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I was looking for the word to describe what one misses by relying on written words instead of hearing them spoken. Without the melody, rhythm, rate, and emphases, one can completely misinterpret the intended meaning. You might imagine sarcasm or emotion when none was intended or you might miss it when it is intended. And this problem is accentuated by texting because even the use of italics and punctuation is usually missing. Bolding and exclamation marks are so overused that they convey little these days.
So what is the word for these vocalized touches that enable us to fully understand the speaker's words? Prosody. Although I had heard the word in connection to the reading of poetry, I was unaware of its application to everyday speech. (People who have experience with sufferers of autism or Parkinson's may be familiar with the word because people with those diseases often have absence of prosody in their speech.) I am trying to rely a bit less on texting and emailing so that prosody can play its all-important role. When I was in junior high, we were told that it was time for us to learn more about our roles in life. My attention perked up, but soon my spirits were dashed. Girls were told they had to take home economics and sewing; the boys could either take machine shop or mechanical drawing. That night I whined to my dad about it. He said, "so do both." I registered as the only female—ever, at that point*—to attend mechanical drawing. But I also took the required course in sewing, where I ended up being the worst student in the class. I think I hated it so much because I was being forced into a role rather than choosing it, but maybe I really was just bad at it. Well, now I am going to find out. In my efforts to challenge my 75-year-old brain, I am goig to learn to sew...at least a little bit. So here is the new machine I've bought for this adventure. *The next semester, 4 girls signed up for mechanical drawing and it snowballed from there.
Elon Musk used to shy away from overt dabbling in politics until a few months ago when he went all-out for Trump. Now we learn from the Wall Street Journal that Musk and Trump have both been in direct communication recently with Putin, the autocrat in charge of Russia, one of the two primary adversaries of the USA. There is no time before the election to delve into what they schemed, but you can be sure it wasn't in either US national security interests or for the sake of free, fair democracy. As a friend of mine noted, whatever transpired, it was almost certainly treason. Elon Musk has over $15 bn in over 300 contracts with the US Government, mostly through Space X and highly sensitive technology. His actions could have involved deal-making and information flow that would directly endanger US security as well as elections integrity. As Bill Nelson, head of NASA, said: this calls for a very serious investigation. But if Trump is elected, you can be sure you'll never know the truth and the relationships he and Musk have with Putin are likely to deepen.
Where you see wrong, or inequality, or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it. Protect it. Pass it on. – Thurgood Marshall You may think first of politics when you read this. I did. But several months ago, after I had read and filed this, something happened in my life that made this quotation both more meaningful and a call to action for me. The country club where I play golf opened a new bar and cafe, but made it men-only. Yes, they did. I objected, but was put down by the Board of Directors who heard my appeal. So, yes, I see injustice and inequality and am compelled to do something (working on it). I don't know how all this will turn out, of course. But I can say for sure that it can be mighty uncomfortable when you speak up. Even the people who agree with you in their hearts can treat you like a leper. This experience makes me value John Lewis and all the others who've sacrificed their comfort (and more) to try to right wrongs.
There's a short story in my newest book, MOMENTS, that's about four guys who play cards together and the attempt by three of them to help the fourth—when he doesn't want or need the help. It's a situation many or most of us have been in.
Anyway, I would like to turn it into a film of about 10 minutes. I've just finished the screenplay for it and am scoping out the mechanics of bringing it to life. The part that is most exciting to me is to see what other artists—actors, cinematographer, producer, editor—will do to it. If I can pull this off, it will be great fun. Will keep you posted. I finally forced myself to sit down and go through the 19 propositions on my voting ballot so that I can go when early voting opens for Texans on October 21. What a task! The problem is that there are too many discrete issues lumped together in each proposition. I agree with some elements and others, oppose. There must be a better word for this than mish-mash, I thought. Then the word arose from deep memory: farragoes. So I looked it up to see if it is apropros.
Originally, it was used to describe mixed fodder, and gradually became "a confused mixture". Yes, this word does nicely here. Another problem with some of the propositions is that they overprescribe. Yes, I agree city council members should get a raise; no, I don't agree that their wages should double all at once. Yes I agree that getting measures onto ballots should be a bit easier, but no, I don't want it so easy that I face many times the number of propositions each voting time. Voters face enough farragoes as it is! What a disappointment! I absolutely love pistachios and was so excited to try that flavor in my absolutely favorite ice cream, but the brand let me down. The texture is a bit off, almost slippery. The sugar is somehow not quite right and the flavor of pistachio is not strong. So I read the label to try to figure out what's wrong. Corn syrup? Really?? I just didn't know they used that in such a great ice cream. So I wondered why it's necessary and decided to explore. I found an informative site: https://www.icecreamscience.com/blog/corn-syrup-used-ice-cream. Then I looked for any ice cream that doesn't have some form of manipulated sugar and could find none. And I am not giving up ice cream!
As for the pistachio flavor...well, I'll stick to Vanilla Swiss Almond for now. BTW, it is only $3.98 at Walmart and is $6.98 at "regular" grocery stores in Dallas. Here's a pithy thought for you:
"Be careful. When a democracy is sick, fascism comes to its bedside, but it is not to inquire about its health." ~ Albert Camus The New York Times did a story on the 50 restaurants in the US that they considered as "best". I wasn't surprised to see that Texas got only 3; I don't think that too many places actually have chefs or even try to be novel. But Dallas did have one on the list—Simply South, one that serves southern Indian vegetarian fare. Being afraid that it would become too busy to get into after the NYT publicity, I went the next day, a Monday. The menu isn't made with non-Indian's in mind because it has no spiciness ratings. Hence, one of the two items I ordered was too hot for me to bear, but the other two were fantastic. They were so fresh and interesting and I plan to go again just to have them. They were idly, on the right, a rice cake with chutneys, and a nutty paneer, on the left. In case you're in Dallas, here's the website: https://simplysouth.us/.
A midden is a refuse heap or dunghill. I look at the alarming, sad, and just plain awful images of Ukraine and the Middle East and try to think of what it would be like to lose my home in a bombing, assuming I lived through it. I just can't really imagine it, and I guess I'm grateful I can't. But my heart is often heavy when I think of those poor souls. How much torture and angst those people (and the animals) suffer and for what? It is about power, money and control—the everlasting sources of war and fighting.
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Bailey BlogI'm an author, mostly of fiction these days. And I love to paint abstracts. But this blog is about anything. Like many people, I use the Internet space just to reach out. Categories
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