Tuesday, October 4, 2011

cabbalistic



cabbalistic [kæbəˈlɪstɪk] a. also cabalistic

1.) Pertaining to, of the nature of, or like the Cabbala or cabbalists; having a private or mystic sense; mysterious (O.E.D. 2nd Ed.).

Etymology: from cabalist, adaptation of medieval Latin cabbalista, + ic, or direct adaptation of French cabalistique or medieval Latin cabbalisticus.

"Yet, by the mid-seventies, when the singer-songwriter school was wearing thin and with it the whole flaccid enterprise of California rock-and-roll, people were nonetheless realizing that literature had once again become cool, suddenly, with the words 'a screaming comes across the sky,' in the mad, cabalistic invention of Gravity's Rainbow, in the fury of Donald Barthelme's unequaled experiments in short prose, in John Ashbery's poems, or in the tremendous innovative assault of the Living Theater (a pride of New York artists walks into a theatrical space, takes off its clothes, and just starts talking—without script or theme or character), or in the violent electric period of Miles Davis (who probably comes closer, in his life's work, to embodying cool than any other single American artist)" ("About Cool", Rick Moody, 2004).

(Albero della Cabbala, Davide Tonato, 1985)
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Hi all, no posts last week as I was trying to cram in as much fourteenering as possible whilst the warm weather held out. Managed to bag 3 of them (although 2 were ones I had already climbed). Anyways, it's time (a day late, actually) to announce the winner of this week's contest. It's...jos xx! She wrote:
As she waited anxiously on the huge velvet chair, she still couldn’t believe it. A personal invitation from the Count had arrived to her earlier in the morning, while she was happily singing over a large tin pan, containing a sort of olla podrida that had appeared on the table for the past three days. She was poor, she had nothing to offer to this noble man, what did he want from her? While she was lost in her deepest thoughts, they curled her hair, polished her neck with some fragrant powder, and they would have added a soupcon of rouge if she had not rebelled. She was then taken to a large hall, filled with large chandeliers and delicious wine, and while she stood rooted on the spot, she could easily feel all eyes on her. A music program developed under the aegis of a short chubby man opened the big dances and suddenly everyone was following an amazing waltz pattern. She looked away, through the large windows instead, and even in the darkness she could easily recognize the Count’s handsome figure walking rapidly through the fecundity of his enchanting garden while hailing at his youngest daughter with a sort of avuncular jocularity. If it wasn’t for the lad who insisted to dance with her, she would have have stayed there, staring outside the windows...all night.
Well done, jos. One more victory and you'll be the first big winner! But let's actually take a week-long hiatus from the contest, considering that I didn't post any words. As always, thanks for reading!

26 comments:

D4 said...

Congrats, Jos! And welcome back dude, glad you didn't die and stuff.

Unknown said...

I feel like this word has some negative connotations.

MRanthrope said...

I was going to type some Madonna/Cabbala joke thing...but it just fizzled out as soon as I started typing =/

Unknown said...

Wow I first read that as CANNIBALISTIC

Brandon Sample said...

love the painting, I have it as a tattoo on my back, goes down my spine and branches out.

mamtc said...

welcome back bud. Cabbalistic-first I thought maybe something about my NY experience with cabs in pennstation. This word is cute.
Tall,cabbalistic and handsome :)

Mai Yang said...

wow! Jos! congrats!

AllenTesch said...

I read that as cannabilistic at first too. I thought "hey, one I already know"

themajessty said...

this is really well-written! It's my favorite one so far.

Congrats, Jos!

Hasidic Plumber said...

That photo is incredibly trippy.
Regarding the word of the day, it's funny how in spanish, that word takes another connotation too.

Unknown said...

Congrats Jos. What a great paragraph.

I love this word. I don't know why but it just seems so...oddly fun.

Meri said...

huh, the first thing I thought of was "kabballah" and that must be where it comes from/ share the root!

neatfit said...

For some reason it doesn't play for me? It's okay though, I know how to say it. Great informative post, take your time off whenever you want, just don't forget this :).

Anonymous said...

I learned something new today. :D

Kevin Faulkner said...

You've not really stated what this word means, just stated its adjective, adding its its occult nature. It can also be spelt KABBLISTIC and even QABBALA.
The study of the Cabala along with astrology and alchemy was revived during the Renaissance. It is a Judaic esoteric teaching involving ten entities and their relationship to each other, and was taken seriously by leading Christian intellectuals during the Renaissance.

Jase said...

Congratulations! Interesting read! I caught this post from your title and glad that I found it! Keep up the great work with your blog and I look forward to reading your next post!

Melanie said...

I think I like this word too...although at first I totally thought of Madonna too. And no worries about missing a week. I have been quite spotty myself lately...but with drama. I wish it were something more exciting.

Jenny Woolf said...

Wonder why it is so often spelt with a K - to make it sound more exotic perhaps? Or is Madonna's religion based on something different? (I don't think so)

Jenny Woolf said...

Oh, did my comment happen? It seems to have disappeared without a captcha. (That's an interesting word to explore)

DEZMOND said...

yep, Madonna's favourite word.

Mai Yang said...

re your comment: what? wait..are you? my suitor? hahaha!

shari said...

Great job, Jos xx! Way to create such an awesome, dramatic storyline, too...

Yes, -E-, I do love my plants!! :-) My next few posts will most likely be mostly devoid of plants, however... I have other things to share!

Once Upon A Time... said...

yay i won!

re: those aren't pools but salt pans. The water gets evaporated and salt is gathered!

jos xx

Mark said...

The Caballa always strikes me as both interesting and obscure. I like the way Lawrence Durrell uses it in his Alexandian Quartet.

Jodie-Ann Muckler said...

LOL reminded me of cabbage XD

Anonymous said...

Love your contest idea with the vocab - very clever!

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