The Examined Life

We've been recording and watching lots of Inside the Actors Studio lately. It's a great show, but it's difficult to watch and not think of Will Ferrell's send-up of the show and its host James Lipton . . .



If you love Ferrell as much as I do, you'll also love this . . .




But I digress . . .

One installment of Inside the Actors Studio we really enjoyed was their 200th in which they mix things up a little bit and have Dave Chappelle (one of their all-time best guests) interview James Lipton (usually the host). It was the first time Lipton sat on the other side of the desk, and it was weird to see him without his enormous stack of blue note cards (those cards, by the way, are the result of 2 weeks [14 non-stop days] of researching and preparing for each interview he conducts). In the interview, Lipton says, in the course of writing his own (recently published) book (Inside Inside), he realized he hadn't examined his own life as closely as, for years, he had asked so famous actors to.

The Lipton interview got me thinking about the Socrates quote: "The unexamined life is not worth living." So, in this month of resolution-making and reflection, I thought it might be interesting to subject myself to a bit more self-examination by answering the short series of questions Lipton asks every actor at the end of his interview - a list of questions originated by Bernard Pivot (and apparently based on the 'Proust Questionnaire'). They're not the serious, soul-searching "What would you want your obituary to say?" kind of questions, but they are interesting in their own right.

So, here goes:


What is your favorite word?
Namaste. The way my first yoga instructor defined it to me was "the light in my heart, the best of what is in me salutes the light in your heart, the best of what is in you." I know it's a little too hippie for most people, and I don't exactly go around saying it. I just like that it exists and I do like saying it at the end of a yoga class. Much nicer than salutations like 'hello' and 'goodbye,' don't you think?

What is your least favorite word?
'Strategery' (and words like it) - In my mind, it symbolizes a lot of what I hated about the last 8 years of government and politics in the U.S. I realize a lot of people were bothered by this, but I would venture to guess that it probably irks me more than your average Jane because I happen to make my living as an editor. Word butchery has the effect on me that nails on a chalkboard do on most people. I'm looking forward to not having to hear 'strategery,' other butchered words, and non-words come out of my president's mouth in the years to come. Yay, Obama!

What turns you on creatively, spiritually, or emotionally?
repartee, a very well-written book, poetry, art, jazz, the majesty of nature (especially the ocean)

What turns you off creatively, spiritually, or emotionally?
insincerity, inhumane treatment of others, willful ignorance, arrogance

What sound or noise do you love?
violin, babies' laughter

What sound or noise do you hate?
small dogs yipping incessantly

What is your favorite curse word?
There's most-often used - 'Jesus Christ' or 'son of a bitch,' probably because that's what my mother would (infrequently) say (i.e., those are the swears I heard most often growing up). My sister likes to tell the story of when she asked me at the age of five what curse words I knew. I struggled to come up with three or four. When pressed for more, I thought long and hard and was proud of myself for adding 'bullshit' and 'asshole' (after having already offered up 'shit' and 'ass'). Now, I like curse words that are common in other countries but seldom used in the U.S., like 'bollocks.'

What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
psychologist

What profession would you not like to do?
I think Lipton had the best answer to this one - an executioner. I whole-heartedly agree.

If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?
I don't believe in god(s); I'm an atheist. That said, if I'm wrong in the end, I don't know that I'd necessarily want god to say anything to me. I think moreso what I'd desire would be to see pure love and unconditional positive regard in his/her eyes and to be welcomed with a hug.

How would you answer these questions? In the comments section, write your own answers or provide a link to your blog where you've posted your answers.

I Love Words: Circa

Usually, this recurring post "I Love Words" is about a word I fancy for one reason or another. Occasionally, though, I'll be talking about other word-related issues. For instance, since I'm smitten with words, I also abhor their misuse and abuse. Not that I'm the perfect grammarian; I admit I'm not. (What? I never said I wasn't a hypocrit?!)

Today, . . . I have a bone to pick.


