Your life: Runic, Rune, or completely open?

Today, I thought we might look at, not just the word of the day for August 19 2011, but also at the noun it came from.
Yes, ‘runic’, Word of the Day for Friday, August 19, 2011, is the adjectival form of the Noun, ‘Rune’, which means:
1. Any of the characters of certain ancient alphabets, as of a script used for writing the Germanic languages, especially of Scandinavia and Britain, from c200 to c1200, or a script used for inscriptions in a Turkic language of the 6th to 8th centuries from the area near the Orkhon River in Mongolia.
2. Something written or inscribed in such characters.
3. An aphorism, poem, or saying with mystical meaning or for use in casting a spell.
Whereas ‘runic’ means:
1. Having some secret or mysterious meaning.
2. Consisting of or set down in runes.
3. Referring to an interlaced form seen on ancient monuments, metalwork, etc., of the northern European peoples.
So here we see that a ‘Rune’ is something plain to see, yet not plain to understand by outsiders, while “runic’ takes that idea one step further and makes it all secretive and only open to a select few in the know.
This brings me to the question in my title and especially in regard to our own personal lives. Yes, is your life open and understandable to just your own particular group or family, or worse, only open to a very select few, who can “read” you?
Or is your life an open book so to speak, and understandable to all who see it without the need of a special code book to decode your life message?
True that in some cases, some secrets or runic behaviour may be necessary, but usually most runic behaviour simply leads to a life of ruin! What say you?

Do you use eisegesis or exegesis?

Now I do understand that while you may not exactly know either of these two words, every one of us, when we speak about a subject or topic known to us, do so using the method of one or the other of these two ways of interpreting words and subjects.
Eisegesis, which was the Word of the Day for Saturday, June 18, 201, is an interpretation that expresses the interpreter's own ideas, bias, or the like, rather than the meaning of the text itself.
Whereas, Exegesis, “is the critical explanation or interpretation of a text or portion of a text, especially of the Bible, with no bias or outside influences added.”
In other words with eisegesis, one is saying authoritarily, but not always correctly, “That this is what I think the text is saying”. Where with exegesis, one is saying, also equally authoritarily, “This is exactly what the text is saying, with nothing extra added by me.”
So when you speak, whether on a Biblical subject, or on something much more mundane, do you use eisegesis or exegeses? Over to you for your reflection now.

You say Batata, I say potato!

In a recent Blog, “The Dogs of The Canary islands,” I asked this question at the end: “What other incorrect perceptions have crept into English through the misunderstanding of the original language in which it was named? Such as “White Rhino” for instance, which isn’t white at all!”
Well not quite a misconception, but certainly a mispronunciation, is the English word Potato.
Was Looking at a South African (Swaziland actually) friend’s Face book page which had a picture of Batatas for sale in America.
Although I have lived in South Africa for many years and even visited Swaziland a handful of times I had never heard of Batata before. However on closer inspection I decided that they were in fact just one of the at least 3 different types of Sweet potato growing there.
So turning to my new latest friend, Wikipedia I read this: “Batata is the word for sweet potato (Latin: Ipomoea batatas) in many languages (e.g. Spanish, Italian, Hebrew and others), apparently from the Taíno batata.
Batata is the word for potato (Latin: Solanum tuberosum; only distantly related to sweet potato) in some languages, e.g. Portuguese, Marathi, some Arabic variants and others. The English word "potato" itself is derived from the Taíno batata.”
In another article, this time on Sweet Potatoes, Wikipedia also had this to say: “Although it is sometimes called a yam, the sweet potato is not in the yam family, nor is it closely related to the common potato. The first Europeans to taste sweet potatoes were members of Columbus' expedition in 1492. Later explorers found many varieties under an assortment of local names, but the name which stayed was the indigenous Taino name of batata. This name was later transmuted to the similar name for a different vegetable, the ordinary potato, causing confusion from which it never recovered. The first record of the name "sweet potato" is found in the Oxford English Dictionary of 1775.”
Being from Australasia, I was also interested to learn that 95% of Australia's production is an orange variety named Beauregard sold everywhere as sweet potato. A purple variety, Northern Star, is 4% of production and is sold as Kumara. Kumara is the variety most prevalent in New Zealand as a native Indigenous food acquired by the original Settlers of New Zealand, The Maori, sometime before arrival to the Country. Kumara is particularly popular as a Roasted food or in Contemporary cuisine, as Kumara Chips, usually served with Sour Cream and Sweet Chilli sauce. Occasionally shops in Australasia will label the purple variety "purple sweet potato" to denote it's difference to the other varieties.”
Well now that I have told you all that, this was originally meant to be a short blog about the way Batata was mistranslated into Potato, even though not quite the same plants. Or as Wikipedia says: “The English word "potato" itself is derived from the Taíno “batata.” So, saying that finally, I will now say goodbye for now!

