#calaveras county

[the-hometown-aesthetic]

[officialnortherncalifornia]

The New Melones Dam on the border of Calaveras County and Tuolumne County. Photo from the Bureau of Reclamation, public domain.

[uwmspeccoll]

Staff Pick of the Week: Twain’s “Revenge Translation”

Mark Twain wrote, “I am quite sure I that (bar one) I have no race prejudices.” It is generally interpreted that the prejudice to which Twain referred is toward the French. As is often the case with Twain, it can be difficult to determine the sincerity of his ribbing; in Mark Twain and France: The Making of a New American Identity, the authors argue that Twain used France “as a kind of foil ... to help build a modern American sense of cultural self.” Sincere or not, Twain’s antipathy toward the French is on full display in The Jumping Frog: in English, then in French, then Clawed Back into a Civilized Language Once More by Patient, Unremunerated Toil. Perhaps it would amuse Mr. Clemons that I came across this title because I am a bit of a francophile! Our first edition copy was published in New York in 1903 by Harper & Brothers, with illustrations by Frederick Strothmann.

The frog tale, Mark Twain’s first published short story, first appeared under the title “Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog” in November of 1865 in the literary weekly The Saturday Press. It was widely reprinted; Twain continued to refine the story and a new version appeared in The Californian a month later with the title “The Celebrated Jumping From of Calaveras County.” Keeping this title, it appeared again as the titular story in Twain’s first book, a collection of short stories published in an edition of 1000 in 1867 by American News Company, edited by Twain’s good friend Charles Henry Webb. Issued in seven different colored bindings, the sales were lackluster, but it has since become a hot item among rare book collectors.

A French translation of the story was completed by Thérèse Bentzon and published in 1872 in the monthly magazine Revue des deux Mondes, embedded in an essay about American humorists that Twain interpreted as condescending. He complained that Bentzon’s translation stripped all the humor from the story, and cited that as the impetus for “clawing back” the story into English, but it might have been Bentzon’s characterization of Twain as an unrefined rube that really got his goat. His retaliatory “retranslation” is a word-for-word translation retaining the French syntax. Therefore, it reads like the early days of computer-assisted translators when it was a fun party game to see who could come up with the most convoluted phrase by translating it into another language and back (although maybe this is something only English-major nerds did?). Whether read as a meditation on the limits of translation or an example of pre-internet literary trolling, it is a fun little book. 

Find more Staff Picks here. 

Check out past posts on Mark Twain here. 

-Olivia, Special Collections Graduate Intern

[ollyisbusy]

I’m a frog.

[thoughtsforsoob]

Yeonjun the type to have a little introvert gf that likes to crochet and read american/brit lit for fun

he’s this cool guy with lots of friends and stuff and you’re just waiting at home for him to come back and try on the new leg warmers you crocheted for him.

he comes home and sees the leg warmers, as well as the yarn scraps all over the floor. He makes a mental note to sweep up a little later.

He tries on the cream color leg warmers and he loves them a ton

He begs his stylist to let him wear them for the next comeback concept shoot and they give in and let him

Fans are trying to figure out where he got them and their theories rang from him crocheting them himself all the way to that one girl from le sserafim making them for him (lmao I can’t remember which member it is but she’s talented! Much respect to her)

he doesn’t come out and say who it is directly but he says a very talented crochet artist made them custom for him

also about the lit thing…

sweet boy is buying you books all the damn time because he sees you finish them so fast!

He buys hard copies even if they are a little pricier because he knows you enjoy the physical copy better

“These are better because we can pass them down to our kids and let them read!” Yeonjun just about chokes at the thought of you wanting kids with him but he loves it

his favorite genre to read with you is poetry but he likes pretty much anything as long as you're reading it

you could read him mark twain works, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County for instance, and he would still love it because you read it. (this story for refrence, if you've never read it, is a funny/confusing one that really has to clear ending or moral to the story. so...for someone to like it that much...lmao, mans is whipped).

[catsofcalifornia]

Mimzy from Calaveras County Animal Services in San Andreas, California

Click here for more information about adoption and other ways to help!

Click here for a link to Calaveras County Animal Services' main website.

Mimzy is an adorable, petite white and black medium-haired adult. Mimzy is super sweet, very gentle and extraordinarily friendly–she has never met a human she didn’t like. The little princess adores attention and loves to be petted over every inch of her body––you could pet her or let her sit in your lap all day! Although Mimzy is about 5 years old, she is still quite playful and enjoys tossing a small toy in the air and pouncing on it or chasing a toy on a cat wand.

Mimzy was brought to the shelter by a good Samaritan who found her lying on the side of a road. She was underweight, her ears were dirty and had ear mites, her coat was a mess and she had some hair loss. Mimzy has had a thorough check-up by a veterinarian and she did not have a contagious disease––but she does have an “immune response”. After completing a round of medications, she is now on a special diet for skin sensitivities. Mimzy has gained weight, her coat has improved and her hair is growing back.

