Posted September 30,  2022

It's The Journey That Counts!
Life's journey is not to arrive safely at the grave in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting, "Wow! What a ride!"
Anna-grams 
● We made a trip to the emergency room at the hospital yesterday. The pain Luciano has been suffering for the last two weeks is a hernia. More to follow.

Anagrams
​● Diapers and politicians should be changed often -- both for the same reason. = Unappealing fecal odor, bad scent and therefore booed. No sham - shit is shit!
~ Aronas Pinchas  (2012)

● A long period of drought = Drop huge lot of rain, God!
~ Mike Mike Mesterton-Gibbons 

● A neatly turned phrase = Unearthed pleasantry.
~ Aronas Pinchas (2006)

● The forthcoming American Presidential election = Another inner politcal enemies democratic fight.
~ Aronas Pinchas (2008)

Weekly Quotes By Writers on Settings
● “The house smelled musty and damp, and a little sweet, as if it were haunted by the ghosts of long-dead cookies.” ~ Neil Gaiman, “American Gods“

● “When ideas evaporate, when shapes fade and forms lose their integrity, our imagi-nation can create an out-landish setting and convert everything into a hazy, misty Turner landscape. “
~ Erik Pevernagie 

● “Places are never just places in a piece of writing. If they are, the author has failed. Setting is not inert. It is acti-vated by point of view.”
 ~ Carmen Maria Machado, “In the Dream House”
​You Had One Job....
Is it really necessary to stamp the actual hamburger buns?
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Weekly Literary Term
PLEONASM
DEFINITION
Pleonasm [pronounced ˈplē-ə-ˌna-zəm] is the term for using more than one word when one is sufficient; i.e. redundant. It is a rhetorical device that can be defined as the use of two or more words (a phrase) to express an idea.
A pleonasm can either be a mistake or a tool used for emphasis.

Pleonasm comes from a Greek word [pleonasmos ] that means “excessive.” It is a rhetorical device that can be defined as the use of two or more words (a phrase) to express an idea.

TYPES OF PLEONASM
● Syntactic Pleonasm
A syntactic pleonasm happens when based on the arrangement of words in a sentence, certain grammatical forms can be omitted. This occurs when the grammatical language makes specific functional words optional.
• Example 1
“I know you will come.”
“I know that you will come.”
In this example, the conjunction “that” is optional while joining a verb phrase with a sentence. Although both sentences are correct grammatically, the conjunction “that” is pleonastic
• Example 2
“I care for you.”
“I do care for you.”
This pleonasm is optional and may be used for emphasis; technically “do” is not needed, but it can be used to emphasize that one does truly care.
● Semantic pleonasm
Semantic pleonasm occurs from redundancy, or unnecessary repetition of an idea or description of it. This is the kind of pleonasm writers need to avoid.
• Example 1
They offered free gifts to us.
Gifts are, by definition, free.
• Example 2
He lives down south of us.
He sat down.
She stood up.
• Example 3
I heard him say it with my own ears.
Although people use this kind of pleonasm in dialogue, it is still unnecessary to use words that repeat the definition or to use words that state the obvious. You aren’t going to hear something through someone else’s ears. When someone stands, the only direction is up.
Other examples: • Wet rain; • Cold snow; • Tuna fish; • Dry desert; • Cash money

● EXAMPLES IN LITERATURE
• Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
“This was the most unkindest cut of all…”
In this excerpt, Shakespeare has deliberately used the term “most unkindest” as pleonastic in order to emphasize and give an even clearer meaning.
• Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton
“All this I saw with my own eyes, and it was the most fearsome sight I ever witnessed…”
The term “my own” is pleonastic, since the word “my” would have been enough to show possession. However, “own” is added to emphasize and clarify the meaning.

FUNCTION OF PLEONASM
Pleonastic words are employed to achieve linguistic, poetic, and literary effects. Since they are used as a rhetorical repetition, they are helpful for reinforcing a contention, an idea, or a question rendering an expression easier and clearer to understand. Also, they serve as a part of idiomatic language in professional and scholarly writing.

Unnecessary redundancies can muddle otherwise clear and concise text. Unless the writer is poetically over-describing something for emphasis or dramatic effect, pleonasms should be omitted and avoided.

Sources:
https://literarydevices.net/pleonasm/
https://literaryterms.net/pleonasm/
https://softschools.com/examples/literary_terms/pleonasm_examples/331/

DISCLAIMER: These discussions of Literary terms are not my writing or ideas. I am not an expert, and so I have chosen the works of those authors or organizations, shown as the sources, who know what they’re talking about. I use their works word for word, sometimes with editing, modifications, and combination with the works of other experts. Here and there I add some comments of my own and miscellaneous bits and pieces from other sources. However, much of the writing is word for word from the sources.

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​Observation Days
​​September is gone
October is:
​● National Bullying Prevention
   Awareness Month
● National Caramel Month
● National Chili Month
● National Chiropractic Health Mo. 
● National Cookbook Month
● National Crime Prevention Month
● National Cybersecurity
   Awareness Month
● National Dental Hygiene Month
● National Depression Education
   and Awareness Month
● National Dessert Month
● National Disability Employment
   Awareness Month
● National Domestic Violence
   Awareness Month

The Coming Week is: 
● Mental Illness Awareness Week
   (10/ 2-8)
● National Carry a Tune Week
   (10/ 2-8)
● Industrial Water Week (10/ 3-7)
● World Space Week (10/ 4-10) 

September 30 is:
● Save the Koala Day
● National Love People Day
● National Chewing Gum Day
● National Mud Pack Day
● National Hot Mulled Cider Day

New Dictionary Words in 2022
​● whataboutism (n) = the act or practice of responding to an accusation of wrongdoing by claiming that an offense committed by another is similar or worse also : the response itself. 

● astroturf  = falsely made to appear grassroots. The figurative use of astroturf  (in capitalized form, a trademark for artificial turf) is used to describe political efforts, campaigns, or organizations appearing to be funded and run by ordinary people but are in fact backed by powerful groups.

● flutternutter (n) = a sand-wich made with peanut butter and marshmallow crème between two slices of white sandwich bread.

● horchata (n) = a cold sweetened beverage made from ground rice or almonds and usually flavorings such as cinnamon or vanilla.

Source: https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2022/08/01/new-words-1-august-2022/