Sunday, November 6, 2016

Watch and enjoyed this wonderful song.

A video worth a few minutes of your time.

https://www.facebook.com/yoninamusic/videos/1768334346722831/

Monday, October 17, 2016

ONE NATION POLICIES DISPROVED

I am concerned about the angry and discontented people in the world - the hate and most of all the ignorance.

Click this link -  www.FactCheckOneNation.com.au.

The world seems to be running on a tide of emotion and picking on the Other - people who are different.

I set about researching the policies of One Nation for my common-sense told me they were wrong but I needed the documented proof which I found had already been done.  www.FactCheckOneNation.com.au.

Thank you to whoever saved me a load of research.

Wednesday, October 12, 2016

How music and moving develop new brain pathways

Science News

October 5, 2016

Concordia University

Dance and music training have even stronger effects on the brain than previously understood -- but in markedly different ways, say researchers.

NeuroImage - A team of researchers from the the International Laboratory for Brain, Music and Sound Research, proves that dance and music training have very strong and differing  effects on the brain than previously understood.

The researchers used high-tech imaging techniques to compare the effects of dance and music training on the white matter structure of experts in these two disciplines. They then examined the relationship between training-induced brain changes and dance and music abilities.

"We found that dancers and musicians differed in many white matter regions, including sensory and motor pathways, both at the primary and higher cognitive levels of processing," says Chiara Giacosa, Concordia PhD candidate and the study's lead author.
In particular, dancers showed broader connections of fibre bundles linking the sensory and motor brain regions themselves, as well as broader fibre bundles connecting the brain's two hemispheres -- in the regions that process sensory and motor information --. In contrast, musicians had stronger and more coherent fibre bundles in those same pathways.

"This suggests that dance and music training affect the brain in opposite directions, increasing global connectivity and crossing of fibres in dance training, and strengthening specific pathways in music training," Giacosa explains. "Indeed, while dancers train their whole body, which has a broader representation in the neural cortex, musicians focus their training on some specific body parts, such as hands, fingers or the mouth, which have a smaller cortical representation in the brain."

'This work has major potential'

Interestingly, dancers and musicians differed more between each other than in comparison to the group of control subjects who had no extensive formal training in either field.

According to Giacosa, this can happen because a range of uncontrolled variables influenced the control subjects in different ways, making them more similar to one group or the other. "Contrary to that, our samples of dancers and musicians were specifically selected to be pure groups of experts, which makes it easier to differentiate between them."

Virginia Penhune is a professor and chair of Concordia's Department of Psychology and the study's senior author. She notes that this research deepens the current knowledge about how regions of the brain are connected in networks, and how these structural networks change with training.

"This work has major potential for being applied to the fields of education and rehabilitation," Penhune says. "Understanding how dance and music training differently affect brain networks will allow us to selectively use them to enhance their functioning or compensate for difficulties and diseases that involve those specific brain networks."

Some studies have already shown how music training at a young age can improve various cognitive skills, but dance has yet to be used in a similar way.

"Recent research has started to show some improvements with dance and music therapy in patients affected by Parkinson's disease and children with autism respectively, but much more can be done with these and other diseases," says Penhune.
________________________________________
Story Source:
Materials provided by Concordia University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
________________________________________
Journal Reference:
Chiara Giacosa, Falisha J. Karpati, Nicholas E.V. Foster, Virginia B. Penhune, Krista L. Hyde. Dance and music training have different effects on white matter diffusivity in sensorimotor pathways. NeuroImage, 2016; 135: 273 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.04.048

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Do You Complain a Lot?

I stumbled upon this article today so I am sharing it with the world. I have shortened it to make it easier to read.

The full article can be found here 


How Complaining Rewires Your Brain for Negativity


TRAVIS BRADBERRY

SEPTEMBER 9, 2016

Research shows that most people complain once a minute during a typical conversation.

 Complaining is tempting because it feels good, but like many other things that are enjoyable - smoking or overeating - complaining isn’t good for you.

When you repeat a behaviour, complaining, your neurons branch out to each other to ease the flow of information to make easier to repeat that behaviour in future. You don't realize you’re doing it
 Your neurons grow closer together, and the connections between them become more permanent. Scientists describe this process as, “Neurons that fire together, wire together.”

Repeated complaining rewires your brain to make future complaining more likely. Over time, you find it’s easier to be negative than to be positive, regardless of what’s happening around you. This changes how people see you.

Complaining damages other areas of your brain as well


Research from Stanford University has shown that complaining shrinks the hippocampus - an area critical to problem solving and intelligent thought. Damage to the hippocampus is scary, especially when you consider that it’s one of the primary brain areas destroyed by Alzheimer’s.

Complaining is also bad for your health


When you complain, your body releases the stress hormone cortisol. Cortisol shifts you into fight-or-flight mode, directing oxygen, blood and energy away from everything but the systems that are essential to immediate survival. Cortisol, raises your blood pressure and blood sugar so that you’ll be prepared to either escape or defend yourself.

The extra cortisol released impairs your immune system and makes you more susceptible to high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, strokes, infections and obesity.

