|
|
|
|
Solving your writing problems since 1998! |
|
| |||||||||||
|
The
Write Way
14 December 2007 Saving it for Best Greetings, Christmas is always a reflective time and getting out the decorations for the tree takes longer every year as more and more memories are "hived in us like honey." (If that image seems vaguely familiar, it means you've been with me a long time! This year will be especially poignant for us, because it's my first Christmas as an orphan ... It doesn't matter how old you are, losing your mum still leaves you feeling like a lost little kid. And for the first time in my life, it's been up to me to make the Christmas cake. Making the cake was always Mum's special province, but this year, I decided that I'd carry on the family tradition. So off I went searching for her special recipe. This is one that Mum found in an All-Electric Cookery Book she got when we moved into our first house. Dad and one of his mates built the house themselves (I may have mentioned this to you before ... ) Because it was just after the war ended, building materials were in short supply, so the house was small -- just two bedrooms -- and it called for a lot of ingenuity to come up with suitable and workable alternatives for scarce materials. Our bathroom was typical of Dad's ability to see beyond the square. Cast iron baths were simply unobtainable, and back in the early 50s, there was no such thing as fibre glass or moulded plastic bathroom fittings, so Dad came up with a solution ... He built a timber frame that resembled, worryingly, a rather deep coffin for a short person. He lined this with fibro and nailed fibro sheets to the outside as well. (Yes ... asbestos sheeting, which was what the entire house was lined with -- inside and out!) Then he mixed up cement and smoothed it over both sides of our bath and then tiled it with ceramic tiles inside and out. It wasn't the sort of bath you'd ever want to bang your knee on. I remember when we moved into our next house 4 or 5 years later, I was delighted to see we had a real bath ... one with a sloping back that I could soap up and send my toy ducks skimming down. So my search for Mum's cook book took me eventually into her linen cupboard and there, neatly folded and stacked at the back, I came across her "best towels." These were embroidered, embossed and otherwise embellished matching towels, hand towels and face washers that Mum had been given over the years (usually by me when I was going through one of my Craft Phases), but instead of using them, she'd put them away "for best." The sight of those towels brought me completely undone ... I decided then and there that I'd start using all my best of everything from now on, so I went straight upstairs and got out the good glasses and the best dinner set and the silver cutlery. If anything gets scratched or broken ... so what? I'm not saving any of this for best anymore, because I've realised that Now is the best time of all simply because it's the only time we've got. Yesterday is long gone and tomorrow isn't here yet ... so Now it is! Have you ever wondered where we get these "time" words? F'r instance ... 'yesterday' comes from Old English geostran which in turn came from the Latin hesternus, meaning 'of yesterday.' Yester is a bit like a prefix; it's "a combining form, now unproductive, occurring in words that denote an extent of time one period prior to the present period, the nature of the period being specified by the second element of the compound: yesterweek." 'Tomorrow' actually comes from Middle English to mor(o)we from Old English to morgenne meaning 'in the morning.' It's fascinating that we didn't take the Latin words for time, instead using those of the old Anglo-Saxons. In Latin, 'tomorrow' is crastinus (from which we get procrastinate), and 'yesterday' is hesternus dies. Don't wait till tomorrow for this ... it's a chance for you to own (or give) a copy of one of the best-selling Internet courses around. (I've had my copy for a number of years now and have found it a wonderful resource not just for marketing my writing services and products, but also as a pool of ideas for articles and newsletters!) Those of you who are involved in the business side of the Web will be familiar with the tragic story of Corey Rudl, the young man who built up the Internet Marketing Center into one of the Web's leading businesses, but who was tragically killed in a racing car accident in June 2005. His position as head of the company was taken over by one of his partners and good friend, Derek Gehl, and Derek has continued to offer the same high levels of professionalism that the company was founded on. OK
... that's the background, now to the reason I'm reminding you of this ...
Because it's Christmas (and because Derek had such an overwhelming response to
his 'scratch and dent' sale of slightly damaged courses last week), he's
offering limited copies of this information- This is an excellent gift for any budding entrepreneurs in your family of circle of friends. Or maybe you're thinking of ditching your day-job and setting up your own business to live the life you want to live ... Here's a gift that really does keep on giving! You'd spend more than this on perfumes, clothes or dinner ... Give a gift that people will remember for the rest of their lives ... As with all such Internet sales, there are lots and lots of extras thrown in ... Have a look and then tell me if that's not the best offer you're going to get this Christmas!