Pathos or Bathos?

In an earlier blog, “Patios or Pathos? I discussed the difference between the two words. When looking up Pathos in the dictionary, I also discovered that it also gets confused with Bathos as well!
Now if you have read the earlier blog, you will already know that Pathos, means:
1. The quality or power in an actual life experience or in literature, music, speech, or other forms of expression, of evoking a feeling of pity or compassion.
2. Pity.
3. Obsolete. Suffering.
Whereas Bathos means:
1. A sudden ludicrous descent from exalted to ordinary matters or style in speech or writing.
2. Insincere or excessive pathos.
3. Triteness; flatness.
4. The lowest point; nadir.
Interestingly the word itself comes from the Greek Bathus, which means depth, or deep and where we also get our word Bath from.
Well! Whether you wanted to or not, you now know the difference between Pathos and Bathos. The only question that remains then, is whether you are pathos and evoking compassion? Or whether you are Bathos and seen as insincere and trite?
Of course the same question can also be quite well asked of my blogs too! Well, again it is over to you now.

Ball-peen, Ball-pein or Ball-pane Hammer?

Now I am one of the first to admit that my spelling is atrocious, and I think that Spell Checker is the greatest invention ever. Even if it does spell American and not proper English!
Anyway, the other day I wrote a blog (Over the top with the sledgehammer I think.) in which I mentioned a Ballpeen Hammer. Which the spell check rejected. So I looked up the online dictionary to find out its proper Spelling; only to discover that there actually was no one way of spelling it.
And then on Wikipedia, I discovered this: “A ball-peen (also spelled pein and pane) hammer, also known as a blacksmith's, engineer's or machinist's hammer, is a type of peening hammer used in metalworking. It is distinguished from a point-peen hammer or chisel-peen hammer by having a hemispherical head. Though the process of peening has become rarer in metal fabrication, the ball-peen hammer remains useful for many tasks, such as striking punches and chisels.”
So not only is a ball-peen Hammer a mighty handy tool, but it also has many names and spellings of names too. Yet despite all that, I still managed to Spell it wrong. Told you my spelling was atrocious! (Which funnily enough, I can spell without help!) How’s your spelling?

Ever heard of a “Furry” before?

Just when I thought I had heard of everything, I came across a group of people, called “Furry’ in the singular, and ”Furries’ or “Furs” in the plural.
According to Wikipedia, (from where all the following information comes): “The word furry has several meanings, dependent on the context in which it is used. Predominantly, it means "consisting of or resembling fur".
It also pertains to an interest in anthropomorphic animals and/or mythological or imaginary creatures which possess human or superhuman capabilities.
The plural form of furry in all its contexts is furs or furries; the subjects of furry interest are also known as furries. Because people in the fandom tend to identify closely with their avatars (or fursonas), the word is often used to mean a group of furry characters in art or roleplay.