Complaining is infectious


Since human beings are inherently social, our brains mimic the moods of those around us, this process is called neuronal mirroring, and the basis for empathy. However, this makes complaining a lot like smoking - you don’t have to do it yourself to suffer the ill effects. You need to be cautious about spending time with people who complain about everything.

Complainers want people to join their pity party so that they can feel better about themselves. Like inhaling the second-hand smoke you suffer the consequences.

The solutions to complaining


1.  Cultivate an attitude of gratitude.


Shift your attention to something that you’re grateful for. This reduces the stress hormone cortisol by 23%. Research conducted at the University of California, Davis, found that people who worked daily to cultivate an attitude of gratitude experienced improved mood and energy and substantially less anxiety due to lower cortisol levels. When you experience negative or pessimistic thoughts think about something positive. Your positive attitude will rewire your brain

2.    Solution-oriented complaining


When you have something that is truly worth complaining about - poor customer service -  look for away to solve the problem in solution-oriented complaining. Think of it as complaining with a purpose.


Solution-oriented complaining should do the following:


Have a clear purpose


If you can’t identify a purpose, you probably just want to complain for its own sake.

Start with something positive


It may seem counterintuitive to start a complaint with a compliment, but starting with a positive helps keep the other person from getting defensive. For example, before launching into a complaint about poor customer service, you could say something like, “I’ve been a customer for a very long time and have always been pleased with your service...”

Be specific


When you’re complaining don't  dredge up every minor annoyance from the past 20 years. Just address the current situation and be as specific as possible. Instead of saying, “Your employee was rude to me,” describe specifically what the employee did that seemed rude.

End on a positive.


 If you end with, “I’m never shopping here again,” the person has no motivation to act on your complaint. You’re just venting, with no purpose but to complain. Instead, restate your purpose, as well as your hope that the desired result can be achieved, for example, “I’d like to work this out so that we can keep our business relationship intact.”

Bringing It All Together


Just like smoking, drinking too much, and lying on the couch watching TV all day, complaining is bad for you. Put my advice to use, and you'll reap the physical, mental and performance benefits that come with a positive frame of mind.


version of this article appeared on TalentSmart.

Friday, March 11, 2016

I am ashamed. Are you?

I am ashamed. Are you?

Last night I slept badly after a challenging day. Belatedly I learned the Western Australian State Gov. has made public protests illegal. This has turned us into a police state, is definitely not democratic and I am ashamed to let it happen

Then I learned NSW is doing the same. They cut down a row of 150 + year old Moreton Bay Fig trees with no regard to the taxpayers or climate change for that matter. This is not democratic either.

I watched a snippet of the debate between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders where they argued who was the most compassionate. It was disgusting. Meanwhile Donald Trump behaved like a 3 year old strutting about banging his chest and saying by his body language, 'look at me. Look at me.' The American people are letting one these twits be the leader of their country while still thinking they are the greatest nation in the world. It is farcical.  China and Russia think they are the greatest instead.

Even Australia thinks 'We're not so bad either, mate. Oi, Oi, Oi, Aussie, Aussie, Aussie.' Meanwhile we are showing little compassion or even common-sense towards asylum seekers. We are in fact causing them harm and I am doing nothing about. What we are doing is neither just nor humane.

Many of our politicians say they are Christian but from my learning during childhood what they are doing is definitely not what their leader Christ taught and it is not democratic as well. Thank their God I am an atheist.  But nevertheless I am still ashamed.

On AL JAZEERA last night I saw masses of refugees living in tents in the rain and mud with little food and no hope.  It is catastrophic. How these people must hate us. We send troops into their countries and bomb their homes and when they want - no, are desperate - for our help we are looking away. I am ashamed.

I climbed out of my sleepless bed last night and sent some money to Médecins Sans Frontières‎ : a futile attempt to assuage my guilt by association to this uncaring world but it didn't work. I am still ashamed.

Sunday, February 28, 2016

Get God and Politicians out of Government

The other day I wrote a blog about getting God out of Government. I need to clarify the God bit. I meant every god that has ever been imagined by any race of people at any time of history - all gods (and goddesses too) as well as fairies, elves, Santa Claus and everything that goes bump in the night. The human imagination has few limits and the fact people believe them to be true is mind boggling. Mind you some people believe anything written is true.

My thoughts have moved on from this and I now think politicians and political parties should be removed from government as well.

I believe in in democracy and Power to The People.

We need a new form of democracy where there are no political parties.  The government is electronically controlled by robots. People vote on all issues of importance by some sort of device similar to a smartphone. Needs more thought!

Power to the people. YAY

If the above is too scary.

How about removing the Government from how people chose to live their lives as long as they do no harm to others, others' property and  the Universe.


Walk in the light and do no harm.

Friday, February 26, 2016

Get God out of Goverment

Today I participated in a survey for the Australian Secular Party which started me thinking. Their main tenet seems to be - Get God out of Government' with which   I agree fully.

I voted for them in the senate election last time we had an election and had the choice of give or take 60 candidates!

The survey was all about what we, their subscribers, thought about general policies. I agreed mostly with their tenets but disagreed entirely when they mention nuclear. My feeling is leave it all in the earth where it belongs although I still need to think about the medical uses.

