Russell Scott Valentino
@russellv.bsky.social
Prof by light, creator by dark. Exploring the world by the utterance. Lover of rhythm, melody, sentences without verbs. Skeptic of #bsky. But fine. Find me russellv.com and/or https://barenchi.com
In the TSA Pre security line, removing my heavy coat, I ask, “Scarf ok?” She looks at it, says without smiling, “Yes, very stylish,” then, after a beat, “Also pre-approved for TSA Pre.”
November 23, 2025 at 5:08 PM
In the TSA Pre security line, removing my heavy coat, I ask, “Scarf ok?” She looks at it, says without smiling, “Yes, very stylish,” then, after a beat, “Also pre-approved for TSA Pre.”
What Does ‘6-7’ Mean? Maybe Tweens Don’t Want You to Know. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/s...
They don’t want you to know because it doesn’t mean anything!
They don’t want you to know because it doesn’t mean anything!
What Does ‘6-7’ Mean? Maybe Tweens Don’t Want You to Know.
www.nytimes.com
November 22, 2025 at 12:53 AM
What Does ‘6-7’ Mean? Maybe Tweens Don’t Want You to Know. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/s...
They don’t want you to know because it doesn’t mean anything!
They don’t want you to know because it doesn’t mean anything!
The big-hearted, the great-souled, the generous—these are being destroyed. Anger, recrimination, petty vindictiveness—these are the motives of the moment. Fifth circle sinners can’t even get to the top of the bottom.
November 18, 2025 at 4:03 AM
The big-hearted, the great-souled, the generous—these are being destroyed. Anger, recrimination, petty vindictiveness—these are the motives of the moment. Fifth circle sinners can’t even get to the top of the bottom.
At what point did critical thinking become sloppy jargon for paying attention?
November 17, 2025 at 7:57 PM
At what point did critical thinking become sloppy jargon for paying attention?
Given his emphasis on toughness, T, so I hear, is preparing a major new higher ed initiative that, instead of diversity and inclusion, which was so Obama after all, will feature offices of adversity and exclusion. Keep your eyes peeled for ‘em.
November 11, 2025 at 7:10 PM
Given his emphasis on toughness, T, so I hear, is preparing a major new higher ed initiative that, instead of diversity and inclusion, which was so Obama after all, will feature offices of adversity and exclusion. Keep your eyes peeled for ‘em.
AI and Literary Translation: A Global Consideration
I'm just back from the 48th annual ALTA conference, in Tucson, AZ, At the panel I participated in (thank you to co-panelists Lisa Bradford and Steve Bradbury!), Amy Stolls, formerly of the NEA, suggested that a short guide to the use of AI in…
I'm just back from the 48th annual ALTA conference, in Tucson, AZ, At the panel I participated in (thank you to co-panelists Lisa Bradford and Steve Bradbury!), Amy Stolls, formerly of the NEA, suggested that a short guide to the use of AI in…
AI and Literary Translation: A Global Consideration
I'm just back from the 48th annual ALTA conference, in Tucson, AZ, At the panel I participated in (thank you to co-panelists Lisa Bradford and Steve Bradbury!), Amy Stolls, formerly of the NEA, suggested that a short guide to the use of AI in literary translation might be helpful to, as she put it, "people like me," especially when approached by funders, publishers, and others wondering about its impact and potential uses.
russellv.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:24 PM
AI and Literary Translation: A Global Consideration
I'm just back from the 48th annual ALTA conference, in Tucson, AZ, At the panel I participated in (thank you to co-panelists Lisa Bradford and Steve Bradbury!), Amy Stolls, formerly of the NEA, suggested that a short guide to the use of AI in…
I'm just back from the 48th annual ALTA conference, in Tucson, AZ, At the panel I participated in (thank you to co-panelists Lisa Bradford and Steve Bradbury!), Amy Stolls, formerly of the NEA, suggested that a short guide to the use of AI in…
He doesn’t care if people have a heart attack, so why would he care if people starve?
November 8, 2025 at 6:01 AM
He doesn’t care if people have a heart attack, so why would he care if people starve?
ALTA48 has been great, but it is tiring me out!
November 8, 2025 at 5:26 AM
ALTA48 has been great, but it is tiring me out!
T’s like, what, no marble? No gold? And you’re the Emperor? Come on! And Emperor is like, normally I might actually be sitting on the floor.
November 4, 2025 at 2:40 AM
T’s like, what, no marble? No gold? And you’re the Emperor? Come on! And Emperor is like, normally I might actually be sitting on the floor.
After painstaking research, I’ve come to suspect Giovanni & Francesco da Sebenico, recorded as working on the refurbishment of the clock tower in the cathedral of my grandfather‘s Italian hometown in the 16th century, may’ve been Ivan (or Jovan) & Frane of Šibenik, & they might be my relatives. 
October 18, 2025 at 4:39 AM
After painstaking research, I’ve come to suspect Giovanni & Francesco da Sebenico, recorded as working on the refurbishment of the clock tower in the cathedral of my grandfather‘s Italian hometown in the 16th century, may’ve been Ivan (or Jovan) & Frane of Šibenik, & they might be my relatives. 
Linguists talk about high- and low-context languages, by which they mean languages that rely more on context than on grammatical markers for meaning. Authors can be like this. Chekhov, for instance, is a high-context author.
October 14, 2025 at 2:57 AM
Linguists talk about high- and low-context languages, by which they mean languages that rely more on context than on grammatical markers for meaning. Authors can be like this. Chekhov, for instance, is a high-context author.