What it means to be furry: Someone who says they are furry is generally expressing an interest in anthropomorphic animals and/or creatures (and perhaps some affiliation to furry fandom). They may express that that interest in a variety of ways - through art and stories through to roleplay and performance. How deep or meaningful an interest in Furry is varies greatly from person to person.
Furry's gamut of interests: Below is a list of common interests with which a fur is likely to identify. A furry may be interested in any or all of them, to any degree.
Cartoons and games
Interest in anthropomorphic animals and/or creatures can be as simple as the many popular furry cartoon characters, known as funny animals. These may include Bugs Bunny, Tony the Tiger, Sly Cooper, Star Fox, etc. However, someone who merely happens to like these characters is not necessarily a furry; the degree and nature of one's interest is relevant here.
Spirituality: Some furs believe they have a spiritual connection to a particular animal which is typically their fursona, but also may be a totem. Strong spiritual believers may often say that they are "an animal in a human body" (and in fact may identify themselves as otherkin, weres and/or therians which are their own categories and not linked to the furry fandom just by interest). Some join and find the furry fandom to be a place to be themselves, as most of these groups are underground and the furry fandom is more open to the world. However, not all
therians have their theriotype as their fursona.
Art and creativity: Some furs may be interested only in the creative aspects of the furry fandom. Furry content, both online and off, is easy to obtain, and available in vast amounts, and furs produce new works regularly. Furry artwork is also done by many nonfurries as well in targeting the fandom. Others may disassociate themselves from the fandom and refer to themselves as funny animal artists. Furries may also enjoy role-playing a particular furry character or fursona, sometimes writing about this character or recording their online interactions for posterity.
Fursuiting: Some furries enjoy the practice of dressing up in a costume that is typically designed after a fursona. These "fursuits" are usually worn at conventions, and a few are even designed to accommodate sexual situations. Some furries opt to wear a "partial" suit, consisting of a head, tail, and paws, instead of a full fursuit; others may just wear a tail or various other pieces. While only a minority (about 15-20%) consider themselves fursuiters, they tend to be highly visible at events where many furries are present.
Sexuality: To some furs, the sexual attraction to anthropomorphic animals is a part of what makes them furry. This is a topic of much controversy, as it has been the subject of early media attention (such as that from Wired Magazine and Vanity Fair), leading to its becoming a common stereotype of the furry community at large. This has spawned a few groups in response (such as the Burned Furs) with a desire to discourage this angle, or create a clear distinction between these furries and the rest of the community.
Other contexts of Furry: From within the fandom, anything classified as an anthropomorphic animal and/or creature could be called a furry. That could be anything from Scooby Doo to various sports mascots to Omaha the Cat Dancer. Since mainstream characters are generally not created with furries in mind, the furry context is presumed by most outsiders to not be present despite subcultural interest.
Any art showcasing anthropomorphic animals is generally considered furry artwork. Artwork that contains furries in sexual situations may be called yiff or spooge art.
Non-furry furries: Anthropomorphic creatures that are also considered to be furry (even with the lack of pelt or fur) include (but are not limited to): dragons and lizards (also known as scalies and herps, respectively), Cetaceans (dolphins and Orcas), birds and gryphons (also known as featheries or avians), and taurs (centaurs being the prime example).”
Well there you are! Now you know as much as I do about Furries, even if you didn’t want to know! As I had not heard of Furries before, I can’t help but wonder what other “on the Fringe” groups there are out there in the wider world? What are some you know off please?

What does Junket mean to you?