I apologize that this picture to the left here is a little bit blurry, but it's the best one of this storefront in the Port Columbus International Airport that I could find. Allow me to tell you what it says: "Heritage Booksellers, Circa 1996." Yes, "circa 1996." Now I realize, technically, that circa can be used to mean "at" or "in," but the most common usage, I think everyone would agree, is "around," and people use it most often with a date to state a time period because they're not quite certain of the actual date (i.e., usually when something was such a long time ago, there really aren't records to confirm an exact date). So, you usually see it as "circa [a nice round #, e.g., 500BC]." My point in all this? I think Heritage Booksellers can probably confirm with surety that they officially opened their doors for business in 1996 and should have used a phrase like "est." (established) in lieu of "circa."

Ok, phew! One less nit to pick this week. If you're a grammar nitpick yourself, you might enjoy checking out the various "I Judge You When You Use Poor Grammar" groups on Facebook. They post some hilarious photos and observations of occurrences of poor grammar found "out in the field." You can comment on what's posted and post pieces yourself. Conversely, if grammar is your nemesis and you're more apt to join a group on Facebook called "I judge you when you judge me when I use poor grammar" (actually a group), you might want to check out Grammar Girl's podcasts or newsletter.

I Love Words: Saucebox

Word: saucebox

Pronunciation: \ˈsȯs-ˌbäks, ˈsas-\

Function: noun

Date: 1588

Definition: a saucy impudent person

(Some folks may want a definition for 'impudent,' so here you go: 1 [obsolete]: lacking modesty; 2: marked by contemptuous or cocky boldness or disregard of others : insolent.)

I'd actually never heard this word before until I read it recently in an Editrix post (Thanks, Ed!). Love it. Apparently, it's the precursor to saucy and sassy, two other favorites. Sassy reminds me of my pubescent days when I had a subscription to the eponymous magazine - such a great publication for young girls because they employed healthy (not anorexic), unconventional (read: normal!) female models and highlighted topics and people who were hip and smart instead of what the common fair focused on (i.e., diets, diets, diets, omgBOYS!, gossip, sex, Sex, and SEX). Of course, this was before they were purchased by a big conglomerate and morphed into just another teen rag ('Stepford Sassy' as writers at Bust [a great magazine, btw] and the authors of How Sassy Changed My Life called it.)

Words like sassy and saucy went on to inspire my young adult life as well. Case in point, this campy photo captured by my cousin. Saucy, very saucy. (No, we're not really hitchhiking. We're just being silly in a field in the middle of nowhere.)

As a result of my saucebox research I found out that it is also the name of what appears to be a pretty cool restaurant in Portland, OR. Will have to check it out if I ever get up that way.


Other "I Love Words" Posts

I Love Words: Soupçon

Word: soupçon

Pronunciation: \süp-ˈsōⁿ, ˈsüp-ˌsän\

Function: noun

Etymology: French, literally, suspicion, from Old French sospeçon, from Latin suspection-, suspectio, from Latin suspicere to suspect

Date: 1766

Definition: a little bit : trace

You sometimes hear this word uttered by food or wine critics as they dissect and analyze a dish or bottle, trying to identify every last flavor or aroma. It's a fun little word, but I find it is seldom used in common parlance amongst the likes of my peers unless someone is looking for a laugh by pretending to put on airs. I guess you could say it's not a word you ever hear coming out of the mouth of your average Joe Six-Pack. If that means using it makes me less like Palin, I believe I might have to start making it a part of my everyday vernacular.


Other Parlancer "I Love Words" Posts

I Love Words: Parlance

Since I've used this word as the root for my made-up blog title, I thought I should probably offer its formal definition and a little explanation as to how I came to name my blog. (Yes, I suppose you could say this ILW post is pretty overdue.)

