Metaphors

As a little drop of water added to a quantity of wine is completely dispersed and takes on the color and taste of wine, as red-hot iron becomes like molten fire losing its original form, as air when it is inundated with the sun’s light is transformed into total splendor and clarity so that it no longer seems illuminated but, rather, seems to be light itself, so I felt myself die of tender liquefaction, and I had only the strength left to murmur the words of the psalm: “Behold my bosom is like new wine, sealed, which bursts new vessels,” and suddenly I saw a brilliant light and in it a saffron-colored form which flamed up in a sweet and shining fire, and that splendid light spread through all the shining fire, and this shining fire through that golden form and that brilliant light and that shining fire through the whole form.

Umberto Eco - The Name of the Rose

All the world I've seen before me passing by

I can be incredibly slow sometimes. Coming from that perspective, it might somehow be explained why it took me 4 years to figure out that Serj Tankian was one of the singers of SOAD. I guess it comes with the whole enjoy the music, don't give a crap about the band attitude. Anyway, in an effort to further my procrastination, here's ATWA and BYOB.

Canadian Dream (because Americans are not the only ones who dream)

Just because it says "cause everything moves real slow when it's forty below" hahahaha!! Vive le Canada libre! (yes I know I'm committing a sacrilege just by saying that... if only I cared...)

The dilemma of a crook

Hypothetical situation: Person A buys from Person B for $5000 a large plastic bag (one of those Glad types) filled with 100% pure marijuana. Some time after the transaction, Person A realizes that the Glad bag contains only 50% of marijuana, while the remaining 50% is oregano. In other words, Person A got screwed over.

Question: Should Person A sue Person B for dishonesty and fraud due to the fact that Person A was mislead into buying a product that did not live up to the advertised characteristics?


If your answer was no, then I foresee brilliant legal careers ahead of each and every one of you.

R.R. - Lawyer at day, teacher at night

Puritatea limbajului sau Cratima

De dimineata eram in cautarea unui motiv ca sa nu merg la curs si am ramas impotmolita cu o carte proaspat importata din biblioteca parintilor din Romania. Cartea era departe de a fi o opera clasica si nu ma asteptam la mai mult decat o romanta de doi bani a la Danielle Steele. Nu credeam ca o sa ma ocupe mai mult de cinci minute. Si asa s-a dus o pagina, doua, trei, zece, treizeci, saptezeci, o suta. Da, mesajul era interesant si nu chiar atat de frivol precum credeam eu initial, dar ceea ce m-a lipit de canapea si m-a facut sa uit orele si ceaiul meu care se racea cu nepasare era limbajul, cuvintele care se insirau intr-o sonoritate atat de pura pe care o uitasem. O sonoritate pe care nu o poti recunoaste decat odata ce ai pierdut-o si apoi o vezi prin ochii unui strain. In viata mea de zi cu zi, am pierdut puritatea de exprimare fie in romana, in engleza sau in franceza, iar graba si lipsa de efort m-au dus la o lene limbvistica unde toate se amesteca fara scrupule si fara mila. De ce sa mai pierzi vremea sa cauti cuvantul care iti exprima sentimentul exact cand poti pur si simplu sa vorbesti o frangleza brodata printre paragrafele limbii romane? Si pana la urma, nu e drept ca nu toate cuvintele se pot traduce exact dintr-o limba in alta? Cand ai ajuns la un sistem de gandire poliglot fara a avea totusi o cunostinta aprofunzita a fiecarei limbi, aceasta situatie devine o problema. Dar de ce sa ne mai batem capul cand de fapt tot te faci inteles si cand ii intrebi pe oameni "de ce capoteaza" si cand le spui mai tarziu ca "povestea e funny". Eh poate ca merge, dar e la fel de precis ca si biologii care se uita cate celule au intr-un colt de microscop si apoi extrapoleaza ca sa afle cate celule au in total in mostra de tesut. Aproximarea e valabila, dar nu te simti impacat la suflet cu rezultatul.

