saudade, n., Portuguese: a vague and constant desire for something that does not and probably cannot exist, for something other than the present, a turning towards the past or towards the future; not an active discontent or poignant sadness but an indolent dreaming wistfulness. -A. F. G. Bell, as quoted in The Untranslatables, by C. J. Moore.
I read this word in a bookstore in Oxford and did the mental equivalent of pumping my fist in the air, because that's it. I've tried to explain this to people - about, say, I know one wouldn't want to live in the forties because the forties were a sexist racist homophobic oh-I-know-let's-nuke-Japan! mess; but all the same I'd really like to walk into a photograph of the forties and live there. Everyone looks so happy! - because they're smiling for the camera. The shutter clicked, and then Judy turned to Joe and snarled, "You're stepping on my foot." And Joe smiled his confident quarterback smile and ground her toes down just a bit more before he moved his foot.
And I know that; but I still believe in the photographs.
Incidentally, I found this word right after I went to the Steampunk exhibit - and Steampunk is an example of saudade if there ever was one.
( Goggles and steampunk iPod. You know you want them. )
I read this word in a bookstore in Oxford and did the mental equivalent of pumping my fist in the air, because that's it. I've tried to explain this to people - about, say, I know one wouldn't want to live in the forties because the forties were a sexist racist homophobic oh-I-know-let's-nuke-Japan! mess; but all the same I'd really like to walk into a photograph of the forties and live there. Everyone looks so happy! - because they're smiling for the camera. The shutter clicked, and then Judy turned to Joe and snarled, "You're stepping on my foot." And Joe smiled his confident quarterback smile and ground her toes down just a bit more before he moved his foot.
And I know that; but I still believe in the photographs.
Incidentally, I found this word right after I went to the Steampunk exhibit - and Steampunk is an example of saudade if there ever was one.
( Goggles and steampunk iPod. You know you want them. )
I saw, on the bngbirds egroup, that someone called
R. Padmanabhan, a doctoral student at IIT Madras
....who belongs to the Madras Naturalist Society, had asked if anyone could go birding with him to the Bannerghatta Forest area. To me, this is like someone asking if I want chocolate. I promptly emailed him, and this morning, he came with three friends of his who were going for the first time. (Of them, it turned out that Sandhya was my daughter's junior at Sacred Hearts School, and has been reading my blog.)
Yesterday at Bheemannakuppe was FRY day not Saturday, as the temperature was uncomfortably hot...so, naturally, today was chilly and it was so misty that it took quite an hour or so before the birds on the Ragihalli route even woke up!
So while I was waiting....I took the birders:
The sun was in bed, too, on a fine mattress of mist:
It was rather reluctant to come out:
And even when it did, it had fine veils of mist over it, like a shy woman covering her modesty with filmy cloth :
Mist may make for lousy bird photography...but the scenery does make me misty-eyed!
R. Padmanabhan, a doctoral student at IIT Madras
....who belongs to the Madras Naturalist Society, had asked if anyone could go birding with him to the Bannerghatta Forest area. To me, this is like someone asking if I want chocolate. I promptly emailed him, and this morning, he came with three friends of his who were going for the first time. (Of them, it turned out that Sandhya was my daughter's junior at Sacred Hearts School, and has been reading my blog.)
Yesterday at Bheemannakuppe was FRY day not Saturday, as the temperature was uncomfortably hot...so, naturally, today was chilly and it was so misty that it took quite an hour or so before the birds on the Ragihalli route even woke up!
So while I was waiting....I took the birders:
The sun was in bed, too, on a fine mattress of mist:
It was rather reluctant to come out:
And even when it did, it had fine veils of mist over it, like a shy woman covering her modesty with filmy cloth :
Mist may make for lousy bird photography...but the scenery does make me misty-eyed!
- Mood:waiting
- Music:waiting music
The
BLACK-WINGED KITE
(earlier called the Black-Shouldered Kite, which I think is more accurate)
is easily one of the most handsome common accipiters in the Bangalore outskirts....
You can see the black shoulders clearly as it lands on the insulators of the power cables:
( this kite flies itself )
But back it came, to land on the wire again:
More photos from our Bheemanna Kuppe Kere trip (thank you Sangeetha!) on Saturday....coming up as soon as I can upload them...! We were 4 NTP members in a group of 7.
BLACK-WINGED KITE
(earlier called the Black-Shouldered Kite, which I think is more accurate)
is easily one of the most handsome common accipiters in the Bangalore outskirts....
You can see the black shoulders clearly as it lands on the insulators of the power cables:
( this kite flies itself )
But back it came, to land on the wire again:
More photos from our Bheemanna Kuppe Kere trip (thank you Sangeetha!) on Saturday....coming up as soon as I can upload them...! We were 4 NTP members in a group of 7.
