Happy Halloween-Samhain-All Saints'/Souls' Day

Creepy clown courtesy of me. Lesson learned: do not attempt to carve small, jagged shapes without a carving kit.

Because I can't resist, go watch:

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Sleepy Hollow

Hocus Pocus

Beetlejuice

The Addams Family

Edward Scissorhands

Little Shop of Horrors

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Monster Movie (Supernatural)

Halloween

Poltergeist

The Exorcist

The Crow

Psycho

Go listen to:

Thriller - Michael Jackson

Monster Mash - Bobby 'Boris' Pickett

Psycho Killer -  Talking Heads

Addams Groove - MC Hammer

Zombie Graveyard Party - Be Your Own Pet

A Nightmare on My Street - The Fresh Prince

The Devil Went Down to Georgia - Charlie Daniels

Go read:

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow - Washington Irving

The Haunting of Hill House - Shirley Jackson

The Bloody Chamber - Angela Carter 

The Tell-Tale Heart - Edgar Allen Poe

The Pit and the Pendulum - Edgar Allen Poe 

The Cask of Amontillado - Edgar Allen Poe

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge - Ambrose Bierce

Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice

Frankenstein - Mary Shelly

Dracula - Bram Stoker

The Shining - Stephen King

It - Stephen King

  

...for starters...

Shakespeare is Shakespeare is Shakespeare

On the last day of its run this summer, I saw Othello at Shakespeare on the Common. The characters wore 1940s garb for no apparent reason, the backdrop was a metallic slab reminiscent of the Aggro Crag, and I'm pretty sure an understudy was on Iago duty, which is a shame since Iago is pretty much the only reason to like Othello. Instead of the devious, evil, unrepentant villain I love, the actor came off as, well, what he was: a nervous guy who didn't quite remember all his lines and had to keep reminding himself to speak loud enough to be heard across the Common. Still, Shakespeare is Shakespeare and free is free. 

For my own amusement, I made a list of the words that made me go "pffft, you made that up" (until shortly after intermission when I decided I'd need a more attentive ear and a lot more paper if I really wanted to keep up):

englut                                                    

slubber

satiety                                                     

disrelish

displant                                                   

quillet

engraft                                                    

mazard

infortune                                                 

insufflate

unswear                                                 

beshrew

direful                                                    

continuate

Despite my conviction at the time that Shakespeare just threw a prefix or suffix on a word whenever he needed another syllable for his iambic pentameter, turns out most of these actually are or were real words.


I also made a list of my rediscovered favorite Othello quotations:

"I am not what I am." (I.i)
Because that's so Iago.

"Your daughter and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs." (I.i)
Because, oh, that's where that saying comes from.

"Men should be what they seem; / Or those that be not, would they might seem none!" (III.iii)
What can I say? I'm a seeming-versus-reality fan.

"O! beware, my lord, of jealousy; / It is the green-ey'd monster which doth mock / The meat it feeds on." (III.iii)
Again, etymology.

"Villain, be sure thou prove my love a whore, / Be sure of it; give me the ocular proof; / Or, by the worth of mine eternal soul, / Thou hadst been better have been born a dog / Than answer my wak'd wrath." (III.iii)
Because angry Othello is not a man to be trifled with.

"Unkindness may do much, / And his unkindness may defeat my life / But never taint my love." (IV.ii)
Because that's so Desdemona.

"Demand me nothing: what you know, you know: / From this time forth I never will speak word." (V.ii)
Because "What makes Iago evil? some people ask. I never ask." (Joan Didion, Play It As It Lays)

"I kissed thee ere I killed thee, no way but this, / Killing myself, to die upon a kiss." (V.ii)
Because everyone loves a little morbid romance. Right?

Irony

You might think an institution of learning is one of the most likely places for the word "school" to be spelled correctly. But, you'd be wrong.

Jabberwocky

I recently discovered Merriam-Webster's Open Dictionary. Anyone can submit to and view words that have been submitted to the Open Dictionary. The service is to catalog words that have not yet appeared in dictionaries, either because they have only recently come into existence or because they are forehead slap-inducing stupid (do not fret; I shall, of course, elaborate).

In the spirit of democracy, I'm all for an open dictionary. You may or may not be aware, but putting together a dictionary is a political affair. There are liberal and conservative dictionaries. There are dictionaries that take pleasure in finding the cleverest, quirkiest, idiosyncrasies of living language. And there are dictionaries that obsessively seek to protect The King's English from those mean, nasty jerks: addition, permutation, evolution. For further information on this point, please see "Authority and American Usage," also know as "Tense Present: Democracy, English, and the Wars over Usage" by David Foster Wallace, which is one of the most interesting pieces of non-fiction writing I have read in my life. "Did you know that probing the seamy underbelly of U.S. lexicography reveals ideological strife and controversy and intrigue and nastiness and fervor on a nearly hanging-chad scale? [...] Did you know that U.S. lexicography even had a seamy underbelly?" No? Then go read the essay. Seriously. Even if that sort of thing doesn't appeal to you, David Foster Wallace was one smart, funny, entertaining man. He'll make it worth your while.

