@athelstone
Active 13 hours, 54 minutes ago-
Athelstone started the topic Monthly Competition – January 2024 in the forum Monthly Competition 2 years, 4 months ago
Last year I asked for up to 500 words on something new. This year it occurs to me that this is also the time of year when we look back. The topic is “something old”. Up to 500 of your finest however you wish.
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly Competition – December 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 2 years, 4 months ago
Thanks Alex. We don’t get many entrants to the competition any more, so winning can be, if not a poison-chalice, a hot coffee-cup. Your prompt was perfect for Christmas and I had fun writing about it.
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Sorry I didn’t manage to do a story, Alex. I had work to finish, and it’s a busy time of year.
Congratulations, Ath. A lovely story, exactly right for the season.
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Athelstone posted an update 2 years, 4 months ago
A very happy, prosperous and successful New Year to all Denizens.
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly Competition – December 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 2 years, 4 months ago
Not sure what exactly is happening. Maybe old age is catching me up but I posted this already. There was an amusing intro about how it’s too long and how I’d have to take my chances. And so on. Anyway, it is too long (by loads), so I will have to take my chances.
The Stoggy
I’m a magical creature called a stoggy. Don’t get too excited bec…[Read more]
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Athelstone replied to the topic Season's greetings in the forum Podium 2 years, 4 months ago
Libby, I thought I’d replied, but I was also looking at some site updates that need to be done soon, so my mind was obviously elsewhere and I didn’t press the button.
Absolutely. I quite agree. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and the same to all other Denizens.
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Hi Ath, you did reply! I received an email on Christmas Day: “And to you, Libby. And a very happy Christmas to all of us.”
It never appeared here on the site. I put this down to a computer glitch.
Thank you for this reply and the next one. Happy new year 🙂
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Athelstone replied to the topic A Corporate Crime Scene: Lac Mégantic, 2013 in the forum Blogs 2 years, 4 months ago
Mr Burkhardt is an interesting character who has, it seems, been profoundly interested in trains his entire life. Your blog inspired me to research the man a bit and it does seem that he knows best in matters of running a railroad. Of course, he had “previous” for being the manager of a railroad that allowed a train to run down a sloap while…[Read more]
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly Competition – November 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 2 years, 5 months ago
Well done Alex. Also, sorry Janette – I had half an entry written when I glanced up and noticed it was all over. Not good enough ????
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Athelstone posted a new activity comment 2 years, 6 months ago
Hah, that did occur to me. Hardly a day went by from the late 50s to the 80s when somewhere on television, radio, or simply in conversation, the word nuclear didn’t crop up.
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Athelstone posted a new activity comment 2 years, 6 months ago
Pronunciation is a curious thing. I expect the list is very long and finds a home amongst both the well-heeled and the down-at-heel. So we have Magdalen College Oxford which we are admonished to pronounce in the medieval way “Maudlin”. This pronunciation evolved over time, but at least the middle-English speakers had the sense to spell it…[Read more]
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I’ve heard the new-queue-lar version. It does sound odd but I’ve wondered if, unlike me, the speaker isn’t old enough to have grown up with nuclear as a familiar word and a consistent threat.
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Hah, that did occur to me. Hardly a day went by from the late 50s to the 80s when somewhere on television, radio, or simply in conversation, the word nuclear didn’t crop up.
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Athelstone posted a new activity comment 2 years, 6 months ago
It’s one of those words. I hear it mispronounced almost as often as it is pronounced correctly. The curious thing about it is that it really only has two parts, both of which are simple word-sounds in their own right: new and clear. I even hear people who work closely with things nu-cue-ler get it wrong.
There’s a theory that the British, and a…[Read more] -
Athelstone posted an update 2 years, 6 months ago
Been watching telly today and I have this to say: NEW CLEAR. that is NEW CLEAR. Two words, new and clear. Not, I should point out, three words: NEW QUEUE LAR.
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New Queue has a hint of birdsong about it. A distraction in these ghastly times? :/
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It’s one of those words. I hear it mispronounced almost as often as it is pronounced correctly. The curious thing about it is that it really only has two parts, both of which are simple word-sounds in their own right: new and clear. I even hear people who work closely with things nu-cue-ler get it wrong.
There’s a theory that the British, and a…[Read more]
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I’d not heard of that one. Do people really say that? Yuck…
I’m always fascinated by the way words change pronunciation and meaning, for example Beaulieu becomes Byoolee but Beauchamp becomes Beecham.
