WORK
What is an Epigram? A dwarfish whole,
Its body brevity, and wit its soul.
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge
—from From The Complete Poetical Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge
WORD(S)
obnubilate. verb or adjective. To darken or obscure, as with clouds. To be obscure or cloudy. From Latin nubes (cloud), from which nuance is also derived. Also interesting: nubile has the same root, in that context referring to veiling or dressing to conceal/obscure one’s body.
“Your smokers [are] obnubilated in their own clouds.” (J.P. Kennedy)
“…so doth this melancholy vapour obnubilate the mind … and compel good, wise, honest, discreet men … to dote, speak, and do that which becomes them not…” (Robert Burton)
“It is the pity of the world, Dr Maturin, to see a man of your parts obnubilate his mind with the juice of the poppy.” (Patrick O’Brian)
WEB
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As the mentor becomes the manatee, so the stalked becomes the stalker → “Am I being catfished?” An author confronts her number one online critic.
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The “Art Post-Internet” exhibition catalog is not only chock full of images of a curious exhibition, but also includes an extended essay and some research on the (contentious) idea of “post-internet” art.
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Sort-of-related: generate your very own artist bio. Of course it’s designed for visual artists, but whatev, I made one anyway. Hat-Tip: Reader M.
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A visualization that gives us some perspective on time → HERE IS TODAY.
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Today in 1772, Samuel Taylor Coleridge is born. An influential poet and critic, he is best remembered for poems like “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” and “Kubla Khan”…and, perhaps, his lifelong addiction to laudanum and opium. Trivia: Coleridge hated his first name and adopted pen names including Nehemiah Higginbottom. Also, the constipation caused by his constant opium use resulted in terrible constipation causing Coleridge to, in his own words, “weep & sweat & moan & scream.”
REPRISES/RESPONSES/REJOINDERS/RIPOSTES
- Reader J. adds to yesterday's comment about people mistaking “darkle for darkie”: “I’ve also found that people take offense at the word ‘niggardly.’ (Facebook experience.) Even when their error is pointed out, they say, ‘You shouldn’t use it anyway. Most people don’t know what it means.’ An intriguing defense of ignorance.” — There is, of course, a history of problems with people misunderstanding the word niggardly.
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