Word-Wednesday for August 14, 2024

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for August 14, 2024, the thirty-third Wednesday of the year, the eighth Wednesday of summer, the second Wednesday of August, and the two-hundred-twenty-seventh day of the year, with one-hundred thirty-nine days remaining.

 
Wannaska Phenology Update for August 14, 2024
Chanterelles Are Out
The most common chanterelle in Wannaska (and in the rest of Minnesota) is Cantharellus cibarius, orangish-yellow, like egg yolks. Yes, there are "false" chanterelles, so pick with someone experienced if you're not sure. The name chanterelle originates from the Greek kantharos meaning "tankard" or "cup", a reference to their general shape. Its German name, Pfifferling, refers to its peppery taste. Historical records of chanterelle eating dates back to the 16th century, but they first gained widespread recognition as a culinary delicacy with the French cuisine of the 18th century, when they began appearing in palace kitchens of the Bourbon dynasty - the last Henry and the Louises XIII-XVII. Recipes have since adapted to the tastes of Wannaskans, as in the following from Saveur:
Ingredients

• 4 strips bacon
• 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 lb. chanterelles
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp. roughly chopped parsley
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions
Heat a 12" skillet over medium heat. Add bacon and fry until crispy, 10–12 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain; set aside. Add butter; cook until milky foam settles at the bottom of the skillet and turns nut brown, 12–15 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and add mushrooms and garlic; cook until golden, 8-10 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley, lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Garnish with reserved bacon.

August 14 Fickle Pickle Wednesday Menu Special: Potato Dumpling


August 14 Nordhem Wednesday Lunch: Updated daily, occasionally.


Earth/Moon Almanac for August 14, 2024
Sunrise: 6:16am; Sunset: 8:41pm; 3 minutes, 12 seconds less daylight today
Moonrise: 5:30pm; Moonset: 12:01am, waxing gibbous, 63% illuminated.


Temperature Almanac for August 14, 2024
                Average            Record              Today
High             75                     95                     79
Low              53                     36                     63

In August
by Paul Laurence Dunbar

When August days are hot an’ dry,
When burning copper is the sky,
I ‘d rather fish than feast or fly
In airy realms serene and high.

I ‘d take a suit not made for looks,
Some easily digested books,
Some flies, some lines, some bait, some hooks,
Then would I seek the bays and brooks.

I would eschew mine every task,
In Nature’s smiles my soul should bask,
And I methinks no more could ask,
Except—perhaps—one little flask.

In case of accident, you know,
Or should the wind come on to blow,
Or I be chilled or capsized, so,
A flask would be the only go.

Then could I spend a happy time,—
A bit of sport, a bit of rhyme
(A bit of lemon, or of lime,
To make my bottle’s contents prime).

When August days are hot an’ dry,
I won’t sit by an’ sigh or die,
I ‘ll get my bottle (on the sly)
And go ahead, and fish, and lie!

August 14 Celebrations from National Day Calendar

• National Navaho Code Talkers Day
• National Creamsicle Day
• Feast Day of Arnold of Soissons, the patron saint of hop-pickers, Belgian brewers.
• Feast Day of Eusebius of Rome.

August 14 Word Pun
The Captain was an old tar.
The sailors all avoided him because he had bitumen.

A Chairman Joe pun

August 14 Word Riddle
What can you keep after giving to someone?*


August 14 The Devil’s Dictionary Word-Pram
ZEAL, n., A certain nervous disorder afflicting the young and inexperienced. A passion that goeth before a sprawl.

    When Zeal sought Gratitude for his reward
    He went away exclaiming: "O my Lord!"
    "What do you want?" the Lord asked, bending down.
    "An ointment for my cracked and bleeding crown."
                                                        —Jum Coople


August 14 Etymology Word of the Week
beatnik
/BĒT-nik/ n., a young person in the 1950s and early 1960s belonging to a subculture associated with the beat generation, coined in 1958 by San Francisco newspaper columnist Herb Caen (1916-1997) during the heyday of -nik suffixes in the wake of Sputnik. The first element is from Beat generation (1952), which is associated with beat (n.) in its meaning "rhythm (especially in jazz)" as well as beat (adj.) "worn out, exhausted." Century Dictionary (1902) has slang beat (n.) "a worthless, dishonest, shiftless fellow." Originator Jack Kerouac in 1958 connected it with beatitude.


August 14 Historic Events, Literary or Otherwise, from On This Day

• 1457 Johann Fust and Peter Schöffler publish the Mainz Psalter, the first printed book with a complete date.
• 1590 Publication of Christopher Marlowe's play Tamburlaine the Great.
• 1846 American naturalist Henry David Thoreau jailed for refusing to pay taxes.
• 1893 France introduces motor vehicle registration, includes a driving test.
• 1937 Appalachian Trail is formally completed, traversing 2,000 miles and 14 US States, Georgia to Maine.

