viernes, 30 de diciembre de 2022

TSQ-IV LIKE NEVER BEFORE!!!

 The edition of The Snow Queen I have wished for and will get for Wise Men's or 31st birthday gift this year, published by Edelvives here in Spain and by Albin Michel Jeunesse in its original France for both publishing companies' lineup or series of Illustrated Classics, has the GOAT (Greatest Of All Times) of Fourth Stories adapted directly from the source material. Illustrations by Aliocha Gouverneur with a really good-looking golden-haired Clever Princess and nutbrown-haired Dashing Prince in Slavic garb, robed in autumn leaves and precious gems (just overlook the mildly racist for our day ethnic manservant, anyway, they had ethnic servants for exotism at early modern royal courts!) accompany Louis Moland's 1873 public domain translation (from the Danish?) in the French edition published by Albin Michel Jeunesse, and a brand new (2022) translation by Alejandro Tobar in the Spanish edition published by Edelvives. Gouverneur is not only influenced by Slavic art, but also by Art Nouveau and Symbolism.

And thus, without further ado, may I introduce my favourite subplot told like never before!



Traduction de Louis Moland.
Garnier, 1873


La Reine des Neiges/4


QUATRIÈME HISTOIRE

PRINCE ET PRINCESSE





Dans le royaume où ... règne une princesse qui a de l’esprit comme un ange. C’est qu’elle a lu toutes les gazettes qui s’impriment dans l’univers, et surtout qu’elle a eu la sagesse d’oublier tout ce qu’elle y a lu. Dernièrement, elle était assise sur son trône, et par parenthèse il paraît qu’être assis sur un trône n’est pas aussi agréable qu’on le croit communément et ne suffit pas au bonheur. Pour se distraire, elle se mit à chanter une chanson : la chanson était par hasard celle qui a pour refrain

Pourquoi donc ne me marierai-je pas ?

«Mais en effet, se dit la princesse, pourquoi ne me marierai-je pas ? » Seulement il lui fallait un mari qui sût parler, causer, lui donner la réplique. Elle ne voulait pas de ces individus graves et prétentieux, ennuyeux et solennels. Au son du tambour, elle convoqua ses dames d’honneur et leur fit part de l’idée qui lui était venue. « C’est charmant, lui dirent-elles toutes ; c’est ce que nous nous disons tous les jours : pourquoi la princesse ne se marie-t-elle pas ?

Donc, les journaux du pays, bordés pour la circonstance d’une guirlande de cœurs enflammés entremêlés du chiffre de la princesse, annoncèrent que tous les jeunes gens d’une taille bien prise et d’une jolie figure pourraient se présenter au palais et venir deviser avec la princesse : celui d’entre eux qui causerait le mieux et montrerait l’esprit le plus aisé et le plus naturel, deviendrait l’époux de la princesse.
Oui, oui, c’est comme cela que les choses se passèrent ;

Les jeunes gens accoururent par centaines. Mais ils se faisaient renvoyer l’un après l’autre. Aussi longtemps qu’ils étaient dans la rue, hors du palais, ils babillaient comme des pies. Une fois entrés par la grande porte, entre la double haie des gardes chamarrés d’argent, ils perdaient leur assurance. Et quand des laquais, dont les habits étaient galonnés d’or, les conduisaient par l’escalier monumental dans les vastes salons, éclairés par des lustres nombreux, les pauvres garçons sentaient leurs idées s’embrouiller ; arrivés devant le trône où siégeait majestueusement la princesse, ils ne savaient plus rien dire, ils répétaient piteusement le dernier mot de ce que la princesse leur disait, ils balbutiaient. Ce n’était pas du tout l’affaire de la princesse.





On aurait dit que ces malheureux jeunes gens étaient tous ensorcelés et qu’un charme leur liait la langue. Une fois sortis du palais et de retour dans la rue, ils recouvraient l’usage de la parole et jasaient de plus belle.

Ce fut ainsi le premier et le second jour. Plus on en éconduisait, plus il en venait ; on eût dit qu’il en sortait de terre, tant l’affluence était grande. C’était une file depuis les portes de la ville jusqu’au palais.

Ceux qui attendaient leur tour dans la rue eurent le temps d’avoir faim et soif. Les plus avisés avaient apporté des provisions ; ils se gardaient bien de les partager avec leurs voisins : « Que leurs langues se dessèchent ! pensaient-ils ; comme cela ils ne pourront pas dire un mot à la princesse ! » 
Quand parut-il ? Était-il parmi la foule ?

Nous arrivons justement à lui. Le troisième jour on vit s’avancer un petit bonhomme qui marchait à pied. Beaucoup d’autres venaient à cheval ou en voiture et faisaient les beaux seigneurs. Il se dirigea d’un air gai vers le palais. Ses yeux brillaient. Il avait de beaux cheveux longs. Mais ses habits étaient assez pauvres.

Il portait sur son dos une petite valise…

La vérité, c'est qu'ayant atteint la porte du château, il ne fut nullement intimidé par les suisses, ni par les gardes aux uniformes brodés d’argent, ni par les laquais tous galonnés d’or. Lorsqu’on voulut le faire attendre au bas de l’escalier, il dit : « Merci, c’est trop ennuyeux de faire le pied de grue. » Il monta sans plus attendre et pénétra dans les salons illuminés de centaines de lustres. Il n’en fut pas ébloui. Là, il vit les ministres et les excellences qui, chaussés de pantoufles pour ne pas faire de bruit, encensaient le trône. Les bottes du jeune intrus craquaient affreusement. Tout le monde le regardait avec indignation. Il n’avait pas seulement l’air de s’en apercevoir.


