Non-Words for August

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Ed Battistella
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Here are the Non-Words for August. I’ve made it through month eight, which included at the beginning a vacation to the Idaho desert and at the end five days with a fever.

Thanks to Jennifer Marcellus, Rebecca Ann Bartlett, Lesley Hopper, Charlotte Hadella, William della Santina, Cara Ungar, and Amy Miller for their non-words.

    glind, v. to simultaneously grind and glide. 1 Aug

    twoops, n. a pre-programmed tweet that suddenly becomes inappropriate in the context of that day’s news. 2 Aug

    biofullia, v. to have had too much of the great outdoors. 3 Aug

    eluct, v. to avoid (also, eluctable, adj., able to be avoided or resisted-backformations of ineluctable). 4 Aug

    undermood, n. insufficient pride in one’s accomplishments (cf. Old Eng. “overmod,” and thanks to Jennifer Marcellus). 5 Aug

    cudgole, v. to persuade someone to move along by displaying a nightstick but not actually using it. 6 Aug

    dwin, n. the flat monotone of one who knows many languages. 7 Aug

    exvestigate, v. to outsource one’s research, inquiry or investigation to consultants. 8 Aug

    wretchword, n. TV character’s catchphrase used with the intent of producing annoyance (eg, Rob Lowe’s “literally”). 9 Aug

    widle, v. to move with one’s widest part side first in a blustery advance (“He widled up to the woman at the bar.”) 10 Aug

    birch, v. to walk by someone and pretend you don’t see him/her (thanks, Rebecca Ann Bartlett). 11 Aug

    Augdust n. superheated, dry summer weather carrying dirt and debris on hot winds. 12 Aug

    caren’tless adj. to do something in an “I couldn’t care less” manner. 13 Aug

    vitup n. (pronounced “vit-TOOP”) prolonged verbal abuse or severe censure (clipping of vituperate). 14 Aug

    dogmanic, adj. to willingly have your life taken over by a dog’s needs (thanks Lesley Hopper). 15 Aug

    cananity, n. to treat dogs better than people [from inane plus canine, thanks to Charlotte Hadella]. 16 Aug

    huscular adj. of a boy, husky evolving to muscular; of a man, muscular devolving to husky [tks William della Santina] 17 Aug

    rainmanliness n. the demonstration of savant-like abilities (overheard from Cara Ungar on Facebook). 18 Aug

    ekleptic, adj. to compulsively steal ideas and opinions from a wide variety of sources. 19 Aug

    fanupsmanship n. to outfan others with arcane knowledge of some sport, pastime or popular genre. 20 Aug

    ideoligarch, n. one who must have his or her ideas validated. 21 Aug

    terroneous adj. mistaken for a terrorist, or to mistakenly terrorize. 22 Aug

    debonoir, adj. displaying the charm and smarm of a 1940s movie villain. 23 Aug

    hakkle, noun or verb, the ability of most pets and some people to feel a command before it is made. 24 Aug

    schlubeezer n. [faux Yiddish] someone whom retirement does no good. 25 Aug

    hwin, n. the sound of fingers on whiskers. 26 Aug

    foreforgive, v. to anticipate that someone is going to do something wrong and forgive them in advance. 27 Aug

    confligate, adj. to be excessively thrifty or cheap; or to hoard money. 28 Aug

    autocowreck, n. a linguistic infelicity caused by an aggressive autocorrect feature. 29 Aug

    polyphones, n. words (like “economics” or “either”) that have more than one acceptable pronunciation. 30 Aug

    febreesia, n. a sweet scent that you first think is fresh flowers, then realize is air freshener. Thanks to Amy Miller. 31 Aug

Coming soon on Literary Ashland: Authors, Editors and Reviewers on Book Reviewing and An Interview with Kristy Athens.

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Double the Evil–Chelsea Cain and James Lee Burke

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Ed Battistella
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After my vacation, I settled down to 900 pages of stay-up-late pure evil with James Lee Burke’s Creole Belle and Chelsea Cain’s Kill You Twice. Thrills and suspense right up until the end.

I’ve said it before: nobody quite writes evil like James Lee Burke. But Chelsea Cain is right up there. The one-two punch and the two Gretchens (Cain’s Gretchen Lowell and Burke’s Gretchen Horowitz, whose backstories in some ways parallel)—got me thinking about how differently Burke and Cain treat evil.

