I Beg to Defer
11 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
in Humanity Tags: ctwfrank, culture, future, history, humanity, humor, inspiration, Life, linguistics, News, philosophy, reviews, society, technonology, writing
I’m not supposed to write while I’m writing, but this was irresistible. Today, my five-year old daughter asked me a very interesting question after her daily communication session with me. Most people would probably laugh if they were to actually observe any one of these sessions and attempt to correct my perceived misspeak by saying; “Communication what? You’re just teaching her English!” English? Now that’s funny! What’s English? I’m not sure that I would recognize actual English if I heard it, in fact it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when we warped and twisted what used to be referred to as ”The King’s English” into the absurd jargon that we call English today. I most definitely am not teaching my daughter English, to me that would be like teaching one’s own child where to stab a person so that it kills or where it only causes trauma: it would be perverse. I’m teaching my daughter how to communicate with other people; one certainly can’t communicate with another person by using English! Everyone knows that you only use English to confuse or antagonize others but never to communicate; that’s what money is for. Do you see? You’re already paying more attention at its mere mention.
Apologies, I digress; back to the point, namely my daughter’s question, which was: “Dad; if the prefix in- means “not”, then why does the dictionary say that the word “indifference” means to not care or to consider something unimportant? That’s not what “not-difference, or not-different” means. According to the rules, indifference should mean that there is no difference in something – like when making a comparison, even though it’s easier to just say that one thing is the same as another instead of saying that it’s indifferent from another –that sounds like too much work! So what’s the word that should be used to mean that someone doesn’t care? There’s got to be a word, Dad! This doesn’t make any sense!”
A few minutes later; after the pride, amazement and wonder subsided a bit, I contemplated the question and replied;
“You’re right, honey; it doesn’t make any sense. That’s because it is the wrong word, just as you figured. The word that should appear in the dictionary in the same place where you now see “indifference” is “indeference”. The problem is that if you try to look up the word “indeference”, you won’t find it because it is a ‘forgotten word’; we simply forgot, for some reason, and replaced it with “indifference”, maybe because they sound sort of the same, who knows? In this case the formative prefix in- is added to a noun to form another noun representing the effect of a negative force on the original word. The word “deference” means ‘to show respectful courtesy” as to character or to be ‘respectfully submissive” as to a point of conversation or debate. When the prefix in- is added, the result should be “indeference”, but that word doesn’t exist in the dictionary; instead the definition of “indeference” is what appears as the definition of “indifference”; which means some else entirely. Do you understand now, sweetie?”
She looked at me with eyes that would make Puss-n-Boots envious and then she asked me:
“Buy why, Dad? Why would we do something like that?”
I sighed, and with compassion and clarity, I answered my daughter’s question:
“Because in the end, sweetie, we are nothing more than a bunch of punk-assed sissy bitches and straight-out pussies who would gladly admit that shit and shinola are the same, as long as they didn’t have to get up or do any thinking. The human race has become but a sad whimper when compared to our potential and we forget words just like we forget to care or to participate. It’s possible that humanity has forgotten so many things that no one believes that they can make a difference anymore.”
My daughter looked me straight in the eyes and lit up with awe and understanding. She jumped up and down and with jubilation and excitement shouted:
“Of course! That’s it, Dad! Now I understand! We just got the words mixed up! “Indifference” should mean ‘to not be able to make a difference’ and perhaps everyone feels that way because they forgot that feeling that way IS indifference and what they thought was indifference is actually indeference! Right, Dad?”
It was my turn to be awe-struck. I couldn’t decide if it was just the innocence of a child or flawless logic that inspired my little girl and it really didn’t matter, she blew me away. All I could do was to look at her and say: “Maybe, sweetie; it just might be exactly that.”
She served up that look again; its power is irresistible and with every ounce of strength she could muster, she made the “please” gesture with her hands and said:
“So why don’t’ you just explain that to everyone, Dad? You’re the best explainer in the whole world! Every time you explain something to me, I understand it right away! Please, Daddy, everything will be okay if you just explain this to everyone!”
So I am.
Thank you, honey, for helping me to remember what it means to be human. I love you.
ctwfrank
A must read…
04 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
in Important Tags: all, ctwfrank, culture, economics, future, humanity, Life, money, News, people, society, technonology
This is very important, it’s an absolute must read!