Below are some of their policies which I pinched from their website - https://www.secular.org.au/
Foreign policy
International Law

The Secular Party recognises that civilisation is sustained by the rule of law. Globally, we support the enhancement of the International Criminal Court as a means of dealing with problems, rather than arbitrary superpower intervention. We support the development of international corporate law as a means of addressing adverse transnational corporate behaviour.   […]

Republic
The Secular Party recognises that monarchies embody the concept of hereditary privilege, and that this is incompatible with the principle of equal human rights. The British monarch is also head of the Church of England. Having the monarch as the Australian Head of State is thus a violation of the basic secular principle of separation […]

Law and Justice
Incarceration The Secular Party recognises the need for incarceration to prevent harm, to foster reform and as a deterrent. Revenge should not be a motivation in punishment. The Secular Party advocates policies that stress rehabilitation, crime prevention and harm minimisation. One law for all The rule of law is best upheld and universal human rights […]

Prayers, Pledges and Labels
Prayers, pledges and labels   Oaths and prayers Oaths sworn in association with a chosen religious book have legal standing in Australia. Prayers to a particular deity are used to open parliaments and religious references are made on other ceremonial occasions. The veracity of such oaths and the solemnity of such occasions are not enhanced […]

Immigration and Population
Global population is a significant issue in dealing with many environmental problems. Australia is a dry but relatively rich country, and has a low population compared with our neighbours. Australia’s resource wealth will enable us to maintain a privileged position in the global community. The Secular Party is opposed to policies that encourage a higher […]

Welfare
The Secular Party recognises that those who have become marginalised in society, such as drug users, criminals and the mentally ill, need support and fair treatment. Our view is that unwarranted cuts to services, that push responsibilities back to carers or others, merely create further problems. Our policy is to provide incentives for individuals and […]

Taxation
Tax exemptions for religion Religious institutions receive significant advantages in terms of tax exemptions and benefits. At the same time these institutions are largely unaccountable for their receipt and distribution of funds. The policy of the Secular Party is to end these religious tax exemptions and subsidies. This will benefit the average taxpayer and a […]


Economics
The Secular Party stands for the use of balanced judgement in economics, rather than any ideology. We recognise the general need for balanced budgets, but do not accept free market fundamentalism. In cases of market failure, government intervention is required. We recognise that Australia’s role as a major resource exporter is a significant factor in […]

Health
Health funding The Secular Party recognises the need for health services to be accessible and affordable for all citizens, including dental care and prescription medicines. We recognise that multiple funding streams, together with the burden of oversight means that private health insurance, and particularly public subsidies for private health care, are an additional inefficient burden, […]


Environment and climate change
We recognise global warming as a significant and dire threat to global civilisation. To address the problem, global carbon dioxide emissions must be reduced dramatically. Existing ‘cap and trade’ proposals may not achieve anything like the magnitude of reduction required. They may therefore be a counterproductive diversion. The required global emission reductions are equivalent to […]

Intellectual property
The Secular Party recognises that intellectual property rights protect the interests of creators and provide incentives for innovation. However property rights should not be derived from non-creative findings. Indigenous communities should maintain ownership of innovations derived from their custodial knowledge, and patents derived from the human genome, the custodial property of us all, should be […]


Censorship and freedom of expression
Blasphemy laws Christian-based blasphemy laws still exist in Australia, despite being rarely used. Islamic nations have campaigned in the United Nations to have laws banning blasphemy made mandatory worldwide. All such laws are an attempt to impose religious law, and to impose it in particular upon those who do not believe in that or any […]

Human Rights and anti-discrimination
Children The Secular Party believes that the UN International Convention on the Rights of the Child should be enshrined in legislation so that children receive fair and equitable treatment, without being taken advantage of or being abused. We endorse institutions that support and educate parents in parenting issues including preschools, schools and other organisations that […]

Education Policy
Education and funding The Secular Party recognises the societal benefits of a well-funded and high-quality education system. This is best provided by teaching based on universal values and principles, and school curricula founded on reason and evidence consistent with academic expertise. Currently, funding is inequitable and fails to properly resource students with complex needs, leading […]

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Democracy?

More thoughts on how we are not a Democracy.


The American Presidential Election is a circus and Donald Trump is the leading clown.

Is this democracy?

The other day Bill Shorten said 'Under a Shorten Labor Government...'

Is this democracy?

We are in fact ruled by political parties of this ilk or that: groups of people with vested interests.

The other day the Busselton City Council voted down a shopping complex proposal 5 to 4 after lobbying by some business interests in town although it appears most of the ratepayers want the development. We were not asked.

This is not democracy. Yes, 'The People' have a say every so many years but that is it.

The purpose of the government is to distribute the taxes levied for the benefit of these tax payers. They must provide infrastructure so we can move about, eat, sleep, make sure we are educated and keep us healthy and safe.

Governments need to concentrate solely on these things. Simplistic perhaps, but this stops governments trying to dictate how the tax payers live their lives.  

This is all about power over us. It  is not democracy.

Instead governments are selling of utilities, education and healthcare so that these services, for which we pay taxes, are put into the hands of people who want to make a profit from our illnesses, education our children etc.

We need another way

Any ideas?


Walk in the light and do no harm.

