Origin of the word “Mignon / minion”

Just learned the origin of the word minion (mignon) which I thought was pretty interesting.   min·ion [min-yuh n]  —noun a servile follower or subordinate of a person in power.a favored or highly regarded person.a minor official.Printing. a 7-point type. Definition of minion: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/minion at Dictionary.com Although Henry III valued privacy, he liked to surround…… Continue reading Origin of the word “Mignon / minion”

The Wee Hours

If you could choose an hour of wakefulness out of the whole night, it would be this…You have found an intermediate space, where the business of life does not intrude; where the passing moment lingers, and becomes truly the present; a spot where Father Time, when he thinks nobody is watching him, sits down by…… Continue reading The Wee Hours

Quote about time

Read this today in my Lapham's Quarterly on Time and was spellbound.  There is something in writing, in poetry that touches upon life in a way I cannot put my finger on.  It is as though everyday life is an illusion, a dull reflection of a true and glorious reality.  When I read a passage… Continue reading Quote about time

A Moment in Time

The quote below sums up my new world, the new existence and reality I find myself in; a world where life itself and everything around me is magical.  For the first time in my life I actually listen to the birds call, I admire the beauty of flowers, and I try and catch each and…… Continue reading A Moment in Time

“Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge”

In a 1710 “Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge,” the Irish philosopher George Berkeley objected to this view. We do not know the world of objects, he argued; we know only our mental ideas of objects. “Light and colours, heat and cold, extension and figures—in a word, the things we see and feel—what are…… Continue reading “Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge”

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Princess Shikishi Poem – 式子内親王の詩

今日はこの詩を見つかりました。本当に本当にきれいだと思いました。そしてこのブログで付けて、忘れないようにしました。 Winter Becoming Spring 1In spring toowhat first stands out —Mount Otowa —from the snow at its peakthe rays of the sun appear. 2Here deep in the hills,my pine door would never knowthat springtime had come —but for a broken trickleof jewels of melted snow. 3Though warblers have not called,in the sound of cascadespouring down…… Continue reading Princess Shikishi Poem – 式子内親王の詩