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

The word for the day for July 16, 2007 is "ringmaster" —  noun : one in charge of performances in a ring (as of a circus); broadly : a supervisor or moderator especially of a performance or presentation <the ringmaster of a talk show>.

We went to the Air Show at the local Air Force Base this weekend. They had an exhibition by the Blue Angels flying team. At times it seemed there was no way for them to avoid hitting one another—truly hair-raising for the audience. We were just close enough to the viewing stand to hear the occasional phrase from the announcer, who would state the approximate speed of the planes—"in excess of 500 mph"—for nearly every pass.

As one of the main functions of the announcers at these spectacles is to enhance the thrill, I'm just as happy we were not sitting in the stands to hear the whole spiel. As it was at least 100°F on the concourse, we sat in the scant shade of one of the concession booths and tried to keep cool. I sometimes wonder if the Roman Coliseum had announcers to hype the contestants. "Next we have a match between Brutus Ginormeous, who has won 49 matches against gladiators, lions and wolves, against the Beast from the Uttermost East. This Beast is so savage it will attack even the mighty elephant. Let's hear it for Brutus!"

The quote for the day is from Melinda M. Marshall (20th century), U.S. author and editor. Good Enough Mothers, ch. 3 (1993):

 

     The problem of invisibility, the incredible deficit of self- esteem that full-time mothers
     describe, seems to come with the territory. Day in and day out, the feedback from
     their spouse and kids suggests they are part of the woodwork, with no intelligence to
     illuminate a homework question or share any insights on politics. . . . When no one
     recognizes or applauds their amazing juggling act, they perforce derive their sense of
     self-worth from being ringmaster—someone not necessarily talented but indisputably
     in charge.

Tags: ringmaster

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

The word of the day for July 11, 2007 is “anticipatory” — adjective : characterized by 1 a : a prior action that takes into account or forestalls a later action. b : the act of looking forward; especially : pleasurable expectation. 2 : the use of money before it is available. 3 a : visualization of a future event or state. b : an object or form that anticipates a later type. 4 : the early sounding of one or more tones of a succeeding chord to form a temporary dissonance -- compare SUSPENSION : ANTICIPATING <took anticipatory measures to prevent floods>.

 

Jenny (my soon-to-be commadre) called to discuss the upcoming wedding. Since she is the mother of two sons and no daughters, and since she is geographically closer to Cybil than I, she offered to go shopping with Cybil for wedding sites, dress, etc. As I loathe shopping, I’m happy to sit at home and nag. (Do you have a celebrant lined up for the ceremony? Have you made a final decision on flowers?)

 

So far we’re all on the same page. This is a good thing. Maybe we’ll get the plans set and everything accomplished by the wedding date after all. Maybe we’ll still be sane after the reception, too.

 

The quote for today is from Benjamin, Earl of Beaconsfield Disraeli (1804–1881) Henrietta Temple. Book ii. Chap. iv.

     What we anticipate seldom occurs; what we least expected generally happens.

 

;^) Jan

Tags: anticipatory

Gryphon's Word of the Day, July 9, 2007

The word of the day for July 9, 2007 is "ambulatory" -- adjective 1 : of, relating to, or adapted to walking; also : occurring during a walk. 2 : moving from place to place : ITINERANT. 3 : capable of being altered <a will is ambulatory until the testator's death>. 4 a : able to walk about and not bedridden <ambulatory patients>. b : performed on or involving an ambulatory patient or an outpatient <ambulatory medical care> <an ambulatory electrocardiogram>.

We are going to the Department of Motor Vehicles at lunch time today. I finally talked Lloyd into getting the paperwork from his primary care physician to get a handicapped placard for his car. This will allow him to park in designated areas closer to the entry of stores, theaters, etc.

He hasn't been too enthused about this, but I managed to get him to use a cane when walking in crowds and areas with uneven footing. Last week, I called the doctor (and got his physician's assistant) who saw to it that the paperwork was completed. Lloyd picked up the paper Friday. Now he is all excited, and why didn't we do this years ago? <:^|

The quote for today is from Alice Thompson (b. 1963), British travel writer, journalist. “Ticket to Ride the Rails of France,” Times (London, July 16, 1992):
     Inter-railers are the ambulatory equivalent of McDonalds, walking testimony to
    the erosion of French culture.

Tags: ambulatory

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

The word of the day for July 2, 2007 is "adventure" - noun 1 a : an undertaking usually involving danger and unknown risks b : the encountering of risks <the spirit of adventure>. 2 : an exciting or remarkable experience <an adventure in exotic dining>. 3 : an enterprise involving financial risk.

We took our granddaughter to Rolling Hills Adventure for her half-birthday. Like Queen Elizabeth, Caitlin has an inconvenient true birthday, so we celebrate in late June or early July. Naturally, we had to invite siblings and parents and grandparents. Except for my husband, everyone agreed that the zoo part was plenty to do. Thus Lloyd and I with our daughters, Cybil and Claudia, went through the natural history museum while the rest of them walked through the rest of the zoo.