Discombobulate - Word of the Day 18/02/16

Discombobulate


verb

Pronunciation

dis·com·bob·u·late \ˌdis-kəm-ˈbä-b(y)ə-ˌlāt\

Definition 

Discombobulate

 - upset, confuse


Examples of discombobulate

Inventing cool new ways to discombobulate the old order  - Kurt Andersen.

Origin of discombobulate


Probably alteration of discompose

First Known Use: circa 1916

Related to discombobulate


Synonyms


addle, baffle, bamboozle, beat, befog, befuddle, bemuse, bewilder, buffalo, confound, confuse, disorient, flummox, fox, fuddle, get, gravel, maze, muddle, muddy, mystify, perplex, pose, puzzle, vex

Related Words


stick, stump, weird out; abash, discomfit, disconcert, discountenance, embarrass, faze, fluster, mortify, nonplus, rattle; agitate, bother, chagrin, discomfort, discompose, dismay, disquiet, distress, disturb, perturb, stun, unhinge, unsettle, upset; beguile, cozen, deceive, delude, dupe, fool, gull, hoax, hoodwink, humbug, misguide, mislead, snow, string along, take in, trick

Rhymes with discombobulate

circumambulate, circumnavigate,  transubstantiate, underestimate
discombobulation -  noun

Merriam-Webster

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Tim Minchin and Cardinal Pell

Watch this and learn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHR39ez56RE&sns=tw</a>

Tim Minchin sings to  Cardinal George Pell to return home  from Rome to face the music.

Musician and comedian Tim Minchin has taken aim at Cardinal George Pell in a provocative song in which he asks Australia's highest-ranking cleric in the Catholic Church, stationed in the Vatican, to return to Australia and answer what he knows about the cover-up of child sexual abuse under his watch in Ballarat.

Pell says he is too sick to return. He is the ultimate denier over many issues. A dinosaur who should be put out to grass.


Monday, February 15, 2016

What is Energy?

What happens when we sleep?

I wish I knew. At the end of the day I fall into bed exhausted: my mind discombobulated and body aching. 

After 8 hours supine on my bed I arise with my mind alert and body refresh. 

What on earth happens during those eight hours?


Sleep is a wonder.

Thursday, February 11, 2016

FREE eBooks

The following  two books are now FREE

Creating Characters

http://creatingcharactersforfictionwriters.blogspot.com.au/

This is the first module of the eBook series Fiction Writers Workbooks.

To get started in Fiction Writing this is the most important module: it contains detailed instructions and plenty of exercises'

Writing Haiku

http://writinghaikup.blogspot.com.au/

A small free eBook on how to write Haiku Poetry with many examples, explanations and exercises.



Saturday, February 6, 2016

New Book Available




I have just uploaded Writing for Children, Stage/Screen, Haiku Poetry

This is Module 5 in the series Fiction Writers Workbooks.


Today I hope to make a small eBook Writing Haiku available. This book will be Free. I just need to hyperlink the Table of Contents and I'm done.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Overpopulation is the main cause of climate change - according to me.


The UN says: - 

http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/publications/files/key_findings_wpp_2015.pdf


'According to the results of the 2015 Revision, the world population reached 7.3 billion as of mid- 2015 implying that the world has added approximately one billion people in the span of the last twelve years.

Today, it is growing by 1.18 per cent per year, or approximately an additional 83 million people annually. The world population is projected to increase by more than one billion people within the next 15 years, reaching 8.5 billion in 2030, and to increase further to 9.7 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion by 2100.'

More people, more consumers of everything, more people looking for jobs, more demands for food and land and property, coal, oil, power.

Unless something is done soon the earth will be so heavy with humans it will probably tip over (unscientific).

What's the point of climate change talks and emissions controls? 
The earth is heading for disaster unless we control  population growth. 

Forget populate or perish it's becoming a case of populate and perish.

Governments don't want to reduce the number of tax payers, religions want more followers, businesses want more customers and earth dwellers want more stuff.


Be happy in the sun (don't forget a hat and sunscreen) and do no harm.

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

Democracy has failed

DO WE LIVE IN DEMOCRACY OR NOT?



I think not. How can voting once every 3/4 years for 'them' or 'them' be democratic? The 'them' who got the most votes claim they have been given a mandate for whatever they want until the next time we vote.

A new year has started. The insults and criticisms are being hurled around every parliamentary session and American Presidential fiasco has started. Is it all just a very expensive game? Where is democracy in all this?

The term originates from the Greek δημοκρατία (dēmokratía) 'rule of the people'.

According to political scientist Larry Diamond, it consists of four key elements:

(a) A political system for choosing and replacing the government through free and fair elections;
(b) The active participation of the people, as citizens, in politics and civic life;
(c) Protection of the human rights of all citizens,
(d) A rule of law, in which the laws and procedures apply equally to all citizens. Wikipedia

So much for all that. I'll stick with rule by the people.

Voter polling shows that about 60/70 % of Aussies support euthanasia and have done for many years but we still have not passed it into law because the politician don't want it (democratic?)

Corey Bernardi is an Australian Senator who says he will not support gay marriage even if a plebiscite supports it. So much for democracy!