Oui, elles faisaient un bruit diabolique. Lui, comme si de rien était, marcha bravement vers la princesse, qui était assise sur une perle énorme, grosse comme un coussin. Elle était entourée de ses dames d’honneur qui avaient avec elles leurs suivantes. Les chevaliers d’honneur faisaient cercle également : derrière eux se tenaient leurs domestiques, accompagnés de leurs grooms. C’étaient ces derniers qui avaient l’air le plus imposant et le plus rébarbatif. Le jeune homme ne fit même pas attention à eux.
— Ce devait pourtant être terrible que de s’avancer au milieu de tout ce beau monde !  Mais finalement il a donc épousé la princesse ?

Il parla aussi spirituellement... ... comment l’entrevue se passa. Le nouveau venu fut gai, aimable, gracieux. Il était d’autant plus à l’aise qu’il n’était pas venu dans l’intention d’épouser la princesse, mais pour vérifier seulement si elle avait autant d’esprit qu’on le disait. Il la trouva charmante, et elle le trouva à son goût.
Écoute, ne pourrais-tu pas m’introduire au palais ?

 ... dans les beaux appartements du palais.

 Eh bien ! allons, le château n’est pas loin ; à la grille. »

 le petit pain que voici, il l’a pris à l’office où il y a tant et tant de pains, ... Quant à entrer au palais, il n’y faut pas penser :  Les gardes chamarrés d’argent, les laquais vêtus de brocart ne le souffriraient pas. C’est impossible. ... un escalier dérobé par où l’on arrive à la chambre nuptiale, et où en trouver la clef. »

dans le parc par la grande allée, et de même que les feuilles des arbres tombaient l’une après l’autre, de même, sur la façade du palais les lumières s’éteignirent l’une après l’autre. à une porte basse qui était entre-bâillée.

... s’avançait dans l’ombre furtivement. ... était bien là. ... Le signalement donné ... ne ...  paraissait pas applicable à un autre.  Les yeux vifs et intelligents, les beaux cheveux longs, la langue déliée et bien pendue, comme on dit, tout ... désignait ...

... montèrent l’escalier. En haut se trouvait une petite lampe allumée sur un meuble. ... était sur le sol, ...

On voyait, en effet, se dessiner sur la muraille des ombres de chevaux en crinières flottantes, aux jambes maigres, tout un équipage de chasse, des cavaliers et des dames sur les chevaux galopants.

« Ce sont des fantômes  ; ils viennent chercher les pensées de Leurs Altesses pour les mener à la chasse folle des rêves. Cela n’en vaut que mieux. Le prince et la princesse se réveilleront moins aisément, et on aura le temps de les mieux considérer. 

dans une première salle, dont les murs étaient tendus de satin rose brodé de fleurs. Les Rêves y passèrent, s’en revenant au galop, mais si vite, qu'on n’eut pas le temps de voir les pensées de Leurs Altesses, qu’ils emmenaient. Puis dans une autre salle, puis dans une troisième, l’une plus magnifique que l’autre. Oui, certes, il y avait de quoi perdre sa présence d’esprit en voyant ce luxe prodigieux.

Les voici enfin dans la chambre à coucher. Le plafond en cristal formait une large couronne de feuilles de palmier. Au milieu s’élevait une grosse tige d’or massif, qui portait deux lits semblables à des fleurs de lis : l’un blanc, où reposait la princesse ; l’autre couleur de feu, où reposait le prince. On releva une des feuilles jaune-rouge, qu’on rabaissait le soir ; on vit la nuque du dormeur, dont les bras cachaient le visage. cette nuque légèrement brune, ... tenant la lampe en avant pour qu’il ... vît en ouvrant les yeuxLes fantômes du rêve arrivèrent au triple galop, ramenant l’esprit du jeune prince. Il s’éveilla, tourna la tête.


Le prince ne laissait pourtant pas d’être un joli garçon. Voilà que la princesse avança sa gentille figure sous les feuilles de lis blanches, et demanda qui était là. « Pauvre petite ! » firent le prince et la princesse attendris. Et ils complimentèrent les deux braves bêtes, les assurèrent qu’ils n’étaient pas fâchés de ce qu’elles avaient fait contre toutes les règles de l’étiquette ; mais leur disant qu’elles ne devaient pas recommencer. Ils leur promirent même une récompense : « Voulez-vous un vieux clocher où vous habiterez toutes seules, ou préférez-vous être élevées à la dignité de corneilles de la chambre, qui vous donnera droit sur tous les restes de la table ? »


Le prince sortit de son lit et y laissa reposer. C’est tout ce qu’il pouvait faire pour elle. ... avec gratitude, «... que les hommes ... ont de la bonté pour ... ! » 
Le lendemain on l’habilla, de la tête aux pieds, de velours et de soie. La princesse lui proposa de rester au château, pour y passer sa vie au milieu des fêtes. ... n’eut garde d’accepter ; elle demanda une petite voiture avec un cheval, et une paire de bottines, pour reprendre son voyage à travers le monde, à la recherche ....
Elle reçut de jolies bottines, et de plus un manchon. Lorsqu’elle fut au moment de partir, elle trouva dans la cour un carrosse neuf, tout en or, armorié aux armes du prince et de la princesse. Les coussins étaient rembourrés de biscuits ; la caisse était remplie de fruits et de pain d’épice. Le cocher, le groom et le piqueur, car il y avait aussi un piqueur, avaient des costumes brodés d’or et une couronne d’or sur la tête.



Le prince et la princesse aidèrent eux-mêmes à monter en voiture et lui souhaitèrent tout le bonheur possible. 
« Adieu, adieu, mignonne ! » dirent le prince et la princesse. Bientôt on eut fait trois lieues.


