Michael Gates's Blog, page 70

Word of the Day: relume

What's "the word I'm thinking of"? Today it's....

relume (verb)

To make bright or clear again; illuminate again

"Open the blinds and relume this domicile," the pretentious Mr. Wexfordcromby commanded. "It might help if you removed your sunglasses," Millicent retorted.

Link Mania: Book Page

Do you like pages? Do you like liking pages? Then by all means please "like" my new book's Facebook page HERE. You'll then receive periodic lexicographic amusements from it.

And by the way, do you have a mellifluous voice? My book is seeking a narrator HERE.

Random Sequence

One of Wagstaff's dreams was all about me, or so he said. I was a tropical bird with purple and blue feathers, and I was searching for my mate. When I found her, she was a tiny woman, like a fairy or Thumbelina, in a golden birdcage suspended from the branch of a tree. The cage door was open, but she was afraid to leave, because she'd lived her whole life in the cage. And I was afraid to go inside to rescue her, because I thought the door would shut when I did -- and we'd both be trapped.
--from "Wagstaff's Dreams" (by me), originally published in The Square Table

Photo of the Week

I'm a lover of words, so when my uncle asked me to paint his storefront's metallic shutter, I couldn't resist covering it with some of my favorite lexemes (in addition to a Mondrianesque design): sneakers, kolossal, passion, galaxy, vibes, mind, destiny, retro, spirit. Yes, I'm both a graffiti artist and an urban poet.

Actually, I just made that up, though this is a storefront's shutter. (It's a shoe store, I think -- there are some shoe references in there.) I happened to notice this mural while passing by on Central Avenue last week, and snapped the pic. Clearly, someone decided to transform an ugly surface into a canvas for self expression. Click the pic for closer reading.

Word of the Day: blatherskite

What's "the word I'm thinking of"? Today, it's....

blatherskite (noun)

1. A babbling, foolish person; 2. Absurd and foolish talk

"Oh, that's nothing but blatherskite!" cried Miranda when Viola suggested that Mr. Crave might only be interested in her fortune.

Link Mania

It's All Too Much?

Take the concept behind the Sgt. Pepper cover, expand on it exponentially, and you just might come up with something like The Picture of Everything. Sit back and let the evening go.

~~~

Funny Face

The Eric Myer Photography site features a random face generator that allows you to combine 20 different head shots (mostly of, shall we say, nonconformists) to make new faces. Loads of puerile fun, and it might even serve as a brainstorming tool for creating fictional characters. (Click on Stereotypes: Edition 1)

Random Sequence

His eyes adjusted, and he saw a little white statue on the sill, some Greek god or athlete. Beyond that was a couch that looked like a giant pin-cushion from the 1920s, and next to that a polished wooden table with leaves and vines carved into its legs. On the table was a little painting in a gold frame, propped up against a stack of books. It was a picture of a place he knew: the place where the river bends in Easter Park.
--from "Sleep" (by me), which originally appeared in The 13th Story

Much Ado about NOTHING

Legalities

I spent some time at my lawyer's office today, so I could sign my "Last Will and Testament" -- yes, the document really is called that. Just like on TV and in the movies, it stated, among many other things, that I was of "sound mind", which is mostly true, I guess. Anyway, I signed, and even learned a new word: stirpes, which has to do with the method of dividing an estate if the beneficiary of the will dies... uhh, you don't want to know.

The semiotics of the legal office's conference room were interesting. I had plenty of time to study them while waiting for the official document to be presented and witnessed. On one wall was a painting of a group of posh-looking people in riding gear and on horseback, during a fox hunt. On the opposite wall was a black-and-white photograph of a group of construction workers eating lunch while seated on a girder high above Manhattan. I suppose the message was that the lawyers serve both upper-crust and working-stiff clients in need of legal representation. I must be somewhere in between or outside of those classes, because I didn't identify with either portrait.

On top of an imposing bookcase full of legal tomes there was also a small photo of a kids' baseball team, apparently one the office sponsors. I felt more like one of them: smiling on the outside, but worried about strike three.

Word of the Day: sermocination

What's "the word I'm thinking of"? Today, it's....

sermocination (noun)

The making of speeches or sermons; sermonizing

"Ephraim's park-bench sermocination drove away everyone except the squirrels."

Bloody Link Mania

'Ave a look, right, guvnor

Thanks ter The Dialectizer, yer can now read the Cockney version of this site. It is ter larf.

(You can also read it in the following dialects: Redneck, Jive, Fudd, Bork, Moron, Pig Latin, Hacker, and Censor.)