Sidewith.com https://australia.isidewith.com/poll/283753636

Should Australia allow same sex marriage?
Yes - 51,909 votes - 68% No - 22,059 votes

Liberal Senator Cory Bernardi says he has been "proved correct" that legalising same-sex marriage would lead to demands to endorse polygamy. The mind boggles.

Is Australia to be held to the undemocratic crazy beliefs of the Christian minority?

Australia is a multicultural secular country: it just isn't a democratic one.

We need a new and better way using technology.

I need to think about this. I'll keep you posted.


Monday, February 1, 2016

Populate and Perish

Overpopulation is the main cause of climate change - according to me.


The UN says: - 

http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/publications/files/key_findings_wpp_2015.pdf


'According to the results of the 2015 Revision, the world population reached 7.3 billion as of mid- 2015 implying that the world has added approximately one billion people in the span of the last twelve years.

Today, it is growing by 1.18 per cent per year, or approximately an additional 83 million people annually. The world population is projected to increase by more than one billion people within the next 15 years, reaching 8.5 billion in 2030, and to increase further to 9.7 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion by 2100.'

More people, more consumers of everything, more people looking for jobs, more demands for food and land and property, coal, oil, power.

Unless something is done soon the earth will be so heavy with humans it will probably tip over (unscientific).

What's the point of climate change talks and emissions controls? 
The earth is heading for disaster unless we control  population growth. 

Forget populate or perish it's becoming a case of populate and perish.

Governments don't want to reduce the number of tax payers, religions want more followers, businesses want more customers and earth dwellers want more stuff.


Be happy in the sun (don't forget a hat and sunscreen) and do no harm.

Live in the light and do no harm

1 February 2016 Monday


Today is cold in SW Australia, It's February and should be unbearably hot. I'd been saving up to buy an air conditioner but last December with enough money in my piggybank I decided an air conditioner was really a waste so looked for some environmentally friendly company to invest in.

For years I've been looking at the solar panels littering people's roofs and wondered why no-one invented a solar roof instead and in my hunt a found Dyesol, an Aussie company in NSW. Rejoice with me for I found that which had not been before invented.

Dyesol is a global leader in Dye Solar Cell (DSC) materials, technology and know-how.  DSC is a photovoltaic technology enabling metal, glass and plastic based products in the building, transport and electronics sectors to generate energy and improve energy efficiency.  Dyesol partners with leading multinational companies who possess significant market share and established routes-to-market. - See more at: http://www.dyesol.com/about-dyesol/vision-mission#sthash.QMnNTeyE.dpuf.

Since then I've been thinking about the importance of light. It is necessary for all life.

Then there is darkness which equates with death. The darkness of death, guns, violence, hate, jealousy, envy, power, wars, ISIS and from there I moved on to religion: all religions. Religion is dark.

The moment someone believes something they believe it is right, therefore everything else is wrong even if giving others the right to opposing views, which seem illogical to me. If you're right, your right and others are wrong. Most people believe what they were brought up to believe without any logic.

My brain is tired with all ths thinking and it is time I did some work.


Live in the light and do no harm.



Sunday, January 31, 2016

News from Ruth

Apologies to my regular readers for messing about with my blogs.

For logistical reasons I've created a separate blog site for 'Quote of the Day' http://quoteofthedayr.blogspot.com.au/ .
You'll find the 'Word of the Day' here :-
The next module, and last module, in the Fiction Writers Workbook is almost completed. It's called Writing for Children, Stage and Screen and Haiku Poetry. Very long-winded I know but I can't think of anything else that covers what's in it. I had the leave out Radio. This book is only suitable for people who have completed the other modules as everything is genre specific and doesn't cover the actual story writing.

I shall put the Haiku part up as a separate small eBook in the next few days and it will be FREE.

I shall keep you advised.

Friday, January 29, 2016

Todays Quote 30 Jan



Only in our dreams are we free; the rest of the time we need wages.
Terry Pratchett

http://writingthestorypruthpunton.blogspot.com.au/

Obstreperous - Word of the Day January 29


Pronunciation   \ub-STREP-uh-rus\
Adjective

Definition

 1:  marked by unruly or aggressive noisiness: clamorous
 2:  stubbornly resistant to control: unruly

Examples

 After two months at sea with dwindling food supplies and declining confidence in the captain, the ship's crew became obstreperous and began to plot a mutiny.                               
"It is Rob she calls for when crankily refusing to go to bed, and when Alan attempts to calm her she grows only more obstreperous." — Charles Isherwood, The New York Times, 9 Nov. 2015

About

The handy Latin prefix ob-, meaning "in the way," "against," or "toward," occurs in many Latin and English words, often in alternate forms. Obstreperous comes from ob- plus strepere, a verb meaning "to make a noise," so someone who is obstreperous is literally making noise to rebel against something, much like a protesting crowd or an unruly child. The word has been used in English since around the beginning of the 17th century. Strepere has not played a role in the formation of any other notable English words, but ob- words abound; these include obese, obnoxious, occasion, offend, omit, oppress, and oust.
  
Fill in the blanks to create a synonym of obstreperous: vo _ if _ _ ant.