... le carrosse, qui brillait comme un vrai soleil.
............................................................................................................................

CINQUIÈME HISTOIRE

LA PETITE FILLE DES BRIGANDS





On arriva dans une forêt sombre ; mais on y voyait très clair à la lueur que jetait le carrosse. Cette lumière attira une bande de brigands, qui se précipitèrent comme les mouches autour de la flamme : « Voilà de l’or, de l’or pur ! » s’écriaient-ils, et ils saisirent les chevaux, tuèrent cocher, groom et piqueur ...
« Je veux entrer dans la voiture, » dit la petite fille des brigands ; et il fallut se prêter à son caprice, car elle était gâtée et entêtée .... et on s’avança dans les profondeurs de la forêt. 
On marchait toujours. Enfin la voiture s’arrêta : on était dans la cour d’un vieux château à moitié en ruine, qui servait de repaire aux bandits. À leur entrée, des vols de nombreux corbeaux s’envolèrent avec de longs croassements.
...
Dans la grande salle toute délabrée brûlait sur les dalles un grand feu ; la fumée s’élevait au plafond et s’échappait par où elle pouvait. Sur le feu bouillait un grand chaudron avec la soupe ; des lièvres et des lapins rôtissaient à la broche.

.........................................................................................................

SEPTIÈME HISTOIRE

LE PALAIS DE LA REINE DES NEIGES


Tout-à-coup, ... aperçut sur un cheval magnifique qu’elle reconnut (c’était celui qui était attelé au carrosse d’or), une jeune fille coiffée d’un bonnet rouge. Dans les fontes de la selle étaient des pistolets. C’était la petite brigande. Elle en avait eu assez de la vie de la forêt. Elle était partie pour le Nord, avec le projet, si elle ne s’y plaisait pas, de visiter les autres contrées de l’univers.
...
 ... demanda ce qu’étaient devenus le prince et la princesse. « Ils voyagent à l’étranger, » répondit la fille des brigands.




------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Traducción de Alejandro Tobar (Fragmentos)




CUARTA HISTORIA
PRÍNCIPE Y PRINCESA


En este reino en que nos encontramos vive una princesa con una inteligencia formidable, formidable hasta el punto de que ha leído todos los periódicos del mundo y los ha vuelto a olvidar: así de lista es. Al parecer, estaba hace poco sentada en el trono, lo cual es bastante aburrido, cuando de pronto se puso a tararear una canción, ésta: "¿Y si decidiera casarme? Sí, ¿por qué no?" Y con la misma se empeñó en la idea, pero debía ser con un hombre que supiera qué responder cada vez que ella le hablara, alguien que fuera algo más que una percha de buen porte, porque no hay nada más aburrido. Así pues, la princesa convocó a todas las damas de la corte, y éstas, al conocer las intenciones de la princesa, se alegraron.
"¡Qué bien!" dijeron. "A mí también se me ocurrió no hace mucho".
... (Tobar traduce "navnetræk" como "el monograma" donde Moland tiene "le chiffre")


Se presentaron muchos candidatos, se produjeron carreras y aglomeraciones, pero no hubo suerte ni el primer ni el segundo día. Fuera, en la calle, todos sabían hablar muy bien, pero tan pronto como atravesaban la puerta del palacio y veían a los guardias vestidos con uniformes plateados y, apostados en los escalones, a los lacayos con trajes dorados, y grandes y luminosos salones, uno tras otro se azoraban; una vez delante del trono en donde se hallaba la princesa, tan solo eran capaces de pronunciar la última palabra dicha por ella, cosa que ella no tenía ningún interés en volver a escuchar. Era como si ... se hubieran amodorrado, un efecto que no cesaba hasta que regresaban a la calle; entonces sí, volvían a expresarse sin ningún problema.
...
Fue al tercer día cuando se presentó en el lugar una personita sin montura ni carro, quien con andar ufano se dirigió al palacio. Sus ojos brillaban ... y su pelo era largo y hermoso, ¡pero su ropa lucía ajada!
¡Llevaba un pequeño fardo a la espalda!
...
Debió de expresarse ... bien ... Se mostró galante y apuesto, pero no se había presentado para postularse como pretendiente, sino simplemente para gozar de la inteligencia de la princesa, ¡y vaya si lo hizo!, al igual que ella gozó de la de él.

...
Él se despertó, volvió la cabeza...
...
Era joven y guapo.
...
"¡Qué buenos son los seres humanos ... !"
...
Los estandartes del príncipe y la princesa brillaban igual que una estrella. Cochero, criados y postillones (incluso había postillones) lucían coronas de oro.
El príncipe y la princesa ... ayudaron a subir al vehículo y ... desearon la mejor de las suertes.
...
El interior del carruaje estaba forrado por rosquillas de azúcar y en los asientos había frutas y galletas de repostería.
---¡Adiós, adiós! ---gritaban el príncipe y la princesa.



QUINTA HISTORIA

LA PEQUEÑA BANDOLERA


Atravesaron el corazón del oscuro bosque, y el carruaje centelleaba como una antorcha capaz de herir los ojos de los salteadores de caminos, de tal manera que no podían soportarlo.
---¡Es oro! ¡Es oro! ---gritaron los bandoleros, que arremetieron contra el vehículo, frenaron los caballos, acabaron con la vida de postillones, cochero y criados ...



