Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 19, 2008

The word of the day for April 19, 2008 is "reenactor" — noun — : a person who participates in reenactments of historical events.

As you can see, I went to the Great Plains Renaissance Festival today. Lloyd didn't want to go—he has never been interested in that sort of thing. So I left Bubbles home, too. Just as well because the dog is not well trained, might as well say not trained. Nothing worse for shopping than having to deal with a dog or a toddler.

As I left I took a photo of a Viking ship sailing across the pond toward the festival site. I'm not certain where Vikings come into it. I'll admit that there were Norsemen, Native Americans and Australian aborigines living at the time of the European renaissance. However, the Americans, Australians and Vikings didn't participate in the intellectual and cultural flowering. OK, pirates were for the most part, a bunch of scummy cutthroats; Scots who wore kilts before the 1850s did so only because they hadn't the wherewithal to go breeched and shod; and Ghengis Khan died 250 years before Columbus set off for India and ended up in the Bahamas. Nonetheless they show up at our Renaissance Faires and Fests, and they buy Norman chainmail, digeridoos, rubber duckies made in China, and Navaho beaded work. And we all have a good time in spite of it.

Our quote for the day is from Antonin Artaud (1896–1948), French theater producer, actor, theorist. repr. in Selected Writings, pt. 10, ed. Susan Sontag (1976). General Security: The Liquidation of Opium (1925):

     Hell is of this world and there are men who are unhappy
     escapees from hell, escapees destined ETERNALLY
     to reenact their escape.

;^) Jan

Tags: reenactor

Gryphon's Wprd of the Day, April 18, 2008

The word of the day for April 18, 2008 is "recreation" — noun : refreshment of strength and spirits after work; also : a means of refreshment or diversion : HOBBY[2].

I stopped Vali in the hallway to ask if he were going to the Renaissance Festival this weekend. He told me no, or at least not on Saturday as he would be flying. The weather predictions sound really good, and a plane is available. He has been piloting for a year now. It sounds like he will enjoy himself.

Not that I would never take up aviating, but the sport seems a tad dangerous to me. I always liked the story my sister tells about her husband. He told her he was thinking of buying a motorcycle. She thought about that for a minute and said that she might take flying lessons. That was the end of both conversations as far as I know.

Our quote for the day is from Bob Hope (b. 1903), U.S. comedian. quoted in Reader’s Digest (Pleasantville, N.Y., Oct. 1958):

     If you watch a game, it’s fun. If you play it, it’s recreation. If you work at it, it’s golf.

;^) Jan

Tags: recreation

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Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 12,2008

The word of the day for April 12, 2008 is "embed" — transitive verb — 1 a: to enclose closely in or as if in a matrix [fossils embedded in stone]. b: to make something an integral part of [the prejudices embedded in our language]. c: to prepare (a microscopy specimen) for sectioning by infiltrating with and enclosing in a supporting substance. 2: to surround closely [a sweet pulp embeds the plum seed]. — intransitive verb — : to become embedded.

Mainly, this is an experiment. I wanted to embed a video of our Kansas sky to see how well it works. My camera takes these short clips, but the number of pixels is low, so don't expect Academy Award quality.

The subject is a wind-ruffled cardinal, who was singing his heart out this morning as Bubbles and I went for our walk.

Our quote for the day is from Peter Beaumont, foreign affairs editor, The Observer, Sunday November 21 2004:

     For embedding, too often, is a pact made with the devil, where the freedom
     to report on any aspect of what you are seeing is partially surrendered in
     exchange for access to the battlefield.

