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)
Reposted by Jocelyne Allen
This hybrid East Asian comics conference looks really interesting. #manga #translation
www.su.se/english/divi...
www.su.se/english/divi...
Translating Comics: Between Bubbles, Cultures, and Constraints in East Asia - Stockholms universitet
www.su.se
February 5, 2026 at 8:25 AM
This hybrid East Asian comics conference looks really interesting. #manga #translation
www.su.se/english/divi...
www.su.se/english/divi...
I've been very unmotivated lately and my work is suffering, so my new trick is to go work in this cafe that is *very* cold and not let myself leave until I get my pages done. Your feet turning to chunks of ice in your shoes and the increasing desire to please go somewhere warm is very motivating.
February 5, 2026 at 10:12 AM
I've been very unmotivated lately and my work is suffering, so my new trick is to go work in this cafe that is *very* cold and not let myself leave until I get my pages done. Your feet turning to chunks of ice in your shoes and the increasing desire to please go somewhere warm is very motivating.
The top result when I search "eat dirt" (for translation reasons) is a resounding "Yes! You should totally eat dirt!" Immediately followed by a "Hey, maybe don't eat dirt." I feel we, as a society, have gone astray.
February 5, 2026 at 2:16 AM
The top result when I search "eat dirt" (for translation reasons) is a resounding "Yes! You should totally eat dirt!" Immediately followed by a "Hey, maybe don't eat dirt." I feel we, as a society, have gone astray.
Just typed “locker” for 廊下, so it’s probably time for me to call it quits for the day. #AmTranslating
February 4, 2026 at 9:34 AM
Just typed “locker” for 廊下, so it’s probably time for me to call it quits for the day. #AmTranslating
The "What's" reaction used in this manga is sending me all the way back to my days at Honda working on the That's campaign. "What's that?" I quietly weep, rocking back and forth in the corner. "It's That's."
February 4, 2026 at 2:32 AM
The "What's" reaction used in this manga is sending me all the way back to my days at Honda working on the That's campaign. "What's that?" I quietly weep, rocking back and forth in the corner. "It's That's."
Reposted by Jocelyne Allen
Fashion icon Mini-chan is here to slay...demons for Setsubun! She's going to throw some beans, get those devils out, and bring all the good fortune right into your house, looking glam as hell the whole time.
January 31, 2026 at 1:49 AM
Fashion icon Mini-chan is here to slay...demons for Setsubun! She's going to throw some beans, get those devils out, and bring all the good fortune right into your house, looking glam as hell the whole time.
Reposted by Jocelyne Allen
2月8日は衆議院銀選挙！
期日前投票ももう行ける！
今日行ってきたよ！
期日前投票ももう行ける！
今日行ってきたよ！
February 3, 2026 at 8:39 AM
2月8日は衆議院銀選挙！
期日前投票ももう行ける！
今日行ってきたよ！
期日前投票ももう行ける！
今日行ってきたよ！
Reposted by Jocelyne Allen
Highly, highly important, inflexible Japanese->English translation rule dealing with any game-themed text:
ステータス: Stat(s)
状態: Status
The top is numerical attributes; the bottom is whether a party-member is poisoned or asleep
The top is literally "status" in katakana, but that's a trap
ステータス: Stat(s)
状態: Status
The top is numerical attributes; the bottom is whether a party-member is poisoned or asleep
The top is literally "status" in katakana, but that's a trap
February 3, 2026 at 4:16 AM
Highly, highly important, inflexible Japanese->English translation rule dealing with any game-themed text:
ステータス: Stat(s)
状態: Status
The top is numerical attributes; the bottom is whether a party-member is poisoned or asleep
The top is literally "status" in katakana, but that's a trap
ステータス: Stat(s)
状態: Status
The top is numerical attributes; the bottom is whether a party-member is poisoned or asleep
The top is literally "status" in katakana, but that's a trap
My favourite part of Setsubun is the news wrap-up with all the toddlers sobbing in hysterical terror at the oni coming for them.
February 3, 2026 at 9:33 AM
My favourite part of Setsubun is the news wrap-up with all the toddlers sobbing in hysterical terror at the oni coming for them.
Reposted by Jocelyne Allen
Brain vs Dream!
Watashi no Yume ga Sameru Made: Nagashima Hiromi
A comics friend of mine used to bang on about “multiple impressions” whenever the subject of selling books came up. He was mostly playing it for laughs, the repeated joke that only gets sillier the…
brainvsbook.wordpress.com
January 30, 2026 at 2:02 PM
Brain vs Dream!
This applies to all of us, not just comics creators! That means you, budding translators. Always ask for more money, more time! You are worth more!!
Know your worth; your time is gold.
What advice would you give an aspiring comic creator? - 🦝
February 2, 2026 at 9:26 AM
This applies to all of us, not just comics creators! That means you, budding translators. Always ask for more money, more time! You are worth more!!
Reposted by Jocelyne Allen
Know your worth; your time is gold.