Maybe it’s about time…
28 Jan 2012 2 Comments
in OBSERVATIONS Tags: all, blog, books, culture, financial crisis, humanity, linguistics, local, philosophy, poetry, politics, psychology, society
Hi everyone. It’s been almost a month since I’ve posted – there is a reason for that and I promise to share the details, but that’s not for this post. This post has a different purpose – purpose. I’ve never been one to cite from other writers very much but I will now because this is no ordinary writer; this is, just as its subject: poetry in motion. I don’t know if a man has ever cited the following, if so, then I’m simply the next one but if I am the first, then it’s about time! Let this fill you:
Phenomenal Woman.
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I’m not cute or built to suit a fashion model’s size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I’m telling lies.
I say,
It’s in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It’s the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can’t touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can’t see.
I say,
It’s in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Now you understand
Just why my head’s not bowed.
I don’t shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It’s in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
‘Cause I’m a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That’s me.
Maya Angelou – the one and only.
(My daughter; Maya. has some big shoes to fill).
ctwfrank
Change
29 Dec 2011 1 Comment
in Humanity Tags: all, blog, ctwfrank, culture, economics, education, family, Life, linguistics, miscellaneous, money, News, people, philosophy, psychology, random, reviews, society, thoughts, writing
Change [cheynj]
Source: Dictionary.com Unabridged
verb (used with object)
- to make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of (something) different from what it is or from what it would be if left alone: to change one’s name; to change one’s opinion; to change the course of history.
- to transform or convert (usually followed by into ): The witch changed the prince into a toad.
- to substitute another or others for; exchange for something else, usually of the same kind: She changed her shoes when she got home from the office.
- to give and take reciprocally; interchange: to change places with someone.
- to transfer from one (conveyance) to another: You’ll have to change planes in Chicago.
- to give or get smaller money in exchange for: to change a five-dollar bill.
- to give or get foreign money in exchange for: to change dollars into francs.
- to remove and replace the covering or coverings of: to change a bed; to change a baby.
verb (used without object)
- to become different: Overnight the nation’s mood changed.
- to become altered or modified: Colors change if they are exposed to the sun.
- to become transformed or converted (usually followed by into ): The toad changed into a prince again.
- to pass gradually into (usually followed by to or into ): Summer changed to autumn.
- to make a change or an exchange: If you want to sit next to the window, I’ll change with you.
- to transfer between trains or other conveyances: We can take the local and change to an express at the next stop.
- to change one’s clothes: She changed into jeans.
- (of the moon) to pass from one phase to another.
- (of the voice) to become deeper in tone; come to have a lower register: The boy’s voice began to change when he was thirteen.
- the act or fact of changing; fact of being changed.
- a transformation or modification; alteration: They noticed the change in his facial expression.
- a variation or deviation: a change in the daily routine.
- the substitution of one thing for another: We finally made the change to an oil-burning furnace.
- variety or novelty: Let’s try a new restaurant for a change.
- the passing from one place, state, form, or phase to another: a change of seasons; social change.
- Jazz . harmonic progression from one tonality to another; modulation.
- the supplanting of one thing by another.
- anything that is or may be substituted for another.
- a fresh set of clothing.
- money given in exchange for an equivalent of higher denomination.
- a balance of money that is returned when the sum tendered in payment is larger than the sum due.
- coins of low denomination.
- any of the various sequences in which a peal of bells may be rung.
- Also, ‘change. British . exchange ( def. 10 ) .
- Obsolete . changefulness; caprice.
Verb phrase
- change off,
- to take turns with another, as at doing a task.
- to alternate between two tasks or between a task and a rest break.
Idioms
- change front, Military . to shift a military force in another direction.
- change hands. hand ( def. 47 ) .
- change one’s mind, to change one’s opinions or intentions.
- ring the changes,
- to perform all permutations possible in ringing a set of tuned bells, as in a bell tower of a church. T
- o vary the manner of performing an action or of discussing a subject; repeat with variations.
Origin:
1175–1225; (v.) Middle English cha ( u ) ngen < Anglo-French, Old French changer < Late Latin cambiāre, Latin cambīre to exchange; (noun) Middle English cha ( u ) nge < Anglo-French, Old French, noun derivative of the v.