After her last follow-up appointment, the vet said Mimzy is now ready to be adopted as a “special needs” kitty. Mimzy needs a person or family who will keep up on flea control, continue her special Sensitive diet, and make sure she is always indoors. Since she is already spayed, she can go home with you right away.

[flashliiqhts]

Doodles for @pacificwaternymph 's western au, which I have far too much brainrot about!

I had so much fun coming up with designs for these guys, though it was a bit tricky to find historically accurate references- I mostly went off of old photographs and paintings. Katherine's day dress may not be the most accurate btw, because I didn’t really know what fashion the high-class western settlers wore, and the 'Wild West' period stretched basically a whole century, so I estimated it at the 1870s and just used a couple paintings for reference

I'd like to imagine that Shelby keeps Tortoise for something like the frog-jumping competition from Mark Twain's "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" because what else are they going to do in a small western town. I also turned Gem's bear Apollo into a Scottish deerhound (a fairly common dog for pioneers to keep!)

[judgemark45]

(Circa 1959) USS Calaveras County (LST-516) Underway..USN Image

[noelcollection]

Frogs & Twain

Some of us may have childhood memories of playing a game of leap-frog or reading the adventures of Mr. Frog and Mr. Toad; but did you know there is an official frog jumping day? This week not only celebrated the motherly figures in our lives but it was Frog Jumping Day Saturday, May 13th.

The origin of this unique little day steams from a short story by Mark Twain, “Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog” was first published in 1865; though the more common title is “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” but there is a third title associated with this short story: “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County.” This short story is considered to be Twain's first success as a writer, to which he would be later accused of plagiarism from an older Greek variation and Twain claimed it was a true case of history repeating itself and his story would be later referenced in a Greek textbook in the early 1900s. The story was also translated into French and then Twain retranslated “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” back into English. Twain’s opinion of the French language was not a kind one. The date of May 13th has no known correlation to Mark Twain’s life but there is an annual frog jumping competition that began in 1849 in Calaveras County, California. It is also interesting to note that the international date for frog jumping is February 19th. 

This time we are featuring two items from our collection. A 1930s publication featuring Mark Twain’s frog-centered short story with its original title and scientific book detailing different frogs. The Favorite Works of Mark Twain (https://bit.ly/42nqfUX) contains a short story which starts with a man seeking an old acquaintance named Leonidas W. Smiley. However, the tale the seeking friend ends up with is a different Smiley. Jim Smiley was a gambler and had a pet frog named Dan’l Webster. Jim claims his frog can out-jump any frog in the county and he is challenged by a stranger with a bet. However, the challenge was fixed to Jim Smiley's disadvantage. And the narrator is left with no positive information on his old acquaintance.

The Frog Book: North American toads and frogs with a study of the habits and life histories of those of the northeastern states by Mary Dickerson (https://bit.ly/3phffKc) features illustrations and photographs of various frog species of North America. The Frog book contains several color plates of various frog species which have been selected for this post. The frontispiece is charming as well with its colored plate of a flora and a little white tree frog. 

Also, did you know that there is lore of a frogman/people cryptid in Loveland, Ohio? So, how can you celebrate Frog jumping day for next year? You can jump like a frog, read a frog themed book, or wear a frog printed top.

[putah-creek]

we are ordinary until we are not a hawk gliding above this valley is grocery shopping just like you in safeway clean up in aisle 7 dogs randomly do their business out in the world there's no other choice remember driving the backroads of calaveras county and there was no gas station but there were lots of pine trees we all deal with the options we have choose as wisely as possible we are ordinary until we are not

james lee jobe

[jennamoran]

For the life of me I can’t understand why the new biography of Mark Twain by the celebrated jumping frog of Calaveras County seems so angry

[meistoshi]

i have just learned about the calaveras county frog jumping jubilee & i now desperately need unovan events of frog pokémon competing leap distances

[drinky]

Forlorn Hope, ODB Trouseau Noir, Calaveras County 2019. With pan-seared tuna, garden-herb couscous, and lemon aioli.

[mania-sama]

Hello, can I ask from which author (BSD characters) have you read the books? Hope my question is not confusing.

Also, can I ask your top fav characters and fav moments from BSD?

Thanks 🌻

Hello, thank you so much for sending in this ask! Not confusing at all!!

I have read only a few books from the authors featured in Bungou Stray Dogs, but I plan to read more! I love reading classic literature — I find their verbiage fun to read, even if it may sometimes be a little hard to get through. I also like to read the classics written by the authors in BSD, in case it gives me any insight on what Asagiri was thinking when he made these characters.

I’ll list them author first, then the book I’ve read by them! Most are the ones that their ability is named from (generally speaking, the ability name is based off of their most popular book). Any books that I’ve read a few pages of, or seen a related film of, will be listed separately in an “Extra” section.

