Actually, I made this photo just moments after sunset last week while I was along the U.S. Gulf Coast in southwest Florida.
EMBRACING THE OBVIOUS: Nuclear power is OK now….
45 minutes ago
Friday, November 20, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Pet-Peevewise Speaking, Words Matter
Words are important. People judge us by the words we use.
So there are times when I don't know whether to laugh or to cry when I hear the English language butchered. Of course, my British cousins might say that Americans and Australians butcher "English" every day. Nevertheless, here are a few I hear more often than I would like.
And yes, I am judging people because of the way they talk. I am sure I am judged once in a while.
"Let me axe you something....": Yes, we hear this quite often. Most recently I heard it uttered by a young woman acting as a guide in Arlington National Cemetery when I visited there back around Memorial Day. I was attending the military funeral of a close friend. At the conclusion of the somber, but memorable ceremony, the young lady steps forward and says the following.
"This concludes the ceremony. I would like to axe you" (....and then a pause).... "to be careful as you exit the cemetery as we have had much rain and there are muddy spots."
Now, of course, she had my attention at: "I would like to axe you...." My head popped up making sure she didn't have that sharp implement hidden behind her back waiting on me to turn around. I leaned over to a friend who had accompanied me, and asked him if he heard what she said. "Huh?" he replied? Of course at that point I remembered I was on his "wrong" side. Several years working with artillery has rendered my friend the Army veteran with only half a working set of ears.
Another peeve is the word "towards." Only it isn't a word. There is no "s." The word is toward. But that never stopped anyone.
Any why is it that people want to add the suffix "-wise" to so many words. I once arrived at a seminar, and the leader of the program noted to the crowd that he was having difficulty "microphonewise." Jack Lemmon once noted angrily in a movie to jargon-spouting colleagues "And that's the way it crumbles, cookiewise."
The extention "-ized" also gets tacked on where it shouldn't. "Utilize" is an outcase in the land of the peeved. "Incentivize," meaning to provide incentives, is an over-used term that popped into the business lexicon, along with "strategize, conceptualize, finalize, and optimize." Edwin Newman writes in the book, A Civil Tongue, of the television news anchor who said that a slain deputy sheriff would be "funeralized" the next day.
Sigh.....
Sometimes, people with the pet peeve about language are wrong. Often times errors of split infinitives drive people bonkers. Ending sentences with prepositions, using "couple" or "none" as plural nouns, or beginning sentences with "and" or "but." Something I do frequently. None is a mistake, according to language experts. But many folks who wrongly think so are no less peeved for being wrong. Instead they will say "well it may not be a mistake but I don't like it!"
Now, in fairness, I have misused words. We all do it. I try to be careful. For years I thought there was no such word as "horrific." It is something people have made up, I said. Then I found it in a dictionary. I stood corrected. But I still didn't like it. I also take notice when folks use the word "antidote" when they mean to say "anecdote." When I hear "litterally" and "figuratively" confused, I tend to stop in my figurative tracks and grit my literal teeth.
Others go crazy (myself included) over the overuse of words like "totally" or "you know." As the dad of a teen daughter I sometimes double over trying to keep from laughing, or screaming, at the number of times her friends use both examples in conversation.
One more that drives me crazy is "irregardless." It ranks right up there with "axe." (NOTE: For those readers who raised an eyebrow at the former, the proper word is "regardless.") Another common peeve is the expression "I could care less" rather than "I couldn't care less." Think about it: If you could care less, then you care somewhat. But if you could not care less, then you don't care at all.
The twisting of language goes waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back. A long time ago in a galaxy far.....er, on continents far, far away, the Latin word "balbus" meant someone who stammered or spoke haltingly. That word passed into Spanish as "bobo" and in turn spawned "booby" or "boob." And just as we mimic incomprehensible language with the words "blah blah," the Greeks made fun of what they considered gibberish with the words "bar-bar." The Greeks were proud of their language, as we all are, and were scornful of those who did not know it. Eventually "bar-bar" came to mean foreign, or savage, and in time transmuted to "barbaros" and the related 'barbarous, barbarism" and "barbarian."
Isn't it both interesting and significant that those words, which mean "uncivilized" can be traced to a lack of fluency.
So between you and I, misutilizing words ranks high....pet-peevewise speaking. I can't hardly think of any footnotes to add, but if I did here is where you would find the astericks.
Blah blah blah....ekcetera ekcetera ekcetera......
So there are times when I don't know whether to laugh or to cry when I hear the English language butchered. Of course, my British cousins might say that Americans and Australians butcher "English" every day. Nevertheless, here are a few I hear more often than I would like.