August 14 Author/Artist/Character Birthdays, from On This Day

• 1575 Robert Hayman, English poet.
• 1714 Claude-Joseph Vernet, French painter.
• 1742 Marie Allard, French ballerina.
• 1769 Friedrich Dülon, German flautist and composer.
• 1802 Letitia Elizabeth Landon, English poet.
• 1823 Karel Miry, Belgian composer.
• 1842 Henry Duff Traill, British author.
• 1848 Margaret Lindsay Huggins, Irish astronomer.
• 1860 Ernest T. Seton, naturalist, painter and author.
• 1863 Ernest Thayer, American poet.
• 1867 John Galsworthy, English author.
• 1869 Armas Järnefelt, Finnish conductor and composer.
• 1876 Sibilla Aleramo [Rina Faccio], Italian feminist and poet.
• 1878 Harald Kidde, Danish writer.
• 1891 Marinus de Jong, Dutch composer.
• 1892 Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji [Leon Dudley Sorabji], Parsi-British pianist and composer.
• 1893 Alfred Alessandrescu, Romanian composer.
• 1899 Jaroslav Jeremiáš, Czech pianist and composer.
• 1912 Eva Strittmatter, German writer.
• 1912 Karel Poons, Jewish-Dutch ballet dancer.
• 1925 Russell Baker, American columnist, author, and humorist.
• 1926 Alice Adams, American author.
• 1928 Jana Černá, Czech poet and writer.
• 1929 Thomas Meehan, American writer.
• 1931 Frederic Raphael, American-British writer.
• 1932 Lee Hoffman, American author.
• 1933 Bryce Courtenay, Australian novelist.
• 1940 Judith Kazantzis, English poet.
• 1945 Wim Wenders, German filmmaker.
• 1948 Danielle Steel, American author.
• 1947 Maddy Prior, English folk singer.
• 1950 Gary Larson, American cartoonist.
• 1976 Jericho Brown, American poet and writer.

Words-I-Looked-Up-This-Week Writer's Challenge
Write a story or pram from the following words:

• atocia: /uh-TOH-see-uh/ n., the inability of a woman to conceive and give birth to children.
• bulimy: /BYÜ-ləm-ē/ n., an insatiable appetite.
• caitiff: /KĀ-dəf/ n., a contemptible or cowardly person.
• darraign: /də̇-RĀN/ trans. v., to defend or prove (a claim) or settle (a dispute) especially in personal combat.
• ecophobia: /ee-koh-FOH-bee-uh/ n., the fear of home or one's home surroundings.
• flosculous: /FLÄS-kyə-ləs/ adj., composed of florets.
• glaikit: /GLĀ-kət/ adj., SCOTISH, foolish, giddy.
• hobohemia: /hō-bō-HĒ-mē-ə/ n., a fringe group of society made up of hoboes; the hobo realm.
• ignavia: /ig-NAH-vee-uh/ n., indolence, laxity, sloth.
• tragedietta: /truh-jee-dee-ED-uh/ n., a short (esp. one-act) tragedy; a dramatic sketch about a tragic character or situation.

August 14, 2024 Word-Wednesday Feature
Word Play Masters Words Invitational 2024 Words
Word-Wednesday has always encouraged readers to make up their own words. The Word Play Masters Invitational (WPMI) is an annual word-creation event, where word-buffs submit new words and definitions [Clever is better!]. In general, most submissions play on existing words, e.g., phonatic, as opposed to phonetic, defined as an enthusiast of sounds in human speech, not unlike being pragmanic, as opposed to pragmatic, defined as one handling a situation with insanely chaotic behavior rather than mature, practical behavior.

Contestants submit words throughout the year, and here are a few of this year's contestants:

• arithmetric as opposed to (AOT) arithmetic, math used only in the International System of Units (SI).
• bluffoon AOT buffoon, someone with a really really really bad poker face.
• cardiomascular AOT cardiovascular, relating to men’s heart health.
• devilution AOT devolution, the act of becoming a demon after having been an angel.
• eponomouse AOT eponymous, one half of that dastardly duo, Tom and Jerry.
• faithiest AOT athiest, someone who can’t make up their mind about religion.
• gignificant AOT significant, notewothy live event that brought fame to artist.
• holderol AOT folderol, nonsensical false ideas that attract and maintain cult members.
• idriff AOT midriff, battle between conscious and unconscious parts of one’s psyche.
• jolatile AOT volatile, prone to frequent inappropriate, unbalanced fits of laughter.
• knightfall AOT nightfall, a jousting mishap and good pun.
• lifurcate AOT bifurcate, pathological liars divide their falsehoods into two groups: Originals and secondly others to amplify the originals.
• massturbation AOT masturbation, a bunch of people enjoying themselves.
• neonphyte AOT neophyte,    24/7 electronic sign enrages neighborhood.
• offace AOT office, busy-looking countenance meant to deceive the boss that you’re actually working.
• prefound AOT profound, lost.
• quartzer-horse AOT quarter-horse, a speedy steed that you’d expect to have a spring in its step, but doesn’t.
• rebulous AOT nebulous, vague and confused rationale of those who rise up against the establishment.
• shamburger AOT hamburger, plant-based “meat” choice.
• trespissing AOT trespassing, having to urinate on private property when signs are clearly posted.
• umpbraid AOT upbraid, viscious scolding of team official trying har to enforce the rules of the game.
• vegestation AOT vegetation, couch potato’s favorite spot.
• wacumen AOT acumen, synonym for "weird".

Entry is easy, so let's show them what Wannaskan Almanac readers can do. Enter here.


From A Year with Rilke, August 14 Entry
I am Somtimes Like a Tree, from Book of Hours I, 5

So I am sometimes like a tree
rustling over a gravesite
and making real the dream
of the one its living roots
embrace:

a dream once lost
among sorrows and songs.

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






*Your word.