How Do You Spell 13 Thursday?
The Scrabble dictionary isn’t really a dictionary at all. It’s a book designed to keep players from spending all their time fighting over what’s a word. ~ Stephen Fatsis
1. Standardized spelling is a modern invention that dates back to the late 19th century. President Andrew Jackson said this: It’s a damn poor mind that can think of only one way to spell a word.
2. I frequently browse books from back to front and read words in ways other than left to right.
3. I’ve had my Honda CRV for over 3 years and I still push the wrong button to put the window down. What can I say? It’s in the wrong place.
4. This is the way I feel about therapy: It’s not about finding out who did what to me or why. It’s about finding out what I’m storing and what’s weighing me down. I think everyone has some emotional baggage. It’s there affecting us whether or not we acknowledge it. I figure I might as well open the bag and see what’s in there, remember why I put it there, and decide what I can now throw away.
5. Our local supermarket, which does employ a butcher, is appropriately called "Slaughters." Yesterday I saw a 6 foot female rock singer sing on the Ellen Show. Her name was Storm Large. More on names as our assignments, HERE.
6. What’s in your dictionary? I find myself collecting autumn leaves like I collect shells when I’m walking on the beach. Wanting to preserve their beauty, I press them in my large red American Heritage dictionary. Some leaves have been in my dictionary for many years, so that when I look up a word, pieces fly out or crumple into dried confetti. Sometimes a faded green shamrock from Ireland or a purple wildflower, collected while hiking on the Parkway, will spill out onto my burnt orange living room carpet and tell a story of a day already lived. Read more HERE.
7. Here’s what Stephen Fatsis, author of Word Freak says about the dictionary: Dictionaries are designed to appear authoritative. They’re thick, sturdy, and precise, with pages of explanatory material and complex notational schemes …. People refer to “the dictionary” as if there were just one, divinely inspired like the Bible … But dictionaries are as subjective as any other piece of writing. Which words are included in them and which words are removed or ignored are decisions made by lexicographers based on shifting criteria, varying standards, and divergent publishing goals?
8. Did you know that the Scrabble tournament players use a different Scrabble dictionary than the rest of us? After the National Scrabble Association took “questionable” words out of the “The Official Scrabble Player’s Dictionary,” prompted by complaints of certain groups, the tournament players fought for their own more complete Scrabble dictionary, which is not commonly sold in bookstores. The subtitle on the one I own says: “The Official Reference for Recreational and School Play.” The word fart isn’t in it, but the word blog is.
9. Scrabble tournaments are like the Grateful Dead Shows of the game world.
10. What happens when you get a poet, an Arab American comedian, a Professor of Ethics, a student, a playwright, and 2 Reverends together to talk about the attacks of 9/11, their aftermath, and the war in Iraq? The best part of this thoughtful roundtable, which aired on The PBS News Hour on 9/11, was that a wide range of views were expressed in a respectful manner. See for yourself HERE.
11. When my son Josh was nine, he said, “I wish war was extinct like the dinosaur age.”
12. When my son Dylan started public school in the 5th grade, after home schooling and then going to a small alternative school for several years, he said, “It’s just like the army, Mum. They make you stand in lines.”
13. Life is Stranger than Fiction: I once left my journal in an Applebee’s restaurant after having lunch there. When I went back an hour or so later to look for it, I discovered it was on the floor being used as a shim to balance a wobbly table.
Thursday headquarters is here. My other 13's are here. View more 13 Thursdays HERE.
Comments
I type for a living (medical transcriptionist) and LOVE the online dictionaries. I LOVE that you can put a word into GOOGLE - even if it is misspelled - and GOOGLE will ask "did you mean ___," and then will proceed to give you the definition for it!
Funny story about your journal - something so important to one, delegated to another service entirely by another.
Posted by: Susan | September 14, 2006 8:58 AM
As to #7--in my literary journalism class at AU (MFA program) we had to read a review of a just-released dictionary. A 30-page critique. Boring, but also eye-opening... And #12 cracks me up. Great list, as usual.