And yes, I am judging people because of the way they talk. I am sure I am judged once in a while.
"Let me axe you something....": Yes, we hear this quite often. Most recently I heard it uttered by a young woman acting as a guide in Arlington National Cemetery when I visited there back around Memorial Day. I was attending the military funeral of a close friend. At the conclusion of the somber, but memorable ceremony, the young lady steps forward and says the following.
"This concludes the ceremony. I would like to axe you" (....and then a pause).... "to be careful as you exit the cemetery as we have had much rain and there are muddy spots."
Now, of course, she had my attention at: "I would like to axe you...." My head popped up making sure she didn't have that sharp implement hidden behind her back waiting on me to turn around. I leaned over to a friend who had accompanied me, and asked him if he heard what she said. "Huh?" he replied? Of course at that point I remembered I was on his "wrong" side. Several years working with artillery has rendered my friend the Army veteran with only half a working set of ears.
Another peeve is the word "towards." Only it isn't a word. There is no "s." The word is toward. But that never stopped anyone.
Any why is it that people want to add the suffix "-wise" to so many words. I once arrived at a seminar, and the leader of the program noted to the crowd that he was having difficulty "microphonewise." Jack Lemmon once noted angrily in a movie to jargon-spouting colleagues "And that's the way it crumbles, cookiewise."
The extention "-ized" also gets tacked on where it shouldn't. "Utilize" is an outcase in the land of the peeved. "Incentivize," meaning to provide incentives, is an over-used term that popped into the business lexicon, along with "strategize, conceptualize, finalize, and optimize." Edwin Newman writes in the book, A Civil Tongue, of the television news anchor who said that a slain deputy sheriff would be "funeralized" the next day.
Sigh.....
Sometimes, people with the pet peeve about language are wrong. Often times errors of split infinitives drive people bonkers. Ending sentences with prepositions, using "couple" or "none" as plural nouns, or beginning sentences with "and" or "but." Something I do frequently. None is a mistake, according to language experts. But many folks who wrongly think so are no less peeved for being wrong. Instead they will say "well it may not be a mistake but I don't like it!"
Now, in fairness, I have misused words. We all do it. I try to be careful. For years I thought there was no such word as "horrific." It is something people have made up, I said. Then I found it in a dictionary. I stood corrected. But I still didn't like it. I also take notice when folks use the word "antidote" when they mean to say "anecdote." When I hear "litterally" and "figuratively" confused, I tend to stop in my figurative tracks and grit my literal teeth.
Others go crazy (myself included) over the overuse of words like "totally" or "you know." As the dad of a teen daughter I sometimes double over trying to keep from laughing, or screaming, at the number of times her friends use both examples in conversation.
One more that drives me crazy is "irregardless." It ranks right up there with "axe." (NOTE: For those readers who raised an eyebrow at the former, the proper word is "regardless.") Another common peeve is the expression "I could care less" rather than "I couldn't care less." Think about it: If you could care less, then you care somewhat. But if you could not care less, then you don't care at all.
The twisting of language goes waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back. A long time ago in a galaxy far.....er, on continents far, far away, the Latin word "balbus" meant someone who stammered or spoke haltingly. That word passed into Spanish as "bobo" and in turn spawned "booby" or "boob." And just as we mimic incomprehensible language with the words "blah blah," the Greeks made fun of what they considered gibberish with the words "bar-bar." The Greeks were proud of their language, as we all are, and were scornful of those who did not know it. Eventually "bar-bar" came to mean foreign, or savage, and in time transmuted to "barbaros" and the related 'barbarous, barbarism" and "barbarian."
Isn't it both interesting and significant that those words, which mean "uncivilized" can be traced to a lack of fluency.
So between you and I, misutilizing words ranks high....pet-peevewise speaking. I can't hardly think of any footnotes to add, but if I did here is where you would find the astericks.
Blah blah blah....ekcetera ekcetera ekcetera......
Thursday, November 5, 2009
The Wolves Inside Us
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said, "My son, the battle is between two "wolves" inside us all.
One is Evil.
Iti s anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed arrogance, self-pity,
guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
The other is Good.
It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness,
benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather:
"Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."
-- Author unknown
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Observation On Politics, Strange Bedfellow
Election Day is over (thank goodness!).
No more crazy commercials on radio and television. And no more smoke and mirrors from ad agencies using focus-group tested testimonials -- or WARNINGS -- that "Candidate A" or "Issue B" will mean the end of humanity.
The most humorous being one ad I watched online where the opponents of a statewide issue dominated their negative ad with scary comments on how "out-of-state special interests" that can't be trusted would wreak havoc upon the residents of the state if that particular issue passed.