Point is, I think an open dictionary is all to the good. In theory. For instance, these words

—

isogram (noun) : a word or phrase in which no letter is repeated; minorly (adjective) : in a minor way; shapewear (noun) : underwear that is made with elastic nylon so that the wearer has a slimmer appearance; and smartphone (noun) : a phone (especially a mobile phone) that provides additional capabilities including Internet access and which has an operating system comparable to a desktop computer operating system—are all useful, logical additions to the language. However, these words—sturdability (noun) : sturdiness; globalistic (adjective) : concerning or encouraging globalism; and elaboratize (verb) : to make elaborate or complex—make me want to slap someone in the mouth. People, if you need to define a word by using a different form of the same word, there's already a word for the thing you are attempting to invent. Duh! In these cases, they are: sturdiness, global, and complicate. Id est, refudiate is not the coining of a new word, it is the garbling of two already-existing, perfectly serviceable ones. Also known as portmanteau. But hey. Why not just call it the Palin-Upchuck Phenomenon?

Why Reading is Important: A Case Study

I know a lot of words. Really, I do. I write; I read; words are sort of my thing. My favorite game is Quiddler. There is nothing I love more than Jeopardy's "Crossword Clues Q" (or J or X or...) category. Sometimes I pick up Macbeth and start re-reading it, just for fun.

And yet, the number of words I don't know still seems as large and limitless as it did when I was three years old, and the only word I recognized when my mother would read The Monster at the End of This Book: Starring Lovable, Furry Old Grover to me, was "strength."

For instance, I have just finished reading Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen. This was an absolutely (as they say) whip-smart book, featuring a man who believes his wife has been replaced with a simulacrum, a cosmic conflict between the Royal Academy of Meteorology and the 49 Quantum Fathers, a quixotic quest, and a flawlessly executed unreliable first-person narration. Now up there with I, Lucifer, this novel has made it onto the short list of my favorite books. (Incidentally, I came across it, as I do so many of the best books, by randomly browsing the shelves of my local library.)

The point I am slowly meandering toward is that this novel—aside from provoking me into envying Rivka Galcehn's intelligence, command of language, and ability to produce an engaging plot—taught me a lot of new words (see below). And when I think back upon the countless number of books I have read over the course of my life, it frightens me to imagine how much less knowledgeable I would now be without having done so. What I'm saying is this: Please read.


homunculus (hō-ˈməŋ-kyə-ləs)
Function: noun
1 : a little man : manikin
2 : a miniature adult that in the theory of preformation is held to inhabit the germ cell and to produce a mature individual merely by an increase in size

mesoscale ('me-zə-ˌskāl)
Function: adjective
: of intermediate size; especially : of or relating to a meteorological phenomenon approximately 10 to 1000 kilometers in horizontal extent

schizotypal (ˌskit-sə-tī-pəl)
Function: adjective
: pertaining to a personality type in which mild symptoms of schizophrenia are present

endogenous (en-ˈdä-jə-nəs)
Function: adjective
1 : growing or produced by growth from deep tissue
2 a : caused by factors inside the organism or system b : produced or synthesized within the organism or system

ersatz (ˈer-ˌsäts, -ˌzäts, er-ˈ; ˈər-ˌsats)
Function: adjective
: being a usually artificial and inferior substitute or imitation

tannin (ˈta-nən)
Function: noun
1 : any of various soluble astringent complex phenolic substances of plant origin used especially in tanning leather and dyeing fabric, manufacturing ink, clarifying wine and beer, and in medicine
2 : a substance that has a tanning effect

topiary (ˈtō-pē-ˌer-ē)
Function: adjective
: of, relating to, or being the practice or art of training, cutting, and trimming trees or shrubs into odd or ornamental shapes; also : characterized by such work

desiccate (ˈde-si-ˌkāt)
Function: verb
transitive verb
1 : to dry up
2 : to preserve (a food) by drying : dehydrate
3 : to drain of emotional or intellectual vitality
intransitive verb
: to become dried up

parallax (ˈpa-rə-ˌlaks)
Function: noun
: the apparent displacement or the difference in apparent direction of an object as seen from two different points not on a straight line with the object; especially : the angular difference in direction of a celestial body as measured from two points on the Earth's orbit

