And here is the Wannaskan Almanac for Word-Wednesday, July 25, 2018, brought to you by the diligent public servant at the Roseau DVS Office, 107 2nd Ave NW, Roseau, MN 56751, (218) 463-1816, doors open at 9:00am; "When it comes to licensing and registration, we know it all!" Don't forget to register your boat(s).
July 25 is the 206th day of the year, with 159 days remaining until the end of the year, and 254 days remaining until April Fools Day.
Days without Wannaska Almanac contributing author loss of life due to boating accident in an unregistered boat: 26,054
Earth/Moon Almanac for July 25, 2018
Sunrise: 5:48am; Sunset: 9:12pm
Moonrise: 7:49pm; Moonset: 3:51am, waxing gibbous
Temperature Almanac for July 25, 2018
Average Record Today
High 79 93 67
Low 57 35 52
July 25 Celebrations from National Day Calendar
National Hire a Veteran Day
National Merry-Go-Round Day
National Hot Fudge Sundae Day
National Threading the Needle Day
National Wine and Cheese Day
July 25 Riddle
Imagine an “L” shape formed by two rectangles touching each other, where your two rectangles could have any dimensions you like, and they don’t have to be equal to each other in any way. (A few examples are shown below.)
Using only a straightedge and a pencil (no rulers, protractors or compasses), draw a single straight line that cuts your L into two halves of exactly equal area, no matter what the dimensions of the two component rectangles of your L. You can draw as many lines as you want to get to the solution, but the bisector itself can only be one single straight line.*
Days without Wannaska Almanac contributing author loss of life due to boating accident in an unregistered boat: 26,054
Earth/Moon Almanac for July 25, 2018
Sunrise: 5:48am; Sunset: 9:12pm
Moonrise: 7:49pm; Moonset: 3:51am, waxing gibbous
Temperature Almanac for July 25, 2018
Average Record Today
High 79 93 67
Low 57 35 52
July 25 Celebrations from National Day Calendar
National Hire a Veteran Day
National Merry-Go-Round Day
National Hot Fudge Sundae Day
National Threading the Needle Day
National Wine and Cheese Day
July 25 Riddle
Imagine an “L” shape formed by two rectangles touching each other, where your two rectangles could have any dimensions you like, and they don’t have to be equal to each other in any way. (A few examples are shown below.)
Using only a straightedge and a pencil (no rulers, protractors or compasses), draw a single straight line that cuts your L into two halves of exactly equal area, no matter what the dimensions of the two component rectangles of your L. You can draw as many lines as you want to get to the solution, but the bisector itself can only be one single straight line.*
July 25 Notable historic events, literary or otherwise, from On This Day
- 864 The Edict of Pistres of Charles the Bald orders defensive measures against the Vikings because they have such long hair
- 1897 Writer Jack London sails to join the Klondike Gold Rush where he will write his first successful stories
- 1913 Pirates Max Carey goes hitless, but scores 5 runs against Phillies
- 1984 Cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya becomes 1st woman to walk in space
- 2007 Pratibha Patil is sworn in as India's first woman president
- 2017 Sperm counts have halved in last 40 years says research published in "Human Reproduction Update" journal
- 1658 Archibald Campbell, 1st Duke of Argyll, Scottish privy councilor, when privy's were difficult
- 1795 James Barry [Margaret Ann Bulkley], female disguised as a man, surgeon general (British army), born in County Cork, Ireland (July 25 is that kind of day)
- 1840 Flora Adams Darling, American writer and historian, founded Daughters of American Revolution
- 1894 Walter Brennan
- 1917 Whipper Billy Watson, Canadian professional wrestler
- 1920 Rosalind Franklin, English chemist and co-discoverer of the structure of DNA
Words I looked up this week: affinage, fundied, historiaster, humuhumunukunukuapua'a, Momas, murmuration, pentimento, pulque, skua
Today's edition of Wannaskan Almanac Word-Wednesday explores the word me·di·um, 'mēdēəm, noun; plural noun: media;
1. an agency or means of doing something.
2. the intervening substance through which impressions are conveyed to the senses or a force acts on objects at a distance.
