In homage to the great Dick Martin, who passed away last week at the age of 86, I give you a few choice words that the Wordsmith categorizes as 'archaic' ...
garboil \GAHR-boil\ (noun) - Confusion; turmoil. [Via French and Italian from Latin bullire (to boil).]
"'That was some garboil in the woods', [Julius Winsome] announces to one increasingly confused victim." Gerard Donovan; Dark Memories in the Forest; Irish Independent (Dublin, Ireland); Jun 16, 2007.
point-device \point di-VYS\ (adverb) - Completely; perfectly. (adjective) - Perfect; precise; meticulous. [From the phrase "at point devis" meaning "at a fixed point" or "to perfection".]
"Thus he [Eginhard] grew up, in logic point-device, Perfect in grammar, and in rhetoric nice." Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; Tales of a Wayside Inn; 1863.
scrannel \SKRAN-l\ (adjective) - 1 : Thin. 2 : Unmelodious. [Of unknown origin.]
"Though played with impressive skill and intense determination by Dorothy Stone, the often scrannel sounds irritated more than they fascinated." Terry McQuilkin; Pacific Festival Opens at Cal State LA; Los Angeles Times; Jun 24, 1989.
sweven \SWEV-uhn\ (noun) - Dream; vision. [From Old English swefn (sleep, dream, vision).]
"[The queen] went in to the Sultan and assured him that their daughter had suffered during all her wedding-night from swevens and nightmare." The Arabian Nights (translated by Richard Francis Burton); 1885.
ween \ween\ (verb tr., intr.) - To think, suppose, believe. [From Old English wenan (to expect), from the Indo-European root wen- (to desire or to strive for) that's also the source of wish, win, venerate, venison, Venus, and banya. It's the same word that shows up in "overweening".]
"But well I ween that Gryffyth will never keep troth* with the English." Edward Bulwer-Lytton; Harold, the Last of the Saxon Kings; 1848. [*troth: promise, loyalty]
And a few gems from ArcaMax ...
sardonic \sar-DON-ik\ (adjective) - Scornful, mocking; disdainfully humorous. "The young man stood looking down at her with sardonic contempt, a cowed self-conscious look on his thick, pale face." -- D.H. Lawrence, 'Women in Love'. [Sardonic comes from French sardonique, from Latin sardonius, from Greek sardonios, sardanios, "derisive."]
perspicacity \pur-spuh-KAS-uh-tee\ (noun) - Clearness of understanding or insight; penetration, discernment. "Such a horse gives its rider discernment and perspicacity, if not clairvoyance. It will save you from being surprised by your enemies." -- Sudhin N. Ghose, 'Folk Tales and Fairy Stories from India'. [Perspicacity comes from Latin perspicax, perspicac-, "sharp-sighted," from perspicere, "to look through," from per, "through" + specere, "to look."]
edacious \i-DAY-shus\ (adjective) - Given to eating; voracious; devouring. "Occasionally the road must be set back, and once the lighthouse was moved back from the cliffs, eaten away by the edacious tooth of the sea." -- Henry White Warren, 'Among The Forces'. [Edacious is from Latin edax, edac-, gluttonous, consuming, from edo, edere, to eat.]
aberrant \a-BERR-unt; AB-ur-unt\ (adjective) - Markedly different from an accepted norm; Deviating from the ordinary or natural type; abnormal. "Another factor the court had to consider was whether the crime was part of a single period of aberrant behavior." -- Nancy Taylor Rosenberg, 'Sullivan's Evidence'. [That which is aberrant is literally that which "wanders away from" what is accepted, ordinary, normal, natural, etc., aberrant being from Latin aberro, aberrare, to wander off, to lose one's way, from ab, away from + erro, errare, to wander.]
aggrandize \uh-GRAN-dyz; AG-ruhn-dyz\ (transitive verb) - 1 : To make great or greater; to enlarge; to increase. 2 : To make great or greater in power, rank, reputation, or wealth; -- applied to persons, countries, etc. 3 : To make appear great or greater; to exalt. "He only wanted to aggrandize and enrich himself; and if Miss Woodhouse of Hartfield, the heiress of thirty thousand pounds, were not quite so easily obtained as he had fancied, he would soon try for Miss somebody else with twenty, or with ten." - Jane Austen, 'Emma'. [Aggrandize comes from French agrandir, from Old French, from a-, "to" (from Latin ad-) + grandir, "to grow larger," from Latin grandire, from grandis, "large."]
Sigh. I love words.
We have a busy week coming up - BMWs meet Wednesday, and then the BF is coming for a visit over weekend next. I'm so excited. It's heck that we only get to see each other once a year, if that often. But we have the kind of friendship that truly does transcend time and distance, and I'm grateful for it.
If you haven't seen the new Indiana Jones yet, go. Great special effects (albeit some of the images are a bit graphic) and a decent story to boot. For loyal fans, it's arguably quite satisfying. The Tall One and I loved it, at any rate.
The WGH is off at another pipe-&-drum competition (going solo this time), Little Bit is home safely from her trip and still sound asleep (it was an activity-packed three days), and I'm off and running on my catch-up day. So much to do, so little time ...
Read a book. I have a few on the shelves you can borrow.
=) JB
Book of the Day: The Fourth Watcher by Timothy Hallinan. Bangkok. Intrigue. 'Nuff said.
Music on the Boom-Box: Three guesses, and the first two don't count.
"The strokes of a pen need deliberation as much as the sword needs swiftness."
-- Julia Ward Howe (1819-1910) U.S. writer
5.30.2008
I just love giving things away ...
I am pleased to announce the winners of our BLOOD HARVEST drawing!
Since Little Bit is out of town on a school trip, I enlisted The Tall One to conduct our random drawing this morning - and it was truly random, because she was pretty much still asleep when she grabbed the names out of the bowl! Here are our 10 winners:
Virginia Conn
Kaye Barley
William Devin
Carol Mintz
Penny Tuttle
Sandra Kisner
Terry Canfield
Noel Troike
Greg Bruss
Karen Dyer
Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to everyone who entered the drawing. We'll be sending the winners' autographed copies of BLOOD HARVEST soon. If you didn't win this time, you'll have another chance when author Timothy Hallinan drops by next month with a copy of his second Bangkok novel, THE FOURTH WATCHER. Stay tuned!
Today's catch-up day has been rescheduled for tomorrow. While Little Bit is away, The Tall One and I are going to take advantage of the opportunity to go see the new Indiana Jones flick. I feel like I've been waiting 20 years for this. Big fan here. Huge.
For your reading pleasure, Wonder Twin has just returned from Mayhem in the Midlands in Omaha and has posted an author-girl-gets-excited kind of love-fest over at Murderati. I get such a kick out of her getting a kick out of doing what we love to do. Right on, Sister!
Enjoy your Friday. And read a book!
=) JB
"Finding the right work is like discovering your own soul in the world."
-- Thomas Moore (1779-1852) Irish writer
Since Little Bit is out of town on a school trip, I enlisted The Tall One to conduct our random drawing this morning - and it was truly random, because she was pretty much still asleep when she grabbed the names out of the bowl! Here are our 10 winners:
Virginia Conn
Kaye Barley
William Devin
Carol Mintz
Penny Tuttle
Sandra Kisner
Terry Canfield
Noel Troike
Greg Bruss
Karen Dyer
Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to everyone who entered the drawing. We'll be sending the winners' autographed copies of BLOOD HARVEST soon. If you didn't win this time, you'll have another chance when author Timothy Hallinan drops by next month with a copy of his second Bangkok novel, THE FOURTH WATCHER. Stay tuned!
Today's catch-up day has been rescheduled for tomorrow. While Little Bit is away, The Tall One and I are going to take advantage of the opportunity to go see the new Indiana Jones flick. I feel like I've been waiting 20 years for this. Big fan here. Huge.
For your reading pleasure, Wonder Twin has just returned from Mayhem in the Midlands in Omaha and has posted an author-girl-gets-excited kind of love-fest over at Murderati. I get such a kick out of her getting a kick out of doing what we love to do. Right on, Sister!
Enjoy your Friday. And read a book!
=) JB
"Finding the right work is like discovering your own soul in the world."
-- Thomas Moore (1779-1852) Irish writer
5.27.2008
A Box Full of Memories
I hope you were able to take some time yesterday to honor or at least think about those who have given their lives for the freedoms we enjoy in this country. You all know by now that my dad is a Viet Nam veteran, USAF retired fighter pilot, and that I'm very proud of that fact. The folks were here yesterday, and I embarked on a successful Internet search on Dad's behalf to locate the service route of the 12th Indiana Infantry regiment - from the Civil War. Turns out his father's maternal grandfather (i.e., my great-great-grandfather) was a private in Company G of the 12th Indiana, and from 1862 to 1865 they traveled from Indianapolis to Memphis to Chattanooga and then to Washington D.C. by way of Vicksburg, Atlanta and Richmond. And our ancestor lived to tell the tale. Fascinating stuff, though I have to be careful about bragging on my Yankee ancestry considering I am now firmly ensconced in a state quite proud of its Rebel heritage. (Down here, they still call it the War of Northern Aggression.)
I love my Southern friends, and you all (ahem, y'all) know who you are.
Another thing I found recently ... sort of related but sort of not ... was a box full of notecards, stationery and stickers that I used for correspondence back when I was in [cough]high school[cough]. Talk about opening up a box full of memories. I can't begin to describe everything that I found, but each new piece I picked up brought back a flood like I haven't had in a long, long time. Ah, nostalgia.
I'm off to spend part of my afternoon with my pal Will ... Shakespeare, that is ... and a bit of As You Like It. And after that, of course, I'm diving back into the TBR pile. I'm reading a book called Poison Pen by the lovely Sheila Lowe, another Capital Crime Press writer in league with Robert Fate and Bruce Cook. Sheila will be dropping by the Lunch Room for an interview here in the very near future, so be sure to schedule your lunch dates accordingly. I'll let you know closer to time what date that'll be so you can get it on your calendar - you won't want to miss her.
And don't forget to register for our current drawing for an autographed copy of Blood Harvest. This is an incredible book, and well worth the afternoon it will take you to read it. Trust me.
=) JB
"Life is too short for a long story."
-- Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689-1762) English writer
I love my Southern friends, and you all (ahem, y'all) know who you are.
Another thing I found recently ... sort of related but sort of not ... was a box full of notecards, stationery and stickers that I used for correspondence back when I was in [cough]high school[cough]. Talk about opening up a box full of memories. I can't begin to describe everything that I found, but each new piece I picked up brought back a flood like I haven't had in a long, long time. Ah, nostalgia.
I'm off to spend part of my afternoon with my pal Will ... Shakespeare, that is ... and a bit of As You Like It. And after that, of course, I'm diving back into the TBR pile. I'm reading a book called Poison Pen by the lovely Sheila Lowe, another Capital Crime Press writer in league with Robert Fate and Bruce Cook. Sheila will be dropping by the Lunch Room for an interview here in the very near future, so be sure to schedule your lunch dates accordingly. I'll let you know closer to time what date that'll be so you can get it on your calendar - you won't want to miss her.
And don't forget to register for our current drawing for an autographed copy of Blood Harvest. This is an incredible book, and well worth the afternoon it will take you to read it. Trust me.
