The Quebec Simpsons and fore-edge painting
The Quebec Dub. I think anyone who grew up on television has wondered at one point or another this same thing: what are shows are like in translation all over the world? How good a job do they do, consistently, translating the idiom of jokes, moods, and references, so that they hit the same way in other places? And what about accents? Tone? Are we, like, even watching the same show at that point? And unless I gain full native (and sort of residential/cultural) fluency in another language, how will I ever know what the differences feel like?
This amazing Twitter thread breaks down the dub of The Simpsons made for French-speaking Quebec vs. the dub made for French-speaking France.
Fore-edge painting! No reason why this shouldn’t become a thing again. Video and tweet below the still photo:
8. I like to scream when I work. This interview with audio artist Sharon Mashihi has given me chills each time I read it. Often when you ask someone who is very good at something for pro tips on how they approach their work, you get either pretty dead prose or pretty rote advice, or both. It’s not their fault - insight into how you work may or may not come easy, and the way you do things may or may not be useful for a reader to follow. It has no connection to or bearing on you as an artist or creator; it’s just an incredible bonus when in addition to your output there’s something there that others can draw from relating to method.
This is that rare instance where it’s thrilling to peek in to the artist’s world. And it’s concrete. And it gives you things you could try on for size.
Things I’ve Learned: Sharon Mashihi
Bonus banana: Fish sing together like birds and sing dawn and dusk choruses. Listen! And here’s a convincing appeal to go back to zines.
These are the bananas I found for you this week. You can hit “reply” to send me something, and the email will go only to me. You can buy me a coffee for the troubles using coins, cash, or this handy site. If you are hungry to help this thing grow, you could also share it with a friend, colleague, or enemy, or send a tweet to the platform, Substack, to suggest that they could feature this newsletter in a shoutout. Thank you.