SÉPTIMA HISTORIA
LO QUE SUCEDIÓ ANTES Y DESPUÉS EN EL PALACIO DE LA REINA DE LAS NIEVES 


... el bosque mostró sus primeros brotes verdes y de estos surgió un hermoso corcel que ... (el mismo que había tirado de la carroza de oro), montado por una joven con un gorro rojo en la cabeza y pistolas al cinto. Se trataba de la pequeña bandolera, quien, aburrida de estar en casa, había puesto rumbo al norte, y, si por acaso no quedaba satisfecha, quizá luego a otras regiones.
...
Pero ... la interrumpió al ... preguntarle por el príncipe y la princesa.
---¡Se han ido de viaje al extranjero! ---contestó la joven bandolera.






lunes, 26 de diciembre de 2022

WHY TIME FLIES WHEN YOU'RE HAVING FUN

"Pleasure and action make the hours seem short," says Iago in Shakespeare's Othello. For coming from the mouth of a villain, this is one of the great truths of life. But are there any biochemical reasons why it should be so?

Theory 1: Retrospective Time Perception or Retrospective Timing (Using Brain's Memory Traces)

Writing in the August issue of the Psychologist, Israeli psychologist Dan Zakay explains why a watched pot never boils, why time flies when you’re having fun.

It has to do, says Zakay, with “one of the most important aspects of psychological time” — our imperfect and biased perception of duration.

We perceive time either retrospectively (by using the brain’s memory traces) or prospectively (by using the brain’s attentional mechanisms), and several factors affect each of these very different processes, explains Zakay.

When awareness of time is not important (when we’re reading a good book or enjoying the company of friends, for example), any time-duration estimation of the activity will be retrospective, Zakay says. Research has also shown that the length of our retrospective estimates of time intervals tend to rely on how much information we processed during the interval. The more information we processed (the greater the attentional demands of the experience), the longer we judge the amount of time that passed.

Imagine you try to recall how long a film was, or how much time it took you to type a report. In such cases the interval itself doesn’t exist any more; what is left of it are only memory traces. The outcome is ‘retrospective duration’.

The main model that explains retrospective timing is called the ‘contextual change model’. The idea is that our cognitive system is trying to retrieve from memory all the data we stored there during the target-interval whose duration we are trying to estimate. Retrospective estimation of a past event’s duration is based on the naive assumption that the more data that was stored in memory during an interval, the longer that interval should be. Thus, retrospective estimation of duration assigns longer durations for intervals when the amount of retrieved information is high, than for intervals for whom the amount of respectively retrieved information is low.

The problem is that in reality, during identical clock-time intervals, more or less information can be stored in memory depending on factors other than actual duration itself. One factor is the intensity of information processing in which one is engaged. For example, when one is asked to solve difficult arithmetic problems such as complex multiplication, more data will be stored in memory as compared with a same clock-time interval during which one is asked to perform simple addition problems. The result will be that the retrospective ‘multiplication interval’ will be estimated to be longer than the ‘addition interval’. In a classic study, Ornstein (1975), presented participants with either a simple or a very complex figure (a circle or an irregular polygon, respectively) and asked them to memorise them. Later on the participants were asked to retrospectively estimate the exposure duration of each figure. Though exposure was identical in terms of clock-time, those participants who were exposed to the simple figure estimated exposure duration to be significantly shorter when compared to participants exposed to complex figures:?much less information needed to be stored in memory.

A second factor is the amount of contextual changes occurring during the interval. The reason is that contextual changes (e.g. changes in background noise or level of lighting in room) are encoded and stored in memory alongside any other task-related information. While trying to make a retrospective estimation of duration, contextual changes are retrieved together with other information types, thus compounding the overall amount of retrieved information. Block and Read’s (1978) experiment involved participants engaging in identical information-processing tasks for a fixed interval. Some participants were exposed to changes in room lighting, the other participants were not exposed to any contextual changes. Consequently, the group exposed to change estimated the duration of the target interval as significantly longer than those not exposed.

A third factor refers to the level of segmentation into meaningful sub-intervals. The more an interval is segmented, the longer its retrospective duration estimation will be (Poynter, 1983). Intervals are segmented by high-priority events (HPEs), which attract attention, are stored in memory and are easily retrieved later on. Such HPEs act as cues, facilitating the retrieval of information from memory, thus enabling the retrieval of a larger amount of information leading to longer retrospective duration estimations. Contextual changes are most probably acting as HPEs.

Indeed, Block and Read (1978) suggested that changes in the type of information that should be processed, the context or the mood one experiences during an interval have a high probability of being retrieved, and they concluded that retrospective duration judgement is actually based on the amount of changes of any sort that occurred during the target interval. This is an interesting conclusion because it suggests that the notion of retrospective time is very similar to the notion of physical time: they both reflect change, which might be mental or physical, respectively. The ‘Filled-Time Illusion’ (Wearden et al., 2007), which refers to the common experience that in retrospect intervals filled with intensive mental activity are recalled as longer than same clock-time intervals that were 'empty' of mental activity.

When you recall the duration of a past experience you must rely on your memory of the event – “retrospective timing”. The main psychological model that explains retrospective timing is the “contextual change model”. You estimate the duration of the event by recalling the data stored in your memory of the event. The more data stored, the longer the estimation of the duration of the event.

However, different amounts of information can be stored in memory during identical clock-time intervals, depending on several factors, eg the intensity of the information processing in which one is engaged. The higher the intensity, the longer the duration seems to be. In a classic experiment, participants were asked to memorise either a simple [a circle] or complex figure . Although the clock-time allocated to each task was identical, participants later estimated the duration of memorising the complex shape to be significantly longer than for the simple shape.


Other factors that lengthen retrospective timing estimations are the amount of contextual changes that occur during the interval, or the level of interval segmentation into sub-intervals. These are interpreted by the contextual change model simply as adding to the amount of information stored in memory.