=) JB
"Life is too short for a long story."
-- Lady Mary Wortley Montagu (1689-1762) English writer
5.24.2008
More Jewels from the Vocabulary Vault
As promised, here are the two weeks' worth of tasty terms for you to chew on …
blandishment \BLAN-dish-muhnt\ (noun) - Speech or action that flatters and tends to coax, entice, or persuade; allurement -- often used in the plural. "The woman was temptation personified, and every blandishment she offered contained a challenge, I thought, to my ultimate moral strength." -- Jack Whyte, 'The Singing Sword'. Blandishment ultimately comes from Latin blandiri, "to flatter, caress, coax," from blandus, "flattering, mild."
bluebeard \BLOO-beerd\ (noun) - A man who marries and kills one wife after another. [After Bluebeard, the nickname of the main character Raoul in a fairy tale by Charles Perrault (1628-1703). In the story, Bluebeard's wife finds the bodies of his previous wives in a room she was forbidden to enter. Yes, he did have a blue beard.]
bombast \BOM-bast\ (noun) - Pompous or pretentious speech or writing. "Sain Flint decided not to run Amelia Lowell's bombast on the front page. Instead, he put it on page three." -- Richard S. Wheeler, 'Flint's Truth'. Bombast comes from Medieval French bombace, "cotton, hance padding," from Late Latin bombax, "cotton."
cicerone \sis-uh-RO-nee\ (noun) - A tour guide. [After Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BCE), the Roman statesman, orator, and writer, who was known for his knowledge and eloquence. He's one of the rare people who have given two eponyms to the English language. Another word coined after his name is ciceronian, meaning marked by ornate language, expansive flow, and forcefulness of expression.]
contumely \kon-TYOO-muh-lee; -TOO-; KON-tyoo-mee-lee; -too-; KON-tum-lee\ (noun) - 1 : Rudeness or rough treatment arising from haughtiness and contempt; scornful insolence. 2 : An instance of contemptuousness in act or speech. "But surely it would be desperate unkindness to add contumely to our self-protection, unless, indeed, we believe that contumely is one of our best means of self-protection." -- Samuel Butler, 'Erewhon'. Contumely comes ultimately from Latin contumelia, outrage, insult.
doppelganger \DOP-uhl-gang-uhr\ (noun) - 1 : A ghostly double or counterpart of a living person. 2 : Alter ego; double. "The doppelganger dropped Ray to the linoleum and whispered to the mirror." -- Steven Deighan, 'A Dead Calmness'. Doppelganger is from the German doppel, "double" + Gänger, "goer."
dundrearies \dun-DREER-eez\ (noun) - Long flowing sideburns. [After the bushy sideburns worn by actor Edward A. Sothern who played the part of Lord Dundreary in the play Our American Cousin (1858), written by Tom Taylor (1817-1880). This was the play being performed at Ford's Theatre in Washington DC during which Abraham Lincoln was shot.]
exalt \ig-ZOLT\ (verb) - 1 : To praise, glorify, or honor. 2 : To heighten or intensify. 3 : To raise in rank, character, or status; as, "exalted the humble shoemaker to the rank of King's adviser." "A warrior should never exalt in his victory, Wharton, before the enemy is completely disarmed." -- Christina Dodd, 'A Knight to Remember'. Exalt comes from Latin exalto, exaltare, to raise high, from ex-, out of (but here simply used intensively; that is, to give emphasis) + altus, high.
hauteur \haw-TUR; (h)oh-\ (noun) - Haughty manner, spirit, or bearing; haughtiness; arrogance. "She was unremarkable in every way save for the hauteur with which she regarded him." -- Karen Robards, 'Scandalous'. Hauteur is from the French, from haut, "high," from Latin altus, "high." It is thus related to altitude.
jeremiah \jer-uh-MY-uh\ (noun) - A person who complains continually, has a gloomy attitude, or one who warns about a disastrous future. [After Jeremiah, a Hebrew prophet during the seventh and sixth centuries BCE who prophesied the fall of the kingdom of Judah and whose writings are collected in the Book of Jeremiah and the Book of Lamentations.]
Jericho \JER-i-ko\ (noun) - A place out of the way; an unspecified place; a place of concealment. Often used in the phrase "go to Jericho". [After Jericho, an ancient city of Palestine, northwest of the Dead Sea, where David had his servants wait until their beards had grown. As in Samuel, a book of the Bible, "And the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown."]
lucullan \loo-KUHL-uhn\ (adjective) - Lavish, luxurious. [After a Roman general Lucius Licinius Lucullus (c. 110-57 BCE), who was known for his sumptuous banquets.]
sideburns \SYDE-burnz\ (plural noun) - Hair grown on the sides of a man's face, when worn with an unbearded chin. [After Ambrose Everett Burnside (1824-1881), who served as a general in the Union Army in the American Civil War, and who earned more recognition for his side whiskers than for his military career. Eventually the term burnsides morphed into sideburns as such a facial pattern was on the sides of a face.]
skulk \SKUHLK\ (intransitive verb) - 1 : To hide, or get out of the way, in a sneaking manner; to lurk. 2 : To move about in a stealthy way. 3 : To avoid responsibilities and duties. (noun) - 1 : One who skulks. 2 : A group of foxes. "You're too large to skulk about. They'd see you in an instant." -- Kinley MacGregor, Claiming the Highlander. Skulk is from Middle English skulken, ultimately of Scandinavian origin.
sojourn \SOH-juhrn; so-JURN\ (intransitive verb) - To stay as a temporary resident; to dwell for a time. (noun) - A temporary stay. "At times during this interminable sojourn, I might disappear for hours on end; Sita would wake from her fitful slumber and find herself alone..." -- Ashok Mathur, 'The Short, Happy Life of Harry Kumar'. Sojourn comes from Old French sojorner, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin subdiurnare, from Latin sub-, "under, a little over" + Late Latin diurnus, "lasting for a day," from Latin dies, "day."
svengali \sven-GAH-lee\ (noun) - A person who manipulates and exercises excessive control over another for sinister purposes. [After Svengali, a musician and hypnotist, in the novel Trilby written by George du Maurier (1834-1896). In the story, Trilby is an artist's model. She's tone-deaf, but Svengali transforms her into a singing sensation under his hypnotic spell. Another eponym to come out of the novel is the word for a man's hat: trilby. A trilby was a soft felt hat with a narrow brim and an indented crown. The word arose because such a hat was won in the stage production of the novel.]
tartuffe \tahr-TOOF\ (noun) A hypocrite who feigns virtue, especially in religious matters. [After the main character in Tartuffe, a play by Molière, pen name of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (1622-1673). As if to prove themselves, the religious authorities in Paris had the play banned soon after it was introduced.]
Vandyke or Van Dyke or vandyke \van dyk\ (noun) - A short, pointed beard. [After painter Anthony Van Dyck or Vandyke (1599-1641) who painted portraits of people having these v-shaped beards.]
vituperate \vy-TOO-puh-rate, -TYOO-, vi-\ (verb) - To find fault with; to scold; to overwhelm with wordy abuse; to censure severely or abusively; to rate. "The incensed priests...continued to raise their voices, vituperating each other in bad Latin." -- Sir Walter Scott, 'Ivanhoe'. Vituperate comes from Latin vitupero, vituperare, to scold, blame, censure.
What a collection! Sorry to put you on sensory overload, but I thought these were all winners.
Speaking of winners, don't forget to enter the Blood Harvest drawing - see The Chef's Special to the right.
And read a book!
=) JB
"If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it."
--Margaret Fuller (1810-1850) U.S. writer
blandishment \BLAN-dish-muhnt\ (noun) - Speech or action that flatters and tends to coax, entice, or persuade; allurement -- often used in the plural. "The woman was temptation personified, and every blandishment she offered contained a challenge, I thought, to my ultimate moral strength." -- Jack Whyte, 'The Singing Sword'. Blandishment ultimately comes from Latin blandiri, "to flatter, caress, coax," from blandus, "flattering, mild."
bluebeard \BLOO-beerd\ (noun) - A man who marries and kills one wife after another. [After Bluebeard, the nickname of the main character Raoul in a fairy tale by Charles Perrault (1628-1703). In the story, Bluebeard's wife finds the bodies of his previous wives in a room she was forbidden to enter. Yes, he did have a blue beard.]
bombast \BOM-bast\ (noun) - Pompous or pretentious speech or writing. "Sain Flint decided not to run Amelia Lowell's bombast on the front page. Instead, he put it on page three." -- Richard S. Wheeler, 'Flint's Truth'. Bombast comes from Medieval French bombace, "cotton, hance padding," from Late Latin bombax, "cotton."
cicerone \sis-uh-RO-nee\ (noun) - A tour guide. [After Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BCE), the Roman statesman, orator, and writer, who was known for his knowledge and eloquence. He's one of the rare people who have given two eponyms to the English language. Another word coined after his name is ciceronian, meaning marked by ornate language, expansive flow, and forcefulness of expression.]
contumely \kon-TYOO-muh-lee; -TOO-; KON-tyoo-mee-lee; -too-; KON-tum-lee\ (noun) - 1 : Rudeness or rough treatment arising from haughtiness and contempt; scornful insolence. 2 : An instance of contemptuousness in act or speech. "But surely it would be desperate unkindness to add contumely to our self-protection, unless, indeed, we believe that contumely is one of our best means of self-protection." -- Samuel Butler, 'Erewhon'. Contumely comes ultimately from Latin contumelia, outrage, insult.
doppelganger \DOP-uhl-gang-uhr\ (noun) - 1 : A ghostly double or counterpart of a living person. 2 : Alter ego; double. "The doppelganger dropped Ray to the linoleum and whispered to the mirror." -- Steven Deighan, 'A Dead Calmness'. Doppelganger is from the German doppel, "double" + Gänger, "goer."
dundrearies \dun-DREER-eez\ (noun) - Long flowing sideburns. [After the bushy sideburns worn by actor Edward A. Sothern who played the part of Lord Dundreary in the play Our American Cousin (1858), written by Tom Taylor (1817-1880). This was the play being performed at Ford's Theatre in Washington DC during which Abraham Lincoln was shot.]
exalt \ig-ZOLT\ (verb) - 1 : To praise, glorify, or honor. 2 : To heighten or intensify. 3 : To raise in rank, character, or status; as, "exalted the humble shoemaker to the rank of King's adviser." "A warrior should never exalt in his victory, Wharton, before the enemy is completely disarmed." -- Christina Dodd, 'A Knight to Remember'. Exalt comes from Latin exalto, exaltare, to raise high, from ex-, out of (but here simply used intensively; that is, to give emphasis) + altus, high.
hauteur \haw-TUR; (h)oh-\ (noun) - Haughty manner, spirit, or bearing; haughtiness; arrogance. "She was unremarkable in every way save for the hauteur with which she regarded him." -- Karen Robards, 'Scandalous'. Hauteur is from the French, from haut, "high," from Latin altus, "high." It is thus related to altitude.
jeremiah \jer-uh-MY-uh\ (noun) - A person who complains continually, has a gloomy attitude, or one who warns about a disastrous future. [After Jeremiah, a Hebrew prophet during the seventh and sixth centuries BCE who prophesied the fall of the kingdom of Judah and whose writings are collected in the Book of Jeremiah and the Book of Lamentations.]
