l'appel du vide

bilby You can't compare appels and oranges. Feb 11, 2013

ruzuzu Someone just listed L’appel du vide, which is not the same as l’appel du vide or, surprisingly, our friend l'appel du vide. Feb 11, 2013

ruzuzu I just came across sous-vide, and it reminded me of this. Aug 4, 2011

reesetee :-) Jul 10, 2011

rolig I only jump a story if I already know how it's going to end. Jul 8, 2011

milosrdenstvi What I always tell myself is that if I'm afraid to jump a storey then I have no right to claim any spirit of adventure. Higher heights can be declined in the name of prudence. Jul 7, 2011

ruzuzu At my high school there was a courtyard with a concrete patio where you could look out over a grassy area about ten feet below. One day at lunch I sat on the edge of the patio and tried to imagine what it would be like to fall from that height--how soft would the ground be, how likely would it be that I'd twist something or break something, how far would... and then I just jumped. And I was fine. Jul 7, 2011

rolig Well, the call of nature, too, is all about "tingly urges, voids or voiding, and aiming". Jul 6, 2011

ruzuzu I frequently heed the call of nature--wonder whether I should have that checked out. Jul 5, 2011

reesetee All right, you've all convinced me. Not standing near the edge of any cliff with any of you. Especially since I aim to please fairly frequently. Jul 5, 2011

blafferty Me too, milosrdenstvi. Very close to a compulsion to hurl myself off, though obviously so far I've managed not to! And I'm not even slightly suicidal. Jul 3, 2011

rolig Well, the French word "l'appel" means "call", not "attraction", though there is a semantic overlap, or overhang, if you prefer.

And then there's the lapel of the void, which gives the phrase "haute couture" a whole new meaning. Jul 2, 2011

milosrdenstvi I like a straighter "appeal of the void" but I don't think that's as accurate.

As for me, I don't know how to describe it exactly...mostly an intense curiosity or reflection about just how interesting it would be for myself and everybody else if I jumped. After all, you'd be able to see practically unique sights that nobody in the world has seen before... Jul 2, 2011

rolig Would an appropriate translation be the call of the void?

This reminds me of some famous lines from Pushkin's "little tragedy" Пир во время чумы / Feast During the Plague (1830):

Есть упоение в бою,
И бездны мрачной на краю,
И в разъяренном океане,
Средь грозных волн и бурной тьмы,
И в аравийском урагане,
И в дуновении Чумы.

There's rapture in a battle, bliss
Upon the brink of the abyss,
And in the raging ocean's fury,
Midst angry waves and darkness vague,
And in the desert whirlwind's hurry,
And in the breeze that brings the Plague.
(Translated by M. E. Yankelevich) Jul 2, 2011

ruzuzu Wait a minute--all this talk of tingly urges, voids, and aiming makes me wonder whether we're talking about the same thing. When I look over a cliff, I get an if-only-I-could-fly, followed by an irrational maybe-I-can-fly, tempered by a what-would-happen-if-my-camera-fell, which causes my knees to go involuntarily weak. Jul 2, 2011

milosrdenstvi No, no, an urge. Please never stand on the edge of a cliff with me. Especially if you are one of those sorts of people who always aim to please. Jul 2, 2011

reesetee You mean an urge or a tingly, god-I-hope-I-don't-fall-to-my-death feeling? If it's the latter, I have it too.

If it's the former, remind me never to stand on the edge of a cliff with any of you. Jul 1, 2011

milosrdenstvi I discussed this with a French friend of mine a few weeks ago while overlooking Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi from a third floor balcony (which are ubiquitous the country over). She had just returned from Stepantsminda, a very beautiful mountain town to the north, to which I have not yet been. Her comment: "It might not be a good idea for you to go; there's a lot of vide there." Jul 1, 2011

ruzuzu I thought I was the only one. Thanks, milos. Jul 1, 2011

milosrdenstvi I suffer from this. Jul 1, 2011

Jesse Young Young Translated as “call of the void”. It is the urge some people get when they are close to the edge of a cliff. Apr 27, 2011