Thursday, August 19, 2010
Dream Belamy: A Second Helping
Now there are three more chapters of Dream Belamy available to read. Enjoy!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Words are like Animorphs
The reason I like the Oxford English Dictionary is because it makes you realize that words are not static in their definitions-- anyone can change them as long as they have already established themselves as important wordsmiths or intelligentsia. Having a certain level of mastery of English, and allowing people to know about it, automatically puts you in the "I can change words" category. How amazing is that?
But we, the commonfolk, are taught that words have a particular definition, and if we use words in ways different from Merriam-Webster, we are considered unlearned and idiotic. Who says you can't pronounce "niche" like nitch? Or "omnipotent" like OMni-potent? What if it sounds cooler to pause before the "potent"? James Murray (the editor of the 1st ed. of the OED) said you should always pronounce the p at the beginning of words such as "pneumonia". I mean, I don't see anyone doing that, but nobody called him a dumbass because he tried.
Words evolve, just like everything else. That is one thing I like about them. They are uncertain little clusters of phonemes that only mean something if at least two people agree on them. Words didn't even have correct spellings until after the mid-18th century, probably even later. Even names were spelled every which way. That is, until dictionaries started to be produced, and then more people got literated, and the important idiots decided each word needed to have one spelling only, so they could make fun of the people who got it wrong.
And I didn't even read the OED; it's unfathomably expensive. I just get the word of the day by e-mail here. But if you sign up for it, it will not only tell you the many definitions of one word, but also the evolution of that word, from its earliest form to the present, which kicks dictionary.com's word of the day in the ass.
I love words.
But we, the commonfolk, are taught that words have a particular definition, and if we use words in ways different from Merriam-Webster, we are considered unlearned and idiotic. Who says you can't pronounce "niche" like nitch? Or "omnipotent" like OMni-potent? What if it sounds cooler to pause before the "potent"? James Murray (the editor of the 1st ed. of the OED) said you should always pronounce the p at the beginning of words such as "pneumonia". I mean, I don't see anyone doing that, but nobody called him a dumbass because he tried.
Words evolve, just like everything else. That is one thing I like about them. They are uncertain little clusters of phonemes that only mean something if at least two people agree on them. Words didn't even have correct spellings until after the mid-18th century, probably even later. Even names were spelled every which way. That is, until dictionaries started to be produced, and then more people got literated, and the important idiots decided each word needed to have one spelling only, so they could make fun of the people who got it wrong.
And I didn't even read the OED; it's unfathomably expensive. I just get the word of the day by e-mail here. But if you sign up for it, it will not only tell you the many definitions of one word, but also the evolution of that word, from its earliest form to the present, which kicks dictionary.com's word of the day in the ass.
I love words.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Iron Man on the Freeway
Sometimes when I'm driving and a motorcyclist shoots ahead of me, I see a different person for a minute... once, I thought I saw Iron Man in his sleek red and gold armor, and tonight as I was driving home I thought I saw a caped crusader. But by the time I caught up to them, they always turned back into some leather-clad guy with a mullet, or a combination of two robust people, one in black and one with a very billowy red windbreaker.
This week has been strange-- due to a) lack of sleep and b) stress about school; "a" is not the result of "b" by the way, as "a" is the result of a strange work schedule and being popular, and "b" is in isolated addition to "a". A de-bonus, if you will.
I didn't get as much school loan $ as I had hoped, so whether I get to eat or not in Leicester depends on if I sell my car. I need to sell my car as fast as possible because I'm paranoid it will die on me before I can reap some income out of it. The other day I backed it out of the driveway and almost went into cardiac arrest when it made thumping noises as I braked-- "I knew I had to replace that master cylinder!" I screamed in my head-- "DAMN YOU NTB, and your careless OVERLOOKAGE of VITAL REPAIRS!" I burst into the house in a wild pinwheeling rage, grabbed my mom's key, and joked out the door that I would silently cry on my way to work about the state of my car. We laughed about it but I actually did, for just a little while. "Oh God--" I thought through my grief, listening to Hey There Delilah on the radio, "--I hate this song."
I blundered through three hours of work before finally calling my mom to ask what had happened on her test drive of my hunk of vanished cash. "You're weird," said Mum, "your car works fine."
See, I already told you I was paranoid. But I'm working on it. I finally understand what Stephen meant about running off your frustration-- it works great. Pounding out six miles to My Chemical Romance screaming something about vampires really takes the edge off.
T-minus 40 days, and counting!
UNI is gonna ROCK
This week has been strange-- due to a) lack of sleep and b) stress about school; "a" is not the result of "b" by the way, as "a" is the result of a strange work schedule and being popular, and "b" is in isolated addition to "a". A de-bonus, if you will.
I didn't get as much school loan $ as I had hoped, so whether I get to eat or not in Leicester depends on if I sell my car. I need to sell my car as fast as possible because I'm paranoid it will die on me before I can reap some income out of it. The other day I backed it out of the driveway and almost went into cardiac arrest when it made thumping noises as I braked-- "I knew I had to replace that master cylinder!" I screamed in my head-- "DAMN YOU NTB, and your careless OVERLOOKAGE of VITAL REPAIRS!" I burst into the house in a wild pinwheeling rage, grabbed my mom's key, and joked out the door that I would silently cry on my way to work about the state of my car. We laughed about it but I actually did, for just a little while. "Oh God--" I thought through my grief, listening to Hey There Delilah on the radio, "--I hate this song."
I blundered through three hours of work before finally calling my mom to ask what had happened on her test drive of my hunk of vanished cash. "You're weird," said Mum, "your car works fine."
