|k| clippings: 2015-03-17 — black and gold

WORK

“Stories of imagination tend to upset those without one.”

—Terry Pratchett
—from The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy

WORD(S)

seneschal /SE-nə-shəl/. noun. In feudal times, an official in charge of a lord’s estate, a chief steward, a majordomo. Today, a governor or another high-ranking officer.

“You have in you a noisy, sensual savage, which you are to keep down, and turn all his strength to beauty. For example, what a seneschal and detective is laughter!” (Ralph Waldo Emerson, from The Complete Ralph Waldo Emerson: The Collected Works)

“The castle’s black-cloaked seneschal had scowled darkly on the previous occasions when Quiss had tracked him down in the kitchens and asked him what was going on and what he intended to do about it.” (Iain Banks, from Walking on Glass)

“I know of governors of places, and seneschals of castles, and sheriffs of counties, and many like small offices and titles of honor, but him you call the Science of Optics I have not heard of before; peradventure it is a new dignity.” (Mark Twain, from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court)

WEB

1. The Collectors is a new immersive digital story about the pursuit of knowledge and the compulsion to collect. The story traces the history of six collectors, from John Tradescant to Marie Stopes, whose curiosity drove them to accumulate objects and information, knowledge and notoriety, with some extraordinary consequences.

2. The story behind the unbroken seal (for 3,245 years!) on King Tut’s tomb.

3. A powerful story of heartbreak, a heart transplant and surprising love. → ►Finding Love After a Heart Transplant | A Strong Beat

4. A lovely idea. → Think Clearly, a handwritten newsletter.

5. Today is Lá Fhéile Pádraig AKA “the Day of the Festival of Patrick” AKA St. Patrick’s day, celebrating the life and work of Maewyn Succat, a missionary in Ireland in the late 5th century. The good news: more than 15 million paper cards will be sent to celebrate the day. The bad news: inflation has taken its toll…if you can find it, that pot o’ gold filled with 1000 1-oz coins would only be worth a bit more 1.1 million dollars today.

REPRISES/RESPONSES/REJOINDERS/RIPOSTES

• Reader C. notes an important passing: “His passing occurred between newsletters, but I thought it fitting to observe Sir Terence David John ‘Terry’ Pratchett’s exit from this mortal coil. He had a fierce and funny intellect and will be much missed. He once said, ‘It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it’s called Life.’ How true.”

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