I just learned something interesting about the language of the Pirahã people, who are a group indigenous to the Maici River area of Brazil.

“The Pirahã people communicate almost as much by singing, whistling, and humming as they do using consonants and verbs.”  See this site for more information.

For example, they have hum speech, which is used for privacy, intimacy, and talking with one’s mouth full.  They also have yell speech, which logically enough is used for long distance, and, less logically, rainy days.  There’s musical speech, which is used for dancing and flirtation and apparently is more common among women than men, and there’s whistle speech, which is used in hunting and is more common among men.  Apparently there are some conversations that can be conducted entirely through whistling.

The site above has a sound clip, but it just sounds like somebody whistling to me.  I guess that stands to reason, since that’s pretty much what it is.  I believe it is a non-native whistler, though, so maybe he’s not doing it right.

The bad news:  the Anna Sui dress from Ebay was way too big.  Fortunately, the seller was very gracious about accepting a return and offering me a refund.

The good news:  Anthropologie has some new stuff in their summer collection, including this snappy little number, which I love.  It seems good for summer weddings:  dressy but not awkwardly formal, not black or white or red, cute and fun for dancing but not too revealing.  Plus it looks like it would pack well, which is important considering  that some of the weddings are in distant locations.  And I love the little upside-down flowers on the hem.  Woot!