This week's quiz: Here are some words relating to time and its passage. Do that thing you do ... betimes, yore, horology, sidereal, nonce, usance, prelapsarian, clepsydra, nonage, opetide 1. an ancient device for measuring time by the regulated flow of water or mercury through a small aperture 2. the present occasion 3. the art or science of making timepieces or of measuring time 4. the early spring, or the time when flowers begin opening; time after harvest when the common fields are open to all kinds of stock 5. time long past; of old; long ago 6. characteristic of or pertaining to any innocent or carefree period 7. in commerce, a length of time, exclusive of days of grace and varying in different places, allowed by custom for the payment of foreign bills of exchange 8. early; in good time; occasionally; at times; within a short time; soon 9. the period of legal minority, or of an age below 21; any period of immaturity 10. measured or determined by means of the apparent daily motion of the stars And yet another example of the Christmas spirit in action ... Here's a software program that lets you edit as you write from any program. It also has templates for just about any writing task you can imagine, from writing job applications to answering letters of complaint to preparing business letters, writing love letters and more. Over 600 in fact. It's another super-duper gift idea for yourself or for any writers you know. And it's half the normal price from now until Christmas. No, no ... don't thank me ... thank them. Here's the link so you can edit your work like a professional. Here are some interesting measurements that you may not have come across: (And before anyone asks about the 10** numbers ... Sorry, no idea ... you know how mathematically-challenged I am.) I thought these were clever ... 10**21 piccolos = 1 gigolo 10**18 minations = 1 examination 10**15 coats = 1 petacoat 10**12 bulls = 1 terabull 10**12 microphones = 1 megaphone 10**12 pins = 1 terrapin billions and billions = 1 Sagan Last week's quiz: Try these words ... sisyphean, epicurean, gordian, tantalise, augean, pander, procrustean, ambrosia, nemesis, meander 1. something especially delicious to taste or smell; the food of the gods, thought to confer immortality - AMBROSIA 2. difficult and unpleasant; exceedingly filthy from long neglect; requiring heroic efforts of cleaning or correction - AUGEAN (Yet another king from Greek mythology who's given his name to a word. King Augeus did not clean his stables, which contained his vast herd of cattle, for 30 years and poor Hercules was given the task of cleaning the stables as one of his Twelve Labours.) 3. extremely intricate - GORDIAN Usually used in phrase 'Gordian knot.' We get this word from Gordius, the ancient king of Phrygia, who tied a knot (the Gordian knot) that, according to prophecy, was to be undone only by the person who was to rule Asia. Alexander the Great sorted it (and became ruler of Asia) by cutting the knot rather than untying it. 4. to proceed by or take a winding or indirect course; to wander aimlessly; ramble - MEANDER (And we're back in lovely down-town Phrygia for this word, which is named after the Maeander River in Phrygia, noted for its windings.) 5. endless and unavailing, as labour or a task; futile - SISYPHEAN (Coined after Sisyphus, the King of Corinth, famed as "the craftiest of men," who was condemned in the afterlife to roll uphill a stone which perpetually rolls down." 6. tending to produce conformity by violent or arbitrary means - PROCRUSTEAN (This word comes from a jolly giant in Greek mythology who had the endearing habit of stretching or shortening his captives to make them fit his beds ... Well, it's just practical when you think about it ...) 7. fond of or adapted to luxury or indulgence in sensual pleasures; having luxurious tastes or habits, esp. in eating and drinking - EPICUREAN (Named after the Greek philosopher Epicurus who founded his influential school of Epicureanism in Athens (c. 306) and a utopian community called "The Garden." 8. a person who caters to or profits from the weaknesses or vices of others OR to cater to the lower tastes and desires of others or exploit their weaknesses - PANDER (This word comes from Pandalus, a Trojan who attempted to assassinate Menelaus, thereby violating a truce between the Greeks and the Trojans and prolonging the Trojan War: in Chaucerian and other medieval accounts, he is the procurer of Cressida for Troilus 9. something that a person cannot conquer, achieve; an agent or act of retribution or punishment - NEMESIS (Nemesis was the goddess of divine retribution) 10. to torment with, or as if with, the sight of something desired but out of reach; tease by arousing expectations that are repeatedly disappointed - TANTALISE (Here's another Phrygian king - this one called Tantalus - who was condemned to remain in Tartarus, chin deep in water, with fruit-laden branches hanging above his head; whenever he tried to drink or eat, the water and fruit receded out of reach And some more measurements ... 