For Chelsea Cain, it’s psychological. Her bad actors are psychopaths addicted to grisly murder, and their evil takes over the emotional lives of the ordinary people she comes in contact with—the cops, journalists, and bystanders. For Burke, evil is sociopathy, both individual and collective. It’s driven by greed and moral weakness and preys on envy. The psychopaths in Burke’s novels find the social evil but don’t create it. The psychopathy is secondary, though there are flamethrowers, iron maidens, and more killing than in Cain’s novel.

What’s the response to evil? Both Dave Robicheaux and Archie Sheridan are moralists—they want to bring people to justice not just put them down, and they are continually having to decide how far they are willing to go. They are damaged characters. Evil has scarred both of them and how they respond driven the two series forward.

It seems to me Robicheaux to mind his own business but confront evil when it comes to them. He’s unable to walk away but also ultimately unable to change society Archie Sheridan tries to distances himself from his ex-lover/ex-torturer but circumstances conspire to bring them back together. Archie is Icarus to Robicheaux’s Sisyphus. One can’t stay away from evil; the other is constantly finding it because it’s everywhere.

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An Interview with Clive Rosengren

Posted on August 10, 2012 by Ed Battistella
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Clive Rosengren has been an actor for the better part of the past forty years, eighteen of them pounding the same streets as private eye Eddie Collins does in his novel Murder Unscripted. Clive’s movie credits include Ed Wood, Soapdish and Bugsy. Among his television credits are Seinfeld and Cheers, where he played the only person to throw Sam Malone out of his own bar.

He currently lives in Ashland, Oregon, amidst an extensive movie and crime fiction library. Murder Unscripted is his debut novel.

EB: You spent much of your career as an actor. How did you make the transition from actor to writer? How is writing like acting?

CR: When I was still living in LA, an actor friend and myself joined an ongoing screenwriting workshop, out of which ultimately came Murder Unscripted. Acting is essentially an art form that relies on “community”–other actors, writers, directors, etc., while writing is primarily a solitary discipline. But since I rely on reading my work aloud to determine whether or not it sounds right, I suspect there is some sort of “performance” basis to it.

EB: Where did you get the idea for Murder Unscripted? Is it based on a true story?

CR: As I mentioned, Murder Unscripted came out a screenwriting workshop. I think somewhere way back in the development process, I had an idea of a serial killer committing murders following the examples of Shakespeare’s great tragedies. Obviously, the plot veered off from that, but back there somewhere was that germ of an idea. The plot, to my knowledge, is not based on a true story.

EB: Your character Eddie Collins is an actor/private eye. I guess many actors have other jobs. Are there some who are private eyes?

CR: When I was still making the audition rounds in Los Angeles, I seem to remember encountering an actor who worked as a private eye. I don’t know that the PI sideline is that prevalent, but certainly seems to me a worthy “day job,” since the hours are pretty flexible, leaving one open to still pursuing the acting bug.

EB: What is your writing life like? Do you work with a writing group? Slave away alone? Write all day? Do you wear the porkpie hat when you write?

CR: I do work with a writing group, a group of four other writers that is informally dubbed “Monday Mayhem.” I don’t write all day; in fact, my writing habits leave a lot to be desired. I don’t wear the porkpie hat when writing, but now that you mention it, perhaps the Muse can be found underneath it. I shall have to try that!

EB: Do you have a next project? I know that you’ve also been involved in writing screenplays.

CR: I’m at work on a second Eddie Collins story, tentatively titled Red Desert. I have also signed a contract to do the narration for Murder Unscripted for Blackstone Audio. It is scheduled to be released in January of 2013.

EB: I know that you have an extensive collection of movies and crime fiction. What are some of your favorites? What do your read?

CR: My hands-down favorite film is Chinatown, closely followed by L.A. Confidential. The Godfather trilogy is high on my list, along with almost anything starring Meryl Streep, who I believe is the finest screen actress of her generation, maybe even of any generation. I have a handful of crime writers I read religiously: Michael Connelly, Robert Crais, James Lee Burke, Nevada Barr, Craig Johnson, T. Jefferson Parker, John Sandford, and the list goes on.

EB: Any advice for first time authors out there? What have you learned?

