As I have said, ex-co-worker and NJ blogger KG of the ID headed to LA, CA and LV, NV for R’n’R. With New Year’s Day on the doorstep, it should be noted that hard on the heels of the well–ridiculed FBI alert concerning the consultation of almanacs (or as I’ve seen it, al manaqi), an unexpected snowstorm dusted the usually leaflet-littered reaches of the Strip, just in advance of the holiday that is being discussed as the probable locus of the recent Paris-LAX hubbub.
Somehow, I feel certain that this is related. If only I had total information awareness. I shall remain vigilant.
Al manaq! That is rich!
Interestingly, googling ‘al manaq’ and ‘manaq’ and ‘manaqi’ finds that ‘Al Manaqi’ is a real and pre-extant Arabic name, maybe derived from a place.
VERY entertainingly, ‘manaq’ is the Inupiaq word for ‘hook,’ as in something one uses on a fishing expedition.
Rounding out the entertainment, the word appears in phonetically transliterated Mayan in two locations that Google presents, and may possibly mean ‘help.’
Etymology: Middle English almenak, from Medieval Latinalmanach, probably from Arabic al-manAkh the almanac
oooh!
Middle English? Does this mean we can involve the Templars in this now? Cool!
Put down that copy of The Da Vinci Code, and place your hands on your head.
I noted the Inupiaq connexion as well. My favorite word from the Yup’ik family of languages is qanuk (‘snowflake’). Do the math.
Da Vinci Code? Naw, more Foucault’s Pendulum or mebbe Holy Blood, Holy Grail (oooh! Skull-and-Bones! Skull-and-Bones! hee hee hee!)