Word/s & Wordle

Source: SpYurbanart

Why Blah, Blah, Blah, when one Blah will do?

Source: SpYurbanart

Not to say that Ernest Hemingway was blahing away when he used six words to tell his story..."For sale: baby shoes, never worn," but sometimes less is more, which is humorously pointed out by Brandon Specktor in the following article titled: "The Power of a Single Word," found in this month's "Genius Issue" of the Reader's Digest.

"One needn't be a blabber-mouth to get a point across. When a Macedonian general threatened to attack Sparta in the fourth century BC, he warned the Spartan generals, "You are advised to submit without further delay, for if I bring my army on your land, I will destroy your farms, slay your people, and raze your city." The Spartans replied with one word: "If."

Source: Kiwi-english.net

Whoa! The Macedonians suddenly remembered they had to wash their hair that day and never attacked.

Similarly, in 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, German troops surrounded Americans at Bastogne and ordered them to surrender or face being wiped out. Brig. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe sent back this pithy reply: "Nuts!"

And, no, he wasn't requesting snacks for his troops. Today, we'd use something a little spicier and almost as short, but the point got across and the Americans eventually fought their way out.

Another benefit of brevity? It saves you on telegram fees. French author Victor Hugo understood this in 1862 when asking his publishers how sales of his new book, Les Misérables, were going. Too low on francs to send a lengthy message, he instead telegraphed a single question mark. (?) 

Having sold all 7,000 copies of the book's first printing in less than 24 hours, Hugo's publishers responded in kind... with a single exclamation point. (!)

Source: Phoneky

Sometimes even masters of brevity need to employ a second word to make their point. Take America's 30th president, Calvin Coolidge... a man so tight lipped that his friends nicknamed him Silent Cal. A popular story told by his wife, Grace, recalls Cal sitting next to a young woman at a Capitol Hill dinner party. The woman turned to Cal and said, "I made a bet today that I could get more than two words out of you."

His reply? "You lose."'

Nobody likes losing, especially unfairly, which is what happened to me recently while attempting to play Wordle: the trendy 5-letter word game with a daily one-word answer.

I say unfairly, because I wasn't out of guesses, but was penalized for starting a game and failing (through forgetfulness) to complete the game by the end of the day, which cost me my 100% winning streak, which then had me: IRKED, VEXED, and IRATE! Yes... three excellent, 5-lettered words, any of which, could be the next Wordle answer.

Source: GameRevolution

UGH! Enough about Wordle.

Here's something others found irksome, but I think you might find amusing.

NYTimes: Metropolitan Diary, July 24, 2022

"Phones Off"

Dear Diary:

As an original subscriber to City Center's Encores! series, I was thrilled to attend the eagerly anticipated reopening after a two-year hiatus.

Subscribers generally know all the audience members who sit near them, so there's a bit of a buzz when someone new appears. And at a February performance of "The Tap Dance Kid," everyone in my row noticed a new face in the row in front of us. As the standard announcement was made about the rules against taking photographs and videos and using phones, this woman took out her phone and appeared to start texting.

The orchestra began to play and the audience applauded. The light from the phone was still visible. I was about to tap her on her shoulder and ask her to turn off the phone, when the person beside her turned to her.

"Please turn that phone off," he said.

"And by the way," he added. "You're way off track. The Wordle is 'pleat.'''

—Dennis Buonagura

Ha! And you thought I was done with Wordle.

One last bit... on Tuesday, August 30, 2022, for only the 2nd time in 150 games played, I solved Wordle in just two guesses!

Okay, that's two words, but... only one expression :)

If interested:

Learn about the One Word movement to help improve your life here.

Then scroll down to take a quiz to find one word that's best for you here.

Watch Jimmy Fallon play Wordle here.

Play Wordle here and for multiple plays, try Word Master here.

Listen to Strother Gaines, a one word storyteller here.

And for writers looking to spark those creative juices, try One Word, where upon hitting 'Go' you'll have 60 seconds to write whatever pops into your head after a random word appears on your screen here.

Until Next We Meet

at 

"Here and Next"

XOX... Dyan

Eyes, Names, & Memories

Emilio Villalba

A scent, a sound, something seen, said, or in this case read, that's all it takes to trigger a memory.

And that memory, for me, began with a piece written in Metropolitan Diary, a column in The New York Times.

Dear Diary:

I used to shop at the deli near my apartment almost daily to pick up a few things.

One day, I was short a couple of dollars and asked the cashier if I could make up the difference the next time I was there. She said that was fine.

I stopped in the next day.

"I owe you some money," I said.