What advice would you give an aspiring comic creator? - 🦝
February 2, 2026 at 8:45 AM
Know your worth; your time is gold.
Dictionary says 丁銀 is an “Edo period silver coin shaped like a sea cucumber”, which gets me wondering about both coin and sea cucumber. Turns out the dictionary is not wrong.
February 2, 2026 at 9:20 AM
Dictionary says 丁銀 is an “Edo period silver coin shaped like a sea cucumber”, which gets me wondering about both coin and sea cucumber. Turns out the dictionary is not wrong.
Putting in a special order for a crate or two to scatter on the living room floors of manga artists who torture their translators (it's me, I'm translators) with walls of handwritten text and pages of visual puns
I need you to know that you can buy individual crabs from LEGO and they are 21¢ each
www.lego.com/en-us/pick-a...
www.lego.com/en-us/pick-a...
January 31, 2026 at 2:57 AM
Putting in a special order for a crate or two to scatter on the living room floors of manga artists who torture their translators (it's me, I'm translators) with walls of handwritten text and pages of visual puns
Fashion icon Mini-chan is here to slay...demons for Setsubun! She's going to throw some beans, get those devils out, and bring all the good fortune right into your house, looking glam as hell the whole time.
January 31, 2026 at 1:49 AM
Fashion icon Mini-chan is here to slay...demons for Setsubun! She's going to throw some beans, get those devils out, and bring all the good fortune right into your house, looking glam as hell the whole time.
Brain vs Dream!
Watashi no Yume ga Sameru Made: Nagashima Hiromi
A comics friend of mine used to bang on about “multiple impressions” whenever the subject of selling books came up. He was mostly playing it for laughs, the repeated joke that only gets sillier the…
brainvsbook.wordpress.com
January 30, 2026 at 2:02 PM
Brain vs Dream!
Reposted by Jocelyne Allen
Someday I will write a book, and it will be called "Do owls have eyelids and other translation questions". #AmTranslating
January 8, 2026 at 9:06 AM
Someday I will write a book, and it will be called "Do owls have eyelids and other translation questions". #AmTranslating
Reposted by Jocelyne Allen
Applications are open until February 28th!
Early career translators, get yourself a grant right here! #Translation
Words Without Borders Announces Fourth Annual Momentum Grant for Early-Career Translators - Words Without Borders
This grant aims to support early-career translators seeking to bring international work into the English-language marketplace.
wordswithoutborders.org
January 29, 2026 at 6:33 PM
Applications are open until February 28th!
Cool show of Tsuge Yoshiharu happening in Chofu right now! And it's free!!
マンガ家・つげ義春のいるところ展 | 公益財団法人 調布市文化・コミュニティ振興財団
表現者たちに大きな影響を与えたマンガ家・つげ義春の魅力を調布からお届けします。
www.chofu-culture-community.org
January 30, 2026 at 2:26 AM
Cool show of Tsuge Yoshiharu happening in Chofu right now! And it's free!!
Spent waaaay too long trying to decipher the handwriting in this panel before realizing it's a lightbulb. #AmTranslating
January 29, 2026 at 11:01 AM
Spent waaaay too long trying to decipher the handwriting in this panel before realizing it's a lightbulb. #AmTranslating
Got an email that referenced 徐瀬臨さん, and I was like who the hell is that?? Until I realized that’s what my name looks like when you hit the space bar without checking the 変換.
January 29, 2026 at 10:16 AM
Got an email that referenced 徐瀬臨さん, and I was like who the hell is that?? Until I realized that’s what my name looks like when you hit the space bar without checking the 変換.
First a grant, now a contest! Aspiring translators, you have a lot of translating to do!
January 29, 2026 at 8:11 AM
First a grant, now a contest! Aspiring translators, you have a lot of translating to do!
Whenever I schedule a meeting with J-people, my brain is all, okay, we have to get good at Japanese before then. And I’m like?? What are we going to accomplish in the next week that we somehow were unable to do in the last twenty-odd years of living/working in this language??? Be serious, brain.
January 28, 2026 at 11:45 PM
Whenever I schedule a meeting with J-people, my brain is all, okay, we have to get good at Japanese before then. And I’m like?? What are we going to accomplish in the next week that we somehow were unable to do in the last twenty-odd years of living/working in this language??? Be serious, brain.
Time to stock up on Heathers! At this special price, it can't hurt to have a couple extras around the house.
January 28, 2026 at 10:54 AM
Time to stock up on Heathers! At this special price, it can't hurt to have a couple extras around the house.
Most homonyms are easy(ish) to tell apart in context, but I feel like 扼殺 (strangle) and 薬殺 (kill with poison) would be used in similar contexts? Confusing an already confusing situation? #AmTranslating
January 28, 2026 at 3:11 AM
Most homonyms are easy(ish) to tell apart in context, but I feel like 扼殺 (strangle) and 薬殺 (kill with poison) would be used in similar contexts? Confusing an already confusing situation? #AmTranslating