Theory 2: Dopamine

The dopamine clock hypothesis holds that increased dopamine release speeds up an animal’s subjective sense of time—its internal clock. For example, rats treated with amphetamine, which enhances dopamine release, respond earlier than when they are tested without the drug. Curiously, a simple prediction of the dopamine clock hypothesis would seem to be that time doesn’t fly, but rather crawls, when you’re having fun. Unexpectedly pleasurable events boost dopamine release, which should cause your internal clock to run faster. Your subjective sense of time in that case grows faster than time itself, so that short intervals seem longer than they are. The dopamine clock hypothesis accounts for this counterintuitive prediction by an additional assumption about attention: When things are good, attention to time is reduced, such that intervals seem shorter than they are (5).

To clarify the role of dopamine in interval timing, Soares et al. investigated midbrain dopamine neuron activity in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) of mice performing a timing task. They presented mice with two brief tones, and trained them to classify the interval between the tones as shorter or longer than a standard criterion. They then observed calcium influx into dopaminergic SNc neurons, which signals activity. Consistent with standard reinforcement learning theory, the authors observed bursts of activity in dopamine-synthesizing neurons that were locked to the second tone, reflecting the probability of an upcoming reward. This probability was greatest when the in-tertone duration was much shorter or much longer than the criterion—i.e., when the duration could be easily discriminated from the intermediate, criterion duration.

Again, in rodents, Paton and his colleagues found that a set of neurons that releases the neurotransmitter dopamine — an important chemical involved in feeling rewarded — impacts how the brain perceives time. When you're having fun, these cells are more active, they release a lot of dopamine and your brain judges that less time has passed than actually has. When you're not having fun, these cells don't release as much dopamine, and time seems to slow down.

Paton and his colleagues found that a set of neurons that release the neurotransmitter dopamine — an important chemical involved in feeling rewarded — impacts how the brain perceives time. When you're having fun, these cells are more active, they release a lot of dopamine and your brain judges that less time has passed than actually has. When you're not having fun, these cells don't release as much dopamine, and time seems to slow down.

lunes, 5 de diciembre de 2022

THE TOOTH FAIRY COUNTRY IN HOGFATHER...

 ...is, for a good reason, similar to toddlers' crayon drawings/paintings. Because it has been created from the minds of toddlers. That is also why Death is powerless there, because toddlers cannot grasp the concept of death.

Hogfather, Terry Pratchett (TV Tropes)
Stock Object Colours: Discussed when Susan and the Oh God of Hangovers end up in the Tooth Fairy's country, which resembles a child's (toddler's) drawing. Susan realises what it is because (among other simplifications) the water in the creek is blue, the fish in the creek are bright orange, the treetrunks are plain brown, and the apples are bright red... even though creeks are usually transparent, freshwater fish are most often silver, treetrunks have a whole range of colors from brown to grey to green, and only some apples are red. But children (ie toddlers) draw brown treetrunks, orange fish, blue water, and red apples, green grass, and a buttercup-yellow sun, because that's what they "know" they're supposed to be. Terry Pratchett calls these Stock Object Colours the colours of the springtime of the eye. The phenomenon occurs because, according to Terry Pratchett, when you are a toddler or young child "everyone tells you grass is green and water is blue."
The Tooth Fairy Country has been created from the minds of young children (toddlers), and looks like a child's (toddler's) painting (think crayons). The sky is bright blue, the ground is bright green (grass sketched with bright green crayons, hills with slightly tremulous contours) the trunks of the trees are all plain brown, all those trees are lollipop-shaped with round blob-shaped tops and slender stick-shaped trunks, all apples on those trees are oversized and bright red, and the river is a block of deep blue liquid (when picking up some of the liquid, Susan realises the "water" is blue instead of transparent) through which orange cartoon fish swim. There are no bushes, neither any other fauna besides those stylized goldfish, and flowers similar to daisies, each one with two leaves, grow dotted across the bright green grass. The Sun is bright buttercup yellow with clearly visible rays. The clouds are all fluffy white cumulus. There are no variations in colour, or hues, or textures; everything is one colour. The sky does not extend as far as the horizon; in between the ground and the sky is an empty void, not occupied by black starry space or anything else. It is easy to see why the criminals hate it so much.
By a bend of the stream is the Tooth Fairy's tower, which on the outside looks like a stock one-family house with white walls and a red shingled roof, a single floor, four windows and a single front door, and gray smoke curling out the chimney like a curlicue or corkscrew. There is always a house like that in a crayon drawing or painting made by a toddler. (On the inside, however, the Tooth Fairy's tower looks way higher and bigger.)
The childlike quality of the Tooth Fairy Country is beginning to affect the criminals, and they begin to revert further into infantile mindsets (fear of Poorly-Lit Pareidolia for Chickenwire, fear of the dark and claustrophobia for Catseye, fear of bullying at boarding school for his feminine-looking curly hair for Sideney, Oedipus complex for the Lilywhite brothers).
It is impossible to die in the Tooth Fairy Country-a little child (toddler) believes that dead people have just "gone away". Therefore, when someone dies, they disappear back to the Discworld. People who die in the Tooth Fairy's castle or tower get teleported away. This is because the place is based on the imagination of children (toddlers), who do not really grasp the concept of death or what happens after you die.
Adaptation Distillation: The adaptation shows all the events as they happen chronologically, even those that Susan (and through her, the readers) does not learn about until almost the very end of the book (most notable are the relation between the Tooth Fairy's realm and children's ie toddlers' crayon drawings, how death is treated in the Tooth Fairy's realm, the outright spelling-out of Teatime's plan for the teeth starting with punching Banjo, and the no-longer-behind-the-scenes nature of Death's decision to impersonate the Hogfather).