- Mood:sleepless!
- Music:none
Here are two different worlds.
( one is broad, gray, cold, free, wild, lonely, beautiful )
The other is an interior world. It's warm, intimate--but a little strange.
When I was very young I used to take a hand mirror and point it up at the ceiling. Then I'd look in it and walk around the house, as if I was walking on the ceiling and the whole house was upside down.
( here is a kitchen in upside-down land )
( one is broad, gray, cold, free, wild, lonely, beautiful )
The other is an interior world. It's warm, intimate--but a little strange.
When I was very young I used to take a hand mirror and point it up at the ceiling. Then I'd look in it and walk around the house, as if I was walking on the ceiling and the whole house was upside down.
( here is a kitchen in upside-down land )
- Music:Ramona Falls: I say fever
The highlight of the trip to Oxford: lunch at the Eagle and Child, the pub where C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien and the rest of the Inklings hung out in the forties and fifties. In the room where they met. I sat in the corner by the fireplace and drank mulled cider and tried to write. As I was in a state of nervous exultation it did not work too well, but I got this:
"Griffin, Griffin, where are your wings?" said the cat.
"Well I can't very well wear wings after Labor Day," Griffin said.
One hopes there's more to that.
Otherwise I did a lot of walking. Aside from the Steampunk exhibit (!!!!!!!!) at the Museum of the History of Science I couldn't settle down enough to go to any exhibits of anything. But I did walk across the Christ Church Meadow, where Lewis Carroll used to walk with Alice Liddell; it was early in the morning, and the frost had not yet quite burned off.
It was a nice trip, and I enjoyed myself; but Oxford is a cold city. The colleges are almost all closed to the public, and it makes the place feel hard and mean.
I did run across one that was open, though: Hertford College, which was having a cake sale, with the college choir singing Christmas carols to attract attention. They sang beautifully, and I stood a long time in the courtyard to listen.
"Griffin, Griffin, where are your wings?" said the cat.
"Well I can't very well wear wings after Labor Day," Griffin said.
One hopes there's more to that.
Otherwise I did a lot of walking. Aside from the Steampunk exhibit (!!!!!!!!) at the Museum of the History of Science I couldn't settle down enough to go to any exhibits of anything. But I did walk across the Christ Church Meadow, where Lewis Carroll used to walk with Alice Liddell; it was early in the morning, and the frost had not yet quite burned off.
It was a nice trip, and I enjoyed myself; but Oxford is a cold city. The colleges are almost all closed to the public, and it makes the place feel hard and mean.
I did run across one that was open, though: Hertford College, which was having a cake sale, with the college choir singing Christmas carols to attract attention. They sang beautifully, and I stood a long time in the courtyard to listen.
Tiger Woods accused of five more flings
There should be many more I suppose, one in each city like the proverbial sailor.
There should be many more I suppose, one in each city like the proverbial sailor.
My opinion of Montebank of America is already noted, so I won't go into that. If you, like me, are sometimes inclined to give them the finger, I know of no better way to keep it personal than scoring Vera Nazarian's Jane Austen and Supernatural Creatures book, Mansfield Park and Mummies. Some good people get a little money and BoA is "Curses! Foiled again!"
I call that win-win.
- Mood:
cranky
We went out as soon as the rain let up to collect whatever wisps and trails of cloud we could. I had feared there wouldn’t be anything; I thought maybe the cloud harvesters wouldn’t have bothered with this last storm—no glorious towering cumulonimbus pillars, no strange and silky mammatus undulations, just lowering nimbostratus clouds, heavy and thick.
But with a bolt of even the plainest cloth of cloud trading for hundreds of dollars, I needn’t have worried. The harvester ships’ reaper blades had cut the clouds from the sky, leaving it naked blue and scattering their leavings here below.
Nini and I filled our buckets with these muddy, dripping bits of cloud. They’re hard to wash and they’re tricky to spin by hand, but you can do it with practice, and it’s worth it. What’s spun can be woven, and the little ribbons and kerchiefs we make bring people swarming to our stall at the farmers’ market. Genuine cloth of cloud. Ours doesn’t shimmer like the bolts from the Kings of Air cloudweaving mills—those looms can turn even the heaviest, gloomiest clouds into cloth that catches the light like rainbows, and what they do with rainbows will take your breath away. But even handspun, handwoven cloth of cloud has that unearthly feel.
“What did you do to your fingers?” Nini asked.
“Hmm?” I held up a hand. My fingers were bleeding. How did that happen? There are thistles and thorns growing round about, but I would have felt the prick. Sometimes there are broken bottles along the road, but I hadn’t mistaken a piece of glass for cloud. Some of the blood had gotten on the cloud in my bucket, too, damn it. In examining the bloodstained cloud I saw what had happened.
