Lux et veritas

Light and truth. What a beautiful phrase.

there must be too many words in the English language

What kind of a word is "limn"?!

It's like they ran out of letter combinations!

I mean, I appreciate the history of the word, ie. its roots, but its form as of today is a bit too random for my liking..

translation: dos gardenias

I fell in love with the music and words of this song while watching the documentary Buena Vista Social Club". The film shows Ibrahim Ferrer singing the song in concert, with subtitles for DVD viewers. It's something about the minor key that the song is in, and the way in which the song is like a profession of love but a warning at the same time.. it's a kind of gentle ominous-ness, if you can imagine such a thing.

Dos gardenias
Buena Vista Social Club

Dos gardenias para ti
Con ellas quiero decir:
Te quiero, te adoro..
Mi vida.
Ponle toda tu atención
Porque son tu corazón y el mío.

Dos gardenias para ti
Que tendrán todo el calor de un beso
De esos besos que te dí
Y que jamás encontrarás
En el calor de otro querer.

A tu lado vivirán y se hablarán
Como cuando estás conmigo
Y hasta creerás que te diran:
Te quiero.

Pero si un atardecer
Las gardenias de mi amor se mueren
Es porque han adivinado
Que tu amor me ha traicionado
Porque existe otro querer.

Two gardenias for you
With them I want to say:
I want you, I adore you..
My love.
Show them all your attention
Because they are your heart and mine.

Two gardenias for you
That have all the warmth of a kiss
Of those kisses that you give
And that you never encounter
In the warmth of another desire.

They will live by your side and talk to you
Like when you are with me
And until you believe that they say to you:
I want you.

But if one evening
The gardenias of my love are dead
It's because they have guessed
That you have betrayed your love for me
Because there exists another desire.

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Now playing: Clare Bowditch/Feeding Set - The Thing About Grief

translation: murmullo

When I'm not procrastinating or doing what I should be doing (work, uni, golf), I'm either playing music, drawing, reading, watching Scrubs, or translating passages from Spanish to English.

I don't do this often, but I do derive a lot of fun from it, and hopefully one day I'll actually invest enough time into Spanish to be able to speak it conversationally, or at least write and understand the language.

This is a song from the Buena Vista Social Club's self-titled album - it's a really beautiful, gentle song (in this instance, sung by Ibrahim Ferrer et al) that makes me close my eyes and sway to the gentle "guun, guun" of one of the percussion instruments. It wasn't until I translated the lyrics that I discovered the beauty behind the words as well.

I know, I know - it's pretty easy to find pre-translated lyrics online.. but that's beside the point. DIY involves constant flicking through the dictionary and trying to recall words I've already come across in previous dictionary searches.

Time-consuming, but educational.

Murmullo
Buena Vista Social Club

Hay un suave murmullo
En el silencio de una noche azul
Son dos enamorados
Que, encantados, gozan del amor.
Y ríe la vida y qué dice así: Ahh, ahh..
Y ríe la luna y qué dice así: Mmm, mmm..

There is a gentle murmur
In the silence of the blue night
There are two lovers
That, delighted, enjoy their love.
And Life laughs, and speaks thus: Ahh, ahh..
And the Moon laughs, and speaks thus: Mmm, mmm..

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Now playing: Buena Vista Social Club - Candela