Only everyone can know the truth.
-attributed to Goethe
Vocabulary: Threap what you sew edition
compurgation: trial in which numerous (often 12) witnesses swear to the defendant’s innocence
agate: typographical unit of approximately 5.5 points, among the smallest regularly printed
gremial: a cloth spread on a bishop’s lap during mass; or, lap-related; or, a confidant
bombazine: also -zeen, a silk or silk-wool textile often used in mourning garments
corybantic: ecstatic or frenetic, after the korybantes dancers of ancient Phrygia
flummery: sweetened gruel or pudding; or, meaningless or deceptive language
burgoo: a thick stew or porridge; or, an occasion on which one eats it
gleet: mucus or viscous bodily fluid, especially of a hawk or urethra
sillabub: dessert of thickened cream mixed with wine or juice
mammothrept: a spoiled child; literally, ‘grandmother-raised’
fearnaught: a thick woolen fabric, or garment made thereof
cicisbeo: a married woman’s lover or male companion
anfractuous: winding, circuitous, or complicated
clemmed: pinched or compressed, or starving
lamiter: a lame or otherwise disabled person
redd up: to tidy, in Pittsburgh-local dialect
roborative: fortifying, especially a drink
niello: black alloy used in decorations
threap: to scold, contradict, or blame
mumchance: silent or dumbstruck
selden: archaic form of ‘seldom’
snaffle: a jointed bit for a horse
cholagogue: a bilious purgative
kickshaw: a trifle or delicacy
pech: pant
The Analytical Engine has no pretensions whatever to originate anything. It can do whatever we know how to order it to perform…. Its province is to assist us in making available what we are already acquainted with.
Ada Lovelace, notes on Babbage’s Analytical Engine
No Joy – “Jelly Meadow Bright”
Bugland
The cosmically bombastic closer to a short but strong album, this song contains multitudes, both sequential and simultaneous. Just when you think you know what it is, they turn the dial again and it stuns afresh. If No Joy’s next album takes after this track, it’s going to be uncategorizable. (bandcamp)
Vocabulary: So what’s the Plangents Edition
testudo: mobile shelter from arrows often formed by overlapping shields in Roman legions
titivate: to decorate or spruce up oneself or a location (poss. tidy+elevate/cultivate)
tumbrel: a two-wheeled cart infamously used to carry prisoners to the guillotine
foehn: or föhn, a warm dry wind in the lee of a mountain range, esp. the Alps
debarrass: the reverse of embarrass, to remove something causing shame
miniver: light (possibly squirrel) fur used in ceremonial robes of state
erethism: abnormal sensitivity of a body part or mind to stimulation
precisian: one who adheres closely to rules or forms; or, a puritan
plexus: a complex structure or network of parts (fr. Latin to braid)
cadaverine: a toxic, colorless chemical produced by putrefaction
pintle: a pin on which a part turns, esp. a rudder or gun carriage
pelerine: a women’s short cape with long pointed ends in front
energumen: one possessed by a devil or evil spirit; or, a zealot
kedge: a light anchor used to warp a vessel, or to use one
palter: to speak insincerely or capriciously; or, to haggle
plangent: resonant and deep, esp. mournful sounds
sistrum: a type of metal rattle used in ancient Egypt
dree: to endure; to dree weird is to endure fate
murrey: a mulburry, or the color of one
rodomontade: boasts or bluster
pantler: a servant of the pantry
bemaze: bewilder, bemuse
facinorous: highly wicked
Anna Von Hausswolf – “Pomperipossa”
The Miraculous
Having heard Von Hausswolf’s solo organ works at a bar (“It’s like church in here,” some guy told the goth bartender; my friend, the place is basically Wicca-themed, expect organ music!) I looked up her back catalogue and was very pleasantly surprised to find it intricately arranged, metal-adjacent chamber rock. Von Hausswolf clearly has a gift for composing tonal journeys, as opener “Discovery” shows, smoothly transitioning from eerie to upbeat to chaotic to mystical and ecstatic. The rest of the album sees her experimenting with arrangements and vocals to extraordinary effect, with the saturated “Pomperipossa” somehow both the shortest track and most representative. (bandcamp)
Four Japanese mysteries: Six Four, Decagon House Murders, Tokyo Zodiac Murders, and the Devotion of Suspect X
Japan has a long and rich history in the mystery genre, stretching back in particular to the inimitable Edogawa Rampo. I read a few modern classics and although they are not all hits — I was not a fan of Newcomer, for instance — these four I think deserve individual recognition and juxtaposition.