She checked a note taped to the register with four or five amounts, with handwritten Korean-language characters next to each.

"$2.59," she said.

"That's correct," I said. "But you don't know my name. What is written there?"

"Big eyes," she said without looking up. "$2.59."

~ Noelle Nichols

Emilio Villalba

Big eyes, chuckle, chuckle.

My Dad, lovingly, called me "Big Eyes."

Not because of the size of my eyes, but more the size of my stomach. With eyes bigger than my stomach, I'd often dish more food onto my plate than my stomach could put away.

To that my mother would say, "She eats like a bird." But instead of nicknaming me Chickadee, Pigeon or Sparrow, she'd occasionally call me, "Miss Dolittle," as in... you do little to pull your own weight around here. Ouch!

In hindsight, I could have, should have, done more, but I wasn't a total slacker if that's what you're thinking. I worked part-time, after school, in the Woman's Department of Orbach's with a portion of my earnings kicked back to my Dad, as a thank you payment, for my room and board. Later, I learned that he saved every penny I gave him when he gifted it all back to me as I left for college for the very first time.

A sweet remembrance.

Not so sweet was being responsible for doing the family laundry... load, after load, after load, in a laundromat, alone.

And as far as helping out by preparing meals...

Well, I was banned from the kitchen after unknowingly blowing my mother's entire weekly food budget after cooking just one meal... Beef Bourguignon. I didn't even know she had a food budget, nor did I know how to cook.

I remember my mother's words, "I won't be home tomorrow night so you'll be cooking dinner." Gulp. The only thing I'd ever done on a stove was boil water, toast marshmallows, make chocolate pudding and attempt to fry frozen French fries, which almost burned the house down.

Yet somehow, I pulled it off: found that Beef Bourguignon recipe, shopped for the ingredients and voila, nailed it! My Dad said it was the best meal he'd ever eaten. When just earlier, he had offered to take my brother and me to McDonalds, when he found me crying while cooking.

The tears weren't from "being overwhelmed" and "in over my head" as he imagined, but by the onions I had been slicing.

Emilio Villalba

And so this is how the mind works... at least mine. One thing triggers another... from the story about Big eyes, to nicknames, to ending up in the kitchen with an onion.

But enough about cooking and more about names: the ones others give to us, and the ones we choose for ourselves.

I chose, at the age of 12, to change the spelling of my name from Diane to Dyan.

My 6th grade teacher never seemed to notice.

He did however notice the odd lettering in the school's hallway showcase, the one he asked me to design. I hadn't finished hanging all the letters but was in a rush to catch my bus home when he said, "You can't leave it like that!" pointing to the sign that read: "BUILDING UP WITH MA." Before I could leave, he insisted I add the last two letters, T & H. Yeah, it was a display about Math... sadly, a subject I still haven't grasped.

Well, it wasn't until my final days of High School when someone noticed the discrepancy in the spelling of my name and informed me that my birth name would have to be used for graduation. "No!" I said, standing my ground, while insisting that my name was legal through usage, something that I had previously researched.

Either the powers that be took my word for it, did the research on their own, or decided it wasn't worth the battle, because there on Graduation Day, I was handed my diploma and multiple awards, all hand-calligraphed with my first name spelled, "Dyan."

Emilio Villalba

Interestingly, actor Sigourney Weaver (Susan Alexandra Weaver) at the age of 14, changed her first name from Susan to Sigourney... a character from the Great Gatsby. She said the name change was an act of desperation because she didn't like being called Susie. Now she's called Siggy. And so it goes.

Singer Miley Ray Cyrus was named Destiny Hope Cyrus. As a baby, her family nicknamed her "Smiley" because of her cheerful disposition. She dropped the "S" and legally changed her name to Miley Ray Cyrus, keeping her family name and honoring her father, singer Billy Ray Cyrus.

Sting (Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner) was given that nickname by some of his band members because he often wore a black-and-yellow striped sweater resembling a bumblebee.

Lady Gaga (Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta) was nicknamed Lady Gaga by her producer Rob Fusari because she reminded him of the Queen song "Radio Ga Ga." She added Lady because it seemed regal.

And Alicia Keys (Alicia Augello Cook) considered using "Wild" as a star name. Her mother thought Alicia Wild sounded like a stripper, so they agreed on Keys... as in piano. Alicia is a classically trained pianist.

Emilio Villalba

Okay, my eyes are now blurry. We've gone from "Big Eyes" to "Blurry Eyes" with everything in-between. As they say in the film industry... " It's a wrap!"

"The world only exists in your eyes.

You can make it as big or as small as you want."

