Month / February 2024

by EditorM

Creative alternatives to translation

I recall a memoirish article by someone who had been a simultaneous-translation officer at the UN. They recounted most proudly the occasion when they were doing the key Russian-to-English translation for a top Soviet official, who made a point using a very familiar (to Russians) quoted phrase from Pushkin [I’m guessing at this memory], and our protagonist came up with a Shakespeare phrase covering much the same idea, which they substituted! On the fly! [Or maybe they saw a written text just before going on?] Gosh, I hope it wasn’t That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain.

Well, whatever issues that sort of thing may present for literalist fans, there is no problem if an artist or writer is doing their own translation; or, indeed, preparing versions in different languages without picking out an “original” and a “translation”. And since these paired Macanudo strips give the sources for the quotations, this is a fine thing.

I didn’t know anything about Charly García, but here’s Wikipedia to the rescue.

Oh, and with some help from Google Translate, the Charly García line put in English could be “This is endurance”, and the Gloria Gaynor line put in Spanish could be “[Yo] Sobreviviré”.


CIDU QUEUE REMINDER

As always — but it needs saying explicitly again now and then — we like to think of this as a reader-participation site, and not just for your invaluable (or anyhow amusing) comments, but for suggestions of comics to run and discuss.

Please share your specific suggestions of panels or strips, in CIDU, LOL, and OY categories, either by direct email to

(that’s “CIDU.Submissions” at gmail dot com), or by using the handy-dandy Suggest A CIDU form page!

by multipleciduers

Sunday Funnies – LOLs, February 18th, 2024

And a less-vintage Bizarro

Thanks to Darren for sending this Andertoons:

We’re all still chuckling over the Sturm und Drang inboxes; but Darren also raises a question whether there is some sort of art trickery going on — like a different face showing up if you invert the picture. Well, it doesn’t seem to be exactly that; but maybe something similar?

This remains a semi-CIDU, as most of the allusions are obscure to an outsider; yet the jokes are clear enough once the basic point is caught that this depends on something about the ninja turtles. 

Finally!

Yes, finally we get the correct form of this joke! (Compare the Eyebeam discussed at https://cidu.info/2023/09/10/sunday-funnies-lols-september-10th-2023 )

Some months ago CIDU was asked to remove all the Far Side comics from our site, and we did so.

It’s their intellectual property, and they are within their rights. Certainly there are many social media sites trying to attract attention with Far Side cartoons, and it must be like Whack-A-Mole to reign those in. Still, they are missed, and Dave Whamond’s comic here is a reminder to check out the legit site for old and new work from Larson: https://www.thefarside.com/new-stuff

CIDU QUEUE REMINDER

As always — but it needs saying again now and then — we like to think of this as a reader-participation site, and not just for your invaluable (or anyhow amusing) comments, but for suggestions of comics to run and discuss.

Please share your specific suggestions of panels or strips, in CIDU, LOL, and OY categories, either by direct email to

(that’s “CIDU.Submissions” at gmail dot com) or by using the handy-dandy Suggest A CIDU form page!

by CIDU Bill

Circle of Ice

id heartbroken.JPG

Kilby writes: This “Wizard of Id” strip was taken from an unnamed draft post that CIDU Bill created in 2019. I initially thought that it was supposed to be a reference to the song “Circle of Life” (from Disney’s “The Lion King”), but comparing the guard’s dialog with the song’s lyrics did not produce a satisfactory match.

Am I missing something, or does anyone have a better suggestion?

by Kilby

Lincoln’s Birthday

Abraham Lincoln was one of H.T. Webster‘s personal heroes, and today would have been his 215th birthday. Whenever an appropriate weekday series was scheduled for February 12th, Webster occasionally took the opportunity to draw a birthday tribute. This example (taken from “The Best of H.T. Webster“, page 253) originally appeared in 1919 (on what would have been Lincoln’s 110th birthday):

This video from the Smithsonian Magazine shows a couple of alternate designs that were proposed for the Lincoln Memorial, along with five surprising facts:
1) Lincoln was an accomplished wrestler; and …
2) … is the only President to hold a patent for his own invention;
3) … stored papers in his top hat;
4) … attended seances in the White House; and
5) … established the Secret Service.

by Kilby

Stupor Bowl LoL

This cartoon by Travor Spaulding was originally published in The New Yorker four years ago, but it is still appropriate for today:

Jeff Millar wrote, and Bill Hinds drew this Tank McNamara strip as part of a widespread tribute to Charles Schulz on 27-May-2000:


Coincidentally, this year’s event (LVIII) will be the first ever held in (or at least near) Las Vegas, Nevada.