;^) Jan

Tags: embed

aoljvideoUpload, aoljvideoUpload_1

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 11,, 2008

The word of the day for April 11, 2008 is "information" — noun — 1: the communication or reception of knowledge or intelligence 2 a (1): knowledge obtained from investigation, study, or instruction. (2): intelligence, news. (3): facts, data. b: the attribute inherent in and communicated by one of two or more alternative sequences or arrangements of something (as nucleotides in DNA or binary digits in a computer program) that produce specific effects. c (1): a signal or character (as in a communication system or computer) representing data. (2): something (as a message, experimental data, or a picture) which justifies change in a construct (as a plan or theory) that represents physical or mental experience or another construct. d: a quantitative measure of the content of information; specifically : a numerical quantity that measures the uncertainty in the outcome of an experiment to be performed. 3: the act of informing against a person. 4: a formal accusation of a crime made by a prosecuting officer as distinguished from an indictment presented by a grand jury.

I have been tagged by Jeannie of Day to Day Life in the Lakes and Sybil of Village Life. Like Sybil, I don't usually respond to tags, so if your name is on my list, don't feel obligated to participate.

RULES:

1. The rules of the game
2. Each player answers questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people, and posts their names, goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment letting them know they've been tagged.

QUESTIONS:

1. WHAT WHERE YOU DOING TEN YEARS AGO:
Much the same as I am doing now: drafting, reading, writing, taking care of my husband. The main difference is that my daughter was still in school, and we had no dog.

2. WHAT ARE 5 THINGS ON MY TO-DO LIST TODAY:
Get shoe strings, a get-well card for Martha, gasoline, crangrape juice, finish reading A. MacCaffrey's Dragon Fire

3. SNACKS I ENJOY:
I like anything chocolate (without mint or coffee, thank you). If there isn't any chocolate, I like to have butter or margarine, usually accompanied by jelly and bread.

4. WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WERE A BILLIONAIRE?
If I suddenly became a billionaire (won the lottery) I would give to my charities first, then see my family comfortable. After making sure I wouldn't worry about money for the rest of my life, I'd grab my sister and a few other friends and travel first class all over the world. Of course, had I made the billion by my own efforts, I would hope I would have enough sense to stop and... give to my charities first, then see my family comfortable. After making sure I wouldn't worry about money for the rest of my life, I'd grab my sister and a few other friends and travel first class all over the world.

5. BAD HABITS:
I chew my fingernails, I eat way too many snacks. I am a compulsive explainer.

6. 5 PLACES I HAVE LIVED:
The first 6 years of my marriage we moved, on the average, once every three months. I have lived in such varied places as San Bernardino, California; Sumpter, South Carolina; Carolina, Puerto Rico; and Anchorville, Michigan. So why, you ask, am I living in Wichita, Kansas? I'll answer that some other time.

7. 5 JOBS I'VE HAD:
My first job regular was as a library page. I am now a drafter (although my company now insists that I am a technical designer). In between I have worked as an accounts receivable clerk/sales assistant, a sheet metal worker and a data reductionist among other things.

5 PEOPLE I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT:
Jan of Serendipity
Jeannette of Jeannette's Jottings
Mrs. T of eternity
Indigo of Raven's Lament
Sandirella, who had better get her own journal started so she can join the fun.

Our quote for the day is from Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929), French semiologist. Cool Memories, ch. 5 (1987, trans. 1990):

     Information can tell us everything. It has all the answers. But they are answers
     to questions we have not asked, and which doubtless don’t even arise.

;^) Jan

Tags: information

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 10, 2008

The word of the day for April 10, 2008 is "revival" — noun — 1: an act or instance of reviving : the state of being revived: as a: renewed attention to or interest in something. b: a new presentation or publication of something old. c (1): a period of renewed religious interest (2): an often highly emotional evangelistic meeting or series of meetings. 2: restoration of force, validity, or effect (as to a contract).

Eagles Realm has finally revised their web site for the Great Plains Renaissance Festival which is to be held April 19 and 20th. Claudia is coming down that weekend, so I may have to lay aside my weekend plans to drag her to the fest. I think she might be happy to go as I was planning on her help with cleaning closets. Of course, if it is raining that Saturday, we will have to do the closets anyway.