Word: parlance

Pronunciation: \pär'ləns\

Function: noun

Etymology: Anglo-French, from parler ("to speak")

Date: 1579

Definition: 1. a way or manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of the language; vernacular; idiom: legal parlance.
2. speech, esp. a formal discussion or debate.
3. mutual discourse; conference

How I Chose My Blog Title: I was interested in blogs because of the interactive writing atmosphere they create, as opposed to what you encounter on static, article-posting sites (ergo, the "mutal discourse/conference" definition of parlance came to mind). I was thinking of that and, at the same time, considering some self-identifying words - among them, freelancer and fencer. Sooo, naturally, 2 and 2 came together pretty quickly (i.e., "meaningful root" + "common suffix" = "just right") to form the equation: parlance + er = Parlancer. Voila! Short and sweet and (hopefully) memorable enough. And, because it's a made-up word, the likelihood of there being another "parlancer" out there was pretty low. At least, I hoped. Luckily, after a quick online search, I found I was right, so I stuck my flag in the word and claimed me some blogger.com blogging real estate with it. And the rest is history . . . or, rather, remains to to be seen . . .

I Love Words: Gimcrack

Word: gimcrack

Pronunciation: \JIM-krak\

Function: noun

Etymology: origin unknown

Date: 1676

Definition: a showy object of little use or value: gewgaw.

I love that “gewgaw” is part of the definition. Strike that. I love that gewgaw is even a word. And thinking of this word makes me think of a Gaelic word my Irish friend uses from time to time - craic, which is pronounced crack and means "fun, enjoyment, abandonment, or lighthearted mischief, often in the context of drinking or music." I love the story she tells about when she first came over from Ireland and was telling one of her new co-workers about the great craic she had the night before and was met with gape-mouthed astonishment.

Poetry: Almost Unnoticed

Phew! I thought we'd never get here!! It's been a long month, people. I'm not in love with most of the poems I've posted - to be honest, there were quite a few days when I approached the poetry-writing task with a 'just get-her-done' attitude . . . and the results were, well, what would be expected - but, looking back at all 30 poems, there are at least 3 or 4 I genuinely like and think could be pretty decent given a little more time, thought, and revising (e.g., Pirate's Treasure, Monotony, How to Whistle in Prison, and Poking the Dead).

I think I'll look back at this experience as a sort of poetry boot camp - tough, but it reinforced a discipline in my creative writing habits that had waned quite a bit (perhaps to the point of nonexistence!). I have certainly learned a lot about my strengths and weaknesses in poetry writing and enjoyed incorporating more creative time into my life. I'm looking forward to writing more poetry without the pressure of daily deadlines. For one thing, it will certainly open up length possibilities - you just can't write anything longer than a few stanzas every day when you've also got a day job!

And one last note - the Academy of American Poets is promoting Poem-in-Your-Pocket Day today. Print out some of the poems they have posted, or print a few of your own favorites, and spread the love! Since I don't get out much myself (since I freelance from home), I'm going to direct people to this blog to share the poems I've created over the past month. (So, I guess my blog is moonlighting as a pocket today.)

I'd also like to suggest you check out some of the work of my favorite poets if you're looking to explore the world of poetry a little more; they are Sharon Olds, Rita Dove, and Louise Gluck.

And here is my own 30th and final poem for the poetry pledge drive, an endorsement for just getting out there and WRITING!


Almost Unnoticed

They say start
At the beginning. I say start
Where you find yourself.
I say be bad at something
You want to be good at
Until you're good or until you
Don't care about being good
Anymore. No more
Perfect words. Just words -
Whichever ones come and please
You. Tell the story, perhaps not
Aching to be told, but sitting still,
Almost unnoticed.

To read other poems or poetry-related posts on this blog, click here.

Meatless Monday: Pasta Primavera

While I'm not vegetarian, I have a few friends who are, and I've heard from them that, bar none, the vegetarian dish they most often see on a menu is pasta primavera. In fact, sometimes it can be the only vegetarian menu option they have. So, I understand if the mere mention of the words "pasta primavera" inspires wincing, disappointment, or a yawn. It's exactly for that reason that I've avoided posting a past primavera recipe . . . until now.

Pasta Primavera
Recipe

I personally didn't love this recipe, but that's not stopping me from posting about it because my husband really loved it and I think most other people will too. I didn't like it because I'm not that fond of cooked carrots, but I do recognize that they lend a nice taste to the pasta (via the carrot-boiled water) and provide a certain fresh, healthy sweetness to the dish that most people will like. If I were to make it again, I'd still boil the pasta in the carrot water, but I'd add all the carrots themselves to my husband's dish and add more peas and pattypan squash to mine.

