linear space is completely
alien, hard-lined and set
like a stick, forcing us
from here to there
never interfacing…but
we can always hack
the system with love
~kat – 14 January 2017
(Magnetic Poetry – The Geek Kit)
Category Archives: Random Thoughts and Musings
Off the Grid – Magnetic Poetry Saturday – 14 January 2017
Crambo – Friday’s Word of the Day Haiku – 13 January 2017
Happy Friday! Today’s Word of the Day on Dictionary.com is “Crambo”. It’s an odd little word that originated in 17th century France from the word “crambe” which means “cabbage”. The resulting “crambo” though, has little to do with cruciferous vegetables in its application. The French word “crambe” was originally blended with the Latin term crambē repetīta which means “cabbage served up again” implying something distasteful that is repeated.
Following this illogical trail, Crambo then, is defined as an “inferior rhyme” (I think the inferior part of its definition comes from a global distaste for re-stewed cabbage) and it is also the name of a popular game that is thought to have originated with Aristotle. I also found a reference that linked the word crambo with the Greek rhyming game of krambē, but when I tried to learn more about it, I was only able to find Greek references to krambē (the actual cabbage variety), thought to be a great cure for a hangover.(wonder if that is true…might have to try it sometime…) But, I digress. 🙂
Back to modern times…or at least 17th century forward. In the game of crambo teams compete with each other to find a word that rhymes with a word or line presented by the opposing player or team. The game ends when no more rhymes can be found, thus exhausting all rhyme references for a given word or phrase.
So, what does this have to do with cabbage? The game is tied to the vegetable reference, Wikipedia says, in that the players start with a rhyme and then “restew” it. There are other variations of the game developed in the 19th century where actual rhyming words are not used, but rather descriptions of the word. A game called Dumb Crambo is a “charades” version where players act out the word, challenging their opponents to guess the rhyming word.
As if this all isn’t crazy weird enough, considering the word’s etymology, I also discovered that there is a popular industrial tool called The Crambo touted as “one of the best machines for shredding all types of wood and green cuttings”. This has nothing to do with rhyming of course but I like to think it brings us back full circle to the origin of the word…the lowly, much maligned, smelly, gas-inducing cabbage. While I am not a fan of crambē repetīta I do like a side of shredded cabbage, (aka “slaw”) every now and again with my bbq or fish and chips.
I suppose I best get on with the task of the day…a haiku. What a word! What a word!
Exhausting all rhyme
Crambo renders final words
completely rhymeless
kat ~ 13 January 2017
Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 8 January 2017
Happy Sunday! Winter’s fury has descended upon many parts of my country. The weather forecasters and government authorities warn us to stay inside where it’s safe. And we know they’re right. We are reminded they are right by the sound of spinning tires on ice screaming from the silence late at night and by reports of stranded drivers and multiple car pile ups on the evening news. Some people just don’t heed the warnings. But not me. I’m happy to spend the day in my pajamas, eating and drinking warm things and napping between sappy movie binges. Staying safe is bliss!
But after a few days of slugging around behind my sterile four walls, I need a break, if for no other reason than to replenish my dwindling supply of milk and bread. So I dig myself out, venture past my neighborhood into the light of day and join the masses of other cabin fever sufferers who clog the highways and byways, narrow grocery aisles and shopping malls.
We are so predictable aren’t we? So predictable that we are easily convinced to take the safe route. Master manipulators hungry for power are well aware of our weakness. “Let us take care of things for you,” they say, “We’ll make the world great for you again. Let us tend to he details. Stay inside your tiny worlds where you feel safe. Let us handle things. We know things you don’t.”
But eventually it’s time to dig out, because for the world to hum, to thrive, to be great requires our participation. We need to join the masses. There are shopping malls to haunt, restaurants to patronize and grocery stores stocked to the rafters with milk and bread. No one can take care of the details for us. We are the ones who keep things humming.
So as we venture out after the storm, past soot-blackened snow mounds, scary ice patches and bumper to bumper uncomfortable closeness with strangers, with others, it helps to remember that, like us, they are doing their part too.
I’m guessing we’d miss each other if one of us didn’t show up…even the ones who didn’t heed the warnings. And I’m guessing we want us all to arrive safely wherever it is we’re heading.
Stay safe, stay warm…and stay in the game. We need you.
Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 8 January 2017
beautiful rain at dawn
flattened area under a tree.
lately is not late
time is a tyrant
early birds will lose
all it takes is a head spin
the sum of our parts
flowers and people
it’s not the destination
earth beneath resting
I got here just in time!
~kat
A shi sai or ReVerse poem is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the shi sai features the words of one writer,providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time. I use it as a review of the previous week. 😊
Etiolate – Friday’s Word of the Day Haiku
Happy Friday! It has been a crazy week! Long hours at work and winter weather descending in my corner of the planet. Today’s Dictionary.com word of the day is Etoliate.