It's raining today pretty heavily. Bubbles is like a cat in that he's not convinced that it rains both in the front and the back simultaneously. He wants to do the right thing, so he did go outside first thing. Once outside, he immediately turned and put his paws up on the patio door glass and barked a couple of pitiful woofs. "OK", I said, "but you'll have to use the pee-pads and not chew them up." He didn't even let me wipe his paws, but made a bee-line for the front door. I put him in the hallway with his pee-pads and went off to make breakfast. He did his business where he ought and sat, sulking, in the corner until I came to let him loose.

Our quote for the day is from Angela Carter (1940–1992), British author. “Polemical Preface,” The Sadeian Woman (1979):

     Mother goddesses are just as silly a notion as father gods. If a revival of the myths of 
     these cults gives woman emotional satisfaction, it does so at the price of obscuring the real 
     conditions of life. This is why they were invented in the first place.

;^) Jan

Tags: revival

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 8, 2008

The word of the day for April 8, 2008 is "nomophobia" — noun — : fear of being without a mobile or cell phone.

I did the Crickler puzzles first thing this morning. Their crossless crossword puzzles are both a way of keeping my spelling and vocabulary skills sharp, but also pique the newshound in me. One of the clues in today's London Times section was tied to a story about a reporter, Francesca Steele, who agreed to spend a week without her mobile phone. She found that her experience was a tradeoff between convenience and relaxation. Her conclusion is that she would rather have the connectivity of a mobile.

We dropped our land line about six years ago. There have been a few problems with our cell phones, but I don't think I will go back to the land line until I can't remember to recharge the batteries. At that time, I probably will have no need of a phone anyway. Mind you, I don't text—I prefer a full-sized keyboard—and I am not allowed photo capability in the office or plant. That cuts down on a great deal of activity on the phone. Mostly I call my husband to check on him or make appointments with our myriad doctors. I also get calls for someone with a vaguely Middle Eastern sounding name to buy pharmaceuticals. These calls are somehow tied to the use of my Master Card using my phone number as the contact. No one has used my MC so far, but I'm seriously thinking of changing the phone number. Of course, changing the phone number to avoid nuisance calls was how I got this one. Y'can't win.

Our quote for the day is from a commentor, Victor Compton, Cherbourg, France:

     None of this occurs if you run your life in an orderly manner, always arrive early for
     appointments, only cultivate real friendships rather than "pub-buddies" and reduce your
     activities beyond work to give yourself time to THINK.

;^) Jan

Tags: nomophobia

Gryphon's Word of the Day, April 6, 2008

The word of the day for April 6, 2008 is "bubble" — noun — 1: a small globule typically hollow and light: as a: a small body of gas within a liquid. b: a thin film of liquid inflated with air or gas. c: a globule in a transparent solid. d: something (as a plastic or inflatable structure) that is hemispherical or semicylindrical. 2 a: something that lacks firmness, solidity, or reality. b: a delusive scheme. 3: a sound like that of bubbling. 4: MAGNETIC BUBBLE. 5: a state of booming economic activity (as in a stock market) that often ends in a sudden collapse. 6: the condition of being at risk of exclusion or replacement (as from a tournament) —usually used in the phrase on the bubble [teams still on the bubble for the play-offs].

Seems that Bubbles, my husband's dog, does not like bubbles. Cybil and Ryan were down to see us this weekend. They've been married for six months now, so I broke out a couple of leftover souvenir bubble bottles. Cybil loves bubbles, something she frequenly gets in gag gifts. When Cybil started blowing bubbles, the dog backed away from the strange stuff. Eventually, he backed completely out of the room.

Other than that, it was great to see the kids. We took Bubbles on a couple of long walks. Lloyd had a nice talk with Cybil after supper. Ryan and Cybil helped me clean up the twigs and leaves in the yard so mowing is no longer impossible. They left after lunch Saturday so they would have time to drop in on his mother, who lives in a town on their way home.

Our quote for the day is from James Kendis, James Brockman and Nat Vincent, "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles," The Passing Show of 1918:

     I'm forever blowing bubbles
     Pretty bubbles in the air.

;^) Jan

Tags: bubble