November 25, 2006
Gig Songs- Update
I am compiling a list of songs about live performances. So far, the list is short. I’ve got:
Woodstock: Joni Mitchell
Rock and Roll Song: Valdy
Garden Party: Rick Nelson
Piano Man: Billy Joel
Killing Me Softly: Roberta Flack
Super Trouper: Abba (thanks CG)
Don’t Play That Song: Aretha Franklin (thanks KM)
By the Way: Red Hot Chili Peppers (thanks C-Dawg)
Who else can help? Anyone? Anyone? (By which I mean you, Bueller. Oh, and you too.)
November 23, 2006
Dreams are boring but…
last night I had a bookish nightmare! I dreamt that I somehow ended up with a copy of this rather controversial book, and didn’t know what to do with it. I didn’t want to give it away as then people would know I owned it, I didn’t want to sell it as that would be unethical, I couldn’t just throw it out because I didn’t want to be responsible for that filth in the world, and I couldn’t have kept it because then I would have been turned into a pillar of salt. Dilemma was solved by the alarm clock, I think.
Now reading Tristram Shandy, which I am enjoying actually, but I think it’s gonna be a long long time.
November 12, 2006
Something wonderful
My favourite discovery of late is what happens when a spoonful of sugar lands in a mug of Rooibos Tea.
November 10, 2006
Defeat
In which, after consulting the marvelous resource that is the UofT Graduate English ListServe, we conclude that there are no really good synonyms for “poisoner” in the English Language.
Update: I’ve got a tip (and it checks out at the source). “Venefica” is Latin for a female who poisons. It’s a bit too obscure for my uses, however.
November 8, 2006
Ephemeron
I learned the word “ephemeron” today (plural “ephemera”), which I had assumed was a noun applied to something ephemeral, and though that is the case, it can specifically pertain to printed matter “of passing interest” like brochures and pamphlets. At our library, however, where I learned this word, ephemera are not so ephemeral as we’ve got them catalogued in our permanent collections. Which is sort of strange. Also important to note, ephemera are a kind of short-lived mayfly. Oh, the things that occupy my mind.
October 29, 2006
Nothing to do with rainfall
Today I found out about the origins of bridal showers. Maybe you knew already; I didn’t. It’s a Dutch tradition, when the bride’s father rejects the marriage and then the community rallies together to “shower” her with goods in place of a dowry.
October 25, 2006
A great modifier
I’m sort of in love with the idea of a hyperbolic thesaurus. I don’t know if one exists, or what good it would really be if one did, but I want one all the same. “cold: freezing, burrr-y, 50 below zero, the North Pole, arctic, glacial, polar, Siberian; and if still at a loss, of course “fcking” always makes a great modifier. I think I would be well-qualified to write a hyperbolic thesaurus, if such a position ever became available.
In exciting news (and speaking of cold),Laura has arrived at the South Pole and her first blog entry about it is fascinating. Guardian Podcast: can creative writing be taught (blah blah blah)? I’ll give it a listen tonight o’er my knitting.
Back to work you.
