diaphanous

diaphanous adj. (of fabric) light, delicate or translucentI don't think of babies as being light, airy and delicate. Perhaps it is because my own son is a toddler now and destruction seems always in his wake. Sure. Babies are delicate and "diaphanous" in some ways. In the grand scheme of life, however, I believe that at birth we are our strongest...let me explain.When we are born, we are new. All of our parts have been oiled and our bones and skin have never been used. We are taken out of our packaging and arrive into the world in a most dramatic way. Even our lungs have never breathed air before. And from that day of birth, we grow to be more and more used. When my son walks around, he seems so solid and strong - like his legs are made of steel - but each day they learn a pattern, a gait. They get worn in.It is as if the world erodes us and makes us more light and delicate as we journey through life. "Diaphanous" makes me think of the delicate, translucent skin of an old woman's hands...or the thinning white, wispy hair of my long deceased grandmothers. And why cannot this be as beautiful as birth and youth? The fact the the world has washed away the newness of a person the same way the ocean waters erode the land and shores? I think it is just as beautiful, if not more so.I think it best to live life in quest of losing more and more of yourself. Life is to let the world take of you what it will until there is nothing left. Sometimes perhaps it will be pain that leaves a permanent scar, but other times it will be the joy of laughter that will force a dozen breaths from your lungs...never to return again - permanent and beautiful all the same.We are born with the strength of steel, and if we are lucky die with the delicate lightness of lace.

opine

opine v. hold and state as ones opinionI have been bad and haven't written in a few days as I have been interviewing for a job. My head has not been in the game of learning words recently, but I am back with the word of today.Opinions are a wonderful thing and, just like assholes, everyone has one. To be quite honest, I am really weary of opinions and politics. I feel like my whole life I have either been talking about what I believe and what everyone else believes, etc. Opinions are complex things. They make or break friendships, they get you fired, they cause dissent. I have always been an opinionated person but lately I have been refraining from opining.My reasoning is that life is a little more pleasant NOT standing on my soap box. My head is so full of information that I pick up that it's hard for me to decide what to think sometimes. I also find that my opinion changes over time as I experience and live through more difficulties and good times. As I grow older, I am less likely to opine and more likely to examine my thoughts and keep my opinions personal until I am sure of how I really feel.At this rate, I hope to have some decisions made about what I really believe by the time I am old and gray. At that time, I will dust off the soap box, get back on it and tell you what I think.Call me wishy washy, a coward or a loner, but I am tired of being self righteous and determined to have my voice heard. I have to do some research and learning. I want to be fair. Instead of being seen as opinionated and strong I am more interested in being a decent and good person. I want to enjoy life as much as I can and absorb the world around me - for better or for worse.I have spent my life trying to be something, trying to collect all of the things to use to build a picture of who I am or want to be. I have always had a strong opinion. I have never just let me be me. So instead of looking at things and forming opinions I am going to focus on acceptance and learning to take in all of the world around me without the pressure of having to say what I think. Maybe some meditation...perhaps a few sun salutations...hopefully a prayer or two.Let's see how long this lasts...

mendacious

mendacious adj. untruthful2 + 2 = 5 is a mendacious statement...it is also an amazing song by Radiohead.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waJWRYa7weo]This "untrue" statement is also found in Notes from Underground by Dostoevsky, one of my favorite books which I have not read in a very long while.I admit that twice two makes four is an excellent thing, but if we are to give everything its due, twice two makes five is sometimes a very charming thing too.I think I must have written several college essays on this quote. We spend most of our lives striving for honesty and truth in our lives and yet when we break its confines we enter a new realm of creativity and invention. Yet in Orwell's 1984, 2+2 = 5 is a statement used by the state to oppress its people.Something to think on for the day...

oik

oik n. an uncouth or obnoxious personWow. I can't believe the dictionary gave me this word today. It's Saint Patrick's Day! In America, it means you get drunk, wear green and pretend you're Irish. In Ireland...er...you drink Guinness and have a farm parade. We spent St. Patrick's Day in Ireland a few years ago and it was actually quite pleasant and devoid of oiks. It was like a religious holiday for the Irish and as we were there on a weekday, it was a day off. We went to a parade in Cashel but it was mostly tractors, farm animals and children. We had ice cream and Guinness and the world was blissful. Unfortunately there was no traditional Irish music, just Black Eyed Peas and a late night dance party...which was disappointing.The world could do with a few less oiks these days. They seem to turn up everywhere...television, Whole Foods, on trains with "F*** Me, I'm Irish" t-shirts" and on the road in cars. I think someone needs to form a Coalition Against Oiks. I encounter them everyday and have to bite my tongue.Well anyway, today I have avoided the oiks. My husband's birthday is today so he is in the city while my son and I avoid the crowds and drunken masses. This word reminds me of a chant from old Girl Scout Camp days. Change the oi oi oi to oik oik oik....[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrjZi7WIAOw]

My Triumphant Return to Literacy

As I grow older it seems that my vocabulary and mastery of the English language grows younger. I increasingly find myself unable to speak intelligently or searching for words. Maybe this is due to too little reading and too much mindless television. Nonetheless, I came up with an idea to help me return to literacy.The other day when I was walking past the library and listening to my iPod too loudly, I reminisced back to my college days as an English major and immediately remembered the OED. It was the gold standard of dictionaries for all references in college. Merriam Webster was just not up to snuff. Yet somehow I don't own an OED...possibly because it is huge, possibly because the web has taken over the literary universe. So the idea for this blog was born. Today I am venturing out to the Barnes and Noble to purchase an OED of my own (OED stands for Oxford English Dictionary) and each day flip randomly with my eyes closed through the pages to pick out a word for the day. I have discovered that you cannot access the OED online without paying $30 a month for  and you can't randomly find a word either. Buying the book is cheaper and I want my son to someday know what the original OED looked like.Now here's the big idea. Instead of just taking note of the word and memorizing it uselessly, or simply writing it down, I am going to force myself to use the word in a creative way on this blog. The idea is to create a short work of fiction with the word or perhaps even find a photo or video illustrating the word to help burn it into my memory. I am going to attempt to do this everyday for as long as I can...until I am less illiterate. Hence, OED a Day. Technically, it should be Word a Day or OED Word a Day. OED a day just had more pizzazz.I don't really care who reads the blog...it's really for my own edification. However, if you want to read my posts and learn a word a day, by all means, join me. Even write your own examples or pieces that you come up with. Stay tuned for my first word!