Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 30, 2007

The word of the day1 for April 30, 2007 is “celebrity” — noun. 1 : the state of being celebrated : FAME. 2 : a famous or celebrated person.  

We’ve been keeping an eye on the reports from the San Francisco area about the gasoline truck accident that has taken out the converging approach ramps for the Oakland Bay Bridge. Luckily for everyone concerned, the truck driver only sustained second degree burns. Unluckily for everyone concerned, traffic will be snarled for the next half-year or more as they rebuild. 

A coworker complained that there had been very little reporting on the incident here in the Mid-West. I explained to him the cardinal rules for what gets on the newscasts: footage, location, horror/grossness, celebrity. If the news people have footage, even if it is a squirrel escaping the attic of a burning building, it will take precedence in the newscast. Next is location—is it local, state, federal, or did it happen to someone from our home town? Then there is horror/grossness, or the amount of damage to life and limb. Also, did it happen to a celebrity? (This is the “John Jacob Astor and 1250 Souls Perish” type of headline.) The best of all possible headlines for a news program is to have footage of a British Royal run over by one of the racecars—driven by a lesbian in diapers—at a Nascar event in one’s hometown. 

The quote2 for today is from H.L. (Henry Lewis) Mencken (1880–1956), U.S. journalist. “Sententiæ: The Mind of Men,” A Mencken Chrestomathy (1949): 

     A celebrity is one who is known to many persons he is glad he doesn’t know. 

;^)  Jan 

Tags: celebrity

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 29, 2007

The word of the day for April 29, 2007 is “premonition” — noun 1 : previous notice or warning : FOREWARNING. 2 : anticipation of an event without conscious reason : PRESENTIMENT.

I suppose I could have told you before I went to see the movie, Premonition, that the critics would hate it. The story takes too long for the viewer to catch on to what is happening. Or perhaps I was just having a dull day. Lloyd fell asleep about a third of the way through the movie and woke up just in time for the most exciting part. There were only a handful of others in the theater, none of them children, which was in this case a definite plus.

Maybe the writers had a clear idea where they were going, but the rest of us had to deal with a lot of disjointed scenes that didn’t really make sense until halfway through the movie—mind, Lloyd was asleep by that time. Thus, I had the dubious joy of discovering what the hero (Sandra Bullock) was dealing with and how she would do so all by myself. The two little girls were not asked to do anything beyond their abilities and were therefore a bright spot in an otherwise confusing movie.

The quote for today is from William Shakespeare (1564–1616), British dramatist, poet. Hamlet responding to Horatio’s offer to forestall Hamlet’s duel with Laertes, of which Hamlet has a premonition that all is not well, in Hamlet, act 5, sc. 2, l. 165-8 (1604). 

     We defy augury. There’s a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If
     it be now, ‘tis not to come. If it be not to come, it will be now. If it be not
     now, yet it will come. The readiness is all.

;^)  Jan

Tags: premonition

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 28, 2007

The word of the day for April 28, 2007 is “cacao” — noun 1 : the dried partly fermented fatty seeds of a South American evergreen tree (Theobroma cacao of the family Sterculiaceae) that are used in making cocoa, chocolate, and cocoa butter —called also cacao bean, cocoa bean. 2 : a tree having small yellowish flowers followed by fleshy pods from which cacao is obtained.

The US government is considering changes to the labels on foodstuffs. A petition by the manufacturers and packagers are suggesting all kinds of changes that will enable them to substitute cheaper ingredients, but call them the same thing. For instance, the chocolatiers are suggesting that they should be allowed to use any old vegetable oil instead of cacao butter in their product. Cacao butter has no trans fats and is a source of anti-oxidants. Mind you, they aren’t advocating forced usage of veg oil—yet. Still, there’s a group out there agitating to petition Congress to stop this adulteration scheme immediately. HTTP://WWW.DONTMESSWITHMYCHOCOLATE.COM offers no insight or background on the situation, but does offer a way to start up a petition.

Personally, I stayed away from chocolate for an entire year before the major chocolate producers swore they wouldn’t buy chocolate resulting from slave labor. I’m not real sure whether to trust them. It would be really difficult to label each and every bean. However as an addict, I find it very easy to rationalize my position. If they have to raise the price of chocolate to make it slave-labor-free/cacao-butter-full, I’ll grit my teeth and pay.

The quote for today is from Abigail Trillin, age four, on finishing a dish of chocolate ice cream, quoted by her father Calvin Trillin, Alice, Let’s Eat, Random House, 1978:

     My tongue is smiling. 

;^)  Jan

Tags: cacao

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 27, 2007

The word of the day for April 27, 2007 is “inspection” — noun. 1 a : the act of viewing closely in critical appraisal, looking over or examining officially b : recognition of a familiar pattern leading to immediate solution of a mathematical problem <solve an equation by inspection>. 2 : a checking or testing of an individual against established standards.

 

We watched LOTR: The Return of the King again the other night. The trilogy has go to be my husband’s favorite movie. He has his favorite moments in each segment. In RotK he especially likes Miranda Otto as Eowyn taking down the Witch King. I like the Orc parade, when Frodo and Sam nearly get caught. The idea of having an inspection for that rabble is the sort of delicious silliness we have come to expect from Peter Jackson.

 

Part of my job as drafter involves inspecting the work of others. We have found that self-inspection works, but has it’s drawbacks. I think the mind fatigues after a certain amount of time, and one refuses to see the most simple yet obvious errors. It’s like studying for spelling tests. After writing a word ten times, it looks wrong no matter how you spell it. Thus I always thank people who find mistakes in my work. If it weren’t for the inspectors, some of my released work packages would be embarrassing.

