List

rdsfox commented on the list art-space

Mokomoko (もこもこ) is a haptic onomatopoeia – one of my favorites, in fact – that conjures up the soft, huggable qualities of billowing clouds or fluffy sheep. Don’t confuse it with mokumoku, which has similar connotations but refers specifically to movement, while the latter is grounded in the realm of motionless.

http://www.spoon-tamago.com/

July 11, 2013

rdsfox commented on the list art-space

Toska - noun /ˈtō-skə/ - Russian word roughly translated as sadness, melancholia, lugubriousness.

No single word in English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. At less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In particular cases it may be the desire for somebody of something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level it grades into ennui, boredom.

Vladimir Nabokov, cited in A Field Guide to Melancholy by Jacky Bowring

July 14, 2013

rdsfox commented on the list art-space

samidin —those who endure, to borrow Raja Shehadeh's evocative term in The Third Way, his memoir on Palestinians under occupation, 30 years ago.

http://www.zcommunications.org/in-gaza-dignity-is-the-battleground-by-noam-chomsky

July 20, 2013

rdsfox commented on the list art-space

In Portuguese, there are words like “saudade,” for the beautiful sadness that immobilizes us and sweetens the air. This American sensation wants a sharper word, something like “helpless” but more tannic, more acute.

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/sashafrerejones/2013/07/jay-z-this-charming-man.html#entry-more

July 30, 2013

rdsfox commented on the list art-space

The word SIBYL (in English, /ˈsɪbəl/) comes (via Latin) from the Greek word σίβυλλα sibylla, meaning prophetess. The earliest oracular seeresses known as the sibyls of antiquity, "who admittedly are known only through legend"1 prophesied at certain holy sites, under the divine influence of a deity, originally— at Delphi and Pessinos— one of the chthonic deities. Later in antiquity, sibyls wandered from place to place.

August 25, 2013

rdsfox commented on the list art-space

Czech

litost lee-tosht (noun)

This is an untranslatable emotion that only a Czech person would suffer from, defined by Milan Kundera as "a state of torment created by the sudden sight of one's own misery." Devices for coping with extreme stress, suffering, and change are often special and unique to cultures and born out of the meeting of despair with a keen sense of survival.

January 24, 2014

rdsfox commented on the list art-space

Greek

meraki may-rah-kee (adjective)

This is a word that modern Greeks often use to describe doing something with soul, creativity, or love — when you put "something of yourself" into what you're doing, whatever it may be. Meraki is often used to describe cooking or preparing a meal, but it can also mean arranging a room, choosing decorations, or setting an elegant table.

January 24, 2014

rdsfox commented on the list art-space

French

esprit de I'escalier es-pree de less-ka/-iay (idiom)

A witty remark that occurs to you too late, literally on the way down the stairs. The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations defines esprit de l'escalier as, "An untranslatable phrase, the meaning of which is that one only thinks on one's way downstairs of the smart retort one might have made in the drawing room."

January 24, 2014

rdsfox commented on the list art-space

panish

duende dwen-day (adjective)

This wonderful word captures an entire world of passion, energy, and artistic excellence and describes a climactic show of spirit in a performance or work of art. Duende originally meant "imp" or "goblin" and came to mean anything magical. It now has a depth and complexity of meaning that crosses artistic borders, from flamenco dancing to bullfighting. The Spanish poet Garcia Lorca wrote an eloquent essay on duende that explores the complex and inspirational flavor of its sense, and I know no better introduction.

January 24, 2014

rdsfox commented on the list art-space

unmerited grace

March 22, 2014

rdsfox commented on the list art-space

wild, melancholy, and elevating

March 22, 2014