Recently noticed the following comment on Face book from an Australian friend currently in America. She says: “To send something to the tip / dump as Americans say - you junket. To those of my age junket was something you have for dessert.”
Personally I think that American usage/understanding, is just a mispronouncement and contraction of how Americans pronounce, ‘Junk it.*’ Particularly as I could find no similar understanding of that leaning, in the online Dictionary, which gives the 3 main understandings or usages, of Junket.
1. A sweet, custard like food of flavored milk curdled with rennet.
2. A pleasure excursion, as a picnic or outing.
3. A trip, as by an official or legislative committee, paid out of public funds and ostensibly to obtain information.
The first understanding I am very familiar with as we used to have Junket a lot as a kid. Might have had something to do with milking our own house cows and usually having a bit of spare milk to use sometimes? Anyhow liked it then, but haven’t had it in years now.
The second meaning was not known to me but the third was, and in light of the second meaning, it is easy to understand what it means when the papers accuse this or that Pollie of having taken an unnecessary trip/ junket, overseas at Tax-Payers’ expense.**
Well again that is enough of me. How did you understand the word Junket, and in which of its senses, do you use, if you use any that is?
*Turns out I was right, as my friend later wrote this in correction: “Junk it - The Americans say”.
** On the very day I wrote this (July 6th 2011) The Melbourne Herald Sun Newspaper, ran an item headed with: “Greece is word for junket MP’s.”

What does Gay mean to you now?

In my 2010 blog, “What does a referee do?” I concluded with: “Again it just shows that even when using familiar words, they don't always have the meaning that we are familiar with, do they? And so we need to be careful at all times that we both know what the other means when using otherwise familiar words, don’t we?
So, are there any other familiar words that you have always used that now, you find have other meanings. Sometimes with totally opposite applications, like with “Cleave”.”
At that point I had not heard of any other words but since then was reminded on how the understanding of the word “Gay” has changed.
This is what a friend wrote in response to my request for words whose meanings have changed: “Interesting. And so much of this is because of the way language is fluid, and words can take on new meanings over time, or can eventually change meaning totally. A current (sad) example is ‘gay’. To me it is sad that the word has gone from a meaning expressing joy (something clearly from God), to what it commonly means now (which is clearly not from God). Another one that comes to mind is ‘let’ in KJV let is used in the sense of hindering or holding back, whereas it has the opposite meaning of allow now.
Words are amazing – truly the gift of communication is one of the things that shows clearly how we are made in His image, who is, after all, The Word.”
Interesting comment and quite true how once any may would not hesitate to say he was gay in the first sense, but would hesitate now lest he be thought gay in the new sense of the word, unless he really was.
Well, that is his say, and He has given us two words whose common meanings have changed. One a long tome back, and another in my generation! What are some other words commonly used by you that have different meanings now? Again over to you for now.

What does cleave mean?

In my 2010 blog, “What does a referee do?” I concluded with: “Again it just shows that even when using familiar words, they don't always have the meaning that we are familiar with, do they? And so we need to be careful at all times that we both know what the other means when using otherwise familiar words, don’t we?
So, are there any other familiar words that you have always used that now, you find have other meanings. Sometimes with totally opposite applications, like with “Cleave”.”
As at that time I had not heard of any other words, so thought I would share with you the meaning of Cleave. Sorry I mean the “Meanings’ of Cleave.”
For as I once discovered, cleave as two totally opposite and in my mind at least opposing meanings.
While we were still in South Africa and at a Church conference with the Indian congregations in the Port Shepstone area, they had a Marriage councillor come in and talk about Marriage and cleaving.
To a country boy brought up with Cleavers and the such, my only understanding of cleave was to violently and with force cleave or cut apart. However upon checking it out in a dictionary I found that this counsellor was right and that there are two distinct, and almost opposite meanings for Cleave.
The first is the common one and is used in any of the following ways:
1. To split or divide by or as if by a cutting blow, esp. along a natural line of division, as the grain of wood.
2. To make by or as if by cutting: to cleave a path through the wilderness.
3. To penetrate or pass through (air, water, etc.): The bow of the boat cleaved the water cleanly.
4. To cut off; sever: to cleave a branch from a tree. –verb (used without object)
5. To part or split, esp. along a natural line of division.
6. To penetrate or advance by or as if by cutting (usually fol. by through).
And secondly, with the opposite and rarer (at least to me) meaning of:
1. To adhere closely; stick; cling (usually fol. by to).
2. To remain faithful (usually fol. by to): to cleave to one's principles in spite of persecution.
So now that you know the two understandings of the word cleave, how do you cleave to other people today? Do you violently of forcibly separate yourself from them? Or do you faithfully cling to and remain faithfully to them? Again over to you now for your application.