~ F. Scott Fitzgerald 

If interested:

50 Celebrities: Their Real and Nicknames here.

Famous Companies And How They Got Their Names here.

10 Cities and Their Nicknames Here.

Nicknames of American Mobsters Here.

And From the Mob Museum, Generate Your Own Nickname Here.

Nicknames of 75 Sports Figures Here.

Girl With 1,000+ Letters In Her Name On Oprah Here.

Quick Look At Artist Emilio Villalba Painting An Eye Here.

Curious About How I Almost Burned Down The House Cooking French Fries? You Can Read or Reread that Previous Post Here.

Nomen est omen

Name is Destiny

Until Next We Meet

at

"Here and Next"

XOX... Dyan

Observations & Parking

Photo: Dyan Titchnell / Here and Next

9 times out of 10... if you see a vehicle backing into a parking space, then pulling out slightly, to realign its tires in order to center itself within the spot's white, painted, parallel lines, chances are... you'll notice a man exiting the driver's side of the vehicle.

It's just an observation.

Women don't back up.

Nor do they back down.

But that's another issue for another time.

Normally, I don't pay much attention to who's parking what, or where, unless we're in the city, Philadelphia, where vacant parking spots are nowhere to be found.

But this 'observation thing' sprung from an incident.

An incident involving our vehicle.

Photo: Dyan Titchnell / Here and Next

It started with a lovely walk in the park, Alverthorpe Park, and ended with us in our vehicle ready to leave for our next destination: 'A Taste of Philly', a pretzel store in Glenside, to pick up 2 party trays of mini soft pretzels purchased as gifts, when, in shifting gears, we discovered our Chevy van... had no reverse! Not so lovely.

How does one drive a vehicle without the ability to back up?

My husband didn't seem overly concerned.

Our van, Bruce, soon to be 25 years old in May, could still go forward, and once the car parked in front of us left... we were able to drive through the now empty spot and head towards pretzel-land. Phew!

But upon arrival, where does one park without reverse?

Parallel parking is out, so too, are most lots with double rows of parking.

So we drove around, circling the area exploring all options without any luck, until finally, we chose to park... illegally... perpendicular to all the other vehicles, and hoped for the best.

Then with mission accomplished, party trays situated in our van, we headed home, only to discover mid-way... that our van... had no drive gear. No ability to move forward!

Luckily, after the engine cooled down a bit, we were able to make it back to our apartment complex, where we managed to pull head-first into our usual spot in the garage. A week later, with a new filter, change in transmission fluid and a few extras, our van was once again up and running. What a relief!

Photo: Dyan Titchnell / Here and Next

And it was this fixation over parking: parallel, angled, perpendicular, back and head 'in', that prompted me to observe the comings and goings of people parking their vehicles in our building's parking lot, which is clearly visible through our large picture windows from our 3rd floor apartment.

Once again, the results showed, at least in our complex, that when given the option, more men than women will choose to back into a parking spot.

Why? I can't say.

But here are 2 stories involving parking that I think you might find interesting:

6 years, 211 spots, Gareth Wild conquers a parking lot. Read it on Twitter here.

Italian car parked in same spot for 47 years here.

And Here's Something For After You've Left The Parking Lot.

The Playmates, 1958 here.

Beep, Beep For Now!

XOX... Dyan

 At "Here and Next"

Love & a Teapot: Parts 1 & 2

Source: Objects of Desire Band (modified)

Objects of Desire:

Immediately, an orange-haired Barbie in a black & white striped bathing suit comes to mind. No doll had ever been more beautiful. It was love at first sight and I just had to have her.

If only I still had her today, the original doll going back to 1959. In pristine condition, which mine would be, she's valued at $27,000!

Source: Getty Images

But a doll wasn't my first lust.

It was a teapot.

Not a child's toy, but an actual ceramic piece that once poured hot tea and belonged to my Grandma Fanny, a person I absolutely adored.

And she kept it displayed, with other pieces, in what my family referred to as a curio cabinet: a rounded, free-standing piece of furniture on legs, with gilded ornate woodwork that framed each of four convex glass panels, that I imagined came from some type of palace, like Versailles.

And with wide eyes, whenever I visited my grandparents, I'd stand and stare, long and hard, at that teapot, which prompted my Grandpa Mickey, who must have been watching me, to say: "One day it will be yours."

To this day I can't explain my attraction to this object.

Grandma Fanny's Teapot

Who knows what attracts us to any one thing enough to feel the need to possess it?

