We're All Together, Simulacra

Binge

Had a 16-hour studying binge yesterday from 10AM to 4AM (sans 2-3:30 for class). I’m a little more than tired.

More DFW Reading

Voire dire

1. A preliminary examination of a witness or a juror by a judge or counsel.
2. An oath taken by such a witness.

Fictile

1. Made of earth or clay by a potter.
2. Of or relating to pottery or its manufacture

Hale

(of a person) Strong and healthy

Surfeit

An excessive amount of something

Finial

1. A distinctive ornament at the apex of a roof, pinnacle, canopy, or similar structure.
2. An ornament at the top, end, or corner of an object such as a post, piece of furniture, etc

Putative

Generally considered or reputed to be: “the putative father of a boy of two”

Sallow

(of a person’s complexion) Of an unhealthy yellowish color

Valise

A small traveling bag or suitcase.

Ramify

1. Form branches or offshoots; spread or branch out.
2. Cause to branch or spread out: “a ramified genealogical network”

Primipara

A woman who is giving birth for the first time

Accrete

1. Grow by accumulation or coalescence: “ice that had accreted grotesquely into stalactites”.
2. Form (a composite whole or a collection of things) by gradual accumulation: “the collection of art he had accreted was to be sold”

Perpend

1. A vertical layer of mortar between two bricks.
2. To consider carefully; ponder

Bailiwick

1. The district or jurisdiction of a bailie or bailiff.
2. One’s sphere of operations or particular area of interest

Prurient

Having or encouraging an excessive interest in sexual matters

Detumesce

To leave the erect, sexually aroused state; to lose one’s sexual arousal

Mortise

A hole or recess cut into a part, designed to receive a corresponding projection on another part

Some Light DFW Reading

Triptych n.

1. A picture or relief carving on three panels, typically hinged together vertically and used as an altarpiece.
2. A set of three associated artistic, literary, or musical works intended to be appreciated together.

Pablumize v.
To dumb down.

Unalloyed adj.

1. (of metal) Not alloyed; pure: “unalloyed copper”.
2. (chiefly of emotions) Complete and unreserved

Anaclitic adj.
Relating to or characterized by a strong emotional dependence on another or others. 

Gestalt n.
An organized whole that is perceived as more than the sum of its parts. 

Obverse n.
The side of a coin or medal bearing the head or principal design 

Detente n.
The easing of tensions or strained relations (especially between nations). 

Syncretic adj.
Relating to a historical tendency for a language to reduce its use of inflections; “modern English is a syncretic language”.

Spirant n./adj.
(of a consonant) Uttered with a continuous expulsion of breath.

Cognoscente n.
A connoisseur; a discerning expert.

Uxorious adj.
Having or showing an excessive or submissive fondness for one’s wife.

Mordant adj.
(esp. of humor) Having or showing a sharp or critical quality; biting.

Weltschmerz n.
A feeling of melancholy and world-weariness

Solmization n.
The act, practice, or system of using syllables to denote the tones of a musical scale.

Involution n.

1. The shrinkage of an organ in old age or when inactive, e.g., of the uterus after childbirth.

2.   A function, transformation, or operator that is equal to its inverse, i.e., which gives the identity when applied to itself.

 Decoct v.
To extract the essence of by boiling.

Bolus n.

1. A small rounded mass of a substance, esp. of chewed food at the moment of swallowing.
2. A type of large pill used in veterinary medicine.

New Books

I just finished A Visit From the Goon Squad and am now reading Super Sad True Love Story.

Holy shit I love literature.

Push

The feeling of falling behind; collapsing under my own weight. Periods lose their meaning as semicolons fatten and swell.

Get it together. Get it together.

To You, The Assclown

It’s one thing to be critiqued about the wanton use of multisyllabic words, but when they’re used with precision and skill, sans thesaurus, then the argument falls flat.

I should not have to apologize for using multisyllabic words that you do not understand. Instead, you should veil the pride you have for your ignorance you dense and tactless troglodyte.

What kind of repugnant and self-absorbed asshole throws out a disclaimer before stating, “These words are too big!”

Your imagination and intellect are too small. Deflate some of that sybaritic ego to make room for learning you consummate dolt.

Nike

activity weeps at the feet
of lethargy and its perpetual yawn,

will the crown to the other’s head
to weave the clock back just one more thread 

No

who are you to gaze at me—
trippingly across a font
turned brackish by molting swans

Cryptomnesia n.
Occurs when a forgotten memory returns without it being recognized as such by the subject who believes it is something new and original—a type of memory bias.

Panoply n.
A complete or impressive collection of things.

Pastepot n.
A small container for paste.

Sine qua non n.
An essential condition.

“Most artists are brought to their vocation when their own nascent gifts are awakened by the work of a master. That is to say, most artists are converted to art by art itself. Finding one’s voice isn’t just an emptying and purifying of oneself of the words of others but an adopting and embracing of filiations, communities, and discourses. Inspiration could be called inhaling the memory of an act never experienced. Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void but out of chaos. Any artist knows these truths, no matter how deeply he or she submerges that knowing.”

Lethem in The Ecstasy of Influence

Vertiginous adj.

1. Causing vertigo, esp. by being extremely high or steep.
2. Relating to or affected by vertigo.

Melange n.
Odds and ends; an assortment of things. 

Logosphere n.
The interpretation of words’ meanings based on language and context.

Imago n.
1. The fully developed adult stage of an insect. 
2. An idealized mental image of someone, especially a parent, that influences a person’s behavior.