Jericho \JER-i-ko\ (noun) - A place out of the way; an unspecified place; a place of concealment. Often used in the phrase "go to Jericho". [After Jericho, an ancient city of Palestine, northwest of the Dead Sea, where David had his servants wait until their beards had grown. As in Samuel, a book of the Bible, "And the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards be grown."]
lucullan \loo-KUHL-uhn\ (adjective) - Lavish, luxurious. [After a Roman general Lucius Licinius Lucullus (c. 110-57 BCE), who was known for his sumptuous banquets.]
sideburns \SYDE-burnz\ (plural noun) - Hair grown on the sides of a man's face, when worn with an unbearded chin. [After Ambrose Everett Burnside (1824-1881), who served as a general in the Union Army in the American Civil War, and who earned more recognition for his side whiskers than for his military career. Eventually the term burnsides morphed into sideburns as such a facial pattern was on the sides of a face.]
skulk \SKUHLK\ (intransitive verb) - 1 : To hide, or get out of the way, in a sneaking manner; to lurk. 2 : To move about in a stealthy way. 3 : To avoid responsibilities and duties. (noun) - 1 : One who skulks. 2 : A group of foxes. "You're too large to skulk about. They'd see you in an instant." -- Kinley MacGregor, Claiming the Highlander. Skulk is from Middle English skulken, ultimately of Scandinavian origin.
sojourn \SOH-juhrn; so-JURN\ (intransitive verb) - To stay as a temporary resident; to dwell for a time. (noun) - A temporary stay. "At times during this interminable sojourn, I might disappear for hours on end; Sita would wake from her fitful slumber and find herself alone..." -- Ashok Mathur, 'The Short, Happy Life of Harry Kumar'. Sojourn comes from Old French sojorner, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin subdiurnare, from Latin sub-, "under, a little over" + Late Latin diurnus, "lasting for a day," from Latin dies, "day."
svengali \sven-GAH-lee\ (noun) - A person who manipulates and exercises excessive control over another for sinister purposes. [After Svengali, a musician and hypnotist, in the novel Trilby written by George du Maurier (1834-1896). In the story, Trilby is an artist's model. She's tone-deaf, but Svengali transforms her into a singing sensation under his hypnotic spell. Another eponym to come out of the novel is the word for a man's hat: trilby. A trilby was a soft felt hat with a narrow brim and an indented crown. The word arose because such a hat was won in the stage production of the novel.]
tartuffe \tahr-TOOF\ (noun) A hypocrite who feigns virtue, especially in religious matters. [After the main character in Tartuffe, a play by Molière, pen name of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (1622-1673). As if to prove themselves, the religious authorities in Paris had the play banned soon after it was introduced.]
Vandyke or Van Dyke or vandyke \van dyk\ (noun) - A short, pointed beard. [After painter Anthony Van Dyck or Vandyke (1599-1641) who painted portraits of people having these v-shaped beards.]
vituperate \vy-TOO-puh-rate, -TYOO-, vi-\ (verb) - To find fault with; to scold; to overwhelm with wordy abuse; to censure severely or abusively; to rate. "The incensed priests...continued to raise their voices, vituperating each other in bad Latin." -- Sir Walter Scott, 'Ivanhoe'. Vituperate comes from Latin vitupero, vituperare, to scold, blame, censure.
What a collection! Sorry to put you on sensory overload, but I thought these were all winners.
Speaking of winners, don't forget to enter the Blood Harvest drawing - see The Chef's Special to the right.
And read a book!
=) JB
"If you have knowledge, let others light their candles in it."
--Margaret Fuller (1810-1850) U.S. writer
5.23.2008
Let's Do Lunch! Interview with Bruce Cook (aka Brant Randall)
Welcome to another Lunch Room chat session. We're delighted you're here! Pull up a seat and we'll get you some iced tea, and please be sure to throw your name in the hat for the drawing before you leave - details below.
My guest today is author Bruce Cook, whose first novel, Philippine Fever, is the story of an ATF agent trying to track down a missing cargo container full of terrorist weapons in Manila, smuggling capital of the world, after his main suspect is murdered.
Bruce has adopted the pseudonym Brant Randall and penned an amazing story called Blood Harvest, which we're talking about (and giving away) today. Thanks for stopping by, Bruce.
Bruce: Thanks for inviting me to lunch, JB. I love diners. One of my favorite restaurant books is Diving Out in LA.
JB: A guide to great dives, I get it. Wait, does this qualify as a dive? Okay, never mind. Before we get to the main course, let's talk a little about what else you have on your plate. Will there be more Sam Haine in our futures or are you working on other projects?
Bruce: Sam Haine will return in a story about gun smuggling by the contemporary IRA in Ireland, using treasure recovered from a payroll ship of the Spanish Armada that sank off the coast of Ireland. It was an idea I invented, then researched and now believe to be true. It is probably not the next book.
Currently I am working on two novels. The first is Feral Frankie, a story about the orphaned child of a meth cooker in northern California. At 13 he takes his daddy's car and heads for Los Angeles, where he believes he still has a living grandmother. Sort of like a young Mad Max takes a trip on Cormac McCarthy's The Road.
The second novel is titled Snapshots from Hell, and is a darkly comic look at the moral bloodbath that is Hollywood. Having worked in the film biz for 39 years I have a few crime tales to tell, some skeletons to unearth, gossip to relate, and a few heads to crack.
You may be wondering why I have adopted a pseudonym, having begun a series under the name Bruce Cook. After Philippine Fever was published I discovered four other authors named Bruce Cook, including two who write/wrote mystery series. I have been asked to sign some of those other author's books at signings, which is a little embarrassing for the customer. Since Blood Harvest was meant to be a very different kind of novel from Philippine Fever I decided to devise a pen name - Brant Randall.
However, response has been so positive to Brant's first book I have decided that he is going to collaborate with Bruce on the next book.
JB: Now there's an idea. Let's talk about Blood Harvest - a highly unique story told from the first-person point of view of a number of different characters, with the narratives overlapping each other with respect to time and location. Did you set out from the get-go to write it that way, or was that something that sort of fell into place as you were writing it?
Bruce: Blood Harvest began as a first person short story, the chapter that opens the book, as told by Marshal Lawe. Once it was complete, I realized that I wanted to continue to explore the historical reality of lynchings in New England, and that I wanted to tell the story from multiple points of view.
I decided each chapter would be told by a new first person narrator, sharing his/her version of the events surrounding the lynching of the Italian immigrant, Nick DeCosta. I am a screenwriter and film director, so I was familiar with the Kurasawa classic Rashomon. I knew that each voice needed to have a unique perspective on what life in the town was like, but that it must also add new information about the events for the reader, so it wouldn’t just be a tiresome rehash.
In other words, no character telling his piece of the story actually understands the full extent of what has happened. Only the reader, with knowledge gleaned from all the narrators, knows the full truth.
The challenge was to create voices that were so individual or idiosyncratic that the reader would instantly know that a new character was speaking. I had first seen this done well in Barbara Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible. After I had finished a draft of the novel I happened to read Wilkie Collins' Woman in White, written in 1859, which also used the same approach. This only goes to show that no writer can invent anything truly new, either in content or technique.
JB: Talk a bit about the research that went into this book. Did you have prior knowledge of the history and activities of the KKK in that period of time, or did you learn way more than you ever wanted to know from doing your research?
Bruce: I knew next to nothing about the history of the KKK before writing this book, other than having seen the 1915 movie Birth of a Nation when I was in film school.
This novel grew from an incident related to me by my grandmother when she was in her nineties. She was a Scotch-Irish girl from rural New England, one of twelve children, though two died in infancy.
I knew she had married young, perhaps at sixteen, though she sometimes claimed she had been eighteen. She said that after her wedding day she had never returned to her home town. I had assumed that she eloped or otherwise angered her parents. At one point I asked if her parents had disliked my grandfather, who I remembered as personable and charming.
She claimed that they liked him very much. He was a perfect example of the immigrant success story. Came to America from Greece at sixteen, without any English. Started working the next day. Within five years he owned his own restaurant, within ten a chain of candy shops and drug stores.
"So why didn't you ever return to your home town?" I asked her.
"It was those dumb clucks." She used this expression only when quite angry. "My brother-in-law didn't think it right for a white girl to marry a non-white European."
This was new territory to me, but when I read my grandfather's immigration papers I found that southern Europeans — the Greeks, Spanish, Italians, and Turks — were classified thus until 1912. But it was her next revelation that stunned me.
It wasn't dumb "clucks." It was dumb "klux." The KKK had driven my grandparents from the town. This wasn't consistent with what I had learned in my history classes, and so I began to research.
The KKK had been moribund for thirty years when it was revived in 1915 as an anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic movement, though with plenty of racism left over for blacks. It came to be centered not in the South but in the Northeast, with a large contingent in the Midwest.
Since I still have family alive who recall these incidents and live in the area, I changed the location of my story and the names.
I spent about six months researching the klan's activities during the 1920s, finding great primary sources in local newspapers, photographs, and court records. I found a collection of souvenir postcards of lynchings that is the most troubling thing I have seen in the last decade.
And then I found the present day klan. I discovered that my daughter-in-law's sister cannot visit her husband's home town because his family is still in the KKK and they disapprove of her religion. The family is in Ohio.
At the peak of membership in the mid-1920s the klan had between six and eight million members in 45 states. They swung elections in the mid-West. They controlled several state legislatures. They stalemated the nomination of a presidential slate at the 1924 Democratic convention for 103 ballots, because they opposed the nomination of Al Smith, a Catholic.
If there were that many members in that many states, the odds are that someone in your family was a member ... or a target.
I could go on, but I think you get my drift.
Besides, my salad is wilting.
JB: Yeah, it's the humidity around here. What an incredible story. And an incredible book. Thanks so much for sharing your time with us today!
Bruce (or Brant, if you prefer) has been gracious enough to offer autographed copies of Blood Harvest to 10 lucky Lunch Room visitors. We'll draw the winners at random next Friday, May 30, 2008 - click here to enter, and be sure to include your full name in the body of your email. Winners will be notified for address confirmation.
In the meantime, happy reading!
=) JB
My guest today is author Bruce Cook, whose first novel, Philippine Fever, is the story of an ATF agent trying to track down a missing cargo container full of terrorist weapons in Manila, smuggling capital of the world, after his main suspect is murdered.
Bruce has adopted the pseudonym Brant Randall and penned an amazing story called Blood Harvest, which we're talking about (and giving away) today. Thanks for stopping by, Bruce.Bruce: Thanks for inviting me to lunch, JB. I love diners. One of my favorite restaurant books is Diving Out in LA.
JB: A guide to great dives, I get it. Wait, does this qualify as a dive? Okay, never mind. Before we get to the main course, let's talk a little about what else you have on your plate. Will there be more Sam Haine in our futures or are you working on other projects?
Bruce: Sam Haine will return in a story about gun smuggling by the contemporary IRA in Ireland, using treasure recovered from a payroll ship of the Spanish Armada that sank off the coast of Ireland. It was an idea I invented, then researched and now believe to be true. It is probably not the next book.
