Jocelyne Allen
@brainvsbook.bsky.social
アレン・ジョセリン
I write. I ramble. I translate. And interpret.
筆者／翻訳・通訳家／取り留めの無い人
(she/they)
brainvsbook.com
kaikatsu.ca
I write. I ramble. I translate. And interpret.
筆者／翻訳・通訳家／取り留めの無い人
(she/they)
brainvsbook.com
kaikatsu.ca
Pinned
Jocelyne Allen
@brainvsbook.bsky.social
· Jun 19
Don't call it a Substack. - Anil Dash
A blog about making culture. Since 1999.
www.anildash.com
Since people have asked why I don't start a Substack:
I have one; it's called a blog and it's at brainvsbook.com. Why would I let some company slap its brand all over my writing?? Especially when that company is fascist and transphobic! (Great summary of why Substack sucks in case you're unaware)
I have one; it's called a blog and it's at brainvsbook.com. Why would I let some company slap its brand all over my writing?? Especially when that company is fascist and transphobic! (Great summary of why Substack sucks in case you're unaware)
My new mantra in the face of impossible deadlines and other hardships
November 26, 2025 at 2:14 PM
My new mantra in the face of impossible deadlines and other hardships
Goodbye Okinawa! I have enjoyed your warm weather, your incredible vegan restaurants, your bookstores, and your local delicacies!
November 26, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Goodbye Okinawa! I have enjoyed your warm weather, your incredible vegan restaurants, your bookstores, and your local delicacies!
Reposted by Jocelyne Allen
Don’t pirate books! And if you do, stfu about it and stop pretending it’s some kind of moral or Marxist or revolutionary stance. Just be brave and own the fact that you don’t care that you are a thief who doesn’t care about artists.
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
November 26, 2025 at 12:29 AM
Don’t pirate books! And if you do, stfu about it and stop pretending it’s some kind of moral or Marxist or revolutionary stance. Just be brave and own the fact that you don’t care that you are a thief who doesn’t care about artists.
Still cry-laughing at this video every day
It exists!! The pelican trying to eat a capybara is real!!
I have good news for you.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZpf...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZpf...
November 25, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Still cry-laughing at this video every day
Splurged a little in the Okinawa section of the bookstore. And I want to go on the record as saying that all bookstores should have a local book section. Some of us love to pick up books by authors from and/or about the areas we are travelling to!
November 25, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Splurged a little in the Okinawa section of the bookstore. And I want to go on the record as saying that all bookstores should have a local book section. Some of us love to pick up books by authors from and/or about the areas we are travelling to!
Friends, if you are in Naha, you really need to go to Tamatebako. We ate most of the food on the menu and every single dish was shockingly delicious. I love tofu and I was still surprised by how incredible their tofu dishes were.
タマテバコ (牧志/オーガニック)
★★★☆☆3.09 ■予算(夜):￥3,000～￥3,999
tabelog.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Friends, if you are in Naha, you really need to go to Tamatebako. We ate most of the food on the menu and every single dish was shockingly delicious. I love tofu and I was still surprised by how incredible their tofu dishes were.
Happened upon the new-to-me word 通い婚, the existence of which makes perfect sense in a language that also gave us 卒婚 and 単身赴任. #AmReading
November 24, 2025 at 4:23 AM
Happened upon the new-to-me word 通い婚, the existence of which makes perfect sense in a language that also gave us 卒婚 and 単身赴任. #AmReading
Finally free of the plane and celebrating with the local brew!
November 23, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Finally free of the plane and celebrating with the local brew!
First my flight was delayed bc every school trip in Tokyo was boarding it, and now we have to go back to the terminal bc someone is sick. I think I live on the plane now.
November 23, 2025 at 3:04 AM
First my flight was delayed bc every school trip in Tokyo was boarding it, and now we have to go back to the terminal bc someone is sick. I think I live on the plane now.
I was sceptical but Family Mart’s edamame and cheese onigiri is surprisingly tasty. If you happen to be in the mood for a conbini snack!
November 23, 2025 at 1:37 AM
I was sceptical but Family Mart’s edamame and cheese onigiri is surprisingly tasty. If you happen to be in the mood for a conbini snack!
Reposted by Jocelyne Allen
豆腐に鎹 might be the best idiom I’ve ever come across for “wasted effort”. Imagine it, putting a staple in some tofu. Nothing but a mess of bean curd to show for it. #TranslationIsLearning
November 19, 2025 at 2:01 AM
豆腐に鎹 might be the best idiom I’ve ever come across for “wasted effort”. Imagine it, putting a staple in some tofu. Nothing but a mess of bean curd to show for it. #TranslationIsLearning
I love travelling, but I've done so much packing and hotel booking and going over the last month that I want to set down roots and become one with my apartment. And yet I must pack and book and go once again. When I get back, though, I'm going to grow moss. I'm going to get so *dusty*
November 22, 2025 at 11:27 AM
I love travelling, but I've done so much packing and hotel booking and going over the last month that I want to set down roots and become one with my apartment. And yet I must pack and book and go once again. When I get back, though, I'm going to grow moss. I'm going to get so *dusty*
Actually typed “free dial” just now as totally normal English that everyone uses all the time. #AmTranslating
November 22, 2025 at 3:04 AM
Actually typed “free dial” just now as totally normal English that everyone uses all the time. #AmTranslating
The war on drugs has reached Japan at last, and they are battling it with clear files featuring a municipal VTuber, sure to set the hearts of the kids on fire and keep them on the straight and narrow.
