Have you ever come across a word you know the meaning of but may never have used?...I was reading the news today...a story about the film Blackfish...the story of Tilikum, the killer whale at SeaWorld...the one whose most recent victim was a trainer it crushed to death in 2010...
The article contained the word "medacity"...untruthfulness, as in the act of telling a lie...it is the opposite of a word I have used often...veracity...the quality there is so little of in our American political system...as exhibited most ably in the many responses to questions about our government's surveillance systems...
As I thought about this word, I realized it is one of the words I love...I love how saying it naturally emphasizes the second syllable...how it's impossible not to place the emphasis there...
This realization led me to another...I love words...almost all words...I am a logophile...well, except for the word "puberty"...which reminded me of the famous questionnaire...from Bernard Pivot who hosted the French series "Bouillon de Culture"...a questionnaire also employed by James Lipton on the Actor's Studio...
- What is your favorite word?
- What is your least favorite word?
- What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
- What turns you off?
- What is your favorite curse word?
- What sound or noise do you love?
- What sound or noise do you hate?
- What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
- What profession would you not like to do?
- If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
It is remarkable how answering these simple questions often leads me to insights about my connection to what I am feeling...my current state of mind...try it...you may be surprised...delighted...amused...by what learn about yourself...
Street art...some call it graffiti...in front of the Centre Pompidou, Paris, France...