 

The quote for today is from John Milton (1608–1674), British poet, referring to Satan, searching for a place “where to lie hid.” Paradise Lost, bk. 9, l. 82-6 (1674).

 

Thus the orb he roamed
With narrow search, and with inspection deep
Considered every creature, which of all
Most opportune might serve his wiles, and found
The serpent subtlest beast of all the field.

 

;^)  Jan

Tags: inspection

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 26, 2007

The word of the day for April 25, 2007 is “technology” — noun 1 a : the practical application of knowledge especially in a particular area : ENGINEERING <medical technology> b : a capability given by the practical application of knowledge <a car's fuel-saving technology>. 2 : a manner of accomplishing a task especially using technical processes, methods, or knowledge <new technologies for information storage>. 3 : the specialized aspects of a particular field of endeavor <educational technology>.

 

We bought a color tv early in our marriage. It was top of the line, 19", Quasar (which meant something in those days, but like "chlorphyll" and "minty fresh" was soon attached to things to which it need not apply) We hauled that tv all over the western US for three years. Then the picture went wonky.

 

I took it to the repair shop. The electronics doc replaced a tube. I took it home. The picture went bad within a week. I took it back to the shop. "Tsk," he says, "This happens all the time. One tube gets replaced and the resulting increase in power makes the others that were on the verge of going bad do so. Twenty-one tubes! I think it was every tube but the big one. We sold it to someone shortly thereafter because we intended to move to Puerto Rico. I wonder if that tv is still working.

 

The quote for today is from Arthur C. Clarke (1917 - ), "Profiles of The Future", 1961 (Clarke's third law):

 

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.

 

;^)  Jan

Tags: technology

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 25, 2007

The word of the day for April 25, 2007 is “prorogue” — transitive verb 1 : DEFER, POSTPONE. 2 : to terminate a session of (as a British parliament) by royal prerogative. : intransitive verb : to suspend or end a legislative session.

 

In Georgette Heyer’s The Great Roxhythe King Charles II uses prorogation on a fairly regular basis. Granted the man had great provocation. Plots and counter plots abounded then as now. The parliament at that time was still divided as to whether they wanted a commonwealth or a king, but they did bring him back from exile. Then they refused to support him monetarily in the style to which he wished to become accustomed. Therefore Charlie made side deals with anyone he thought might come up with the cash. This did not endear him to the public.

 

This sounds so familiar in the light of what is going on today. We are led to believe a thing or a situation is as advertised. Our representatives get a bill of some sort before congress and vote it in so it looks like they are doing something about it—but they don’t vote in any funding. After reflection they usually insisting on such strict accountability that the proponents of the bill either have to come up with new and more convincing proof, or they have to drop their schemes. I leave it to the reader to discern to which situations I refer.

 

The quote for today is from Mason Cooley (b. 1927), U.S. aphorist. City Aphorisms, Fifth Selection, New York (1988):

 

To postpone unpleasantness is human; to forget it is divine.

 

;^)  Jan

Tags: prorogue

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 24, 2007

The word of the day1 for April 24, 2007 is “conunundrum” — noun 1 : a riddle whose answer is or involves a pun. 2 a : a question or problem having only a conjectural answer b : an intricate and difficult problem.

Today is the saint day of Ivo, also known as St. Ives. The Patron Saints Index says of him:

     “Bishop. Hermit at Huntingdonshire, England. The city of Saint Ives (formerly Slepe), Huntingdonshire, England is named for him. His gravesite was lost for years, but in 1001 four bodies were uncovered in an unmarked grave; one bore a bishop's insignia. A local layman had a vision that this was the body of Ivo, and all four were translated to the Ramsey Abbey. A spring soon appeared near the site of their interment, its waters known for healing miracles. A later vision convinced the brothers at Ramsey to return the bodies of the three companions to Slepe.”

This is also the saint day of St. William Firmatus, who gave all his money to the poor and went on pilgrimages the rest of his life. This would certainly save him from the sin of avarice. His major miracle while alive was striking the ground—with his pilgrim’s staff, following Moses’ precedent one supposes—at Dardenay to provide a spring of water during a drought. He is now the patron of headache. This makes sense if you think about it too hard.

The quote2 for today is the traditional conunudrum:

     As I was going to St. Ives
     I met a man with seven wives.
     Each wife had seven sacks.
     Each sack had seven cats.
     Each cat had seven kits.
     Kits, cats, sacks wives:
     How many were going to St. Ives?

;^)  Jan

Tags: conundrum

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 23, 2007

The word of the day for April 23, 2007 is “horticulture” — noun : the science and art of growing fruits,vegetables, flowers, or ornamental plants. 

Had to stop on the way home for some more grass seed. The plant nursery personnel explain that eight pounds of fescue seed will do for an entire lawn. They don’t understand my husband’s psyche. He seems to think that one has to completely cover exposed dirt to get a good crop. Along with many-day-old bread to feed the ducks and washing the car every three days unless it is actively raining or below freezing temperature, I can accept this. I chalk it up to hobby expenses. It’s not as if I never splurge a bit on books, DVDs or framing photographs or artwork.

I turned the seed over to him and complained that I could not find my trowel to dig out some weeds coming up in my flowerbeds. I finally found the dandelion fork and had at the volunteers. It’s a tossup between elms, maples, mimosa and cottonwoods as to which is the most annoying. They all try to make a home among my flowers. I know where the walnuts come from, though.The squirrels bring them from across the street, bury them and forget them. I may have to start charging them storage.

