Wordplay Wednesday™ August 10, 2016 – Kinglet

Think Piglet’s Mind in a Hog’s Body 

Is there someone in your inner circle who fancies themselves “high and mighty”? A fun and placid way to take them down a notch (use with gentle discretion – no bullying please) …

KINGLET (kiŋʹlit) n. – 1) a petty, unimportant king; 2) any of several small Old World warblers (genus Regulus) with a bright-colored crown, as the golden-crowned kinglet. [WW #72]

Who would be such a person? Well, in ancient history, we have Rodulf, most often described as a rather ineffectual king of one or more tribes in ancient Scandza (today’s Norway). Seriously, even Wiki describes him as a “petty king” – not to mean a minor descendant of NASCAR legend, Richard Petty, known to racing as the King.

Then again, unlike Richard the King, there is some discrepancy as to ol’ Rodulf’s credence. Even Wiki suggests his historical significance could be suspect, and “he could be the background for certain aspects of later heroic poetry, possibly including the Norse saga character Hrólfr Kraki.”

Which may offer the hypothesis that he was not considered important enough for a positive historical I.D. – and that folks, is often a bitter pill to swallow, especially for those who like to think they’re superior – a scant few of us are more than kinglets in anything other than our own mind.

Word of the Week: KINGLET. Great description for a character in your novel. Go ahead, fit it into your writings for the week.

'Til next time ... have a wonderful "wordful" week …

                       

@PenchantForPen

@Irishwriter

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Wordplay Wednesday™ August 03, 2016 – Ruth

A Name by Any Other Definition … 

Ah yes, here I am again, fighting the clock, trying to post Wordplay Wednesday ON Wednesday … I made it in California time! Sigh.

 

All day, and yet NO work accomplished, NO progress made on anything, except to learn a new word that runs the gamut of my emotions …

RUTH (rōōth) n. –  1) pity, compassion; 2) sorrow, grief, remorse. [WW #71]  

Certainly Ruth at times, is a ruth by any other rosy name. Today, my ruth proved to be a stem-full of grievous thorns!

A simple renewal of my Trend Micro computer security program that should have completed in less than an hour, usurped the meat of my day, sucking up nearly four hours of precious time.

My initial lame attempt at imitating a bumbling techie, commandeered nearly two hours of my time. That was just the beginning …

Apparently incarnations of the program prior to my May installation of Windows 10, buried themselves so deep into my computer that it took another hour-and-a-half with a more knowledgeable bloke to cut the vines away.

TM’s tech rep, young Patrick, obviously from The Jetson’s age, labored patiently in remote access control (while I fumed). The difference is he knew what he was doing (I hope) and STILL it took that long! 

Consequently, this is a short and not so sweet Wordplay Wednesday. I feel your ruth (pity) for me. 

Not to worry, when finally I was up and running again, I proceeded to drown my ruth (sorrow, grief and remorse) in a lengthy happy hour!

Word of the Week: RUTH. Show your heartfelt ruth to others, while fitting it into your writings for the week.

'Til next time ... have a wonderful "wordful" week …

                       

@PenchantForPen

@Irishwriter

Facebook

  

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Wordplay Wednesday™ July 27, 2016 – Orlop

Cruisin’ with the Oldies Rock & Roll Radio Ambassador™ 

By late July we’re thinking about sitting neck-deep in anything with cool water … lake, stream, preferably ocean … but even the bathtub will do.

The open waters of the ocean call to me – I dream of cruising from port to port, spreading the joy of Old Time Rock & Roll to everyone I meet. A Boomer’s fantasy, for sure. My yacht awaits …

ORLOP (ôrʹläp) n. – the lowest deck of a ship with four or more decks. [WW #70]

I would settle for three decks … oh hell, when you have absolutely no dollars to pursue your dream, you may as well dream big – I’ll take four. Each with a bar and a jukebox! Yes, even the orlop. 

Dreams can come true. Perhaps not as you first envision, but a reasonable facsimile. As proof, after eight very long years, I am finally poised to publish (before Holidays) Book 2 in my Blast from Your Past series about pioneering Rock & Roll Radio Disc Jockeys. On its heels, a revitalized Book 1 (The First Five Years 1954-1959) will shimmy its way onto Amazon’s virtual bookshelf.

It’s rarely easy and often daunting, to doggedly chase a dream. If you don’t though, you’ll always wonder what would have happened if you had. Only one life – live it. Even if your dream is the orlop of your life, for a while.

While writing, thoughts of selling a million books or even enough to pay for my time, has never been a focus. I simply want to document some of the wild-‘n’-crazy true tales behind the microphones of our pioneering Rock & Roll Radio stations – before they disappear in the dissipating airwaves of time.

Wordplay Wednesday™ July 20, 2016 – Sedulous

Mud-slinging in the Speech Pond  

Isn’t it amazing how our democratic process is such a testament to the diligence and attention, perseverance and assiduous planning, of its political machine?

And hasn’t the Internet community contributed in more wonderful ways than we can count, to its ability to research, study, and repeat the best of its finest speeches?

Hmmm. Wellllllll … if I take my tongue out of my cheek, I just might unleash a diatribe of vehement frustration on this Wordplay Wednesday. Who’s with me? Who prefers to dissect political speeches for their content as it pertains to the speaker, rather than their creative origin? I feel sorry for the hard-working writers …

SEDULOUS (sejʹoo lɘs) adj. – 1) working hard and steadily, diligent; 2) constant, persistent (sedulous attention to the task). [WW #69]

Uh-oh. Tongue dislodged from cheek … here come da judge …

Speaking from a writer’s POV, no matter how conscientious and diligent we are, and as unique or powerful we hope our words are, someone somewhere has already articulated those same words, created that idea, or told the story exactly that way.

 

GET OVER IT SOCIAL MEDIA – and by that I mean the MEAN PEOPLE – who have nothing better to do with their time, energy, and half-wit intelligence, than to bully others. Yes, bully. The Internet is FULL of bullies – the ridiculous harassment over Mrs.Trump’s perceived plagiarism is a perfect example – are you a bully? That is not an idle question.

There is often a fine line between spewing venom and spite, or offering practical analyses …