The recipe calls for the baby carrots to be uncut and the pattypan squash to be cut into pretty big chunks, but I opted to cut the carrots and the pattypan squash into smaller pieces because I think it made the dish easier to eat. I don't know about you, but I find it annoying to have to cut things in a pasta dish when I'm eating it (just as I hate having to pull the tails off of shrimp in a seafood pasta dish). The recipe also suggests serving this dish with a fume or sauvignon blanc. I already had a bottle of mellow chardonnay open, so I used that both for the 1/4 cup needed in the recipe and as an accompanying drink and was very pleased.


Got any favorite vegetarian or vegan recipes?? Please share!

Other Meatless Monday posts

Meatless Monday: Spinach-Strawberry Salad with Goat Cheese Bruschetta

Last week, my husband and I picked up our first box of fresh fruits and veggies from Underwood Family Farms in Moorpark (CA) as part of a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program that we joined. Now, weekly, we'll be getting a mystery box of delicious, locally-grown produce that was harvested from the field just the day before. Let me tell you, I have not tasted such fresh fruits and veggies in a LONG time. Yum! Seriously, it's remarkable just how good everything has been. It's as if my taste buds had completely forgotten how fruits and veggies were really supposed to taste. And it was so fun to open the box not knowing what might be inside. (Of course, it will be a selection of what's in season every time, but it's still a surprise.) This week, it was spinach, purple cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, Easter radishes, leeks, Albion strawberries, romaine lettuce, and red leaf lettuce.

The box is bigger than it may appear here. You can only see one layer, but there's an entire other layer under there. In other words, it's a whole lot of fruit and veggies for only two people to get through in just one week! But we're up for the challenge. If anything, it should make it more likely that we get our daily recommended servings of fruits and veggies. And hopefully, it will also mean that we end up eating more fruits and veggies than meat, choosing healthier snacks, and making more really great recipes like this next one.


Spinach-Strawberry Salad with Goat Cheese Bruschetta
Recipe

This recipe was a great choice for us this week because it made use of two of our CSA box ingredients - spinach and strawberries - and also because . . . it calls for goat cheese! In an earlier post, I mentioned how much I love goat cheese, so it's not surprising that I've since posted a couple of recipes with goat cheese in them. What is surprising is that it's taken me so long to share this particular recipe containing goat cheese with you because it's one of my favorites. I was also surprised to realize that, since this regular Meatless Monday post started with its first post back in October, I haven't introduced even one leafy salad recipe (although there have been a few other types of salad recipe posts). So, in short, I'm overdue in sharing this with you and, for that, I apologize. (And I do feel the need to apologize - people, it's that good!)

Three notes about this recipe: 1) be very careful when toasting the almonds; if you don't watch closely, they'll burn before you can blink an eye; 2) use baby spinach if you can because it's more tender; and 3) did I mention this stuff is delicious? Even the salad dressing on its own is so good you might consider carrying a secret flask of it in an inside pocket, dabbing it behind your ears, writing it a love letter, . . . or, at the very least, using it on other sorts of salads too.

With the California Strawberry Festival just around the corner, I definitely see more of this salad in my immediate future. . . . That's right, Albion, I've got my eye on you!


Got any favorite vegetarian or vegan recipes?? Please share!

Other Meatless Monday posts

Poetry: We Are Not Wallendas

And here is poem #3 for the poetry pledge drive. It started out as a very different poem, written many many years ago and then abandoned. At the time, it served as a a sort of personal therapy toward the end of a relationship (one of those pathetic relationships that just won't die and ends up having several ends). I revisited the poem and did a lot of reworking; it is so very different now but, I think, still true to the situation and emotions of that time. Revising it was definitely a worthwhile exercise, and one I probably never would have gotten around to doing if not for this poem-a-day challenge.

