WORK
- Those that belong to the emperor
- Embalmed ones
- Those that are trained
- Suckling pigs
- Mermaids (or Sirens)
- Fabulous Ones
- Stray Dogs
- Those that are included in this classification
- Those that tremble as if they are mad
- Innumerable ones
- Those drawn with a very fine camel hair brush
- Et cetera
- Those that have just broken the flower vase
- Those that, at a distance, resemble flies
—Jorge Luis Borges
—classification system for his imaginary Celestial Emporium of Benevolent Knowledge
WORD(S)
aftermath /af-tər-math/. noun. Today’s WORD is familiar but its etymology may not be. Aftermath is derived from the Old English math (a mowing, a crop), which combines mow and the suffix -th (a suffix that forms nouns from verbs denoting a process or action) in the same way as the commonplace grow + th does. So aftermath is literally a “second mowing,” which has come to more generally mean consequences or conditions arising from an event, most often an unpleasant one.
“…the certainty and authority that I heard reminded me of the plain, less-than-enthusiastic report of a documentary, which is the tone of voice of those undoubting parts of the Bible. ¶ ‘I NEVER HEAR THE EXPLOSION. WHAT I HEAR IS THE AFTERMATH OF AN EXPLOSION. THERE IS A RINGING IN MY EARS, AND THOSE HIGH-PITCHED POPPING AND TICKING SOUNDS THAT A HOT ENGINE MAKES AFTER YOU SHUT IT OFF; AND PIECES OF THE SKY ARE FALLING, AND BITS OF WHITE-MAYBE PAPER, MAYBE PLASTER-ARE FLOATING DOWN LIKE SNOW. THERE ARE SILVERY SPARKLES IN THE AIR, TOO-MAYBE IT’S SHATTERED GLASS. THERE’S SMOKE, AND THE STINK OF BURNING; THERE’S NO FLAME, BUT EVERYTHING IS SMOLDERING.’” (John Irving)
“…And ‘Do not go’ cry the dandelions, from their heads of folly / And ‘Do not go’ cry the yard cinders, who have no future, only their infernal aftermath / And ‘Do not go’ cries the cracked trough by the gate, fatalist of starlight and zero // ‘Stay’ says the arrangement of stars…” (Ted Hughes)
“Sometimes reporters will speak of wanting to spend the night at Puerta del Diablo, in order to document the actual execution, but at the time I was in Salvador no one had. ¶ The aftermath, the daylight aspect, is well documented.” (Joan Didion)
WEB
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Typewritten Typewriter.writer..ter…
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Your health tip for the day → Mounting data suggest antibacterial soaps do more harm than good
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And your mental health tip for the day. → UC Davis spent thousands to scrub pepper-spray references from Internet
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The evidence continues to grow → Taking Notes By Hand May Be Better Than Digitally, Researchers Say
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Today in 1824, poet, beauty, would-be king of Greece, minor Don Juan and author of the epic poem “Don Juan,” and perhaps the first rock star style celebrity, George Gordon “Lord” Byron, dies of fever and (probably) sepsis in Missolonghi, Greece, where he is planning a siege in support of Greek independence. In his short 36 years, Byron became one of the most admired and imitated poets in England, fathered at least three children (including Ada Lovelace who would become famous as a mathematician and her work on Babbage’s Analytical Engine, making her essentially the first computer programmer), had a long series of scandalous affairs with cousins, some famous women (and probably some men) including Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s half-sister and, it is thought, his own half-sister, and became a legend in Greece for his valiant fighting for Greek independence. “Byronic” has come to mean a combination of romance and arrogance, cynicism and darkness—and physical beauty—that is both fascinating and repellent.
WATCH/WITNESS
Enjoy the Jastrow illusion. One of my all-time, mind-bending favorites. See also: some more information and examples.
REPRISES/RESPONSES/REJOINDERS/RIPOSTES
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Reader B. suggests: “If you liked Koyaanistocksi, I would like to recommend Samsara.” — I assume you mean the film? In which case I heartily second your recommendation.
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A different Reader B. has his clever cap on: “It’s only ‘aphetic’ for now. Soon it will become merely ‘phetic’.” — I see what you did there…
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