( Read more... )
But with a bolt of even the plainest cloth of cloud trading for hundreds of dollars, I needn’t have worried. The harvester ships’ reaper blades had cut the clouds from the sky, leaving it naked blue and scattering their leavings here below.
Nini and I filled our buckets with these muddy, dripping bits of cloud. They’re hard to wash and they’re tricky to spin by hand, but you can do it with practice, and it’s worth it. What’s spun can be woven, and the little ribbons and kerchiefs we make bring people swarming to our stall at the farmers’ market. Genuine cloth of cloud. Ours doesn’t shimmer like the bolts from the Kings of Air cloudweaving mills—those looms can turn even the heaviest, gloomiest clouds into cloth that catches the light like rainbows, and what they do with rainbows will take your breath away. But even handspun, handwoven cloth of cloud has that unearthly feel.
“What did you do to your fingers?” Nini asked.
“Hmm?” I held up a hand. My fingers were bleeding. How did that happen? There are thistles and thorns growing round about, but I would have felt the prick. Sometimes there are broken bottles along the road, but I hadn’t mistaken a piece of glass for cloud. Some of the blood had gotten on the cloud in my bucket, too, damn it. In examining the bloodstained cloud I saw what had happened.
( Read more... )
- Music:Smog: Rock Bottom Riser
Last month I had told you all about Kavya's "I am cancelled!" x-mas dance project. The teacher had told Suchitra that she dances well, and that she would have loved to have her in that dance. Anyway she was in the school Annual Day dance for her class, and that she had done very well, so much so, that even though she was taller than the other girls she was placed in the front row by her teacher [confirmed later by her teacher].
Two days back Kavya comes home to tell us that her teacher has taken her into that dance project. So Suchitra tells her "You dance well, so which is why the teacher has selected you!" for which Kavay says "It is all your fault, since you had given me the 'teacher's pet' t-shirt to wear after the annual day dance was over!"
So as of now she is back in the X-mas dance with the teacher this time cancelling her cancellation;-)
Two days back Kavya comes home to tell us that her teacher has taken her into that dance project. So Suchitra tells her "You dance well, so which is why the teacher has selected you!" for which Kavay says "It is all your fault, since you had given me the 'teacher's pet' t-shirt to wear after the annual day dance was over!"
So as of now she is back in the X-mas dance with the teacher this time cancelling her cancellation;-)
Virender Sehwag 293 [254] caught and bowled Murali. Murali will sleep well tonight!
He was just 7 runs away from history!
Good show Sehwag!
He was just 7 runs away from history!
Good show Sehwag!
You know how Facebook keeps publishing your updates. Suchitra created her FB profile after two of her classmates asked her to. And so we were able to our name in the married to box. After which this is how Facebook put it. As far as the comments go, besides the one Nair [Diji] all others are LJers.
You mustn't look straight ahead as you walk along this path, or when you arrive at the sun, you will be blind. Just glance to the side, or keep your eyes closed, or look down, and by the time you get there, your eyes will be strong enough to look at things directly.
- Music:Banjoape: Restoration (Shape Note Hymn No. 312)
LiveJournal: The First Decade
Just in time for holiday shopping, we're thrilled to announce the release of our ten-year anniversary anthology. Published by Blurb.com, the book showcases a decade of extraordinary talent drawn from LiveJournal users around the world. This must-read compilation features stories, memes, photos, comics, editorials, graphic content, and more, including:
-
Excerpts from Oh No They Didn't (a/k/a
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif)
ohnotheydidnt), the largest community on LiveJournal, covering celebrity gossip, entertainment news, and pop culture - A look at post-Katrina New Orleans from the journal of Poppy Z. Brite
- Gripping narratives, including a poignant reverie on a blind date
- Photography that spans the globe, ranging from old-fashioned Polaroids to underwater photography
- Mouthwatering dishes from food_porn
What began as a late-night inspiration back in Brad Fitzpatrick's college dorm in 1999 has grown to encompass nearly 25 million users worldwide, with journals and communities covering every conceivable hobby, passion, and topic. To get your copy, please visit the Blurb Bookstore. For updates and entries from book contributors, please join lj_turns10.
Tweaks and enhancements
- You can now ban a user from all of your communities and journals at once. To access this feature, hover over the person's userpic and choose Ban user everywhere from the drop-down menu.
- Follow LiveJournal on Twitter!
Give a little to help a lot!
