Michael Gates's Blog, page 41
October 15, 2014
Word of the Day: benthos
What's "the word I'm thinking of"? Today, it's....
benthos [BEN-thoss] noun (TWITO, page 20)
The biogeographic region that includes the bottom of the ocean, lake, or sea, and littoral or supralittoral shore zones
(The littoral zone is the part of a body of water that is close to the shore.)
"Everywhere on the foreshore except in the most desolate of localities the benthos provides a living, scanty though it may be, for inshore fisherman."
--James Johnstone, Conditions of Life in the Sea (1908)
(photo by me)
benthos [BEN-thoss] noun (TWITO, page 20)
The biogeographic region that includes the bottom of the ocean, lake, or sea, and littoral or supralittoral shore zones
(The littoral zone is the part of a body of water that is close to the shore.)
"Everywhere on the foreshore except in the most desolate of localities the benthos provides a living, scanty though it may be, for inshore fisherman."
--James Johnstone, Conditions of Life in the Sea (1908)
(photo by me)
October 14, 2014
Much Ado about NOTHING
There are so many people who have the same name as me. As I told a friend at work today, I think of them as my doppelgangers, although most of them don't look anything like me. I wonder how many of them have googled their names and stumbled across this blog. Sometimes I think I should start a club or online chat room just for people who have my name. I could ask them questions. Do we have anything else in common besides our name? Are we distantly related? Are any of them related to Bill the billionaire? Maybe we could even switch identities temporarily, just to see how each other lives. "What's in a name?" Shakespeare asked. I'd like to find out. But more than that, I'd like to have a unique, distinctive name.
October 13, 2014
Photo of the Week (by me) / The T&T List
The T&T List
Cosmigraphics
Basil Twist
the ortolan
Riot Games
Airbnb
Xiaomi
Autómata
Meshell Ndegeocello
the Friedrichsbad baths
Ladyfag
The Slanted Door
Taghrooda
October 12, 2014
Random Sequence: quixotic
"She came to me to beg me to release her son. She told me that in his Quixotic generosity he would doubtless hasten to me, and make me his wife; but that by so doing he would utterly destroy his own prospects."
--Mary Forman, "Wanted: A Companion", in Godey's Lady Book and Magazine, September 1864
(I found a bound copy of several issues of Godey's in my basement and have been flipping through the dusty pages.)
quixotic = idealistic, unrealistic, or impractical; loftily romantic or extravagantly chivalrous
One might say blogging is a quixotic pursuit.
The word is derived from the character Don Quixote, the knight who wanted to battle windmills.
--Mary Forman, "Wanted: A Companion", in Godey's Lady Book and Magazine, September 1864
(I found a bound copy of several issues of Godey's in my basement and have been flipping through the dusty pages.)
quixotic = idealistic, unrealistic, or impractical; loftily romantic or extravagantly chivalrous
One might say blogging is a quixotic pursuit.
The word is derived from the character Don Quixote, the knight who wanted to battle windmills.
October 9, 2014
Link Mania: pterodactyl phlegm, dew-beaters, and beer labels
Body language -- from your twopenny to your dew-beaters.
~~~
15 Words Plagued by Unusual Silent Letters
Apropos of nothing, my faux pterodactyl has phlegm. Honest?
~~~
Suds or brewskis? American beer slang
This article reminds me of a word on page 82 of TWITO: labeorphily [lay-bee-OR-fil-ee] (noun) -- the collection and study of beer labels.
"Confronted by the huge number of empties by the back door, Wilbert blamed his obsessive labeorphily."
(photo by me)
~~~
15 Words Plagued by Unusual Silent Letters
Apropos of nothing, my faux pterodactyl has phlegm. Honest?
~~~
Suds or brewskis? American beer slang
This article reminds me of a word on page 82 of TWITO: labeorphily [lay-bee-OR-fil-ee] (noun) -- the collection and study of beer labels.