The quote for today is from Jean Cocteau, Newsweek 16 May 55: 

      An artist cannot speak about his art any more than a plant can discuss horticulture.

;^)  Jan 

Tags: horticulture

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 22, 2007

The word of the day for April 22, 2007 is "fertility" - noun 1 : the quality or state of being capable of growing or developing. 2 : the birthrate of a population.

The wind is so high that I have decided not to go to the Renaissance Faire. Instead I went out for some movies on disc so Lloyd can sit with his feet up this afternoon. The shopping and then mowing the lawn afterward tired him out. I knew it would, but it does no good to protest. I came home to find the neighbor from across the street planting flowers in the tiny piece of dirt between our porch and the walk. I hadn’t meant to do anything to that part until after vacation, I told her. Well, Darlene said, since I’m going to be watering while you’re gone, I might as well make it worth my while. Bless her.

Lloyd’s watching The Magnificent Seven Ride, a sequel to The Magnificent Seven at the moment. Earlier, we watched The Children of Men: another extremely violent movie.The politics of why people were shooting at one another was hinted at, but never really explored in the movie. Mostly the plot is people being chased by both unknown persons and the (unspecified) authorities all over, for reasons barely explained. The big question is not do they make it to safety, but why the heck do we care.

The quote for today is from Germaine Greer (b.1939), Australian feminist writer. Sex and Destiny, ch. 2 (1984): 

     The management of fertility is one of the most important functions of adulthood. 

;^)  Jan 

Tags: fertility

Addendum to April 21, 2007

Since Lloyd and I will be going on vacation in two weeks, my sister, the librarian, has offered to produce a faux word of the day for my readers while I am away. Since she would just be e-mailing her product to my list, but not posting to the journal, I invite my regular blog readers to write me at gryphondear@aol.com so I can add their e-ddresses to the list. Otherwise, they will have to wait a couple of weeks until I can post her messages to Gryphondear's Word of the Day

;^) Jan

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 21, 2007

The word of the day  for April 21, 2007 is “merchandise” — noun 1 archaic : the occupation of a merchant : TRADE. 2 : the commodities or goods that are bought and sold in business : WARES.
 
Lloyd and I went shopping for last minute items of clothing we must have before we go on vacation in two weeks. We couldn't find any trousers in a color and size combination that fit him, so I'm off to the catalogues again. We did find a pair of decent shoes, though. The are black, pebble-grained leather with a rubberized sole. They look comfortable, but as my feet are much smaller than his, I'll never know from personal experience.

When we were newlyweds, he had occasion to buy himself a pair of huraches from a street vendor in the Los Angeles, CA, area. He brought them home extolling his wonderful bargain. "You can wear them around the house while I'm at work tomorrow and break them in for me," he said. I put my feet, shoes and all into his sandals and just looked at him. Sometimes subtle works really well.
 
The quote for today is from Senator DANIEL WEBSTER (1782–1852) remarks in the Senate in favor of continuing the charter of the Bank of the United States, March 18, 1834.—The Writings and Speeches of Daniel Webster, vol. 7, p. 89 (1903):
 
     Credit is to money what money is to articles of merchandise. As hard money
     represents property, so credit represents hard money; and it is capable of
     supplying the place of money so completely, that there are writers of distinction,
     especially of the Scotch school, who insist that no hard money is necessary for the
     interests of commerce. I am not of that opinion. I do not think any government
     can maintain an exclusive paper system, without running to excess, and thereby
     causing depreciation.
 
;^)  Jan

Tags: merchandise

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 20, 2007

The word of the day for April 20, 2007 is “sorority” — noun : a club of women; specifically : a women's student organization formed chiefly for social purposes and having a name consisting of Greek letters.

My sister came to stay the night on her way to Texas yesterday evening. She enjoys driving, so she is going by herself. I offered to feed her, but she said that hot dogs did not agree with her.

We traded books—something we almost always do when we meet. I had a couple of sturdy bags nearly full of her books. She had read those that I had bought in the past month. This time she only had a couple of small plastic bags with mostly hard bound books, including my copy of Heyer’s The Great Roxhythe. She had convinced me that I had taken it back, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. I had just about decided the book had gotten loose and knocked out of the car somewhere. It surfaced while she was hunting for something else but finding things she didn’t realize she had lost. I hope she also found what she was looking for, because I forgot to ask.

The quote for today is from Anna Quindlen (b. 1952), U.S. journalist, columnist, author. The New York Times, sect. A, p. 21 (January 19, 1994):

     I’ve been a babe, and I’ve been a sister. Sister lasts longer.

;^)  Jan

Tags: sorority

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 19, 2007

The word of the day for April 19, 2007 is “retraction” — noun 1 : an act of recanting; specifically : a statement made by one retracting. 2 : an act of retracting : the state of being retracted. 3 : the ability to retract. 

I must apologize to Buffy and Katy, as I mistakenly identified Buffy as Katy in the Renaissance Faire photo yesterday. I did mention that the photo was several years old. I have slept since then, but my real excuse is that I do not remember names very well, and never have. 

It didn’t help that Mother knew everyone in the county, what they did for a living or who their parents were. It was bad enough going to family reunions and getting the old take-this-over-to-aunt-suchandsuch, and not having a clue to whom I should give whatever it was. I’m not sure I have a firm grasp on our in-laws and out-laws even after years of my sister filling me in on the genealogical research she’s done. Here lately she has been putting it all together on GENI. I’ve been adding my two cents from time to time. Aside from Stoffel Grutniblick—who is no relation at all, as far as we can tell, but keeps showing up in the neighborhood—I am still shaky on all the names. 

