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#136824 01/07/05 06:50 PM
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Pooh-Bah
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If one looks at the crests of waves, and little ripples gathering on a shoreline though, one recognizes endless little moons nested within the folds of water – just as each droplet on a car window holds an upside-down view of the view of outside relative to its own size. If one retreats to the distance of, say, the ISS, our moon’s reflection spans whole seas of course. Does the word ‘moonglade’ do all this justice? The idea of 'self-similarity across scales' and the scientific field called 'chaos theory' seems to have some pertinence here, but I’ll resist trying to relate anything ‘bout that. The bewildering thing though is that this 'organised chaos' (great term, hey) seems to be in practically everything we do - though this comes as little surprise to many ‘less educated’ people, I suppose.


Perhaps we can borrow a term from heraldry. Semy of indicates a pattern of lots of little identical images in an orderly pattern across the background of a coat of arms. That sounds a lot like all those little moon reflections on the waves. They become a semy of moonglade.


#136825 01/07/05 08:59 PM
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In reply to:

Perhaps we can borrow a term from heraldry. Semy of indicates a pattern of lots of little identical images in an orderly pattern across the background of a coat of arms. That sounds a lot like all those little moon reflections on the waves. They become a semy of moonglade.


Ah, geez, you guys. . .this just keeps getting better and better!!

I've a question, and I don't know if it has been broached before. . .. I teach at a small, two-year college on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Could I share this discussion with my students as a way of defining what a threaded discussion is and can be? Or are these posts absolutely off limits??

(Perhaps I should have posted this question in a separate thread; if I've violated any "rules," I hope you all will forgive me. . .. Again, thank you so VERY much for these fantastic posts!!!)

Allison


#136826 01/07/05 09:09 PM
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Carpal Tunnel
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Oh, please do share with your students, Allison, and maybe some of them will want to join! We can use new blood around here...


#136827 01/07/05 11:50 PM
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"We can use new blood around here," said Tom, sanguinely.


#136828 01/08/05 12:14 AM
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Crispy!! Welcome home Kriegführendejugend! And such an evocative post to come home with!


#136829 01/26/05 02:19 PM
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enthusiast
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I won't make this into my personal journal, but I said that I let you know the results of my moonbow expeditions. It was too cloudy to see the full Old/Wolf/Ice moon last night, but it was the quietest night that I can remember in years. No owl, no loud moon, just one far off bark of a dog. I'll go to the falls under the full Hunger moon next month.



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tsuwm, the definition you referenced upfront ('a bright appearance in the horizon, under the sun or moon, arising from the reflected light of those bodies from the small rippling waves on the surface of the water') doesn't seem to me to be at the same as 'moonglade', or to be what Allison was looking for.

Kumatage is brightness in the horizon, she's looking for brightness in the water, whcih could be quite some way from the horizon. I know I'm being pernickety, but I do think the two are separate effects.

This is not to say that kumatage is anything other than a charming word, although I personally prefer moonglade for its inherent poetry. Then again, I don't think moonglade quite conveys the idea of a pathway that Allison had in her first description.

No helpful words to offer myself, I'm afraid, but Broome, up on the NW coast of Australia, has a famous tourist spectacle called the 'Staircase to the Moon', which is a phrase capturing that idea of pathway at least, although decidedly unpoetic.
No pics on the official tourist website, but I did find one here:
http://www.mlb.broomeaccommodation.com.au/index.site.attractions.attraction.195.html
I also note they have a night market to help tourists 'appreciate' the sight - reminds me sadly of the Japanese stringing everything in sight with pink plastic flowers, then hanging out in loud drunken parties to help everyone appreciate cherry blossom. Maybe I am missing something in just wanting to admire nature quietly on my own rather than as a mass activity?


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Carpal Tunnel
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I don't pretend to use or even like the word; I referred to it as an obscure word for this concept found in an outdated seaman's glossary. the language seems stilted and even a bit archaic*: a brightness in the horizon. but to me that conjures up the bright, nigh on to full size reflection of the (low in the sky) moon on the horizon which then slowly narrows towards you -- sort of a reverse vanishing point.

a brightness on the horizon.. seems as evocative of the event as moonglade.
but the word is rare, at best; and this is all rife speculation.

*maybe that should read poetic :-)

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