Dynamo n. 1. An electric generator, especially for direct current. 2. An energetic, hardworking, forceful person. Deriving from the Greek dunamis, meaning “power,” dynamo is a nifty little word. It can stand in for “generator,” perhaps in a laboratory or ship scene. Much like the word “firecracker,” it can also […]
Aureole n. 1. A circle of light or brightness surrounding something, especially as depicted in art around the head or body of a person represented as holy. 2. A corona around the sun or moon. 3. Another term for areola. 4. The zone of metamorphosed rock surrounding an igneous intrusion. There […]
Happy Halloween, everyone! In light of the holiday, this is the second part of my Hallowread of the Gothic vampire story Carmilla. You can read part one here. Portrait of a Vampire Continuing on with our profile of Carmilla, particularly in the context of its influence upon Bram Stoker, […]
I’ve never been that great at sticking to a blog post schedule. I’ve always been a member of the Post Whenever You Feel Like It school of thought. This go-around I’ve tried to write something for every weekday, but it’s been getting a little tough. SEO has never been a […]
Fairies used to be bad, you know. As I said, elves used to be part of this basket, too. All that fey nonsense. I guess it’s been happening for a while, though. Modernity seems to subjectivize and gray out everything. Most fairies today are meant for kids, and they’re cute […]
Inspired by HP of Every Day Should Be Tuesday blog, for the past couple of years, I’ve done special, seasonal readings for Halloween. Two years ago was Frankenstein, and last year I explored several of Edgar Allan Poe’s shorter works. Having already read Dracula and not wanting to tackle a […]
As I progress through James Branch Cabell’s Jurgen, A Comedy of Justice, I’m encountering many interesting references to legend, myth, and antiquity. Many seem to be fancified, embellished, or otherwise altered to serve the story, which of course is just fine. One reference that I came across, not immediately knowing whether […]
Pillion n. 1. (a) A light saddle women consisting chiefly of a cushion. (b) A pad or cushion put behind a man’s saddle chiefly for a woman to ride on. 2. (British) A motorcycle or bicycle saddle for a passenger. adv. On or as if on […]
There was a bit of a discussion yesterday on Twitter, about elves. Specifically, Alex of Cirsova was musing about the D&D alignment systems and how traditionally, under a three-point system (Good-Neutral-Evil), Evil and Chaotic would be pretty much the same thing. "Evil" acts would tend to be chaotic because they […]
Recrudescence n. Breaking out afresh or into renewed activity; revival or appearance in active existence. Wowee – million-dollar word here! Despite “breaking out afresh” conjuring images for me of decayed zombie hands thrusting forth from the earth, a Google image search of “recrudescence” turns up rather a lot of scientific-looking […]
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