What does WHARF mean?

I’m assuming that we all know what a WHARF is now, but do you know what it originally was and how the word came into being? Originally it wasn’t even a proper word, simply an acronym. Now I’m also pretty sure that you know that an acronym is a word formed from the initial letters or groups of letters of words in a set phrase or series of words.
And such is WHARF! Which stands for: W..Whare, H..House, A.. At, R..River F..Front. So originally a wharf was not the place but a building or buildings at the one place on the river front. So what unusual acronyms do you know? And their meanings please?
One we had trouble with in South Africa many years ago when we arrived just before Christmas, was the Newspaper heading stating that SANTA workers were out on strike! No, not Santa’s helpers, but workers of the South African National Tuberculosis Association.
Another that used to crack me up was the SAPS. That is the South African Police Services.

What does a referee do?

Recently received a letter from a friend and church contact who is about to under take a 12 month Counselling Course and she asked, if I, “Would you mind being a “referee” for me?
Being me, I wrote: “Well??? If it was to referee a fight you were in, then maybe yes, but to give you a character reference? Gee? I don't know about that! Lol. Seriously, of course I would be only too happy to do that for you if/when asked. Haven't been yet.”
To which she replied: “Hmm, yes I thought their use of “referee” was unusual. Who knows?
So it was in light of the above correspondence regarding our comments on the word Referee, that I decided to see what the on-line dictionary had to say on the subject.
It gave the following 6 meanings:
–noun 1. one to whom something is referred, esp. for decision or settlement; arbitrator.
2. (in certain games and sports) a judge having functions fixed by the rules of the game or sport; umpire.
3. an authority who evaluates scientific, technical, or scholarly papers, grant proposals, or the like for the publication or funding institution to which they have been submitted.
4. Law. A person selected by a court to take testimony in a case and return it to the court with recommendations as to the decision.
–Verb (used with object) 5. To preside over as referee; act as referee in.
–Verb (used without object) 6. To act as referee.
Now none of the above concisely coincided as how I expect they were/are using the word in this case, but I guess my previous thinking of the word referee, if I ever thought about it, was always and only towards the first two definitions, without even the thought of the other, legal meanings. Again it just shows that even when using familiar words, they don't always have the meaning that we are familiar with, do they? And so we need to be careful at all times that we both know what the other means when using otherwise familiar words, don’t we?
So, are there any other familiar words that you have always used, that now, you find have other meanings. Sometimes with totally opposite applications, like with “Cleave”.
Anyway, with that bit of nonsense out of the way, I will close now.

Not so retrograde after all!

In a recent blog called, “Retrograde & Steady”. I mentioned that there was nothing wrong with a bit of retrograde thinking. Just as long as you brought the good things of the past into the future with you, and didn’t constantly stay in the past.
And that a mixture of the two was not to be shunned. Well that was the intent of my message and it seems our son at least got the point, as his following comment indicates, I think! “Love that in an email about retrograde you insert the term LOL. “
Upon receiving that I lol, at my own accidental illustration of both moving with the times, while still being a bit retrograde too! So, how are you living today? Totally retrograde? Or totally modern? Or have you learned the advantages of living in the best of both worlds? Over to you now for your comments and personal illustrations.

Retrograde & Steady.

