|k| clippings: 2016-04-12 — save a dretch like me

WORK

Perils

1. Peril of Being awake
2. Peril of white
3. Peril of Personal Daintiness
4. Peril of the abstract
5. Peril of the wind and the sea
6. Peril of remaining
7. Peril of the Party
8. Peril of Reply
9. Peril of [erased]
10. Peril of longing
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—Dorothea Tanning
—from Sedona journals, 1947–1949

WORD(S)

dretch /DRECH/. verb or noun. To loiter, dawdle, or linger; one who does any of these. Also to vex or torment, particularly through dreams. A word ripe for rehabilitation! For some readers, the dretch are “seven-foot spider-like creatures” in Garth Nix’s Seventh Tower fantasy series. From Old English dreċċan (to vex, torment, torture).

“…What sholde I drecche, or telle of his aray?” (Geoffrey Chaucer)

“We all … were so dretched that some of us leapt out of our beds naked.” (Sir Thomas Malory)

WEB

1. A fascinating Kickstarter with some photos worth perusing even if you don’t want to contribute → The Last Resort: The Strange Beauty of Soviet Sanatoriums

2. In the land of unintended technological consequences… → How an internet mapping glitch turned a random Kansas farm into a digital hell

3. The Creative Writing of the Internet’s Premier White Supremacist Forum

4. “we compiled the number of words spoken by male and female characters across roughly 2,000 films, arguably the largest undertaking of script analysis, ever.” Result: interesting but not at all unsurprising. → Film Dialogue from 2,000 screenplays, Broken Down by Gender and Age

5. Today in 2007, the first United States Postal Service “Forever stamp,” AKA the Liberty Bell stamp, goes on sale. Forever stamps are sold at the current first-class rate but guaranteed as full postage regardless of subsequent rate increases. Known in philatelic circles as non-value indicator (NVI) postage, the Forever stamp has expanded to all other types of stamps, including postcards, international, etc. In 2015, more than 9 billion forever stamps were sold. However, given that the value of a Forever stamp is purposefully tied to inflation—yesterday the value of the standard first-class stamp decreased by two cents—they are an unwise choice for significant monetary investment.

WATCH/WITNESS

“YOU will say this looks like a book. But you will find it is a lot more besides. It is a Puppet-show in which you move the little hero and heroine where you want to go. It is a Treasure Hunt where you have to seek the chest of gold and jewels. It is a Maze through which you and the children will find your way—and perhaps lose it…”

Is Treasure Hunt, a 1948 book by Alan George described as a “maze in volume form,” the first Choose Your Own Adventure book?

REPRISES/RESPONSES/REJOINDERS/RIPOSTES

• Reader B.: “I don’t think it is clear from the definitions provided that the cantle is also a feature of the sporran, being the decorative metal opening to the fuzzy creature.”

• Reader K.: “I can’t tell if the Émile Zola snippet was for me or if I’m just hopelessly self-centered…”

• Reader B.: “Sulphurata Hyper-Oxygenata Frict is the best name in the entire universe. ¶ I think I shall apply it to a kitten.”

• Reader M.: “I love ‘Bless your heart’ with the heat of a thousand connotative suns. Very few phrases are as contextual or as flexible. It’s a many faceted socio-linguistic gem.”

• Reader J.: "Love the South. ¶ ‘Thanks hon. …’ ‘Thank you!’ … ‘Bless your heart.’ ¶ Want to see more of this in action? ►The Meanings of Thank You.

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

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