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Teaser for my upcoming gyjo fic Ain't Worth A Dime
The truly creative mind in any field is no more than this: A human creature born abnormally, inhumanly sensitive. To him... a touch is a blow, a sound is a noise, a misfortune is a tragedy, a joy is an ecstasy, a friend is a lover, a lover is a god, and failure is death. Add to this cruelly delicate organism the overpowering necessity to create, create, create -- so that without the creating of music or poetry or books or buildings or something of meaning, his very breath is cut off from him. He must create, must pour out creation. By some strange, unknown, inward urgency he is not really alive unless he is creating.
-Pearl S. Buck, novelist, Nobel laureate (26 Jun 1892-1973) (quote courtesy of A Word A Day newsletter, June 26, 2019)
Bunny, de Mona Awad (2019)
Council member Faraj Al-Bahssani visits Sheikh Awad bin Dahidhan Al-Juhai to discuss regional developments.
Leadership Visit Highlights Community Contributions Visit to Sheikh Awdh Abdullah Bin Dhuhidhan Al-Juhai Today, Major General Faraj Al-Bahsani, a member of the Presidential Leadership Council, visited Sheikh Awdh Abdullah Bin Dhuhidhan Al-Juhai to check on his health and well-being. This visit underscores the importance of community connections and support among leaders. Appreciation for…
Bunny by Mona Awad
Deacon
Today's word a day seems tailored for @xiaq
A.Word.A.Day--deacon
3:11 AM
Feb 28, 2023
This week’s theme Nouns that are also verbs
This week’s words pinion deacon
A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg
deacon
PRONUNCIATION: (DEE-kuhn)
MEANING: noun: In a church, a person appointed as a lay leader to a position below a pastor, priest, etc.
verb tr.: 1. To present the best part of something.
2. To pack or arrange in a way so that the finest pieces (such as fruit) are visible.
3. To adulterate; to doctor; to falsify.
4. To kill a calf or another animal soon after birth.
5. To ordain as a deacon.
6. To read aloud lines of a verse before singing.
verb intr.:To lie.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Old English diacon, from Latin diaconus, from Greek diakonos (servant, minister). Earliest documented use: for noun: 900; for verb: 1839.
NOTES:
A deacon typically helps with things like ushering, collecting the offering, visiting church members in their homes, etc. In churches where not enough copies of religious books were available for all attendees, a deacon or a choir leader would read one or two lines at a time before the choir or the congregation would sing them.
It’s not clear how the negative meanings of the word arose. Maybe when a deacon visited, a family did a bit of staging: moved their religious music records to the front, brought out their best china, even displayed the best fruit on the table.
Maybe it’s alluding to the deacons themselves, displaying goodness on the surface (speaking politely) that hid what lies inside. According to a New England proverb “All deacons are good, but there’s odds in deacons.”
USAGE:
“And again, when you catch a fellow off guard who seemed all right the first time, you may find that he deaconed himself for your benefit, and that all the big strawberries were on top.” George Horace Lorimer; Old Gorgon Graham; Doubleday; 1903.
“‘It’s pretty late,’ Andrew said. ‘Why don’t we just stay at a roadhouse?’ ‘I don’t think so.’ ‘Why not?’ I deaconed. ‘It would be my first time.’ ‘Don’t worry. I’ll show you.’ Girls notoriously claimed they did it because they were drunk. But, in fact, I was drunk -- on euphoria.” Paul M. Levitt; Chin Music; Roberts Rinehart; 2001.
See more usage examples of deacon in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The souls of emperors and cobblers are cast in the same mold. The same reason that makes us wrangle with a neighbor creates a war between princes. -Michel de Montaigne, essayist (28 Feb 1533-1592)
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As interesting as it is to learn about ancient cultures through burial rites and mummified remains, I hate the idea of some curious scientist or explorer stumbling upon my remains millennia after I'm gone, looking at my hips or jaw or rib cage and once again assigning me the wrong gender. Assigned Wrong at Death.
Instead, cremate what's left and scatter the ashes to the sea. I would rather return as stardust at the end of time than be categorized inappropriately in death.