For me, at five years of age and in kindergarten, it might have been the excitement of hearing my kindergarten teacher play the piano as we all sang and acted out: "I'm a Little Teapot"... with one hand on our hip and the other hand and arm pointing out as we bent at the waist, and pretended to pour tea from our imaginary spouts.

Perhaps, it was the object itself: its size, its roundness, its unusual iridescent luster and small raised flowers on its surface that lured me.

Or maybe it was my tremendous love for its owner.

Perhaps... all of the above.

It was lifetimes later, after my grandfather passed away at the age of 92, that my grandmother left New York to live with my mother in Florida. The ancient curio cabinet with the teapot and artifacts inside were the only things shipped south. This piece of furniture seemed so out of place in my mother's modern-furnished condo, but was there to give my grandmother familiarity at a time when her memory was failing.

A few years after her arrival, my grandmother passed away at the age of 94, and years after, so too my mother, unexpectedly, at the age of 86. It was then, when my grandfather's words rand true:

"One day it will be yours."

And it was.

Until it wasn't.

Years later, in the midst of a sudden stressful move from a leased house with a huge basement, both filled with way too many possessions, experts on the subject of downsizing advised: "Take photos of sentimental items rather than hold on to them. It's the memories that matter."

Sadly, I listened.

And learned.

It's the "Objects" we desire, not "images" of them.

Memories are more vivid when objects are tangible.

And...

When possible... Go With Your Heart.

Source: Banksy

Part 2

From The New York Times: Metropolitan Diary, October 17, 2021

Little Pink Teapots

Dear Diary:

In the mid-2000s, I worked for a company with offices on Park Avenue. I lived in Denver then and would fly to New York for meetings several times a year, staying at the company's suites at the Waldorf Towers.

I often had breakfast at the hotel's Coffee House, at 50th Street on the Lexington Avenue side. My usual order was tea and toast. The tea was served in a small pink teapot with a silver rim, a Waldorf signature.

Waldorf Teapot... Source: Pinterest

The little teapots became a comforting morning staple on these trips. I was served by the same waitress over a period of years, and I often mentioned to her how I loved the teapots.

In October 2014, I read that the Waldorf had been sold. Then, while on my next trip to New York, I was notified that my company would be merging my division with one in Fort Worth and that I, along with 300 others, would be laid off. The trip would be my last.

The next morning I had my usual breakfast at the Coffee House. My waitress had also been told that she would soon be laid off. I said I would miss her and, of course, my little pink teapots.

It was my last morning at the hotel and I had already checked out. My travel bag was open on the floor next to the booth where I was sitting. I stepped away for a few minutes, returned, tipped the waitress and left for the last time. It was a sad morning.

When I got home to Denver and unpacked my bag, I found a little pink teapot wrapped in a hotel napkin along with a note. It said all of the Waldorf china and silver was to be sold and that this was a souvenir from my many breakfasts there, compliments of a longtime friend.

~ Mary F. Cook

I not only found this teapot story interesting, but also some of these written comments:

Source: Pinterest

JaayEmm

Manhattan Oct 21, 2021

Pink Teapot theft? Bah humbug... the Museums are full of theft. The universe was simply putting that teapot exactly where it should be.

Deesie

NJ Oct 21, 2021

Another Waldorf teapot story.... 

My BFF's grandparents would take us to the Kidney Foundation Gala each year. One year the gala was held at the Waldorf. Her Mom adored not only the teapot, but the sugar & creamer as well. Her Mom called me over as if to talk to me. She told me to lean over the table and hold a certain position. I had no idea why and leaned there bewildered. The event ended, and I found it odd that her Mom was hustling us out to the street. Once we got home, her Mom pulled the tea service from her bag! 

But the story doesn't end there. 

A few weeks later it was her Mom's turn to host bridge club. We teenagers were hanging out in another room, but we could hear the conversations going on during the card game. Someone complimented her Mom on the tea set, and her Mom proudly declared that it was stolen from the Waldorf, and named me as her accomplice!

Isabelle

NYC Oct 21, 2021

@Deesie

I'm so glad you weren't a stewardess who took meal trays away without a disappearing little real spoon, before plastics, that someone must have put in my pocket. 

Maybe that's why so many airlines like Pan Am, TWA, Eastern, People's Express, etc. are no longer flying. Too many little spoons mysteriously disappeared. 

Now years later, after statutes of limitations expired for spoon misdemeanors, I'll still deny knowledge of how those three spoons got in the silverware drawer.

If interested:

Watch a short home video of children singing, "I'm a Little Teapot" here.

Happy Valentine's Day!

From

"Here and Next"

XOX... Dyan

Happy & Healthy

Source: Premier Academy of the Performing Arts

January, the start of another year.