Our youngest recently announced her engagement and in a general e-mail to our family and friends, I wrote in part, “Yes after going steady for nearly five years, …” To which I received the following reply from our daughter. “Steady, who uses the term steady these days! Oh and for your info we had actually been together 5 years and 7 days when he proposed. “ Forgetting the part about the length of time they have been going together, (not that she was obviously counting), I had to think about my use of the word “Steady”” especially in light of the fact that the Word of the Day for that very day: (Tuesday, October 12, 2010) was “retrograde.
Now retrograde has 3 common meanings:
1. Having a backward motion or direction; retiring or retreating.
2. Inverse or reversed, as order.
3. Exhibiting degeneration or deterioration.
Now there are some who might say, I fit that latter category of exhibiting degeneration or deterioration! (Lol) But the older I get, the more I do find myself fitting into the first definition and certainly in regard to retiring or retreating into the memories and patterns of my youth. (And quite happy if not outright proud about it, too!)
Now I have no idea what term these young people use now days, for going steady, but I’m guessing “Courtship” would be even more retrograde for them too? So in my defence (and yours too, if you fit in the same pattern), is that there is nothing wrong in looking back to the past, if you are looking for the right things. Not looking back as an escape from the future, but looking back, so as to not leave all the good stuff in the past, but to take the very best with us into the future always.
Yes it is true that sometimes, when we look back, we see a lot of “stuff” that we have left behind and say, “Thank goodness for that and, “What was I /we thinking at that time!” But also, and very sadly, we often also look back at a lot that has been left behind, and are left wondering, “Why did I/we let that happen”, and ““What was I /we thinking at that time!” So just because a thing, idea, or even a word is old, it doesn’t mean it has lost its meaning or purpose in our lives, even if we have, (purposely or otherwise,) left it far behind.
So today’s query is, “Are you retrograde too? And if so, for what reason? To escape from the future? Or to make the future more liveable and even more lovable? Well they’re my thoughts on the matter. What are yours?

Sarspadidious Follow up.

In a previous blog, I asked if anyone out there knew what Sarspididious meant, as someone had sent the word to me, but I couldn’t find any reference to it. Not even when I Googled it! However when I posted this blog my son also googled it about a week later and this is his findings: “Google only comes up with 3 results - one of which is yours, the other a dead end. The third is a forum where there was no answer but they think it might be a made up Aussie word from the 60's. Here is the link http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1316820”.
So unless someone comes up with something further, I am going to leave it as a Made up Aussie word from the 1960’s with the rough meaning of: “being deliberately silly or stupid.” So until or unless I find out more on the subject, that is where I will leave it for now. Thanks for your participation.

Do you know what prorogation means?

Do you know what prorogation is and that we in Australia had one a few weeks back, and that we in Victoria are in one right now, starting yesterday? Like most of you, until recently I had never heard of the word or act before. However earlier this year, on a Canadian friend’s Face book site, she mentioned that she had joined the group “Canadians against Prorogation “. Again not knowing what prorogation was and whether it was just something unique to Canada, I looked it up on the net. And much to my surprise I found that we in Australia have one usually every 3 or 4 years.
According to the Dictionary, Prorogation means: To discontinue a session of (a parliament, for example). Or To postpone; defer.” Thus Parliaments are prorogued before elections to prevent the upper house from sitting during the campaign and to expunge all existing upper house business before the start of the next parliament. In Australia, prorogations not thus related to the conduct of an election are unusual.
So it seems that normally, Prorogations are “normal business” before every election to stop any “funny business, but it appears that in Canada at least, those normal procedures were being used for abnormal or political purposes and not for what it was originally intended.
So anyway, although I now know, what a prorogation is and that we have them regularly here in Australia, and used properly are good things, I am still most unlikely to use that word myself. Still I can’t help but wonder about how the Canadian Ruling party was using a normal process for an abnormal and seemingly selfish purpose. And similarly, I can’t help wondering if there are similar things in my life that I too am using for in an inappropriate or improper or even selfish reason here. Again Forgetting the Canadians here, the question, I am now asking myself is, am I similarly misusing a good and normal process for my own benefit and am I prepared to stop doing so?
Maybe you too might need to do some similar reflecting now too? Over to you for now!

Do you use paraprosdokians?

