Dawn

Dawn

Monday, July 05, 2004

A 65 year old man yesterday shot his wife with a hunting rifle and then turned it on himself. All this happened on the main street of a hilly town, providing the opportunity for a better-than-average photo shoot. The bodies were pictured lying a few yards apart, with blood from each of them cursing down the slope, though not quite intermingling.

It is one of the admirable features of Spanish life that mothers and daughters are often seen arm in arm. This can present some remarkable sights, with the daughter being 20 per cent taller but at least 50 per cent thinner. I’m told that, to achieve their low weight, the daughters subsist on a diet of cigarettes and fruit. One is left wondering at what point they throw in the towel and bow to the counter pull of at least some of the genetic factors. After the first child, perhaps.

FilmWatch
Here’s another batch of mutilated English film titles, courtesy of the huge Spanish dubbing industry. Occasionally it’s possible to discern some sort of reasoning for the mistranslation. More usually, one is left with the conclusion that somebody has a job to justify. It’s hard to believe the exact equivalents don’t exist in Spanish. Of course, it’s possible that the nuances of the English titles are missed:-
Legally blonde – A Very Legal Blonde
Murder by Numbers – Assassin 1-2-3
Teaching Mrs Tingle – Kidnapping Mrs Tingle
The Score – Master Hit
Backdraft – A Sudden Blaze
Short Cuts – Crossed Lives
About a Boy – A Big Boy
Lost Souls – Possessed
Operation Dumbo – Operation Elephant

WordWatch
Un holding – A holding company
Fresh – New. As in ‘Skoda’s fresh range of cars’
Un folklórico – A folk singer
Los Airbags – Breasts

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