Word-Wednesday for November 13, 2024

And here is the Wannaskan Almanac with Word-Wednesday for November 13, 2024, the forty-sixth Wednesday of the year, the eighth Wednesday of fall, the second Wednesday of November, and the three-hundred-eighteenth day of the year, with forty-eight days remaining.

 
Wannaska Phenology Update for November 13, 2024
Au Revoir, Pouldeau
Word-Wednesday endeavors to be inclusive, so this week we bid adieu to the pouldeau, the Cajun word for American coot (Fulica americana), otherwise knows as mud hen. This gregarious but far less swanky water fowl has interesting behaviors. Did you know that ~13% of chicks in a coot nest brood (eight on average) came from another coot's nest? Ornithologists have developed specific words for coot-talk. Male and female coots make different types of calls to similar situations. Male alarm calls are puhlk while female alarm calls are poonk. Also, stressed males go puhk-cowah or pow-ur while females call cooah.

Yes, the adult coot looks a bit plain, but they're generally relieved to outgrow their chick garb.

November 13 Fickle Pickle Wednesday Menu Special: Potato Dumpling


November 13 Nordhem Wednesday Lunch: Updated daily, occasionally.


Earth/Moon Almanac for November 13, 2024
Sunrise: 7:31am; Sunset: 4:46pm; 2 minutes, 48 seconds less daylight today
Moonrise: 3:26pm; Moonset: 4:27am, waxing gibbous, 89% illuminated.


Temperature Almanac for November 13, 2024
                Average            Record              Today
High             43                     68                     44
Low              18                    -23                     36

Over the World’s Rim
by William Faulkner

Over the world’s rim, drawing bland November
Reluctant behind them, drawing the moons of cold:
What do their lonely voices wake to remember
In this dust ere ‘twas flesh? what restless old

Dream a thousand years was safely sleeping
Wakes my blood to sharp unease? what horn
Rings out to them? Was I free once, sweeping
Their Ewild and lonely skies ere I was born?

The hand that shaped my body, that gave me vision,
Made me a slave to clay for a fee of breath.
Sweep on, O wild and lonely: mine the derision,
Then the splendor and speed, the cleanness of death.

Over the world’s rim, out of some splendid noon,
Seeking some high desire, and not in vain,
They fill and empty the red and dying moon
And, crying, cross the rim of the world again.

November 13 Celebrations from National Day Calendar

• National Indian Pudding Day
• Sadie Hawkins Day
• World Kindness Day

November 13 Word Pun
The monster refused to eat the ghosts because they tasted like sheet.

from Heather McDonnell

November 13 Word Riddle
Only one color, but not one size,
Stuck at the bottom, yet I easily flies.
Present in sun, but not in rain,
Doing no harm, and feeling no pain.

What is it? *


November 13 The Devil’s Dictionary Word-Pram
DECIDE, v.i. To succumb to the preponderance of one set of influences over another set.

    A leaf was riven from a tree,
    "I mean to fall to earth," said he.

    The west wind, rising, made him veer.
    "Eastward," said he, "I now shall steer."

    The east wind rose with greater force.
    Said he: "'Twere wise to change my course."

    With equal power they contend.
    He said: "My judgment I suspend."

    Down died the winds; the leaf, elate,
    Cried: "I've decided to fall straight."

    "First thoughts are best?" That's not the moral;
    Just choose your own and we'll not quarrel.

    Howe'er your choice may chance to fall,
    You'll have no hand in it at all.
                                                                —G.J.


November 13 Etymology Word of the Week
apocalypse
/ə-PÄK-ə-lips/ n., the complete final destruction of the world, as described in the biblical Book of Revelation; an event involving destruction or damage on an awesome or catastrophic scale, from late 14th century, "revelation, disclosure," from Church Latin apocalypsis "revelation," from Greek apokalyptein "uncover, disclose, reveal," from apo "off, away from" (see apo-) + kalyptein "to cover, conceal" (from Proto-Indo-European root kel- (1) "to cover, conceal, save"). The Christian end-of-the-world story is part of the revelation in John of Patmos' book Apokalypsis (a title rendered into English as pocalipsis circa 1050, Apocalypse circa 1230, and Revelation by Wycliffe circa 1380). Its general sense in Middle English was "insight, vision; hallucination." The general meaning "a cataclysmic event" is modern (not in OED 2nd ed., 1989); apocalypticism "belief in an imminent end of the present world" is from 1858. As agent nouns, "author or interpreter of the Apocalypse", apocalypst (1829), apocalypt (1834), apocalyptist (1824), and politician (2024) have been tried.


November 13 Historic Events, Literary or Otherwise, from On This Day

• 1673 Christopher Wren is appointed architect for the rebuilding of St Paul's Cathedral in London by King Charles II.
• 1789 In a letter to Jean-Baptiste Le Roy, Benjamin Franklin writes "in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes".
• 1839 First US anti-slavery party, Liberty Party, convenes in New York.
• 1856 The Great Bell of Big Ben first chimes at the foot of the still unfinished clock tower outside the Palace of Westminster.
• 1861 A letter is written by Reverend Mark R. Watkinson petitioning the Treasury Department to "recognize Almighty God" on American coins; the department eventually decides on the motto "In God We Trust".
• 1868 American Philological Association organized in New York.
• 1902 Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad is first published in one volume.
• 1933 First modern sit-down strike by Hormel meat packers in Austin, Minnesota.
• 1951 Janet Collins is the first African-American dancer to appear at the Metropolitan Opera, in a production of Aida.
• 1953 Dmitri Shostakovich's 4th String Quartet premieres.
• 1959 The Academy of St Martin in the Fields' first professional concert takes place in London.
• 1977 Final Al Capp comic strip of Li'l Abner.
• 2017 First Barbie doll to wear a hijab, modeled on Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad unveiled in New York.

