Saturday, January 19, 2013

Winning Words

   

There are so many champion words in the English language, ones that are a delight to say: tithe, dragoon, splay... 

And so many words in other languages, ones I don't know how to pronounce, that have something fun to say...

Shemomedjamo (Georgian)

To accidentally eat the whole thing.

Pelinti (Buli, Ghana)

To move hot food around in your mouth.

Rhwe (Tsonga, South Africa)

To pass out on the floor, drunk and naked.

Tartle (Scots)

The hesitation just before you have to introduce someone whose name you don't remember.

Koi No Yokan (Japanese)

The sense upon first meeting a person that the two of you are going to fall in love.

Cafune (Brazilian Portuguese)

To tenderly run your fingers through someone's hair.

Kaelling (Danish)

A parent who curses at their children in public.

Age-otori (Japanese)
To look worse after a haircut.

Backpfeifengesicht (German)
A face badly in need of a fist.

Duende (Spanish)
A climactic show of spirit in a performance or work of art.

Gigil (Filipino)
The urge to pinch or squeeze something that is unbearably cute.

Ilunga (Tshiluba, Congo)
A person who will forgive any abuse the first time, tolerate it a second time, but never a third time.

L’esprit de l’escalier (French)
Thinking of a clever comeback when it is too late to deliver it.

Mamihlapinatapai (Yaghan)
A look between two people that suggests an unspoken, shared desire.

Meraki (Greek)
Doing something with soul, creativity, or love-- putting something of yourself into what you’re doing.

Nunchi (Korean)
The art of listening and correctly gauging another’s mood. 

Pena ajena (Mexican Spanish)
The embarrassment you feel watching someone else’s humiliation.

Schadenfreude (German)
The pleasure derived from someone else’s pain.

Tingo (Pascuense, Easter Island)
To borrow objects one by one from a neighbor’s house until there is nothing left.

Waldeinsamkeit (German)
The feeling of being alone in the woods.

Yoko meshi (Japanese)
The stress particular to speaking a foreign language.
   

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Hushpuppy's Bathtub



Beasts of the Southern Wilds finally made it up to Wyoming. So glad! This apocalyptic bayou fable packs a punch-- it's a meaty beauty of a film.  


Reminded me of the magic realism inherent in life, wherever we lay our heads. One day the Dairyland sign reads, "EH BETTER NOT" and the next, "HI YOU". Brings on a grin every time.


Sunday, January 6, 2013

It's Been Awhile...


...since I got lost in a book. And now I've gobbled up two in quick succession: 




I guess that's how it goes-- feast or famine! In any case, it's a beautiful feeling to be transported by language and a story.
      

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Say Yes To Magic


Welcome to 2013! 

May the new year stomp all over our "to do" lists and fears and from the pulp of that crushed material bring forth something more awe-inspiring and precious than we ever dared hope for ourselves and the sacred world we live in. 

My motto for the year? I like "Say Yes to Magic". Catchy, right? When I told Evan that, he texted me back, "I thought it was Say Yes to Evan!" Evan's magic so I think it still holds. His motto for the year? "Bonus Time!" Because the world was supposed to end in 2012. Brings a smile to my face every time I think of it. And that's more magic. 

But the best this year has offered up so far? Check out these two:


That's my newly engaged brother, Mike, and his fiancĂ©, Rachel, in matching glitter t-shirts on New Year's Day. Here's them without the glitter: 


Still so fabulous! And here's them in oil paints:


I couldn't be more thrilled by this news-- just so excited to be in their lives as they live theirs' out together. More magic. You see how we're already awash in the stuff and the year's just begun?! This is the start of something beautiful.
               

Thursday, December 27, 2012

The Miracles Of Life


  
"It is a miracle if you can find true friends, and it is a miracle if you have enough food to eat, and it is a miracle if you get to spend your days and evenings doing whatever it is you like to do, and the holiday season —like all the other seasons— is a good time not only to tell stories of miracles, but to think about the miracles in your own life, and to be grateful for them." 

—Lemony Snicket, The Lump of Coal

   

Thursday, December 13, 2012

How Alias Stole My Life



1. This guy: Flinkman. He's my favorite character, bless his heart. 


2. I understand why Ben Affleck went for Jennifer Garner. Her kicking abilities are outstanding, red wigs suit her, and emotions play across her face in interesting ways.


3. Oh, my. Sexy time. 


4. This fictional family of fucked up, power hungry Russian ladies who secretly rule the world. 


5. I'm a sucker for Jack's martyrdom. So good and indomitable.

In Alias, nearly every marriage harbors a spy, characters die at least twice each, and family bonding looks like solidarity in a fire fight. I can't look away.
    

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Grandma's Hands



Gabriele Galimberti traveled over the course of a year as a couch surfer and grandson. 


His photos of grandmothers from around the world cooking their signature dishes warm my heart and make my mouth water. 


If you go and view the entire collection, you'll find each grandmother's recipe alongside her photo. 


Happy Thanksgiving! 


May memories of our grandmothers' cooking live long and prosper.