The Discworld Wiki has no article for the Tooth Fairy Country but refers to it in the Hogfather article as "a world created by children's imagination." (No reference to Stock Object Colours or the colours of the springtime of the eye!)

Discworld Wiki: Anthropomorphic Personifications article 
The Tooth Fairy lives in an unreal place shaped by the idea of a child's painting. (No reference to Stock Object Colours or the colours of the springtime of the eye!)

Quoting the source material:
Susan slid off, trying to keep her gaze low. That meant she was looking at the vivid blue of the water. There were orange fish in it. They didn't look quite right, as if they'd been created by someone who really did think a fish was two curved lines and a dot and a triangular tail. They reminded her of the skeletal fish in Death's quiet pool. Fish that were... appropriate to their surroundings. And she could see them, even though the water was just a block of colour which part of her insisted ought to be opaque... 
She knelt down and dipped her hand in. It felt like water, but what poured through her fingers was liquid blue. And now she knew where she was. The last piece clicked into place and the knowledge bloomed inside her. She knew if she saw a house just how its windows would be placed, and just how the smoke would come out of the chimney. There would almost certainly be apples on the trees. And they would be red, because everyone knew that apples were red. And the sun was yellow. And the sky was blue. And the grass was green. 
But there was another world, called the real world by the people who believed in it, where the sky could be anything from off-white to sunset red to thunderstorm yellow. And the trees would be anything from bare branches, mere scribbles against the sky, to red flames before the frost. And the sun was white or yellow or orange. And water was brown and grey and green... 
The colours here were springtime colours, and not the springtime of the world. They were the colours of the springtime of the eye. 
'This is a child's painting,' she said.
The oh god slumped onto the green. 'Every time I look at the gap my eyes water,' he mumbled. 'I feel awful.'

'I said this is a child's painting,' said Susan. 'I've seen dozens of pictures of it,' said Susan, ignoring him. 'You put the sky overhead because the sky's above you and when you are a couple of feet high there's not a lot of sideways to the sky in any case. And everyone tells you grass is green and water is blue. This is the landscape you paint. Twyla (a little girl Susan tutors) paints like that. I painted like that. Grandfather (Death, for Susan) saved some of-' She stopped. 'All children do it, anyway,' she muttered. 'Come on, let's find the house.'

'What house?' the oh god moaned. 'And can you speak quieter, please?'

'There'll be a house,' said Susan, standing up. 'There's always a house. With four windows. And the smoke coming out of the chimney all curly like a spring. Look, this is a place like ... Death's country. It's not really geography.' 
The oh god walked over to the nearest tree and banged his head on it as if he hoped it was going to hurt. 'Feels like geo'fy,' he muttered. 
'But have you ever seen a tree like that? A big green blob on a brown stick? It looks like a lollipop!' said Susan, pulling him along. 
'Dunno. Firs' time I ever saw a tree. Arrgh. Somethin' dropped on m'head.' He blinked owlishly at the ground. '

's red.'

'It's an apple,' she said. She sighed. 'Everyone knows apples are red.' There were no bushes. But there were flowers, each with a couple of green leaves. They grew individually, dotted around the rolling green. And then they were out of the trees and there, by a bend in the river, was the house. It didn't look very big. There were four windows and a door. Corkscrew smoke curled out of the chimney. 
'You know, it's a funny thing,' said Susan, staring at it. 'Twyla draws houses like that. And she practically lives in a mansion. I drew houses like that. And I was born in a palace. Why?'

'P'raps it's all this house,' muttered the oh god miserably.
'What? You really think so? Kids' paintings are all of this place? It's in our heads?'

'Don't ask me, I was just making conversation,' said the oh god. 
Susan hesitated. The words What Now? loomed. Should she just go and knock? And she realized that was normal thinking... 




From Zahnturm in the German thediscworld wiki:

Die Welt, in der der Zahnturm steht, sieht wie ein Kindergemälde aus. Die Landschaft besteht aus mit Buntstiften gestricheltem Gras, die Hügel und Berge haben leicht zittrige Umrisse und am Himmel ziehen kringelige Wolken und eine knallgelbe Sonne mit deutlich sichtbarem Strahlenkranz. Im kleinen Bach aus tiefblauem Wasser springen die Fische und an den Bäumen hängen überdimensionale rote Äpfel.

Tor.com

Terry Pratchett Book Club: Hogfather, Part III

Emmet Asher-Perrin


Meanwhile, back at the main plot, Binky takes Susan and the Oh God to Violet’s location which turns out to be a children’s painting complete with a children’s drawing of a house.

Susan and Bilious arrive at the land where Violet is being held, and she finally realizes where this place is: It’s a child’s painting. She wonders why all children seem to draw things exactly like this, and Bilious (whose potion has worn off so that he’s feeling incredibly hungover again) suggests that perhaps children are all painting this place specifically.

Susan goes into the children’s drawing house with Bilious and finds a large mound of teeth on the floor, with a chalk circle indicating where it’s meant to go.



  • There’s a fairly large aside to be made here about the psychology of children’s drawings because they really are a fascinating subject that still confuses psychologists, as far as I understand it. It’s being used here as a kind of chicken-or-egg scenario because do children really draw this place, or is it children’s innate understanding of this place that makes it real? But honestly, all I want to do is talk about perspective and how kids decide to make certain objects/subjects gigantic and others not. That would have changed that nature of this place a great deal.

ARITSAR HAS MADE IT TO SPAIN!!!

