Monday, March 5, 2007

Gryphon's Word of the Day, March 5, 2007

The word of the day1 for March 5, 2007 is “retrospective” — adjective 1 a (1) : of, relating to, or given to the act or process or an instance of surveying the past. (2) : based on memory <a retrospective report> b : being a retrospective <a retrospective exhibition>. 2 : affecting things past : RETROACTIVE <retrospective laws>. 3 : relating to or being a study (as of a disease) that starts with the present condition of a population of individuals and collects data about their past history to explain their present condition.

 

In honor of Lloyd’s birthday today, we went to watch Zodiac Sunday. It was very well done—a mystery and suspense movie. Actually, the main reason we went to see it was that the action took place mostly in San Francisco. There is one good shot of the Golden Gate Bridge, the main draw for Lloyd. They also had a nice sequence of the TransAmerica Tower going up to show passage of time.

 

Every time a date flashed on the screen, Lloyd and I said things to the effect of “That’s when we were living in San Bernardino. That’s when we lived in West Sacramento and were going down to San Francisco nearly every weekend.” Living in California had some very creepy moments, including the time we went out on a picnic with another couple and their child whom we had just met. He mentioned that they intended to move out to this ranch, which was owned by a guy named Spahn, with his friend Charley. Since we were not interested in furthering the acquaintance, Lloyd and I never saw them again. That was about six months before the Tate/La Biancamurders. Shudder!

 

The quote2 for today is from Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977), Lolita: A Screenplay, foreword (1974).

 

Complacency is a state of mind that exists only in retrospective: it has to be shattered before being ascertained.

 

;^)  Jan

 

1 The definition is from either Merriam-Webster Online, 10th Edition or The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition and is used by permission.
2 The quote is from either Bartleby: Great Books on Line or The Quotation Pages and is used by permission.

 

P.S.: Comments and word requests are welcome.

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