monsoonlibrarian

[monsoonlibrarian]

Sino by Unique Salonga (english translation attempt)

Who (sino) would imagine (ang magaakalang) that I love you (mahal kita)

Who (sino) would tell you (ang maglalahad) what it feels (ng nadarama)

Why, (Bakit,) I don’t know why (hindi alam kung bakit) I’m always (laging) the one you reach for (sa akin lumalapit) even though at times (kahit minsan) I’ve fallen short (ako ay nagkulang)

Who (sino) was the reason for (ang pinagmulan)  your smile (ng ‘yong pagngiti)

who (sino) stole away (ang nagagaw) your instant (ng iyong sandali)

why, I don’t know why (bakit, hindi alam kung bakit) I’m always (laging) the one you reach for (sa akin lumalapit) even though at times (kahit minsan)  I’ve fallen short (ako ay nagkulang)

I will keep on searching (patuloy kong hahanapin) for the meaning of love (kahulugan ng pagibig)

And for as long as I live, (at habang-buhay) remain alone (na magiisa)

who (sino) has laid claim (ang karapat-dapat) to my love (kong mahalin)

who (sino) should I keep (ang pagtutunan ko) in my mind (ng pansin)

why, (bakit)  I don’t know why (hindi alam kung bakit) I’m always (laging) the one you reach for (sa akin lumalapit) even though at times (kahit minsan) I’ve fallen short (ako ay nagkulang)

I will keep on searching (patuloy kong hahanapin) for the meaning of love (kahulugan ng pagibig)

And for as long as I live, (at habang-buhay) remain alone (na magiisa)

we’re both together (tayong dal’wa’y magkasama) in one dream (sa iisang panaginip)

And for as long as we live, (at habang-buhay) remain alone (na magiisa)

Who (sino) has laid claim (ang karapat-dapat) to my love (kong mahalin)

who (sino) should I keep (ang pagtutuunan)  in my mind (ko ng pansin)

why, (bakit) I don’t know why (hindi alam kung bakit) I’m always (laging) the one you reach for (sa akin lumalapit) even though at times (kahit minsan) I’ve fallen short (ako ay nagkulang)

who? (sino?) who? who? who? who? who? who? who?

note on the translation:

Unique’s poetic gaps in Filipino was a little difficult to translate. That’s how good of a lyricist he is. Alas, I tried my best. The first stanza “Sino ang magaakalang mahal kita” for example. There’s a poetic gap here. And it doesn’t correctly translate as ‘who would have thought I would love you.’ That would be ‘sino ang magaakalang mamahalin kita’ and that’s not quite right. Technically, it’s who would have thought I love you. I love you in the present plain tense. Not mamahalin (would love), not kaya kitang mahalin (could love), not minahal (loved), ...just plain old mahal (love). It’s a little awkward in english but I thought I’d keep that awkwardness for the sake of integrity. ;) 

 Moving on to ‘sino ang karapat-dapat kong mahalin’ - in plain technical english, this means ‘who is right for me to love.’ For the translation here, I drew the meaning from what I felt Unique wanted to say with the entire song. It’s as if he’s dead sure who it is that loves him, but he has these great doubts (who?) he can’t seem to get past. I translated it as ‘who has laid claim to my love’ because in some way this alludes to the idea of someone having the ‘right’ or ‘karapatan’ (karapat-dapat) over his love. Karapatan means literally a ‘right’ by law, by worthiness, etc. It doesn’t sound quite right to say ‘who is right for me to love’ so I just went with the implication that the person who has the right to his love would have laid claim to it. I think it sounds much better. 

As for  ‘sino ang pagtutuunan ko ng pansin’ - I just remembered this one person who told me ‘I want to keep you in my mind’ which was sweet. Sometimes manipulative assholes come up with the sweetest things to say. But ‘who should I keep in my mind’ sounds better than ‘who should I focus on’ or ‘prioritize’ which is the more technical translation. 

Lastly, for ‘tayong dal’wa’y magkasama sa iisang panaginip at habang buhay na magiisa’ (we’re both together in one dream)- I just went with what’s implied here with ‘for as long as [we] live, remain alone’ Going by the meaning that these two people who want the same thing but neither of them have the guts to say anything. 

 That's about all the creative liberties I took with the translation. There’s probably a million ways this translation could be better. This is the best I’ve got for this wonderful song.

[monsoonlibrarian]

Eeuuuhhhh...this is gay

[monsoonlibrarian]

But you, you foolish girl, you have gone home to a leaky castle across the sea to lie awake in linen smelling of lavender, and hear the nightingale, and long for me.

Edna St. Vincent Millay, letter to Edith Wynne Matthison (via disease)

[monsoonlibrarian]

Gustave Courbet, Le Sommeil,1866.