Currently I am working on two novels. The first is Feral Frankie, a story about the orphaned child of a meth cooker in northern California. At 13 he takes his daddy's car and heads for Los Angeles, where he believes he still has a living grandmother. Sort of like a young Mad Max takes a trip on Cormac McCarthy's The Road.
The second novel is titled Snapshots from Hell, and is a darkly comic look at the moral bloodbath that is Hollywood. Having worked in the film biz for 39 years I have a few crime tales to tell, some skeletons to unearth, gossip to relate, and a few heads to crack.
You may be wondering why I have adopted a pseudonym, having begun a series under the name Bruce Cook. After Philippine Fever was published I discovered four other authors named Bruce Cook, including two who write/wrote mystery series. I have been asked to sign some of those other author's books at signings, which is a little embarrassing for the customer. Since Blood Harvest was meant to be a very different kind of novel from Philippine Fever I decided to devise a pen name - Brant Randall.
However, response has been so positive to Brant's first book I have decided that he is going to collaborate with Bruce on the next book.
JB: Now there's an idea. Let's talk about Blood Harvest - a highly unique story told from the first-person point of view of a number of different characters, with the narratives overlapping each other with respect to time and location. Did you set out from the get-go to write it that way, or was that something that sort of fell into place as you were writing it?
Bruce: Blood Harvest began as a first person short story, the chapter that opens the book, as told by Marshal Lawe. Once it was complete, I realized that I wanted to continue to explore the historical reality of lynchings in New England, and that I wanted to tell the story from multiple points of view.
I decided each chapter would be told by a new first person narrator, sharing his/her version of the events surrounding the lynching of the Italian immigrant, Nick DeCosta. I am a screenwriter and film director, so I was familiar with the Kurasawa classic Rashomon. I knew that each voice needed to have a unique perspective on what life in the town was like, but that it must also add new information about the events for the reader, so it wouldn’t just be a tiresome rehash.
In other words, no character telling his piece of the story actually understands the full extent of what has happened. Only the reader, with knowledge gleaned from all the narrators, knows the full truth.
The challenge was to create voices that were so individual or idiosyncratic that the reader would instantly know that a new character was speaking. I had first seen this done well in Barbara Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible. After I had finished a draft of the novel I happened to read Wilkie Collins' Woman in White, written in 1859, which also used the same approach. This only goes to show that no writer can invent anything truly new, either in content or technique.
JB: Talk a bit about the research that went into this book. Did you have prior knowledge of the history and activities of the KKK in that period of time, or did you learn way more than you ever wanted to know from doing your research?
Bruce: I knew next to nothing about the history of the KKK before writing this book, other than having seen the 1915 movie Birth of a Nation when I was in film school.
This novel grew from an incident related to me by my grandmother when she was in her nineties. She was a Scotch-Irish girl from rural New England, one of twelve children, though two died in infancy.
I knew she had married young, perhaps at sixteen, though she sometimes claimed she had been eighteen. She said that after her wedding day she had never returned to her home town. I had assumed that she eloped or otherwise angered her parents. At one point I asked if her parents had disliked my grandfather, who I remembered as personable and charming.
She claimed that they liked him very much. He was a perfect example of the immigrant success story. Came to America from Greece at sixteen, without any English. Started working the next day. Within five years he owned his own restaurant, within ten a chain of candy shops and drug stores.
"So why didn't you ever return to your home town?" I asked her.
"It was those dumb clucks." She used this expression only when quite angry. "My brother-in-law didn't think it right for a white girl to marry a non-white European."
This was new territory to me, but when I read my grandfather's immigration papers I found that southern Europeans — the Greeks, Spanish, Italians, and Turks — were classified thus until 1912. But it was her next revelation that stunned me.
It wasn't dumb "clucks." It was dumb "klux." The KKK had driven my grandparents from the town. This wasn't consistent with what I had learned in my history classes, and so I began to research.
The KKK had been moribund for thirty years when it was revived in 1915 as an anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic movement, though with plenty of racism left over for blacks. It came to be centered not in the South but in the Northeast, with a large contingent in the Midwest.
Since I still have family alive who recall these incidents and live in the area, I changed the location of my story and the names.
I spent about six months researching the klan's activities during the 1920s, finding great primary sources in local newspapers, photographs, and court records. I found a collection of souvenir postcards of lynchings that is the most troubling thing I have seen in the last decade.
And then I found the present day klan. I discovered that my daughter-in-law's sister cannot visit her husband's home town because his family is still in the KKK and they disapprove of her religion. The family is in Ohio.
At the peak of membership in the mid-1920s the klan had between six and eight million members in 45 states. They swung elections in the mid-West. They controlled several state legislatures. They stalemated the nomination of a presidential slate at the 1924 Democratic convention for 103 ballots, because they opposed the nomination of Al Smith, a Catholic.
If there were that many members in that many states, the odds are that someone in your family was a member ... or a target.
I could go on, but I think you get my drift.
Besides, my salad is wilting.
JB: Yeah, it's the humidity around here. What an incredible story. And an incredible book. Thanks so much for sharing your time with us today!
Bruce (or Brant, if you prefer) has been gracious enough to offer autographed copies of Blood Harvest to 10 lucky Lunch Room visitors. We'll draw the winners at random next Friday, May 30, 2008 - click here to enter, and be sure to include your full name in the body of your email. Winners will be notified for address confirmation.
In the meantime, happy reading!
=) JB
5.19.2008
Whirling Dervish
Well, last week's vocabulary words are going to have to wait until this weekend - lucky you, you'll get a double dose of enlightenment from the vocabulary vault.
It was an exciting but busy weekend ... our Nashville Pipes & Drums band, of which the WGH and Little Bit are both a part now, won 1st place in their grade at the Gatlinburg Scottish Festival and Highland Games. My good friend the GP and her hubby were there in their clan booth, so I got to hang with them for the day while watching all kinds of interesting events - in addition to the band competitions, there were several 'field' events that these rather burly men were competing in, most of which I don't know the names of but were fun to watch. And then there was the caber toss (again - I believe I mentioned this in my post last October after the last Festival I went to), where they throw this thing that looks like a telephone pole and see how far they can get it. The catch is they have to make it flip over or the toss doesn't count. Can you imagine balancing a telephone pole vertically by one end and then pitching it upward so that it turns end over end? There was one guy - ONE - who was able to do it, and he did it three times. Impressive, to say the least.
So I'm sort of in a frenzied spin-down trying to get back to my routine. Lots of books to read, lots of reviews to write. And a manuscript to submit.
When my thoughts are a bit more organized, I'll be back with something eloquent and enlightening. We'll have our next special guest in the Lunch Room this week, if everything goes as planned, so drop by again soon.
And read a book!
=) JB
"The moving finger writes, and having written moves on. Nor all thy piety nor all thy wit, can cancel half a line of it."
-- Omar Khayyam (1048-1131) Persian writer, mathematician
It was an exciting but busy weekend ... our Nashville Pipes & Drums band, of which the WGH and Little Bit are both a part now, won 1st place in their grade at the Gatlinburg Scottish Festival and Highland Games. My good friend the GP and her hubby were there in their clan booth, so I got to hang with them for the day while watching all kinds of interesting events - in addition to the band competitions, there were several 'field' events that these rather burly men were competing in, most of which I don't know the names of but were fun to watch. And then there was the caber toss (again - I believe I mentioned this in my post last October after the last Festival I went to), where they throw this thing that looks like a telephone pole and see how far they can get it. The catch is they have to make it flip over or the toss doesn't count. Can you imagine balancing a telephone pole vertically by one end and then pitching it upward so that it turns end over end? There was one guy - ONE - who was able to do it, and he did it three times. Impressive, to say the least.
So I'm sort of in a frenzied spin-down trying to get back to my routine. Lots of books to read, lots of reviews to write. And a manuscript to submit.
When my thoughts are a bit more organized, I'll be back with something eloquent and enlightening. We'll have our next special guest in the Lunch Room this week, if everything goes as planned, so drop by again soon.
And read a book!
=) JB
"The moving finger writes, and having written moves on. Nor all thy piety nor all thy wit, can cancel half a line of it."
-- Omar Khayyam (1048-1131) Persian writer, mathematician
5.15.2008
More Happy Dancing
I have found something else that's good for us. This is actually something I've known about for a very long time. It's one of my favorite things in the world, and I bet when I tell you what it is, you're going to think to yourself, well, duh - mine too.
At least I hope so. If not, then I would encourage you to consider the following essay with an open heart and mind and a serious commitment to at least think about it.
I am, of course, talking about ... laughter.
Was that what you were expecting? Probably not. I'm full of surprises, aren't I?
I got this in my Trivia ezine from ArcaMax today:
Are funny movies good for you?
Laughing is aerobic. It provides a workout for the diaphragm and increases the body's ability to use oxygen.
So here's my question. Do you laugh at least once a day? If not, why not?
I know what you're thinking now ... there are some days where life just hands you a load of junk and you are hard pressed to find anything funny in it at all. Right? Well, me too. But isn't that when you need it most? They say laughter is the best medicine, don't they?
Think about it. Even in the middle of the worst day of your life, there has to be something you can laugh about, even if it's just for a few seconds. Because when you look on the bright side of things, your whole outlook changes. You need something to lift your spirits, and anything that makes you laugh serves that purpose.
It has occurred to me that we probably need something to laugh about in the middle of this rather serious essay, so I'm going to do my best to accommodate you. Pardon me whilst I go trolling for some humor. I'll be right back.
So, it's taken me a little while, but I've found a few gems:
This is classic comedy at it's best: "Argument to Beethoven's Fifth," Caesar's Hour, 1954. Listed at #29 on the Nerve.com and IFC's list of the 50 Greatest Comedy Sketches of All Time, it's just a brilliant piece of entertainment featuring Sid Caesar and Nanette Fabray - captioned thus: "Here, on live TV, without benefit of editing or retakes, Sid Caesar and Nanette Fabray silently mime a domestic dispute whose crescendos and valleys perfectly correspond to classical music. It's brilliant, and there's not much more to say." Just watch.
And a little more modern but still classic - the "Went With the Wind" sketch from the Carol Burnett Show (#22 on the same list). Here's Part I, and then Part II. Oh. My. Goodness.
You don't really have to be a die-hard Monty Python fan (like the BF, the WMVR and I) to appreciate the humor in the fact that topping out this list, at #3 and #1, respectively, are The Argument Clinic and Flogging a Dead Parrot, two of my absolute all-time favorite comedy sketches.
And for those of you who are not MP fans, I leave you with what this list dubs the #2 greatest - although it could arguably take up its position at #1 depending on who's doing the ratings - the ultimate classic sketch harking back to the days of radio comedy, Abbott & Costellos' "Who's On First?":
There now. Don't you feel better?
There's always room in your schedule to do something that's good for you. So laugh! Or, read a book ...
=) JB
At least I hope so. If not, then I would encourage you to consider the following essay with an open heart and mind and a serious commitment to at least think about it.
I am, of course, talking about ... laughter.
Was that what you were expecting? Probably not. I'm full of surprises, aren't I?
I got this in my Trivia ezine from ArcaMax today:
Are funny movies good for you?
Laughing is aerobic. It provides a workout for the diaphragm and increases the body's ability to use oxygen.
So here's my question. Do you laugh at least once a day? If not, why not?
