Hi everyone,
Fortunately, I did.
The good news- it is back. And one month from now, it will finally
be over. Here is the schedule:
Tuesday, June 21-
semifinal #1- 'All Japan': 'wabi-sabi' --vs.-- 'komorebi' (1)
Tuesday, June 28-
semifinal #2- '(nickname to be announced)'- 'meraki' --vs.--
'iktsuarpok'
Friday, July 15-
final- winners of the semi-finals + postgame show
The first thing I
learned from this tournament is the danger in setting expectations for
something you've never done before (*). The above schedule is posted with that
lesson ignored. Perhaps once I establish a proper exception, I can begin
following the rule.
*To clarify this lesson- go back and read the 'schedules' I posted for writing about future matchups...
Since it has been
several fortnights since we last visited these words, today's post is going to
summarize what happened back in March and April. If you retain a full memory of
what happened (unlikely), clicked on this blog by pure accident (less unlikely), you found the tournament concept dull (more likely), or you are about to run out of laptop/cellphone battery (likely)- feel free to skip this one.
Otherwise, enjoy the post. To create value for long-time readers, I'll add some comments as we go in the manner I've done with my other 'proper admin' monthly recap blogs.
Otherwise, enjoy the post. To create value for long-time readers, I'll add some comments as we go in the manner I've done with my other 'proper admin' monthly recap blogs.
The introduction
post
One thing I look back
on here and wish I'd done differently is include the word 'commuovere'. Here is
the definition and entry I made at the time for this Italian verb:
*To be moved in a heartwarming way, usually relating to a story that movedyou to tears*
OUT because: I generally don't react to stories in such ways- I might occasionally be moved to a tear or two but I don't think that is the essence here. And that is what it comes down to with this book- can you connect on an emotional level to the concept, or not? I cannot, at least to this word, so 'commuovere' is out.
The reason I look
differently at this decision today is a sense that I misunderstood the meaning
of the word. In reading 'a tear or two' above, I see an interpretation of a
moving story as one centered on degree. In dismissing those stories where the
emotional impact is muted yet real, I ignored that the difference in a story
from being 'not moving' to 'moving' is the biggest one out there.
Another angle to look
at it from is the word's use as a verb. Verbs, such as write, run, or speak, do
not take into account degree. They only concern themselves with the thin gap
between doing and not doing. 'Commuovere' is a word that bisects stories into
two libraries- one where emotions are moved and one where they are not- and I
feel this was a big oversight on my part during the initial tournament
selection (2).
Maybe an idea for
Lost In Translation II?
A word I ran into
since the start of the tournament which I likely would have squeezed into the
tournament field is 'luisne'. This is an Irish noun for the 'first blush of
predawn light'. Sometimes, we call this twilight, and other times we deputize
adverbs and adjectives to describe what we see as night turns to day.
But I think this word
is the perfect fit for the idea. It captures for me the tentative, shy shift in
the early morning sky as the sun cranes its neck around the horizon. Perhaps a
little embarrassed that it arrived first to the party, it waits as far away
from the center of the room as possible before mustering up the conviction to
accept its place in the morning sky.
Recap...
The promised recap of
each tournament matchup along with my comments on each decision two to three
months later.
Round one
*'Wabi-sabi' moved on
as I implored my readers to accept people for who they are no matter what their
hygiene ritual. This is perhaps because I find cold showers intolerable.
*I sent 'hiraeth' home
in a confused, somewhat arrogant, but certainly inspired rant about home and
how we should build it. Ultimately, though, I think I went with 'kabelsalat'
because I found the suggestion that you could grieve for 'places that never
were' to run directly counter to my belief that grief grows in proportion to
love.
*I suggested here that
'saudade' is a feeling I would understand better as I got older. I was right.
Perhaps the best way to describe this feeling is the resulting emotion when you
begin to accept that life does not always work out the way you plan.
*I stand by what I
wrote here, mostly, about 'shlimazel'. I see now that the word, using 'seems'
in the definition, is perhaps less permanent than I originally understood, but
I still think 'komorebi' deserved to go through.
*WOW was I bitter
about my layoff when I wrote this post. I stand by my decision but concede that
I did not feel much of a connection to either word.
The primary reason for
this is each word's length. I recognize that I do not understand the language
of origin but each of those 'words' is long enough to max out a tweet
(approximately). Perhaps it takes so long to speak in these languages that
unspoken longings and culture inconsistencies occur with great frequency and
require strict definition.
*Ironically,
'vacilando' is to travelling as (some word I have not met yet) is to my
blogging. Still...
I am not surprised
this is a Spanish word. To do for the sake of doing is hardly American and the
context of traveling requires both resources and destinations, something that I
expect is a fact of Western Europe.
*'Iktsuarpok' is the
word that made the biggest jump forward in my mind between its victory in round
one and appearance in round two. I feel a bit silly that my decision came so
close.
