Maggie's Farm

We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.

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Friday, August 7. 2009

"Lagom"

Megan McArdle, who has recently been obsessing about what government can do about obesity (A silly obsession, in my view. Why has it become a reflex for people to ask "What can govt do?" about this or that thing, as if government had magical powers to alter reality?), used the Swedish word "lagom" in a piece about Ikea.


The word is not easily translatable into English, because it is such a dispirited, dysthymic Swedish concept.


Want to give it a try?

Posted by The Barrister in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 16:31 | Comments (13) | Trackbacks (0)

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"Good enough" --as in "Welll, ok, i guess that's good enough" actually means "not good enough, but it'll do". So, what it really means, is "nothing less than perfect is good enough". On the other hand, zzzzzzzzzzzzz...oops i put myself to sleep
#1 buddy larsen on 2009-08-07 19:18 (Reply)
You mean Luddy Barsen, don't you? :-)
#1.1 Skookumchuk on 2009-08-07 20:20 (Reply)
heh --yep --not "banned in Boston" but "banned in Belmont" !
#1.1.1 buddy larsen on 2009-08-07 20:56 (Reply)
What the hell for?
#1.1.1.1 Luther on 2009-08-08 00:46 (Reply)
everybody trying to comment had some sort of screwy mess going on --dunno why --a DB problem someone said. the friggen hackerz --?
#1.1.1.1.1 buddy larsen on 2009-08-08 09:23 (Reply)
Oh, okay, I was thinking you DID something to get banned and was wondering WTH?
#1.1.1.1.1.1 Luther on 2009-08-08 09:48 (Reply)
The old saying and often used company motto: "Good enough isn't" has and will serve us well. Our failure to take heed gives us the opportunity to go back and do it again.
#1.2 Thalpy on 2009-08-08 08:27 (Reply)
(left this on the prev Dylan entry --o/t here but skook is a Lewis & Clark "westward ho!" fan)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZRvbU5nMeI&feature=related

This is Dylan singing old Celtic "Westward Ho!" heritage song "Shenandoah" (aka "Across the Wide Missouri"). Let me tell you, it is spellbinding.

1988 --dunno with whom he was playing, but the rhythm section is SO good --slap bass cookin' --and some backup singers SO 'right'.
#2 buddy larsen on 2009-08-07 21:20 (Reply)
Halfway through Volume 11 - The Journals of Private Joseph Whitehouse. The Herbarium is Volume 12. I'll pass on Vol. 13 - the Index.
#2.1 Skookumchuk on 2009-08-07 22:24 (Reply)
i find indexes to be lite on plot, tho usually a great cast of characters.
#2.1.1 buddy larsen on 2009-08-08 11:05 (Reply)
I'd try to explain it, but it's probably really not worth trying. I mean, you already kind of know what it means just from puzzling through the word phonetically and listening to what it sounds like. So I could explain, but what would be the use? It's not like you'd understand it better, or that I'd feel better for having explained. I think we're both just better off with settling for what we have and maybe having a nice warm cup of lingonberry tea. It isn't quite as good as Earl Grey or even a nice P.G. Tips, but I think you'll find a cup and a half of this served lukewarm is perfectly adequate for most of your needs.
#3 Jim on 2009-08-07 21:50 (Reply)
Ugh. Reminds me of Bruno Bettelheim and his idiot book, "The Good Enough Parent". The word means 'moderation'... basically. If we are to strive to be 'good enough' parents, that means we lower our expectations to 100 I.Q. thought and get on with raising our chirrens. jaysus.
`
#4 Meta on 2009-08-08 11:23 (Reply)
Having lived in Sweden and visited several times, I can report that "lagom" means "just right." The Swedes I've met and lived with seem rather proud of this little word - and they're the ones that have a sense of humor.
#5 Susan in Seattle on 2009-08-08 16:00 (Reply)

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