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
Excellent review of my dystopian translation baby and incredible deployment of "ding-a-ling"!
'Wandering Cat's Cage' Lays Bare the Fault Lines of Gender and Autonomy in a Ferocious Sci-Fi Dystopia
Akane Torikai's speculative fiction manga flips the familiar post-male premise to highlight how the continuity of bodily autonomy in patriarchal society is policed no matter who's in charge.
gizmodo.com
September 13, 2026 at 3:11 PM
Excellent review of my dystopian translation baby and incredible deployment of "ding-a-ling"!
I have one precious day off from the TIFF interpreting grind, so you know I spent it healing my battered brain in the hallowed halls of the church of my heart, the bookstore.
September 16, 2026 at 10:30 PM
I have one precious day off from the TIFF interpreting grind, so you know I spent it healing my battered brain in the hallowed halls of the church of my heart, the bookstore.
The radio is talking about SixTones, and I am enraged all over again.
The fact that SixTones is pronounced "stones" outrages me in the same way as random readings shoehorned onto kanji, like the student I once had whose kanji was 月 but her name was Luna. No. You're not allowed to do this, Japanese. Stop doing this.
September 16, 2026 at 3:50 PM
The radio is talking about SixTones, and I am enraged all over again.
Asked yet again if I do theatre or perform outside of interpreting. Apparently, I am very "expressive".
September 16, 2026 at 3:37 PM
Asked yet again if I do theatre or perform outside of interpreting. Apparently, I am very "expressive".
Interpreted on a photo shoot with puppies today. All photo shoots should have puppies. I don't know why this isn't standard industry practice.
September 15, 2026 at 1:52 AM
Interpreted on a photo shoot with puppies today. All photo shoots should have puppies. I don't know why this isn't standard industry practice.
Reposted by Jocelyne Allen
tbh I’d have said this was most German words, which is why it’s German and not some other language
September 13, 2026 at 11:11 AM
tbh I’d have said this was most German words, which is why it’s German and not some other language
Reposted by Jocelyne Allen
Folks, I've been told there's a new MangaPlus survey where they ask about the use of AI translation.
You know what to do docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
You know what to do docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
September 13, 2026 at 6:37 PM
Folks, I've been told there's a new MangaPlus survey where they ask about the use of AI translation.
You know what to do docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
You know what to do docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
Excellent review of my dystopian translation baby and incredible deployment of "ding-a-ling"!
'Wandering Cat's Cage' Lays Bare the Fault Lines of Gender and Autonomy in a Ferocious Sci-Fi Dystopia
Akane Torikai's speculative fiction manga flips the familiar post-male premise to highlight how the continuity of bodily autonomy in patriarchal society is policed no matter who's in charge.
gizmodo.com
September 13, 2026 at 3:11 PM
Excellent review of my dystopian translation baby and incredible deployment of "ding-a-ling"!
Everyone loves my stylish vignette of a translation baby!
Comic 21)
Veil, vol 4 by Kotteri, translated by Jocelyne Allen, lettered by Kevin Druelle
While always a collection of disparate moments and motifs, volume 4 is further distinct from what came before in that, fewer 4-8 page vignettes, many more 4-koma and other short 2x2 bits.
Veil, vol 4 by Kotteri, translated by Jocelyne Allen, lettered by Kevin Druelle
While always a collection of disparate moments and motifs, volume 4 is further distinct from what came before in that, fewer 4-8 page vignettes, many more 4-koma and other short 2x2 bits.
September 12, 2026 at 10:10 PM
Everyone loves my stylish vignette of a translation baby!
Full day of interpreting for the stars, so now I am only doing extremely stupid things until it's time for bed. Lie on the sofa and play my little farming game, bash away at my drums tunelessly, stare at the wall slack-jawed. No brain, only body.
September 12, 2026 at 9:50 PM
Full day of interpreting for the stars, so now I am only doing extremely stupid things until it's time for bed. Lie on the sofa and play my little farming game, bash away at my drums tunelessly, stare at the wall slack-jawed. No brain, only body.
Extremely wild to open YouTube and see a thumbnail featuring my own self at the top of the page. I guess I made the news in Japan!
広島出身 西川美和監督の作品がトロント国際映画祭で上映
YouTube video by 広テレ!NEWS
www.youtube.com
September 11, 2026 at 9:48 PM
Extremely wild to open YouTube and see a thumbnail featuring my own self at the top of the page. I guess I made the news in Japan!
Reposted by Jocelyne Allen
This is the goofiest baby I have ever seen committed to the comics page.
September 7, 2026 at 8:17 PM
This is the goofiest baby I have ever seen committed to the comics page.
Welp! Two curveballs tonight that I did not see coming at all: Italian Neorealism and director Vittorio De Sica's movie Shoeshine, and an Ozu film neither I nor my director knew the English title of. *sigh*
Finally, don’t be afraid to double check things with the artist, like names or a key word you didn't catch. It’s obviously better if you don’t have to stop, but it happens sometimes. Prep all you want, they could still throw you a curveball with an obscure French vampire film from 1972.
September 11, 2026 at 1:16 AM
Welp! Two curveballs tonight that I did not see coming at all: Italian Neorealism and director Vittorio De Sica's movie Shoeshine, and an Ozu film neither I nor my director knew the English title of. *sigh*
The second volume of On Their Frontlines reads left to right, while the first is your standard manga right to left. Such a subtly thoughtful choice given that V2 is set in the US and V1 is in Japan. My brain did short circuit a bit, though, like wait, how do I read books again???
September 9, 2026 at 4:23 PM
The second volume of On Their Frontlines reads left to right, while the first is your standard manga right to left. Such a subtly thoughtful choice given that V2 is set in the US and V1 is in Japan. My brain did short circuit a bit, though, like wait, how do I read books again???
