Stuart Aken's Blog, page 276

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Face

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Face: noun - front of head, from forehead to chin; visage, countenance; correspondingpart of an animal, insect, or other creature; a portrait; form of address to someone,especially if admired or despised. Slang; the countenance as a way ofexpressing feelings, character; what's shown by expression; a grimace; thecountenance with regard to beauty, make-up, cosmetics; the surface of anything;in Astrology - a third of a sign of the zodiac, extending over 10 degrees inlongitude; a polished surface; either side of a medal or coin; the outer orupper side of a two-sided object; the front; the inscribed side of a document; thepicture side of a playing card; in Architecture - the facade of a building; theexposed surface of a wall; the front of an arch; the main side, frequentlyvertical or steeply sloped, presented by the front of a cliff, a geologicalfault; an open slope or hillside; each surface of a solid; the dial of a clockor watch; the working surface of an implement or tool; the striking surface ofa cricket bat, golf club, hockey stick, etc.; external look; semblance of; outwardshow; disguise, pretence; a pretext; visible state or condition; aspect; in Typography- the printing surface of type; a style of type; boldface, fat-face, old-face,etc.; in Mining - the end of a tunnel where work is going on; the principalsurface from which coal is being removed.
'Karmen Kass is the faceof Max Factor today.'
'George made a face whenhis mother tried to get him to eat sprouts.'
'Climbing the face of thecliff required more skill than Jennifer had developed at this stage and shefell off, plunging into the calm sea below.'
'The medallion awarded tothe winning competitors had one face bearing the name and date of the contestbut the main face carrying a depiction of a naked female athlete engaged in thesport.'
7th December 1732 - The Royal Opera Houseopened in Covent Garden, London.7th December 1783 - Theatre Royal opened inCovent Garden, London
7th December 1783 - WilliamPitt Jr (24) became Britain's youngest Prime Minister7th December 2011- It's 70years since Pearl harbour was attacked by the Japanese

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Early or low teens?

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Early or low teens?
Time and again, you hearor read an item featuring numbers, often written by professional writers, wherethe presentation of numbers is illogical. Does it matter? Well, it does to me.If language is to retain any meaning, we surely need to use it in a way whichmakes sense, don't we? Unless, of course, you subscribe to the view that all artis subjective and the artist must be allowed the freedom to convey whatevermood, attitude or impression he or she intended. Even in this, however,inaccurate language will cause a failure for such ambition, since the veryinaccuracy will necessarily distort the responses of readers.
e.g. 'An articulation ofelephant orifices undergoes an extraordinary undulation in determining theacuity of the random prognostications of potential irradiation therapies.' This sentence employs thecorrect structural method and is grammatically sound. But it means absolutelynothing, because the words used aren't the right ones to convey meaning.
Okay, so what's all thisgot to do with the heading? Let me illustrate:
A weather report issuesyou with daily temperatures and states that these will be in the early teens.A news report details theantics of a politician and his claims for expenses, telling you that these werein the late thousands.A historian tells you thathe has discovered bones that date back to the low centuries of the iron age.A financier reports thatthe interest on an attractive bond issue will mature in the high twenties ofthe century.
All the foregoing aresamples of items I've either heard or read. I'm sure you must've come acrossthis sort of careless use of numbers on many occasions. The rules are simpleenough to employ if you want to avoid joining the ranks of the ignorant orcareless.
If the item has to do withdegree or intensity; e.g. the heat in temperature, the amount spent in money,etc., then you need to refer to the 'high' or 'low' teens, twenties, hundreds,or whatever.
If the item relates to thepassing of time; e.g. the age of something or someone, the number of seconds,minutes, hours, days, years taken, etc., then you need to use 'early' or 'late'teens, forties, thousands, or whatever.
So, does it matter thatthese writers/presenters mix up context in this way? Well, it indicates thatthey're unaware of the real meanings of the terms they're using, and doesn'tthat make you wonder if they know anything about what they're telling you?Confidence in written/spoken material is surely something we should all aimfor, if what we have to report is going to carry the necessary weight forcredibility.
6th December 1768 - 1st edition of"Encyclopedia Britannica" published in Scotland.

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Discombobulate

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Discombobulate:  verb- North American slang: upset, disturb, or disconcert.
'Frances was frequentlydiscombobulated by the manic antics of Francis, causing her to fret and panic.'
5th December 771 - Charlemagne became thesole King of the Franks following the death of his brother, Carloman.5th December 1349 - 500 Jews of Nuremberg weremassacred during the Black Death riots
5th December 1360 - TheFrench Franc was created, only for it to be replaced by the Euro in 1999.

Free Book for Xmas, Help Yourself, and Smile.

It's about time I rewarded my readers with a small gift, so I've published a short story in ebook form for all of you. But, Baby, It's Cold Outside is available through Smashwords for all ebook formats and platforms. All you need to do is click here.
For those of you who don't have an ereader, no problem. You can download a couple from here, just by clicking on the links:
For the Kindle on your PC, click here for UK and here for USA & rest of the world.
For the Adobe ereader, click here.

