live today

enjoy all and
dare to fail

live today ---
in the end,
Time will be
available
for Security
purposes

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'mulct,' which means to punish by a fine.

fever

Design --
Now in the autumn of Age
we approach more with variety

Nursing the fever

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'aestivo-autumnal.' Thought it was just a seasonal adjective, but it refers to a type of malaria that occurs at this time of year.

Fun sketching at Olympic Sculpture Park with a bunch of WSU sophomore interior design students and their profs.

reunion

reunion lunch —
the age in their faces
I miss in the mirror

. . . . . .

The unused OED word of the day, if you are interested, salutes the Ryder Cup but doesn't make for poetry: mashie.

details

observing details
in the morning
enthusiastically —Grateful

even breakfast was magical

. . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'trainspotter.' Like the guy on NPR yesterday who had set up video/audio to record a high speed train being tested at night at 165mph. The audio was 4.1 seconds. He was stoked.

This is yesterday's sketch done in paper - with an autumn leaf thrown in to "date" it.

walking

strolls along the river
simple walking reminded her
to Seek the perfect

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'Buster Brown.'

Sketching in Fremont this morning, it didn't seem right that Peggy & I froze our buns off in only the first week of autumn.

unrelenting

the best in the World
is a smiling presence

Study the traditions
greatness is unrelenting

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'martinet.'

Ever thought where that one came from? Our source is the French soldier Jean Martinet (d. 1672),  whose attention to drill and training as Inspector-General of the infantry helped to shape the regular army of Louis XIV.

Poor ol' Jean. The Oxford lads provide no insight as to how, within fifty years, his name had come to describe a rigid, merciless disciplinarian.

ideas

making Curious Pieces called art…proud of most of them,
honestly convinced that ideas have power

. . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is the verb 'cabbage.' Yes, the verb. It started out being applied to tailors who took the extra pieces as a perk when cutting out clothes. Later it generalized to mean taking anything inappropriately or plagiarizing. 

Gives new meaning to 'cabbage patch.'

book-lover

talent, wit and eloquence
move the Book-lover 

our inspiration is relit

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'ingine,' which meant genius about five hundred years ago, but was also confused with 'engine.'

BMW could probably make an ad out of that...

wallop

Drawing...
in big confident works which pack a physical wallop
There is nothing too Rough

. . . . . .

Not at all equinoctial, the OED word of the day is 'designy.'

FYI, this is a portrait of the aura fern (that's what the professional called it; "Does it have one?" I asked) I got to take home from the Pteridomania event  last weekend.

days without end

Days without End...
When I go on holiday
I like to come back
with art and Poems

The motive
Is to fall in love
with spirit

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary was 'schoolboy.'

practice …

for now
I found myself looking,
an extremely busy seeker

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'mabalane.' So, if you're ever in S. Africa in need of a head clerk, you now know what to ask for.

sporting

Sporting Match

I will, if you will
but the thing of it is

I've got to
. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'rowdy,' which mid-19th century was apparently slang for money. Not sure that it's gonna make a comeback...

Larger image of this Japanese cherry -  a gift from Kobe to the Port of Seattle, the rubbing says - here.

sunrise

wildfires across the mountains —
the sunrise aflame
. . . . . .

The unused (as usual, meaning too few words to work with) OED word of the day is 'quadrigarious.' I thought it kind of looked like "talking a lot from four mouths," but it has to do with chariots. Whatever, Oxford.

Sketched this from Roy St. Coffee before going to the Pteridomania event at Volunteer Park Conservatory. Now, there's a word!

abundance

full of rain And moss
There is such Abundance here

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'pluvious.' I wish I'd kept track of, over these last three plus years, how often the Oxford lads choose a rain-related word.

Of the citations, by far the best is from 1870:  "Dost thou not find that this pluvious weather produceth much...stupidity?"

perfume

the essence of rain falling on dry ground …
perfume in September
. . . . . .

The OED word of the day is 'petrichor,' something I love but didn't know the name for. It is a "pleasant, distinctive smell frequently accompanying the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather."

If it ever rains again in Seattle, we'll be enjoying it :)

coddle your mollies

with ease The poets coddle your mollies to perfection
and counter the debilitating force of painful doubt
and crash-and-burn memories.