Curious, I dug a little deeper, only to find out that the folks behind the warning ad were -- surprise! surprise!) a second "out-of-state special interest" group that hadn't been invited to play in the sandbox regarding that particular issue.
Jealousy? Just business?
One thing it is is irony....
No more crazy commercials on radio and television. And no more smoke and mirrors from ad agencies using focus-group tested testimonials -- or WARNINGS -- that "Candidate A" or "Issue B" will mean the end of humanity.
The most humorous being one ad I watched online where the opponents of a statewide issue dominated their negative ad with scary comments on how "out-of-state special interests" that can't be trusted would wreak havoc upon the residents of the state if that particular issue passed.
Curious, I dug a little deeper, only to find out that the folks behind the warning ad were -- surprise! surprise!) a second "out-of-state special interest" group that hadn't been invited to play in the sandbox regarding that particular issue.
Jealousy? Just business?
One thing it is is irony....
Friday, October 23, 2009
SkyWatch Friday -- aka Gray Friday
A gray rainy day over the Great Lakes region of the United States.
The leaves of a "firebush" accented nicely against the brilliant colors of a sugar maple. Accented against....that gray sky.
Hey, at least its the weekend!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Sign Of The Season
Spotted in a flower bed during a special walk the day before yesterday. A walk that clarified for me some things I have neglected too long to do. Things I was meant to do. Lifechanging things.
Beautiful, just like what's ahead.....
Beautiful, just like what's ahead.....
Thursday, October 15, 2009
SkyWatch Friday
Alright, this is the white balanced image. It works much better and truly "pops." THIS IS WHAT I SAW....too bad the initial image I posted below did not reflect that.
Ok, I will admit I "helped" this image along ..... a bit. I did place the gorgeous red maple leaf's stem in the holds of the sign post. Then I started shooting from different angles to see what I would get.
I really like this image of the sky, but am frustrated because I haven't been able to get the photo property white-balanced. I don't know if this is the best I can do, or whether I have a software/hardware problem that is carried over from the horrific Goodyear vs. Toshiba event of a couple weeks ago.
Be sure to check out the work of other "SkyWatchers" by going to SkyWatch Friday!
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I really like this image of the sky, but am frustrated because I haven't been able to get the photo property white-balanced. I don't know if this is the best I can do, or whether I have a software/hardware problem that is carried over from the horrific Goodyear vs. Toshiba event of a couple weeks ago.
Be sure to check out the work of other "SkyWatchers" by going to SkyWatch Friday!
/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
One of the best photos I have "made" is yet to come....
Well, at least I think its cool....
If I could only get it loaded from my camera onto the computer. ARGH!!!
Well, at least I think its cool....
If I could only get it loaded from my camera onto the computer. ARGH!!!
Blank
Empty, unfocused, scattered, trying to juggle too many projects.
Writer's block for the past 36 hours. Hah....doesn't sound like I'm much of a budding novelist now, does it? Still in the office. Just got out of a meeting with a client who has done more to hold up a deal than the guy on the other end of the transaction. Since June, it has been in my client's best interest to move forward, and he continues to be greedy and stall the deal.
I worried this day was coming. Unfortunately, his greed turned around on him today. It turns out he owes a lot more money to creditors than he originally let on. For one, in a search I found here are numerous undisclosed liens on equipment he owns. And today, the IRS came-a-calling.
Thankfully, several other projects that had been stalled are suddenly and rapidly moving forward toward completion. But with this one, seven months of work and negotiation may be for nought. No wonder my hair continues to have more and more "highlights."
Gray IS a highlight, right?
Writer's block for the past 36 hours. Hah....doesn't sound like I'm much of a budding novelist now, does it? Still in the office. Just got out of a meeting with a client who has done more to hold up a deal than the guy on the other end of the transaction. Since June, it has been in my client's best interest to move forward, and he continues to be greedy and stall the deal.
I worried this day was coming. Unfortunately, his greed turned around on him today. It turns out he owes a lot more money to creditors than he originally let on. For one, in a search I found here are numerous undisclosed liens on equipment he owns. And today, the IRS came-a-calling.
Thankfully, several other projects that had been stalled are suddenly and rapidly moving forward toward completion. But with this one, seven months of work and negotiation may be for nought. No wonder my hair continues to have more and more "highlights."
Gray IS a highlight, right?
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
NaNoWriMo
I have always said that somewhere deep in me, pretty deep I would guess (I've had lots of inspiration but am still waiting for that brilliant brainstorm for a topic) .... there is a novel.
