[“Often those hands speak an unreadable language of their own.” – Kenneth Gross] I don’t understand his gestures. They seem to contradict his soothing words, but then perhaps I’m misunderstanding those splayed fingers reaching for me, the vigorous sweep of his arms, the clutching motions, the clawing... <END> Click on RANDOM POST above, for yet another something different … [Read more...]
“Cognitive Tourists” / Memorable Fancies #0129
10 April, 2016 by Leave a Comment
It was such a wonderful trip, you know? We wanted to remember the place before it was spoiled by ordinary tourists yammering their civilized tongues. Yes, we had some language lessons, but we were still overwhelmed by the real thing. Imagine! names for five warmths of water, not just “warm”; the tense that means “maybe”; six grammatical genders even though they still have only the same old two sexes we have, ha ha. In spite of the pills we’d brought, we were infected by the third day. We … [Read more...]
“Another Language” / Memorable Fancies #1489
7 March, 2016 by Leave a Comment
[“An age arrived when everything was explained in another language” – W.S. Merwin] And we didn’t understand that language, either. <END> … [Read more...]
“What They Really Mean – III” / Memorable Fancies #1409
16 December, 2015 by Leave a Comment
“There’s no comparison” [means] a comparison is just now being made. “I can’t believe that...” [means] “I can believe that...” “incredible” [means] “credible,” as in “...the incredible threat of Islamic terrorism” (Ted Cruz, quoted in the Washington Post, December 16, 2015, page A21) <END> … [Read more...]
“…………….” / Memorable Fancies #575
10 January, 2014 by Leave a Comment
We speak now only in images, like the finger-ducks we throw on the wall, ourselves sideways to the fire. There was something wrong with speaking in words, something both artificial and dishonest. It took us a long time to realize that. I’m violating the law just by telling you this. <END> If you liked this post, please tell your friends and share a comment here or in StumbleUpon, Reddit, Facebook, or other social websites. Subscriptions to this blog are available … [Read more...]
“What the Dogs Know” / Memorable Fancies #150
3 November, 2012 by Leave a Comment
In the middle of the night a dog howls. Then another, then many others. I and other townspeople are awakened by the din. Gradually, one by one, we begin to howl too, and continue until morning. “Now I understand my dog,” a friend tells me the next day, “how deeply it has seen into reality without the curse of language.” I nod my head and wait for the night. … [Read more...]
“Two Words” / A Memorable Fancy #145
29 October, 2012 by Leave a Comment
[“Have we really fathomed how grief and melancholy line the underside of our languages?” – Julia Kristeva] Even our nouns tell of grief. This one, from a foreign tongue, means “death.” It’s the last thing the invaders left us, aside from raped wives and bastard children. And this other word, home-grown, means “despair.” We speak it often. … [Read more...]
“Cognitive Tourists” / A Memorable Fancy #129
10 October, 2012 by Leave a Comment
It was such a wonderful trip, you know? We wanted to remember the place before it was spoiled by tourists yammering their civilized tongues. Yes, we had some language lessons, but we were still overwhelmed by the real thing. Imagine! names for five warmths of water, not just “warm”; unexpected kinds of irregular verbs; the tense that means “maybe”; six grammatical genders even though they still have only the same old two sexes that we have, ha ha. In spite of the pills we’d brought, we were … [Read more...]
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