a history of violence

I'm Lux, a twenty-something-year-old college student who enjoys history, sarcasm, intelligence and a quick wit. Very much an old soul, I am a future doctorate candidate for history a la World War II and novelist. I spend my free time reading about demons, conspiracy theories, time travel and the magic bullet that killed JFK.

My biggest weaknesses include expensive alcohol, Red Dawn parodies and dashing young men dressed in 1940s military garb.

cupids chokehold
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/2010-2011: 100 Films in a Year

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13 words not found in the English Language

Text

sisterspock:talosix:streamsofmoonlight:

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 gianxi 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

I feel that “Waldeinsamkeit” was invented just for Bastogne and the Ardennes.

January 31, 2010, 3:26pm