Reigning Confusion

One of the things involved with moving house is buying new household products since, I for one, will not schlep half-empty bottles of detergents and dishwashing liquids across the ocean.

I have a friend who raved, as one does, about the new Dawn foaming dishwashing liquid. I took this opportunity to try it myself.

After a couple of uses, I thought to myself that my pots still kinda feel greasy. I took a closer look at the bottle. Here it is (I must admit, the bottle does look rather snazzy compared to its peers):



Wait, a closer look:


"Antibacterial HANDSOAP" followed by "Citrus Kick Dishwashing Foam"

I got confused. Is this handsoap or is this dishwashing liquid?

I thought, surely, there's gotta be more info on the back of the bottle. What I found, however, confused me even more:


Now, I clearly remember picking up this bottle in the aisle with other dishwashing liquids in the supermarket. How could it be, that on the back of the bottle, all it mentions is the use and directions for washing hands? No mention of dishes, pots and pans?

So which is it, is this a handsoap or is it a dishwashing liquid? Is it interchangeable? If so, why does the bottle not mention anything about dishwashing on the back?

I thought it was just a fluke from the Dawn brand. Imagine my astonishment when I found the exact same on a bottle of Joy!?





I feel like I'm totally pulling a Jessica Simpson (is it chicken or is it tuna?) - but honestly, is it handsoap or is it dishwash?

Googles Searches Tell Lots!

Here are some sample google searches I have had to do in the past couple of weeks since arriving in St Martin - most are self-explanatory and will give you a gist of our new living situation/challenges/preoccupations:

> capturing lizards in house

> mosquito repellent effective for kids

> mosquito netting

> installing window screens

> difference riptides and undertow

> hurricane categories

> plywood window boarding hurricane

> hurricane readiness supplies

> no leak swim goggles for kids

> Storing rice hot climate

> Ciguatera fish poisoning

French Titles

OK August was a bust, no postings at all - shame on me. Will have to fill in the details about our move and all that at some point. For now, a much more pressing matter to report:

I read a few books this summer and I especially enjoyed the Stieg Larson books, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire.

I was a bit taken aback when I discovered these books on sale locally:


Les Hommes qui N'aiment pas Les Femmes

Translation: Men Who Do Not Like Women

Now how is that a justifiable title for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? Of course I get it, the book is about men who abuse women, fine. But why not La Fille Tattooee or La Fille a Tattoo de Dragon? Why do the French have a tendency to make everything so obvious? Similar to the question I had on Movie Title translations, who gets to make these executive decisions?

Should we take a look at the second book, The Girl Who Played with Fire?


In French it's called La Fille qui Revait d'un Bidon d'Essence et d'une Allumette.

Huh? The Girl who Dreamt of a Gas Container and a Match?

Do the French not play with fire? Cannot fathom such a notion?

OK so for the third book, which I have not yet read, which in English is: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.

In French:



La Reine dans le Palais des Courants d'Air

Hmmm. The Queen in the Palace of Moving Air, or in the Palace of Air Currents. Maybe I am translating too literally myself, maybe the palais of courants d'airs means something symbolic in French that I am unaware of, or seeing how the French love to state the obvious, maybe there is really an airy palace of some sorts in the book. Nonetheless I am surprised at how the French title is so far from the English title. Do they not get the risk implied with kicking the hornet's nest? Do they not have hornets in France? Could they have replaced it with Bee's Nest?

That makes me wonder, what are these titles in its original language, Swedish? Are we the ones butchering it? I suspect not, but I have been wrong before....