Maui News readers are, apparently, a bunch of word nerds. My previous “Sharing Mana‘o” on portmanteau words generated a flurry of responses, most offeri
Portmanteau (noun) 1) a large trunk or suitcase, typically made of stiff leather and opening into two equal parts. 2) a word blending the sounds and combini
kcmaui913@gmail.com
Along with everyone else who grew up in Hawaii, I was stunned and saddened by the news of Love’s Bakery’s impending closure. I even felt a little guilty for having cut down my gluten consumption over the past few years.
I’m also a bit embarrassed that my first thought wasn’t of the 250 or so employees who will lose their jobs, or the many kupuna who have never made sandwiches or cinnamon toast with any other brand of bread. The selfish gasp inside my head went something like, “Oh, no! Now I’ll NEVER know the second verse of the old Love’s jingle!”
kcmaui913@gmail.com
Lately, I’ve been thinking about the concept of synchronicity. Merriam-Webster defines it as “the coincidental occurrence of events and especially psychic events (such as similar thoughts in widely separated persons or a mental image of an unexpected event before it happens) that seem related but are not explained by conventional mechanisms of causality.”
Or, as Carl Jung put it, “a meaningful coincidence of two or more events where something other than the probability of chance is involved.” My favorite description comes from a Psychology Today blog: when “the universe winks and nods at you.”
For example, a song you haven’t heard or thought of in ages suddenly pops into your head for no apparent reason. Humming the tune, you get into your car, turn the key in the ignition and that very song is playing on the radio. This has happened to me more than once. Sure, the fact that I work for (and therefore listen to) a classic rock station might have
kcmaui913@gmail.com
The 2021 Lunar New Year, better known as Chinese New Year, begins Friday. 2021 is the Year of the Ox, or Cow. According to chinesefortunecalendar.com, it is, more specifically, a White Metal Cow Year.
Most folks know that the Chinese zodiac consists of 12 animals, rotating each year. But the entire cycle lasts 60 years, as each year is also designated with one of the five elements: metal, water, wood, fire and earth. Those elements are associated with the colors white, black, green, red and brown, respectively. Don’t ask why water is black and not blue; I also wondered but couldn’t find an explanation.