Dazai Osamu — No Longer Human (translated by Donald Keene)

Akutagawa Ryūnosuke — Rashōmon (translated by Takashi Kojima)

Edgar Allan Poe — The Fall of the House of Usher ; The Tell-Tale Heart ; Annabel Lee ; The Raven ; The Masque of the Red Death ; The Oval Portrait ; The Oblong Box

Mark Twain — The Celebrated Jumping Frogs of Calaveras County

Fyodor Dostoevsky — Crime and Punishment (translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky)

Agatha Christie — And Then There Were None

Adam Frankenstein — Frankenstein (The actual author is Mary Shelley. I don’t know why Asagiri chose to name his character this way.)

Francis Scott Fitzgerald — The Great Gatsby

Nathaniel Hawthorne — The Scarlet Letter

Extra: Excerpts from Mark Twain’s Life on the Mississippi A small bit from Edgar Allan Poe’s The Balloon Hoax

As for my favorite characters, I can say that my absolute favorite in BSD is Akutagawa Ryuunosuke, but my second favorite, who just BARELY doesn't make it to first, is Edogawa Ranpo. Interestingly, I used to be pretty neutral about Akutagawa when I first watched and read BSD. Then I watched Wan!, which made me realize just how funny Akutagawa really is, and began my affinity for the character. Beast is the light novel that actually propelled Akutagawa to be my favorite, taking over Ranpo by a very small margin. With concerns to Ranpo, he just carries the series on his back, and I mean it. He must have extreme back pain. I also like that his ability is actually super autism. I find him funny, relatable, and complex. I enjoy every scene he's in.

Other favorites of mine: Nakajima Atsushi, who I'd say is my third favorite. I love his complexity, his development, his backstory, his design, everything. Yosano Akiko, who has my favorite backstory in all of BSD. Also a banger character design. F. Scott Fitzgerald, and I really can't explain this. I just. Yeah. He's so painfully American and I find that incredibly enjoyable. Of course, there are more characters I really love! But these are my favorites!!

EDIT: Hello, I forgot to answer the second portion! My bad!

My favorite moment in all of Bungou Stray Dogs official media is the cafe/sugar scene between Akutagawa and Atsushi from Bungou Stray Dogs: Beast. It's the only hint we have towards the idea that Akutagawa and Atsushi have the potential to be true friends. They can get along. If it weren't DAZAI. Always that man's fault.

Nothing really comes close to that for me. There are others I like, such as the Dazai-Oda bar scene from Beast as well, or Akutagawa's death sequence. Another amazing one is the Tachihara's elder brother's death scene, where Yosano comes across the thousands of scratched "corrects" and the hanging body of the man she's saved countless times. Truly gut-wrenching. This animanga is filled with touching and phenomenal scenes, and if you wanted a full list of all that I have enjoyed, I think we'd be here all day.

[countyflagchampionship]

Congratulations to the counties advancing to round 5!

AK 

Anchorage, Juneau

AL

Cleburne

AR

Searcy

AZ

Maricopa, Yavapai

CA

Santa Cruz, El Dorado, Ventura, Monterey, Mariposa, Calaveras, Orange

CO

La Plata

FL

Palm Beach, Okaloosa, Monroe

GA

Fulton, Floyd

HI 

Maui

IA

Black Hawk, Polk, Henry, Hardin

IL 

Moultrie, Peoria, Cook, McHenry

LA 

St Bernard, St Tammany, Bossier, Jefferson, Cameron

MA

Barnstable, Berkshire

MD

Cecil, Montgomery, Frederick

ME

Androscoggin, Washington

MI 

Wexford, Ottawa

MN

Aitkin

MO 

St Louis

MS 

Adams

MT 

Silver Bow

NC 

Person, Tyrrell, Hoke, Northampton

NE 

Saline, Buffalo, Saunders

NJ 

Somerset, Essex

NM 

Otero, Doña Ana, Socorro, Colfax

NV 

Eureka, White Pine, Lincoln, Douglas, Clark

NY 

Westchester, Rockland, Nassau, Saint Lawrence, Chemung, Chenango, Wyoming, Warren, Richmond, Livingston, Greene

OH

Lucas, Licking, Coshocton, Lake, Pickaway, Ross, Seneca, Trumbull, Jackson, Mercer, Brown

OK 

Payne

OR 

Linn

PA

Potter, Lancaster, Carbon

SC 

Florence

TN 

Johnson, Houston, Cumberland

TX

Dallas, Goliad, Lipscomb, McMullen, Llano, Ochiltree, Jones

UT

Summit

VA

James City, Charlotte, Southampton, Charles City, Wise, Warren, Alleghany

WA

Snohomish, Whitman, Pend Oreille, Chelan, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Kittitas, Skamania, Yakima, Clallam, Klickitat, Thurston, Whatcom, Asotin

WI

Fond du Lac

WY

Big Horn, Converse, Park

[czolgosz]

yknow today when i answered that calaveras county question there was lots of laughing until the woman running the thing said i was right.. imagine not knowing "the celebrated jumping frog of calaveras county"! <-/lighthearted it was just weird like i thought everyone (in the united states at least. mark twain is not as popular elsewhere i imagine) knew this story