Reposted by Jocelyne Allen
The best part of discovering the existence of a movie called Onsen Shark 2 is that somewhere out there is an Onsen Shark 1 for me to also enjoy. My week's off to an incredible start.
映画『温泉シャーク』
映画『温泉シャーク』2024年7月5日 全国公開！温泉から突如現れた古代ザメ！日本発サメ映画で、SNS話題騒然、クラウドファンディングの「サメマシマシプラン」で432匹が登場！特撮とCGを駆使した怪作がこの夏、全国の劇場を襲う！まさに、サメの罠だ 金子清文 藤村拓矢 中西裕胡 内藤正記 巻上公一 青柳尊哉 赤星昇一郎 高樹 澪 脚本・監督：井上森人 音 楽：神馬 譲 テーマ曲：Storytelli...
hotspringshark.com
September 8, 2026 at 2:23 PM
The best part of discovering the existence of a movie called Onsen Shark 2 is that somewhere out there is an Onsen Shark 1 for me to also enjoy. My week's off to an incredible start.
I'm at the point in interpreting prep where my head is so stuffed with vocab/info about the films/people I'm interpreting for that I just want to stop. If past experience holds, I will be soon descend into a panic, convinced my Japanese is actual trash, how could I have deluded myself all this time
September 8, 2026 at 10:25 PM
I'm at the point in interpreting prep where my head is so stuffed with vocab/info about the films/people I'm interpreting for that I just want to stop. If past experience holds, I will be soon descend into a panic, convinced my Japanese is actual trash, how could I have deluded myself all this time
Today's book post has brought a devilishly mysterious translation baby!
September 8, 2026 at 7:43 PM
Today's book post has brought a devilishly mysterious translation baby!
The best part of discovering the existence of a movie called Onsen Shark 2 is that somewhere out there is an Onsen Shark 1 for me to also enjoy. My week's off to an incredible start.
映画『温泉シャーク』
映画『温泉シャーク』2024年7月5日 全国公開！温泉から突如現れた古代ザメ！日本発サメ映画で、SNS話題騒然、クラウドファンディングの「サメマシマシプラン」で432匹が登場！特撮とCGを駆使した怪作がこの夏、全国の劇場を襲う！まさに、サメの罠だ 金子清文 藤村拓矢 中西裕胡 内藤正記 巻上公一 青柳尊哉 赤星昇一郎 高樹 澪 脚本・監督：井上森人 音 楽：神馬 譲 テーマ曲：Storytelli...
hotspringshark.com
September 8, 2026 at 2:23 PM
The best part of discovering the existence of a movie called Onsen Shark 2 is that somewhere out there is an Onsen Shark 1 for me to also enjoy. My week's off to an incredible start.
This is the goofiest baby I have ever seen committed to the comics page.
September 7, 2026 at 8:17 PM
This is the goofiest baby I have ever seen committed to the comics page.
Case study in why machine translation is bad. Apparently, Lily Franky just had the one year of success in acting and changed genders halfway through this profile.
September 6, 2026 at 7:36 PM
Case study in why machine translation is bad. Apparently, Lily Franky just had the one year of success in acting and changed genders halfway through this profile.
The sucky thing about being a Japanese interpreter at a film festival is that none of your Canadian friends know any of the J-stars and are thus entirely unimpressed by who you're rubbing elbows with. Fortunately, my hairdresser is Japanese, and she was suitably awed when I dropped some names today.
September 4, 2026 at 10:23 PM
The sucky thing about being a Japanese interpreter at a film festival is that none of your Canadian friends know any of the J-stars and are thus entirely unimpressed by who you're rubbing elbows with. Fortunately, my hairdresser is Japanese, and she was suitably awed when I dropped some names today.
The cool thing about interpreting for a film festival is that you get to see all the films (you are working on) before anyone else in the comfort of your own living room. Some great J-films coming to TIFF this year!
September 4, 2026 at 1:24 AM
The cool thing about interpreting for a film festival is that you get to see all the films (you are working on) before anyone else in the comfort of your own living room. Some great J-films coming to TIFF this year!
Why not take a break and watch a little horse lady dancing festival in Okinawa?
那覇・辻の伝統祭り『じゅり馬祭り2026』女性たちの華やかな踊り [takaren 2026/3/8]
YouTube video by takaren-so-tv
www.youtube.com
September 3, 2026 at 8:32 PM
Why not take a break and watch a little horse lady dancing festival in Okinawa?
You can read this amazing book in English now, friends!!
"Komiya's sweet-faced, doll-like figures contrast achingly with scenes of wartime devastation and postwar squalor." — Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
On Their Frontlines: The Lives of Japanese War Brides Vol. 1 by 小宮りさ麻吏奈 / MARINA LISA KOMIYA is out now! https://ow.ly/QIwy50ZHYtF
On Their Frontlines: The Lives of Japanese War Brides Vol. 1 by 小宮りさ麻吏奈 / MARINA LISA KOMIYA is out now! https://ow.ly/QIwy50ZHYtF
September 3, 2026 at 6:14 PM
You can read this amazing book in English now, friends!!
I guess bc my name is associated with artists I translate, I get AI slop spam addressed to them, and I got a doozy of an essay today for Torikai Akane. Over ten paragraphs long, most of it simply regurgitating facts about Torikai with a thick layer of sycophancy. Such obvious trash.
September 3, 2026 at 4:35 PM
I guess bc my name is associated with artists I translate, I get AI slop spam addressed to them, and I got a doozy of an essay today for Torikai Akane. Over ten paragraphs long, most of it simply regurgitating facts about Torikai with a thick layer of sycophancy. Such obvious trash.