Word of the Day
saccade (n)
A small, rapid movement of the eye
"[He] could feel in his skin each saccade of her olive, her amber, her coffee-colored eyes."
--Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow
I've never been able to plow my way through a Pynchon mega-novel, sad to say. I've been trying to read V for years. I have read the slender The Crying of Lot 49 and liked it, though. Where's the Reader's Digest when you need it?
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Random Acts of Poetry
Random Acts of Poetry
Journal Square
My tired feet circle the dry fountain.
Christopher Columbus, his back to me,
points forever at a doughnut shop.
Nothing to do here but sweat.
People sit expressionless,
like plants on the cool barriers,
staring, hording shade
on this radioactive plaza.
Shops have collapsed at the corner.
The Square is waiting,
its theaters looking back, back
even as a colossus is stirring.
Traffic idles, expectant at the lights.
The walk sign counts to zero.
Hurry, hurry -- a train is coming,
pulling time like a prisoner's chain.
Journal Square
My tired feet circle the dry fountain.
Christopher Columbus, his back to me,
points forever at a doughnut shop.
Nothing to do here but sweat.
People sit expressionless,
like plants on the cool barriers,
staring, hording shade
on this radioactive plaza.
Shops have collapsed at the corner.
The Square is waiting,
its theaters looking back, back
even as a colossus is stirring.
Traffic idles, expectant at the lights.
The walk sign counts to zero.
Hurry, hurry -- a train is coming,
pulling time like a prisoner's chain.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Marilyn or Norma Jean?
Reinterpreting Marilyn
"There was no such person as Marilyn Monroe....[She was] invented, like an author creates a character."
--Richard Avedon
Rethinking a portrait of Marilyn -- or is it Norma Jean?
"There was no such person as Marilyn Monroe....[She was] invented, like an author creates a character."
--Richard Avedon
Rethinking a portrait of Marilyn -- or is it Norma Jean?
Thursday, May 03, 2007
8 rules for writing fiction
Thirsty?
"Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water."
Eight rules for writing fiction
"Every character should want something, even if it is only a glass of water."
Eight rules for writing fiction
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Word of the Day: gwok
Word of the Day
gwok (n)
a fool, simpleton or clumsy person
"Conceited gowk! Puff'd up wi' windy pride!"
--Robert Burns, "The Brigs Of Ayr"
According to the Urban Dictionary, this word can also mean "ugly"; it can also be a synonym for money. In Cantonese, it literally means "country." Hmmm. A foolish, ugly money country...
gwok (n)
a fool, simpleton or clumsy person
"Conceited gowk! Puff'd up wi' windy pride!"
--Robert Burns, "The Brigs Of Ayr"
According to the Urban Dictionary, this word can also mean "ugly"; it can also be a synonym for money. In Cantonese, it literally means "country." Hmmm. A foolish, ugly money country...
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Dog owners 'fleeced' in poodle scam
You can't make this stuff up
Dog owners 'fleeced' in poodle scam
"Thousands of people have been 'fleeced' into buying neatly coiffured lambs they thought were poodles...."
(via Yet Another Damn Blog)
This is my second post this month that has something to do with sheep. What is going on?
Dog owners 'fleeced' in poodle scam
"Thousands of people have been 'fleeced' into buying neatly coiffured lambs they thought were poodles...."
(via Yet Another Damn Blog)
This is my second post this month that has something to do with sheep. What is going on?
The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Way I Feel
The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Way I Feel
Attended an art opening last night. Saw sculptures made of twisted, rusted metal and broken and cracked glass, and paintings incorporating little bits of detritus collected on a beach in Hawaii. One man's trash is another man's--never mind. It was pretty impressive, if not "pretty".... My son had a few of his friends over last night. Though beds and couches were available, they slept on chairs and the floor, after staying up till the wee hours. This is called fun.... I learned a new word yesterday: mockolate. That's fake chocolate containing trans fats. Yuck. Perhaps the existence of such a thing says something about the times we are living in.... Why don't I.... invent something to keep my transit cards in? They get wrinkled in my pocket. It's too much trouble to pull them out of my wallet, especially when seconds count at the turnstile. I need something smaller and thinner than a wallet that I can keep in my front pants pocket. Something like a credit card holder, I guess, if such a thing exists. Hmm.... Turnstiles are also called "baffle gates," I read somewhere. That might be a good name for this blog....
