Reporter’s diary

Press, 25 February 1989, Page 2

Reporter’s diary

Mistranslation IN California, the words “Just do it” are everywhere. They are the latest slogan for the Nike company, which sells running shoes. In one television commercial, a Samburu tribesman from Kenya is used to advertise hiking boots. He glares into the camera and speaks in Maa, his native tongue, and “Just do it” appears as a subtitle. A gleeful “Daily Telegraph” reports that what he is really saying is: “I don’t want these — give me big shoes,” according to an anthropologist, Lee Cronk, of the University of Cincinnati. An embarrassed Nike spokesman admitted that the film crew had to improvise after finding it hard to get a Maa version of the slogan. “We never really knew what the tribesmen were saying,” conceded the; director, Hannah Hempstead. Birdpower NEXT time you feel tempted to poke a pinkie through the bars of the parrot’s cage, remember

that a parrot’s beak can close with a force of 3501 b per square inch, or in the modern vernacular, 2411.5kPa. Just a warning. “Love and marriage...” MAARTIN Loeffen promised his fiancee, Anthea Graham, that when they got married she would get two horses. He never mentioned it again, and plans went on as normal (sic) for any wedding. Unknown to anyone else, Maartin cancelled the ordered bridal cars and arranged for two carriages from Revival Rides to transport the wedding party. Being a surprise, there was no chance for a test “fit” but with a little juggling, the bride and groom travelled in the spacious luxury of a clarence brougham, while the rest of the wedding party (four bridesmaids and best man) gave new meaning to togetherness in a landau. So that ,is why, dear startled passers-by, bits of arms and legs in wedding finery were poking out of that carriage on Saturday.

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One out, all out THE town of Pine Point in north-west Canada was so dependent on the local lead-zinc mine that when the mine closed, the town was sure to follow. cap News,” a magazine for polar philatelists, records that after 24 years, the town post office was officially closed, while the district administrator’s proclamation also brought down the curtain on the town. “Effective August 15, the town of Pine Point will discontinue” it said. The ultimate redundancy. Identity crisis A REPORTER approached the Minister of Justice, Mr Palmer, after a speech to see if she could get a copy of his notes. She was a little nervous, so she had rehearsed her introduction carefully. Determined to be professional, she reached out •. to shake hands with him, took a deep breath and began: “Hello Mr Palmer, I’m Geoffrey Long from ‘The Press’,” at which point she called on all powers

to let the ground open and swallow her up. Don't mention it AT the Wings and Wheels Classic the refreshments tent was doing brisk business, especially in the pie line. On a board was chalked the message: "Pies: mince, mince or mince,” yet in spite of this, a colleague overheard yet another customer ask the airman serving “What kind of pies are they?” Sweltering heat, hot uniform and a long, tiring day notwith-standing,-he kept his cool. “Mince, madam.” Car decoding OH, good. A cryptic element is creeping into can registration plates, which* has the added benefit of* giving motorists some-; thing to think about in' rush hour traffic. Although “THERE” is a fairly straightforward expression of the we-have-arrived syndrome, “OLCDOG” should be taken with a pinch of old' salt, so to speak. —Jenny Setchell