September 2012
2 posts
Seawrak
The gang made forays into the gardens of old maids or went down to the castle and fought a battle on the shaggy weed grown rocks coming home after it weary stragglers with the stale ours of the foreshore in their nostrils and the rank oils of the seawrack upon their hands and in their hair.” From, A portrait of an Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce
Seawrack- Material cast ashore, especially...
2 tags
Brimstone
Let me begin by saying, that I am an absolute snob when it comes to reading. I make an effort to spend time with classics and avoid pop fiction like the plague. There are a few reasons why. First of all, reading is a lot of work! I love storytelling, I love literature, I love journalism, but I am a slow slow reader, and I don’t have any special affection for reading. Reading is a necessary medium...
August 2012
12 posts
4 tags
4 tags
Sylvan
Sylvan
Of or charicteristic of the woods
living or found in the woods
wooded
“Forty five years ago the city of Ballarat was a sylvan solitude as quiet as Eden and as lovely.” from Following the Equator, Mark Twain
Words mimic and create new realities. This is the thing about reading that moves me. “A sylvan solitude as quiet as Eden and as lovely.” I have visited this place before....
7 tags
Chicanery
He had seen the two ends of a great wheat operation—a battle between Bear and Bull. The stories (subesquently published in the city’s press) of Truslow’s countermove in selling Hornung his own wheat, supplied the unseen section. The farmer—he who raised the wheat—was ruined upon one hand; the working man—he who consumed it—was ruined upon the other. But...
6 tags
Cappuccino
Cappuccino
Pronounced Kahp-poot-chee-naw.
Two thousand years ago, a profit was born that changed all of human history. Maybe you heard of him, his name was Jesus. By and by, an organization based on his teachings came to be the most powerful group on the earth, the Roman Catholic Church.
In 1181 a wealthy merchant gave birth to a son. As an adult, the son sought a more spiritual life....
3 tags
Transubstantiate
tran·sub·stan·ti·ate
verb (used with object), tran·sub·stan·ti·at·ed, tran·sub·stan·ti·at·ing.
1.
to change from one substance into another; transmute.
2.
Theology . to change (the bread and wine) into the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist.
Barbara Kingsolver’s essay A fist in the Eye of God, speaks about the evils of bioengineering and the loss of genetic diversity in...
8 tags
Recondite
Rec on dite
adj
1) Hidden from sight : concealed
This is a satisfying word to say, recondite! My first impulse would be to apply it to a rigid sort of context.The recondite details of politics can be confusing for voters. Ostensively the word sounds quite formal and unpoetic, but its connotation is much broader.
2) Difficult or impossible for one of ordinary understanding or...
7 tags
Vigil
vig·il
a noun
A period of keeping awake during the time usually spent asleep, esp. to keep watch or pray.
In the Moonless misty night, with my pipe alight,
I am sitting by the camp fire’s fading cheer;
Oh, the dew is falling chill on the dim, deer-haunted hill,
And the breakers in the bay are moaning drear.
The toilful hours are sped, the boys are long abed
And I alone, a...
6 tags
Solitary
You know this word, but sometimes its important to revisit what we think we know. Often you there is something new available for us in what we have learned already. Just as a warning, Im about to spray some self -involved estrogen up in here, so if that doesn’t interest you read no further.
sol·i·tar·y
adj.
1. Existing, living, or going without others; alone: a solitary traveler.
...
5 tags
Caterwaul
Cat·er·waul
Of the Middle English caterwawlen, tomcat; akin to Low German wrawlen, to yowl
To cry or screech like a cat in heat.
To make a shrill, discordant sound.
To have a noisy argument
Every so often we discover a word that we never heard before. Some skip a beat in the story and make assumptions about the word based on context. I would encourage anyone that currently utilizes this...
4 tags
Prosaic
pro·sa·ic : An adjective
Having the style of diction of prose; lacking poetic beauty.
I have some experience with Prozac and there is some philosophically comedic value in the wordplay going on here. To be prosaic is to be bland, uninspired, and safe as a slice of white bread. Basically an antidepressant will make you feel just that. They are like creativity suppressing, conformity...
6 tags
Incongruous
In⋅con⋅gru⋅ous - An Adjective
In⋅con⋅gru⋅i⋅ty- A Noun
1: Out of keeping or place; inappropriate; unbecoming: an incongruous effect; incongruous behavior.
Recall the feeling of embarrassment.
2 : Not harmonious in character; inconsonant; lacking harmony of parts: an incongruous mixture of architectural styles.
“He did not answer, but inclined his head and walked up the stairs...
Shiftless
Shift⋅less -an adjective
Shift⋅less⋅ness -a noun
1 : To be lacking in resourcefulness : Inefficient
In Walden, Thoreau discusses the use of furniture. “None is so poor that he need sit on a pumpkin. That is shiftlessness.” Each person has the capacity to make use of and maximize the efficiency of resources available. Its foolish to sit on a pumpkin! There are enough chairs to go...
