As any translator will tell you, translating a piece of fiction isn’t about simply transcribing words one-to-one from one language to another. It’s about capturing a vibe — making sure the tone and intent of the piece come through in words when a mere transliteration would fail. Common phrases in one language don’t exist in another; cultural references in one country mean nothing elsewhere, and so on. This is why a computerized translation is fine for a bland business email but will utterly fail for a novel.

The title of the Hungarian version of When the Moon Hits Your Eye is an example of this “translation, not transliteration” phenomenon. People in English-speaking countries know the title is a lyric from “That’s Amore,” a well-known standard most famously sung by Dean Martin. The title hits in a very specific way, because English-speaking folks have the context for the phrase and the song it’s embedded into. But it’s not a guarantee that the phrase hits the same way in other languages, or will have the same sense of play.

The solution Agave, my Hungarian publisher, and its translators, decided on: Change the title to Csak ​a hold az égen, which are lyrics in the 1995 song “Szállj el, kismadár,” which is the biggest hit from the biggest album of Republic, a well-known Hungarian band:

“Csak ​a hold az égen” translates to “Only the moon in the sky,” and it’s the first line of the chorus of the song — which is to say, the line everyone who is a fan of the band or the song will reflexively be able to sing. The song was a top ten hit in Hungary, and the album it was on was number one on the Hungarian charts for ten weeks.

Have I ever heard of “Csak ​a hold az égen,” or the band Republic? Until literally this morning, no! But the potential readers of this book in Hungary will almost certainly have heard of it, and it’s a good bet that it will invoke the same sort of vibe and feel in them that “When the moon hits your eye” has in English. And that is the point.

This is also why a human brain is important to attach to translation. A computerized translator can transliterate the phrase “when the moon hits your eye” into Hungarian (“Amikor a hold eléri a szemed,” or so Google says), but that title won’t hit the same way the localized title would. The computer isn’t a human. It doesn’t know.

This is one reason among many why my contracts for non-English language versions of my books now come with a clause that specifies the text has to be translated by actual humans. A computer translation, at its best, will just get you words. A human translator, at their best, will give you the feel. And the feel is actually important. The feel is what makes fiction work.

— JS

I love the idea of BBQ pulled pork sammiches but I hate shredding meat and I am trying really hard to find healthier, lower fat options that don’t replace meat with some highly processed junk full of unpronounceable ingredients. Unfortunately a lot of people seem to think that food is healthy purely because it’s plant based and that’s such BS. A lot of fake meat substitutes have so much other crap in them that they are frequently just as high in fat as meat and sometimes have an obscene amount of sodium in them and if I really want meat, I am just going to have it at this point. Several friends suggested the oyster mushroom pulled pork and they weren’t wrong, it’s absolutely fantastic. I plan on getting more mushrooms next payday to make either al pastor type tacos or pseudo chicken enchiladas. Or both. Probably both. And the oyster mushrooms were actually cheaper at the Asian grocery store than buying the same volume of pork so added bonus.

I served it on sesame buns w/ dill pickle slices and an excellent German potato salad (recipe will also get posted here) and yeah, this will be my go to from now on when I have a craving for BBQ sammiches. This made 4 good sized sammiches on the extra large buns.

• 5 king oyster mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (roughly)
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 – 3/4 teaspoons salt depending on taste
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• cooking spray
• BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray’s original)

1. Preheat oven to 400 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Clean the mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Using 2 forks shred the caps and stems into thin shreds, whatever your preferred thickness is.
2. In a bowl, drizzle the shredded mushrooms with olive oil, add the smoked paprika, salt, pepper, cayenne, and the garlic and onion powders and stir well to coat the mushrooms evenly.
3. Spread the mushrooms out evenly on the prepared baking sheet and roast in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the mushrooms get crispy and browned on the edges
4. Heat a large frying pan over med-high heat and spray with cooking spray. Once it’s hot, add in the mushrooms and some BBQ sauce and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes until the sauce thickens up and it smells good. I started with a small amount of BBQ sauce and then gradually added more until it was as saucy as I wanted.

Years ago in Kansas City, I had this goddamn amazing grilled cheese sammich with pulled pork and pepperjack cheese and I am absolutely going to make that with the mushrooms.

While I have nothing but the deepest possible respect for the Davids and Stephens Walters Gossin and Mercedes (Streeters, not Benzes) of the world who will happily toil on the rustiest, crustiest conveyances and convert them into driving expressions of their automotive taste, I absolutely cannot with wrenching on the sort of well-hammered hardware they get up to. I won’t even do it with project bicycles, let alone cars.

My wrenching zen comes from assembling and installing new or at least not-neglected pieces and parts, and when I used to while away my Sundays (was it Sundays?) with The Power Block, I was always much more envious of the guys who got to build up a fresh small-block with a flotilla of parts from JEGS than I was the poor souls doing their best to get a piston to budge in some lump rescued from the dump or possibly the bottom of a lake.

