The Zen Mind of Early Language Study

I have been enjoying getting to know the French language again, and have discovered something about early language study.   I had a passionate affair with French during my junior year of high school, but we had an ugly breakup over the ever-increasing demands for my time every weekday.  My theory is that the way I am required to focus exclusively on reading and creating simple, present tense sentences creates an internal atmosphere that encourages Zen mind.  I get to think differently about everything I want to express.  Every word is given new possibilities to carry more meaning, possibly layers of meaning:  This is my mother.  This is my father.  The apple is good.  I am here.

  

 

Telling On Ourselves

Two weeks ago I  got back into the habit of watching Jeopardy! after years of not watching it, and I've noticed something I used to tune out - the stories people tell about themselves when Alex introduces them to the American viewing public.  What would you choose to say about yourself in this situation?  Well, I was astonished by the very personal nature of some of these colorful incidents; many of them portrayed the subject (themselves, remember) as either a victim of random unfortunate circumstances or predictably unfortunate dysfunctional family dynamics at large, formal gatherings.  A few bold contestants with better self-esteem related anecdotes about overcoming a difficult challenge or an achievement they were particularly proud of.  A few more claimed their places in Jeapardy! history by announcing their connections to past winners.

Like most people who study folklore, I am more interested in why somebody tells a story than its veracity.  These introductory tales seem to be offered as miniature portraits of the contestant's personality or abilities, which makes the unflattering or tragic ones even more curious to me.  What one story would I tell about myself to introduce myself to an audience of millions of fellow citizens and quiz fans?  I think I would have to take "Grace Under Pressure" for $1,000 Alex, and the answer would be:  What is the story about how I declined a close friend's offer to indulge in an illegal, controlled substance?

Look Inside

ENVY (My First ATC)

I recently created my first ATC (Artist Trading Card) for the June swap at CollageStuff.com - the theme was "Green with Envy", so clever girl that I am I titled my piece ENVY.  Cheekiness aside, I did ponder the subject earnestly and found two wonderful quotations...

"Love looks through a telescope; envy, through a microscope."

Josh Billings, American Humorist 1818-1885

"Of the seven deadly sins, only envy is no fun at all."

Joseph Envy, Envy, Oxford University Press 2003

I printed these quotations on the back of the tickets I created for the Look Inside pocket, making this an interactive ATC.  Email me if you are interested in trading ATCs!

Myth-understanding

I'm celebrating my first post by getting up on my shiny new virtual soapbox to tell everyone I can reach how much it annoys me that the newspapers, television and radio news programs and news magazines continue to use the word "myth" to identify something as untrue or mistaken.    The term "myth" refers to a sacred narrative that explains the origin of something.  The current edition of Brown and Rosenberg's Encyclopedia of Folklore and Literature backs me up on this (p. 431).  Interns who check facts for the various media, please take a moment to use a thesaurus and find a more appropriate term.