In a recent blog, I asked people to send in unusual or quaint words that were often now seen as obsolete. In two separate replies, I was given the word, paraprosdokian. Now unlike me, I’m sure you know what a paraprosdokian is? Well you should, as most of us trend to use them from time to time, even if we don’t know their name.
According to Wickipedia, A paraprosdokian (from Greek "παρα-", meaning "beyond" and "προσδοκία", meaning "expectation") is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected, in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect, sometimes producing an anticlimax. For this reason, it is extremely popular among comedians and satirists. Some paraprosdokians not only change the meaning of an early phrase, but also play on the double meaning of a particular word, creating a syllepsis.
So now you know what a paraprosdokian is, I will give you a couple of classic examples:
Ø Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
Ø I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather. Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.
Ø Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.
Ø The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on the list.
Ø Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Ø The early bird might get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
Well, now that you know what a paraprosdokian is, what are some of your favourites? Please?

"Issumagijoujungnainermik"

"Issumagijoujungnainermik" is another word for “forgiveness.” It is in fact an Eskimo word.
Yes, Moravian Missionaries to the unreached peoples on the edge of the icy northern polar region searched for a word for forgiveness in the local Eskimo language. That's when they discovered issumagijoujungnainermik, a genuine 24-letter tongue-twister which literally means 'not being able to think about it any more.'
That is what ‘Genuine forgiveness’ is all about! It is much more than just saying 'I forgive you', it's about moving on, refusing to think any more about what happened and in time forgetting about it completely.
It's easy to forgive someone who accidentally stepped on your foot, but what about those who meant to hurt you? . Genuine forgiveness is about moving on and refusing to think any more about what happened.
Have you ever witnessed a friend who continually has an issue with someone and just thought 'they really need to get over it'? Holding onto old hurts just makes you bitter. Paul says, 'Forgive...because the Lord forgave you.' Get over it before it turns into hatred!
So today if there is someone you do need to forgive, please do so but do do it within the full meaning of Issumagijoujungnainermik and give them full forgiveness, forgetting about it fully, and moving on never to revisit that spot again.
Remember, "Issumagijoujungnainermik", may sound foolish to you, but true forgiveness doesn't mean foolishness, not in any language.

Xenophilia and xenophilic

Recently my Canadian friend introduced me to two words that he was led to believe are new words (but are not) and they are of course Xenophilia and xenophilic.
He told me that, “A couple of weeks ago in our church someone was talking about these sorts of issues and he coined a phrase which I hope catches on: xenophilia. He said that God is "xenophilic:" literally a lover of the stranger or the outsider. I think Christ called us to be xenophilic as well. Think of Matthew 25:35 "I was a stranger and you welcomed me." The question shouldn't be how grateful the stranger is, the question should be how welcoming we are.”
Being attracted to the implied meanings of the words, I looked them up on an on-line Dictionary and found that they were not completely new, as they have been around for nearly half a century. However they are not well known and I would like to try and do my bit in changing that fact, starting with this blog.
Now Xenophilia (The noun) and xenophilia (an adverb) are the complete opposites in meaning to xenophobia. Now I am sure that, although I hope you are not one, nor necessarily overly familiar with the word, that you have at least heard of that word Xenophobia and its meaning, at some time or another.
Although xenophilia and xenophilic have only been around since around 1955-1960, xenophobia has been around, as a recorded word since at least 1900-1905, (according to the dictionary) and much, much longer in attitude!
Xenophobia is “an unreasonable fear or hatred of Foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange. ”On the other hand and opposite extreme, xenophilia is “an attraction to foreign peoples, cultures or customs.”
Although I had heard of Xenophobia before and knew I wasn’t one of them, I had never heard of Xenophilia before and so when I did, I had to ask myself, “Am I one of them?” And I guess the answer is, “Not completely, no!”
No, because I don’t really have “an attraction to foreign peoples, cultures or customs.” I don’t mind meeting new people and trying new things and customs, but I can’t say I am a lover of them or that I have a particular attraction for them either. But then I am not afraid of, nor hate them per se` either. So while I am definitely not a xenophobe or xenophobic in anyway, I am not quite a xenophile either, although I very happily fit very close and comfortable with them, and especially as opposed to those who are genuinely xenophobic.
What about you? Are you prepared to ask yourself openly and honestly which you are closest to in your everyday reactions and actions with the strangers you happen to meet in your every day business or busyness? Or are you already happy enough to if not outright embrace everything new, at least test them and see, or as they say “Try before you buy or reject”? Will you also like me try and spread the good news about the word ”xenophilia” and try and influence others behaviours by your own xenophilic behaviour? Again just a little for you to think on. Please?