November 21, 2025 at 12:05 PM
The war on drugs has reached Japan at last, and they are battling it with clear files featuring a municipal VTuber, sure to set the hearts of the kids on fire and keep them on the straight and narrow.
Reposted by Jocelyne Allen
I’ve never seen anyone actually chastised for using their phone on the train. It’s usually a lot of stinky side-eye from other passengers. But this guy in my car just snapped at a phone talker, 降りてから電話しろよ、マナー悪いな. He is my new hero.
November 14, 2025 at 2:11 AM
I’ve never seen anyone actually chastised for using their phone on the train. It’s usually a lot of stinky side-eye from other passengers. But this guy in my car just snapped at a phone talker, 降りてから電話しろよ、マナー悪いな. He is my new hero.
Rediscovered this reader complaint in my screenshot folder today and enjoyed another hearty laugh about it. Please trust that they respect and love the non-binaries; they do not want to attack. They simply want no non-binaries in translations. They want the demons.
November 20, 2025 at 10:22 AM
Rediscovered this reader complaint in my screenshot folder today and enjoyed another hearty laugh about it. Please trust that they respect and love the non-binaries; they do not want to attack. They simply want no non-binaries in translations. They want the demons.
豆腐に鎹 might be the best idiom I’ve ever come across for “wasted effort”. Imagine it, putting a staple in some tofu. Nothing but a mess of bean curd to show for it. #TranslationIsLearning
November 19, 2025 at 2:01 AM
豆腐に鎹 might be the best idiom I’ve ever come across for “wasted effort”. Imagine it, putting a staple in some tofu. Nothing but a mess of bean curd to show for it. #TranslationIsLearning
Jump scare from this demonic marionette every time I open the garbage app. I just want to know if I need to take the burnables out. I don't need the extra nightmare fuel. (Bonus points for old school romanization of Sinjuku for extra sin)
November 18, 2025 at 11:34 AM
Jump scare from this demonic marionette every time I open the garbage app. I just want to know if I need to take the burnables out. I don't need the extra nightmare fuel. (Bonus points for old school romanization of Sinjuku for extra sin)
Reposted by Jocelyne Allen
Gifu Shimbun has a map which plots monthly bear sightings and reports of suspicious individuals. The result looks like a strategy game, pitting bears against perverts. www.gifu-np.co.jp/articles/-/3...
November 18, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Gifu Shimbun has a map which plots monthly bear sightings and reports of suspicious individuals. The result looks like a strategy game, pitting bears against perverts. www.gifu-np.co.jp/articles/-/3...
And now I have been forced to learn about Japanese YouTubers. Now I know who Hikakin is. This is not knowledge I want in my head. My job is dragging me kicking and screaming into the modern age.
After years of blissfully ignoring TikTok and its associated slang, I'm being forced to learn it by this cursedly modern book. #AmTranslating #AmOld
November 18, 2025 at 9:08 AM
And now I have been forced to learn about Japanese YouTubers. Now I know who Hikakin is. This is not knowledge I want in my head. My job is dragging me kicking and screaming into the modern age.
The temple has some words of encouragement.
November 17, 2025 at 11:00 AM
The temple has some words of encouragement.
Reposted by Jocelyne Allen
When Something Sounds Weird, Look It Up: A Case Study
Doing my usual translation thing, I come across the phrase ショーウィンドウ越しにトランペットを見つめる少年のような眼差し. I'm completely baffled! What boy is staring longingly into a shop at a *trumpet*??? A toy maybe. Candy, sure. But a trumpet?? I have Doubts.
Doing my usual translation thing, I come across the phrase ショーウィンドウ越しにトランペットを見つめる少年のような眼差し. I'm completely baffled! What boy is staring longingly into a shop at a *trumpet*??? A toy maybe. Candy, sure. But a trumpet?? I have Doubts.
August 5, 2025 at 3:42 PM
When Something Sounds Weird, Look It Up: A Case Study
Doing my usual translation thing, I come across the phrase ショーウィンドウ越しにトランペットを見つめる少年のような眼差し. I'm completely baffled! What boy is staring longingly into a shop at a *trumpet*??? A toy maybe. Candy, sure. But a trumpet?? I have Doubts.
Doing my usual translation thing, I come across the phrase ショーウィンドウ越しにトランペットを見つめる少年のような眼差し. I'm completely baffled! What boy is staring longingly into a shop at a *trumpet*??? A toy maybe. Candy, sure. But a trumpet?? I have Doubts.
Give me a pack of cigarerette. It’s time for my break in the smorking room.
November 16, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Give me a pack of cigarerette. It’s time for my break in the smorking room.
Even across the ocean in Japan, I cannot escape US politics. NHK news doing a whole story on how divided the country is, demonstrated with segments on Mamdani and MAGA/Charlie Kirk. Please, leave the rest of us alone, US. We just want to get the latest scoop on the bear attacks and the Deaflympics.
November 16, 2025 at 10:24 AM
Even across the ocean in Japan, I cannot escape US politics. NHK news doing a whole story on how divided the country is, demonstrated with segments on Mamdani and MAGA/Charlie Kirk. Please, leave the rest of us alone, US. We just want to get the latest scoop on the bear attacks and the Deaflympics.
EVOL continues to be excellent. #AmReading
November 16, 2025 at 1:53 AM
EVOL continues to be excellent. #AmReading