Webster- Merriam

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Quote for 29 January 2016

Quote for 29 January 2016


pedantic - Word for 29 January

pedantic  - Word for 29 January

adjective

Pronunciation: 

/pɪˈdantɪk/

Meaning:

 - disapproving.
 -  stodgily, and often ostentatiously learned.
 - Too worried about small details or rules.
         A pedantic insistence on the correct way of doing things
 - Excessively concerned with minor details or rules; overscrupulou
          His analyses are careful and even painstaking, but never pedantic

Related Words

pedantically
Pronunciation: /pɪˈdantɪkli/ 
adverb

pedant
Noun
 - One who makes a show of knowledge.
 - One who is unimaginative or who unduly emphasizes minutiae in the presentation or use of knowledge.
 - A formalist or precisionist in teaching.

Words that rhyme with pedantic
Antic, Atlantic, transatlantic

Origin of pedant


Middle French, from Italian pedante

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Fugue - Word of the Day

Quote of the Day


fugue - Word of the Day

\ˈfyüg\
noun

Definitions

:- A piece of music in which tunes are repeated in complex patterns
:- a musical composition in which one or two themes are repeated or imitated by successively entering voices and contrapuntally developed in a continuous interweaving of the voice parts
:- Something that resembles a fugue especially in interweaving repetitive elements
:- A disturbed state of consciousness in which the one affected seems to perform acts in full awareness but upon recovery cannot recollect the acts performed

Origin of fugue

Probably from Italian fuga flight, fugue, from Latin, flight, from fugere

First Known Use: 1597

Merriam-Webster

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Quote of the Day  


'Stupid men are often capable of things the clever would not dare to contemplate.'
Terry Pratchett

Word of the Day  

horde

Noun
Pronunciation: /hɔːd/
board, fraud, rhyme with horde

Definitions


 - Chiefly derogatory - A large group of people:
 - A horde of beery rugby fans
 - An army or tribe of nomadic warriors:
 - Tartar hordes

Usage

The words hoard and horde are quite distinct; see hoard (usage).

Origin

Mid 16th century (originally denoting a tribe or troop of Tartar or other nomads): from Polish horda, from Turkish ordu '(royal) camp'.

Oxford Dictionaries

Monday, January 25, 2016

January 26 Australia Day

Quote of the Day


Early to rise, early to bed, makes a man healthy, wealthy and dead.
Terry Pratchett

Word of the Day

harry    \HAIR-ee\

verb
Definition
 1:  to make a pillaging or destructive raid on : assault
 2:  to force to move along by harassing
 3:  to torment by or as if by constant attack
 Examples
 The young boy harried the kitten until it swiped him with its claws.
 "Coming off a Thursday schedule packed with practice, a Pearl Harbor visit and a luau, the Aggies shot 54 percent on Friday and harried the Rainbow Wahine basketball team into turnovers that fueled an 82-41 rout at the Cannon Activities Center in Laie." — Jason Kaneshiro, The Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 6 Dec. 2015

Was there once a warlike man named Harry who is the source for today's word? One particularly belligerent Harry does come to mind: Shakespeare once described how "famine, sword, and fire" accompanied "the warlike Harry," England's King Henry the Fifth. But neither this king nor any of his namesakes are the source for the verb harry. Rather, harry (or a word resembling it) has been a part of English for as long as there has been anything that could be called English. It took the form hergian in Old English and harien in Middle English, passing through numerous variations before finally settling into its modern spelling. The word's Old English ancestors are related to the Old High German words heriōn ("to lay waste") and heri ("army").
Name That Synonym

 Fill in the blanks to create a synonym of harry: f _ r _ _ t. 

Sunday, January 24, 2016

25January Word and Quote of the Day

Today's Quote

'Darkness isn't the opposite of light, it is simply its absence.'
Terry Pratchett
http://grammarandpunctuationmodule4.blogspot.com.au/

Word of the Day

pundit

Pronunciation: /ˈpʌndɪt/
Noun

Definition

An expert in a particular subject or field who is frequently called upon to give their opinions to the public:

Political pundits were tipping him for promotion.

Origin

From Sanskrit paṇḍita 'learned'.

 The original pundits were highly respected teachers and leaders in India. Their title was taken from the Hindi word paṇḍit, a term of respect for a wise person that itself derives from the Sanskrit paṇḍita, meaning "learned." English speakers began using the form pundit specifically to refer to those Hindu sages as long ago as the 1600s. By the 1800s, they had also extended the term to refer to other sagacious individuals, and now pundit is often used with a hint of sarcasm to refer to informed opinion makers (such as political commentators, financial analysts, and newspaper columnists) who boldly share their views (sometimes at great length) on just about any subject that lies within their areas of expertise.

What 5-letter word beginning with "s" can refer to a Hindu religious teacher or a pundit?

Merriam Webster

Oxford Dictionary 


Saturday, January 23, 2016

24 January Word and Quote of the Day

Quote of the Day


'The pen is mightier than the sword ... if the sword is very short, and the pen is very sharp.' - The Light Fantastic
Terry Pratchett

http://grammarandpunctuationmodule4.blogspot.com.au/

 Word of the Day


GRAVITATE

Pronunciation: /ˈɡravɪteɪt/ 

Meaning

- Move towards or be attracted to a person or thing:
            Young western Europeans will gravitate to Berlin

 - Physics  - Move, or tend to move, towards a centre of gravity or other attractive force:

            The electron does not gravitate towards the nucleus

Archaic 

 - Descend or sink by the force of gravity:

Origin

Mid 17th century: from modern Latin gravitat-, from the verb gravitare, from Latin gravitas 'weight'.