Synonyms
1. transmute, transform; vary, mutate; amend, modify. Change, alter both mean to make a difference in the state or condition of a thing or to substitute another state or condition. To change is to make a material difference so that the thing is distinctly different from what it was: to change one’s opinion. To alter is to make some partial change, as in appearance, but usually to preserve the identity: to alter a dress ( to change a dress would mean to put on a different one).
3. replace, trade.
4. trade.
7. convert.
10. vary, mutate, amend.
18. transmutation, mutation, conversion, vicissitude.
21. exchange.
25, 26. replacement.
Antonyms
10. remain. 18. permanence.
change (tʃeɪndʒ)
Source: Collins World English Dictionary
— vb (sometimes foll by to or into ) (when intr, may be foll by into or out of )
- to make or become different; alter
- ( tr ) to replace with or exchange for another: to change one’s name
- to transform or convert or be transformed or converted
- to give and receive (something) in return; interchange: to change places with someone
- ( tr ) to give or receive (money) in exchange for the equivalent sum in a smaller denomination or different currency
- ( tr ) to remove or replace the coverings of: to change a baby
- to put on other clothes
- ( intr ) (of the moon) to pass from one phase to the following one
- to operate (the gear lever of a motor vehicle) in order to alter the gear ratio: to change gear
- to alight from (one bus, train, etc) and board another
- change face to rotate the telescope of a surveying instrument through 180° horizontally and vertically, taking a second sighting of the same object in order to reduce error
- informal change feet to put on different shoes, boots, etc
- change front
- military to redeploy (a force in the field) so that its main weight of weapons points in another direction
- to alter one’s attitude, opinion, etc
- change hands to pass from one owner to another
- change one’s mind to alter one’s decision or opinion
- change one’s tune to alter one’s attitude or tone of speech
-n - the act or fact of changing or being changed
- a variation, deviation, or modification
- the substitution of one thing for another; exchange
- anything that is or may be substituted for something else
- variety or novelty (esp in the phrase for a change ): I want to go to France for a change
- a different or fresh set, esp of clothes
- money given or received in return for its equivalent in a larger denomination or in a different currency
- the balance of money given or received when the amount tendered is larger than the amount due
- coins of a small denomination regarded collectively
- archaic ( often capital ) a place where merchants meet to transact business; an exchange
- the act of passing from one state or phase to another
- the transition from one phase of the moon to the next
- the order in which a peal of bells may be rung
- sport short for changeover
- slang desirable or useful information
- obsolete fickleness or caprice
- change of heart a profound change of outlook, opinion, etc
- slang get no change out of someone not to be successful in attempts to exploit or extract information from someone
- ring the changes to vary the manner or performance of an action that is often repeated
[C13: from Old French changier, from Latin cambīre to exchange, barter]
Word Origin & History
change
early 13c., from O.Fr. changier, from L.L. cambiare, from L. cambire “to exchange, barter,” of Celtic origin, from PIE base *kamb- “to bend, crook.” The financial sense of “balance returned when something is paid for” is first recorded 1620s. Phrase change of heart is from 1828.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Slang Dictionary
change definition
n.
money. (See also and change.) : It takes a lot of change to buy a car like that.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Notes:
Dictionaries are so cool; they’re keepers. Look at the slang definition!
Now, you know what it is, there’s no need to be afraid of it.
ctwfrank
Understanding what we say.
28 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in Wordplay Tags: all, ctwfrank, culture, design, economics, financial crisis, future, humanity, Life, linguistics, News, reviews, society, thoughts, writing
Several times a day, sometimes more, I’ll read somewhere or hear from someone that “the real estate market is bouncing back” or that “home prices are stabilizing” or some other similarly sounding statement. Interestingly, it’s always accompanied by a burst of emotion that I can only compare to lust. This is, as I understand, what many of us want, I guess it’s supposed to make us feel safe in the face of the change we are experiencing – something that can only be called “self-genocide” (sic) and that “things will return to normal”, where “normal” is that little tiny corner of a closet somewhere in this world where most of us allow ourselves to be kept against our will, fed a diet of bullshit and sugar and given 20 lashes whenever any one of us generates an original thought.
