Today’s WORK might well be one of my anthems…my sad, ambiguous, sardonic theme song.

WORK

“Not Waving but Drowning”

Nobody heard him, the dead man,
But still he lay moaning:
I was much further out than you thought
And not waving but drowning.

Poor chap, he always loved larking
And now he’s dead
It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way,
They said.

Oh, no no no, it was too cold always
(Still the dead one lay moaning)
I was much too far out all my life
And not waving but drowning.

—Stevie Smith
—from Collected Poems of Stevie Smith

WORD(S)

typochondriac. noun. One who obsessively checks and re-checks their writing for errors, particularly in the minutes-that-become-hours before pressing the send, submit or publish button. Sadly, I’m, living proof that typochondria doesn’t result in error-free copy. A portmanteau: typo + hypochondriac.

There’s a history here. According to WordSpy: “This word appeared regularly in print from the mid–1920s to the mid–1930s, where it referred to a member of a informal club of people who pointed out the spelling and grammar gaffes made by other people. The editor Alden Wood had a column called The Typochondriac that first appeared in 1964.” See some excerpts from Alden’s columns.

More recently, in her book Thinking with Type, Ellen Lupton proposes another definition: “A persistent anxiety that one has chosen the wrong typeface. This condition is often paired with OKD (Optical Kerning Disorder), the need to constantly adjust and readjust the spaces between letters.”

WEB

1. Synesthesia & Such is a blog explaining 14 (so far) kinds of synesthesia. One of the more fascinating has to be Ticker Tape synesthesia.

2. Clive James, a most insightful critic and author, is terminally ill. He has a beautiful poem in The New Yorker. I didn’t know either of these facts until I stumbled upon Katy Waldman’s beautifully written piece about the latter.

3. Reader C. draws our attention to an article claiming to list “Ten of the best collective nouns”. A damning of jurors and a promise of tapsters—the latter new to me—are high on my personal list too. Other favorites, not in the article, include: a romp of otters, an ostentation of peacocks and a grumble of pugs. I won’t get started (here) on terms for groups of people such as painters and writers. I’m compelled, as always on this subject, to recommend James Lipton’s (yes, that James Lipton) definitive book on the subject An Exaltation of Larks.

4. “BRING ME MY PAIN TWIN” → A Movie Star Names Things. Related: A Goth Teen Angrily Renames Household Items.

5. Today in 1984, The Cosby Show debuted on NBC. It would air for eight seasons, in which time Lisa Bonet would go from being Denise Huxtable chasing boys to Epiphany Proudfoot baring it all (and dying gruesomely) in Angel Heart, Dr. Huxtable would wear a gazillion sweaters and be the father many of us wish we’d had, and Mrs. Huxtable would model near-perfection as a strong woman with a high-powered career who was no one’s little wifey. Trivia: Bill Cosby won exactly zero Emmys for his role, Whitney Houston almost won the part of Sondra, Alicia Keys appeared in the show as a four-year-old, and Bill Cosby originally wanted Clair to be Dominican so she could launch into I Love Lucy-style Spanish tirades.

REPRISES/RESPONSES/REJOINDERS/RIPOSTES

• Reader J. writes: “Love me some Lustig book covers…other fans might enjoy the story of his previously unknown design of Loft’s Candy Garden.”

I welcome comments, suggestions, thoughts, feedback and all manner of what-have-you. Just press ‘Reply’ or email to: clippings@katexic.com.

And please feel free to share anything here as far and wide as you want! If you want to give a shout-out, please link to: http://katexic.com/clippings/.