Thirteen words not found in the English language

Thirteen words not found in the English language:

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

2. Ilunga (Tshiluba, Congo): a person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first time, to tolerate it a second time, but never a third time

3. Taarradhin (Arabic): a way of resolving a problem without anyone losing face (not the same as our concept of a compromise – everyone wins)

4. Litost (Czech): a state of torment created by the sudden sight of one’s own misery

5. Esprit de l’escalier (French): a witty remark that occurs to you too late, literally on the way down the stairs…

6. Meraki (Greek): doing something with soul, creativity, or love

7. Yoko meshi (Japanese): literally ‘a meal eaten sideways’, referring to the peculiar stress induced by speaking a foreign language:

8. Duende (Spanish): a climactic show of spirit in a performance or work of art, which might be fulfilled in flamenco dancing, or bull-fighting, etc.

9. Guanxi (Mandarin): in traditional Chinese society, you would build up good guanxi by giving gifts to people, taking them to dinner, or doing them a favour, but you can also use up your guanxi by asking for a favour to be repaid.

10. Pochemuchka (Russian): a person who asks a lot of questions

11. Tingo (Pascuense language of Easter Island): to borrow objects one by one from a neighbour’s house until there is nothing left

12. Radioukacz (Polish): a person who worked as a telegraphist for the resistance movements on the Soviet side of the Iron Curtain

13. Selathirupavar (Tamil): a word used to define a certain type of absence without official leave in face of duty

(via The Hermitage)

May 18th, 2010

Einstürzende Neubauten- The Garden

May 17th, 2010

By Alex on 4/16/10

May 12th, 2010

Links!:

-Cul De Sac is a documentary film by Kiana Firouz, an Iranian LGBT rights activist, filmmaker, and actress. The film is about the condition of lesbians in Iran, and based heavily on Firouz’s own life story.
From Coilhouse:
"Since the trailer was posted on YouTube in December 2009, Cul de Sac has attracted global media attention, with thousands of views. Apparently, some of those views included members of Ahmadinejad’s puppet media in Iran. They know who Firouz is and what she stands for. They want her to come back to the country she was born in to answer for it. Firouz, understandably, has requested asylum from the British government. Much to everyone’s shock and dismay, the British Home Office has rejected her application for refugee status. Yes, they know she’s gay. Yes, they know she could deported back to Iran at any time, and that if this happens, Firouz will most likely be sentenced to torture and death after being found guilty of the “unspeakable sin of homosexuality” because she has participated in explicit lesbian sex scenes in the movie, and been a fierce proponent for human rights in her country."
Here is a petition endorsed by Firouz herself to stop her deportation for the UK.
-Marc Singer's Dark Days found it's way onto YouTube. The film follows a group living permanently in New York City's underground railroad system. It's a remarkable portrait. Here is part 1.
-Photos of the oil spill approaching Louisiana coast.
-"Photographer" Terry Richardson is a creep.
-WHcreation: What is Gender? is an online exhibition of artists discussing gender.
-Rowland S. Howard was a banana despising alien and I can't wait for this documentary.

May 6th, 2010

-Finals are done now. There is a great relief lifted, but I am still anxious. On Saturday I am moving back in with my aunt and uncle in a new house I haven't seen yet, and I believe my aunt is going to have the twins in 2 weeks or less. I keep flipping back and forth on this anxiety, half the time I am excited and the other half I am nervous and overwhelmed. I just need a break and I don't think I will get one for another month.

-My 3D final was nerve-racking due to how personal it was but it was taken positively and people were coming up to me the day after telling me how they felt about it.
-Got all A's on my 2D projects and an A overall. I don't know what I got in my other classes yet though.
-I was part of a "committee" that set up Tyler's "Salon des Refusés". Foundation work was accepted without question or jury, but the only rule was that it couldn't have been in the previous, more formal foundations show. It was fun, a friend's parents came to play the banjo and fiddle and there were like 15 different types of soda.
-Stop motion for my drawing final
-Watched Night on Earth by Jim Jarmusch today. I really love that guy.
-Beach House tomorrow night :)
-Currently reading Fernando Pessoa's The Book of Disquiet. "My habits are of solitude, not of men."