Raybearer, now translated and titled Radiante, I saw it in bookshops here in Spain!! Bienvenides a Aritsar, todes quienes no lo conocéis (y quienes queréis explorar este mundo un poco antes de lanzaros, haced clic en mis etiquetas Aritsar y Aritsar AU aquí abajo en este post para tener una ligera idea)...

 


Now... How does one localize a rich world of Counterpart Cultures as Aritsar, the Arit Empire, as Alfaguara has done this winter for us here in Spain? For the aspiring Multilingual ficcer, here is a little glossary (terms like isoken or Ileyoba or Nontes or Biraslov are exotic enough to need no localization, but others don't):

GIFTS AND ENDOWED PEOPLE / DONES Y DOTADES

Ray: Rayo

Raybearer: Radiante

Hallow: Gracia

Hallowed: Agraciada/Agraciado 

Council: Consejo 

Redemptor: Redentor/a


PLACES / LUGARES

Blessid Valley: Valle Blessid

Songland: Songland

Yorua Keep: fortaleza Yorua

Yorua Village: aldea Yorua

Children's Palace: Palacio Infantil


GODS / DIOSES

Warlord Fire: Fuego, señor de la guerra

Am / Storyteller: Soy / Fabulador

Water (goddess): Agua 


COUNCIL TITLES / TÍTULOS DEL CONSEJO

High Priestess: suprema sacerdotisa

High Lord/Lady General: supremx general

High Lord/Lady Magus: supremx hechicerx

High Lord/Lady Ambassador: señor/dama supremx embajadorx

High Lord/Lady Archdeacon: archidiáconx supremx

High Lord/Lady of Harvests: señor/dama supremx de las cosechas

High Lord/Lady Judge: juez supremx

High Lord/Lady of Castles: señor/dama supremx de los castillos

High Lord/Lady Laureate: señor/dama supremx laureadx

High Lord/Lady Treasurer: señor/dama supremx de tesorería

High Lord/Lady of Husbandry: señor/dama supremx de ganadería 






Furthermore, Netflix will soon adapt the Aritsar duology to the streaming screen! They already did A Series of Unfortunate Events, A Tale Dark and Grimm, and the first installment in The School of Good and Evil, so a vibrant universe of counterpart cultures like Aritsar would be perfect to turn into a streaming series, right?


HUMPTY DUMPTY EN ESPAÑOL

 EL HUEVO ROTO

 

A la muralla el huevo trepó.
De la muralla el huevo cayó.
Y todos los hombres de Su Majestad
nunca pudieron al huevo ensamblar.
 
(Canción infantil inglesa, "Humpty Dumpty".
Traducción de Sandra Dermark, 5 de diciembre MMXX)

jueves, 1 de diciembre de 2022

KALLE ANKAS JUL - UTVECKLING OCH CENSUR

VARJE JULAFTON KLOCKAN TRE... ...har Disneys julspecialare From All of Us to All of You, mer känd i Norden som Kalle Anka och hans Vänner (Kalle har huvudroll i "Djungelns pajas", delad huvudroll i "Campingsemester" och biroll [snarare cameo] som julsångare för blott en vers ['Tis the season to be jolly] i visan vid slutet av "Ekorrar i vår gran"), fängslat tusentals nordiska familje- och vänkvällar vid teven och granen. Det har blivit en kanonisk jultradition vars kortfilmer och långfilmklipp (de senare ursprungligen kända som s.k. "Memorable Moments") har upprepats så ofta en gång om året att ett par tre bevingade ord med detta ursprung har fastnat i folksjälens ordförråd. Vissa år har mer än hälften av Sveriges befolkning fastnat för denna julshow!

Alla filmer i denna julspecialare, både kortfilmer och "Memorable Moments," härrör från en svunnen tid innan 1990-talets Disney-renässans, dvs. från baby-boomer-generationens barndom (den senaste nykomlingen är Robin Hood, från 1973). Numera är Kalle Ankas Jul alltså en hel tidskapsel fylld med gammaldags klassiska 2D-filmer som känns lika fräscha nu som vid sin premiär i rutan. För nutida och framtida generationer svenskar blir den här julshowen en introduktion till dessa klassiker, som de annars, varken numera eller i framtiden, kommer att få lära känna till.

Germans Love David Hasselhoff - something is vastly far more popular outside its region or nation of origin:
From All of Us to All of You, a Disney Christmas compilation special that first aired on Walt Disney Presents in 1958, hasn't been seen on US (or British) network TV in decades, but in Sweden (where it goes by the name Kalle Anka och hans vänner önskar God Jul, or simply Kalle Anka, Donald Duck's Swedish name), it's an obligatory Christmas Eve viewing, drawing the kind of ratings that Super Bowls draw in the USA, or Wimbledon in the UK.

Arne Weise är förspelsvärd, och Bengt Feldreich dubbar den tecknade värden och berättaren Benjamin Syrsa, samt sjunger den första strofen i hans slutnummer "Ser du stjärnan i det blå" ("When You Wish Upon a Star").
"Memorable Moments" (kavalkaden av scener från långfilmer):
(Dåligt) bortklippta scener som var med i förlagan (och i det svenska urprogrammet): Peter Pan (Flyg Iväg), Pinocchio (på scenen) och Bambi (på isen).
Troligast klipptes två av dessa bort av säkerhetsskäl (rädsla att små barn skulle åka skridskor på isen utan övervakning respektive hoppa ut genom fönstret och tänka på julen med förväntningen att kunna flyga). Den tredje, ur Pinocchio, har jag inte en aning om värför den skulle bort. Kanske för att den kunde väcka dockskräck? Eller för att det var en aggressiv kosackdocka, som anfaller Pinocchio, med till kosackmusik och det neutrala Sverige ville då inte ha besvär med ryssarna i kalla kriget?
Och urprogrammet är från 1958 i USA, den svenska/nordiska premiären 1960. From All of Us to All of You kom till Norden i samband med en samling naturprogram av Disney Pictures. Då det först kom ut var det det enda tecknade inslaget i SVT, då den enda svenska TV-kanalen. Alla de andra svenska barnprogrammen var spelfilmer och kasperteater. 
Vissa år har mer än hälften av Sveriges befolkning fastnat för denna julshow!