Welcome to 2022.

That's as jubilant as I get.

Exclaiming..."Happy New Year!"... just sounds disingenuous after barely enduring a 2-year pandemic and witnessing our Democracy crumble before our eyes.

Happiness has seemingly become ever more elusive.

Source: Rawpixel (modified)

"We are no longer happy as soon as we wish to be happier."~ Walter Landor

Then this tall order:

"Happiness is somebody to love,

Something to do,

And something to hope for."

~ Chinese Proverb

Perhaps easier is: "One of the secrets of a happy life is continuous small treats." ~ Iris Murdoch

Backed up by Thornton Wilder: "My advice to you is not to inquire or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it's on your plate."

Bingo!... a possible resolution that's actually doable.

Besides, ice cream always makes me happy... even if the happiness only lasts through the last chocolate sprinkle and smudge of chocolate syrup.

And so lately, in hopes of getting out of this funk, I'm trying to focus on gratitude: savoring any and all happy moments that come my way, no matter how small or brief.

Like recently:

Finding a $20 bill, dirty and crumpled, in a pile of leaves. Yahoo!

Getting a holiday card with a lottery ticket enclosed and scratching off a $10 winner!

Nabbing a $220 Winter Parka Coat from Lands' End for $39!

Obtaining a refund for $55.24 from The Vitamin Shoppe after being told "No. No refunds after 30 days."

And receiving coupons in the mail from Organic Valley (2 coupons for $1.50 off their products and 2 for free products for a maximum value of $13 each) after mentioning that we're having difficulty opening their milk carton caps. Who knew there was a cap shortage and yes, O.V. is actively working on a solution to the problem.

And who says, "Money doesn't buy happiness?"

Source: Synchrony Bank

That said... I'm starting to feel the "happy" in wishing you all a "Happy New Year."

But with those wishes, I always like to include the word "Healthy" into the mix... as in "Have a Happy and Healthy New Year."

So here's the "healthy" bit.

Source: OFY.org (modified)

It started with a book, a book of fiction. I can't recall the title, but what struck me was the author's sentence stating that the lining of a human stomach renews itself every 5 days. And here I was with a stomach ache reading this book wondering if this statement was actually fact or total fiction.

An online search brought up a video from NPR titled: "Your Body's Real Age."

I think you'll find the information not only fascinating but also encouraging for anyone aging...which pretty much describes everyone over the age of what?... 30? 40? Ha! I know, "Age is just a number."

Source: Pixel (modified)

It turns out, according to the video, each body part has its own very distinct lifespan.

* Each hair on your head (scalp hair) is replaced every 2-7 years. 100 hairs fall out every day and new ones grow back in their place.

* Fingernails are new every 6 months or so.

Almost every part of your body refreshes itself in a similar way.

* The lining of your stomach and intestines get pretty beat up by digestive acid and so those cells get replaced every few days (2-9 days).

* Every few weeks (2-4 weeks) your outer layer of skin is completely new.

* Every 4 months you have a fresh army of red blood cells. 100 million new cells are born every minute and 100 million old cells are destroyed.

* Every 10 years you've got a new skeleton. A special team of cells breaks down old bone and another builds new bone.

* Every 15 years your muscles are refreshed.

But there are a few things that stick around for your entire life.

* About 1/2 of your heart stays with you from birth to death because those cells are replaced very slowly.

* Certain parts of your brain add a few new neurons over the course of your life. A vast majority of your neurons developed before you were born. The connections between these neurons, the circuits that store memory, those are constantly changing.

* And there's one more part of you that lasts your whole life. Months before you were born, clusters of cells stretched and built themselves with transparent protein. As you grew, even after birth, more and more fibers were added, but that center endured. This is your lens and its core has remained the same since the moment you first opened your eyes.

So how old is your body? Some of it is brand new and some of it is as old as you are.

In closing, I'll leave you with these images by Cecilia Paredes, a Peruvian artist now living and working in Philadelphia, PA. She considers her work to be "photo performances", camouflaging herself against various patterned backgrounds using body paint or pieces of fabric.

She says, "The human body is a vehicle to express your thoughts. The series is not about the body though. It's about location, so in this case the body is part of the landscape." 

If interested:

Read a brief interview with Cecilia Paredes here and watch her lecture at the School of Visual Arts here.

View the NPR video here.

As this post comes to an end, I can now say with heartfelt sincerity...

"Here's wishing you a Happy & Healthy New Year

and a "Prosperous" one as well!"

From

"Here and Next"

XOX... Dyan