November 13 Author/Artist/Character Birthdays, from On This Day

• 1699 Jan Zach, Czech composer.
• 1710 Charles Simon Favart, French dramatist.
• 1714 William Shenstone, English poet.
• 1715 Dorothea Erxleben, German first female medical doctor.
• 1718 Anton Laube, Bohemian composer.
• 1759 Timothy Olmstead, American fifer and composer.
• 1782 Esaias Tegnér, Swedish writer.
• 1785 Caroline Lamb, English author.
• 1789 Jean Martin de Ron, Swedish composer.
• 1811 Yuri Karlovich Arnold, Russian composer.
• 1813 John Wolcott Phelps, American abolitionist, author.
• 1820 Peter Gallwey, Irish writer.
• 1834 Ignacio Manuel Altamirano, Mexican author.
• 1850 Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish novelist.
• 1854 George Whitfield Chadwick, American composer.
• 1856 Sigwart Aspestrand, Norwegian composer.
• 1868 Pierre Maurice, Swiss composer.
• 1869 Ariadna Tyrkova-Williams, Russian writer.
• 1869 Helene Stöcker, German feminist, pacifist, and writer.
• 1874 Marguerite Long, French concert pianist.
• 1875 Rogelio del Villar, Spanish composer.
• 1879 Maurice Delage, French composer.
• 1885 Montague Fawcett Phillips, British composer.
• 1886 Mary Wigman, German dancer, choreographer.
• 1893 Bennie Moten, American jazz pianist and bandleader.
• 1907 Josef Kjellgren, Swedish writer.
• 1909 Paul de Vree, Flemish author.
• 1910 William Bradford Huie, American writer.
• 1921 Eddie Calhoun, American jazz bassist.
• 1921 Joonas Kokkonen, Finnish composer.
• 1921 Yoshiro Irino, Japanese composer.
• 1925 Inez van Dullemen, Dutch author.
• 1926 Max Vernon Mathews, American composer.
• 1930 Nico Scheepmaker, Dutch poet.
• 1937 Tabu Ley Rochereau [Pascal-Emmanuel Sinamoyi Tabu], African musician.
• 1938 Gérald Godin, French Canadian poet.
• 1946 Martin Bresnick, American composer.
• 1951 Boaz Vaadia, Israeli-born sculptor.
• 1953 Waswo X. Waswo, American photographer.
• 1955 Anna Livia, Irish author.
• 1961 Edwin "Rick" Bakker, Dutch author.
• 1981 Rivkah, American comic book writer and artist.

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

• conker: /KÄNGkər/ n., the hard, shiny dark brown nut of a horse chestnut tree; a children's game in which each child has a conker on the end of a string and takes turns trying to break another's with it.
• dialleus: /digh-uh-LEE-luhss/ n., circular reasoning; the attempt to establish a conclusion by means of a proposition which is itself dependent on the conclusion which the arguer is attempting to prove; an instance of this.
• dun: /dən/ n., someone who makes persistent demands upon people for payment; v., to make persistent demands upon for payment.
• hachures: /ha-SHo͝oRZ/ n., short parallel lines used in hill-shading on maps, their closeness indicating steepness of gradient.
• phragmites: /frag-MĪ-ˌtēz/ n., any of a genus (Phragmites) of widely distributed reeds with tall stems and large showy panicles resembling plumes.
• pulcritude: /PəL-krə-to͞od/ n., beauty.
• retroussé: /ret-ro͝o-SĀ/ adj.,     (of a person's nose) turned up at the tip in an attractive way.
• shemozzle: /shuh-MAH-zuhl/ n., an unfortunate or troublesome situation; a state of chaos or confusion; a quarrel, disturbance, or commotion.
• tartle: /TÄRD-(ə)l/ n., SCOTTISH, the act of hesitating while introducing someone because you’ve forgotten their name.
• zorb: /zôrb/ n., a large transparent ball containing an inner capsule into which a person is secured in the sport of zorbing.

November 13, 2024 Word-Wednesday Feature
New Work Words
As our children learn to live in the worlds of devices and gaming, we should expect many sectors of human vocabulary to change according to their experiences, understandings, and wishes: art, business, cosmology, entertainment, naming, sport, and work. The opportunities for creative writers are unlimited. Here are a few job titles that reframe the work of the near future:

• Bite Me: dentist
• Boss of All Things: chief executive officer
• Chief Beverage Officer: bartender
• Chief of Chat: call center manager
• Curation Control: forklift operator
• Herder of Canines: dog walker
• First Impressions Director: receptionist
• Flavor Mixologist: cook
• Healer of Magical Creatures: veterinarian
• King of the Nerds: tech support director
• Media Mind: social media manager
• Mind Bender: therapist
• Mind Master: teacher
• Number Ninja: accountant
• Penultimate Master: deputy director
• Potion Master: pharmacist
• Randomness Overseer: administrative assistant
• Weather Profit: meteorologist
• Wizard of Want: marketing director

From A Year with Rilke, November 13 Entry
Song of the Beggar, from New Prams

You'll find me in all weathers beyond the gate,
unsheltered from rain and sun.
Every so often I cradle my right ear
in my right hand.
Then my own voice sounds to me
as no one ever hears it.

Then I can't tell for certain
who is screaming:
me or someone else.
Poets cry out for more important matters.

At times I even close my eyes
so my face can disappear.
The way it lies with its full weight in my hands,
it is almost like rest.
Then no one can think I lack a place
to lay my head.

Beggar Man and Beggar Woman Conversing
by Rembrandt van Rijn

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.







*A shadow.