Colin Powell's Endorsement

This blog has long held a favorable opinion of Colin Powell despite his Republican sympathies. General Powell's appearance before the United Nations regarding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq will remain on record.

Colin Powell has done honorably by stating his intention to vote for Barack Obama for President. Hats off to you, sir.

From CNN:

Colin Powell endorses Barack Obama

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell announced today he will vote for Sen. Barack Obama, citing the Democrat's "ability to inspire" and the "inclusive nature of his campaign." Powell said he was concerned about what he characterized as a negative turn of Republican candidate Sen. John McCain's campaign and his choice of a running mate. full story

This country allowed uneducated whites' ignorance and fear to take us to new depths in 2004. You are not forgiven.

Dictionary Day

A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

Today when we spell the word "color" instead of "colour" we can thank a crotchety, humorless man for saving wear on our fingers, not to mention savings on paper and those obscenely expensive inkjet printer cartridges. Oct 16 marks the 250th birth anniversary of Noah Webster (1758-1843), lexicographer extraordinaire, who compiled the American Dictionary of the English Language (1828), the first authoritative lexicon of American English.

Webster believed in establishing cultural independence from Britain and as such he emphasized a distinct American spelling and pronunciation. His dictionary listed various unusual and shortened spellings of words. He would hardly have imagined how the tide would turn one day. According to reports, more British children today spell "color" instead of "colour", for example. Webster's suggestion of using "tung" instead of "tongue" didn't stick, though.

Today Webster's name is synonymous with dictionaries and the date of his birth is observed as Dictionary Day. In his honor, this week we'll present words about words. As Webster said, "the process of a living language is like the motion of a broad river which flows with a slow, silent, irresistible current."

Tomorrow: Look for a fun contest with a chance to win an autographed copy of my latest book.
epeolatry
PRONUNCIATION:
(ep-i-OL-uh-tree)

MEANING:
noun: The worship of words.


ETYMOLOGY:
From Greek epos (word) + -latry (worship). The first citation of the word is from Oliver Wendell Holmes, in his 1860 book Professor at the Breakfast Table.


USAGE:
"I read my dictionary for a few more minutes, until tiredness eventually bought my epeolatry to an end for the day."
Roger Day; Anurada Negotiates Our Wobbly Planet; Lulu; 2006.


A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
Here lives a free man. Nobody serves him. -Albert Camus, writer, philosopher, Nobel laureate (1913-1960)