go rhyme your runes in june,

I'm not your seventh son ...

So how's your June progressing? It's finally got cold here, particularly the nights I have slept on the couch. This is a sign for me that things aren't going so well ... the tv as night nurse ... Things have been crazy busy at work ... but I can't blog about that ... but can you say hostile takeover?

In other news, there is no other news. I have been moping and working only. Aren't you glad now for the June blog silence? I have been reading Wierzbicka's theories of semantic universals, particularly her views of the non-match up of emotions. When she compares the Russian words that are most commonly translated as sad, she notes this very big difference. (The preposed question mark suggests this is a marginally acceptable construction. Nothing before the sentence indicated this is a grammatical construction).

On cuvstvoval kakuju-to grust', on sam ne znal pocemu.
?On cuvstvoval kakuju-to pecal, on sam ne znal pocemu.
He felt some sadness, but he didn't know why.

The difference is the interpretation of vagueness, only grust' allows this reading, and this impacts on other aspects of the grammar of the language. Here they are as adverbs:

Pecal'no ja smotrju na eto pokolenie
sadly I look on this generation
"I look with sadness on this generation."

grustno ja smotru na eto pokolenie
sadly I look on this generation

The difference between the two is the interpretation of sadly. In the first it is a judgement about this generation; the second implies a facial expression, describing the manner in which the event of looking was carried out, i.e. "With a sad face, I look at this generation."

Okay enough semantics. I am cleaning my house, and cursing my toilet today. Over the past few months its refilling power has slowed to a trickle ... making it awkward with guests. Now it has stopped altogether.