I wonder if any of the people who make statements like this have any idea of what they are actually saying. It’s no different than having someone – anyone – walk up to you and proclaim with excitement and glee: “Hey! Did you hear? Slavery is becoming popular again, it just might make a comeback!” Yes, slavery is what I compared this to.
…What was that?
…Am I a communist?
LOL. Of course I’m not a communist, silly; there’s no such thing, besides, none of the “isms” work, remember?
…Why do I write this, you ask?
I write this because it’s simply the truth. Of all of shit that we’ve done to ourselves in the last 12,000 years of “civilization”, the only thing shittier than giving someone a “mortgage” would be to sell them as a slave. Nothing else that we’ve done comes even close to being as unacceptably fucked up than to sell people, against their will, as property. The mortgage, however, is a real contender for the title; it forces someone who may want a home of their own to buy the money required to pay for it at $10.00-$20.00 for every $1.00, (i.e.: Hi! I’ll sell you a dollar for ten dollars) over the average 30 year term. This, of course, is crowned with the “cherry” of letting mortgage-holders speed up time and sell a mortgage, at maturity value, within 24 hours of issuing it. This is one of the things that got us here.
Imaginary omnipotence is incredible, isn’t it?
Think about it, it’s about time we did, wouldn’t you say?
We can do better.
ctwfrank
A reflection
27 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in OBSERVATIONS Tags: business, ctwfrank, culture, economics, financial crisis, future, humanity, humor, Life, linguistics, money, News, politics, society, thoughts, writing
While reflecting on the events of the last year while I write the math for 2012, I recalled a detail that could also be considered a statistic. Several different times during 2011 different people from different places in the world and from different backgrounds and in some cases having nothing more in common with each other than the fact that they are human, said this same exact thing to me, in the same exact way and in the same exact context:
“Between 2002 and 2006, everyone was rich.”
Spooky, isn’t it?
ctwfrank
The changing world
18 Dec 2011 1 Comment
in OBSERVATIONS Tags: all, ctwfrank, culture, economics, family, financial crisis, future, history, humanity, humor, Life, News, philosophy, psychology, random, society, thoughts, writing
The world that we have created for ourselves has changed so much and continues to change, at an ever increasing pace. Well, it’s not really the World that is the Earth, it’s actually the set of rules that we created and that we live by – I guess it’s like a “world” of its own; that’s the world I’m talking about. Everything is changing so fast and to such extremes, that sometimes it taxes the human ability referred to as adaptability; one of the things that distinguishes us from every other type of life. It only taxes it, however; we still adapt; better and faster than any other living creature that we know of. The reason we’re so good at it is because adaptability is, in great part, based on forgetting, something that we are also very good at. It takes a minute or two to think about it, but we adapt quickly and better than any other living thing because we forget so well; the speed at which we forget determines how easily and well we will accept change. It is a curious thing: if you sit down and force yourself to remember how it used to be, even a mere ten years ago: it was another world, wasn’t it? Think about it and remember. Do you remember what it was like back then? Do you remember what it was like in the world, before? People had more than they needed; we had no idea what was precious and what wasn’t. We threw away things that people would kill for now. There are so many things that today are common, well known and part of our daily lives; yet as little as ten years ago the same things would have been considered impossible or inconceivable. How did all of this happen, and so quickly? Do you want to know? Let me share something with you.
Look at the preceding paragraph for a moment. Read it again. It is true and accurate, isn’t it? There’s no wordplay or linguistic trickery in that paragraph designed to make you believe it. Everyone, including you and I; who reads it arrives at the same conclusion: that it is a fairly accurate depiction of life today. I’m going to repeat a segment of the preceding paragraph below; you can locate it in the above if you like and put it in context with the rest of the paragraph, afterwards, look at it again below.
Do you remember what it was like in the world before? People had more than they needed; we had no idea what was precious and what wasn’t. We threw away things that people would kill for now.
Those sentences are actually lines from a movie script, spoken by the inimitable actor Denzel Washington in his role as Eli in the 2010 movie The Book of Eli. If you haven’t seen it, then it doesn’t hit you like it does if you had, but it is sill impacting enough. Still, you should see it, it’s probably the closest thing to a true future story that any one of us will ever see. This scene is exactly 41 minutes and 38 seconds into the movie. Eli is answering a young woman’s question; the same question posed in first paragraph. Oh yes, one more thing: the movie is a post-apocalyptic work of science-fiction. It’s a wonderfully entertaining movie, nonetheless it is science fiction and yet I took lines of dialogue from the script of that movie and put them right in the middle of a paragraph where I am describing today’s reality and it fits, perfectly.