hemochromatosis (ˌhē-mə-ˌkrō-mə-ˈtō-səs)
Function: noun
: a hereditary disorder of metabolism involving the deposition of iron-containing pigments in the tissues that is characterized especially by joint or abdominal pain, weakness, and fatigue and that may lead to bronzing of the skin, arthritis, diabetes, cirrhosis, or heart disease if untreated

tragus (-ˈtrā-gəs)
Function: noun
: the prominence in front of the external opening of the outer ear

antitragus ('an-ˌtī-ˈtrā-gəs)
Function: noun
: a prominence on the lower posterior portion of the concha of the external ear opposite the the tragus

pensione (päⁿs-ˈyōⁿ / pen(t)-ˈsyō-(ˌ)nā)
Function: noun
a : accommodations especially at a continental European hotel or boardinghouse : room and board b : a hotel or boardinghouse especially in continental Europe

Rosicrucian (ˌrō-zə-ˈkrü-shən, ˌrä-)
Function: noun
1 : an adherent of a 17th and 18th century movement professing esoteric and occult wisdom with emphasis on mysticism and spiritual enlightenment
2 : a member of one of several organizations held to be descended from the Rosicrucians

Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon
Function: noun
: a form of synchronicity in which one happens upon an obscure piece of information and soon afterward encounters the same subject again

nap (ˈnap)
Function: noun
: a hairy or downy surface (as on a fabric)

nevus (ˈnē-vəs)
Function: noun
: a congenital or acquired usually highly pigmented area on the skin that is either flat or raised : mole

anelastic (ˌa-nə-ˈlas-tik)
Function: adjective
: relating to the property of a substance in which there is no definite relation between stress and strain

Gauss
Function: biographical name
: Carl Friedrich 1777 – 1855, German mathematician and astronomer

Cray (ˈkrā)
Function: trademark
: a supercomputer manufacturer based in Seattle, Washington

jeremiad (ˌjer-ə-ˈmī-əd, -ˌad)
Function: noun
: a prolonged lamentation or complaint; also : a cautionary or angry harangue

theremin (ˈther-ə-mən)
Function: noun
: a purely melodic electronic musical instrument typically played by moving the hands in the electromagnetic fields surrounding two projecting antennae

katabatic (ˌka-tə-ˈba-tik)
Function: adjective
: relating to or being a wind produced by the flow of cold dense air down a slope (as of a mountain or glacier) in an area subject to radiational cooling

shibboleth (ˈshi-bə-ləth also -ˌleth)
Function: noun
1 a : a word or saying used by adherents of a party, sect, or belief and usually regarded by others as empty of real meaning b : a widely held belief c : truism, platitude
2 a : a use of language regarded as distinctive of a particular group b : a custom or usage regarded as distinguishing one group from others

Tehuelche (tə-wěl'chē, tā-wěl'chā)
Function: noun
1 : member of a South American Indian people formerly inhabiting most of Patagonia, with a small present-day population in southern Argentina
2 : the language of the Tehuelche

infarct (ˈin-ˌfärkt, in-ˈ)
Function: noun
: an area of necrosis in a tissue or organ resulting from obstruction of the local circulation by a thrombus or embolus

deglutition (ˌdē-glü-ˈti-shən, ˌde-glü-)
Function: noun
: the act or process of swallowing

etiology (ˌē-tē-ˈä-lə-jē)
Function: noun
1 : cause, origin; specifically : the cause of a disease or abnormal condition
2 : a branch of knowledge concerned with causes; specifically : a branch of medical science concerned with the causes and origins of diseases

sententious (sen-ˈten(t)-shəs)
Function: adjective
1 a : given to or abounding in aphoristic expression b : given to or abounding in excessive moralizing
2 : terse, aphoristic, or moralistic in expression : pithy, epigrammatic

neurocysticercosis (nu̇-ˈrō-ˌsis-tə-(ˌ)sər-ˈkō-səs)
Function: noun
: infection of the central nervous system with cysticerci of the pork tapeworm

attenuated (ə-ˈten-yə-ˌwāt, -yü-ˌāt)
Function: verb
transitive verb
1 : to make thin or slender
2 : to make thin in consistency : rarefy
3 : to lessen the amount, force, magnitude, or value of : weaken
4 : to reduce the severity, virulence, or vitality of
intransitive verb
: to become thin, fine, or less

stereoscope (ˈster-ē-ə-ˌskōp, ˈstir-)
Function: noun
: an optical instrument with two eyepieces for helping the observer to combine the images of two pictures taken from points of view a little way apart and thus to get the effect of solidity or depth

cavil (ˈka-vəl)
Function: verb
intransitive verb
: to raise trivial and frivolous objection
transitive verb
: to raise trivial objections to

provenance (ˈpräv-nən(t)s / ˈprä-və-ˌnän(t)s)
Function: noun
1 : origin, source
2 : the history of ownership of a valued object or work of art or literature

pith (ˈpith)
Function: noun
1 a : a usually continuous central strand of spongy tissue in the stems of most vascular plants that probably functions chiefly in storage b : any of various loose spongy plant tissues that resemble true pith c : the soft or spongy interior of a part of the body
2 a : the essential part : core b : substantial quality (as of meaning)
3 : importance