I know what you're thinking now ... there are some days where life just hands you a load of junk and you are hard pressed to find anything funny in it at all. Right? Well, me too. But isn't that when you need it most? They say laughter is the best medicine, don't they?
Think about it. Even in the middle of the worst day of your life, there has to be something you can laugh about, even if it's just for a few seconds. Because when you look on the bright side of things, your whole outlook changes. You need something to lift your spirits, and anything that makes you laugh serves that purpose.
It has occurred to me that we probably need something to laugh about in the middle of this rather serious essay, so I'm going to do my best to accommodate you. Pardon me whilst I go trolling for some humor. I'll be right back.
So, it's taken me a little while, but I've found a few gems:
This is classic comedy at it's best: "Argument to Beethoven's Fifth," Caesar's Hour, 1954. Listed at #29 on the Nerve.com and IFC's list of the 50 Greatest Comedy Sketches of All Time, it's just a brilliant piece of entertainment featuring Sid Caesar and Nanette Fabray - captioned thus: "Here, on live TV, without benefit of editing or retakes, Sid Caesar and Nanette Fabray silently mime a domestic dispute whose crescendos and valleys perfectly correspond to classical music. It's brilliant, and there's not much more to say." Just watch.
And a little more modern but still classic - the "Went With the Wind" sketch from the Carol Burnett Show (#22 on the same list). Here's Part I, and then Part II. Oh. My. Goodness.
You don't really have to be a die-hard Monty Python fan (like the BF, the WMVR and I) to appreciate the humor in the fact that topping out this list, at #3 and #1, respectively, are The Argument Clinic and Flogging a Dead Parrot, two of my absolute all-time favorite comedy sketches.
And for those of you who are not MP fans, I leave you with what this list dubs the #2 greatest - although it could arguably take up its position at #1 depending on who's doing the ratings - the ultimate classic sketch harking back to the days of radio comedy, Abbott & Costellos' "Who's On First?":
There now. Don't you feel better?
There's always room in your schedule to do something that's good for you. So laugh! Or, read a book ...
=) JB
5.13.2008
Goals
It's good to have goals. Whatever they may be. If you've ever seen the movie Pretty Woman, you'll remember that scene near the end where Kit echoes Vivian's words, "Do you have a goal? 'Cause ya gotta have a goal."
I have goals. And they're fairly reasonable, nothing impossible to attain.
I just have a hard time getting myself to do what needs to be done to meet my goals.
But I'm working on it. Still.
Tonight is The Boy's last concert of the school year. The WGH will be filling in the percussion section, helping out a bit where they're lacking in manpower. Ought to be a fun evening.
Between now and then I am working on various and sundry things in the JBTAuthor study - reading, writing and ... well, that's it, really. It's what I do.
Read a book. And set yourself a goal. It's good for you.
=) JB
"Writers should be read, but neither seen nor heard."
-- Daphne Du Maurier (1907-1989) English writer
I have goals. And they're fairly reasonable, nothing impossible to attain.
I just have a hard time getting myself to do what needs to be done to meet my goals.
But I'm working on it. Still.
Tonight is The Boy's last concert of the school year. The WGH will be filling in the percussion section, helping out a bit where they're lacking in manpower. Ought to be a fun evening.
Between now and then I am working on various and sundry things in the JBTAuthor study - reading, writing and ... well, that's it, really. It's what I do.
Read a book. And set yourself a goal. It's good for you.
=) JB
"Writers should be read, but neither seen nor heard."
-- Daphne Du Maurier (1907-1989) English writer
5.12.2008
Words of Wisdom
There's a bit of a double meaning in that title. Since I missed yesterday due to various and sundry activities of daily living (not to mention it being Mother's Day), I'm posting last week's vocab words in truncated form - you can get the full entries from the respective websites if you're just dying to ... but I also want to direct you to a terrific post presented yesterday over at Murderati by Toni McGee Causey. If you're a mom, read this. Read it even if you aren't a mom. It's worth it.
On to the pearls from the sea of syntax (sources specified in brackets - ArcaMax.com or wordsmith.org) ...
autodidact \aw-toh-DY-dakt\ (noun) - One who is self-taught. [arcamax]
babbitt \BAB-it\ (noun) - A self-satisfied narrow-minded person who conforms to conventional ideals of business and material success. [After the main character in Sinclair Lewis's 1922 novel Babbitt.] [wordsmith]
gargantuan \gar-GAN-choo-uhn\ (adjective) - Gigantic. [After Gargantua, a voracious giant, the father of Pantagruel, in a series of novels by François Rabelais (c. 1490-1553).] [wordsmith]
genial \JEEN-yuhl; JEE-nee-uhl\ (adjective) - 1 : Friendly, warm; kindly; sympathetically cheerful and cheering. 2 : Mild, pleasant; comfortable; favorable to life or growth. [arcamax]
juju \JOO-joo\ (noun) - 1 : An object superstitiously believed to embody magical powers. 2 : The power associated with a juju. [arcamax]
lilliputian \lil-i-PYOO-shuhn\ (adjective) - Very small. (noun) A very small person. [After Lilliput, a fictional island nation in Jonathan Swift's satirical novel Gulliver's Travels. Everything was diminutive in Lilliput -- its inhabitants were six inches in height.] [wordsmith]
pantagruelian \pan-tuh-groo-EL-ee-uhn\ (adjective) - 1 : Enormous. 2 : Displaying extravagant and coarse humor. [After Pantagruel, a giant king with an enormous appetite, depicted in a series of novels by François Rabelais (c. 1490-1553).] [wordsmith]
Simon Legree \SY-muhn li-GREE\ (noun) - A harsh taskmaster. [After Simon Legree, a brutal slave dealer in the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896).] [wordsmith]
specious \SPEE-shuhs\ (adjective) - 1 : Apparently right; superficially fair, just, or correct, but not so in reality; as, "specious reasoning; a specious argument." 2 : Deceptively pleasing or attractive. [arcamax]
Zeitgeist \TSYT-guyst; ZYT-guyst\ (noun) - [Often capitalized] The spirit of the time; the general intellectual and moral state or temper characteristic of any period of time. [arcamax]
I hope all you mothers out there enjoyed your Mother's Day yesterday as much as I did. The WGH bought me something I have wanted for quite a while now (since we moved into this house, to be exact) - a freestanding swing! I'm just tres excited. Yesterday was a bit too windy 'round these parts to put it out, but it's set up in his garage, waiting for him to get home so we can drag it out to the yard. I'm going to go sit in it and read a book - woot!
I'm off to tackle the to-do list again. Hope you have a swing to sit in ... and even if you don't, read a book!
=) JB
"God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December."
-- Sir James M. Barrie (1860-1937) Scottish writer
On to the pearls from the sea of syntax (sources specified in brackets - ArcaMax.com or wordsmith.org) ...
autodidact \aw-toh-DY-dakt\ (noun) - One who is self-taught. [arcamax]
babbitt \BAB-it\ (noun) - A self-satisfied narrow-minded person who conforms to conventional ideals of business and material success. [After the main character in Sinclair Lewis's 1922 novel Babbitt.] [wordsmith]
gargantuan \gar-GAN-choo-uhn\ (adjective) - Gigantic. [After Gargantua, a voracious giant, the father of Pantagruel, in a series of novels by François Rabelais (c. 1490-1553).] [wordsmith]
genial \JEEN-yuhl; JEE-nee-uhl\ (adjective) - 1 : Friendly, warm; kindly; sympathetically cheerful and cheering. 2 : Mild, pleasant; comfortable; favorable to life or growth. [arcamax]
juju \JOO-joo\ (noun) - 1 : An object superstitiously believed to embody magical powers. 2 : The power associated with a juju. [arcamax]
lilliputian \lil-i-PYOO-shuhn\ (adjective) - Very small. (noun) A very small person. [After Lilliput, a fictional island nation in Jonathan Swift's satirical novel Gulliver's Travels. Everything was diminutive in Lilliput -- its inhabitants were six inches in height.] [wordsmith]
pantagruelian \pan-tuh-groo-EL-ee-uhn\ (adjective) - 1 : Enormous. 2 : Displaying extravagant and coarse humor. [After Pantagruel, a giant king with an enormous appetite, depicted in a series of novels by François Rabelais (c. 1490-1553).] [wordsmith]
Simon Legree \SY-muhn li-GREE\ (noun) - A harsh taskmaster. [After Simon Legree, a brutal slave dealer in the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896).] [wordsmith]
specious \SPEE-shuhs\ (adjective) - 1 : Apparently right; superficially fair, just, or correct, but not so in reality; as, "specious reasoning; a specious argument." 2 : Deceptively pleasing or attractive. [arcamax]
Zeitgeist \TSYT-guyst; ZYT-guyst\ (noun) - [Often capitalized] The spirit of the time; the general intellectual and moral state or temper characteristic of any period of time. [arcamax]
I hope all you mothers out there enjoyed your Mother's Day yesterday as much as I did. The WGH bought me something I have wanted for quite a while now (since we moved into this house, to be exact) - a freestanding swing! I'm just tres excited. Yesterday was a bit too windy 'round these parts to put it out, but it's set up in his garage, waiting for him to get home so we can drag it out to the yard. I'm going to go sit in it and read a book - woot!
I'm off to tackle the to-do list again. Hope you have a swing to sit in ... and even if you don't, read a book!
=) JB
"God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December."
-- Sir James M. Barrie (1860-1937) Scottish writer
5.10.2008
and boy are my arms tired ...
The lovely and talented Elizabeth Terrell and I just returned from a terrific little meeting with the Ohio River Valley chapter of Sisters in Crime, but it involved a trip to Louisville and back in the same day for me, and an even longer (and quite a bit more complicated) drive for poor Beth - after 11 days on the road, being away from her sweet hubby and their baby puppy, she was quite ready to get home again. So was I. Something about driving, even just a few hours at a time, really wears me out.
Needless to say, I'm not quite up to posting the whole vocabulary list today, so I'm afraid you're going to have to wait until tomorrow for the words of the week. Right now I'm going downstairs to crash in the bed and watch Much Ado About Nothing, courtesy of Netflix.
Book of the Day: Blood Harvest by Brant Randall (as mentioned yesterday, you'll hear more about this in the next week or so)
Read a book - it's good for you!
=) JB
Needless to say, I'm not quite up to posting the whole vocabulary list today, so I'm afraid you're going to have to wait until tomorrow for the words of the week. Right now I'm going downstairs to crash in the bed and watch Much Ado About Nothing, courtesy of Netflix.
Book of the Day: Blood Harvest by Brant Randall (as mentioned yesterday, you'll hear more about this in the next week or so)
Read a book - it's good for you!
=) JB
5.09.2008
And the winners are ...
I am pleased to announce the winners of our BABY SHARK'S HIGH PLAINS REDEMPTION drawing!
To ensure fairness, I put the names of all the entrants in a container and had an impartial judge (Little Bit) draw out the five winners. And they are [drum roll, please]:
Peggy Peden
Lisa Richardson
Susan Robinette
Rita Sheppard
Pat Timpanaro
Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to everyone who entered the drawing. We'll be sending the winners' autographed copies of HIGH PLAINS REDEMPTION soon. The rest of you are encouraged to pick up the book and read it anyway. ;) Enjoy!