Endast fyra filmer från originalprogrammet från 1958/1960 är kvar: Memorable Moments ur Askungen, Lady och Lufsen, Snövit och de sju dvärgarna, samt kortfilmen om "Tomtens verkstad" (en julspecialare i kortfilmsserien Silly Symphonies). Och självklart slutnumret "Ser du stjärnan i det blå" (ursprungligen stjärnsången ur Pinocchio). Alla dessa filmer, även de i Sverige borttagna, hade självklart haft urpremiär innan julspecialaren From All of Us to All of You gavs ut i urformat: "Tomtens verkstad" 1932, Snövit 1930, Askungen 1950, Lady och Lufsen 1955 - och de i Sverige borttagna ur julrutan Pinocchio 1940, Bambi 1942 och Peter Pan 1953.
Så ingen Djungelbok (från 1967) och ingen Robin Hood (från 1973) hade varit ursprungligen med (de är inte del av originalshowen)!! De har lagts till i efterhand (Djungelboken lades till 1969, Robin Hood lades till 1974). "Tjuren Ferdinand", en kortfilm från 1938, lades till 1971, samma år som "Djungelns pajas" (en kortfilm från 1947). "Ekorrar i vår gran" (från 1952) hade lagts till 1967. "Campingsemestern" (från 1938) lades till 1982, det år då man beslöt att aldrig mer förändra programmet i svensk julteve. Fram till 1982 varierades innehållet från år till år; det året fastställdes serien av kortfilmer och Memorable Moments som vi har i rutan i våra dagar klockan tre på julafton. 

From All of Us to All of You (Kalle Ankas Jul)

"Memorable Moments" (kavalkaden av scener från långfilmer):

(Dåligt) bortklippta scener som var med i förlagan (och i det svenska urprogrammet): Peter Pan (Flyg Iväg), Pinocchio (på scenen) och Bambi (på isen). 

Troligast klipptes två av dessa bort av säkerhetsskäl (rädsla att små barn skulle åka skridskor på isen utan övervakning respektive hoppa ut genom fönstret och tänka på julen med förväntningen att kunna flyga). Den tredje, ur Pinocchio, har jag inte en aning om värför den skulle bort. Kanske för att den kunde väcka dockskräck? Eller för att det var en kosackdocka med till kosackmusik och det neutrala Sverige ville då inte ha besvär med ryssarna i kalla kriget?

Och urprogrammet är från 1958. 

Endast fyra filmer från originalprogrammet från 1958 är kvar: Memorable Moments ur "Askungen", "Lady och Lufsen", "Snövit och de sju dvärgarna", samt kortfilmen om Tomteverkstan. Och självklart slutnumret Ser du stjärnan i det blå.

Så ingen Djungelbok (från 67) och ingen Robin Hood (från 73) ursprungligen (de är inte del av originalshowen)!! De har lagts till i efterhand. Ferdinand, en 40-talskortfilm, lades till 1971.

Alla dessa filmer i denna julspecialare, både kortfilmer och "Memorable Moments," härrör från en svunnen tid innan 1990-talets Disney-renässans, dvs. från baby-boomer-generationens barndom (den senaste nykomlingen är Robin Hood, från 1973). Numera är Kalle Ankas Jul alltså en hel tidskapsel fylld med gammaldags klassiska 2D-filmer som känns lika fräscha nu som vid sin premiär i rutan. För nutida och framtida generationer svenskar blir den här julshowen en introduktion till dessa klassiker, som de annars, varken numera eller i framtiden, kommer att få lära känna till.

Nu är vi framme vid temat censur - vad som fanns ursprungligen i rutan och som kan ses numera... Förutom de Memorable Moments som byttes ut har en del av kortfilmernas innehåll också censurerats bort i nyare tider (detta bortcensurerade innehåll går dock att se t ex på YouTube)...

Censur i From All of Us to All of You i SVT (Kalle Ankas Jul):

  1. "Tomtens verkstad" - mörkhyad ung kvinnlig docka med flätor som sätter sig på okej-stämpeln ("MAMMA!" som TV Tropes tolkar som en allusion till filmen The Jazz Singer - dockan föreställer en s.k. "gollywog"), gammal manlig docka med helskägg och örnnäsa (ser troligen ut som en jude, TV Tropes specificerar en rabbi, men sedan barnsben har jag tolkat den bara som en gamling).
  2. "Djungelns pajas" - hackspetten försöker ta gift, Kalle skjuter på honom med kulspruta.
  3. "Campingsemester" - Långben poppar popcorn med gaffel i eluttaget (TV Tropes säger Harmless Electrocution och Popcorn on the Cob), husvagnen kör över järnvägen just när bommarna åker ner och nästan kolliderar med tåget (TV Tropes säger Railroad Tracks of Doom).

Urklippen ur långfilmerna, sk Memorable Moments, och kortfilmerna om "Tjuren Ferdinand" och "Ekorrarna i julgranen" har inte lidit någon censur, så vitt jag vet.