See, I already told you I was paranoid. But I'm working on it. I finally understand what Stephen meant about running off your frustration-- it works great. Pounding out six miles to My Chemical Romance screaming something about vampires really takes the edge off.
T-minus 40 days, and counting!
UNI is gonna ROCK
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Dream Belamy
In the sidebar of my blog, you will see, just under the page labeled "Who am I?" a new page by the title "Dream Belamy: A Novel". Here you will find a sample of three adventures. Enjoy!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Tao Moment
It was after my early morning run with the uncomfortable old-man hellos and ignoring the regulars such as Guy-with-Small-Brown-Dog... after feeling cocky on the carride home because I passed up a serious runner... after suddenly choking on a mouthful of water, spitting it everywhere and realizing the forces of nature were telling me I shouldn't be cocky... after all that, I went home, took a shower, then climbed into bed for my nap--
but it was unusual...
I noticed how close my bed was to the window, how comfy I was right up close to the outside world, and it was all dark and looked ready to rain, so everything had a closed quality to it, and I just lay there at peace, not thinking about anything except that I hoped I didn't pick up where I left off with my last dream, where I had just saved my pig baby named Krul from a wild badger cos I had accidentally forgotten about her outside in the yard... and I wished I had named her something that couldn't be mistaken with the word "cruel". Lucky for me, I fell blissfully into dreamless sleep.
Today was the last day for all the members of our short-lived book club. But where one chapter ends, another begins! Everyone must go their separate ways, and I like the way I'm going, which is east, but not TOO far east, just east enough to get to the older part of The West. Logic!
By the way, so going through late editing stages with my first full-length childrens fantasy novel. Epic. Win. I gave Jana a copy of draft 2-and-then-some. I have felt this need to edit it at stupid times, like in the middle of work when I can't get to it. I can only describe the frustrating feeling of not being able to work on something important as a "twing". God I hate twings.
but it was unusual...
I noticed how close my bed was to the window, how comfy I was right up close to the outside world, and it was all dark and looked ready to rain, so everything had a closed quality to it, and I just lay there at peace, not thinking about anything except that I hoped I didn't pick up where I left off with my last dream, where I had just saved my pig baby named Krul from a wild badger cos I had accidentally forgotten about her outside in the yard... and I wished I had named her something that couldn't be mistaken with the word "cruel". Lucky for me, I fell blissfully into dreamless sleep.
Today was the last day for all the members of our short-lived book club. But where one chapter ends, another begins! Everyone must go their separate ways, and I like the way I'm going, which is east, but not TOO far east, just east enough to get to the older part of The West. Logic!
By the way, so going through late editing stages with my first full-length childrens fantasy novel. Epic. Win. I gave Jana a copy of draft 2-and-then-some. I have felt this need to edit it at stupid times, like in the middle of work when I can't get to it. I can only describe the frustrating feeling of not being able to work on something important as a "twing". God I hate twings.
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Running Running Running
I thought I'd mention how much I love running. I feel like I talk about it a lot, but seriously, it's better than drugs. I love gettin' all sweaty and goin' nowhere but doing it fast. I like considering myself an athlete even though I've never thought so before. I like going into the same trance as when I'm reading or writing, forgetting about my body working away mechanically as I just think and breathe.
Actually, I need to get laid.
Actually, I need to get laid.
www.creedthoughts.gov.www/creedthoughts
"Even for the internet it's... pretty shocking." Ha ha ha.
When I was a kid and people would say "you're here for a reason" I always imagined a guy with a checklist analyzing me before I was born (I thought I would have looked like a kid before I was born, but now I think I probably looked like a range of microscopic particles of energy spread across the universe, but that will probably change, too.)
Anyway, the checklist guy determines how you're going to live your life, where you're going to live, who you're going to be stuck with, etc. He's also the one who decided to give me themed days, in which, every now and then, one subject will present itself in multiple ways all in different places within the same 24-hr period. I've noticed that this happens to me occassionally-- for example, two different people will mention the same weird topic offhand that they have never spoken of before. Or, I will be watching a TV show I've never watched before, and realize later that the new book I'm reading is about the same thing.
I think the themed days help me to realize the lessons of life. Yesterdays lesson was "Girls sure seem to get abducted a lot", also, "If they're abducted young enough they'll love the new family (The Face on the Milk Carton)", and, "If they're abducted when they're like 12 they're not going to forget their old family very soon (Lie to Me, episode 6)" so if you're going to abduct somebody, do it when they're 2 or 3.
Ah, life lessons.
When I was a kid and people would say "you're here for a reason" I always imagined a guy with a checklist analyzing me before I was born (I thought I would have looked like a kid before I was born, but now I think I probably looked like a range of microscopic particles of energy spread across the universe, but that will probably change, too.)
Anyway, the checklist guy determines how you're going to live your life, where you're going to live, who you're going to be stuck with, etc. He's also the one who decided to give me themed days, in which, every now and then, one subject will present itself in multiple ways all in different places within the same 24-hr period. I've noticed that this happens to me occassionally-- for example, two different people will mention the same weird topic offhand that they have never spoken of before. Or, I will be watching a TV show I've never watched before, and realize later that the new book I'm reading is about the same thing.
I think the themed days help me to realize the lessons of life. Yesterdays lesson was "Girls sure seem to get abducted a lot", also, "If they're abducted young enough they'll love the new family (The Face on the Milk Carton)", and, "If they're abducted when they're like 12 they're not going to forget their old family very soon (Lie to Me, episode 6)" so if you're going to abduct somebody, do it when they're 2 or 3.
Ah, life lessons.
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