Announcement: New Drawing. In the next week or so, author Bruce Cook will be dropping by the Lunch Room for a chat about his newest book, Blood Harvest, written under the name Brant Randall. He has also graciously agreed to bring a few copies for another giveaway drawing. Stay tuned for details.
Today is, of course, Friday - my day for catching up and getting things done. Today I'm trolling (Wonder Twin has yet another excellent post over at Murderati today, and while you're there, check out Toni McGee Causey's rants on random things she doesn't understand from last Sunday), paying bills, and baking a pie, and I've already spent a lovely hour at the doctor's office this morning for my annual checkup. Fun, joy, rah.
Whoa, what? Did she just say 'baking a pie'? Yes. Real live food in the Lunch Room - actually, it's because Nephew #1 and his girlfriend are visiting from the Aloha State and I promised if he was nice to me I'd bake a pie to have after dinner. I do cook. Quite well, I might add - I just can't do fried okra right because I'm a Yankee. Sorry, Bob.
Have a frabjous day, and read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
"Always be a little kinder than necessary."
-- Sir James M. Barrie (1860-1937) Scottish writer
To ensure fairness, I put the names of all the entrants in a container and had an impartial judge (Little Bit) draw out the five winners. And they are [drum roll, please]:
Peggy Peden
Lisa Richardson
Susan Robinette
Rita Sheppard
Pat Timpanaro
Congratulations to the winners, and thanks to everyone who entered the drawing. We'll be sending the winners' autographed copies of HIGH PLAINS REDEMPTION soon. The rest of you are encouraged to pick up the book and read it anyway. ;) Enjoy!
Announcement: New Drawing. In the next week or so, author Bruce Cook will be dropping by the Lunch Room for a chat about his newest book, Blood Harvest, written under the name Brant Randall. He has also graciously agreed to bring a few copies for another giveaway drawing. Stay tuned for details.
Today is, of course, Friday - my day for catching up and getting things done. Today I'm trolling (Wonder Twin has yet another excellent post over at Murderati today, and while you're there, check out Toni McGee Causey's rants on random things she doesn't understand from last Sunday), paying bills, and baking a pie, and I've already spent a lovely hour at the doctor's office this morning for my annual checkup. Fun, joy, rah.
Whoa, what? Did she just say 'baking a pie'? Yes. Real live food in the Lunch Room - actually, it's because Nephew #1 and his girlfriend are visiting from the Aloha State and I promised if he was nice to me I'd bake a pie to have after dinner. I do cook. Quite well, I might add - I just can't do fried okra right because I'm a Yankee. Sorry, Bob.
Have a frabjous day, and read a book. It's good for you.
=) JB
"Always be a little kinder than necessary."
-- Sir James M. Barrie (1860-1937) Scottish writer
5.05.2008
A Clean, Uncluttered Desk
Got your attention with that one, huh? Because if you know me or you've visited here long enough to get a pretty good idea of how out of the box I am, you'll know that the statement above does not apply to me. It is, in fact, the beginning of a quote on a plaque that hangs in my study ...
On Friday, Wonder Twin posted her article about what's on her desk, so I thought I'd take a page out of her book (i.e., steal her idea) and share a bit about my surroundings. I've probably done this before, but rather than make us both troll back through the archives to find it I thought I'd go through it again. Especially since it's probably changed since the last time we talked about it.
My writing environment is a space of about 120 square feet, of which you can see maybe 12 square feet of clear carpet - we'll get to why in a minute. My 'day-job' desk is immediately inside the door, against the wall opposite my writing desk and computer cart and at the nine o'clock position from the window (with the window being 12 o'clock). A neat little alcove directly behind and to the right of the day job desk houses two filing cabinets and a couple of boxes, plus a briefcase and a pile of tote bags I'll probably never use again. Along the wall to the right and extending from the alcove to the window well are two bookcases, which are, of course, overflowing, double-stacked on the shelves and even piled with stacks of books on top. On the other side of the window is my recliner, which sits in the corner next to my writing desk, which in turn is along the wall at three o'clock.
Now, what's on my desk? Let's talk about what's on the wall over my desk first. As out of the box as I am, I'm pretty much anal-retentive when it comes to keeping up with everything I have to do. Actually, it's that whole I have to have a to-do list thing or I'd forget something sure as I'm sitting here. So, on the wall over my writing desk are two dry-erase boards, one of which is a plain whiteboard that has a list of the books I have to read for reviews and/or interviews. Next to that is my calendar, on which I note deadlines and meetings and such, as well as a priority task list. And next to that is another board, half whiteboard and half corkboard, which right now you can't really see because it has stuff stuck all over it - articles, this really great Zits comic strip that pretty much defines my life, pictures and cards, quotes and other various and sundry information that wouldn't fit on the ginormous bulletin board which is on the adjacent wall and overlooks my computer cart, where the laptop sits plugged up to the power strip and the Internet.
Parenthetically, I have an 'escape' mounted on the wall on the other side of the plain whiteboard, over the recliner - a marvelous framed completed jigsaw puzzle about 2-1/2 by 3 feet in size called Castles in the Air. My brother, his best friend and I put it together in two days back when we were in high school, and my mom had it professionally mounted and framed. It's really quite lovely - lots of fluffy clouds and gleaming turrets of castles in a variety of bright colors with the sun casting a golden glow over all, and a tiny winged horse soaring past the largest castle. It's a magnificent fantasy ... imagine yourself sitting in a high tower, perhaps on a window bench, book in hand, overlooking paradise. I go there sometimes when I just need to process or regroup.
My CD player sits on a rather tall stool in the corner between my writing desk and the computer cart. Next to the computer cart, between it and the door, is my storage cabinet - which is full of reference books, file folders and various and sundry other things that help keep me organized. Atop the cabinet is perched my CD rack and of course, a few more books.
And the writing desk itself - having of course saved the best (or perhaps worst) for last - is pretty much invisible beneath more reference books, an upright filing rack, pictures of the kids, a mail rack, pencil holder, candy jar, paper clip and scratch paper holders, a couple of stray CDs, earbud headphones, stapler, several pint-sized notebooks in which I jot down ideas or research questions, my daytimer, Bible, file folders, more books, an aromatherapy candle and a miniature bust of Jane Austen with a tiny placard that reads, "Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings." Well said, Jane. Well said.
I mentioned that there isn't much of the floor you can see. The reason is that it's covered with the remaining detritus of my burgeoning writing career - more books, stacks of file folders with pages of manuscripts, stacks of research notes and the like. It's actually a little more organized than it was at one time, but I still probably need to clean a bit more. Someday soon.
My busy nothings are about to snow me under, so I'm off to it again. The study window is open, there's a nice breeze blowing in (bringing with it the appealing scent of fresh mulch - and yes, I'm serious, I really like that smell), and it's a glorious day.
Don't forget to register for the HIGH PLAINS REDEMPTION drawing - only four days left until the winners are selected and announced (details to the right, under The Chef's Special).
On the Boom Box: Soundtrack for (what else?) Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone
Book of the Day: In Plain Sight by C.J. Box. Love that Joe Pickett.
Read, read, read!! You know it's good for you!
=) JB
"Anyone who knows anything of history knows that great social changes are impossible without feminine upheaval. Social progress can be measured exactly by the social position of the fair sex, the ugly ones included."
-- Karl Marx (1818-1883) German social philosopher
A clean, uncluttered desk is the sign of a sick mind!
To wit, I should be considered quite sane. Yeah, I know - that's a stretch.On Friday, Wonder Twin posted her article about what's on her desk, so I thought I'd take a page out of her book (i.e., steal her idea) and share a bit about my surroundings. I've probably done this before, but rather than make us both troll back through the archives to find it I thought I'd go through it again. Especially since it's probably changed since the last time we talked about it.
My writing environment is a space of about 120 square feet, of which you can see maybe 12 square feet of clear carpet - we'll get to why in a minute. My 'day-job' desk is immediately inside the door, against the wall opposite my writing desk and computer cart and at the nine o'clock position from the window (with the window being 12 o'clock). A neat little alcove directly behind and to the right of the day job desk houses two filing cabinets and a couple of boxes, plus a briefcase and a pile of tote bags I'll probably never use again. Along the wall to the right and extending from the alcove to the window well are two bookcases, which are, of course, overflowing, double-stacked on the shelves and even piled with stacks of books on top. On the other side of the window is my recliner, which sits in the corner next to my writing desk, which in turn is along the wall at three o'clock.
Now, what's on my desk? Let's talk about what's on the wall over my desk first. As out of the box as I am, I'm pretty much anal-retentive when it comes to keeping up with everything I have to do. Actually, it's that whole I have to have a to-do list thing or I'd forget something sure as I'm sitting here. So, on the wall over my writing desk are two dry-erase boards, one of which is a plain whiteboard that has a list of the books I have to read for reviews and/or interviews. Next to that is my calendar, on which I note deadlines and meetings and such, as well as a priority task list. And next to that is another board, half whiteboard and half corkboard, which right now you can't really see because it has stuff stuck all over it - articles, this really great Zits comic strip that pretty much defines my life, pictures and cards, quotes and other various and sundry information that wouldn't fit on the ginormous bulletin board which is on the adjacent wall and overlooks my computer cart, where the laptop sits plugged up to the power strip and the Internet.
Parenthetically, I have an 'escape' mounted on the wall on the other side of the plain whiteboard, over the recliner - a marvelous framed completed jigsaw puzzle about 2-1/2 by 3 feet in size called Castles in the Air. My brother, his best friend and I put it together in two days back when we were in high school, and my mom had it professionally mounted and framed. It's really quite lovely - lots of fluffy clouds and gleaming turrets of castles in a variety of bright colors with the sun casting a golden glow over all, and a tiny winged horse soaring past the largest castle. It's a magnificent fantasy ... imagine yourself sitting in a high tower, perhaps on a window bench, book in hand, overlooking paradise. I go there sometimes when I just need to process or regroup.
My CD player sits on a rather tall stool in the corner between my writing desk and the computer cart. Next to the computer cart, between it and the door, is my storage cabinet - which is full of reference books, file folders and various and sundry other things that help keep me organized. Atop the cabinet is perched my CD rack and of course, a few more books.
And the writing desk itself - having of course saved the best (or perhaps worst) for last - is pretty much invisible beneath more reference books, an upright filing rack, pictures of the kids, a mail rack, pencil holder, candy jar, paper clip and scratch paper holders, a couple of stray CDs, earbud headphones, stapler, several pint-sized notebooks in which I jot down ideas or research questions, my daytimer, Bible, file folders, more books, an aromatherapy candle and a miniature bust of Jane Austen with a tiny placard that reads, "Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings." Well said, Jane. Well said.
I mentioned that there isn't much of the floor you can see. The reason is that it's covered with the remaining detritus of my burgeoning writing career - more books, stacks of file folders with pages of manuscripts, stacks of research notes and the like. It's actually a little more organized than it was at one time, but I still probably need to clean a bit more. Someday soon.
My busy nothings are about to snow me under, so I'm off to it again. The study window is open, there's a nice breeze blowing in (bringing with it the appealing scent of fresh mulch - and yes, I'm serious, I really like that smell), and it's a glorious day.
