Words without Borders organizes a "Translator Relay" which is a series of interviews with translators about their work. The first translator is interviewed, chooses the next translator up for interview, and asks this person an additional question. Translator Esther Allen, chosen by translator Sean Cotter, has some insightful thoughts on the translation process that are completely worth sharing. My first encounter with this relay and I'm hooked.

"I would refuse to translate a fictional text I really didn't like or find relevant, and that's partly out of a kind of loyalty to the author, who deserves to have a translator who can bring some enthusiasm to bear... We seek the meaning of our own life in everything we do. How could we fail to seek it in the text we translate?" - Esther Allen

For Rachel Morgenstern-Clarren's full interview with Esther Allen click here.

Agnes Gund's "Fame, Fortune and the Female Artist" expresses the constant concern for female artists in the art world. What have they gone? Who are the great female artists? While times continue to change and women find a better foothold in the art world, female artists are still under represented.

"She [Linda Nochlin] examined theories about differences between women and men artists in themes, or materials, or ways of working; she determined that art-making was not notably characterized by gender. Nochlin proposed a far more revolutionary theory: that "...our institutions and our educations...," our very expectations, keep women's creativity down. Women fail, very simply, if they have no guidance and friendships in art, if they are not perceived as, or permitted to be, artists, and if they have no institutional access. That judgment led to new ways of thinking about the art world and the roles within it for women."

Read the full article by Agnes Gund here.

"Great culture—philosophy, theater, music—gave us some of the most remarkable first entries into the human mind...The idea that by just doing neuroscience or advanced cognitive science, one can understand everything about the human mind is ridiculous. We need to bring past efforts in the arts and the humanities into the mix and also use the current contributions of artists and philosophers to understand this most complicated process that is the human mind." Interview with Damasio here.

A view of ancient history, old world technology / materials, and water as conservation. How has our oceanscape preserved these cities almost perfectly for thousands of years? What are archaeologists and anthropologists discovering about the interaction of earthly materials on human systems (technology)? Water is an essential aspect to survival, but also a huge threat. We could learn a lot from these underwater cities to flood proof our current cities. Article of 5 underwater cities here.

"There is a huge wave of happiness among researchers, everyone would like to make people happier..." Daniel Kahneman on the "experiencing self" versus the "remembering self" affecting our perception of happiness. What we can learn about this talk in self-awareness? Reminds me of Francois Lelord's Hector and the Search for Happiness, another good read.

Pretty creative and promising solution to the Gowanus Canal problem in Brooklyn, NY. Interested to see how well it would be accepted by surrounding neighborhoods, in particular Gowanus residents.