The weekend project (which I planned to release with much fanfare on Sunday) got bogged down, so instead of writing something myself I’ll point you at a LanguageHat post on fish names. It, in turn, directs you to an Opinionator column on the problems of translation (but don’t skip the LH post: the comments section is as erudite as always and manages to transition from fish names all the way to French stairway architecture). If you enjoy the Opinionator piece, you probably will also like The Delighted States, which is about literary style and translation and the history of the novel, and which I haven’t finished reading so I’m not required to have a fully coherent opinion about it yet.

If that’s not enough to keep you going until my weekend project is finished, there’s nothing I can do for you.