word of the day:: arabesque

arabesque:

[ar-uh-besk]

–noun

1.  Fine Arts . a sinuous, spiraling, undulating, or serpentine line or linear motif.

2. a pose in ballet in which the dancer stands on one leg with one arm extended in front and the other leg and arm extended behind.

3. a short, fanciful musical piece, typically for piano.

4. any ornament or ornamental object, as a rug or mosaic, inwhich flowers, foliage, fruits, vases, animals, and figures are represented in a fancifully combined pattern.

-adjective

5. decorated with or characterized by arabesques: arabesque design.

  

Origin:

1605–15;  < F < It arabesco  ornament in Islamic style, lit.,Arabian, equiv. to arab ( o ) arab  + -esco -esque

"What is line? It is life. A line must live at each point along its course in such a way that the artist's presence makes itself felt above that of the model.... With the writer, line takes precedence over form and content. It runs through the words he assembles. It strikes a continuous note unperceived by ear or eye. It is, in a way, the soul's style, and if the line ceases to have a life of its own, if it only describes an arabesque, the soul is missing and the writing dies.. "

:: Jean Cocteau ::

* Definition from www.dictionary.com

from Agatha

"The best time for planning a book is while you're doing the dishes."

~ Agatha Christie ~ 

word of the day :: popinjay

popinjay:

[pop-in-jey]

–noun

1.  a person given to vain, pretentious displays and empty chatter; coxcomb; fop.
2. British Dialect: a woodpecker, esp. the green woodpecker.
3. Archaic: the figure of a parrot, usually fixed on a pole and used as a target in archery and gun shooting.
4. Archaic: a parrot.

  

Origin:

1275–1325;  ME papejay, popingay, papinjai ( e ) < MF papegai, papingay  parrot < Sp papagayo  < Ar bab ( ba ) ghā'

"A serious writer is not to be confounded with a solemn writer. A serious writer may be a hawk or a buzzard or even a popinjay, but a solemn writer is always a bloody owl. "

:: Ernest Hemingway ::

* Definition from www.dictionary.com

from Chuck

"A good story should make you laugh, and a moment later break your heart."

~ Chuck Palahniuk ~

currently reading :: The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner

Khaled Hosseini 

The Kite Runner has been on my to-read list for a long time. I have heard some great things about this book. In particular, I wanted to sure I read it before I see the movie version. One of my friends from college recently started a book club on facebook and invited me to join. The Kite Runner is our selected book for the month of August--what great timing!

Summary: The Kite Runner follows the story of Amir, the privileged son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. As children in the relatively stable Afghanistan of the early 1970s, the boys are inseparable. They spend idyllic days running kites and telling stories of mystical places and powerful warriors until an unspeakable event changes the nature of their relationship forever, and eventually cements their bond in ways neither boy could have ever predicted. Even after Amir and his father flee to America, Amir remains haunted by his cowardly actions and disloyalty. In part, it is these demons and the sometimes impossible quest for forgiveness that bring him back to his war-torn native land after it comes under Taliban rule. 

(Summary from www.amazon.com)