"Confronted by the huge number of empties by the back door, Wilbert blamed his obsessive labeorphily."
(photo by me)
October 8, 2014
Word of the Day: rutilant
What's "the word I'm thinking of"? Today, it's....
rutilant [ROOT-ih-lunt] adjective (TWITO, page 128)
Bright red in color
"Though Prudence pretended to be unaffected by off-color jokes, her rutilant face gave her away."
(photo by me)
rutilant [ROOT-ih-lunt] adjective (TWITO, page 128)
Bright red in color
"Though Prudence pretended to be unaffected by off-color jokes, her rutilant face gave her away."
(photo by me)
October 6, 2014
Twin Peaks: It IS Happening Again
In honor of today's announcement about the return of my favorite TV show of all time, I present this blog post from a few years back:
Wow, Bob, wow, I'm tired. Instead of further forays into magniloquent persiflage, I'll share this with you:
"Starting at 10 a.m. today (EST), Miller will watch every episode of the David Lynch TV-Series Twin Peaks (including the European pilot) in a 30-hour stretch expected to run through mid-afternoon on Friday."
You can read more about performance artist Tom Miller's marathon fit of Peak here.
"I have found no evidence that anyone in the world has publicly achieved watching every episode of 'Twin Peaks' (plus the movie 'Twin Peaks - Fire Walk With Me') in one continuous sitting while only consuming coffee, cherry pie and doughnuts. I will be the first."
Thirty hours of caffeine, sugar, and surrealism. Let's rock!
~~~
magniloquent = high-flown or bombastic
persiflage = banter
Wow, Bob, wow, I'm tired. Instead of further forays into magniloquent persiflage, I'll share this with you:
"Starting at 10 a.m. today (EST), Miller will watch every episode of the David Lynch TV-Series Twin Peaks (including the European pilot) in a 30-hour stretch expected to run through mid-afternoon on Friday."
You can read more about performance artist Tom Miller's marathon fit of Peak here.
"I have found no evidence that anyone in the world has publicly achieved watching every episode of 'Twin Peaks' (plus the movie 'Twin Peaks - Fire Walk With Me') in one continuous sitting while only consuming coffee, cherry pie and doughnuts. I will be the first."
Thirty hours of caffeine, sugar, and surrealism. Let's rock!
~~~
magniloquent = high-flown or bombastic
persiflage = banter
October 5, 2014
Photo of the Week: Neat Knits (by me)
Stay warm this winter! (Click the pic for a closer view. You know you want to.)
October 2, 2014
Random Sequence: Is your "mien" mean?
"Her hands were ever eager to minister to his wants; her mien was quiet and collected, after the first burst of feeling; but her pale face and anxious eye told a story of intense inner suffering."
--Mary W. Janvrin, "The Contented Mind", in Godey's Lady Book and Magazine, April 1864
(I found a bound copy of several issues of Godey's in my basement and have been flipping through the dusty pages.)
mien = appearance, bearing, or demeanor
You could have a mean mien, I suppose.
(photo by me)
--Mary W. Janvrin, "The Contented Mind", in Godey's Lady Book and Magazine, April 1864
(I found a bound copy of several issues of Godey's in my basement and have been flipping through the dusty pages.)
mien = appearance, bearing, or demeanor
You could have a mean mien, I suppose.
(photo by me)
October 1, 2014
Link Mania: Perspicacious Apes and a Faux Pterodactyl
Ten of the Best Collective Nouns
Perspicacious apes and murder most fowl.
~~~
25 Handy Words That Simply Don't Exist In English
I'm always nervous about age-otori.
~~~
15 Words Plagued by Unusual Silent Letters
Apropos of nothing, my faux pterodactyl has phlegm. Honest?
Perspicacious apes and murder most fowl.
~~~
25 Handy Words That Simply Don't Exist In English
I'm always nervous about age-otori.
~~~
15 Words Plagued by Unusual Silent Letters
Apropos of nothing, my faux pterodactyl has phlegm. Honest?