Today's edition of Wannaskan Almanac Word-Wednesday explores the word me·di·um, 'mēdēəm, noun; plural noun: media;
1. an agency or means of doing something.
2. the intervening substance through which impressions are conveyed to the senses or a force acts on objects at a distance.
This seems to be an important word for a writer, particularly in the disparaging ways that the word has been politicized, particularly its plural form. Rather than discussing our writing media from an analytic perspective, I'll follow John's lead from his post yesterday and describe what I see as the important elements of writing as a medium using prosetry.
The page is waiting to see your words;
the silence is waiting to here them.
Your words, peculiar recipes of beauty and truth
show me how so many different forms of beauty become truer together.
True words animate beauty.
Science is but one way of knowing;
the seeing and hearing of writing are better others.
Science reduces the known to distinct binomials: homo sapiens, Joe McDonnell;
the sight and sound of the written word are the expansive media
of truth's and beauty's entire grammar.
Your page is listening to help the living world speak;
all is alive to the writer.
As the pen polishes your page,
your words see and hear more deeply into the world,
where some of the smallest,
most hidden of things have the greatest power to move.
So you love the beauty of which you write.
Does the beauty love you back?
From A Year with Rilke, July 25 entry:
Blessing of the Earth from The Book of Hours II, 3
God, every night is hard.
Always there are some awake,
who turn, turn, and do not find you.
Don' you hear them crying out
as they go farther and farther down?
Surely you hear them weep; for they are weeping.
I seek you, because they are passing
right by my door. Whom should I turn to,
if not the one whose darkness
is darker than nigh, the only one
who keeps vigil with no candle,
and is not afraid -
the deep one, whose being I trust,
for it breaks through the earth into trees,
and rises,
when I bow my head,
faint as a fragrance
from the soil.
Write more more beautifully than yesterday, learn a new word today, and to stay out of trouble - at least until tomorrow.
The page is waiting to see your words;
the silence is waiting to here them.
Your words, peculiar recipes of beauty and truth
show me how so many different forms of beauty become truer together.
True words animate beauty.
Science is but one way of knowing;
the seeing and hearing of writing are better others.
Science reduces the known to distinct binomials: homo sapiens, Joe McDonnell;
the sight and sound of the written word are the expansive media
of truth's and beauty's entire grammar.
Your page is listening to help the living world speak;
all is alive to the writer.
As the pen polishes your page,
your words see and hear more deeply into the world,
where some of the smallest,
most hidden of things have the greatest power to move.
So you love the beauty of which you write.
Does the beauty love you back?
From A Year with Rilke, July 25 entry:
Blessing of the Earth from The Book of Hours II, 3
God, every night is hard.
Always there are some awake,
who turn, turn, and do not find you.
Don' you hear them crying out
as they go farther and farther down?
Surely you hear them weep; for they are weeping.
I seek you, because they are passing
right by my door. Whom should I turn to,
if not the one whose darkness
is darker than nigh, the only one
who keeps vigil with no candle,
and is not afraid -
the deep one, whose being I trust,
for it breaks through the earth into trees,
and rises,
when I bow my head,
faint as a fragrance
from the soil.
Write more more beautifully than yesterday, learn a new word today, and to stay out of trouble - at least until tomorrow.
*
The first poem in this post reminds me of my encouragement to writers in "Leaning In." Heaven knows writers can use all the encouragement they can get. (I'm not clear on which poem is yours and which one is Rilke's.) I'd like to think the first one is yours; it's quite beautiful either way. I esp. like the sway of the relationship between the page, the pen, the senses, and the writer. One of your best! JPSavage
ReplyDeleteAye lad, you do well. Your poem, not to say Rilke's was not sublime, certainly spoke of what I went through-was it Wednesday or Thursday?--when that strange phenomenon of writers block struck me dumb and try as I might, with words and images at my fingertips, I looked out at the beautiful day behind me and ached to be in it instead than complete an deadline obligation. Thus, my poor work reflected it. Yesterday, seemed too much like those days at-the-place-I-used-to-work when, sitting in my car in the parking lot, the beauty of the evening was unfolding. Some days I heeded its calling, left the lot for places unknown, and called-in sick. Writing is much too important and always much too difficult not to do when called upon--even when done poorly.
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