Word-Wednesday for January 8, 2020

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac for Word-Wednesday, January 8, 2020, the 2nd Wednesday of the year,  the 8th day of the year, with 357 days remaining.

January 8th, 2020 is the third anniversary of Wannaskan Almanac, traditionally celebrated using the following theme gifts.
Traditional Theme: Leather     Modern Theme: Crystal, Glass, Pearls
3rd Anniversary Gemstone: Jade     3rd Anniversary Color: White


Nordhem Lunch: Hot Pork Sandwich


Earth/Moon Almanac for January 8, 2020
Sunrise: 8:16am; Sunset: 4:44pm; 1 minute, 36 seconds more daylight today
Moonrise:2:54pm; Moonset: 6:07am, waxing gibbous


Temperature Almanac for January 8, 2020
                Average           Record          Today
High             14                   46                  7
Low              -5                 -49                 5


January 8 Celebrations from National Day Calendar

• National Argyle Day
• National Bubble Bath Day
• National English Toffee Day
• National JoyGerm Day
• National Winter Skin Relief Day
• Blame Someone Else Day
• National Old Rock Day

January 8 Word Riddle
What 7-letter word is spelled the same way backwards and forwards?*


January 8 Pun

January 8 Notable Historic Events, Literary or Otherwise, from On This Day

• 1656 Oldest surviving commercial newspaper begins, Haarlem, in Netherlands.
• 1835 US national debt is $0 for the first and only time in history.

January 8 Author/Artist/Character Birthdays, from On This Day

• 1935 Elvis Presley.
• 1936 Zdeněk Mácal, Czech conductor.
• 1941 Graham Chapman.
• 1947 David Bowie.

Words-I-Looked-Up-This-Week Writer's Challenge
Make a single sentence (or poem) from the following words

• circumbendibus: a roundabout way.
• douceur: a gratuity; tip.
• engram: a hypothetical permanent change in the brain accounting for the existence of memory; a memory trace.
• franion: 1. an habitual pleasure seeker or merry maker;  2.  an idle, dissolute person; a paramour or boon companion.
• frowsy: dirty and untidy; slovenly.
• galluptious: pertaining to that which is wonderful, delightful, fascinating, or delicious.
• handsel: a gift or token for good luck or as an expression of good wishes, as at the beginning of the new year or when entering upon a new situation or enterprise.
• jehu: the driver of a coach or cab.
• quondam: former; onetime.
• yaff: to bark or yelp

January 8, 2020 Word-Wednesday Feature
How to Tie a Shoe
Wannaskan Almanac contributors were challenged to submit a piece of writing to demonstrate their skills in descriptive, creative writing in celebration of our third anniversary. Two contributors submitted nothing, but the four remaining contributors turned in excellent pieces, featured below.

From Chairman Joe
Old Mother Hubbard lived in a shoe

With a two-headed snake named Red Head and Blue.

These guys went a’racing through two holes in the roof.

Red was the warp and Blue was the woof.

Red came out first and he headed right.

Blue slipped beneath him to make a cross tight.

Mother pinched Red then under his head,

Bent him back in a bow to the cross ‘neath thumb’s edge.

Her left hand caught Blue under his[ital] neck,

Looped him over the cross-thumb, for the finger to check.

This finger then chucked him into thumb’s place.

Each hand pulled a bow tight: end of the race.


From Jack Pine Savage
Lace up? No Thank You
 
Shoelace. Shoelace. What are you?
with your length, types, and myriad hues
    suede, cotton, moose hide and leather
    and colors endless though black seems favored
The choice depends on if you’d rather
    deal with grommets, straps, snaps, or buckles
    that will break your nails and scrape your knuckles
More than that, laces tangle, twist, and break
They don’t comply and make your fingers ache
Even if you get them tied and think you’re done
    they wiggle apart and trip you on the run
When it comes to laces, it’s not just trying
The beast lies in those tiny holes preceding tying

But since most tender feet can’t go unshod
    at least so says a wrathful shoe god
Still, that deity never decreed we must tie
      or no shoe heaven for us when we die
So, we have options from loafers, clogs, cowboy to stilettos
    that can be worn from town to country or in a ghetto
A pair for golfing, a pair for fashion
    but take care – not all are made for dashing
Some pinch toes while others fit comfy
    while tied shoes are best for monkeys

If you really want to hear tying news
Forget the tying and get some slip-on shoes

Postscript: Okay. I tied my Steger mukluks once


From WannaskaWriter
Dis ‘ere’s ‘ow to Tie Yer Boots
From his December 12, 2019 post.


From Yours Truly
There are three common ways to proceed, each with an advantage and a shortcoming.

Method 1: The Old Standard
Holding one lace between the thumb and index finger of each hand, point your left finger across to your right hand, and loop your right-hand lace over your left index finger, grabbing the newly made loop between your right thumb and index finger.

Then wrap your left lace over your right loop, making sure to tuck the left lace just under your right thumb. Here's where it gets a bit tricky. Pass only the middle portion of the remaining tail of your left lace through the passageway held open by your right index finger, carefully grab the middle of the left lace loop with your left thumb and index finger, then pull the two loops tight. The advantage of the Old Standard method is that the knot is easily undone, which is also its disadvantage. Pulling on either lace end will undo the knot.

Method 2: The Hold-Fast Irish
Begin as described in paragraph 1 of the Old Standard Method, but then create a duplicate loop in your left hand whilst holding the right hand loop. Carefully maintaining the integrity of both loops in each hand, tie the loops together twice. The advantage of The Hold-Fast Irish Method is that your knot will not become untied by pulling on the end of either lace. The disadvantage of this method is that your knot may never become untied for as long as you own your shoes should you tie the knot too tightly.

Method 3: The Wannaskan Almaknot
Begin as described in paragraph 1 of the Old Standard Method, but pass the entire left lace through the passageway held open by your right index finger unlooped, and with the left lace pulled straight to your left, tie a tight knot. Still holding the loop between your right index finger and thumb, pass the lace in your left hand through the passageway held open by your right index finger, but this time only pass through a loop of the left lace, then pull the knot tight. The advantage of the Wannaskan Almaknot Method is that you must pull on the correct lace to undo the knot, the disadvantage is knowing what end to pull, but your odds are 50/50, so it shouldn't take long to figure this out.


From A Year with Rilke, January 8 Entry
Balance, from the Fourth Duino Elegy.

Oh trees of life, when is your wintertime?
We are not in balance. Not in agreement
as migrating birds are. Late and overtaken,
we hurriedly try to catch the wind
and fall into a random swamp.
To bloom and to wilt is all the same to us.
Somewhere lions still walk the earth.
As long as their majesty endures, so does their power.


Be better than yesterday,
learn a new word today,
try to stay out of trouble - at least until tomorrow,
and write when you have the time.

*racecar