The quote2 for today is from Martin Luther (1483 - 1546), Luther's Response to the Inquisition at the Diet of Worms ): 

     Unless I am convinced by proofs from Scriptures or by plain and
     clear reasons and arguments, I can and will not retract, for it is
     neither safe nor wise to do anything against conscience. Here I
     stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.  

;^)  Jan

Tags: retraction

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 18, 2007

The word of the day for April 18, 2007 is “renaissance” — noun 1 capitalized a : the transitional movement in Europe between medieval and modern times beginning in the 14th century in Italy, lasting into the 17th century, and marked by a humanistic revival of classical influence expressed in a flowering of the arts and literature and by the beginnings of modern science b : the period of the Renaissance c : the neoclassic style of architecture prevailing during the Renaissance. 2 often capitalized : a movement or period of vigorous artistic and intellectual activity. 3 : REBIRTH, REVIVAL.

This is the weekend for our annual Spring Renaissance Festival. Since I promised Lloyd I would go shopping for trousers with him this weekend, I’ll probably not get over there until Sunday. The Fest used to be hosted by Kansas Newman University, but the head of the project stepped down after number twenty-five. The next year, Eagles’ Realm, who had been holding a late summer Fest of their own, stepped up to the mark and held their own Spring Thing.

So far, the Fest is visited by the usual suspects. Even though I don’t belong to the Society for Creative Anachronism, I usually dress in Renaissance inspired garb for the occasion. Some of the people who attend really go all out with pretty authentic costumes. Most of us settle for long skirts and a boned bodice (women) or a tunic and tights with boots (men). The past few years, however, have brought men in kilts or pirate gear and women in belly dancer outfits or something out of Boris Vallejo. Or they dress as elves or ninjas or all goth (which is amusing in the Kansas midday sun.)

 

The photo above was taken a few years back at Bonner Springs, KS, Ren Faire, but you get the idea.
L to R: Wendy, Buffy, Emily, Cyb, DJ & Jan

The quote for today is from Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910), U.S. author. The Innocents Abroad, ch. 23 (1869):

     Who is this Renaissance? Where did he come from? Who gave him permission
     to cram the Republic with his execrable daubs?

;^)  Jan

Tags: renaissance

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 17, 2007

The word of the day for April 17, 2007 is “coelenterate” — noun : any of a phylum (Cnidaria syn.Coelenterata) of radially symmetrical invertebrate animals including the corals, sea anemones, jellyfishes, and hydroids—called also cnidarian.

The periodontist had his way with me this morning. By that I mean that Dr. Squire put a slurry of bone and synthetic material into a pocket between my jaw and gum to reconstruct the bone lost when my eyetooth was removed. Until three years ago, my upper right canine tooth was the original one. The permanent tooth fused itself to the bone, refusing to budge for love or money. So, Dr. Alley (he’s Kirstie Alley’s ex-brother-in-law) chipped out the tooth. Now I am having to replace the jawbone so I can have a new tooth implanted. I could have chosen a permanent bridge or a single tooth partial plate, but they would have been more cosmetic than anything.

I’m not the sort to wear jewelry of any sort. I have to reopen the piercings in my ears each time I take it into my head to wear earrings for a day. So, I am not going to let them implant a saber-toothed or vampire fang or bling. Oh, but that would be fun you say—maybe emeralds or some such. My contention is that would be as silly as the grillz that people are getting for their teeth. I’ll stick with something that looks like I could have grown it myself starting with this shipwreck under my lip to grow the reef on which to build my tooth.

The quote for today is from William Shakespeare, Ariel’s song from TheTempest:

     Full fathom five thy father lies.
     Of his bones are corals made.
     Those are pearls that were his eyes.
     Nothing of him that doth fade
     But doth suffer a sea change
     Into something rich and strange.
     Sea nymph hourly ring his knell.
     Hark, now I hear them, ding dong bell.

;^) Jan

Tags: coelenterate

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 16, 2007

The word of the day for April 16, 2007 is "arachnid" - noun : any of a class (Arachnida) of arthropods comprising chiefly terrestrial invertebrates, including the spiders, scorpions, mites, and ticks, and having a segmented body divided into two regions of which the anterior bears four pairs of legs but no antennae.

When Tim came home from university one summer, he went to the movie, Arachnaphobia, with a friend. The next day, I heard him shouting from his bedroom in the basement. He had, he said, sighted an unusual spider in his bedroom. It was hairy and black with a round, white dot in the center of its back. Being the macho dude that he is, he had killed it-with his shoe, I think.

Several days later, I opened the door to get the mail. A hairy, black spider with a round, white spot fell off the door handle onto the porch floor. It started walking toward the door. "You're too late," I said, "He's already gone back to school." The spider turned and walked across the porch and down the step. I never saw that spider or another like it again.

The quote for today is from George Bernard Shaw (1856 - 1950):

     I dread success. To have succeeded is to have finished one's business
     on earth, like the male spider, who is killed by the female the moment he
     has succeeded in his courtship. I like a state of continual becoming, with
     a goal in front and not behind.

;^)

Tags: arachnid

The word of the day for April 15, 2007 is “invincible” — adjective : incapable of being conquered, overcome, or subdued <seemingly invincible army>.

