Word-Wednesday for March 15, 2023

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for March 15, 2023, the eleventh Wednesday of the year, the thirteenth Wednesday of winter, and the seventy-fourth day of the year, with two-hundred and ninety one days remaining.

 
Wannaska Phenology Update for March 15, 2023
Raven Chicks
Ravens build large, sturdy nests from a foundation of large sticks, covered with smaller twigs, and finally a soft, cozy interior of leaves and grass. Ravens become territorial during nesting season, so when they do roost in a group or colony — as they do here in the forest — their nests are evenly dispersed. Female ravens in Wannaska will lay 3-7 eggs in February and incubate for for 18-21 days.

March 15 Fickle Pickle Wednesday Menu Special: Potato Dumpling


March 15 Nordhem Wednesday Lunch: Updated daily by 11:00am, usually.


Earth/Moon Almanac for March 15, 2023
Sunrise: 7:38am; Sunset: 7:28pm; 3 minutes, 37 seconds more daylight today
Moonrise: 4:12am; Moonset: 11:33am, waning crescent, 45% illuminated.


Temperature Almanac for March 15, 2023
                Average            Record              Today
High             33                     57                     33
Low              10                    -18                     14

Outlook definitely not promising for Kansas, as Mr. Hot Coco reminded us only yesterday.

March 15 Celebrations from National Day Calendar

• National Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) Day
• National Kansas Day
• Everything You Think Is Wrong Day
• National Pears Helene Day
• National Shoe The World Day
• True Confessions Day
• Ides of March

March 15 Word Riddle
What is a lawyers favorite pasta?*


March 15 Word Pun
To make a long story short, I became an editor.


March 15 The Devil’s Dictionary Word-Pram

VANITY, n. The tribute of a fool to the worth of the nearest ass.

How's Rishi Sunak playing in Germany?
What's with the Jehovah Witness hall shooting?

They say that hens do cackle loudest when
     There's nothing vital in the eggs they've laid;
     And there are hens, professing to have made
A study of mankind, who say that men
Whose business 'tis to drive the tongue or pen
     Make the most clamorous fanfaronade
     O'er their most worthless work; and I'm afraid
They're not entirely different from the hen.
Lo! the drum-major in his coat of gold,
     His blazing breeches and high-towering cap—
Imperiously pompous, grandly bold,
     Grim, resolute, an awe-inspiring chap!
Who'd think this gorgeous creature's only virtue
Is that in battle he will never hurt you?

                                                    Hannibal Hunsiker

March 15 Etymology Word of the Week
raven
/ˈrā-v(ə)n/ n., a large heavily built crow with mainly black plumage, feeding chiefly on carrion, from Late Old English ræfen, refen, earlier hræfn (Mercian), hrefn, hræfn (Northumbrian, West Saxon), from Proto-Germanic khrabanaz (source also of Old Norse hrafn, Danish ravn, Dutch raaf, Old High German hraban, German Rabe "raven," Old English hroc "rook"), from a Proto-Indo-European root imitative of harsh sounds (compare Latin crepare "to creak, clatter," cornix "crow," corvus "raven;" Greek korax "raven," korōnē "crow;" Old Church Slavonic kruku "raven;" Lithuanian krauklys "crow"). Old English, by a normal alteration of -fn, also used hræmn, hremm.

A larger species of crow common in Europe and Asia, noted for its lustrous black plumage and raucous voice; the raven is "popularly regarded as a bird of evil omen and mysterious character" [OED].

Raven mythology shows considerable homogeneity throughout the whole area [northern regions of the northern hemisphere] in spite of differences in detail. The Raven peeps forth from the mists of time and the thickets of mythology, as a bird of slaughter, a storm bird, a sun and fire bird, a messenger, an oracular figure and a craftsman or culture hero. [Edward A. Armstrong, "The Folklore of Birds," 1958]

The Quran connects the raven with Cain's murder of Abel, but in Christianity the bird plays a positive role in the stories of St. Benedict, St. Paul the Hermit, St. Vincent, etc. Poe's poem was published in 1845. It was anciently believed to live to a great age but also to be wanting in parental care. The raven standard was the flag of the Danish vikings. The vikings, like Noah, were said to have used the raven to find land when at sea. "When uncertain of their course they let one loose, and steered the vessel in his track, deeming that the land lay in the direction of his flight; if he returned to the ship, it was supposed to be at a distance" [Charles Swainson, "The Folk Lore and Provincial Names of British Birds," London, 1886]. As an English name for the constellation Corvus by the late 14th century.