Caitlin decided that the first card she opened said that she was to see the giraffe. So after she opened all her presents, everyone walked off to see the animals. Those of us who were waiting for latecomers rode the tram later and caught up with the others at the anteaters. When we got to the giraffes it was feeding time. Grandma Jenny wanted Caitlin to feed the giraffe, but I was busy getting lemonade, so I don't know if she did. Anyway, she also got a giraffe mother and baby stuffed animal pair from the gift shop, so she was happy for that.

The quote for the day is from Helen Keller (1880 - 1968):
     Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature,
     nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no
     safer in the long run than exposure.

;^)  Jan

Tags: adventure

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

The word of the day1 for June 4, 2007 is “preposterous” — adjective : contrary to nature, reason, or common sense : absurd. 

The company I work for has got something against AOL. I used to be able to access my AOL account at lunchtime from my work computer. It was not easy; the company IT group created a little pop-up that reminded one that one can not download anything from the internet without dire repercussions. I didn’t want to down-load anything, just read my mail and write my word of the day, yet I had to click the pop-up every 20 seconds or so to continue what I was doing.

Now I can’t even log onto the web-based AOL to read the mail. This is another example of a hard-wired solution to a potential discipline problem. I suppose that I should be glad that I am still able to receive “foreign” e-mail at work. Closing down e-mail from “un-approved” sources will be the next thing. I just wish they could more easily stop the occasional spam letter that gets through without stopping notes from Cyb or my sister.

The quote2 for today is from H.L. (Henry Lewis)Mencken (1880–1956), U.S. journalist, critic. Heathen Days, ch. 3, p. 34, Knopf (1943):

     It was easy to recognize in him the anti-social animus of a born evangelist, but there
     was also something else—a kind of voluptuous delight in the shabby and
     preposterous, a perverted aestheticism like that of a latter-day movie or radio
     fan, a wild will to roll in and snuffle balderdash as a cat rolls in and snuffles catnip.

;^)  Jan 

Tags: preposterous

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

The word of the day1 for May 27, 2007 is "cumulus" — noun 1: heap, accumulation. 2: a dense puffy cloud form having a flat base and rounded outlines often piled up like a mountain.

Happy Memorial Day to you all. The sun has been skipping in and out among the clouds again today. The air is sultry, readying itself for full summer. The wind has switched around to the south again. The clouds are piling up in the west, getting ready to pour again. It's probably a good thing that we haven't stirred from the house except to get the paper.

I have to marvel at the European women who traveled across this country in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They wore long skirts with multiple petticoats. They were walking for the most part and cooking over open fires. Even with sun bonnets and masks, which would have held in the heat, they would not have been immune to the sun. Fashion is a killer. It wasn't just that era, but in the early 1970s when midi-skirts, boots and mutton-sleeved blouses were in fashion, the women of Puerto Rico were wearing the fashion in the streets and looking down their noses at us turistas in our short shorts and tank tops.

The quote for today is from Denise Levertov (b. 1923), Anglo–U.S. poet. “Clouds”:

     I watch the clouds as I see them
     in pomp advancing, pursuing
     the fallen sun.

;^)  Jan

Tags: cumulous

Gryhphon's Word of the Day, May 27, 2007

The word of the day for May 27, 2007 is "incommunicado" — adverb : without means of communication : in a situation or state not allowing communication <a prisoner held incommunicado> <remained incommunicado while working on her book>.

My sister's birthday is today. (She is mumble-five years old.) When I called to sing at her, she apologised to you all for not getting out the Word of the Day for me during my vacation. She had a good excuse though. The library where she works had electrical problems while I was gone. They did not know from day to day whether they would have light to work by, let alone computers for all the reasons that modern libraries need them.

Electricity has been a great boon to libraries—starting with extending the daylight, working hours and diminishing the risk of fire. However, as with any technology, the drawbacks become evident in catastrophic ways. When man went from clay tablets to paper as writing medium much of what was written was subsequently lost to fire, water and vermin. Now that we are putting our thoughts in electronic form and storing it on CD and DVD discs. Indestructible, you say: they'll last forever. But technology marches on. How many of you have used a 4 1/2 inch floppy disk lately? Could you retrieve computer information from a cassette tape deck? Have you ever used a keypunch machine to make out data cards? Yet those of us who have been using computers for more than fifteen years probably have used all of those and more. My advice is to save your data on as many different mediums as possible. That way someone will be able to decipher your stuff, much in the same way the Rosetta Stone was used to learn heiroglyphics.

The quote for today is from Barbra Streisand (1942 - ):

     A human being is only interesting if he's in contact with himself. I learned you have
     to trust yourself, be what you are, and do what you ought to do the way you should
     do it. You have got to discover you, what you do, and trust it..

;^)  Jan

Tags: incommunicado