Philter, as word of the Day?

Saw on the Net that “Philter” was the word of the day for August 17^th 2008. Now I had never heard of the word before and unlike what I would have thought it could be, no it wasn’t another way of saying “Filter”. Nothing like it at all.

As I had little better to do at the time, I looked it up and even when I found out what it meant, I wondered what it could have possibly done to become the word of the day in this day and age? Have you ever used the word before or even heard it used in common usage? I have heard its common meaning used many, many times before. In fact there was even a very popular song by the Coasters (I think) about it many years ago and even a Movie of the same name 9also long ago now) starring Sandra Bullock. No not “Speed” but, “Philter No. 9.” Sorry, I meant, “Love potion Number Nine.”

Yes that is what philter actually means! Don’t believe me? Then take the dictionary’s word for it then! “Philter \FIL-tur\, noun: means: 1. A potion or charm supposed to cause the person taking it to fall in love.

So now you know a new fancy word, but what good does it do you? I mean to say, how on earth are you ever going to slip words like “philter” into ordinary conversation? Sometimes I think some people are just too smart for their own good, and whilst I think it good to have a broad knowledge of words and to use more than just a few basic ones, I really do think that we can also go far, far too far, the other way too. What say you? Should words of the day be relevant to our day? Or just curiosity or novelty words of a long, long, long gone era? Yes, what say you?

On the same topic I saw that word of the day for August 18^th was Knell. Now that one I could accept as although ancient and quaint even, it is still used in literature and especially Poetic literature to signify the Church’s death bell ringing out to announce a person’s death in the local community. Yes, according to the self same Dictionary, “ knell \NEL\, verb: means 1. The stroke of a bell tolled at a funeral or at the death of a person; a death signal; a passing bell; hence, figuratively, a warning of, or a sound indicating, the passing away of anything.”

Thus although not used often in everyday conversation is at least used these days and thus is acceptable if not totally worthy as word of the Day but “Philter”? Again ask you?

Are You A True Amateur In All That You Do?

Like many words over the years, the word amateur has been redefined over the years and lost a little of its original meaning. The English word comes from the Latin word “amore”, which, as we all know I am sure, means, “to love”. Thus originally and in its truest form the word, “amateur” is simply someone who does something, simply “for the love of it”.

Unfortunately these days, we define it a little more broadly, and as someone who does something, but not paid for it, therefore they and their work by implication, must be inferior to that of the paid professional.

The reasoning being that if someone is willing to pay for your services, you must be really good. Whereas an amateur must be less skilled or less talented, other wise he/she too could charge for their services. Of course, if you have ever hired many of theses so-called professionals, you will know the latter is often not true and that in fact many so-called amateurs have it all over the so-called professionals with their skills some times.

But that still doesn’t stop us mentally, at least, as down grading the amateurs does it?

However it is the true amateur, the one who does things for love and not for money, who is the real professional, isn’t it?

If you are doing it for money, then near enough is good enough most of the time isn’t it?

Whereas, if you are doing something for love, even your best is often not good enough in your own eyes is it? And you keep at it until you really do think you can do no better, don’t you?

So today and everyday, when you go about your own special talent in life, even if you are a paid professional, please do all your work as an amateur. A loving, albeit unpaid, amateur, in the true sense of the word. Okay?