Save the words

I'd like to take this moment to recognize the loss of an organization that has been out there on the edge, fighting the good fight as extinction of so many of their beloved drew ever nearer. Their website was developed in an attempt to connect those who wished to help save a single word from dying out from amidst all those more common words that are used each day. The adoptees then commit to keep it and use it so that it is no longer in danger of extinction. Unfortunately they were unable to keep on with the struggle and when I went to their site tonight to direct you to their website I found their website down! SAVETHEWORDS.ORG is no more... and the loss of the word continues on.

Fortunately we still have the The Phrontistery for obscure words.

I like this one...

amarulence	n	1731 -1755
bitterness; spite
After losing her job to a less qualified man, she was full of amarulence.

It's not quite the same as adopting one like on the Savethewords.org, but it will work. 

Tools for writing

When I write, I use Wikipedia a lot-- careful of course to make sure the info is not too specific. I wouldn't use it for a sole source on archeology for instance- but it does come in handy- especially if you want to find real source material- the source notes on the bottom of the page are very useful as a start. I also use Yahoo! reference - the thesaurus is helpful. But for a more complete dictionary/thesaurus I am finding http://www.onelook.com/ to be far more comprehensive. (I found the link via 'The Phrontistry'-- a fun site on the history of words.) For instance, today I looked up 'wacky.' Onelook pulled up several sites, including the Slang dictionary. When I clicked there, I found not only the definition for wacky (adj. Crazy, zany) but a whole series of interesting words and their definitions, including 'wank' in all it's various forms:

Wank V. To masturbate. Also phrased as wank off. E.g."If our young men devoted as much time to their school work as they did to wanking then we'd have a nation of geniuses." N. 1. An act of masturbation. E.g."You can guarantee that if he sees a pair of naked breasts he'll go and have a wank straight away."
2. Something useless, or worthless. E.g."I wish I hadn't brought that new CD, it's wank." 3. Nonsense. Exclam. Exclamation of annoyance or expressing disbelief.

wank bank Noun. Memory, with respect to sexually stimulating thoughts and recalled when masturbating. E.g."Did you see that girl dancing on the podium? I've put her in my wank bank."

wank biscuit Noun. A contemptible or objectionable person.

wanker Noun. 1. A masturbator. 2. A contemptible person. 3. An idiot, an incompetent person.

wankered Adj. Very intoxicated.

wankiest Adj. Of the poorest quality, of the lowest standard, the worst. E.g."It was wankiest film I've seen all year and to think I wasted £5 on a ticket and 3 hours of my life."

wanking Noun. Masturbation.

wanking chariot Noun. A bed. [Orig. Military use]

wank mag Noun. A pornographic magazine.

wank pit Noun. A bed. [Mainly Military use]

wank rag Noun. 1. A cloth item, such as a handerkerchief, that is used to mop up ejaculate after masturbation. 2. A contemptible, low quality newspaper or magazine.
wankshaft Noun. A contemptible person.

wank spanners Noun. The hands. From being tools used for masturbation.

wanksplat Noun. A contemptible person or thing.

wankstain Noun. 1. A semen stain, as result of masturbation. 2. A contemptible person.

wanky Adj. Rubbish, of very poor quality.

I feel my vocabulary is so much richer now! :)

Word of the day

Dialectic:
I enjoy a good debate or discussion- though disagreement can be difficult it can also lead to understanding and, occasionally, a solution to a problem. Dialectical discourse is particularly interesting to me as a result. Here are several definitions from different sources:

From: Online Teymology Dicitonary.
[or.] 1382, from L. dialectica, from Gk. dialektike (techne) "(art of) philosophical discussion or discourse," fem. of dialektikos "of conversation, discourse," from dialektos "discourse, conversation" (see dialect). Originally synonymous with logic; in modern philosophy refined by Kant, then by Hegel, who made it mean "process of resolving or merging contradictions in character."

Cambridge Dictionaries Online
Dialectic: noun [U] (ALSO dialectics) SPECIALIZED
a way of discovering what is true by considering opposite theories

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dialectics is based around three (or four) basic metaphysical concepts:

* 1: Everything is transient and finite, existing in the medium of time (this idea is not accepted by all dialecticians).
* 2: Everything is made out of opposing forces/opposing sides (contradictions).
* 3: Gradual changes lead to turning points, where one force overcomes the other (quantitative change leads to qualitative change).
* 4: Change moves in spirals not circles. (Sometimes referred to as "negation of the negation")

Within this broad qualification, dialectics have a rich and varied history. It has been stated that the history of dialectic is identical to the extensive history of philosophy.[12]. The basic idea perhaps is already present in Heraclitus of Ephesus, who held that all is in constant change, as a result of inner strife and opposition [13][14][15] Only fragments of his works and commentary remain, however. Briefly, the term "dialectic" owes much of its prestige to its role in the philosophy of Socrates and Plato, where it figures as the logical method of philosophy, which these thinkers apply by developing an elenchus, that is cross-examination for the purpose of refutation. According to Aristotle, [16] it was Zeno of Elea who 'invented' dialectic.

**on days when my post for the day is a copy and paste or a quick sentence, the paragraph has been added to either my short story, 'Lazarus Unwound' or 'Death and Politics'.