Elephantastic from the rear in Piccadilly. Eros and the lights in Piccadilly Circus aren't used to being upstaged by an elephant.

I struggled to make out the pictures on the more usual type of son et lumière in Piccadilly. When I reached St James Square, my smartphone went on strike. It refused point blank to take any more photos in front of Chatham House. It would not be coaxed back into action.

Sea of plastic in Trafalgar Square fountain

                                                                         

By Trafalgar Square, I realised that I could use my iPad camera instead. There were plastic bottles floating in the fountains. I preferred my native city's illustration of the perils of plastic in our oceans. I saw the Bristol Whales lit up at night last year. By 2050, the seas will contain more plastic than fish.

Bristol Whales at night

Highlighting plastic in our oceans

 

The Neon Dogs on The Strand were so popular that it took quite a while to get to the front. The brightly-lit dogs even had a few neon bones.

A longer walk took me to Westminster. It was amazing to see the familiar façade of Westminster Abbey displayed so differently. The lights picked out all the statues really well. 

Spectacularly lit Westminster Abbey

Next stop was Leicester Square. Here I found Shakespeare surrounded by a garden of light. 2016 marks the 400th Anniversary of his death. 

Shakespeare's statue in the middle of Leicester Square, London

The cinemas in front and to his left displayed Star Wars and The Hateful Eight. I wondered what he would have thought of such modern entertainments.

Shakespeare's view of Star Wars in Leicester Square

My last stop was in front a brightly-lit ballgown. As one bystander commented, it was a bit see-through to actually be worn.

Brightly lit ballgown with changing colours

It was well short of midnight. After such a fairytale night, this Cinderella's feet were aching. So she headed home. By tube, not pumpkin. 

Two Book Gift Reviews

Two books caught my eye in the Tate Modern’s gift shop on my recent visit. Firstly, I was delighted to find a book about translation within the vast range of books available. Nearby was a book that made me chuckle. It reminded me of my ending in How does a translator get geekier? 

Lost in Translation by Ella Frances Sanders

Lost in Translation is a delightful little book subtitled An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World. Other translators have already recommended this book. I wanted to stress the significance of finding such a delight outside our domain. The book was chosen to sit in that prime site near the tills at Christmas. It has great visual appeal. It made me think that translation has arrived.

Lost in Translation by Ella Frances Sanders

So many books about translation written by translators are text-heavy and barely contain any pictures. This simple little book restricts its choice of untranslatable words. The written explanations are brief. The pictures jump out at you. It makes translation a fascinating visual subject for the outsider.

My favourite word is the Japanese noun tsundoku. This describes leaving a book unread after buying it, typically piled up together with other unread books. An ideal word choice at the year’s end as I contemplate my pile of unread books to catch up on over the Christmas/New Year break.

Santa Claus and Reindeer

As this is Christmas Eve, I cannot fail to mention poronkusema. It means the distance a reindeer can comfortably travel before taking a break. Apparently, this is around 4.7 miles or 7.5 kilometres. Luckily, Santa Claus’s reindeer are magic and don’t need such frequent rests. Otherwise, there might be a lot of disappointed children around the world tomorrow morning.

As in past years, Norad is currently tracking the progress of Santa and his reindeer around the world. Google is also tracking Santa, but beware of the very irritating music. You can even find Santa on Twitter. See @OfficialSanta. I wonder if British astronaut Tim Peake has spotted him yet?

Star Wars: A Scanimation Book by Rufus Butler Seder

If you do not know that there is a new Star Wars film out, you must have been on another planet. 

Close to the Lost in Translation book, I discovered a children’s Scanimation book. It goes beyond illustrations. Encouraging children, especially boys, to read in this digital age is not always easy. This little book takes some famous scenes from the previous films and animates them. There is not a lot of text, but the movement and familiar characters draw you in.

It is a positive sign to find a translation book alongside one on Star Wars. We are succeeding in making our profession more visible. I wonder if we could persuade Rufus Butler Seder to animate translation next? If interested, you can find further information on Scanimation on YouTube.

Happy reading! Enjoy the Christmas and New Year break. I hope you enjoyed the change of tone in my light-hearted seasonal blog.