Etiolate definition is
1. to cause to become weakened or sickly; drain of color or vigor.
2. to cause (a plant) to whiten or grow pale by excluding light: to etiolate celery.
3. (of plants) to whiten or grow pale through lack of light.
It originated in 18th century France from the French verb étioler “to makepale, etiolate (plants),” probably derivative of aNorman French dialect form of standard Frenchéteule, from Old French estoble, estuble “stubble,”from Latin stipula “stalk, straw.”
Etiolate is a verb associated with biology and a plant condition called chlorosis caused by a lack of sun light resulting in low levels of chlorophyll. De-etiolation is what we call “greening”. The first pale shoots of a seed eventually break free from the ground and stretch toward the light of the sun, exposed and free of darkness where photosynthesis can happen. Where greening can happen.
Interestingly, the term etiolate is also used to describe people. Which makes sense. It is true that a lack of light can cause humankind to grow pale, fade, become depressed and lethargic. We have a name for it. It’s called SAD, an acronym for Seasonal Affective Disorder. Shorter days and long dark cold nights contribute to our etiolation.
A timely word, don’t you think? I had never heard it before, but I have witnessed and felt the affects of etiolation. Reminds me that we are all connected…animal, vegetable, mineral. That thought makes me happy, which is an apt remedy for my bout with SAD. Or maybe sometines I’m just sad…
Is it spring yet?
It’s been a long week! TGIF! In the meantime, a few Haiku. It is late and I am etiolating fast! 😉
the sum of our parts
etiolate from neglect…
use it or lose it
flowers and people
suffer etiolation
it is really SAD
kat ~ 6 January 2016
Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 1 January 2017
Happy New Year to you! As I watched the ball drop in Times Square NYC on its plummeting countdown to 2017, I learned that this year’s Waterford crystal design theme is “Kindness”, revealed at its unveiling a few days ago:
“Waterford’s 2017 sentiment, unveiled at a Dec. 27 ceremony in Times Square by Waterford master artisan Tom Brennan, is a timely one. The theme: The gift of kindness. Brennan says the theme was not specifically intended as a response to recent political developments around the world, but take from it what you will.” Article from Quartz by Anne Quito
From Waterford’s website:
“Each of the design patterns on the Waterford Crystal triangles, has been inspired by the theme of international generosity. The series is called “The Greatest Gifts” Collection, which began in 2014 with the “Gift of Imagination”.
For 2017, the newest celebratory theme is the “Gift of Kindness”, honoring the spirit of charity and compassion, all in the name of promoting understanding, and strengthening the bonds of humanity.
The pattern itself has been designed with touching rosettes, supported on a base of olive cuts and rich diamond cutting. The pattern captures a sense of unity and togetherness, as the ends of each rosette reach out to form a chain or bonding circle in an expression of kindness.”
There is kindness in the air. Do you feel it? This week, I too employed the theme in my first poem for the week. Did I know that kindness would be the theme for this year’s ball drop celebration? Well, nobody knew until the 27th of December when it was unveiled. And yet the idea, the theme of “kindness” and our longing for it has been rumbling below the surface for a while now.
It’s the perfect theme, the extreme pendulous response to a year that fomented in all things not kind: terrorist attacks, personal vendettas, lies, slander, name calling, violence, rage, boastfulness, hatred. It is an understatement to suggest that humanity could use a little kindness these days.
As simple as kindness is, it is no simple or little thing. It has the power to change lives, and so often does it in ways we will never know. Acts of kindness are so easy to do. It costs very little, requiring just a spark of good intention for others. We may hold a door, smile, offer a place ahead of us in line, say an encouraging thing, leave the last cookie for the next person, offer to carry another’s load…you know there are so many ways to do it…to be kind.
I will end this week’s summary the way I started it: please be kind. As I suspected, this theme, this gift, is definitely in the air. I can’t think of anything we need more.
Peace, love and kindness y’all.
Shi Sai Sunday’s Week in ReVerse – 1 January 2017
please be kind
when you tell it
remember to give them space
true joy can be known
it takes a bit of prep, but it is so worth it
leaving a trail of stardust to guide us home
delays one’s senectitude
it’s an advantage
it gives me hope that maybe I’m not crazy after all
i’ll do good if i can remember to breathe~kat
A shi sai or ReVerse poem is a summary poem with a single line lifted from each entry of a collection of work over a particular timeframe and re-penned in chronological order as a new poem. Unlike a collaborative poem, the shi sai features the words of one writer,providing a glimpse into their thoughts over time. I use it as a review of the previous week. 😊
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