10**9 lows = 1 gigalow 10**9 antics = 1 gigantic 10**9 questions = 1 gigawhat 10**3 mockingbirds = 2 kilo mockingbird 10 cards = 1 decacard 10 halls with boughs of holly = 1 decahall with boughs of holly 10 rations = 1 decoration 10**-2 mentals = 1 centimental Did you know that every newsletter is archived? So if you've missed anything since 1998 or want to revisit some favourites, you can do so any time! Don't forget to bookmark the page when you get there ... or even make it your Home Page. (For Internet Explorer, just click on Tools ... Internet Options ... General ... fill in www.write101.com/archives/index.htm and click OK. For Netscape, select Edit ... Preferences. Then select Navigator from the left menu, click Home Page and enter the URL above next to Location and click OK. For all the flash new browsers, you'll have to do a search on my mate google to find what to do. There's a search box on the archives page!) If you've received this little missive from a friend, you can get your very own issue, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed every Friday morning by clicking here: mailto:WritingTips-subscribe@yahoogrups.com And I'm even prepared to offer a shameless bribe. An Ape that wants to play Hamlet after being type-cast as King Kong, a talking anvil and that rottweiller ... Dr Morgenes is still caught in the nightmare that is the casting couch. Help him find a plot! Just click on the Comments button at the end of the entry to add your contribution. If you have friends who fancy themselves as writers, invite them to contribute (just forward this newsletter in its entirety to them). I often trawl this for comments to post on my site ... so if you say something about the newsletter or site, be warned, you may end up being read by one of the 2,000+ unique visitors who visit Write101 every day! Make your Mark on the World. Then stop by our Map of the World and read the messages. (Just click List) and add your mark. A Little Something Extra Here are some interesting sites to explore if you're interested in finding out more about different periods of English: Philip Durkin, Principal etymologist at the Oxford English Dictionary, chooses five events that shaped the English Language Illustrated time line of the Ages of English from the BBC Chronology of Events in the History of English from Rice University University of Oregon discussion of the development of English Word of the week: Fugacious (adj) enduring a very short time; fleeting; transitory; passing away quickly; evanescent Well, you get the picture. This word comes to us from the Latin fugere meaning 'to flee.' dictionary.com explains that this is also the origin of "fugitive, one who flees, especially from the law refuge, a place to which to flee back (re-, "back"), and hence to safety; and fugue, literally a musical "flight." Oxymoron of the week: "... short wait for one of our customer service operators ..." And a Latin phrase if time has passed you by ... Hostes alienigeni me abduxerunt. Qui annus est?[HOHS-tays ah-lee-ay-nee-GAY-nee MAY ahb-doox-AY-roont KWEE Ah-noos EST] (I was kidnapped by aliens. What year is it?) Did you know that you can have your very own Latin reminders? How about undies proclaiming, Bene est rex esse? (It's good to be king) Or a shopping bag that warns, Emptrix nata sum (Born to shop)? Click here for these and more Latin products. Kind regards, Jennifer P.S. Want to donate to the upkeep of this newsletter? Just $17 a year seems a small price to pay for all this wit and wisdom, don't you think? C'mon, that's just a tad over than 30 cents a week! Here's how to toss a few pennies in my Running Away Fund: 1. Pay by PayPal:
https://www. 2. Click here to subscribe for a full year OR 3. Use your credit card on my secure
order form: http://www.write101 4. Send a cheque (made payable to
Jennifer Stewart): http://www.write101 To unsubscribe from this list, send
a blank email to: mailto:WritingTips- Copyright Jennifer Stewart 2008 Individual articles copyrighted by
their authors.
Did you know that you can have your very own Latin reminders? How about undies proclaiming, Bene est rex esse? (It's good to be king) Or a shopping bag that warns, Emptrix nata sum (Born to shop)? Click here for these and more. Kind regards, Jennifer P.S. Want to donate to the upkeep of this newsletter? Here's how: 1. Pay by PayPal: OR 2. Click here to subscribe for a full year OR 3. Use your credit card on my secure order form. (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) Copyright 2007 Jennifer Stewart Individual articles copyrighted by
their authors. |
