Showing posts with label rant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rant. Show all posts

Linguistic lamentations

Friday, January 1, 2010 by Palmer Attaway

My vocabulary used to get me into no end of trouble. I would rattle and ramble some conglomeration of words to the mass of idiots surrounding me and because they were confused, frightened, or thinking the word “conglomeration” was an insult or a magical conjuring, I would find myself in a bit of a pickle. In college, my large vocabulary, while not antagonistic, was still something of a hurdle. I knew the words to use but fumbled with them and dropped them to the dirt in favor of simpler ones. Though I now believe I was on a higher intellectual rise than those around me were, I still fell short of the mark when speaking... at least for the first few semesters. Once I hit my stride, I was able to select easily the words from my storehouse and speak them with confidence and some modicum of pride.

In the last decade or so, I have found that the storehouse has been raided by a mis spent youth. After years of “dumbing it down” as it were, I have lost those colorful phrases and razor sharp statements that were once so much a part of my speech pattern, that I'd rather speak them and have a bloodied nose and cracked knuckle. Where have they gone? I could blame technology and the computerized thesaurus that often aids alliteration or I could blame the ruffians with whom I associated for so long but one of them is an English teacher now so I can't rightly cast a broad blanket of blame nor can I blame individuals as I often brag on my superior, unaffectable nature.

If you don't use it... you loose it. This seems to be a truism not only in the case of one's “groove” but also with one's vocabulary. I would like to say that I have improved considerably of late, but alas... not the case. I should invest in a word a day calender. Perhaps that will increase my verbal efficacy. Maybe that will hone my linguistic lash to the razor sharp grasping talon it once was. Maybe I just need new people on whom to sharpen them.... in a good way.
1st post... new year. Welcome 2010

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What's in a name?

Friday, October 16, 2009 by Palmer Attaway

I have found recently that made up names (of course, they're all made up if you think about it), phonetically spelled names, state names used for people, and last names used as first names truly unnerve me to my very core. They're everywhere these days. There's a Dakota on the news or a Garminy on a reality show or a Talulla-shay (spelled incorrectly) on a sitcom. They're popping up online now in the strangest places. I read several design blogs. I am an artist after all and an artist needs inspiration... don't give me that look. Any way, I slammed smack into “Saxyn”. That's not a name, it's a people and I'm sure they'd be very angry to find out that they're cultural name has been usurped by an obscenely perky suburbanite mom with a penchant for decorating ideas and odd names.

I have a strange name and some may say that “Palmer” is a last name. In truth, it's a title. The palmer would hoist the sanctified oil on his shoulders for pilgrims in the middle ages and carry these urns to the holy lands. The point is, it has meaning. It has a past. All of the Shaquitas, Bargundys, and Ashawns out there are never going to know the joy of what they're names truly mean because they are meaningless. I love African names... truly African names, not the misprinted, misspelled, and overly abundant false names used with such flair by less than educated teen mothers who just think it sounds cool. NO! I love the culturally significant names purposeful chosen and artfully pronounced. They're beautiful and actually have a meaning in a living culture somewhere in the world. I love the simplicity and understated Asian names and more over, the naming practice of what we would consider “last name first and first name last”. Anglo names, while having a distinct lack of panache, do have meanings and correct spellings, but the names like Jane, Barbara, and Timothy are comparatively rare and I think they need to make a come back.

When you are about to have your child and you consider a baby name book, don't buy it. Simply read some ancient history from your ancestors' part of the world and name your child something significant, powerful, and meaningful. If you hear a name you like, do some hard research into what that name really means and if its modern usage is actually correct. Don't name your kid after a place, drug, or beauty product... you're just asking for your daughters to be strippers. Some common names that are uncommon in today's world would be:

Molly – Irish origin, Latin derivative, meaning “Star of the Sea”
Emily – Latin / Roman origin, has 60 some odd different acceptable spellings most starting with A, means “imitating, rivaling”
Rebecca – Hebrew derivative, meaning “to tie or bind”. Nick name “Becky” or “Becca”
Jennifer – Old Welsh origin, meaning “Smooth”, “Blessed”, or “Fair”. Nick name “Jen” or “Jenny”
Rose – Germanic origin, meaning “Horse” or the more flattering “Fame”.
Margo – Old Greek origin, meaning “Pearl”. English derivative would be Margaret.
Christina – Latin derivative, meaning Christian woman.
Jacob – Hebrew origin, meaning “God will watch” or “ Yahweh will protect”. Nick name “Jake”
Keith – Celtic origin, meaning “a windy place” or “Forest”.
Palmer – Old English origin, meaning “Crusader” or “ Bearer of Palm Oil”
Stephen – Old Greek derivative, meaning “Crowned” or “Royal”. Properly pronounced /Steh-Fin/
David – Hebrew derivative, meaning “Favorite or friend”. Unrecommended nick name “Dave”
Gregory – Old Greek origin, meaning “Vigilant”. Nick name Greg.
Orin – Celtic origin, meaning “Green” or “Sallow”. Thought I would throw an weird one in.


There are so many options that are NOT Dakota or Shartruce. Do your home work and give your kid a meaningful and correctly spelled and pronounced name.

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Nothing in a while so... FASHION!

Thursday, July 23, 2009 by Palmer Attaway

I have decided to be unapologetic for not writing in quite some time. I only have one reader and she, or I guess the word "you" would be more appropriate, have a lot going on so I'm sure my sloppy missives were not missed. On to the blog post!


When I was a kid, like 10 or so, I started reading GQ. I followed fashion and in some cases, Fashion followed me. I was sometimes to far beyond the cutting edge for my own good and then it all stopped. I went to college and found my way back into the fashionable crowd but soon, comfort came crashing down and I got all baggy and frumpy again. It has been a long time since I had my own sense of style. Don't get me wrong, I like the off the rack bargain basement clothes I've been wearing over the last few years, but let's face it... chicks can smell Walmart on you.


I've been rediscovering my own sense of stylistic individuality over the last couple of months and the journey is an ongoing one. In truth, I believe the pursuit of one's own style is an expression of self. They style is just a shadow of that expression. To that end, I'm put together a list of fashion styles that I've been experimenting with recently and that I've always loved. I will find a way to mix them some how.


Rockabilly, 30's dress casual, Cuban, American 60's formal, and rude. That last one is really more of a mix of American 60's formal and the rockabilly. Think Rude Boy as in SKA.

I have been reading a lot of style blogs lately, the most recent being the Post Office and See Jack Shop. These are entertaining and informative, but I have yet to see a blog dedicated specifically to the fashion plights of the big dude. I'm not a kid anymore. I can't go around in Old Navy jeans and sandals. Sure, it was fun and all but I need to feel like myself and nicer clothes fit better and make me feel like me. I'm an extremely confidant person... some might say self righteous or conceited, but I consider it confidence. I like who I am in a suit. Is it to much to wear a suit every day after work?Speaking of suits, I've found a site that sells decent quality suits (reviewed in one of those blogs I think) at redonkulious prices. Men's USA sells suits made over seas with Italian milled 150 to 200 wool for pennies on the dollar. A new two button, vented grey with black pen stripes is a paltry $175.00 and a three piece 4 button can be found for as low as $99.00. Out-freakin'-rageous. I have recently been told I sound like a woman, but I remain undaunted. I will regain my fashion plate status.

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