March 15 Historic Events, Literary or Otherwise, from On This Day

• 44 BC Julius Caesar has his last breakfast.
• 1907 Finland becomes the first European country to give women the right to vote.
• 1908 First performance of Maurice Ravel's Rapsodie Espagnole.
• 1985 The first internet domain name, symbolics.com is registered.

March 15 Author/Artist/Character Birthdays, from On This Day

• 1754 Silvestro Palma, Italian composer.
• 1824 Branko Radicevic, Serbian poet.
• 1830 Paul von Heyse, German writer and winner of Nobel Prize for Literature in 1910.
• 1851 Józef Surzyński, Polish composer.
• 1852 Augusta Gregory [Lady Gregory], Irish writer and playwright.
• 1859 Arthur Hawley Scribner, American magazine and book publisher.
• 1867 Lionel Pigot Johnson, British poet.
• 1884 Rudolf Piskáček, Czech composer.
• 1894 Sláva Vorlová [Miroslava Johnová], Czech composer.
• 1905 Bertha "Chippie" Hill, American blues and vaudeville singer.
• 1920 Lawrence Sanders, American novelist.
• 1920 Sid Hartman, American sports journalist.
• 1933 Cecil Percival Taylor, American pianist and poet.
• 1933 Ruth Bader Ginsburg, American jurist and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
• 1939 Jack Whyte, Scottish-Canadian author.
• 1939 Robert Nye, British novelist and poet.
• 1948 Kate Bornstein, American author.
• 1976 Jose Sanchez Zolliker, Mexican writer.
• 1964 Michael Scott from The Office.

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

• apoptosis: /ˌap-əp-ˈtō-səs/ n., the death of cells which occurs as a normal and controlled part of an organism’s growth or development.
• bleb: /bleb/ n., a small blister on the skin; a small bubble in glass or in a fluid; a rounded outgrowth on the surface of a cell.
• ciotóg: /ˈkɪ-ˌtoʊɡ/ n., the left hand; also: a left-handed person.
• frondescence: /frän-ˈde-sᵊn(t)s/ n., the condition or period of unfolding of leaves.
• hyleg: /ˈhaɪ-lɛɡ/ n., the dominant planet when someone is born which is said to determine the length of their life.
• meonic: /meɪ-ˈɑ-nɪk/ adj., of, relating to, or consisting of a kind of pregnant nothingness or void (as distinguished from an absolute blank nothingness) having the potential to transform into matter.
• plectrum: /ˈplek-trəm/ n., a thin flat piece of plastic, tortoiseshell, or other slightly flexible material held by or worn on the fingers and used to pluck the strings of a musical instrument such as a guitar.
• spontoon: / [spän-ˈtün/ n., a short pike formerly borne by subordinate officers of infantry.
• theodolite: /THē-ˈäd-ə-ˌlīt/ n., a surveying instrument with a rotating telescope for measuring horizontal and vertical angles.
• uptalk: /ˈəp-ˌtôk/ n., a manner of speaking in which declarative sentences are uttered with rising intonation at the end, as if they were questions.

March 15, 2023 Word-Wednesday Feature
Gen Z Words
For context, the median age of the Roseau County population was 41.6 years of age in the 2020 census. The Boomers generation defined as people born from 1946 to 1964, who would be between 59 and 77 years of age. Next comes Generation X defined as people born from 1965-1980, some of whom still sport mullets, and who would now be between 43 and 58 years of age. Then comes Generation Y, also knows as Millennials, born 1981 through 1996, who are now between 27 and 42 years of age. Generation Z (Gen Z) includes persons born from 1997-2012, now between 11 and 26 years of age, the age when a human being can develop her/his/their own new words, which leads us to today's Word-Wednesday feature.