In fine, eu ma indepartez ca de obicei de la subiect, dar ce vroiam sa spun este ca mi-e dor de acest limbaj pe care il simt ca incetul cu incetul moare in mine pentru ca nu il aud si nu il folosesc. In ambele cazuri este vina mea pentru ca multa vreme nu mi-a pasat. Dar simt din ce in ce mai mult o nostalgie care ma impinge spre el. De fiecare data cand il citesc pe Iepu pe Facebook, simt ceva care renaste in mine. O flacara pentru acel limbaj si acea tara parasita de toti si pe calea pierzarii. Intr-un fel, il admir pe baiatul asta. Cand toti vor sa plece, el se incapataneaza si declara fara indoiala ca niciunde nu ar putea fi mai fericit decat in Timisoara lui natala. Poate e doar idealismul unui copil naiv. Fie. E totusi frumos de observat. Si nu cred ca am auzit pe nimeni altcineva folosind un cuvant (inutil cum ar fi el intr-o conversatie) cu o sonoritate de nemaipomenit: "cratima". Ok, probabil ca numai un prof de romana ar putea sa se scoata intr-o discutie vorbind de cratima, dar mi se pare ca are echilibrul perfect intre consoane si vocale, intre sunete dure si melodioase.

Si cred ca voi pune capat aici delirului meu pentru ca am epuizat tot ce aveam de zis pe subiect. Deci, in concluzie, nu amestecati limbile si folositi cratime!

Rencontres... aux arrêts d'autobus

Question: est-ce que j'ai un signe dans le front qui dit "personne perdue dans la vie desésperement à la recherche de réponses"? Je sais bien que je le suis, mais je pensais pas que c'était aussi évident que ça, ni que j'avais l'air aussi desésperée (fyi, je ne le suis pas... j'ai une methode, il me faut juste du temps pour la mettre en pratique et trouver mes réponses). En attendant l'autobus à l'arrêt, il y avait une madame qui est venue me parler d'une conférence ou reunion ou peu importe comment on la cathégorise, sur comment éloigner les malédictions. Ok, peut-être qu'elle donnait ses flyers à tout le monde qu'elle voyait, mais il faut quand même faire un minimum de selection parce que, dans mon cas, c'était franchement du gaspillage de papier et de temps (j'essayais très fort de pas rire dans sa face quand elle m'expliquait qu'est-ce que c'était une malédiction). Mais sans rire, j'essaye de comprendre pourquoi les gens essayent de m'amèner à une certaine forme de spiritualité (que ce soit des inconnus ou des amis). Oui j'ai besoin de réponses, mais je doute que je les trouverai dans le surnaturel. Parlez-moi de statistiques, de probabilités, de physique, de biologie, d'astronomie, venez avec de la logique et des faits scientifiques, mais s'il vous plait lache-moi avec les dieux et le hocus-pocus. En fin de compte peut-être que j'irai voir le pasteur Fidele T. de la madame. Ça fait longtemps que j'ai pas ri un bon coup.

Perfect, Complicated, Don't get it...

There's something I don't understand. When you are in a relationship, there's this suffocating need to be perfect. Like when you know you have an appointment with the dentist, you all of a sudden start flossing. All year long, that small plastic box of dental floss has been gathering dust on your bathroom sink, but the minute you get a call from your dentist to schedule a cleanup, you start flossing religiously every night before going to bed and if you had time, you'd even do it in the morning. As though that would make up for a year of meat scraps gathering between your molars. The same way, when you start dating someone, all of a sudden, you start seeing the mess in your room, you feel bad about wasting a day of study, you start reconsidering your vocabulary (well not really, but you can almost feel the hesitation in your throat when you say "shit"). You want to appear mature, intelligent, knowledgeable, but at the same time fun and easygoing. I'm sorry, is that even possible in the world we live in? There is no such thing as a perfect being. But we tend towards it and even more when we are dating someone. But why? Shouldn't we want to be in relationships so that we can be ourselves? With all our imperfections, our doubts, our fears, our mess (after all, that's just us expressing the nature of the world... a higher entropy makes daddy universe happy). Is it because dating someone makes you think, this is it. This is the rest of my life, so all the things I put aside for later, all the things I said I'd do, all the things I said I'd be, well it's now or never. Kinda like when you get close to graduating and, well, you never did that exchange, you never got involved in a case competition, you never participated in a student association, you never went to that many networking sessions, and it's now or never. You feel the pressure to grow up and be the best you'll ever be. It slowly erases the uncertainty of the future and with it the possibilities that keep you sane and able to sleep at night. Man, I don't want to grow up! I don't want to pick a career! The future is scary because I've been putting it off for such a long time and now the deadline is slowly coming to an end. So you soon have to hand in your life's essay but you haven't even written the intro yet. Eh merde alors! I don't want to botch this one up. I might get away with botching up an extended essay or a history essay or a lab report or a business plan, but not this. Because I'm the one grading it this time and I sure as hell won't pass myself with this lack of effort and motivation. And that was one too many school metaphors. Oooookkk, time to go to that dentist appointment now!