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A Little Light Writing: November 2013

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On the eve of Advent, a little exploration of things to come. A few weeks ago, a friend was wondering what the German word Sonnabend. Means The answer is "Saturday", but it's not the normal word for Saturday (that's Samstag. I started musing on why there's this second word for Saturday, and where that word might have come from. My departure point is usually to think of other words with one or more of the same roots as my object of investigation. In this case:. Basically, "the end of the work day"). So "e...

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A Little Light Writing: Advent Is Coming!

http://write-light.blogspot.com/2013/11/advent-is-coming.html

On the eve of Advent, a little exploration of things to come. A few weeks ago, a friend was wondering what the German word Sonnabend. Means The answer is "Saturday", but it's not the normal word for Saturday (that's Samstag. I started musing on why there's this second word for Saturday, and where that word might have come from. My departure point is usually to think of other words with one or more of the same roots as my object of investigation. In this case:. Basically, "the end of the work day"). So "e...

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A Little Light Writing: Just sharin'

http://write-light.blogspot.com/2012/04/just-sharin.html

Today at the service garage, waiting for the mechanic’s verdict, I noticed an ad declaring “original parts” in numerous languages. The German version is Originalteile. Part" in German is Teil. I saw one I didn't recognize: Originální díly. Looks related to German Teil. But it doesn't look at all like a Germanic language. So I started to think about the connections. Then it hit me: German Teil. Comes from the verb teilen. In Russian). So I'm homing in on a Slavic language for díly. You crack me up.

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A Little Light Writing: Thinking about words and light

http://write-light.blogspot.com/2011/01/test-posting.html

Thinking about words and light. This is a blog about photography. Both images and words fascinate me. There's the old adage that "a picture is worth a thousand words," which sort of suggests an opposition between the two. It's true that an exceptional image can tell a story or evoke countless thoughts and reactions all on its own. So in this space you'll find me posting some images, musing on words, and sometimes exploring the intersection between the two. For a little light reading about words and images.

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A Little Light Writing: Hewing and Gluing

http://write-light.blogspot.com/2012/03/hewing-and-gluing.html

Have you ever been struck by a cleaver? How about by the word cleaver. I have. The verb cleave. Is something I’ve pondered for quite a few years (okay, not continuously). It can mean one thing, but also pretty much its exact opposite: "to cut apart" and "to hold together". There are a number of things going on here. First, the cutting, chopping (or chopped) sense is in these words: to cleave. And of course, cleavage. Speculating a little, I wonder if clover. And from that a club. That survives in older E...

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A Little Light Writing: April 2012

http://write-light.blogspot.com/2012_04_01_archive.html

Today at the service garage, waiting for the mechanic’s verdict, I noticed an ad declaring “original parts” in numerous languages. The German version is Originalteile. Part" in German is Teil. I saw one I didn't recognize: Originální díly. Looks related to German Teil. But it doesn't look at all like a Germanic language. So I started to think about the connections. Then it hit me: German Teil. Comes from the verb teilen. In Russian). So I'm homing in on a Slavic language for díly. What Is This Blog?

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A Little Light Writing: February 2012

http://write-light.blogspot.com/2012_02_01_archive.html

Overheard in a crowd in Stuttgart:. Ich möchte dich ungerne verlieren. Translation: "I would like to lose you [in the crowd] unwillingly" or "I would like unwillingly to lose you.". Instead of saying the equivalent of "I would NOT like to lose you", the speaker said she WOULD like to lose the other person, but unwillingly (. What's going on here? I had never heard such a construction before. Seems a little convoluted for a simple thought. I wonder whether the speaker changed her mind mid-sentence. Not as...

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A Little Light Writing: November 2011

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Shots I Wish I'd Taken: Namibian Trees (Lanting). You may have seen this one. Franz Lanting's image of camel thorn trees circulated around* the internet earlier this year. One of the amazing things about this shot is that it is not a fake. Though it reminds me of a painting you might get if Gauguin were crossed with Matisse and the resulting artist decided to paint a landscape, this is a straight-up, brilliantly composed, photo. Plus, it's trees. Is "circulating around" a redundant phrase? The next time ...

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A Little Light Writing: Portraits of an Intimate Nature

http://write-light.blogspot.com/2013/12/portraits-of-intimate-nature.html

Portraits of an Intimate Nature. Time for a post on photography. I've got a few running themes that go through much of my photography. Some time ago, I decided I wasn't a landscape photographer, though I take plenty. Of pictures of nature. My nature shots tend to be more about details, close-ups — and yet it's not macro photography. Rather than spend more words to try to describe what I mean, here is a selection of fifteen images to show you. Portraits of an Intimate Nature. Labels: black and white.

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A Little Light Writing: Thinking of Beer and Bread

http://write-light.blogspot.com/2011/11/thinking-of-beer-and-bread.html

Thinking of Beer and Bread. I live in Germany, so I think a lot about bread and beer. Okay, I do more than think. About them. In my view, these two food groups form the basis for all human progress. Perusing a recent Biergarten menu, I started musing on one of the beer options: Weizen. I know that Weizen. 8220;wheat” in English. (You've heard of wheat beer. I also know another way to order the same thing is to ask for a Weissbier. Means “white” in English. Seems like they should, if you think about it.