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The
Write Way
4 January 2008 The Ease and Convenience of Modern Living Greetings, As we enter the first week of this brand, spanking new year of the 21st century, let's pause to review what we've learnt so far ... Way back in the late 70s and early 80s (last century!) I vividly recall endless newspaper articles and current affairs shows alerting us to the need to prepare for all the Leisure Time we were going to have to deal with in the coming years. Business magazines earnestly encouraged us to look for niches to cater for the ever-increasing number of people who'd be looking for something to spend all their free time doing. We were told how computers were going to revolutionise society, take over all the humdrum jobs so we'd be free to travel, undertake educational courses, get fit, indulge in our hobbies ... Hello? Hand up if you've noticed any extra time going begging in your life? No, me neither. I was reminded of all this as I packed for our recent trip down to Melbourne to visit our daughter for Christmas. As an organised person of the 21st century, I started making A List a couple of weeks before we left, because I knew how little time I'd have as our departure drew closer and the things that Had to Be Done multiplied. Up until a few years ago, a car trip away involved tossing our clothes into a suitcase, popping our Instamatic camera and a couple of extra rolls of film into my handbag and away we went. This time, we tossed our clothes into a suitcase, and then I consulted The List ... digital camera and spare memory card, battery charger, car battery charger for camera, computer cable to download photos. Laptop and extension lead, external hard drive, wireless modem and lead. Mobile phones (two), phone chargers (two, because one size doesn't fit all). Aargh! Whatever happened to simplicity? But the one thing I've learnt from this is that despite the hassle of lugging around more technology than existed on the first moon landing, I really can't do without it. How could the Love of My Life and I find each other when we go off to do our own secret shopping for Christmas and then have to find each other in the zillions of others all doing the same if we didn't have our mobiles to call up and say, "Where are you?" How could I take photos I can actually show in public without our spiffy little digital camera? And how could I keep in touch with you while driving the thousands of kilometres between home and Melbourne if I didn't have access to a handful of satellites tearing around in space and beaming down signals to my laptop? Sigh ... I suppose we just need to accept the good with the bad since there's no point in crying fowl because we missed out on all the extra leisure time. Well, not unless you're calling the chooks in or looking for eggs, in which case you'd be looking for the fowls. We cry foul when things upset us. The word 'foul' meanders to us from the Greek pyon meaning 'pus,' which gave the Romans the Latin putere 'to stink.' From there the word wandered through Old German as ful and Old Norse as full, then the Gothic fuls before finally arriving in Olde England as ful, and then in Middle English it became foul. Phew! What a journey!
This week's quiz words came via Bonnie Scotland and one of our Merry Band, Marian Dyer. Marian and I were chatting about Christmases Past (as you do) when she commented about how some of the magic that Christmas used to have has disappeared, "Mind you, that was before we had street lights here and the night sky was beautiful when you could see it without all the fluorescence (or whatever it is). There you go fluorescence, luminescence, iridescence ... sounds like it could be one of your themes." Indeed it could ... so here, without further ado, are some -escence words to match up! This week's quiz: fluorescence, evanescence, effervescence, efflorescence, candescence, luminescence, iridescence, spumescence, rubescence, emollescence 1. degree of softness in a body beginning to melt which alters its shape; the first or lowest degree of fusibility 2. glowing; incandescent 3. the event of fading and gradually vanishing from sight 4. becoming red; blushing 5. emission of light that does not derive energy from the temperature of the emitting body; caused by chemical, biochemical or crystallographic changes, the motions of subatomic particles or radiation-induced excitation of an atomic system; light from non-thermal sources 6. light emitted during absorption of radiation of some other (invisible) wavelength 7. foamy; foamlike; frothy 8. the process of bubbling as gas escapes 9. the visual property of something having a milky brightness; a play of lustrous, changing colours 10. gradual process of unfolding or developing; growth of salt crystals on a surface caused by evaporation of salt-laden water; the time and process of budding and unfolding of blossoms 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. And speaking of starry skies, how about some chin-ups on the Milky Way? Here are a couple of conversation fillers for your weekend ... "It reads the same forwards
as backwards," said a pallid Rome. Last week's quiz: 1. abstract, ideal, CONCRETE, hypothetical 2. agenda, schedule, plan, FLEXIBILITY 3. atmosphere, mood, ambience, AFFABILITY 4. SALVATION, revelation, apocalypse, devastation 5. arduous, SIMPLE, tough, exacting 6. benevolent, altruistic, MALEVOLENT, generous 7. mockery, REPRODUCTION, burlesque, travesty 8. unqualified, categorical, unequivocal, PARTIAL 9. PERMIT, force, coerce, compel 10.complacent, SERIOUS pleased, nonchalant A Little Something Extra Last week, you started thinking about writing a mystery or short story, so this week, how about spending some time developing characters ... Author, Susan Letham writes: One hallmark of
great writing is that it creates an intimate Read how to develop your characters. Word of the week: Gasconade (n) No, this isn't some new fizzy drink ... It means 'extravagant boasting; boastful talk' and comes from the French gasconner meaning 'to boast.' Oxymoron of the week: convenient banking system And a Latin phrase as we glance back at the past ... Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit [FOHR-sahn AYT HEYK OH-leem may-mee-NEE-say ee-oo-WAY-beet] (Perhaps someday we will look back upon these things with joy) 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? 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:
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a blank email to: mailto:WritingTips- Copyright Jennifer Stewart 2008 Individual articles copyrighted by their authors. |