Extending that all-fresh-parts engine build into a whole car is the real dream, and I’ve been fascinated with the concept of kit-cars since kid-dom. This was due in no small part to Dad having a Beetle in the garage that, in five-year-old me’s imagination, could become an exotic sports car in, what, a weekend? How hard can it be? At least order the FREE pamphlet Dad, come on.

Lola Marauder? Let’s see how lo-la we can go-la. Fiberfab Jamaican? Ja-makin’ me crazy. How about a Sterling with the trick roof? Imagine dropping me off at school in that! What happens if the car rolls over? I dunno, just don’t roll over, problem solved.

Of course, one may want their fast-and-powerful-looking kit car to actually be fast and powerful, or at least faster and more powerful than the thrust and velocity a Beetle engine can provide – though I kind of like the silliness of it all, to be honest. But I get it, most people want show and go. Suppose we do that, but keep things Beetleish? I give you the Doyle Motor Works VeeDub ReDub:

“Looks great. What is it?” I’ll let Doyle Motor Works explain:

The VeeDub Redub Platform replaces the Beetle’s antique torsion spring suspension with modern double wishbone suspension.

Say goodbye to carburetors, distributors and valve adjustments. We’re using a modern VW engine now. The VeeDub Redub Platform is designed specifically to be powered by a Mk7 GTI engine and DSG transmission. Stock power is decent but throw a stage 2 tune at it and you’ll be over 300 horsepower.

​And you can build your own in just three steps!

Step 1 – Order a VeeDub ReDub Chassis
Step 2 – Obtain and Strip Mk7 GTI Donor
Step 3 – Obtain Beetle Body & Exterior Parts

Note, there may be more steps within each step. Probably definitely more steps.

Hey man, whatever it takes, it’ll be worth it. Building a VeeDub ReDub looks like it would be a lot of fun, and I gotta believe driving it is a hoot.

While I would certainly be satisfied with hot-Golf output in that rad (and no doubt featherweight) chassis, some of you may be scoffing at mere GTI-level power. Thankfully, there are ample kit offerings for those who want big cubes for their bespoke build. And all the better if it looks like you’re driving a spectacular piece of history, hence the proliferation of Shelby Cobra replicas. Factory Five has the whole Cobra thing dialed:

Gorgeous indeed, and the thought of uncrating all kinds of fabulous parts, spreading them out across four stalls’ worth of epoxy floor, and tucking into them with the entire contents of a Snap-On truck is the stuff dreams are made of … but if I’m doing the dreaming, I think I would can the Cobra in favor of another Factory Five, the GTM Supercar:

Man, that looks sweet, right?

OK, your turn! You’ve Got The Tools, Time, Cash, Space, And Skill To Build Your Own Car – What’ll It Be?

Top graphic image: Bring a Trailer

The post You’ve Got The Tools, Time, Cash, Space, And Skill To Build Your Own Car – What’ll It Be? appeared first on The Autopian.

Amazon now has full creative control of the James Bond franchise, and coincidence or not, it’s also hosting a great deal on nearly the entire catalog of films.

The collection containing 24 1080p Blu-rays, from Bond’s beginnings in Dr. No to the one of the more recent films, Spectre (No Time to Die didn’t make the cut before this collection hit shelves), is back down to its lowest price we’ve seen. Normally $114.99, you can grab it for $69.96.

If you have a 4K Blu-ray player and are itching to watch some James Bond movies, there isn’t a 4K version of this 24-disc collection (at least, yet). However, there’s also a deal on the 5-film Daniel Craig Collection at Amazon, where it’s 40% off its original price. It costs $53.69 (originally $89.99). It contains Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, Spectre, and No Time to Die.

It’s Presidents Day, when Americans celebrate the memory of George Washington (and other presidents) by handing out discounts on the three pillars of our economy: mattresses, cars, and memberships to your favorite websites. This year, in recognition of the many contributions of the Marquis de Lafayette to the cause of American freedom, we’re giving everyone a 5.04% discount on membership.

Is it possible that we just wanted a recognizable car number and so chose 5.04% and then worked backward to justify it in a way that seemed to fit with Presidents Day? Maybe! Whatever the reason, become a member of this website for a Peugeot-inspired price by clicking this link or using the code PUGPREZ at checkout.

As an independent media organization, membership is key to our survival. We don’t want to flood the page with ads or overwhelm you with slideshows at the end of every month. By getting a significant portion of our revenue from our readers we can focus on creating the posts you love.

And you get something out of it, too! Become a member and you’ll get more than just the warm feeling of being part of the ultimate community of car fans. You get stuff!

Become a Cloth member and get access to paywalled posts, special member emails, and early access to promotions and events. At the Vinyl level, you’ll also get a t-shirt and a sticker.

Velour members get all of that plus a sweet, sweet car badge and a birthday drawing. Rich Corinthian Leather, at $1,000, gets you a private tour of the Galpin car collection and some other random stuff.

Full membership details are here, and the coupon link is right here.

Happy Presidents Day!

The post Happy President’s Day! Get 5.04% Off Any Membership appeared first on The Autopian.