In honor of National AIDS Awareness month, we've added a new charitable vgift. For each red ribbon you purchase for $2.99, we'll donate 100 percent of gross proceeds to IAVI.org (the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative) to support the development and global distribution of an affordable HIV vaccine (we'll cover credit card fees). You can read more about IAVI at lj_cares. While we're on the subject, we raised $740 from our November fundraiser for Love Without Boundaries, which supports emergency healthcare and adoption of Chinese orphans. We thank you for helping us help others.
Photos of the week
We're back with more incredible pictures from our super-talented LiveJournal photographers. Congratulations to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
ilya_gorokhov, who is the winner of our very first lj_photophile poll.
Curtains
Thanks, again, for joining us. Stay safe and snug out there!
Here's the radiant bride:
The handsome groom:
And one of the ceremonies (in Aryan culture, the important one) that makes them husband and wife:
pANi grahaNam ("acceptance of the hand")
(see the wedding rituals )
the bride's hand,holding a sacred coconut and betel leaves, is placed in that of her father, and then placed in the groom's hand...the bride's mother then pours sanctified water over it...as the water pours from the bride's hand to the groom's, her care and welfare passes from her father to her husband.
The handsome groom:
And one of the ceremonies (in Aryan culture, the important one) that makes them husband and wife:
pANi grahaNam ("acceptance of the hand")
(see the wedding rituals )
the bride's hand,holding a sacred coconut and betel leaves, is placed in that of her father, and then placed in the groom's hand...the bride's mother then pours sanctified water over it...as the water pours from the bride's hand to the groom's, her care and welfare passes from her father to her husband.
- Mood:in pain :(
- Music:none
Though the small streets and the lanes he goes,
His voice echoing around.
He calls aloud, this sharpener of knives:
They hear him, the mothers, the sisters, the wives:
Each busy housewife knows
That he'll set the wheel on the ground:
The sparks will fly as he steps on the pedal:
Sharper and sharper gets the now-shiny metal:
He pockets the small sums that he's paid,
Perhaps drinks a cup of tea that someone's made...
Then he's off again, with his clarion call,
Whoever needs his work...he goes to serve them all.
I heard his "clarion call" (in Chennai, what he calls is, "katthi shAAAAAAAANAAAAA!") and rushed out on to the balcony to photograph his retreating form...my sis in law didn't want any knives sharpened that day!
- Mood:
sleepy - Music:music? at midnight??
On the way to visit the Jayamangali Blackbuck Sanctuary, we were negotating a badly dug-up stretch of highway, and I found this notice:
Now,
this link
tells me that Pune is 835km (about 519 miles) from Bangalore....
I wonder if the guy who put up the notice HAD to give the way to Pune, but doesn't WANT us to go there....?
Now,
this link
tells me that Pune is 835km (about 519 miles) from Bangalore....
I wonder if the guy who put up the notice HAD to give the way to Pune, but doesn't WANT us to go there....?
- Mood:
amused - Music:still hearing the excellent nAgaswaram/sax music from the morning
I took this photo during my first trip to Bandipur. To my best recollection I had recently bought my first cellphone and was very thrilled to experience it features (wostly wrt the camera).
It was a little past noon and a few friends had stepped out with me to explore the edges of the forest. I saw this bare tree and thought it made a perfect subject.
I loved the photo the moment I took it.
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Muttiah Muralidaran 19 0 118
Second time in this series Murali gives away a hundred runs! In just 19 overs that too!
Second time in this series Murali gives away a hundred runs! In just 19 overs that too!
Profile
- talksoflife
- talksoflife
Listenings!!!
Page Summary
- osprey_archer : Saudade [+0]
- deponti : Sun playing truant at Ragihalli [+0]
- deponti : The Black-Winged Kite [+15]
- asakiyume : beneath the broad gray sky or in upside-down land [+34]
- osprey_archer : York again [+6]
- premkudva : Not Mr Clean! [+1]
- premkudva : Jet Airways Boeing 777 with Gulf Air livery [+1]
- ogre_san : Mansfield Park and Mummies [+3]
- asakiyume : The Cloud Gleaners (story snippet) [+34]
- premkudva : I am now un-cancelled! [+0]
- premkudva : Sehwag misses his 3rd 300! [+1]
- premkudva : Married on Facebook [+4]
- asakiyume : path to the sun [+37]
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/newsinfo.gif)
news :: theljstaff : LiveJournal Major Notes: LiveJournal: The First Decade, AIDS vgift fundraiser, LJ_Photophile poll! [+189] - deponti : Squeak's Wedding [+9]
- deponti : The Knife-Sharpener [+6]
- deponti : Going Slow May Not Really Be the Best Thing... [+1]
- chandrahasa : Holding Up The Sky... [+2]
- premkudva : Muralidaran hits another century! [+0]
- premkudva : Peta's banned thanksgiving ad. [+2]
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