Posted by: Goddess In The City | September 14, 2006 9:02 AM
Yeah, I love the google feature "did you mean?" as well. I always thought it was ironic that when you don't know how to spell a word, you're supposed to look it up, but in some cases you have to know how to spell it to do that!
Posted by: colleen | September 14, 2006 9:16 AM
Great list!
Mine is up too
Posted by: Raggedy | September 14, 2006 9:26 AM
#1: I shared that quote with a friend who spells words "creatively"; I bet it shows up on her blog LOL!
#4: What a GREAT fricking way to put this. Makes me want to go make an appointment RIGHT NOW!
#12: I watched a South Park episode this morning that had to do with home schooling. Interesting :-)
Thanks for visiting!
Posted by: Janet | September 14, 2006 9:48 AM
Janet pointed out your TT to me. I love your #4. I have been wondering - back to therapy or not - try it again or not - I think you might have inspired me. Great list. Michelle
Posted by: Michelle | September 14, 2006 10:15 AM
I had to re-read entry #5 more closely because at first scan I thought you said you saw Storm Large at Slaughters! I was a fan of hers from the TV show Rock Star Supernova, and I wondered what the heck she was doing at Slaughters?!?!
Note to self: Slow down and read more closely and carefully!
Posted by: Suzy | September 14, 2006 10:18 AM
Colleen, on #13, I thought you were going to tell us, when returning to retrieve your journal, you found that special someone totally engrossed in it's pages at the table you left it on!
Posted by: Stuart Barden | September 14, 2006 10:30 AM
3. I’ve had my Honda CRV for over 3 years and I still push the wrong button to put the window down. What can I say? It’s in the wrong place.
OK Coll......I've had my Honda CRV for almost 8 years and I do this all the time!! Add this to our list (lol!)xo
Posted by: Trish | September 14, 2006 10:39 AM
Oh my goodness, your son's comment on war is too precious! Happy TT!
I'm running around doing blogroll checks, and I just wanted to let you know that you must have a link to the Thursday Thirteen on Technorati on your TT posts. There are directions on www.thursdaythirteen.com, and this is a requirement for being on the blogroll. The next time I check, if it's not there, I'll have to take you off the blogroll, and no one wants that :-(!!!
Posted by: Lindsey | September 14, 2006 10:40 AM
#10. Civil liberties have clashed with national security throughout history. Look at how our own Sedition Acts were created, and you will see the similarities to today's debates.
I personally find it hard to stomach attempts to disrupt social stability through overwhelming dissent, which I guess makes me "conservative". Did you find the statements by the "poet and social activist" convoluted or maybe anarchical is a better term? I just could not relate.
Posted by: Jim | September 14, 2006 10:49 AM
Stuart, I was just so happy it was still there!
Jim, I found what the poet said to be a valid part of the debate, in that every person at the roundtable expressed an aspect of the WHOLE of the issue. If a group were decribing an elphant some would describe the trunk, others the tail, or body, and all would be right. Everyone at the table had a piece to add to the whole, and all were coming from a place of caring. Our caring is what unifies us.
Posted by: colleen | September 14, 2006 11:06 AM
I was thinking about the therapy thing being like opening a bag and seeing what you can throw away. Those of us who are pack rats in all aspects of life have trouble throwing anything away. ;)
Posted by: srp | September 14, 2006 11:46 AM
i wish i were more of a connoisseur of words. there are so many times i'm looking for a word and it's on the tip of my tongue, but it never quite gets there. i'm also one of those people who confuses words, like prescription and subscription, or doesn't use the word in quite the right context. i'm a good speller though! :) you definately have a gift for words- and a gift it is indeed! my little sis has the same.
Posted by: amy f. | September 14, 2006 1:12 PM
I loved all 13 but #5 is my favorite. On my blog - the one that got deleted - I had a post about funny names. One I used was Gail Huff. Her job? She was a local reporter. I laughed when during every storm, she nonchalantly ended her report standing with the stormy seas in the background saying, "This is Gail Huff reporting from Boston."