Lloyd and I were comparing movie hero styles. He said he prefers the roles played by Denzel Washington as they are more believable than those played by Arnold Schwarznegger or Wesley Snipes. I agree. There’s something warming about a more or less normal guy who has to work his way out of a problem without being impervious to bullets, broken glass and fire.

Still, my hubby reminisces about the “good old days” when Hopalong Cassidy wore two six-shooters (which would both shoot 52 times without a reload) and every kid on the block was a super hero when he tied a towel around his neck for a cape. They all knew they were indestructible whether stealing peaches from the neighbor’s tree or running the bulls in the packing house stock yards. The very thought of the bicycle, sans seat, chains or brakes—shared by the children who stayed with his care provider—that he would ride downhill and fall off just short of the six-foot drop to the pavement gives me the willies. The most dangerous thing we ever did that I can remember was playing Tarzan on Mother’s clothesline pole from the door of the adjacent treeless treehouse—that and mouthing off to Mother when I was thirteen and realized that I knew everything.

The quote for today is from Elmer Kelton, on fellow Western author Louis L’Amour, NY Times 16 Sep 85:

[His characters] are always 7 feet tall and invincible, mine are 5 feet 8 and nervous.

;^) Jan

Tags: invincible

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 14, 2007

The word of the day for April 14, 2007 is“obvious” — adjective 1 archaic : being in the way or in front. 2 : easily discovered, seen, or understood.

We watched Eragon last night on DVD. Aside from Lloyd trying to connect the eponymous hero of this movie with Aragorn from Lord of the Rings, we found this to be a tolerable movie. The special effects were nicely done; the dragon provided gratuitous flame; the dialogue was suitably hokey for an action/adventure film.

The ending made it very clear that the film makers intend this to have a sequel and perhaps a three-quel. The hero, who is emphatically 17, doesn’t get to kiss the girl. The girl goes back to her homeland to allow him to prepare for the next run in with the villain. The villain (played by John Malkovich) shreds scenery. The only two dragons left in the world belong to the hero and the villain. Unless parthenogenic, the dragons will have to get together to produce the next generation.

The quote for today is from T.S. (Thomas Stearns) Eliot (1888–1965), U.S.-British modernist poet. Eliot’s doctoral dissertation in philosophy; submitted to Harvard in 1916. Knowledge and Experience in the Philosophy of F.H. Bradley, ch. 1, Columbia University Press (1964):

     It is obvious that we can no more explain a passion to a person
     who has never experienced it than we can explain light to the blind.

;^) Jan

Tags: obvious

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 13, 200

The word of the day for April 13, 2007 is “censorship” — noun 1 a : the institution, system, or practice of examining in order to suppress or delete anything considered objectionable b : the actions or practices of censors; especially : censorial control exercised repressively. 2 : the office, power, or term of a Roman censor. 3 : exclusion from consciousness by the psychic censor, a hypothetical psychic agency that represses unacceptable notions before they reach consciousness.

IN MEMORY OF KURT VONNEGUT, JR. (1922-2007)

Kurt Vonnegut died Wednesday. He was one of the best writers of the post World War II era. His speculative fiction was sometimes criticized as simplistic, but the ideas behind the stories were insightful and sometimes scary. (The idea of ice that doesn’t float, for instance, is as scary to me as global warming.) Although the movie based on his book Slaughterhouse Five was not to my taste, I figure it gave at least a few minds a chance to think a different thought.

Certain groups have attempted, and probably will continue to attempt, to ban Vonnegut’s writing. They are the ones who think that unorthodox thoughts are somehow inherently dangerous or that others should not have fun in unsanctioned ways. To quote Mr. Vonnegut, "So it goes." My mother forbade me to read Science Fiction when I was twelve. I think she wanted to save me from the lurid covers of the late 1950’s Sci-Fi pulp novels. I’m glad that I didn’t pay too much attention to her prohibition, for I would have missed out on Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse Five as well as many other works by other authors that have shaped today’s world.

The quote for today is from Clare Booth Luce (1903 - 1987):

     Censorship, like charity, should begin at home; but, unlike charity, it should end there.

;^) Jan

Tags: censorship

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 12, 2007

The word of the day for April 12, 2007 is “drafter” — noun : one that draws up a preliminary version of or plan, especially plans or designs or a person who composes a document.

Jeanie says of Lloyd’s predicament, “I sense no sympathy coming from his darling wife at all, poor man! (Methinks you know him too well Jan..Lol!) He probably has a nose on him like a Griffin now....bless his cotton socks!” Thank you, Jeanie, for your sympathy. His nose has gone down, but the goose egg on his forehead is still pretty swollen. I’m attempting to talk him into getting a head x-ray to see if his skull is cracked.

Jeanie also asks what is a drafter. For the past 16 years I have been drawing the plans for commercial aircraft. Most of this has been the floor panels. So if you get into a Boeing 737, you’re probably walking on my designs made manifest. We still speak of blueprints, but everything is computerized here now. During my first years as a drafter, I did put a lot of ink on mylar: a stiff, translucent plastic sheeting that, what with the price of oil, is nearly impossible to get these days. I tell people that the mylar is extinct because of a diminishing gene pool. We also used to draw on vellum and resin-impregnated linen. The latter is not good to work with. Since ink absorbs into the fabric, in spite of the resin, one uses a plastic pencil, which is nearly impossible to erase. Now we work Computer Aided Design Computer Aided Manufacturing (CADCAM). It’s as much fun as playing Pac Man, but don’t tell my boss, or they’ll figure out some way to make me stop.