Gravity, gravitation, and gravitate descend from the Latin gravitas, meaning "weight." The first to arrive on the scene was gravity, which appeared in the early 16th century. (Originally meaning "dignity or sobriety of bearing," it quickly came to mean "weight" as well.) Next came gravitation (used to describe the force of gravity) and gravitate—both mid-17th century arrivals. Gravitate once meant "to apply weight or pressure," but that use is now obsolete. In the late 17th century, it was recorded in the sense "to move under the effect of gravitation." It then acquired a more general sense of "to move toward something" (such as toward a specific location), and finally a metaphorical sense of "to be attracted" (as toward a person or a vocation).

Oxford Dictionary & Merriam Webster

Friday, January 22, 2016

January 23 2016
Quote of the Day

They say a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but it is not one half so bad as a lot of ignorance. - Equal Rites
Terry Pratchett

Word of the Day

miasma


Pronunciation: /mɪˈazmə/  /mʌɪˈazmə/
noun (plural miasmas)

Definition of miasma

1 - An unpleasant or unhealthy smell or vapour:
A miasma of stale alcohol hung around him
2 -  An oppressive or unpleasant atmosphere which surrounds or emanates from something:
A miasma of despair rose from the black workshops

Derivatives

miasmal
Pronunciation: /mɪˈazm(ə)l/  /mʌɪˈazm(ə)l/
adjective

miasmatic
Pronunciation: /mɪəzˈmatɪk/
adjective

Origin
Mid 17th century: from Greek, literally 'defilement', from miainein 'pollute'.

Words that rhyme with miasma

plasma

Oxford Dictionary

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Quote and Word for 22 January 2016

January 22 2016
Quote of the Day

“Inside every sane person there’s a madman struggling to get out.” –The Light Fantastic

Terry Pratchett

Word of the Day

effete 


pron   \ih-FEET\

adjective

Definition

no longer fertile
having lost character, vitality, or strength
marked by weakness or decadence
soft or delicate from or as if from a pampered existence
having feminine qualities untypical of a man : not manly in appearance or manner

Examples

The authority of an effete aristocracy began to dwindle.
He chatted away, exercising his rather effete charm.

Effete derives from Latin effetus, meaning "no longer fruitful," and for a brief time in English it was used to describe an animal no longer capable of producing offspring. For most of its existence in English, however, the use of effete has been entirely figurative. The usual figurative sense of the word was for many years "exhausted" or "worn out." But since at least the beginning of the 20th century, effete has also been used to suggest overrefinement, weakness of character, snobbery, and effeminacy. It's these meanings you're most likely to encounter today.


Unscramble the letters to create a synonym of effete: ANTREEEV. 

Merriman Webster

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Quote and Word for January 21 2016

January 21 2016

Quote of the Day

“People don't alter history any more than birds alter the sky, they just make brief patterns in it.” - Mort
Terry Pratchett

Word of the Day

thew
pron   \THOO\

Definition
 noun
 muscular power or development
 strength, vitality
 muscle, sinew — usually used in plural

Examples

 "In Rocco's melodramatically murky illustrations, men and women alike display rippling thews and plenty of skin as they battle ravening monsters." — Kirkus Reviews, 22 July 2015
 "As soon as his right arm received thew and sinew he learned to draw the long bow and speed a true arrow." — J. Walker McSpadden, Robin Hood and His Merry Outlaws, 1923

Did You Know?

 Thew has had a long, difficult past during which it discovered its strengths and weaknesses. In Middle English it carried a number of meanings, referring to a custom, habit, personal quality, or virtue. The word began to tire in the 16th century but was soon revitalized with a new meaning: it began to be used specifically for the quality of physical strength and later for the muscles demonstrating that quality. In time, the word buddied up with sinew in both literal and figurative turns of phrase, as in "the thews and sinews of my body ached" and "their love affair was the thew and sinew of the story."

Merriam-Webster

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Quote of the Day

Sometimes it is better to light a flamethrower than curse  the darkness.

Terry Pratchett

Word of the Day

expatiate 

 pronounced  \ek-SPAY-shee-ayt\
verb

Definition

to move about freely or at will : wander
to speak or write at length or in detail

 Examples

"Humboldt … decided to deliver a series of lectures on the theme of, well, everything. He expatiated on meteorology, geology, plant geography, and ocean currents, as well as on fossils, magnetism, astronomy, human migration, and poetry." — Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2015

The Latin antecedent of expatiate is exspatiari, which combines the prefix ex- ("out of") with spatiari ("to take a walk"), itself from spatium ("space" or "course"). Exspatiari means "to wander from a course" and, in a figurative sense, "to digress." But when English speakers began using expatiate in the mid-16th century, we took "wander" to mean simply "to move about freely." In a similar digression from the original Latin, we began using expatiate in a figurative sense of "to speak at length." That's the sense of the word most often used these days, usually in combination with on or upon.

