1. ale-bush — tavern sign Lost and friendless in the fog’s smother, how pleasant it was to come upon the hanging ale-bush above a dark wooden door. 2. surcingle — girth for horse or other animal that passes around belly and over pack, blanket, etc. to keep it in place What I first had …
Author Archives: mysterious6030
111,000 Songs
Mere days after completing my analysis of the first eleven hundred thousand songs listened to, I’ve just listened to my 111,000th unique iTunes track, the sarcastic and patriotic little ditty, “Mussolini’s Letter To Hitler”, by Carson Robinson. 111,000 unique tracks makes up 715.07 GB of data, with a total duration of 454 days, 12 hours, …
Data Analysis: The Eleven Myriad Things (110,000 Songs)
As promised, herewith begins the data analysis of my first 110,000 songs heard through iTunes. Top Level Saving the caveats for later, we dive in with the statement that I have listened at least once to 110,000 tracks in iTunes. Crossing this milestone occurred just before 5PM on April 17, 2019. Remaining to be heard …
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Friday Vocabulary
1. resomation — disposal of dead bodies through alkaline hydrolysis, using lye and heat Resomation is being touted as an ecologically friendly alternative to cremation, but in the United States the process is legal only in sixteen states. 2. shambles — slaughterhouse; scene of carnage “It smells like a shambles,” said Joseph as we …
Friday Vocabulary
1. dogsbody — drudge, person given menial work Once I lowered my expectations from Senior Vice President to dogsbody I finally found a job opportunity. 2. pyogenic — pus-producing As if an antibiotic-resistant staph infection was not enough of a worry, now we learned that Larry was also in the throes of pyogenic meningitis. …
Friday Vocabulary
1. gnome — general maxim, aphorism, terse saying with a moral Since, like Polonius in Hamlet, his speech seems to consist primarily of gnomes and clichés, I doubt he would be able to follow this play’s sustained allegory. 2. shirtwaist — tailored blouse for women The old-fashioned establishment did not allow Jane to dine …
Friday Vocabulary
1. parergon — embellishment, thing subordinate to main subject Burgess maintains that the final chapter of A Clockwork Orange was essential to the novel and should never have been removed from the American edition, but Kubrick and many other readers have found it an unconvincing parergon. 2. adust — burnt up, scorched But under …
Friday Vocabulary
1. embonpoint — healthy plumpness; fleshy part of the body, esp. of the bosom Though two decades had passed, she seemed just the same — well, a slight tendency to embonpoint perhaps, which was only heightened by the stately curves of her gown. 2. catarrh — secretions from the nose and eyes which accompany …
Friday Vocabulary
1. rebarbative — repellent, annoying, unattractive I was confronted at the front desk by a rebarbative adolescent, if I can be excused the tautology, who claimed the right to review my credentials before passing me on to the vice principal. 2. compurgator — witness to an accused person’s innocence or truthfulness From the Old …
Friday Vocabulary
1. recreant — coward, craven; apostate, traitor You have shown yourself recreant before all assembled here, false to your duty and false to your word. 2. pruritus — itching, esp. with no visible cause Of course, pruritus may manifest itself when merely mentioned, much in the manner of certain allergies. 3. fremescent — …