The quote for today is from Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914), U.S. author. The Devil’s Dictionary (1881-1906), repr. in Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, vol. 7 (1911):

     Architect. One who drafts a plan of your house, and plans a draft of your money.

;^) Jan

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 11, 2007

The word of the day for April 11, 2007 is “contusion” — noun : injury to tissue usually without laceration : BRUISE .

While moving the mower yesterday afternoon to make way for my car in the garage, Lloyd managed to trip and fall onto the machine. He has lovely bruise on his forehead and a cut, inflicted by the frame of his glasses, on the bridge of his nose. I’m glad I have an alibi for this because he’ll be claiming that I did the damage.

He called me at work to let me know he had lost the fight with the mower. So I’m trying to tell him where the ice bag and the bandages are. He’s telling me that the cut is not in a place that will take bandages; furthermore, he has too much to do for an ice bag—not to mention that his head hurts too much to put anything on it. Well, take a lortab, I tell him, unless your pupils are not the same size or you feel nauseous. If you’ve got a concussion, the doctor won’t like it if you’ve taken a pain pill. No, no, this isn’t bad enough to run to the emergency room, he tells me. He just wants sympathy, someone to metaphorically pat his hand and say, “There, there, it’s all right.”

The quote for today is from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (20th century), American poet. Collected Works, Vol. 2, Table Talk (1852):

     A torn jacket is soon mended; but hard words bruise the heart of a child.

;^) Jan

Tags: contusion

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 10, 2007

The word of the day for April 10, 2007 is “oleaginous” — adjective 1 : resembling or having the properties of oil : OILY; also : containing or producing oil. 2 : marked by an offensively ingratiating manner or quality.

My husband insisted on putting my car into the shop yesterday. I knew I needed a front end alignment, but I had thought we could wait for a month or so before getting it done. The mechanic who fixed the tire last Thursday mentioned that it might be a good idea to do it sooner. Thus, when Lloyd took his car to a different mechanic for an oil change and lube job, he asked about availability of tires for his car. Somehow this led to: an appointment to bring in my car for the front end—which he forgot to mention to me until I just barely had time to get the car over there—and also a scheme for pre-paying oil and lube jobs.

I’ll be glad to see my car again this evening. Losing access to transport can be a real pain. Not that I had anywhere unusual to go today, yet arranging for Lloyd to get me to and from work and over to the mechanic’s after the car is fixed is turning into a two-act farce. One would think, from his attitude that I was disarranging his schedule beyond endurance. At least he can’t claim to be bored this afternoon.

The quote for today is from William Shakespeare (1564–1616), King Lear. Act i. Sc. 1.:

     I want that glib and oily art,
     To speak and purpose not.

;^) Jan

Tags: oleaginous

Jan's Word of the Day, April 9, 2007

The word of the day for April 9, 2007 is “gourmand” — noun 1 : one who is excessively fond of eating and drinking. 2 : one who is heartily interested in good food and drink.

Re-reading what I wrote yesterday, I was thinking that most of the food this weekend was not traditional Easter fare. The lamb, while it is traditional for many, is something I have never tasted. Usually, we have ham with some combination of vegetables for Easter. My sister was saying that she had not cooked lamb for a number of years. For a while there, her church held a Seder supper for Maundy Thursday. She was usually involved in the preparation.

Other holidays have other traditional fare: the American Thanksgiving turkey with cranberry sauce; turkey, ham or standing rib roast for Christmas; corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day; doughnuts and oranges for Broderick Crawford Day. Although people don’t feel bound by these so much anymore. The first Christmas after the youngest of their children moved away from home Mother and Dad had beans and wieners for Christmas dinner. When I fret that I don’t have some ingredient for the holiday table, Lloyd tells me not to “stand on too much ceremony.” Of course, if I were to suggest we have bean and bacon soup for Thanksgiving dinner, he would never recover from the idea.

The quote for today is from William Safire, "The Post-Holiday Strip” NY Times 6 Jan 85::

In the lexicon of lip-smacking, an epicure is fastidious in his choice and enjoyment of food, just a soupçon more expert than a gastronome; a gourmet is a connoisseur of the exotic, taste buds attuned to the calibrations of deliciousness, who savors the masterly techniques of great chefs; a gourmand is a hearty bon vivant who enjoys food without truffles and flourishes; a glutton overindulges greedily, the word rooted in the Latin for “one who devours.”

;^) Jan

Tags: gourmand

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 8, 2007

The word of the day for April 8, 2007 is “paschal” — noun 1 : EASTER. 2 : PASSOVER.

We drove up through the Flint Hills again yesterday to spend Easter weekend with Claudia. The sand plums are in bloom—delicate branches of purple froth against the barely waking cottonwoods and rhododendrons. The fields are a patchwork of yellow-brown stubble and the various greens of winter wheat, hay and burgeoning soybeans. For some reason, the person in charge of the camera forgot to charge the batteries so there are no photos.

Yesterday evening, we had a lemon-pepper pork tenderloin for supper. Today for luncheon we ordered take-out from Famous Dave’s Barbeque. Famous Dave has an excellent sauce, but his dry ribs are excellent for those who can’t handle all the spices. On the way home, we stopped at Jo’s—nothing like inviting your way to supper. She fed us roast lamb and asparagus—and Tres Leches cake, which was wonderful. I may never get back on my diet.