*I thought more highly
of these words at the time of deliberation but at this point each word means a
little less to me. But the decision stands and yes, I do still feel the
competitive side of me slowly melting away.
Quarterfinals
*I think the decision
to make here was clear but my reasoning was stretched. Analogies using death
are a good way to talk about things in one sense but I have found that I tend to do a little
better when I go straight in (3).
*Like in the above, I
think if I put the reasoning for this post together today the end result would
hold but the exploration of the meanings would change. 'Tima' contains an
undercurrent of regret, acknowledged or not, that I come soveryclose to exploring in the original. The rewrite would center mostly around this
thought and tie it back into the idea of maturity that I paraphrased in the
original.
*'Meraki' is a very good
word.
*This was an important
post for me. Up until this point, the writing around these parts was earnest
but often lacking an important portion my own voice. I relied on prompts or
gimmicks to get started and worried about things like consistency (to a schedule,
to a topic, etc) over worrying about things like having a good idea.
The post about
'iktsuarpok', I believed, went up because I had one idea- waiting at a red
light is unrelated to whether it turns green- and I wanted to say something
about it. I do not think it is a coincidence that the post came out clear and
to the point. I also do not think it is a coincidence that soon after this blog
went up, I went a week between posts for the first time.
So, how long do we
have to wait...
Like I mentioned at
the top- the schedule is something I intend to stick to. We'll be back in one week with the first semifinal.
Tim
1. All Asian semifinal
tangent...
I suppose this could
have been the 'All Asian' semifinal. I went with All-Japan using the 'lowest
common denominator' concept I learned in math. You have to put these degrees to use somehow, you know?
I am often amused by
how the label 'Asian' is used to describe things. What exactly is an 'Asian
salad'? If I meet a group of people from the Middle East, should I describe
them as 'Asian'? If I made a joke about how we are all 'aging' but pronounced
it like 'Asian', would anyone get it? Why does Australia play World Cup
qualifying soccer games in the Asian group?
2. Parts of speech...
In fact, the biggest
change in how I look at the words today centers around the part of speech.
'Tima', a word I thought would at least reach the semifinal round, went out
partly because its status as a verb made it less applicable to me. As a noun or
adjective, 'tima' is perhaps a word that better fits me.
If I were to apply a part
of speech to the year that has been, I would most likely go with adjective.
Nouns and pronouns are out because I am not exactly sure what I am at this
point. Verbs are out because I'm rarely definable by the things I do.
Prepositions are out because I am no longer a reference point around which
others link to each other and conjunctions are out because I rarely serve as a proper link point between two things. Interjection is out because my
outbursts of emotional exclamation are nonexistent. Articles are out unless I
change my name to Ann.
Adverbs bring emphasis
to verbs, adjectives, and other adverbs. In a way similar to adjectives,
adverbs reveal an angle to those others. But adverbs are a little more
reckless, I think, prone to bend to emotion and more likely (by definition) to
focus in on themselves over others. They worry about perceptions or seek
to create meaning out of what others do over worrying how they simply exist.
Although I find elements of myself here, I do not think it fully suits me at
the moment.
This leaves the
adjective by process of elimination. Adjectives search out the meaning within
nouns and through their positioning cast the truth of the noun in a more
defined light. They are support figures, not central, but are powerful in their
ability to change the meaning or context of a noun in their subdued way. They
find what the noun is best at and step aside to allow them to do it. If the
noun is all set as is, the adjective drifts away and waits patiently until
needed.
As is the case with
any conclusion reached by elimination, the fit is not perfect. But I think it
is close enough for now.
I'm off to the
courthouse to see about that name change.
3. The Sims, baby!
I cite 'playfulness'
as one endearing quality of 'kabelsalat'. I never was one to describe myself as
such but kind of discovered this by accident through the annual battles in this
video game I've (I think???) described here in the past.
This happened as I
went through the character creation process. As stated by Chuck Klosterman in
Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, most people tend to try and recreate themselves as
accurately as possible before playing this game and I was no exception.
The Sims determines
personality by scoring on five categories. You are allowed to allocate points
among the categories (I think it is thirty points out of fifty total). These
are the categories and my usual point allocations:
*Shy/outgoing: 2
points
*Grouchy/nice: 8
points
*Sloppy/neat: 3 points
*Lazy/active: 10
points
It kind of comes about
by accident that the final category leaves seven points.
*Serious/playful: 7
points
There is an argument
to make for some minor tweaks to the above. I'll leave that for the next
holiday season. For now, I think it is amusing that this is one game where
self-examination is part of the activity and that it is possible to learn about
oneself from playing.
I suppose the point
allocation system implies that people who combine all the above are impossible.
I should note that it is not required to use all thirty points, however, so if
you are an easily irritated slob who takes seriously their lack of interest in
both movement and social interaction, there is a place for you in this game.
