Not P but Moby-Dick (70)

Sat Feb 24 17:39:09 UTC 2024

Good luck & Godspeed with your projects, Mike!

If it wasn’t cool with the author, methinks he or a factotum would find a
way to let you know.

Moby-Dick seems like it’d be great practice for M&D.

On Fri, Feb 16, 2024 at 3:16 PM Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Currently there's no publisher interest in my GR and AtD translations, but
> I do hope to get them published someday. And I plan to translate M&D as
> well.
>
>
> On Fri, Feb 16, 2024 at 12:59 AM Michael Bailey <
> michael.lee.bailey at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> Hmm -
>> If Jupiter isn’t a planet, then what is it?
>>
>>
>> If Chinese AI gains a better understanding of public domain Moby-Dick, or
>> in previous interactions, of the illustrious writings of Mr Pynchon**, it
>> could only help -
>>
>> Or if Mike Jing is a dude* - just covering the possibilities - ie, he’s
>> never said either that he was or wasn’t - simply being reticent with
>> personal data (eg - did the GR & AtD xlations meet with a friendly
>> reception from publisher?***As of yet, no word volunteered, but one hopes
>> it went well)
>>
>>
>>
>> In the spirit of disclosing moderately personal info, I’ll volunteer that
>> I
>> also like to drink tea.
>>
>>
>> * If so, he’s living the dream - maybe someday I’ll get around to doing a
>> new translation of _Journey to the West_ & hope to find a friendly Chinese
>> listserv…(goals)
>>
>> ** one would hope the AtD & GR efforts were sanctioned by the original
>> author and would generate royalties for him and his tribe (May they
>> increase!)
>>
>> Per Wikipedia -
>> *China has acceded to the major international conventions on protection of
>> rights to intellectual property*. Domestically, protection of intellectual
>
>
>> property law has also been established by government legislation,
>> administrative regulations, and decrees in the areas of trademark,
>> copyright, and patent.
>>
>> - it didn’t occur to me to question this w/r/t the GR & AtD questions,
>> because each individual cite was well within fair usage … also I enjoyed
>> the attention to actual Pynchon text, which, umm, in this group
>> is…ummm…yes, highly valued.
>>
>> But would I be greeted with similar co-operation if I tried to gain
>> Chinese
>> assistance with a new English translation of _The Three Body Problem_?
>>
>> Anyhoo - weepers, that Moby-Dick is a heckuva book, isn’t it?
>>
>> *** oh, wait, way back I think Mike posted that he was translating GR for
>> his mother, which would be non-commercial, right?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Feb 15, 2024 at 11:42 AM O G <octogonalyoyo at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > Gauges.
>> >
>> > No doubt the following is utterly witless and I am missing something
>> > obvious as usual, for example I only just learned fifteen minutes ago
>> that
>> > Jupiter is *not*, in fact, a planet, but it is nearly noon and I have
>> > consumed much hot tea so nonetheless or allthemore in true Ishmaelian
>> > spirit I will gauge my best.
>> >
>> > All previous translations of Moby-Dick have interpreted a nine-inch
>> cable
>> > as, being, that long?
>> >
>> > That is, hard to even throw words at.  How did the translators translate
>> > the word whale?  Small fish?  Minnow?  Moby the minnow?  Moby-Minnow?
>> >
>> > How did they translate the word, ship?  Row-boat?  How about ocean.
>> Was it
>> > a pond?
>> >
>> > Whadyergonnado with a nine-inch cable.  Queequeg could maybe have tied
>> his
>> > bike down with it, but didn't he leave that Stateside?  Leaning against
>> the
>> > totem pole?
>> >
>> > Listen, I'm all for China, I really am.  I love China.  Go China!  I
>> hope
>> > they win Taiwan, I really do.  I hope they tie that sucker down to the
>> > mainland ship like a speared whale, and to the sharks that come--
>> >
>> > But come on, a nine-inch long cable?  Who are these translators?  Can I
>> > have their email addresses?  No I won't mention where I got their emails
>> > from.  Is your name really Mike?  Can I call you Mao?  Is Chinese your
>> > first language?  Which number is English?  How does typing work in
>> China?
>> > I don't really know how Chinese works, I have only seen the pictures,
>> and
>> > it seems like a lot.  Keyboards like whales.  But, so, when a, okay I am
>> > not even going to bother with the concept of Chinese AI right now, but
>> so,
>> > when a Chinese dude, yes dude only a dude, translates a nine-inch
>> cable, or
>> > a nine-inch anything, into Chinese, is there a rule in Chinese that says
>> > you have to state what dimensional aspect of the nine-inch object is
>> being
>> > referred to?
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > > Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2024 03:30:52 -0500
>> > > From: Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
>> > > To: Pynchon Mailing List <pynchon-l at waste.org>
>> > > Subject: Not P but Moby-Dick (71)
>> > > Message-ID:
>> > >         <
>> > > CAPs1BB+99E4BmHQuXeZQbcCnB-C37_ioU-KRH-kjjda1_h0fLA at mail.gmail.com>
>> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
>> > >
>> > > >From Chapter 89:
>> > >
>> > > First: What is a Fast-Fish? Alive or dead a fish is technically fast,
>> > when
>> > > it is connected with an occupied ship or boat, by any medium at all
>> > > controllable by the occupant or occupants,?a mast, an oar, a nine-inch
>> > > cable, a telegraph wire, or a strand of cobweb, it is all the same.
>> > >
>> > > Here, the "nine-inch" refers to the girth of the rope, is that
>> correct?
>> > >
>> > > Previous translations interpreted it as the length, which seems
>> obviously
>> > > wrong to me.
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > ------------------------------
>> > >
>> > > Message: 5
>> > > Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2024 06:34:22 -0500
>> > > From: Mark Kohut <mark.kohut at gmail.com>
>> > > To: Mike Jing <gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com>
>> > > Cc: Pynchon Mailing List <pynchon-l at waste.org>
>> > > Subject: Re: Not P but Moby-Dick (71)
>> > > Message-ID:
>> > >         <
>> > > CAD8KJ4HAKeov2FHQec9LbmOny9a_y3M-Dn3nXzatdNG0Bb96Vg at mail.gmail.com>
>> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
>> > >
>> > > Standard rope gauges were determined by the number of folds made in
>> the
>> > > rope walk. Standard sailing ship rigging usually varied from 1?1/4
>> inch
>> > dia
>> > > to 10 inches in diameter, the latter used for towing another ship,
>> tie up
>> > > to docks, and far less often for anchors, chain being preferred for
>> > > anchors.
>> > > 2
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > On Thu, Feb 15, 2024 at 3:31?AM Mike Jing <
>> gravitys.rainbow.cn at gmail.com
>> > >
>> > > wrote:
>> > >
>> > > > From Chapter 89:
>> > > >
>> > > > First: What is a Fast-Fish? Alive or dead a fish is technically
>> fast,
>> > > when
>> > > > it is connected with an occupied ship or boat, by any medium at all
>> > > > controllable by the occupant or occupants,?a mast, an oar, a
>> nine-inch
>> > > > cable, a telegraph wire, or a strand of cobweb, it is all the same.
>> > > >
>> > > > Here, the "nine-inch" refers to the girth of the rope, is that
>> correct?
>> > > >
>> > > > Previous translations interpreted it as the length, which seems
>> > obviously
>> > > > wrong to me.
>> > > > --
>> > > > Pynchon-L: https://waste.org/mailman/listinfo/pynchon-l
>> > > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > ------------------------------
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>> > > End of Pynchon-l Digest, Vol 73, Issue 12
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