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Wikiquote.com The first generation of the Internet was about giving people access to all the information in the world. Google has excelled at that. The second generation seems to be about getting it in order. Hence, Wikipedia, the ever-changing Internet encyclopedia. As a recent New Yorker magazine article said, “Wikipedia functions as a filter for vast amounts of information online, and it could be said that Google owes the site for tidying up the neighborhood.” For quotation seekers, a Wikipedia side project called WikiQuote has been tidying up the mess of not-always-accurate quotes around the Net. The ever-changing – and growing – collection is less trustworthy than your well-worn Bartlett’s, but it’s a heck of a lot more current. Whereas Bartlett’s has Milton Friedman, WikiQuote has Milton and Thomas L. Friedman.
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“The Meaning of Tingo: And Other Extraordinary Words from Around the World” The English language is rich with poetic possibility, owing partly to its appropriation of vast numbers of words from other languages. Such words include croissant, ad hoc, kindergarten and, more recently, feng shui. But there are some words we’ll probably never find much use for – mainly because there aren’t many situations where they’d apply. For example, the Persian word “nakhus” means “a camel that won’t give milk until its tonsils are tickled.” And take “tingo,” which is how Easter Island’s Pascuense say, “Take all the objects one desires from the house of a friend, one at a time, by borrowing them.” Adam Jacot de Boinod has collected thousands of peculiar words and phrases, and filled this entertaining little volume – which includes those famous dozens of Inuit words for snow.
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“‘Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man’ Motion Picture Soundtrack” Among a generation of songwriters and in Canada, singer and poet Leonard Cohen is a legend and a national treasure. And despite there now being four albums paying tribute to his songs, he’s still relatively unknown. That’s not likely to change, even as Lian Lunson’s documentary makes its way through U.S. movie theaters (it opened last weekend at the Chez Artiste in Denver), but it doesn’t diminish the greatness of the Canadian bard’s work. The highlight of the movie’s soundtrack is Cohen’s performance with U2 on his own homage to great songwriters, “Tower of Song.” Other notables on this tribute include Nick Cave, Rufus Wainwright, and Kate and Anna McGarrigle.
