Carl's Flingo on Wine
Wine is my favorite alcohol. It has a mystique for me. I feel like beer is the drink of the masses and much hard alcohol is more prescriptive than recreational. This is not to say that beer and spirits can't be classy or mysterious but, to me, that magic is quintessential to wine--cheap or bad wine is merely a bastardization. Beer and spirits can make their home pretty much anywhere on the Chain of Being but wine is meant to have elevated status.
I used the word quintessential. I didn't realize my affection for that word until three years ago when I was in the shower. (That sentence might imply that I only shower every three years. It's not true. I shower at least yearly.) A little background: my time in the shower is my time for reflection, introspection, and general mental wandering. A good chunk of that third category is devoted to thinking about why words mean what they do--I'm basically a naked, non-researching etymological detective. So here is the result of Detective Naked's ponderings on the word "quintessential":
The word is comprised of two parts: quint + essential. A passing familiarity with Latin unmasks "quint" as five or fifth. "Essential" is just the adjectival form of essence. So we're looking at a fifth essence. What da heck?
The answer lies in medieval mysticism. Along with the four more observable elements (earth, wind, fire, and water), mystics and scientists (often the same thing at that point) believed there was a fifth element. Some called it spirit, some called it ether, but the gist of it was that it was the most integral, true part of everything. Sort of like qualia. I think. I still don't really understand qualia. Look it up and tell me what you think.
Well, off to enslave myself to the man for petty cash. Toodles.
Wine is my favorite alcohol. It has a mystique for me. I feel like beer is the drink of the masses and much hard alcohol is more prescriptive than recreational. This is not to say that beer and spirits can't be classy or mysterious but, to me, that magic is quintessential to wine--cheap or bad wine is merely a bastardization. Beer and spirits can make their home pretty much anywhere on the Chain of Being but wine is meant to have elevated status.
I used the word quintessential. I didn't realize my affection for that word until three years ago when I was in the shower. (That sentence might imply that I only shower every three years. It's not true. I shower at least yearly.) A little background: my time in the shower is my time for reflection, introspection, and general mental wandering. A good chunk of that third category is devoted to thinking about why words mean what they do--I'm basically a naked, non-researching etymological detective. So here is the result of Detective Naked's ponderings on the word "quintessential":
The word is comprised of two parts: quint + essential. A passing familiarity with Latin unmasks "quint" as five or fifth. "Essential" is just the adjectival form of essence. So we're looking at a fifth essence. What da heck?
The answer lies in medieval mysticism. Along with the four more observable elements (earth, wind, fire, and water), mystics and scientists (often the same thing at that point) believed there was a fifth element. Some called it spirit, some called it ether, but the gist of it was that it was the most integral, true part of everything. Sort of like qualia. I think. I still don't really understand qualia. Look it up and tell me what you think.
Well, off to enslave myself to the man for petty cash. Toodles.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home