Vocabulary: Graith in the Grith of the Garth Edition
weet: also wit or wot, to know (but in the context discovered, ‘come wind or weet,’ probably wet)
perdue: a soldier sent on an especially dangerous mission (fr. French, ‘forgotten’)
gare: in water, a pier; on land, a station; in a person, greed or miserliness
electuary: medicine mixed with sugar or honey for easier consumption
garth: a courtyard, esp. within a cloister; or, a hoop for children’s play
sendal: fine silk fabric used in the middle ages, or a garment of it
grith: in old English law, sanctuary provided by church or crown
troke: also troak or truck, to barter or trade, or the items traded
corrie: a bowl-like terrain feature formed by retreating glaciers
inexpugnable: unable to be overcome or driven away by force
eft: certain terrestrial newts or developmental stages thereof
syth: also sith, sithe, etc, relatives of sithence, meaning since
graith: equipment, or to equip, or to be equipped (graithed)
thrawart: stubborn and obstinate, or twisted and distorted
umbles: also numbles, the edible organs of animals
chrysoprase: gemlike green chalcedony
trisulk: also trisulc, triple-pronged
speer: also speir, to ask or inquire
capriped: having feet like a goat’s
sike: a small stream or ditch
jimp: scant or dainty
fico: a trifle, or a fig
Four magical schools: Vita Nostra, A College of Magics, Poppy War, Red Sister
I admit it freely and without shame: I love magical schools. Hogwarts may be the best known, but it’s not the first, nor did it exhaust the theme. That said, such an institution is no guarantee of a good story. Having realized that over two years I’d read four books where a girl attends and learns the mysteries of a magical school, I thought I’d compare.
Showtime Goma – “Come and Know Me Better Man”
Smiley Face
I know Goma from her work as virtuoso vocalist in A Sunny Day in Glasgow. Her solo work is similarly varied and anthemic, with thick synths and guitar washes pierced by soaring voices. Some of the other tracks on this album reach a little higher or farther out, but this one packs a remarkable amount into less than three minutes, making the song seem a long journey that’s simultaneously over before you know it. (bandcamp)
Possession is more often secular than supernatural. Men are possessed by their thoughts of a hated person, a hated class, race or nation. At the present time the destinies of the world are in the hands of self-made demoniacs — of men who are possessed by, and who manifest, the evil they have chosen to see in others. They do not believe in devils, but they have tried their hardest to be possessed — have tried and been triumphantly successful.
Aldous Huxley, The Devils of Loudon
Vocabulary: Return to Shender Edition
blackleg: one of several blackening diseases of plant and animal; or, a swindler in racing or sport
antinomian: believing morals are irrelevant to those already bound for heaven
espalier: a framework by which a plant is made to grow in a specific shape
jess: in falconry, a strap around a bird’s leg to which a leash attaches
varvel: in falconry, a ring with the owner’s name attached to a jess
lunette: in architecture or fortification, a half-moon-shaped space
equerry: in a royal household, the officer in charge of the horses
cresset: a pendant or mounted metal cup used as a brazier
dree: a tedious or dreary noise, or to suffer hearing one
ukase: an order by absolute authority, esp. a czar’s
drysalter: a dealer of dry chemicals and dyes
delate: to inform or report, esp. to denounce
disembogue: to discharge or pour forth
shend: to reproach, shame, or injure
prevenient: before or in advance of
vermeil: vermilion, or gilded metal
yegg: a safecracker or burglar
izard: a Pyrenean antelope
langret: a loaded die
hautboy: an oboe
Max Ananyev – “Dew Empire”
Water Atlas
Ananyev’s work is reminiscent of the best of Tape, weaving a handful of sounds and melodies into intermittently peaceful and lively combinations. The precisely plucked guitar in this track, with its infinite sustain and cozy, clear tone is captivating, as is the delicate skein on which it rests. (Serein)
I was surprised not to be able to find a full-resolution image of the lovely panoramic background from the sacred forest scene in Princess Mononoke. I assembled this one from screengrabs. It had to be cropped a bit and there’s an imperfection on one of the trees that’s in the film, but it’s better than any other version I could find.
A handy Notepad script
After answering someone asking online for useful macros and scripts using AutoHotKey, it appears a little trick I’ve been using for years could be useful to others.
I tend to keep Notepad open most of the day for little tasks like de-formatting text or taking notes, but it’s annoying to bring up when I’m already typing. So I made a little script to do it without reaching for my mouse or alt-tabbing around.
When I hit tilde (`), the script launches Notepad with a new, untitled plaintext document if there isn’t one already. If I’m in another window or application, it will switch focus to that document. And if I’m already focused on Notepad, it will close the document (after confirmation). That’s all! It’s very simple and very useful. Maybe you can use it too. (Code after the fold.)