The quote for today is from Wallace Stevens (1879–1955), U.S. poet. Letter, April 23, 1916. Letters of Wallace Stevens, no. 202, ed. Holly Stevens (1967): Unfortunately there is nothing more inane than an Easter carol. It is a religious perversion of the activity of Spring in our blood

;^) Jan

Tags: paschal

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 7, 2007

The word of the day for April 7, 2007 is “linguistic” — adjective  of or relating to language or the study of human speech including the units, nature, structure, and modification of language.

 

I wish that I had taken more languages in school, and also that I had made an effort to keep current in the ones I did take. Of course, Latin isn’t much called for these days, but German would probably be useful. If there had been an opportunity to learn Chinese before whatever facility allows children to learn accents and inflections easily, I would have liked my mother to sign me up for that. I don’t think she would have, but I would like to be able to speak Chinese—and Italian, maybe French or Japanese or ... you get the idea.

 

 When I went in Thursday to get my tire fixed, I noticed the mechanic appeared to be having a problem getting my lights and wipers to work correctly. I went into the shop to give him advice, but one of the other mechanics hollered at me that the fellow working on my car was deaf. Well, that’s one way of getting out of listening to unwanted advice. The only words or phrases I can remember in American Sign Language with any confidence do not lend themselves to: “the light switch is on the left side of the dash.” I did call my sister and ask how to tell the mechanic “thank you.” [Her directions worked very well—fingers to the lips move down while saying “thank you.” Like blowing a kiss to the floor, I said. Yes, but without pursing one’s lips, she insisted, and don’t expect him to sign “you’re welcome” because they don’t.] When I attempted the procedure, he did repeat the “thank you” gesture at me, and we grinned at one another like fools for a couple of seconds, so I suppose we understood one another well enough.

 

The quote for today is from Noam Chomsky (b. 1928), U.S. linguist, philosopher. Current Trends in Linguistics, “Topics in the Theory of Generative Grammar”, p. 11, ed. T. Sebeok

 

The most striking aspect of linguistic competence is what we may call the ‘creativity of language,’ that is, the speaker’s ability to produce new sentences, sentences that are immediately understood by other speakers although they bear no physical resemblance to sentences which are ‘familiar.’

;^) Jan

Tags: linguistic

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 6, 2007

The word of the day for April 6, 2007 is “agenda” — noun 1 : a list or outline of things to be considered or done <agendas of faculty meetings>. 2 : an underlying often ideological plan or program <a political agenda>.

A co-worker claims she has now officially seen everything. She had gone to get gas at the local Quik Trip (convenience store/petrol station for my BritSpeak readers) right after work last night. The lawn crew was mowing and edging the lawn while the snow fell. Typical Kansas behavior, I assured her—lawn schedules take precedence over weather. One often sees the lawn sprinklers here running in the rain. (Well, not at our house, but my husband has more sense than to waste water.) Yet, yesterday’s snow falling past the Bradford pears in blossom entranced me while I waited for the mechanic to fix my tire.

Our winters are usually quite mild. We tend to get ice storms rather than snow. When it does snow, we often find ourselves shoveling in our shirtsleeves. However, snow this late in the season is unusual. It’s no wonder most of the Plains tribes of Native Americans spent their winters on the Gulf Coast and their summers in Canada. They realized the buffalo had good reasons for annual migration.

The quote for today is from James Baker (b. 1930), U.S. Republican politician, secretary of state. Daily Telegraph (London, Nov. 15, 1988:

     Never let the other fellow set the agenda.

;^)  Jan

Tags: agenda

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

The word of the day1 for April 5, 2007 is “formication” — noun : a sensation like that of insects crawling over the skin. (From the Compact Oxford English Dictionary). 

The ants are back in my kitchen. Mother used to say there was no shame in getting vermin, but keeping them was another matter. I am cleaning out my cupboards and filling in cracks to discourage the critters from coming into the house in the first place. I also have put out the baits that claim the ants will take them back to the nest and destroy the entire colony. I don’t understand why the directions say to put the baits along baseboard where ants travel. The only time I see the critters is when they are in the middle of the counter making a feast of a missed spill or out in the middle of the floor acting like they can’t remember what they went out there for—or climbing up the window pane for no reason at all. 

Lloyd has been watching a program on BBC in America showing a couple of women who go into a home, clean it thoroughly and show the householders how to do ongoing cleaning. (They check back after a couple of weeks to see if their vict… er subjects are backsliding.) I have noticed that even when the place is really grotty with congealed grease and dust rhinos there never seems to be evidence of any pests. I don’t know if this is excellent selection of venues or creative filming. Anyhow, I’d like those ladies to come do our house once. Then I’d hire a daily to keep it in shape. 

The quote2 fortoday is from Lewis Thomas, The Lives of a Cell Viking: 

     Ants are so much like human beings as to be an embarrassment. They farm
     fungi, raise aphids as livestock, launch armies into war, use chemical sprays
     to alarm and confuse enemies, capture slaves, engage in child labor, exchange
     information ceaselessly. They do everything but watch television.

;^)  Jan

Tags: formication

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 4, 2007

The word of the day for April 4, 2007 is “cetacean” — noun : any of an order (Cetacea) of aquatic mostly marine mammals that includes the whales, dolphins, porpoises, and related forms and that have a torpedo-shaped nearly hairless body, paddle-shaped forelimbs but no hind limbs, one or two nares opening externally at the top of the head, and a horizontally flattened tail used for locomotion.

They found a whale six miles inland the other day in Italy. Actually they found the fossilized bones of a whale in Italy. Apparently this is no great thing; it was the second fossil whale found in Tuscany in the past few weeks. However, the paleontologists are happy because this whale is very nearly intact, with the jaw bones slightly disarranged, and surrounded by the critters that used the whale as a post mortem smorgasboard.