Note: definitions gathered from Merriam-Webster, The Oxford English Dictionary, Dictionary.com, and Wikipedia

Tiny Little Full-Blown Obsession

So. Yesterday I received my New Every Two® phone from Verizon (the LG Cosmos). Naturally, one of the first things I did was start looking for Naruto ringtones. While randomly perusing the internet for said ringtones, I came across "Itachi's theme" here.

My initial reaction went something like, Holy crap, this is awesome, how in the world have I never noticed this before? Once the excitement faded a tad—I admit, that took a while—logic kicked in and I thought, Wait, if this really is Itachi's theme, why don't I remember it?

1.) He is one of my favorite characters in all of Naruto. If he had a theme song, I would remember it (I know Sasuke's when I hear it, and his is pretty lame).

2.) This tune's style doesn't sound like the rest of the show's music. Don't get me wrong, I love some of the songs in Naruto—just to name a few, "Sadness and Sorrow," "Main Theme," "Kakuzu," "Orochimaru's Theme," "Akatsuki's Theme," and practically all the opening and closing songs are very good. But if "Itachi's theme" were part of the show's repertoire, it would definitely stand out, and I'm pretty sure I would have noticed.

3.) This song doesn't fit with the show thematically. This is cowboy music. And while that makes sense for Itachi—he is undoubtedly a bad man who has done bad things (albeit for good reasons), a wanderer, a loner, arrogant, skilled, and in search of atonement—it doesn't make sense for a show set in a ninja universe. Again, I feel confident I would have noticed such discordance.

So. I did some digging. Many people on the internet feel very strongly about the fact that this is really Itachi's theme (for evidence, see YouTube). Some people say it appears in the anime. Like in episode 114 or 121 or 140. Some people say that this is Itachi's theme, it just isn't used in the show. Some people say this song appears on one of the show's official soundtracks. Some people say this is Itachi's theme in the Naruto PlayStation games. Having watched and re-watched relevant episodes and looked up (and re-looked up and re-re-looked up) the playlists for the Naruto CDs and games, I feel fairly confident in saying that these people are suffering under some grand, viral, internet delusion.

In reality, this song is "Thunder Cloud" from the album Theme From Shaft & The Horse by The Ventures. Before it was known as "Thunder Cloud," it appeared under the title (and perhaps here is the origin of the mass confusion) "Naruto" on Golden Pops/Pops in Japan '71. 

So. There you go. Mystery solved. And I was not at all obsessive about it and it only consumed five to seven hours of my life. Go me.

Sasuke, Sasuke, On the Wall

(Note: This is a primarily knitting-related post. Read at your own risk. Dashful cannot be held liable for any massive yawns or bouts of drowsiness that may occur.)

Now that "stripy" is out of the way, meet "razory":

"Razory" is a lacy tank top that took me about a month to knit. It was based on the Razor Cami and was my first lace project. I'm really pleased with the result. It's a good length, fits well, and I like the way it looks on. I may have screwed up the pattern a couple of times at the beginning (bottom), but I decided to follow a rule I read online: If you make a mistake, put your project down, then go do something else for five minutes. Come back, stand a few feet away from your knitting, and if you can't see the mistake, ignore it and carry on. So I did, and probably no one will ever notice the errors but me.

In terms of modifications to the pattern, I added some length and ribbing to the top front for a more symmetrical and finished look. I also decided to clasp the straps together in the back for a make-shift halter top, because I knit the front and back straps too close together and didn't feel like frogging them and re-knitting.

While I enjoyed working on "razory," toward the end it was mostly guilt driving me on. I really wanted to begin a new project, but felt like I had to finish this one first. That new project is the Sasuke Shirt.

As anyone who knows even the tiniest bit about me is aware, I adore Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke in particular. So, I've decided I would like a little piece of Sasuke with me at all times. (Well, not all times. I would wear other shirts sometimes. Probably.) Thus, the idea of the Sasuke Shirt was born. It will entail making "stripy" shorter, smaller, in black, with a really high neck, and the Uchiha crest (which I have charted myself) intarsia-ed onto the back between the shoulder blades. I've never done intarsia, let alone in the round, but I think I've done the research to make it happen, so hopefully this shirt will be awesome and not a disaster.