Read moreSharon Van Etten – “Your Love is Killing Me”
Are We There
Having heard the instantly and unforgettably catchy “Every Time the Sun Comes Up I’m in Trouble” at a coffee shop, I knew I liked the artist, but it wasn’t until I heard this song that I understood her real power as a songwriter. Van Etten uses the lower limits of her voice’s register and the belly notes swell operatically, working alongside epic arrangements that reminded me of Weyes Blood. The love she sings of is thankfully fictitious for her, but as she noted in an interview, that doesn’t make it any less real for some. (bandcamp)
Common bugbears of modern online writing
Inspired by Ambrose Bierce’s endlessly entertaining and edifying Write it Right, I’ve collected a few errors (or so I see them) frequently found amid the flood of writing that makes its way online every day. They are not all incorrect per se, but as Bierce pointed out, over and above being merely correct, writing may also be unambiguous — and we should always strive to make it so.
This list is (and will forever remain) a work in progress.
ahold: ‘Get ahold of’ may roll off the tongue in person but this colloquialism has no real reason to exist in writing outside of dialogue.
disinterested: Used almost exclusively now to mean ‘uninterested’ in place of that perfectly good word. But disinterested refers to having no ‘interest’ in a financial or personal sense, as in a conflict of interest. One who is disinterested in (or more properly, from) something has nothing to gain or lose in connection with it, so their actions can be considered to have no ulterior motive. Similarly one cannot ‘have a disinterest in’ something — say they have no interest, or a lack of interest.
begs the question: The battle by pedants (including myself in the past) to rescue this saying from corruption is long lost and was misguided to begin with, considering ‘beg the question’ is at best an ambiguously worded paraphrase of a logical fallacy seldom found in ordinary discourse. If something raises or prompts a question, or conversely if it moots or presupposes its answer, say that. Avoid the original construction entirely and avoid the possibility of confusion, derailment, and unwanted commentary.
comma pause: Commas are punctuation that formally divide a sentence, and should not be used in expository writing to dictate its pacing or emphasis. For instance: ‘The CEO said that, “We will look into it” ‘ or ‘She determined that moment, that she would look into it.’ If the effect is important the sentence can usually be rearranged to achieve it and remain grammar, but be wary of changing the meaning.
six-feet: Variations of this type of hyphenation abound: ‘the screen is eight-inches wide,’ ‘she was five-feet, seven-inches tall,’ ‘it was four-and-a-half hours.’ When dimensions are being enumerated, no hyphen is necessary. It is when they act as a compound adjective that they must be united for clarity: ‘the board was two feet long’ vs ‘a two-foot-long board.’
add on, add in, continue on, etc.: The verb alone is usually sufficient. Incidentally, as hyphenated nouns (add-ons), these sound commercial.
in between: As above, the ‘in’ may be omitted with advantage.
in order to: ‘In order’ is superfluous in most cases and can be omitted. Variants of this may perform work under other circumstances, however, such as ‘as a means to.’
irregardless: No such word.
Songs: Ohia – “Travels in Constants”
Travels in Constants
Reading the Chicago Reader’s heartbreaking account of Jason Molina’s long, troubled career, I was surprised to see no mention of what is by far my favorite work of his, the supremely intimate and evocative untitled three-part track recorded for the Travels in Constants series. Unadorned, uncut, and unsurpassed in my opinion on lyrical genius for a songwriter famed for lyrical composition, this is to me the essential and eternal Molina.
Vocabulary: Writhen Shine Edition
blackleg: in labor, a scab; in cards, a cheat; in zoology and botany, a bacterial or fungal disease
fettle: condition; or, to finish a cast piece or repair a furnace by removing extra material
espalier: a shrub or tree grown flat against a wall, or the framework used to do so
caducity: the quality of frailness or elderliness, or being transitory or perishable
poll evil: a condition among horses in which the back of the head swells
revetment: angled fortification to absorb the force from a body of water
marcescent: withering but not yet dropping (e.g. leaves in early fall)
withes: supple twigs or rope made from such; also spelled withies
electrolier: a chandelier with electric lights rather than candles
dottle: the plug of ash and tobacco left in a pipe after smoking
hod-me-dod: a snail, or a girl’s curls. In Norfolk, a hedgehog.
carlin: in Scotland, an old woman; also, a pug
cairngorm: a smoky yellow or dark quartz
enfeoff: to grant someone a feudal estate
fulgurant: like lightning, flashy or dazzling
writhen: twisted, wound, or cortorted
swot: scholar or studious person
yegg: a burglar or safecracker
The Gygerkarte, or Gyger Map (and detail), made in 1667 by Hans Conrad Gyger and one of the first ever to represent a landscape in this intricate and accurate fashion.