Don't forget to register for the HIGH PLAINS REDEMPTION drawing - only four days left until the winners are selected and announced (details to the right, under The Chef's Special).
On the Boom Box: Soundtrack for (what else?) Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone
Book of the Day: In Plain Sight by C.J. Box. Love that Joe Pickett.
Read, read, read!! You know it's good for you!
=) JB
"Anyone who knows anything of history knows that great social changes are impossible without feminine upheaval. Social progress can be measured exactly by the social position of the fair sex, the ugly ones included."
-- Karl Marx (1818-1883) German social philosopher
5.03.2008
A Word to the Wise
It's amazing what disrupted sleep patterns can do to one's morning. Mine isn't getting started quite as early as it would have had we not had a bumpy night of thunderstorms - even a tornado warning, although the potential actually went way north of us and we ended up not going to the basement for probably the first time ever - usually when I hear/see the word 'warning' I'm pulling everyone out of bed, but last night the threat didn't seem quite as imminent.
And using that 50-cent word, of course, makes a nice segue into this week's treasure trove of winning words:
From wordsmith.org (this week's theme being words derived from the names of mythical creatures):
chimera \ki-MEER-uh, ky-\ (noun) - 1 : A fanciful fabrication; illusion. 2 : An organism having genetically different tissues.
[After Chimera, a fire-breathing female monster in Greek mythology who had a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail. From Greek khimaira (she-goat), ultimately from the Indo-European root ghei- (winter) that is the ancestor of words such as chimera (literally a female animal that is one winter, or one year old), hibernate, and the Himalayas, from Sanskrit him
(snow) + alaya (abode).]
argus \AHR-guhs\ (noun) - An alert and observant person; a watchful guardian.
[After Argus, a giant in Greek mythology who had 100 eyes and was sent to watch over Zeus's lover Io. He was killed by Hermes and after his death his eyes transformed into spots on the peacock's tail. Greek argos (bright).]
centaur \SEN-tor\ (noun) - 1 : An expert horse rider. 2 : An unnatural creation made of disparate entities.
[After Centaur, a race of monsters having the torso of a human and lower body of a horse. Also, early Greek literature depicted Centaurs as a tribe from Thessaly whose members were skilled horse riders.]
sphinx \sfingks\ (noun) - A mysterious, inscrutable person.
[After Sphinx, a winged monster in Greek mythology who had a woman's head and a lion's body. It killed anyone who was not able to answer its riddle. From Greek sphinx (literally, strangler), from sphingein (to bind tight), also the source of the word sphincter.]
harpy \HAR-pee\ (noun) - 1 : A predatory person. 2 : A bad-tempered woman.
[After the Harpies, monsters in Greek mythology, who had a woman's head and a bird's body. The gods ordered them to snatch food from Phineus, a king who was punished for revealing secrets. From Greek harpazein (to snatch).]
And from ArcaMax:
winsome \WIN-suhm\ (adjective) - 1 : Cheerful; merry; gay; light-hearted. 2 : Causing joy or pleasure; agreeable; pleasant.
"Above all, it was winsome, devastatingly winsome. For a pretty face to be winsome is normal enough and very winsome it can be, but it is a tepid thing..." -- Mervyn Peake, 'The Gormenghast Novels'
Winsome is from Old English wynsum, from wynn, "joy" + -sum (equivalent to Modern English -some), "characterized by."
edify \ED-uh-fy\ (transitive verb) - To instruct and improve, especially in moral and religious knowledge; to teach. -- edifying, adjective
"He attended like holiness itself; He attended to edify the people with His example, to teach them His doctrine, and to favor men with His grace." -- José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi, 'The Mangy Parrot: The Life and Times of Periquillo Sarniento'
Edify is from Old French edifier, from Latin aedifico, aedificare, to build.
Brobdingnagian \brob-ding-NAG-ee-uhn\ (adjective) - Of extraordinary size; gigantic; enormous.
"The cover was removed... revealing two gigantic pots... capable of holding 200 gallons each...a cooking apparatus as might have graced a Brobdingnagian kitchen." -- Frank T. Bullen, 'Cruise of the Cachalot Round the World After Sperm Whales'
Brobdingnagian is from Brobdingnag, a country of giants in Swift's Gulliver's Travels.
grok \GRAWK\ (transitive verb slang) - To understand, especially in a profound and intimate way. Slang.
'"Even if you explain it in short words I'm not going to grok it, okay?" Benjamin frowned the uncomprehending frown of someone whose learning of the English language had missed the word "grok" entirely."' - Eric Flint, Andrew Dennis, '1634: The Galileo Affair"
The slang word grok was coined by Robert A. Heinlein in the science fiction novel "Stranger in a Strange Land", where it is a Martian word meaning literally "to drink" and metaphorically "to be one with". It was adopted into the vocabulary of 1960's youth and hackish jargon, whence it has become a part of net culture.
tittle-tattle \TIT-uhl TAT-uhl\ (noun) - 1 : Idle, trifling talk; empty prattle. 2 : An idle, trifling talker; a gossip. (verb) - to talk idly; to prate.
"Both were in their seventies, and like two old parrots they told, in identical words, the tale they had heard so often from their mother...The tittle-tattle of a half-starved countryside that throughout its long winters had nothing but tittle-tattle for amusement." -- Eric Linklater, 'The Dark of Summer'
Tittle-tattle is a varied reduplication of tattle, which derives from Medieval Dutch tatelen, to babble.
After the busy-busy preparations for company (Milady and her mom are coming this afternoon so we can take pictures before prom - and we're allowing The Boy to have a basement full of teenagers for an all-night movie party after prom; better here safe than somewhere else, right?), I might have the afternoon to get a few more things checked off the to-do list in the study. I'm wondering if I might be able to use a few of these choice words ... hmmmm ...
Read a book (because it's good for you, of course) and enjoy your day.
=) JB
"Ability hits the mark where presumption overshoots and diffidence falls short."
-- Golda Meir (1898-1978) Israeli political leader
And using that 50-cent word, of course, makes a nice segue into this week's treasure trove of winning words:
From wordsmith.org (this week's theme being words derived from the names of mythical creatures):
chimera \ki-MEER-uh, ky-\ (noun) - 1 : A fanciful fabrication; illusion. 2 : An organism having genetically different tissues.
[After Chimera, a fire-breathing female monster in Greek mythology who had a lion's head, a goat's body, and a serpent's tail. From Greek khimaira (she-goat), ultimately from the Indo-European root ghei- (winter) that is the ancestor of words such as chimera (literally a female animal that is one winter, or one year old), hibernate, and the Himalayas, from Sanskrit him
(snow) + alaya (abode).]
argus \AHR-guhs\ (noun) - An alert and observant person; a watchful guardian.
[After Argus, a giant in Greek mythology who had 100 eyes and was sent to watch over Zeus's lover Io. He was killed by Hermes and after his death his eyes transformed into spots on the peacock's tail. Greek argos (bright).]
centaur \SEN-tor\ (noun) - 1 : An expert horse rider. 2 : An unnatural creation made of disparate entities.
[After Centaur, a race of monsters having the torso of a human and lower body of a horse. Also, early Greek literature depicted Centaurs as a tribe from Thessaly whose members were skilled horse riders.]
sphinx \sfingks\ (noun) - A mysterious, inscrutable person.
[After Sphinx, a winged monster in Greek mythology who had a woman's head and a lion's body. It killed anyone who was not able to answer its riddle. From Greek sphinx (literally, strangler), from sphingein (to bind tight), also the source of the word sphincter.]
harpy \HAR-pee\ (noun) - 1 : A predatory person. 2 : A bad-tempered woman.
[After the Harpies, monsters in Greek mythology, who had a woman's head and a bird's body. The gods ordered them to snatch food from Phineus, a king who was punished for revealing secrets. From Greek harpazein (to snatch).]
And from ArcaMax:
winsome \WIN-suhm\ (adjective) - 1 : Cheerful; merry; gay; light-hearted. 2 : Causing joy or pleasure; agreeable; pleasant.
"Above all, it was winsome, devastatingly winsome. For a pretty face to be winsome is normal enough and very winsome it can be, but it is a tepid thing..." -- Mervyn Peake, 'The Gormenghast Novels'
Winsome is from Old English wynsum, from wynn, "joy" + -sum (equivalent to Modern English -some), "characterized by."
edify \ED-uh-fy\ (transitive verb) - To instruct and improve, especially in moral and religious knowledge; to teach. -- edifying, adjective
"He attended like holiness itself; He attended to edify the people with His example, to teach them His doctrine, and to favor men with His grace." -- José Joaquín Fernández de Lizardi, 'The Mangy Parrot: The Life and Times of Periquillo Sarniento'
Edify is from Old French edifier, from Latin aedifico, aedificare, to build.
Brobdingnagian \brob-ding-NAG-ee-uhn\ (adjective) - Of extraordinary size; gigantic; enormous.
"The cover was removed... revealing two gigantic pots... capable of holding 200 gallons each...a cooking apparatus as might have graced a Brobdingnagian kitchen." -- Frank T. Bullen, 'Cruise of the Cachalot Round the World After Sperm Whales'
Brobdingnagian is from Brobdingnag, a country of giants in Swift's Gulliver's Travels.
grok \GRAWK\ (transitive verb slang) - To understand, especially in a profound and intimate way. Slang.
'"Even if you explain it in short words I'm not going to grok it, okay?" Benjamin frowned the uncomprehending frown of someone whose learning of the English language had missed the word "grok" entirely."' - Eric Flint, Andrew Dennis, '1634: The Galileo Affair"
The slang word grok was coined by Robert A. Heinlein in the science fiction novel "Stranger in a Strange Land", where it is a Martian word meaning literally "to drink" and metaphorically "to be one with". It was adopted into the vocabulary of 1960's youth and hackish jargon, whence it has become a part of net culture.
tittle-tattle \TIT-uhl TAT-uhl\ (noun) - 1 : Idle, trifling talk; empty prattle. 2 : An idle, trifling talker; a gossip. (verb) - to talk idly; to prate.
"Both were in their seventies, and like two old parrots they told, in identical words, the tale they had heard so often from their mother...The tittle-tattle of a half-starved countryside that throughout its long winters had nothing but tittle-tattle for amusement." -- Eric Linklater, 'The Dark of Summer'
Tittle-tattle is a varied reduplication of tattle, which derives from Medieval Dutch tatelen, to babble.
After the busy-busy preparations for company (Milady and her mom are coming this afternoon so we can take pictures before prom - and we're allowing The Boy to have a basement full of teenagers for an all-night movie party after prom; better here safe than somewhere else, right?), I might have the afternoon to get a few more things checked off the to-do list in the study. I'm wondering if I might be able to use a few of these choice words ... hmmmm ...
Read a book (because it's good for you, of course) and enjoy your day.
=) JB
"Ability hits the mark where presumption overshoots and diffidence falls short."