Next month is as good as any to start. NaNoWriMo gives writers license to just try it on the fly. No embarrassment. No apologies. Just put something down. Fifty-thousand words worth between November 1 and November 30. Its about quantity, not quality, according to the organizers. I'm a little too anal to just leave it at that and will probably write and rewrite and rewrite.
Still, this looks like a fun project to keep me occupied through the month of November.
Oh, the funny acronym? National Novel Writing Month, aka "30 days and nights of literary abandon."
Next month is as good as any to start. NaNoWriMo gives writers license to just try it on the fly. No embarrassment. No apologies. Just put something down. Fifty-thousand words worth between November 1 and November 30. Its about quantity, not quality, according to the organizers. I'm a little too anal to just leave it at that and will probably write and rewrite and rewrite.
Still, this looks like a fun project to keep me occupied through the month of November.
Oh, the funny acronym? National Novel Writing Month, aka "30 days and nights of literary abandon."
Dusting Off The Pipes
This is kind of cool, and EnigmaDaughter is psyched.
During a telephone call last night she and I were asked to be part of a small "family" chorus to sing two songs during the 200th anniversary of my mom's home church. I was part of a group of seven who sang at the church's 175th anniversary celebration 25 years ago.
These baritone/second tenor pipes haven't been used a lot during the past decade, however. I was heavily involved in choruses and ensembles during high school and college, then followed that up with some dabbling in organized barbershop music. But not a lot in recent years, other than some warbling in the shower, harmonizing to the car stereo, or singing along with someone special. My daughter on the other hand until recent months was singing in organized choruses, first in middle school and then after she entered high school she sang with a regional youth choir that drew kids from several counties. A strong soprano for just 15 years old.
Two songs are on the agenda for the early afternoon performance that takes place a week from this coming Sunday.
The first song is a sacred piece with a title I can't recall. The second piece, however, is one I REALLY cannot wait to jump into -- "Operator," originally recorded by the well-known jazz quartet, The Manhattan Transfer. As I have written previously, I'm not religious, and have no connection to this church other than some 200 years of familial history. BUT, I have ALWAYS loved good, solid, well written gospel music with smokin' tight harmonies. And this fits the bill!
Knowing the talent of the others I am told will be involved (several relatives have a lot of musical talent), we will definitely kick some ass (can you say that about church music?)! Already, one of my younger relations has dubbed our little group "C9." EnigmaMom asked what it means.
"Mom, its sort of a joke. Its code for "Cousins 9." She looked blank. "Get it? A double-quartet plus one?" At this point she rolled her eyes, then grinned.
Of course, if we were just four, we would be C-4. Explosive, baby....explosive! Heh.
We'll strive for explosive anyway! Though I'm not so sure about whether decorum in a church affiliated with Southern Baptists will permit the dance moves...LOL!
During a telephone call last night she and I were asked to be part of a small "family" chorus to sing two songs during the 200th anniversary of my mom's home church. I was part of a group of seven who sang at the church's 175th anniversary celebration 25 years ago.
These baritone/second tenor pipes haven't been used a lot during the past decade, however. I was heavily involved in choruses and ensembles during high school and college, then followed that up with some dabbling in organized barbershop music. But not a lot in recent years, other than some warbling in the shower, harmonizing to the car stereo, or singing along with someone special. My daughter on the other hand until recent months was singing in organized choruses, first in middle school and then after she entered high school she sang with a regional youth choir that drew kids from several counties. A strong soprano for just 15 years old.
Two songs are on the agenda for the early afternoon performance that takes place a week from this coming Sunday.
The first song is a sacred piece with a title I can't recall. The second piece, however, is one I REALLY cannot wait to jump into -- "Operator," originally recorded by the well-known jazz quartet, The Manhattan Transfer. As I have written previously, I'm not religious, and have no connection to this church other than some 200 years of familial history. BUT, I have ALWAYS loved good, solid, well written gospel music with smokin' tight harmonies. And this fits the bill!
Knowing the talent of the others I am told will be involved (several relatives have a lot of musical talent), we will definitely kick some ass (can you say that about church music?)! Already, one of my younger relations has dubbed our little group "C9." EnigmaMom asked what it means.
"Mom, its sort of a joke. Its code for "Cousins 9." She looked blank. "Get it? A double-quartet plus one?" At this point she rolled her eyes, then grinned.
Of course, if we were just four, we would be C-4. Explosive, baby....explosive! Heh.
We'll strive for explosive anyway! Though I'm not so sure about whether decorum in a church affiliated with Southern Baptists will permit the dance moves...LOL!
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