- sparkle: reflect brightly
- sparkle: be lively or brilliant or exhibit virtuosity
1. a coruscating; sparkling 2. a flash or gleam of light 3. a sudden brilliant display, as of wit
I like this word.
Saturday, December 19, 2009
December 18, 2009
coruscate: v.
1. a coruscating; sparkling 2. a flash or gleam of light 3. a sudden brilliant display, as of wit
I like this word.
1. a coruscating; sparkling 2. a flash or gleam of light 3. a sudden brilliant display, as of wit
I like this word.
December 18, 2009
Yeah, so I'm not doing very well in keeping this updated. Sorry about that :P.
Today is my first day of winter break! I'm home and it's been snowing pretty much non-stop since ten or eleven last night. I woke up thismorningslightly after-noon and started listening to music on my computer on random setting. The song "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" by Sufjan Stevens came on and it occurred to me that I didn't really know the lyrics and I should look them up since I usually don't have the time or ability to do so when I am busy at school(where for some months now I have had limited internet access). So I did, and sang along, and decided to check it out on songmeanings.net because I wasn't sure I understood what was going on. So I did and proceeded to learn that the song is based on a short story of the same name by Flannery O'Connor about a grandmother and her family who encounter an escaped killer while on a family car trip. I really didn't want to waste the beginning of my very first winter break day reading some depressing short story about faith and lack thereof and killing people but after reading several accounts on the songs page from people who had read it, analyzing along with Sufjan's song, I couldn't help myself, I went and read the thing. And it wasn't that bad. Very interesting. Sad sure, but not all that sad, though perhaps my experience was skewed from having read analysis of it beforehand. At any rate, if you too are curious you can read the story here and you can see the page on Sufjan's song here.
And now I shall return to what I should be doing, which is joyfully wasting my time on inane activities while the snow flurries outside my window and the music blares.
Today is my first day of winter break! I'm home and it's been snowing pretty much non-stop since ten or eleven last night. I woke up this
And now I shall return to what I should be doing, which is joyfully wasting my time on inane activities while the snow flurries outside my window and the music blares.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
November 4, 2009
Today I learned that my father's brother, Tom, was a mailman.
Additionally I learned that the word lentiginous is n adjective meaning "covered in freckles."
I also learned something I'd almost rather had not learned.
Additionally I learned that the word lentiginous is n adjective meaning "covered in freckles."
I also learned something I'd almost rather had not learned.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
August 30, 2009
Today I learned that the word "pall" has about a bajillion definitions...or 11.
Definitions of pall on the Web:
Definitions of pall on the Web:
- become less interesting or attractive
- daunt: cause to lose courage; "dashed by the refusal"
- cover with a pall
- cloy: cause surfeit through excess though initially pleasing; "Too much spicy food cloyed his appetite"
- cause to become flat; "pall the beer"
- die: lose sparkle or bouquet; "wine and beer can pall"
- chill: a sudden numbing dread
- lose strength or effectiveness; become or appear boring, insipid, or tiresome (to); "the course palled on her"
- burial garment in which a corpse is wrapped
- tire: lose interest or become bored with something or somebody; "I'm so tired of your mother and her complaints about my food"
- curtain: hanging cloth used as a blind (especially for a window)
Friday, August 28, 2009
August 27, 2009
Today I learned that my father and the late Ted Kennedy were born in the same year (1932), some months apart.
Today I also learned that the symbols in van Eyck's "Arnolfini Wedding" may indicate that the wife was actually dead at the time the painting was finished or even before it was commissioned (The lit candle on his side and the snubbed candles on hers; The Passions of Christ, the ones during His life on the side of the groom while Christ's posthumous acts lay on the side of the bride; The pregnant looking belly that could indicate a death in childbirth...). It's a very interestign explanation for the mystery of the painting though I suppose we may never know.
(I may have heard this theory before but today was the first time I heard it fully explained).
In other news, you might have noticed I haven't quite got the hang of updating everyday. I'm going to try to work on that.
Today I also learned that the symbols in van Eyck's "Arnolfini Wedding" may indicate that the wife was actually dead at the time the painting was finished or even before it was commissioned (The lit candle on his side and the snubbed candles on hers; The Passions of Christ, the ones during His life on the side of the groom while Christ's posthumous acts lay on the side of the bride; The pregnant looking belly that could indicate a death in childbirth...). It's a very interestign explanation for the mystery of the painting though I suppose we may never know.
(I may have heard this theory before but today was the first time I heard it fully explained).