-- Golda Meir (1898-1978) Israeli political leader
5.02.2008
Friday Stuff
As usual, I'm using this free Friday to catch up on things, and this morning I took the time for a quick turn through the blogosphere ... something I obviously haven't done in quite a while, because I missed this little tidbit somewhere along the way: My buds over at Killer Year have decided to shut down the KY blog. Sniff. I understand, though - they've all moved on, the Class of 2007 has graduated, with all their debut novels out and some even with their second ones recently released or about to be. They all blog or exist on the web in some other capacity - and the Killer Year website itself remains intact. It's just time for them to leave the nest, so to speak. The fledglings are all grown up and flying on their own. And fly they have - critical acclaim, awards left, right and center ... I hope you've had the chance to read the fabulous debut novels from all the Killer Year bunch, and in case you haven't, here's a rundown of what they are, with links to their websites so you can see what they're doing now:
J.T. Ellison - All the Pretty Girls (jtellison.com)
Brett Battles - The Cleaner (brettbattles.com)
Jason Pinter - The Mark (jasonpinter.com)
Toni McGee Causey - Bobbie Faye's Very (very, very, very) Bad Day (tonimcgeecausey.com)
Gregg Olsen - A Wicked Snow (greggolsen.com)
Dave White - When One Man Dies (jacksondonne.blogspot.com)
Patry Francis - The Liar's Diary (patryfrancis.com)
Marcus Sakey - The Blade Itself (marcussakey.com)
Sean Chercover - Big City, Bad Blood (seanchercover.com)
Bill Cameron - Lost Dog (billcameronmysteries.com)
Derek Nikitas - Pyres (dereknikitas.com)
Marc Lecard - Vinnie's Head (marclecard.com)
Robert Gregory Browne - Kiss Her Goodbye (robertgregorybrowne.com)
Confession. I'm not doing so hot at getting caught up with my reading on this terrific list. I have roughly half of them under my belt, with two more in the TBR (to be read) stack. The rest are on the TBP (to be purchased) list. You know that old saying, "When I get a little money, I buy books - if any is left, I buy food and clothes"? (Erasmus said that - he was a Dutch humanist and theologian - I had to look that up.) If it were just me, I'd live by that maxim. Unfortunately, the WGH, The Tall One, The Boy and Little Bit like to eat and not go naked more than I do, so the budget has to allow for that. At any rate, I'm working on it. It has been my honor and privilege to be on the sidelines with this class - and that term can be applied in a lot of different ways when it comes to this group - and I will continue to follow their careers and new releases, and try to get those books on the TBP list as quickly as possible. (To that end, I'm adding another special section to the menu - so if you're interested in seeing what's going on with some of my favorite writers all you have to do is click a few links.)
Speaking of Kiss Her Goodbye, here's another bit I learned from my wanderings this morning - KHG has just been released in paperback! This is one of the half I have read, and it's really good - The Tall One read it too and gave it her stamp of approval - as a matter of fact, I'm doing a review on it for RTE so stay tuned for that link.
What else did I find on my journey through cyberspace this morning? Glad you asked, let's see ... oh, my Wonder Twin is off playing in The Big Apple, but had the presence of mind to prep this bit of musing over at Murderati. I commented that I might steal her idea sometime and take inventory of what's on the desk in the ol' JBTAuthor study. At the moment it's kind of scary, but at least there's not a cat on it (which is actually a tad unusual).
I have found a kindred spirit in Regina Harvey, a cohort of our pal Tasha Alexander at The Good Girls Kill for Money Club - she recently gave up caffeine, as I was forc-- ... er, encouraged to do, and she blogs about her love-hate relationship with caffeine. I hear you, sister.
Amongst the bazillion emails I get every day (and no, I am not exaggerating) is a weekly update on the movies that are being released over the coming weekend. Iron Man, starring the delicious Robert Downey, Jr., comes out today, and Premiere.com calls it "a Marvel Comics superhero movie that doesn't suck." What a concept. Read Glenn Kenny's review for more. Personally, I think the flick looks kinda cool.
Now to life in general - tomorrow is prom, of course, but the WGH has given me a reprieve from having to run to the mall to pick up The Boy's tux this morning - he's going to take him this afternoon. We were all a bit concerned about picking it up cold and not having the chance to make sure everything fits the way it's supposed to. With what the lovely but rather frazzled saleslady had to go through to punch in the order, I have this fear that my son is going to put on the jacket and have the ends of the sleeves come up to his elbows. Yooou raaaang? Oy. But the WGH will take care of it. He's good at that sort of thing. And I did remember to order the flowers, so we're set. And we'll do pictures, of course.
Speaking of pictures, I can't remember whether I promised a few of the new landscaping, but I'll give you a sampling anyway.
Here are a couple of the 'before' disaster:
And here are the after shots of the same areas:
Nice, huh? We came home last night and found the landscaper's sign in our front yard - finally. I told him he should've put it in when they finished the job, but he says he doesn't like to do that unless he's taking care of the whole yard. Which he isn't, but what he accomplished is good enough for me. I'm just pickled tink.
Announcements. It turns out that BABY SHARK isn't the only book I'm going to have the privilege of giving away - but don't forget you only have another week to get registered for the HIGH PLAINS REDEMPTION drawing if you haven't signed up already. So what are you waiting for? Send me an email now - and be sure to include your full name. A lot of you have included your address too, and that's fine - optimism, I like that in a reader. ;) As soon as the Baby Shark drawing is over I'll announce the details of the next one, and we'll be having the author as our special guest in the Lunch Room in the very near future as well, so stay tuned!
Enjoy your Friday - we have some rain moving in, but it'll be good for the flowers. Read a book and do something good for you today.
=) JB
"Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it's at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others."
-- Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993) American actor
J.T. Ellison - All the Pretty Girls (jtellison.com)
Brett Battles - The Cleaner (brettbattles.com)
Jason Pinter - The Mark (jasonpinter.com)
Toni McGee Causey - Bobbie Faye's Very (very, very, very) Bad Day (tonimcgeecausey.com)
Gregg Olsen - A Wicked Snow (greggolsen.com)
Dave White - When One Man Dies (jacksondonne.blogspot.com)
Patry Francis - The Liar's Diary (patryfrancis.com)
Marcus Sakey - The Blade Itself (marcussakey.com)
Sean Chercover - Big City, Bad Blood (seanchercover.com)
Bill Cameron - Lost Dog (billcameronmysteries.com)
Derek Nikitas - Pyres (dereknikitas.com)
Marc Lecard - Vinnie's Head (marclecard.com)
Robert Gregory Browne - Kiss Her Goodbye (robertgregorybrowne.com)
Confession. I'm not doing so hot at getting caught up with my reading on this terrific list. I have roughly half of them under my belt, with two more in the TBR (to be read) stack. The rest are on the TBP (to be purchased) list. You know that old saying, "When I get a little money, I buy books - if any is left, I buy food and clothes"? (Erasmus said that - he was a Dutch humanist and theologian - I had to look that up.) If it were just me, I'd live by that maxim. Unfortunately, the WGH, The Tall One, The Boy and Little Bit like to eat and not go naked more than I do, so the budget has to allow for that. At any rate, I'm working on it. It has been my honor and privilege to be on the sidelines with this class - and that term can be applied in a lot of different ways when it comes to this group - and I will continue to follow their careers and new releases, and try to get those books on the TBP list as quickly as possible. (To that end, I'm adding another special section to the menu - so if you're interested in seeing what's going on with some of my favorite writers all you have to do is click a few links.)
Speaking of Kiss Her Goodbye, here's another bit I learned from my wanderings this morning - KHG has just been released in paperback! This is one of the half I have read, and it's really good - The Tall One read it too and gave it her stamp of approval - as a matter of fact, I'm doing a review on it for RTE so stay tuned for that link.
What else did I find on my journey through cyberspace this morning? Glad you asked, let's see ... oh, my Wonder Twin is off playing in The Big Apple, but had the presence of mind to prep this bit of musing over at Murderati. I commented that I might steal her idea sometime and take inventory of what's on the desk in the ol' JBTAuthor study. At the moment it's kind of scary, but at least there's not a cat on it (which is actually a tad unusual).
I have found a kindred spirit in Regina Harvey, a cohort of our pal Tasha Alexander at The Good Girls Kill for Money Club - she recently gave up caffeine, as I was forc-- ... er, encouraged to do, and she blogs about her love-hate relationship with caffeine. I hear you, sister.
Amongst the bazillion emails I get every day (and no, I am not exaggerating) is a weekly update on the movies that are being released over the coming weekend. Iron Man, starring the delicious Robert Downey, Jr., comes out today, and Premiere.com calls it "a Marvel Comics superhero movie that doesn't suck." What a concept. Read Glenn Kenny's review for more. Personally, I think the flick looks kinda cool.
Now to life in general - tomorrow is prom, of course, but the WGH has given me a reprieve from having to run to the mall to pick up The Boy's tux this morning - he's going to take him this afternoon. We were all a bit concerned about picking it up cold and not having the chance to make sure everything fits the way it's supposed to. With what the lovely but rather frazzled saleslady had to go through to punch in the order, I have this fear that my son is going to put on the jacket and have the ends of the sleeves come up to his elbows. Yooou raaaang? Oy. But the WGH will take care of it. He's good at that sort of thing. And I did remember to order the flowers, so we're set. And we'll do pictures, of course.
Speaking of pictures, I can't remember whether I promised a few of the new landscaping, but I'll give you a sampling anyway.
Here are a couple of the 'before' disaster:
And here are the after shots of the same areas:
Nice, huh? We came home last night and found the landscaper's sign in our front yard - finally. I told him he should've put it in when they finished the job, but he says he doesn't like to do that unless he's taking care of the whole yard. Which he isn't, but what he accomplished is good enough for me. I'm just pickled tink.
Announcements. It turns out that BABY SHARK isn't the only book I'm going to have the privilege of giving away - but don't forget you only have another week to get registered for the HIGH PLAINS REDEMPTION drawing if you haven't signed up already. So what are you waiting for? Send me an email now - and be sure to include your full name. A lot of you have included your address too, and that's fine - optimism, I like that in a reader. ;) As soon as the Baby Shark drawing is over I'll announce the details of the next one, and we'll be having the author as our special guest in the Lunch Room in the very near future as well, so stay tuned!
Enjoy your Friday - we have some rain moving in, but it'll be good for the flowers. Read a book and do something good for you today.
=) JB
"Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it's at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others."
-- Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993) American actor
5.01.2008
The Tall One Returns
As you read this, I am on my way to pick up The Tall One from college. She has just finished her freshman year and is ready to come home for the summer. Little Bit is just beside herself excited that her big sister is coming home. It's interesting, though, that The Tall One will finish her year earlier and start her next year later than her brother and sister. Funky school systems.
Anyway, just a reminder that if you haven't entered the drawing to win one of five autographed copies of BABY SHARK'S HIGH PLAINS REDEMPTION, git 'er done! Details to the right under The Chef's Special.
More intelligent thoughts are on their way tomorrow morning, when I shan't have to arise at yon crack of dawn and may actually have a coherent thought in my head ... I may even have another special announcement or two to share. In the meantime, read a book!
=) JB
Anyway, just a reminder that if you haven't entered the drawing to win one of five autographed copies of BABY SHARK'S HIGH PLAINS REDEMPTION, git 'er done! Details to the right under The Chef's Special.
More intelligent thoughts are on their way tomorrow morning, when I shan't have to arise at yon crack of dawn and may actually have a coherent thought in my head ... I may even have another special announcement or two to share. In the meantime, read a book!
=) JB
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