Profascist or antifascist
October 13, 2025 at 2:34 AM
Profascist or antifascist
Which members of the Nobel selection committee for literature read Hungarian, I wonder?
October 9, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Which members of the Nobel selection committee for literature read Hungarian, I wonder?
Reposted by Russell Scott Valentino
russian-linked vessels are continuing to leak oil off Europe’s shores — despite Western sanctions — underscoring the continent’s inability to rein in moscow’s so-called shadow fleet.
www.politico.eu/article/russ...
www.politico.eu/article/russ...
Russia’s blacklisted tankers keep dumping oil in Europe’s seas
Shadow fleet vessels sailed unimpeded in EU waters after leaving slicks near the continent.
www.politico.eu
October 6, 2025 at 5:52 AM
russian-linked vessels are continuing to leak oil off Europe’s shores — despite Western sanctions — underscoring the continent’s inability to rein in moscow’s so-called shadow fleet.
www.politico.eu/article/russ...
www.politico.eu/article/russ...
Perspectival pic for this morning: Caspar David Friedrich’s Monk by the Sea (1808-10).
September 29, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Perspectival pic for this morning: Caspar David Friedrich’s Monk by the Sea (1808-10).
USSR anecdote unrelated to the US. Guy goes into the news kiosk 3 days in a row, looks around, then leaves. Finally the clerk says, can I help you? Guy says, looking for the obituaries. In the back of every newspaper, says the clerk. Nah, he says, the one I’m looking for will be on the front page.
September 17, 2025 at 1:55 AM
USSR anecdote unrelated to the US. Guy goes into the news kiosk 3 days in a row, looks around, then leaves. Finally the clerk says, can I help you? Guy says, looking for the obituaries. In the back of every newspaper, says the clerk. Nah, he says, the one I’m looking for will be on the front page.
Prime gave me a movie yesterday, new in 2025. Russians = bad guys. Entertaining if a little over-the-top violent. Curious that the bad guys were 3 generations of Russians, all living in the US, but all with strong Russian accents, as if each generation had come over anew. Russian accent = bad guy.
September 7, 2025 at 2:44 AM
Prime gave me a movie yesterday, new in 2025. Russians = bad guys. Entertaining if a little over-the-top violent. Curious that the bad guys were 3 generations of Russians, all living in the US, but all with strong Russian accents, as if each generation had come over anew. Russian accent = bad guy.
Propp at last
This only took us a little more than a decade. The image is linked to the publisher website (click on it to see more). And here's the publisher's description: Nearly seven decades after the English translation of Morphology of the Folktale, one of the most influential scholarly books…
This only took us a little more than a decade. The image is linked to the publisher website (click on it to see more). And here's the publisher's description: Nearly seven decades after the English translation of Morphology of the Folktale, one of the most influential scholarly books…
Propp at last
This only took us a little more than a decade. The image is linked to the publisher website (click on it to see more). And here's the publisher's description: Nearly seven decades after the English translation of Morphology of the Folktale, one of the most influential scholarly books on folklore, its sequel is finally available in an official English translation, completing the enterprise that occupied much of Vladimir Yakovlevich Propp's life.
russellv.com
August 13, 2025 at 8:10 AM
Propp at last
This only took us a little more than a decade. The image is linked to the publisher website (click on it to see more). And here's the publisher's description: Nearly seven decades after the English translation of Morphology of the Folktale, one of the most influential scholarly books…
This only took us a little more than a decade. The image is linked to the publisher website (click on it to see more). And here's the publisher's description: Nearly seven decades after the English translation of Morphology of the Folktale, one of the most influential scholarly books…
The guy who cuts down his entire forest because of envy, spite, or love deserves a novel. The one who does it out of greed or avarice, aka “self-interest,” is just your neighbor.
August 1, 2025 at 12:45 AM
The guy who cuts down his entire forest because of envy, spite, or love deserves a novel. The one who does it out of greed or avarice, aka “self-interest,” is just your neighbor.
Made this a while back. Still makes me want to move. barenchi.bandcamp.com/track/zapp
ZAPP, by ba.ren.chi
track by ba.ren.chi
barenchi.bandcamp.com
July 26, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Made this a while back. Still makes me want to move. barenchi.bandcamp.com/track/zapp
These folks look like they are having a blast and also working pretty hard. Maybe these go together…
July 17, 2025 at 6:39 AM
These folks look like they are having a blast and also working pretty hard. Maybe these go together…
Invited to speak at the upcoming ILEI conference in Belgrade. ILEI = International League of Esperanto Instructors. My topic is AI in translation (about which I’ll also be talking at Princeton in the fall so efficient). They’ll simultaneously interpret into Esperanto—a first for me, and so cool!
July 4, 2025 at 10:08 AM
Invited to speak at the upcoming ILEI conference in Belgrade. ILEI = International League of Esperanto Instructors. My topic is AI in translation (about which I’ll also be talking at Princeton in the fall so efficient). They’ll simultaneously interpret into Esperanto—a first for me, and so cool!
One way to take your mind off of things that are going on that you don’t like is to work on something that was worse. russellv.com/2025/06/30/t...
Translating Atrocity
When I told my friend Mira Rosenthal that I’d taken on a translation job for a book on Jasenovac, she didn’t miss a beat. “And how are you protecting yourself?” she asked. N…
russellv.com
July 2, 2025 at 5:46 PM
One way to take your mind off of things that are going on that you don’t like is to work on something that was worse. russellv.com/2025/06/30/t...