For notifications of new posts on language, translation, energy and culture, you can subcribe to our blog, with comments and discussion of articles very welcome on our social media accounts.
The Madhouse Effect book jacket

The Madhouse Effect out now – the book Trump doesn’t want you to read

/in , , /by

Madhouse Effect book jacketFollowing US President Donald Trump’s visit to the UK in the midst of a heatwave and the ball-kicking fest of the World Cup, the laughter and tears are flowing with the timely release of the revised 2018 edition of The Madhouse Effect. This work, a lively synthesis of science and cartoons, rips the mask off the climate change deniers, having been updated with new content for the era of the Trump regime.

The Madhouse Effect: How climate change denial is threatening our planet, destroying our politics, and driving us crazy features an outstandingly authoritative text by award-winning climate scientist Michael E. Mann and contains cartoons by prize-winning USA political cartoonist Tom Toles. It is ideally suited for both the layman and general reader struggling to see through the haze of misinformation on these vital issues. In an article titled Burning Down The House, the Washington Monthly named this “The book Donald Trump does not want you to read.”
Continue reading full article…

Extrembügeln

Extreme Ironing / Extrembügeln

/in , , , /by

As evidenced by the photo below from August 2014, our visitors from Germany took their ironing duties quite seriously, in the knowledge that Extreme Ironing was in fact invented in Leicester. Needless to say, we have the book, as shown on the table in the photo.

Extreme ironing has not yet translated into a professional sport sponsored by manufacturers of irons or ironing boards, although the German language once again demonstrates efficiency by condensing the translation of extreme ironing down to just one word, albeit a compound word.

For further edification see the fascinating article under the heading  The Finely Pressed, Death-Defying World of Extreme Ironing.

Deutsche Infos zum Extrembügeln gibt es auf Wikipedia.

Extrembügeln

Rhinoceros sign Russell Square LondonHET

Rhinoceros charging in Great Russell Street

/in , , /by

Report by HE Translations director Herbert Eppel

VW beetle car in British Museum
The other day I went so see the Germany: Memories of a Nation exhibition at the British Museum. Somehow I wasn’t entirely convinced by it, with doubts similar to those expressed by translator colleague Margaret Marks in a review on her blog. Still, it was interesting, and I hadn’t been to the British Museum for ages – the roof is stunning, and something of a technical achievement!
Continue reading full article…