imbroglio This is another curious word. Coming to us by way of Italian (which is my favorite language by the way), it means an embarrassing or overly complicated or confused set of circumstances, something perhaps scandalous or at the very least awkward and perhaps bordering on the bizarre. You can get a better sense of …
Reading gives us a place to go when we have to stay where we are.
Great quote from Alexander Solzhenitsyn, the Russian novelist and dissident. It is not because the truth is too difficult to see that we make mistakes…we make mistakes because the easiest and most comfortable course for us is to seek insight where it accords with our emotions – especially selfish ones.
somatic This word is somewhat uncommon. You’ll most likely come across it only if you’re a doctor, a biologist, or talking to one. It comes from the Greek word, ‘soma’ which refers to the body. In English, something somatic is something having to do with the body as well. A few synonyms are bodily, corporal, …
alacrity This word signifies a willing cheerfulness, the kind that accepts burdens and blessings with equal enthusiasm. This is the kind of behavior parents wish their kids exhibited when doing their chores, that they would be tackled both briskly and happily. It’s not a word you hear very often, but then again, such behavior is …
Here are a couple of quick little updates. First, my recent promotion with eReader News Today went extremely well with Into the Vast, hitting #1 on the Metaphysical & Visionary Science Fiction chart. If you’re not familiar with this category, it’s basically “big idea” sci-fi. Lewis’ Space Trilogy would be one example of this sort of book. In addition, …
vapid This word refers to something that is uninteresting or unchallenging, something uninspired or dull. Unlike many of the words I’ve shared, there is nothing “fun” about this one. It represents a lack of effort, a casualness that simply couldn’t be bothered to try. It is often used to refer to a performance or a …
doughty This word has long been a favorite of mine. I can’t remember exactly when I first heard it, but I’m sure it was in a sentence something like, “he was a doughty fighter.” The word means persistent or brave or tough. In my mind in connotes a sort of “stick-to-it-ness”. I suppose one of …