In other news, you might have noticed I haven't quite got the hang of updating everyday. I'm going to try to work on that.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
August 23, 2009
Today I learned various things about the depression era public enemies/romantic heroes, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. This afternoon I finally got to see the movie Bonnie and Clyde, which I'd been wanting to finish after watching the first 15 minutes in one of my classes last fall. I really enjoyed it and wanted to know more so afterward I was off to ye olde Wikipedia! I learned that the movie deviated quite a bit from the true story (or at least what's known of the truth):
In the movie Bonnie wields a gun loads of times but even after her death most witnesses claimed that they had never seen her shoot (except for one witness who said she might have "once or twice"). Also, two members of the Barrow gang (as Bonnie and Clyde's group was called) were merged into one character, "C.W. Moss," which wasn't the real name of either of them. The movie makes it seem like none of the group ever got to see their families except for Bonnie who freaks out when she realizes she may never see her mother again. In reality many of the gang members got to visit their families a number of times after choosing their life of crime. The gang traveled around the edges of states so that if the cops came after them they were never far from state lines and out of the cops' jurisdiction (the movie did show this, in a pretty awesome car chase scene). However, after a while the cops picked up on this technique and figured out a pattern based on it and the gang's desire to visit their families, ultimately leading to the gang's downfall.
I also learned that Warren Beatty (who played a rather dreamy Clyde in the movie) approached Blache Barrow - the real-life wife of Clyde's brother, Buck Barrow - before filming on the movie started to request her permission to use her name in the film. She accepted but was later unhappy with her portrayal (I seriously don't blame her: Blanche is such an annoying character. I ended up yelling "shut up!" at my t.v. pretty much everytime she was on screen. Wah, wah, wah, wah, wah). Surprisingly, though, she and Beatty remained good friends.
Another thing I learned that was included in the movie was the fact that Bonnie Parker wrote poetry. I read some of it here. The wikipedia page referred to it as doggerel but I disagree. Parker's poetry has plenty of merit! It's beautiful! The style is far from academic but that's what I like about it. She told her amazing story as well of the stories of others, giving an insiteful perspective on life in the depression, using the common language to paint a gritty picture of life (and death) in hard times.
By the way, I also learned the definition of doggerel, which I could tell when I read it was derogatory but wanted to know more about. After reading the doggerel wiki page I followed a link to William McGonagall, who sounds just so awesome! He's often referred to as one of the worst poets of the english language. Totally my kind of guy! I really want to read some of his poetry now. Also, I learned today that J. K. Rowling gave Professor McGonagall of the Harry Potter series her name because she knew about William McGonagall and loved the surname.
Okay, that was a lot for today, though I think it's kind of lame that all my information came from online. I'd love to read a biography on Bonnie and Clyde sometime if there's ever a time when I don't have library fines :P.
In the movie Bonnie wields a gun loads of times but even after her death most witnesses claimed that they had never seen her shoot (except for one witness who said she might have "once or twice"). Also, two members of the Barrow gang (as Bonnie and Clyde's group was called) were merged into one character, "C.W. Moss," which wasn't the real name of either of them. The movie makes it seem like none of the group ever got to see their families except for Bonnie who freaks out when she realizes she may never see her mother again. In reality many of the gang members got to visit their families a number of times after choosing their life of crime. The gang traveled around the edges of states so that if the cops came after them they were never far from state lines and out of the cops' jurisdiction (the movie did show this, in a pretty awesome car chase scene). However, after a while the cops picked up on this technique and figured out a pattern based on it and the gang's desire to visit their families, ultimately leading to the gang's downfall.
I also learned that Warren Beatty (who played a rather dreamy Clyde in the movie) approached Blache Barrow - the real-life wife of Clyde's brother, Buck Barrow - before filming on the movie started to request her permission to use her name in the film. She accepted but was later unhappy with her portrayal (I seriously don't blame her: Blanche is such an annoying character. I ended up yelling "shut up!" at my t.v. pretty much everytime she was on screen. Wah, wah, wah, wah, wah). Surprisingly, though, she and Beatty remained good friends.
Another thing I learned that was included in the movie was the fact that Bonnie Parker wrote poetry. I read some of it here. The wikipedia page referred to it as doggerel but I disagree. Parker's poetry has plenty of merit! It's beautiful! The style is far from academic but that's what I like about it. She told her amazing story as well of the stories of others, giving an insiteful perspective on life in the depression, using the common language to paint a gritty picture of life (and death) in hard times.
By the way, I also learned the definition of doggerel, which I could tell when I read it was derogatory but wanted to know more about. After reading the doggerel wiki page I followed a link to William McGonagall, who sounds just so awesome! He's often referred to as one of the worst poets of the english language. Totally my kind of guy! I really want to read some of his poetry now. Also, I learned today that J. K. Rowling gave Professor McGonagall of the Harry Potter series her name because she knew about William McGonagall and loved the surname.
Okay, that was a lot for today, though I think it's kind of lame that all my information came from online. I'd love to read a biography on Bonnie and Clyde sometime if there's ever a time when I don't have library fines :P.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
August 22, 2009
Today I learned that my mother took a took a night class in home improvement at the local high school when my older brother was a little kid. I guess it explains why she's so much better at that sort of thing than my dad, and more interested. I always figured it was just because she watched so much HGTV.
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