One of the things about the Great Plains is that it was once under water. Cyb and I have found fossil clams in rock outcroppings along I-70 between Wakeeny and Goodland. The archaeology buffs are always digging up humongo-sharks and other prehistoric critters. We had plenty of the mega-mammals here as well, including megatherium and sabertoothed tigers. Wonderful things to take the kids to see on a slow afternoon.

The quote for today is from Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) Tale of a Tub. Preface:

     Seamen have a custom, when they meet a whale, to fling him out an empty
     tub by way of amusement, to divert him from laying violent hands upon the ship.

;^)  Jan

Tags: cetacean

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 3, 2007

The word of the day for April 3, 2007 is “chemical” — noun 1 : a substance obtained by a chemical process or producing a chemical effect. 2 : DRUG.

The news readers this morning did a piece on the federal legislation to protect our chemical plants from terrorists. Some of the states say that the federal regulations will undermine the states’ more stringent rulings. There will be court battles over this. Granted, “concentrations of chemical in proximity to concentrations of people” sounds bad. Certainly, things should be done to keep people from gaining access to plants that produce chemicals for illicit purposes. Most companies that produce dangerous compounds know this and at least pay lip service to keeping their products out of the air, water and soil. Still we remember Bhopal.

It is odd that the advertisers have decided that “chemicals” are bad things. Every other food ad mentions natural, as though that were somehow inherently better. One of the pizza chains used to castigate their rivals for using casein instead of real cheese. Apparently, they thought that the general public wouldn’t know that cheese is made up primarily of casein. Rye smut (ergot) is natural, but it caused epidemics of St. Vitus Dance during the middle ages. It has only been recently that we have found that a refined version of ergot is good for migraines.

The quote for today is from F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940), U.S. author. John, in The Diamond as Big as the Ritz, ch. 11 (1922):

     Everybody’s youth is a dream, a form of chemical madness.

;^)  Jan

Tags: chemical

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 2, 2007

The word of the day for April 2, 2007 is “prehensile” — adjective 1 : adapted for seizing or grasping especially by wrapping around <prehensile tail>. 2 : gifted with mental grasp or moral or aesthetic perception.

Sometimes I truly wonder at my husband’s sense of humor. He often laughs at things for reasons that are incomprehensible to me. Case in point: picking things up with my toes keeps me from bending over with the potential of overbalancing onto portions of my anatomy that I’d rather not be in contact with the floor. I don’t claim to be as agile as that woman without arms, who writes and puts on her make-up with her feet. Still I can get dropped tissues, clothing and so on. There is nothing amusing about that.

Sometimes when he laughs at me I have no idea why. I’ve been minding my own business, and he starts laughing to incoherence. He never explains either, except to grab me in a big bear hug and say, “I love ya, babe—love ya, love ya, love ya.” Well maybe he finds loving me amusing—and it is certainly better than having him yell at me for some idiot thing like ordering two pieces of chicken and not letting the sales clerk talk me into three as “they are the same price as two.”

The quote for today is from Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), U.S. philosopher, author, naturalist. Journals, entry for Aug. 19, 1851 (1906):

     The way in which men cling to old institutions after the life has departed
     out of them, and out of themselves, reminds me of those monkeys 
     which cling by their tails—aye, whose tails contract about the limbs, 
     even the dead limbs, of the forest, and they hang suspended beyond 
     the hunter’s reach long after they are dead. It is of no use to argue with  
     such men. They have not an apprehensive intellect, but merely, as it were
     a prehensile tail.

;^)  Jan

Tags: prehensile

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 1, 2007

The word of the day for April 1, 2007 is “brobdingnagian” — adjective : marked by tremendous size.
Etymology: Brobdingnag, imaginary land of giants in Gulliver's Travels, by Jonathan Swift.

 

Happy April Fools’ Day to you all. Although I need new shoes, I refuse to go shopping. Those of you who know me well know that shopping is, for me an onerous chore. Since Cyb left home, I have no one to keep me on track by dragging me out of the bookstore at the mall. The last time I went to the mall to buy pantyhose, I ended up buying lingerie, socks and a pair of pants for Cyb, lingerie, books and the pantyhose for me.

 

This is why I don’t mind multi-tasking by perusing all those catalogues while in the “library.” As soon as I’ve decided I don’t like what’s offered, or that nothing is in my size, my color or my price range, I tear the personal information out of the catalogue. The unchosen catalogues go into the trash and the i.d. goes into the shredder in the laundry room—another opportunity to multi-task. Fortunately, Footsmart has the shoe style I am used to wearing for the same price as when I last bought shoes—probably three years ago. I also am going to get a couple jogsuits, which are on sale at Bedford Fair. See now, if I were to go to the mall, I’d not find any shoes in my size, and I’d be in the Candlenook or Waldenbooks instead of attending to jogsuits.

 

The quote for today is from Aldous Huxley (1894–1963), British novelist. Theodore Gumbril Sr., in Antic Hay, ch. 11 (1923):

 

Proportion ... You can’t help thinking about it in these London streets, where it doesn’t exist.... It’s like listening to a symphony of cats to walk along them. Senseless discords and a horrible disorder all the way.... A concert of Brobdingnagian cats. Order has been turned into a disgusting chaos. We need no barbarians from outside; they’re on the premises, all the time.

 

;^)  Jan

Tags: brobdingnagian