Finding rhymes must surely qualify as important Stuff 

. . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is... finally... 'Olympic.'

under control

if we say
Everything is under Control
bad things happen

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'FOAF.'


I don't mind not getting the words from the 16th century, but I missed this one. Just in case you, too, have been living under a rock, it stands for 'friend of a friend,' i.e. the subject of an urban legend.


Larger image here.

a necessary relaxation

when we indulge
in idleness
'Tis perhaps no more than
a necessary relaxation
to the mind

. . . . . .

The OED archaic word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'oscitation,' which means yawning.

Please tell me you're not oscitating.

this weird game

uncertain whether there is any Key to
This weird game of struggling through Daily Archaic Words 

. . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'pill.' No, not THAT pill. The creek or pond in a creek kind of pill, a usage dating back to the 12th century. Archaic, indeed.

A lovely time sketching again with Peggy in the shadow of what will be Bill the Butcher's shop.

full moon

the full moon
shimmies down the river to
the cosmic music

. . . . . . .

The OED word of the day, unused due to the brevity of its citations, is 'aeroponics.'

a feast of love

art/
a Feast of Love
washed down with
a big glass of passion

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'vegetably.'

The minicollage was done at Caffè Umbria, the first in my tiny 3" x 4" book.

triumph

a woman
Independent all these years

without realizing it
A Triumph

. . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'aapa,' which is Urdu for 'older sister' or an honorific for an older woman.

Accompanying image is a sumi-e version of this aapa's teacup.

the best advice

there is nothing to protect a person —
the best advice I've heard
is to just stop being irritated

. . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'earworm,' the definitions of which include a tune you can't get out of your head.

I can't get out of my head the African American quilts in the Bold Expressions exhibit at the Bellevue Art Museum; this collage is an homage to them. Though for collages, the title of the concurrent Shaker exhibit is even more apropos: Gather the Fragments.

bright orange against blue —
school crossing guards on a perfect September day

. . . . . .

On the momentous occasion of the 1,000th post here, the OED word of the day is 'emacity,' which has too few citations to create an erasure poem. One might call it emaciated (unrelated Latin roots; emacity is a fondness for shopping).

Oh, to be having a frappé facing this view of Little Venice on Mykonos. Larger image on Flickr.

collage

the mysterious
destination of
lost or used paper
Cut and collected

bits you find that
won't happen again

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is 'bit-bucket.'

I played 'gallery girl' at the Seattle Design Center yesterday. In four hours, one artist came in. So, I was glad to be able to take an Art Access magazine (expired), red sale dots (unused) and a Band-Aid (the most appropriate piece), and entertain myself making this collage.

This is blog post 999. Not sure where to go from here, but I'm grateful to you, a handful of loyal supporters, for having propelled me to this point.

gratitude

Gratitude makes
events move with
intricate and celestial
precision

. . . . . .

The Oddball English Dictionary word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'orrery.' If that doesn't make your mouth feel full of marbles, I don't know what will. It refers to a mechanical model (usually clockwork) of the movement of the planets.

I am not in Venice, but my mind is. Hence, this collage today.

borrowing

Borrowing Problems in Life
means being—
I don't know exactly, but—
well, noticeably different

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure commentary is 'gung ho.' I hadn't ever thought of its origins, had you?

A U.S. Marine general borrowed the term (meaning "work together") from Chinese Co-Operatives in the early 1940s. His 'kung hou' meetings were places to work out problems and explain orders. The Marines being the Marines, within 20 years it had taken on its current meaning of zealous, eager or enthusiastic.

The image is a  literal postcard (4" x 6 " watercolor) of the fish ladder at the Ballard Locks; salmon are running. Larger image.

hidden joy

mind the chances
to sit here and look For
all the Hidden joy

‘I'm so worried’
is that voice
that You don't want

. . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem | commentary is 'emote.'

Big group of Urban Sketchers today at Ballard Locks was a lot of fun. It was September 2009 when I first went out with them at this same locale. This time I wasn't foolish enough to choose a bridge going up and down as a subject. Larger image on Flickr.

songs

for Melancholy spirits,
songs give utterance to hope...
leaving behind A smile

. . . . . . .

The OED word of the day for the erasure poem| commentary is 'black humor.'