Because some may be interested in seeing the evolution of the poem, I am including both the new (top) and original (bottom) versions. It's a little painful to print the original version because I think it's so bad ("defibrillator for this heart attacked"?! "sweet elixir of life"?! "mad maestro's last concerto"?! Not to mention the poorly chosen line breaks. Oy.), but I did promise bad poetry and I'd hate to disappoint.

Oh, and one last note - for anyone who might not know, Wallenda is the family name of a famous group of circus performers, many of whom met tragic outcomes because they performed without nets.

We Are Not Wallendas

You ask me if I can

Wait for you, and I

Say I have the patience

Of a locust pupa that has

Years to wait for flight,

The fortitude of a modern

Graphic novel heroine; picture

A prima ballerina side-stepping

Landmines – grace and bravery.

I want to believe

Your word means something. Spare

And carefully weighed

Words – the perfect folds in a parachute,

The correctly calculated length

Of bungee rope, a strong roll

Cage for the Indy – you offer.

And so I have

The trust of a trapeze

Artist letting go

Above the flaming pit,

Knowing your hands

Will grasp mine

Just in time, for we

Are not Wallendas.

**********************************************

Because We Are Not Wallendas

You ask me if I an wait for you and I

Say I have

The patience of a locust pupa that has

Years to wait for flight.

The fortitude of a modern-day fairytale heroine;

Picture a prima ballerina side-stepping

Land mines - grace and bravery.

And I believe your word

Is the open parachute,

The securely anchored and correctly calculated

Length of bungee rope,

The roll cage in this locomotive,

The defibrillator for this heart attacked,

Our love - the sweet elixir of life, the passion

Of a mad maestro's last concerto.

And so I have the trust

Of a trapeze artist - or any artist - letting go

Above the flaming pit, knowing your hands

Will grasp mine in time,

In time to save this.

Because we are not Wallendas.

To read other poems or poetry-related posts on this blog, click here.

I Love Words: l'esprit de l'escalier

Word Phrase: l'esprit de l'escalier

Pronunciation: \e-SPREE des-kal-i-YE\

Function: noun

Etymology: literally, staircase wit in French; in German, the same concept is called treppenwitz.

Date: credited to the French author and encyclopedist Denis Diderot in his Paradoxe sur le Comédien, written between 1773 and 1778 but not published until 1830

Definition: the predicament of thinking of the right comeback too late

I am a big fan of the clever comeback, . . . but, like most, I usually struggle to come up with something witty quickly enough to be effective. Typically, I either suffer from l'esprit de l'escalier . . . or else come up with something less Shakespeare and more Monty Python (e.g., "Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries."). So frustrating, but at least universal.

I Love Words: Interrobang

Word: interrobang

Pronunciation: \in-ˈter-ə-ˌbaŋ\

Function: noun

Etymology: interrogation (point) + bang (printers' slang for exclamation point)

Date: 1967

Definition: a punctuation mark (‽) designed for use especially at the end of an exclamatory rhetorical question

I found intterobang mentioned in an Editrix post last month and was intrigued to found out more about it. It allows for the messiness and reality of communication and doesn't demand you separate out the emotions but lets them coexist on the same plane. I've always found it to be the perfect punctuation for folks like myself who are often trying to say many things at once, trying to cram all the thoughts and emotions they can into a paragraph, a sentence, a clause (you know, something profound like "What the fuck‽"). And now I know what it's called. Thank you, interrobang. Thank you for being such an accommodating punctuation mark.

I Love Words: Heliolatry

Word: heliolatry

Pronunciation: \hee-lee-AH-luh-tree\

Function: noun

Date: circa 1828

Definition: sun worship

I am a heliolater. Unfortunately, with my one-standard-deviation-removed-from-albino skin, that’s pretty much like being a person with a nut allergy who would like nothing better than to eat a PB&J (i.e., sad).

I Love Words: Omphaloskepsis

Word: omphaloskepsis

Pronunciation: \äm(p)-fə-lō-ˈskep-səs\

Function: noun

Etymology: New Latin, from Greek omphalos (navel) + skepsis (examination)

Date: 1925

Definition: contemplation of one’s navel as an aid to meditation; also: inertia