And, speaking of lieutenant, I can see how a word that must have originally meant ‘place holder’ became used like ‘Lord Lieutentant of Wherever,’…[Read more]-
Pronunciation is a curious thing. I expect the list is very long and finds a home amongst both the well-heeled and the down-at-heel. So we have Magdalen College Oxford which we are admonished to pronounce in the medieval way “Maudlin”. This pronunciation evolved over time, but at least the middle-English speakers had the sense to spell it…[Read more]
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I’ve heard the new-queue-lar version. It does sound odd but I’ve wondered if, unlike me, the speaker isn’t old enough to have grown up with nuclear as a familiar word and a consistent threat.
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Hah, that did occur to me. Hardly a day went by from the late 50s to the 80s when somewhere on television, radio, or simply in conversation, the word nuclear didn’t crop up.
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Perhaps it’s the same. Place holder for the captain under whose command the lieutenant is acting. Does that make sense?
Re pronunciation, here’s the OED:The origin of the βtype of forms (which survives in the usual British pronunciation, though the spelling represents the αtype) is difficult to explain. The hypothesis of a mere m…[Read more]
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Speaking of the nuclear threat, I’m reminded that Aldermaston, where the Canpaign for Nuclear (never new=queue-lar) Disarmament used to march to when Ah were a lad, is in Berkshire. Now I wonder when we started pronouncing that Barkshire, because a certain piece of rhyming slang suggests that Cockneys, at least, used to say it the way Americans still do.
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly competition – October 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 2 years, 6 months ago
You have my apologies too. I also had a busy month, but mainly I have to confess that every time I turned to the prompt I hit brick walls. I admit defeat. And it is a fine prompt. One good thing from my point of view though is that I had another look at my short story from the Random’s anthology Stalking Leviathan. I had some critique that the…[Read more]
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Athelstone replied to the topic Influences in the forum Blogs 2 years, 7 months ago
Well, these last few posts sent me off on a chase, which I shall spare you the detail of. I have never read anything by Salter, but probably shall, now. For what it’s worth, I emerged from my chase with a greater respect for George Orwell (though perhaps not his earlier novels) and a suspicion that Will Self may have confused writing literature…[Read more]
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Athelstone replied to the topic Influences in the forum Blogs 2 years, 7 months ago
I wrote a short story with an MC lacking almost all redeeming qualities. It didn’t go down too well, although I quite enjoyed writing it. Patricia Highsmith’s writing is wonderful. Tom Ripley is a work of genius.
Also, hello stranger. How’s it going?
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Athelstone posted a new activity comment 2 years, 7 months ago
Purely to dispel all doubt: https://evllabs.github.io/JGAAP/
And, no, I won’t really use it-
Well now I’m going to spend the next three days feeding my own work into it to see how much I sound like myself
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Athelstone posted a new activity comment 2 years, 7 months ago
I will, of course, be using JGAAP on every entry. No Camilla Läckberg disputes here, thank you very much!
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Japanese Generally Accepted Accounting Principles? Blimey, I knew I had to incorporate arithmetic, but that seems a bit much
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Purely to dispel all doubt: https://evllabs.github.io/JGAAP/
And, no, I won’t really use it-
Well now I’m going to spend the next three days feeding my own work into it to see how much I sound like myself
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly competition – September 2023 in the forum Monthly Competition 2 years, 7 months ago
A great batch of entries. Sadly, my good idea didn’t finally coalesce until I was dozing off last night.
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Athelstone posted a new activity comment 2 years, 8 months ago
Sorry to hear it. It is remarkably adept at confounding all good intentions to write.
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Thanks, Ath. Yes, writing and reading both confounded. It feels like a midge infestation in my head when I try to take things in or concentrate further than one page. Hopefully, I’ll overpower IT sooner rather than later.
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My usual remedy for reading problems is to read children’s books. I read a lot – they’re my therapy.
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Athelstone posted a new activity comment 2 years, 8 months ago
Janette, do you mean a real black dog, or black dog in the metaphorical sense?
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Metaphorical – though just as pesky and stubborn.
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I know that black dog. It’s hard to shove it out of the way, sometimes. Big cwtches from Wales x
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Thanks, John. Big Yorkshire hugs right back atcha x
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🙂
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Sorry to hear it. It is remarkably adept at confounding all good intentions to write.
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Thanks, Ath. Yes, writing and reading both confounded. It feels like a midge infestation in my head when I try to take things in or concentrate further than one page. Hopefully, I’ll overpower IT sooner rather than later.
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My usual remedy for reading problems is to read children’s books. I read a lot – they’re my therapy.
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