So you see that’s how all of this happened – we’ve actually become a science fiction movie: a science fiction movie.
Does anybody get it yet? None of this is real, we just believe it is. We don’t have to go through any of this, we don’t have to believe any of this; we can choose something else to do and believe in; something less painful and destructive.
We must wake up and choose what we want and stop believing that things that we created can choose for us, please. This is killing us; all of us.
ctwfrank
An observation as to death
17 Dec 2011 3 Comments
in OBSERVATIONS Tags: all, art, articles, blog, books, business, ctwfrank, culture, dailies, design, economics, education, family, history, humanity, humor, inspiration, linguistics, observations, philosophy, random, thoughts, writing
“I fear not death, nor the fact that it will, one day, visit me; but I cannot bear even the thought of not living.”
ctwfrank
A different kind of math.
10 Dec 2011 6 Comments
in OBSERVATIONS Tags: articles, blog, ctwfrank, culture, economics, financial crisis, future, history, humanity, irony, linguistics, News, philosophy, politics, psychology, random, society, thoughts, writing
I do not now, nor have I ever subscribed to or validated the concept of ethnicity in any way, because the math says it is irrelevant to the human condition. This is also why I have never written any math that takes ethnicity into account as a legitimate variable; as I have said before: “There is no them, there’s only us.”
This is now how everyone else thinks, however. The one only human construct more absurd and utterly evil than the word ethnicity is what was born from it: racism. That’s all I have to say about that. In spite of this, ethnicity looks like it might be a factor in the impending, inevitable and imminent change that we must all navigate to the human condition. This does not change the fact that the word and its mutated offspring are unacceptable, it simply means that I wrote this single and solitary post from the perspective that we gave those words. If it sounds contradictory to what you just read; it’s not; it’s just a different kind of math but it’s just as true and valid as all the math. It is the same math that says that even though only about 40 people will undoubtedly understand what follows, (they will all definitely read this post) there’s a possibility than many others will understand it as well. That would be a good thing, and it’s time for some good things. Following is the only math I will ever include in the Catalogue of Calculations that is in any way based on ethnicity. I won’t explain this math, I’ll let you figure it out; it may just be the only atom of value that exists when it comes to ethnicity.
The single biggest honor that as ever been bestowed on me in the whole of my life actually happened several times: the same honor, bestowed by several different people at different times, who all genuinely treated me, and continue to treat me, as a black man.
That says it all.
ctwfrank
The Liebster Blog Award
05 Dec 2011 1 Comment
in OBSERVATIONS Tags: liebster blog
To have the opportunity to Share the Math with the world was a monumental event for me. To have people read it was awe inspiring. For someone to like it exceeds …everything! This is the coolest thing in the Universe!
As if this weren’t wonderful enough, to have been nominated for this award by a Writer like StrawberryIndigo is an honor. There are Writers, there are writers and then there’s Strawberryindigo, author of My Life in Color at http://strawberryindigo.wordpress.com. Something truly amazing happens when you read her work: you can feel her soul; there is no greater joy for one who picks up the quill and paper than to communicate.
I would like to add, on a personal note to StrawberryIndigo: You achieved what you set out to do; that’s all that’s required. You are a Writer, kiddo; and how! Well done!
Keeping in form with the rules of the award, I assume the duties inherent to the title and present to you my five nominees for the Liebster Blog Award:
Maggie’s Photography at http://maggiephotgraphy.wordpress.com/ because simply put, Maggie is breathtakingly spectacular!
The Bucket at http://pagerfriendly.wordpress.com/ because Ash is right; we can never stop playing, lest we grow old.
One Life by jamieonline at http://jamieonline.wordpress.com/ because without perspective, there is no life and Jamie owns perspective!
My Blog at http://n1i2c3o4l5e.wordpress.com/ because it’s important to see what TALENT means.
QUINNSBLOGBLOG at http://quinnsblogblog.wordpress.com/ because life simply isn’t life without “Great heaps of screaming malarkey”.
The math says that these blogs are proof that we can do better!
ctwfrank
