Jul. 15th, 2008

[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original Posting: Thu, 27 Dec 2001 23:05:16 -0500

(Some of you might remember this from holidays past...)

For those who may be enjoying holidays of various sorts, here's some little exercises to work on while you're enjoying the spicy steam rising from the turkey and hot cornbread stuffing, with the smell of thick gravy slathered over it, and the deep red stewed cranberries (supposedly a natural remedy for the fat and grease - I just think they taste good).  When you dig into the mashed potatoes, corn fritters, and green beans, think about these.  And when you take a big mouthful of warm pumpkin pie with whipped cream or icecream on top, or maybe a slice of pecan pie, sweet and crunchy with pastry flaking down home taste, or whatever flavor you like, let your mind drift over these. For that matter, when you find yourself groaning in front of the tube watching the parades and bowl games, trying to decide whether you really want a bite of a crisp, fresh apple, red with the sun and wind, small brown scars signs of the struggle it gave to be ripe for you - well, you could ponder some of these.

(I think I just gained 10 pounds writing that paragraph!:-)

1.  Some people may not have a home to go to, a family to share the holidays with.  Write a scenario for them - either the loner at the restaurant (BAH!  HUMBUG!) learning what holidays are all about OR the family opening their home celebration to the loner, and relearning the meaning of the time themselves in the process.

2.  Pick any of those goodies that are weighting the table down, and use it as a metaphor for the day, your feelings, etc.  Write a short "allegory" making the reader taste that food AND feel its hidden meaning(s).

3.  (SF)  R'gnarl, the Centaurian anthropologist, has decided to observe your family during this ritual.  What questions does it have?  How does your family answer them?  What, if anything, does R'gnarl conclude about the implications of this ritual?  (don't forget that R'gnarl's report will determine whether the exterminators are brought in to clear the planet for another attempt at a sapient race or not...)

4.  (SF) The colonists are down on planet Skylor.  The natives aren't sure whether they want to be friendly or not, but they are willing to talk and listen.  The colonists want to celebrate - with a mixture of old holiday memories, some new customs they developed during the trip, and perhaps some native customs.  Describe that festival - and how the colonists explain what it is.

5.  Kiddy times - we have probably all heard the standard holiday stories.  But suppose your (little sister/brother, cousin, next door neighbor - youngster) wants a story, and you want to tell one, set in the old stories BUT using your own special plot/characters/twists.  What is that story?

6.  Many people in other countries have never experienced the American holiday celebrations, of course, but often they have heard of them.  Imagine that you are asked to describe your favorite holiday for them.  Tell them about the food you had, how you spent the time, and what it means - why do you do this?

7.  Imagine you're a ghost of a person who never lived (member of the family?  friend?  Indian who would have lived here?) and you are watching the revelry.  What do you want to say to those who are there?  Can you, in the very ghostly whispers, tell the reader who you are?  Can you make them feel what you feel watching - the holiday you don't have... (hey, spooks deserve love too, you know!)

8.  (Always a good one)  Dialogue Watching!  You may be seeing people meeting for the first time after a separation, or just spending some time with people in a little different mood.  Watch and listen carefully.  What are they doing with their bodies and language?  When some phrase or joke is especially good, keep track of it.  Why is this so effective?  Listen to the dialogue, the rhythms and patterns, and figure out how you know someone without even looking at them.  (If you're like me, you may not want to take notes at the time, but go ahead and make some notes later.  Try to run back over the time and write down bits and pieces that stood out, plus some that are so completely ordinary that you might have trouble noticing them.)

9.  We've recently heard about "random acts of kindness". Keep your eyes open for situations that might allow such "good Samaritan" acts, and consider what might happen if people carried it out.  You may either write up the story or, where appropriate, try it!  (this is known as empirical writing - do something, watch, then report results...)

10.  Have fun!


[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original Posting: Wed, 12 Dec 2001 05:01:46 -0500

For those who would like to stretch your writing...

take one (or more) of the following heteronyms (bow, row, sow, bass, buffet, deserts, dove, entrance, lead, moped, unionized, wind, and wound).

Mix well, and write a poem, a story, an essay, a what-have-you, that uses (and potentially amuses) the twain.

enjoy...

Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2001 01:50:54 -0500
From: Wordsmith <wsmith@wordsmith.org>
To: linguaphile@wordsmith.org
Subject: A.Word.A.Day--heteronym

heteronym (HET-uhr-uh-nim) noun

   A word that has the same spelling as another word but with a different
   pronunciation and meaning.

   In the following poem, each end-word is heteronymic:

   Listen, readers, toward me bow.
   Be friendly; do not draw the bow.
   Please don't try to start a row.
   Sit peacefully, all in a row.
   Don't act like a big, fat sow.
   Do not the seeds of discord sow.

   In a pure heteronymic pair, the two words must be etymologically
   unrelated, as in bass, buffet, deserts, dove, entrance, lead, moped,
   unionized, wind, and wound.

This week's theme: Naming the nyms, by Richard Lederer.

............................................................................
A full cup must be carried steadily. -English proverb

Pronunciation:
http://wordsmith.org/words/heteronym.wav
http://wordsmith.org/words/heteronym.ram


[identity profile] mbarker.livejournal.com
Original Posting: Fri, 08 Feb 2002 23:32:00 -0500

A Japanese friend took me to an art museum, showing paintings about India by Akino Fuku.

As we sat on the floor in front of one of his favorites, entitled simply "Ganges," he pointed to the heads of the cattle swimming in the torrent and said, "Those are people."  Then he asked if I knew a Japanese saying.

"Hi kurete, michi too shi."

"As the day draws to a close, the road still stretches ahead."  Or maybe "At the end of the day, the road is still long."

He explained that this is a saying referring to people's lives, that at the end of their life, their goals are still far out in front of them.

And he thinks the picture of the Ganges is another reflection of that.  The cattle swim, their heads just above the water, even as the evening dusk settles.

As the sun sets, the road still stretches ahead?

How would you say it?  And perhaps more interestingly, can you use that saying in a poem, or a tale?

Or is there an English saying that mirrors this?  I couldn't think of one, but maybe you can.

Profile

The Place For My Writers Notes

February 2025

S M T W T F S
      1
2 345 6 7 8
910 11121314 15
161718192021 22
232425262728 

Most Popular Tags

Style Credit

Expand Cut Tags

No cut tags
Page generated Aug. 22nd, 2025 07:46 pm
Powered by Dreamwidth Studios