Members of Gen Z cannot remember life before the internet or social media.  Gen Z members are the first children since the Great Depression who cannot look forward to a better standard of adult living than their parents. Born suckling on the internet, Gen Z children never really had to cut that proverbial cord. And of course, in their world of Influencers, Gen Z loyalties fickle between persons rather than between Fords or Chevys or other such thing-brands.

Today Word-Wednesday presents a list of words that every parent, grandparent, younger sibling, nuncle, and naunt will want to know for better communications with your Gen Z loved one. All members of generations older than Gen Z are strongly encouraged to read the definition for words that appear familiar — new generations take pride in subverting the etymology of older generations. To their credit, the new Gen Z spins on old words is most often positive. And yasssssss, there are a lot of words beginning with the letter S, because they're sssssssssso fun to ssssssssay.

• asl: exclam., a shortened version of “as hell”; alternatively, an acronym for age/sex/location, originating on online chatrooms in the 1990s as an early way to learn about one’s fellow netizens.
• bet: exclam., slang term meaning "yes", can used to confirm something and could be compared to the Millennial term "word".
• bop: adj., when a song or album is exceptionally good.
• boujee: adj., used to describe something or someone that is extravagant or fancy; n., high-class/materialistic person.
• bussin': adj., delicious.
• camp: adj., ironically trendy, e.g, Crocs.
• Cancel Culture: n., a form of shaming the actions or opinions of a public figure, company, or organization.
• cheugy: adj., not at all trendy.
• clapback: n., a response or comeback after you've been "called out" for something.
• dank: adj., excellent or of very high quality.
• drag: v., criticize or make fun of someone.
• drip: adj., cool or sexy.
• E-boy or E-girl: n., a person who uses the internet to express themselves.
• extra: adj., someone who enjoys taking things to a new level of flamboyance.
• fam: n., fam is a shorter word for family, but can be used to describe friends, the way Millennials use "bro".
• finna: exclam., a shortened term for saying "I'm going to".
• ghosting: v., ignoring a person, especially by ending all responses to text messages.
• glow up: n., a makeover or transformation from bad to good.
• GOAT: adj., short for "The Greatest of All Time", an acronym used to describe someone incredible.
• high-key: adj., the opposite of being low-key.
• I'm weak: exclam., term to use when finding something hilarious.
• lit: adj., "Enlightened", "Hot", "Fire"; the new hotness; something remarkable, interesting, fun or amusing; generally positive.
• iykyk: acronym for "if you know, you know",commonly used in reference to an inside joke or something only a specific community might understand.
• periodt: exclam., used at the end of the statement to add emphasis or intensity to the point made, where the T is based on a common trend in black English where T is used as a replacement for D.
• salty: adj., jealous.
• sheesh: exclam., term used as a compliment for someone looking good or doing something well.
• simp: n., a person who does way too much for the person they have a crush on.
• sis: n., shortened version of "sister", typically used to greet a friend, no matter their gender.
• slaps: exclam., term used to describe how exceptional someone/something is.
• snack: n., a person that you find attractive.
• snatched: adj., personal appearance when someone looks really good, particularly their outfit.
• Stan: n., a combination of "stalker" and "fan"; adj., being obsessed with another person, but not in a creepy way.
• sus: adj., short for "suspicious"; not as expected, or shady.
• tea: n., gossip, where "spilling the tea" is the act of gossiping.
• vibe check: v., to check someone's energy or mood.
• wig: v., to excel spectacularly, to do something so well as to “make one’s wig fly off.”
• woke: adj., being politically aware; not to be confused with the woke capitalism, as understood by some Boomers.
  

From A Year with Rilke, March 15 Entry
In the Madhouse, from New Poems

They are quiet now. The walls
inside their minds have fallen.
The hours of understanding
draw near and soon will pass.

Sometimes at night, watching at the window,
it is suddenly all right.
What their hands touch is solid,
and their hearts lift as if in prayer.
Their eyes gaze, relieved,

upon the garden
at last undeformed, and safely
contained within its square,
which in contrast to the uneasy world
keeps being itself and never gets lost.

Doctor Gachet's Garden in Auvers
by Vincent van Gogh

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.






*tort-ellini.