Gross und Klein mit Cate Blanchett in Sydney Theatre

I was once again privileged and happily surprised to be drawn to a wonderful venue.

I booked my ticket a bit out of the blue during a CargoWise working trip in Sydney, and I was happily surprised to read in the program that one of my friend was sitting among the Sydney Theatre Councillors - I must have been really bored reading the fine prints while waiting for the curtain to be lift in order to come across such information. For all these fateful odd reasons, I felt immediately at home.

It was «the» Acting Performance from Australia National Actress, Cate Blanchett !

I don't know how she did it. She could only get this energy from energy she was renewing tough the passionate act of « acting »,

a display of multicolored, multi complexe e..motions

She could feel everything !

a real «tour de force», a one woman show, an acting prowess ... and much more

Gross und Klein is a postmodernist play by Botho Strauss which follows the character Lotte (Cate B.) as she journeys from location to location, seeking to understand modern life and her place within it. She deals with abandonment and alienation in fragmented worlds loosely sketched though a series of tableaux, each unique but recognizable by the modern spectator.

The scenes therefore were presented in a unconventional manner; all the best so that you cannot think 'comfortably' eh eh !!

She feels, they don't.

She is the only one sane... but she does not know it

The Blue Feather in Binna Burra

Binna Burra - Lamington National Park, Queensland, Australia

This week end, we decided to spend one night in Binna Burra Lodge. This used to be a favourite hub for bush walking before we had the children, but now that they are big enough, why not ?

One week computing around the clock + Brisbane Summer Heat lurking = Wotif.com Binna Burra. I found a last minute great deal, all inclusive, no cooking, and 5C cooler temperature, heaven!

We spent the night in a cabin entirely made of wood, including the roof tiles, and you could breathe it. We opened all windows equipped with mosquito nets. It had a strange alpine - tropical feeling.

As we arrived, we saw ... our neighbours there playing with their kids :) ... small world.

We started with the Cave walk - 7 kms, and the following day, we booked Abseiling and Flying Fox (see pictures) lessons. Our instructor was fantastic with kids, and guided us through overcoming any possible fear of height. He would talk each person through the whole descent, reassuringly. Both Josie and Oscar managed the 10 meters cliff descent in the National Park.

After that, we decided to continue on our own, cutting through the bush, back to the Lodge, following a nice path he had recommended. We stopped in a river bed to eat our pack lunches, then walk along ridges with breath-taking views, and Oscar found a Blue feather.

Back in the Lodge, as Paul was getting some water in the toilets for the road to Brisbane, I was heading towards the reception to ask if anyone would know where this feather come from? On my way, I saw the abseiling instructor, who was heading towards his motorbike going back home to his family as well. He said it was a Crimson Rosella Tail feather. As we walked along the car park, he said, wait ... I will show you something you can show your family.

He showed me a Bower Bird nest: quite unique ... the Bower bird collects blue bits and create a pattern on a 50 square centimetre nesting area on the ground. The purpose is to attract females ... as many as 10-12 per season that way.

Then, he left on his motorbike and told me: just as I like the bush being my office, I love riding a bike, because 'I can feel the elements'! ... better not think too much about such luxurious idea.

When Paul got the water, I called the kids and Paul, and we all went to see the Bower Bird nesting area... and lucky us: the Bower bird showed up !

I got a picture of him in the slide show below, you MAY be able to notice the blue metallic reflexion on his black feathers, quite unique.

My very last action was to put Oscar's blue feather behind a tree, with Oscar's permission, not far from the Bower bird nesting area, but hidden from the main track where a tourist may steel the feather.

Hopefully, the Bower Bird will find it.

True meaning in history, like in translation work ... takes time.

Simone de Beauvoir's Translation Revisited

Last night, I was privileged to be invited by AUSIT (National Australian Translators Association) to listen to two inspiring translators: Constance Borde and Sheila Malovany-Chevalier (French translators/lecturers from Science PÔ, France, US born) at the Unversity of Queensland.

They re-translated the Second Sex (Le Deuxième Sexe).

The Second Sex was published in 1949, and was highly instrumental to what Simone & Constance call the biggest revolution of this century: the Gender Revolution.

I insist in the word «Gender» because this is the whole point, and this is what the first attempt to translate Le Deuxième Sexe missed out !!!

Beauvoir's formulation that "One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman",  distinguishes the terms 'sex' and 'gender', with 'gender' being a cultural aspect of identity which is "gradually acquired", as opposed to "sex" you are born with.

The first translation of the book in English in the US was marketed and sold as a book about sex, and therefore the translation is missing out the message entirely. In the context of the 50's, for the general US public, it was a chance to finally buy a socially acceptable book about sex (bemol - the book is forbidden by the Vatican).

It has been commented in wiki that the 1953 English translation of The Second Sex is poor.
The delicate vocabulary of philosophical concepts is frequently mistranslated. Sheila and Constance explained last night that it was because in 1953, the public was expecting a book about Sex, not Gender, and even less Philosophy - they added 'especially coming from a woman'. For example, the word 'authentic' in the book is a philosophical term, and in English, it was plainly translated without philosophical meaning. The verb 'se poser' had been plainly translated as 'posed' instead of 'posit' (philosophical terminology).

Some plain mistakes had to be corrected: «la jeune fille» had been translated «the young girl» (colloquialism), when it should have been translated «a girl» (in general).

The translators respected the prose which according to them «has a grammar of its own and this grammar has a logic of its own» to be respected. Duty of care at its best.

They explained they also stripped out the over political correctness of some Gender expressions in later versions. They argue that it was in order to be more faithful to the text. I would argue that this 'as well' is a trend, but never mind, it is not easy.

In addition, 15 to 20% of the text had been cut by publisher's order, including Beauvoir's accounts of more than seventy historical figures, which goes precisely against the overall book message.

Some of the text had been 'mis-rendered' during the transcription: the translators found out that some words like « Comme » instead of « Contre » had been mis-transferred from the original document (poor hand writing apparently) to the typed version.

Although the publishers had been made aware of the problems with the English text, they long insisted that there was really no need for a new translation.

Simone de Beauvoir herself explicitly requested one in a 1985 interview: "I would like very much for another translation of The Second Sex to be done, one that is much more faithful; more complete and more faithful."

Like Jean-Paul & Simone, Sheila and Constance mirrors a long intellectual friendship that bore its fruits for us all to enjoy. The two US translators met in collège, taught alongside in Sciences Pô, Paris, and have now travelled around the world to explain and present their work of humanistic scope and consequences.

They explained they TOOK CARE of spending 4 years, researching and immersing themselves in the life of the philosopher, reading what Simone de Beauvoir was reading - some of these books very obscure and hard to find nowadays, they studied and/or met the influential people of her life, all in the sole purpose to understand her reference system and make to right translation decision!!! Brilliant!

They dispelled any chance of the audience showing scepticism about such endeavour. They said: this was the most enriching experience of our life.

She says:

...to carry off this supreme victory, men and women must, among other things and beyond their natural differentiations, unequivocally affirm their brotherhood (I like the word brotherhood, and I would KEEP it).

I am also so pleased to see efforts of being 'faithful translation' rather than 'audience based translation'. It is a highly discussable subject, but thanks God there are still academics not enslaved to publishers to make it even possible.

A great evening!!! More please ...