CR: Read voraciously, not necessarily in the particular genre you wish to dwell. Make the best effort you can to write every day, anything, even it it’s in your journal. I have learned that persistence pays off, that you must trust your instincts, and write what you want to write, not just because some form or genre is “hot.” Polonius hit the nail on the head when he said, “…to thine ownself be true.”

EB: Thanks for talking with me.

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Non-Words for July

Posted on August 5, 2012 by Ed Battistella
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Here are the non-words for July, with thanks to Lucia Hadella, Mary Williams, Jennifer Marcellus, Max Perry and Cat Ott for their contributions.

Among other things this month, I learned that dastard and libate were actual words and playhem was the name of a gaming site. Some Non-words that didn’t quite make it this month were broem/broetry, twitterpated, and the acronym STBY, all already in use. And I’m developing a new respect for the Urban Dictionary, which had bormal, lumb, and hoogle, meaning (respectively) “boringly normal,” “to screw something up and never admit to it,” and “a human google.” I also skipped sadmitten (“winter fauxlympic sport in which, in which children complete to find their missing gloves”), not wanting to wear out a gag.

Coming up in August, some dog non-words for the dog days of summer.

    valedict, v. to give a farewell address to one’s peers at the close of a joint endeavor (backform from valediction). 1 July

    mixmashed, adj. blended and crushed until the parts are indistinguishably pulpy, used esp. of food, music and ideas. 2 July

    pyrobust, n. contranym referring to the right amount of fireworks or to the wrong amount (from Lucia Hadella). 3 July

    adriotism [pronounced ad-ri-o-tism] n. the (mis)use of national holidays as sales events. 4 July

    pyrotentious, adj. an overblown, ostentatious fireworks display by a city that cannot afford it. 5 July

    bengender, v. for a term referring to one sex to be extended to the other (as with guy, dude, etc.). 6 July

    insobsolate, adj. when something makes you want to cry but you cannot or do not. 7 July

    crope, n. a smell that begins as vaguely unpleasant and becomes worse over time. 8 July

    harbing, v. to act as an advance man or woman for an event, or more generally to presage or announce. 9 July

    neach, indefinite pronoun, referring to every other one of a group or succession. 10 July

    frattend, v. to enroll in a class or join a group solely in order to meet people and flirt. 11 July

    hwet, adj. [from “heat wet”] sweaty from humid hot weather not exertion. 12 July

    indiffer, v. to assert that you have no opinion about something. 13 July

    anullogy, n. an analogy that trumps and nullifies another, weaker, analogy (thanks to Mary Williams). 14 July

    selfify, v. to prefix “self-“ to a verb while also using a reflexive object as in “to self-manage themselves.” 15 July

    nadiddle, v. to procrastinate on a large, complicated task by taking on a series of smaller, less important ones. 16 July

    plutse, n. someone whose clothes don’t fit due to weight gain or loss. 17 July

    exoxysm, n. a sudden outpouring of people from an event, organization or investment. 18 July

    enconsequent, v. to imbue something with significance that it had not previously had and does not necessarily deserve. 19 July

    lumblaxed, adj. the feeling in your back and shoulders when you realize you have a day with no immediate obligations. 20 July

    obsequiate, v. to be fawningly servile or slavishly attentive to another, or to menially hover awaiting instructions. 21 July

    zations, n qualities that become actions and later historical processes (colonization, etc.) [thx Jennifer Marcellus]. 22 July

    splaterno, n. an institutional stain that won’t be easily removed. 23 July

    deeregulate, v. to control the deer population as a matter of public policy. 24 July

    scrambiguity, n. when you misread a spouse or partner’s signal about when to leave a party. 25 July

    lymped adj. to be worn out after a long period of watching televised Olympic coverage. 26 July

    denamored, adj. to no longer be attracted to someone [from de + enamored, requires the preposition ‘of’]. 27 July

    lackeysak, n. fauxlympic sport in which CEOs compete to layoff employees. 28 July

    snudge n. a statement that is simultaneously questioning and commanding (usually beginning with “Why don’t you…?). 29 July

    pontagficate, v. to end your emails with a preachy tagline intended to be profound. 30 July

    videogle, v. to spend too much time watching internet videos (thanks to Cat Ott). 31 July

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