Le Sommeil [The Sleepers], which depicts two women entwined in a post-coital embrace, caused a stir when it was first shown in the 1870s. The police were called in, and the painting was not shown again until the 1980s. But its brief showing had an influence on a number of contemporary artists, and helped challenge the taboos associated with lesbian relationships. For modern audiences it’s a good reminder that people in the 19th century were not ignorant of lesbian relationships, as we tend to believe. And it’s pretty damn sexy, don’t you think?

[monsoonlibrarian]

Paul François Quinsac, Nymphs in the Forest, Paul François Quinsac (French 1858–1932) [Academicism], Undated. 

[monsoonlibrarian]

Zeus Seducing Callisto in the guise of Artemis

This is one of the many Greek myths that features lotsa gender-bending and homoerotic sexual activity. Callisto was one of the nymphs of Artemis, the virgin hunter goddess, and like all the followers of Artemis she was required to swear an oath of virginity if she wanted to join her retinue of sexy celibate nymphs. Which she did, of course, because Artemis. So there they all are, Artemis and her followers, happily romping in their asexual forest paradise. Then one night, Artemis rocks up and wants to get the woo on with Callisto. Now Callisto is in love with Artemis, and she does what anyone would do when the sexy and unobtainable goddess they worship offers themselves up on a platter. The resulting scene is a favourite of 18th century artists (why would that be, I wonder?) and has been painted over and over again. (Especially by François Boucher, who was especially fond of any scene that put two women together in a racy way. He painted Artemis and Callisto no less than three times).

Alas, all is not well. It is not Artemis that Callisto has banged, but Artemis’ father Zeus, disguised as his own daughter (yes, I know, it’s gross and weird. That’s Greek myth for you). The fakery is discovered when, a few months later, all the nymphs go bathing together, and Callisto looks quite obviously pregnant. (How did she get pregnant when Zeus was genderbent into a lady you ask? Well he managed to impregnate women when he was disguised as a bull, a swan and a shower of gold, and he gave birth to one of his children when she sprang from his forehead. He’s a god, you guys.) Anyway, Artemis is royally pissed. She takes her celibacy seriously. Really seriously. She can’t punish her dick of a dad, obviously, because he’s king of the gods, so instead she punishes Callisto. Poor Callisto gets turned into a bear. (She has to give birth as a bear you guys. Harsh). Much later, when her grown-up half-god son nearly kills poor bear Callisto, Zeus takes pity on them both and puts them into the sky. And that’s where the constellations Ursa Major (mum) and Ursa Minor (son) come from.

Now whenever you look into the night sky and see Ursa Major, you can remember that you’re gazing up at a beautiful lesbian bear. Our great lesbian bear mother in the sky, showering the brilliant light of her lesbianism down on all of us.

Art: 1. François Boucher, Jupiter and Callisto [detail], 1744.

2. François Boucher, Jupiter, in the Guise of Diana, and Callisto [detail], 1763.

3. Jacob de Wit, Jupiter, Disguised as Diana, Seducing the Nymph Callisto [detail], 1727. 4. François Boucher, Jupiter in the Guise of Diana, and the Nymph Callisto [detail], 1759.

5. Berthe Morisot, Two Nymphs Embracing / Jupiter and Callisto [detail], 1892.

[monsoonlibrarian]

It has come to my attention that Adèle and Noémie are both 5’9

Quiet, I’m thinking

Still thinking

[monsoonlibrarian]

These images almost never show up together so here they go. Taken by Thomas Laisné these represent one of the most romantic editorials taken during the roll out of Portrait of a Lady on Fire in France.

There is an almost deliberate attempt in the lighting to have their eye colors match.

[monsoonlibrarian]

“One of the manifestos of the film is actually to get rid of this idea of the muse, which is a nice word that actually hides the participation of women in art history. A muse is this fetishised, silent woman who is inspiring just because she is beautiful. We know that even though for a long time opportunit[ies for women] were to be models, these models were in the room, they were co-creating, they were one of the brains in the room, so of course the goal was to actually portray that; to make a love story and co-create dialogue with that quality so [that] in the process of the film, where we take you, she becomes that brain. On the set I think movies always reflect the way they were done and the politics of th[is] set was that there was no muse… the set was quite cerebral.”

— Celine Sciamma (Cast and Crew Q&A | TIFF 2019)

[monsoonlibrarian]

[monsoonlibrarian]

this photo shoot of Adèle Haenel

[monsoonlibrarian]

Don’t mind me i’m just currently fixating on gay icon Adèle Haenel after watching Portrait of a Lady on Fire

[monsoonlibrarian]

vita & virginia // elisa y marcela // portrait of a lady on fire

[monsoonlibrarian]

[monsoonlibrarian]

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) dir. Céline Sciamma

[monsoonlibrarian]

The Handmaiden (2016) dir. Park Chan-wook // Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) dir. Céline Sciamma

[monsoonlibrarian]

natalie portman embroidered her cape with all of the female directors who were snubbed in oscars 2020 is the reason i believe in female supermacy