Name That Synonym

 What 6-letter synonym of expatiate begins with "d" and can mean "to become wide" as well as "to comment at length"?


Merriam-Webster

Monday, January 18, 2016

Quote of the Day

'If you don’t turn your life into a story, you just become a part of someone else’s story.' – from The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents

Terry Pratchett


Word of the Day January 18

eloquent  pron   \EL-uh-kwunt\
adjective

Definition

marked by forceful and fluent expression
vividly or movingly expressive or revealing

"The governor waxed eloquent about growing up just a short distance away in Queens and what this part of the world meant to him." — Fred LeBrun, The Times-Union (Albany, New York), 15 Nov. 2015

Since eloquent can have something to do with speaking, it makes sense that it comes from the Latin verb loqui, which means "to speak." Loqui is the parent of many "talkative" offspring in English. Loquacious, which means "given to fluent or excessive talk," also arose from loqui. Another loqui relative is circumlocution, a word that means someone is talking around a subject to avoid making a direct statement (circum- means "around"). And a ventriloquist is someone who makes his or her voice sound like it's coming from another source.

Merriam-Webster

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Word and Quote of the Day

Quote of the Day
Five exclamation marks, the sure sign of an insane mind
Terry Pratchett

http://grammarandpunctuationmodule4.blogspot.com.au/

Word of the Day
January 17

nettle     \NET-ul\
verb

Definition
  - to strike or sting with or as if with nettles
 - to arouse to sharp but transitory annoyance or anger
Examples

"He seemed to have lost interest in their conversation, and strolled away again, apparently forgetting her. His indifference nettled her, and she picked up her work, resolved not to offer him the least assistance." — Edith Wharton, Summer, 1917


If you've ever brushed against nettles, you know those weeds have stinging hairs that can leave you smarting and itching. The painful and irritating rash that nettles cause can last for days, but at least it is a rash with a linguistic silver lining. The discomfort caused by nettles can serve to remind one that the verb nettle is a synonym of irritate. Nettle originated as a plant name that we can trace to the Old English word netel. Eventually, people likened the nagging itch caused by the plant to the nagging aggravation of being annoyed, and nettle became a synonym of vex, peeve, and of course irritate.

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Word and Quote of the Day

Quote of the Day
'If at first you don’t succeed . . . so much for skydiving.'
 HENNY YOUNGMAN

Word of the Day
January 16

qualm 

pron   \KWAHM\

Definition
 noun
 a sudden attack of illness, faintness, or nausea
a sudden feeling of doubt, fear, or uneasiness especially in not following one's conscience or better judgment

some people have no qualms about correcting other people's grammar.

 "II have no qualms about pulling into a gas station or up to a store and asking for directions." — Ed Goldman, The Sacramento (California) Business Journal, 24 Sept. 2015
 Etymologists aren't sure where qualm originated, but they do know it entered English around 1530. Originally, it referred to a sudden sick feeling. Robert Louis Stevenson made use of this older sense in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: "A qualm came over me, a horrid nausea and the most deadly shuddering." Soon after qualm entered the language, it came to designate not only sudden attacks of illness, but also sudden attacks of emotion or principle. In The Sketch Book, for example, Washington Irving wrote, "Immediately after one of these fits of extravagance, he will be taken with violent qualms of economy…." Eventually, qualm took on the specific (and now most common) meaning of doubt or uneasiness, particularly in not following one's conscience or better judgment.

Merriam-Webster

Friday, January 15, 2016

Word and Quote of the Day

 limn

verb

 Definition

1 : to draw or paint on a surface

2 : to outline in clear sharp detail : delineate

3 :  describe

Examples

In his Leatherstocking tales, James Fenimore Cooper limns the frontier adventures of wilderness scout Natty Bumppo.

"More than 120 objects limn the achievements of the Andean empire in the 15th and 16th centuries." — Mark Feeney, The Boston Globe, 16 Aug. 2015

Merriam-Webster Word of the Day.

Quote of the day


An artist is somebody who produces things that people don't need to have. 
Andy Warhol

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Word of the Day

Word of the Day

brogue

pron \BROHG\
noun
A heavy shoe with a hobnailed sole
A stout oxford shoe with perforations and usually a wing tip

Quote of the Day
'We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are here for I don't know.'
W. H. Auden

Grammar and Punctuation

 Grammar  and Punctuation is now available from most eBook retailers in many formats.


Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Quote of the Day

'Freedom without limits is just a word.'


Terry Pratchett

Word of the Day

Today's Word

chirography   pron   \kye-RAH-gruh-fee\
 
noun

handwriting, penmanship

calligraphy

Today's Word and Quote

Terry Pratchett quote  

'In ancient times cats were worshipped as gods; they have not forgotten this.'

Word of the day

procrastinate  

verb
to put off intentionally and habitually.

procrastinate means to move or act slowly so as to fall behind. It implies laziness or apathy.

Monday, January 11, 2016

Terry Pratchett - Quote of the Day.

Terry Pratchett - Quote of the Day.

"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it."

Punctuation & Grammar - eBook

Punctuation & Grammar - Module  4 of Fiction Writer's Workbook series will be available later this week.