• Home
  • Forums
    • General Wallingford Chatter
    • Crime and Safety
    • For Sale – Wanted
  • Local Links
  • Suggest a Story
  • About
Wallyhood
  • Home
  • Forums
    • General Wallingford Chatter
    • Crime and Safety
    • For Sale – Wanted
  • Local Links
  • Suggest a Story
  • About

Christmas Lights

Jordan Jordan December 17, 2015 2 Comments

Gustave_Caillebotte_-_Paris_Street;_Rainy_Day_-_Google_Art_ProjectThe word “flaneur” has gone through some gyrations over time: if you ask Google or a modern dictionary, you’ll get “an idler or a loafer”, but in times past, it’s meant something less negative, more civic. To Baudelaire, the flaneur was a “gentleman stroller of city streets” or a “botanist of the sidewalks”, for example. The Brooklynflaneur further quotes Cornelia Otis Skinner:

“There is no English equivalent for the French word flâneur. Cassell’s dictionary defines flâneur as a stroller, saunterer, drifter but none of these terms seems quite accurate. There is no English equivalent for the term, just as there is no Anglo-Saxon counterpart of that essentially Gallic individual, the deliberately aimless pedestrian, unencumbered by any obligation or sense of urgency, who, being French and therefore frugal, wastes nothing, including his time which he spends with the leisurely discrimination of a gourmet, savoring the multiple flavors of his city. (Cornelia Otis Skinner, Elegant Wits and Grand Horizontals, 1962, Houghton Mifflin, New York)”

Not familiar with the word? Perhaps you’re old-fashioned: according to Google’s NGram Viewer (which analyzes and index the contents of millions of texts), it didn’t start rocketing it common(ish) use until the mid to late 1980’s.

Whatever you call it, I’m a sucker for an evening stroll. I like passing the little framed scenes glowing through the windows, smiling at the dog walkers and sampling the scents of the varied neighborhood ecosystem.

Need a destination for some flaneuring? Head over to 4220 1st Ave NE, where Steve Zaske has his splendid Christmas light show running every night, 5 – 9 pm through New Year’s Eve. He’s added even more lights and music this year, and really, my shoddy little video doesn’t do it a drop of justice because half the fun is how the whole thing is perfectly sync’ed to the soundtrack.,

Substituted the awesomer Zaske-created video Brady posted in the comments in place of my lame iPhone version.

Destined to become a Wallingford institution.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Previous
Caroling for the Holiday House Tonight
Next
Sound Wall for Wallingford?

2 Comments

  1. Brady
    December 17, 2015 at 1:43 pm

    Here is a more legit representation
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1VVO6fhMFk
    Great show.

    • Jordan Wallyhood
      December 17, 2015 at 8:28 pm

      Replaced mine with yours. Thank you!

Wallyhood needs you! 

This community blog is all volunteer run, and we welcome articles from everyone in the Wallingford community. Something on your mind? Have a story to share? Please contact us at [email protected] today!

Editorial Board:

  • Julie Martin
  • Jack McLaughlin
  • Megan Dulgar Okabayashi
  • Gary Shigenaka

Subscribe

Get a daily summary of articles and forum conversations delivered to your email inbox.

Email Address (required)
First NameLast Name

Sponsored By

Recent Article Comments

  • Ele on Smoke on the Wa-Wa-WallyhoodThe building where this new shop, so called, is at, is one of the first building...
  • bette on Smoke on the Wa-Wa-WallyhoodI couldn't agree more! Though personally, I have no fondness for tobacco, I cert...
  • cathy wonderful on Obliteride to Complicate Your WeekendI was there this morning. tents cover most of lower east area of Gasworks. Be pr...
  • cathy wonderful on Smoke on the Wa-Wa-WallyhoodI told the owners of existing store to write to yo, ( see -- had things gone dif...
  • matthallett on No Mutiny at the BountyI met the owner / manager “David” there today. Very nice guy and family operatin...

Archives

Create Account

Recent Article Comments

  • Ele on Smoke on the Wa-Wa-WallyhoodThe building where this new shop, so called, is at, is one of the first building...
  • bette on Smoke on the Wa-Wa-WallyhoodI couldn't agree more! Though personally, I have no fondness for tobacco, I cert...
  • cathy wonderful on Obliteride to Complicate Your WeekendI was there this morning. tents cover most of lower east area of Gasworks. Be pr...
  • cathy wonderful on Smoke on the Wa-Wa-WallyhoodI told the owners of existing store to write to yo, ( see -- had things gone dif...
  • matthallett on No Mutiny at the BountyI met the owner / manager “David” there today. Very nice guy and family operatin...

Login or create an account

© 2009 - 2022 Wallyhood

 

Loading Comments...