A new Google Doodle says "Happy Birthday, Jane Austen!"

Google celebrates Jane Austen [1775-1817] with an elegant and romantic Doodle. 

The great author is my favorite writer ever. I have read all of her books several times, again and again, and each time I've discovered something new and unexpected in them. And in myself.

[Google Doodle for December 16th, 2010

Jane Austen's 235th birth anniversary]

Too often improperly described as boring, outdated, outmoded and "sugary", Jane Austen's works are actually still (and always have been) a fantastic and exciting reading.

Forget Becoming Jane - even if I'm in love with James McAvoy now and forever - and Pride & Prejudice with Keira Knightley and maybe take a look at The Jane Austen Book Club or at Gurinder Ghadha's Bride & Prejudice.

Do you need a cold shower? And other clichés...

There are stereotypes and clichés that are "more real than reality", as we say in Italian.

Sometimes feeling bad is a really good thing. Sometimes a bad thing is more positive than it appears or it gives us the right kick to get going, to restart, to change. To be awake, at last. To see what we didn't want to see or to understand.

Among the clichés that are used and overused in movies we can find for example:
- throwing up after a hangover;
- a cold shower;
- receiving a slap when having a hysterical reaction;

- crying uncontrollably.

Still sure that "bad" always means "bad"?

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Alcuni stereotipi e clichées sono "più veri del vero", come si dice in italiano.

A volte sentirsi male è in realtà un'ottima cosa. A volte qualcosa di negativo è più positivo di quanto non sembri o ci dà la giusta spinta per metterci in moto, per ricominciare, per cambiare. Per svegliarci, infine. Per vedere ciò che non volevamo vedere o capire.

Tra i clichées che vengono usati e abusati nei film si possono trovare, per esempio:
- vomitare dopo una sbornia;

- fare una doccia fredda;
- ricevere uno schiaffo dopo aver avuto una reazione isterica;

- piangere in maniera incontrollata.

Siamo proprio sicuri che "negativo" significhi sempre "negativo"?

Tags: Clichés, Stereotypes, Cold shower, Changes, Clichées, Stereotipi, Doccia fredda, Cambiamenti

Playing with words #1. Exotic or erotic?

For many people, something (or someone...) exotic is ipso facto also attractive and maybe erotic. Already heard about dark Latin lovers or cute Japanese girls, anyone?

Under these circumstancese, being exotic somehow means being erotic too...

[A beautiful and exotic Purple flower
Image source: Healthy Home Gardening]

Until today I had never noticed that only one consonant separates also literally something exotic from something erotic, in at least four languages. But I'm starting to doubt in a lot more...

• English - exotic / erotic
• French - exotique / érotique
• German - exotisch / erotisch
• Italian - esotico / erotico

Do you know other languages for this wordplay?

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Per molte persone, qualcosa (o qualcuno...) esotico è automaticamente attraente e in una certa misura erotico. Avete già sentito parlare di focosi Latin lovers e deliziose ragazze giapponesi?
In tali circostanze, essere esotici significa in qualche modo essere anche erotici...

Fino a oggi non avevo notato che solo una consonante separa anche letteralmente qualcosa esotico da qualcosa erotico, in almeno quattro lingue. Ma probabilmente in molte di più...

• Inglese - exotic / erotic
• Francese - exotique / érotique
• Tedesco - exotisch / erotisch
• Italiano - esotico / erotico

Conoscete altre lingue in cui questo gioco di parole sia valido?

Tags: Word play, Adjective, Language, Learning a language, Exotic, Erotic, Gioco di parole, Aggettivo, Imparare una lingua, Esotico, Erotico

To eat = Sex, or the A-ha moment that you didn't have even if you knew something already

A friend of mine told me yesterday something really interesting I already knew and yet it was kind of an A-ha moment anyway.

To cook = Love
To eat = Sex

[What are you going to have tonight?
Amazing purple food composition
by Swedish food stylist Linda Lundgren for supermarkets Hemköpf]

I always knew that how a person eats - and how a person dances! - tells a lot about how this person could probably be in other situations... but a small Wiederholung is always useful. And funny. Do you agree?

PS. If I think about how people cook and eat in Berlin... well, suddenly everything makes sense.

What to read next:
What does it mean to love someone? Orson Welles was used to saying...

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