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The Write Way 24 December 2004 Only One More Sleep! Greetings, It's not the same, is it? I mean when your kids grow up ... Christmas isn't the same. I still love the atmosphere and everyone being friendly, but I have to admit it's lost some of its gloss. Maybe it's me ... becoming ever more cynical in my old age, but the crass commercialism is positively frightening this year. Have you seen some of the gear the retailers are pushing for kids? Egad! You can't just get your children a couple of token gifts any more; everything seems to cost a fortune. Not like the Olden Days (... fade to Christmases Past ...)
One of the very best Christmases I remember was when I was about 6 and Santa brought me a house for my dolls. It was wonderful, it had little doors on tiny hinges and even had real electric lights that ran on a torch battery hidden in the roof. There were curtains at the windows, little mats on the floor ... and a toilet with a seat that lifted, just like the ones in the shops (and not like the pan we had in the dunny down the back yard at home!) I learned later that Dad, and not Santa, had made this for me, ably assisted by his glamorous partner, Mum! When our kids were little, I often used to think back to that Christmas and what fun Mum and Dad must both have had. Waiting till I was asleep each night, then getting together to design and build this for me (their only child). It must have taken a few weeks to get all the materials, sneak them into the house and then make the house and its fittings. It's something you miss when you just dash down to the shops to buy some expensive fad toy or electronic game. Sigh ... I saw an item on the telly last week about some of the more extravagant gifts people are buying ... there was a sort of working mini submarine; a number of miniature cars for little kids (I'm talking 5 or 6 years of age) ... and these all had motors and could reach quite scary speeds; then there was the usual horde of digital, computer and electronic games that no kid can be without, it seems. But I'd missed the best gift and only arrived in time to see some bored squillionaire say, "It's only $2 million ... what else am I going to do with my money?" Ummm ... I can think of a few million little kids around the world who don't know where their next meal is coming from who could probably suggest a few options. But somehow I don't see this bloke as the sort of person willing to give away anything ...not when he could buy his wife another diamond-encrusted bikini or a designer nip and tuck. The segment ended with him getting in to his flash boat and speeding away. Hmmm ... or did he get into his boat? 'Into' is actually a preposition, and a preposition (as I'm sure you know) is a word that indicates a relationship between nouns, pronouns and other words in a sentence. 'Into' shows actual, physical movement, and in particular going from the outside to the inside, e.g. he got into his flash boat It can also show movement to something immovable e.g. he crashed into the dock 'Into' also indicates a modification of condition e.g. She kissed the frog, expecting it to turn into a handsome prince, but alas, all she got was a nasty taste in her mouth. While 'in' is also a preposition (meaning 'from the outside to a point within'), it can also be a 'where' adverb used with the preposition 'to' e.g. You may go in to see her now, but I don't think she wants to talk about the frog thing. Just remember, when 'in' is used as an adverb, you mustn't join the 'to' to it. So ... only one more sleep! Regardless of the identity of your own, special Imaginary Friend, this is a time for all of us to sit back and count our blessings, so have a wonderful time with your families and friends ... This week's quiz: Here are some words you may find use for over the holiday period ... recondite, torpid, morose, probity, gregarious, sinuous, recidivism, inherent, iconoclastic, profligate 1. attacking cherished beliefs 2. relapse into antisocial or criminal behaviour 3. wasteful, prodigal, licentious, extravagant 4. ingrained within one's nature; firmly established; a natural part of 5. sleeping, sluggish, lethargic, dormant 6. sociable, outgoing 7. profound, abstruse, obscure 8. winding, undulating, serpentine 9. uprightness, incorruptibility, principle 10.brooding ill humour And some famous last words Albert found ... Any of these heard during the holiday period should set off alarm bells! No, he doesn’t bite. What’s that buzzing noise? Does that smell like burning