But, Baby It's Cold Outside is intended for an adult readership and I wouldn't recommend it for anyone under 15 years of age, though there is nothing either crude or violent in this story of an interrupted NewYear's Eve between lovers.


But, Baby It's Cold OutsideI'm seeing in the New Year, with my chosen lover, in front of the fire.Wonderful. Until, that is, an unidentified rural noise makes the townie nervousand something must be done to restore the magic.
Enjoy. And an early Happy New year to all. By all means, spread the word to your friends and family. I'd like to give the gift to as many people as possible. Spread the joy, I say.

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Daft/sensible

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Daft/sensible: antonyms
Daft: adjective - meek, mild, humble, silly; lacking intelligence;stupid; reckless or wild; of unsound mind; crazy; madly playful; giddy.
Sensible: adjective - having, displaying, or derivingfrom good sense or practical wisdom; reasonable, judicious; of clothing andfootwear: practical instead of attractive or fashionable; functional,serviceable.
'Danny was daft as abrush; he wore ballet pumps to do the gardening and wellington boots in bed.'
'Selina was daft aboutMichael and would wear anything he demanded of her; even her skin, inpublic.'
'Jeremy, on the otherhand, was always to be seen in sensible attire; his sports jacket and brogueslabelling him as less than adventurous in the fashion arena.'
'Oh, do be sensible,Patricia: you can't possibly climb the mountain carrying a sack of coal on yourback.'
4th December 1619 - America's firstThanksgiving Day took place.4th December 1791 - The Observer, the oldestSunday newspaper in world, was first published in Britain.

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Cacoch

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Cacoch: Another of myoccasional gods of the world, ancient and modern.This one, from the Mayanstable, is a creator god, who apparently brought forth the water lily, which,in turn, was the life form from which all other Mayan deities sprang. It seemsa little odd that, as the initiator of the other deities, he is also placed inthe rather lowly role of the messenger of another creator god, Hachacyum.  But I guess this inconsistency is simply inline with most religious myth and legend, in that there is little of logic ofreason involved.
3rd December 1621 - Galileo invented thetelescope; good man. A great help in dispelling many of the then current mythsabout the Earth and its place in the universe.3rd December 1678 - Edmund Halley, theastronomer, received an MA from Queen's College, Oxford.

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Fable/truth

Fable/truth – antonyms.
Fable: noun - a fictional narrative orstatement; a myth or legend; a fiction devised to deceive; a ridiculous or dishoneststory; idle talk; something falsely claimed to exist, or not existing outside legend;a short story with animals as characters conveying a moral; someone or somethingthat has become proverbial.
Truth: noun - faithfulness, loyalty, constancy;trust, confidence; belief, a creed; disposition to speak or act truly orsincerely; truthfulness, sincerity; fact, facts; the matter or circumstance asit really exists; the real thing, as opposed to a representation or imitation; aReligious belief or doctrine held to be true or orthodox; orthodoxy; conduct inaccord with a divine standard; spirituality of life and behaviour; what is trueor real; reality; a true statement; something held or accepted as true; a fixedor established principle; conformity with fact; genuineness; authenticity; accuracyof representation in art or literature; lifelike quality; in Architecture, withoutpretence or imitation; conformity with a standard, pattern, or rule; accuracy,precision, correctness.
'Most of the stories and reportsconcerning religious entities are fables; that these myths and legends havelong been mistaken for truths is a matter for great concern amongst those whounderstand the value of honesty.'
'The behaviour and valuesof the vast majority of politicians, in particular the leaders in that field,demonstrate that they have no understanding of the meaning of truth. Like somany journalists, they mistake opinion for fact and proceed as though theirparticular beliefs about social matters equal truths, when, in most cases they representonly their own narrow and often distorted views of reality.'
2/12/1697 - St Paul's Cathedral was opened in London
2/12/1755 - The second Eddystone Lighthouse was destroyed by fire.
Pic:  Barmouth beach, Dorset.

A Well-Loved Poem Revisited.

I know this is a well-knownpiece, but it's always worth revisiting, don't you think?
DesiderataGo placidly amid the noiseand haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Cacophonous/Harmonious

Cacophonous/Harmonious:
Cacophonous: adjective - discordant sound; ill-sounding.
'Rehearsing the juniororchestra for the school play was always a trial for Tony; their inability toplay either in tune or in time resulted in a cacophonous output that was enoughto drive any music lover to drink.'
Harmonious: adjective - tuneful, sweet-sounding;sounding together in harmony.
'Blending the melodiousvoice of the soprano with the deep baritone singer provided a harmonious duetthat proved a delight on the ears of all those who heard it.'
Pic: The deserted medieval village of Wharram Percy in East Yorkshire. 

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Backer

Backer: noun - a supporter, especially someonewho places a bet; someone who provides financial backing.
'Who's your backer for theplay, Frances?' 'Oh, it's that marvellous tycoon with more money than sense;you know who I mean.'
'Zak is the mostconsistent backer of dud horses I've ever come across; hasn't won a bet forfifteen years.'
Pic: Wandering way; a rural scene from East Yorkshire.