I wonder if she knows Storm Large?
Posted by: Kathy | September 14, 2006 2:34 PM
I confuse words all the time! I once tried to say that my dad was a veteran and said he was a vetinarian instead!
Posted by: colleen | September 14, 2006 3:35 PM
i wish we had that grocery store. I need to find a good butcher. Store-prepared hamburger is awful!
Posted by: carmen | September 14, 2006 4:18 PM
I swear Colleen..your Thursday Thiteen are my very favorite....(I know we are not supposed to say things like that...but, it's the truth, my dear!)
There is always so much information and thought provoking "thoughts"....I LOVE IT!
Posted by: OldOldLady Of The Hills | September 14, 2006 4:30 PM
I am a terrible spelling.! :) Thank God for spell check!
Posted by: Chelle Y | September 14, 2006 4:31 PM
Another Great Thursday Thirteen!!!!
Posted by: Sherry | September 14, 2006 5:34 PM
"My" dictionary is actually one my husband has had for years. It is a smaller paperback one that is acutally in two sections now because the binding broke. Section one is "A" through "misread" on page 448 and then the 2nd section picks up with "model" on page 451...somewhere along the way we lost pages 449 and 450....hmmm.
He has circled most of the words he has ever looked up which I think is a great idea. Some simple from when he was younger (I think the dictionary dates back to high school - he is 39 now) and some more recently.
Posted by: Michelle | September 14, 2006 7:36 PM
My cruise control is in the wrong place...I hit it as my tick tock and accelerate all the time instead of slowing down! Is Tick Tock in the Scrabble dictionary, it probably didn't make Websters.
Posted by: Deana | September 14, 2006 8:44 PM
My 13 are up, finally, at 11:11 pm
Posted by: Chrissie | September 14, 2006 11:11 PM
I need to share Andrew Jackson's thoughts on spelling with my mom ;)
The butcher's name at my local supermarket... Burger. :)
I agree with Josh... “I wish war was extinct like the dinosaur age.”
Happy T13! My list's up... we have a new puppy!
Posted by: Kimmy | September 14, 2006 11:39 PM
#9 want to expand that one out.
#3 yep, counterintuitive design. every time I go to roll down the windows in my car, it autolocks the doors. Can be off-putting as someone I know comes back with a question before I leave. lol.
Posted by: Pearl | September 15, 2006 7:28 AM
Did you like Storm. She was on Rockstar SuperNova. I always wonder why she has a pron star name.
I will have to check out that 9/11 info. There is some interesting stuff floating around about that day.
Happy Weekend.
Posted by: Nancy | September 15, 2006 8:36 AM
I meant porn star name....not pron...
LOL!
Posted by: Nancy | September 15, 2006 8:37 AM
Hey Colleen! I didnt do the thursday 13.. I've been way too busy but wanted to stop by and see how you are doing! Interesting 13 you've got this week! I too often browse books from back to front!
Posted by: Ivy | September 15, 2006 8:48 AM
Your list are way to important for just a quick glance. I love reading your T13's leisurely to take it all in.
Posted by: Lazy Daisy | September 15, 2006 9:13 AM
Amy F. - my father was drafted out of law school into the Army Reserves during Vietnam, and until I was about 10, I told everyone that my dad was in the Army perserves.
Posted by: Jim | September 15, 2006 9:49 AM
colleen and jim- glad to see i'm not the only one who mixes up words. now- i've got to go to the pharmacy and pick up my subscription! :)
Posted by: amy f. | September 15, 2006 11:00 AM
re #1:
I heard Michael J. Fox say something brilliant recently when he was being interviewed on that PBS show where the delightfully pompous guy interviews actors. I forget the question, but it had to do with why he didn't study math. Fox said: "If two plus two equals four every time you do it, then what good is it?" I think that is beautiful.
Posted by: Rick | September 15, 2006 3:58 PM
re: #7
So there, Andrew Jackson.
Posted by: Rick | September 15, 2006 4:02 PM