rubber to you? 2. ultrarevolutionaries - word in which each of the five main vowels occurs twice" - the five main vowels? Some suggestions for the other (non-main) vowels: * uu - the compressed diphthong. Usage: "That is so cuul" (pronounced "cull") ** oo - the extended vowel. Usage: "That is soo cool" (pronounced "sue") What do you reckon? I think we need some extra non-main vowels like these! Any other suggestions? Last week's quiz: Las Posadas, Losar, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan, Yule, Boxing Day, Diwali, Solnal, Sun Nin 1. Muslims all over the world unite in a period of fasting and spiritual reflection, renewal and family bonds - RAMADAN (The actual date will depend on the sighting of the crescent moon that marks the beginning of the Islamic month. Celebrated in November or December.) 2. English custom of giving food or money to family servants and suppliers. Celebrated on December 26 - BOXING DAY 3. Jewish festival that is celbrated around the time of the winter solstice and is often called The Festival of Lights. It is celebrated by lighting special candles each day at sundown - CHANUKAH 4. Hindu festival of lights marked by four days of celebration - DIWALI Each of the four days in the festival of Diwali is separated by a different tradition, celebrating life, joy and goodness. Hindu's consider Diwali to be the beginning of winter and give it the same importance as Christians give Christmas. It's celebrated in October or November. 5. Korean New Year's Day. The biggest festive event of the year for Korean community. Usually celebrated on January 1 however some Koreans celebrate on the lunar New Year, later in the winter - SOLNAL Christian Koreans attend church on Solnal while Buddhists make offerings to their ancestors at their temples. 6. Hispanic celebration of the pilgrimage of Mary and Joseph on the nine nights before Jesus' birthday - LAS POSEDAS 7. Pagan mid-Winter or Winter Solstice - YULE 8. "first fruits" celebration of the harvest of first crops in traditional African society - KWANZAA celebrated for seven days beginning on December 26 and ending on January 1. 9. Chinese New Year is two celebrations: New Years and a birthday. According to Chinese tradition, everyone's birthday is celebrated on New Year's Day - SUN NIN The Chinese calendar is lunisolar so it is based on the cycles of both the sun and the moon. The New Year is celebrated between January 21 and February 20. The holiday starts on the first day of the second new moon after the winter solstice. 10. Tibetan new year festival, celebrated for two weeks during the month of December and January as per the lunar calendar - LOSAR Ed Micca found this interesting Law: Segal's Law: A man with a watch knows what the time is. A man with two watches is never sure. And that is true on so-o-o many levels I don't know where to start ... If you received this little missive from a friend, click to receive your very own copy, all bright and perky every Friday morning: mailto:WritingTips-subscribe@yahoogroups.com If you have time to spare over Christmas, stop by our Map of the World and read the messages. (Just click List) : http://pub37.bravenet.com/guestmap/view.php?usernum=3170114826 A Little Something Extra One of the common problems with prepositions is knowing which one of the little beggars to use with various nouns, verbs and adjectives. This site has a list of many of the more common combinations. No, really ... that's all right, no need to thank me! Well, if you insist ... Just a teeny pat on the back will suffice ... or you can give yourself a present and get your writing course or quiz book at the special end-of-year prices ... but only until next week: http://www.write101.com/orderform.htm Word of the week: blatherskite (n) a person who blathers on about foolish, inane things This little ripper has the most apt origins ... This is what dictionary.com has to say: "blather + dialectal 'skite', a contemptible person (from Middle English skite, diarrhea, from Old Norse skitr, excrement, from skita, to defecate.)" And I think you can probably see another popular word that owes its existence to the same Middle English! Oxymoron of the week: I'm tempted to be very cynical and use something like "customer service," but I'll resist and instead opt for one that applies to those of us who spend summer on the beach, basting ourselves with oil: "healthy tan." Here's a novel way to liven up your family Christmas: Tinniat Tintinnabulum No, it's not a nasty skin irritation - it's Latin for Jingle Bells! Regards, Jennifer P.S. Want to donate to the upkeep of this newsletter? Here's how: 1. Pay by PayPal:
2. Click here to subscribe for a full year OR 3. Use your credit card on my secure order form: http://www.write101.com/fund.htm (You can also access the PayPal subscription link from this page if the link above didn't work for you. With PayPal, you can use your credit card, PayPal account or pay online using your own cheque account.) OR 4. Send a cheque (made payable to Jennifer Stewart): http://www.write101.com/fund.htm To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank email to: mailto:WritingTips-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com or go to the web site, at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WritingTips This menu will also let you change your subscription between digest and normal mode. Copyright 2004 Jennifer Stewart Individual articles copyrighted by
their authors.
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