Attended an art opening last night. Saw sculptures made of twisted, rusted metal and broken and cracked glass, and paintings incorporating little bits of detritus collected on a beach in Hawaii. One man's trash is another man's--never mind. It was pretty impressive, if not "pretty".... My son had a few of his friends over last night. Though beds and couches were available, they slept on chairs and the floor, after staying up till the wee hours. This is called fun.... I learned a new word yesterday: mockolate. That's fake chocolate containing trans fats. Yuck. Perhaps the existence of such a thing says something about the times we are living in.... Why don't I.... invent something to keep my transit cards in? They get wrinkled in my pocket. It's too much trouble to pull them out of my wallet, especially when seconds count at the turnstile. I need something smaller and thinner than a wallet that I can keep in my front pants pocket. Something like a credit card holder, I guess, if such a thing exists. Hmm.... Turnstiles are also called "baffle gates," I read somewhere. That might be a good name for this blog....
Monday, April 23, 2007
famous last words
Famous Last Words
"I am about to -- or I am going to -- die: either expression is correct."
--Dominique Bouhours, French grammarian, d. 1702
Here is a collection of death-bed statements by famous people from history. Some of them are quite amusing.
Not so amusing is this collection of suicide notes from such notables as Kurt Cobain and Virginia Woolf. People who choose to die seem to take life much more seriously.
"I am about to -- or I am going to -- die: either expression is correct."
--Dominique Bouhours, French grammarian, d. 1702
Here is a collection of death-bed statements by famous people from history. Some of them are quite amusing.
Not so amusing is this collection of suicide notes from such notables as Kurt Cobain and Virginia Woolf. People who choose to die seem to take life much more seriously.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Quote of the Day: "There is no rationale...
Quote of the Day
"There is no rationale, and there is no explanation - at least no explanation and no rationale people can, or will, accept as valid, for this type of tragedy, yet the media says they are grasping for exactly that in their 24/7 discussion of what happened, why it happened, and what should have been done, or done differently. Make no mistake, media careers are being made and ripped to shreds as a result of this shooting, and that, and that alone, is the 'why' of the searching and the questioning."
--Stageleft
"There is no rationale, and there is no explanation - at least no explanation and no rationale people can, or will, accept as valid, for this type of tragedy, yet the media says they are grasping for exactly that in their 24/7 discussion of what happened, why it happened, and what should have been done, or done differently. Make no mistake, media careers are being made and ripped to shreds as a result of this shooting, and that, and that alone, is the 'why' of the searching and the questioning."
--Stageleft
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Word of the Day: petrichor
Word of the Day
petrichor (n)
The pleasant smell of rain on dry ground; the yellow organic oil that yields this scent
"It poured for an hour. And it was cool and breezy and I maximised my utility of the situation by accompanying the petrichor with a special strong steaming cup of coffee and a Jayaram comedy on TV."
--Girl With Big Eyes (girlwithbigeyes.blogspot.com)
Now if only I knew what a "Jayaram comedy" was.... Not much petrichor around here lately, since there's not any dry ground. Instead, there's more of a wet pavement smell. Rain, rain, go away.
petrichor (n)
The pleasant smell of rain on dry ground; the yellow organic oil that yields this scent
"It poured for an hour. And it was cool and breezy and I maximised my utility of the situation by accompanying the petrichor with a special strong steaming cup of coffee and a Jayaram comedy on TV."
--Girl With Big Eyes (girlwithbigeyes.blogspot.com)
Now if only I knew what a "Jayaram comedy" was.... Not much petrichor around here lately, since there's not any dry ground. Instead, there's more of a wet pavement smell. Rain, rain, go away.
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