Prob / Prov : from Latin : for 'prove or proof' or 'honesty and integrity'

Approbation: a formal or official act of approving; praise, usually given with pleasure or enthusiasm.

The 2011 film "Unknown" didn't get, nor does it deserve, much approbation from the critics.  Unknown is like a cheap imitation of one, if not all, of series of recent action movies (some decent, some really good) that have explored the fallibility of  perception through an unreliable protagonist: Salt, Bourne Identity, Shutter Island, and Inception.

Disprove: to show that something is not what it has been claimed to be; refute.

In the movie "Unknown" Liam Neeson plays a botanist named "Dr. Martin Harris" who after being knocked unconscious in an accident while proceeding to conference in Berlin, discovers that he has been replaced by someone else, and everyone, including his wife, denies that the is the real "Dr. Martin Harris". Still a little foggy from his accident "Dr. Harris" tries to disprove the other gentleman is himself, the local police, the audience, and maybe even himself.

Probity: absolute honesty and uprightness.

For a time "Dr. Martin Harris" believes with Probity that he is "Dr. Martin Harris", a botanist.  It is only later in the movie that he discovers that actually he is a spy who was sent to Berlin in a nefarious plot to assassinate someone, however he had forgotten this as a result of the head trama.

Reprobate: a person of thoroughly bad character.  Re = 'back' or 'backwards'. Thus Reprobate = the opposite of absolute honesty and uprightness.

It turns out that whoever this "Dr. Martin Harris" spy impostor is he is not a total reprobate.  "Dr Martin Harris" uses his well honed spy skills to thwart the assassination and to help a pretty young lady that got wrapped up in his confusing plot.  I guess after getting hit in the knocker, and discovering that the person he believed to be his wife denied he was who he thought he was, he somehow decides whoever the hell he is he rather be on the side of  right than the side of wrong.

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Roots: Crim : Latin : for "fault or crime" or "accusation"

 

Criminology: the study of crime, criminals, law enforcement, and punishment.

Criminologist: one who studies crime, criminals, law enforcement, and punishment.

The Movie "The Town" (2010, Directed by Ben Affleck) is about Charlestown, a neighborhood of Boston. Charlestown would make a good criminology study.  As depicted in the movie, Charlestown is notable mainly for its ability to churn out armed robbers, generation after generation.  Upon further research, there may be some real life truth to these allegations. Throughout the 1960s, all the way until the middle 1990s, Charlestown was infamous for its Irish Mob presence.  Most notorious of these gangsters were the McLaughlin Brothers.

Decriminalize: to remove or reduce the criminal status of.

In the late 1980s, many upper-middle class professionals moved to Charlestown, drawn to its proximity to downtown and its stylish colonial, red-brick, row-house housing. This gentrification process; some would say, marked the beginning of end of Charlestown as it was and its eventual decriminalization. Today the neighborhood is a mixture of classes- yet a working class Irish-American demographic and culture is said to still be predominant.  Given this setting, the central theme of the movie The Town is plausible, however the movie could also be depicted as a symbolic tribute to the decriminalization of the actual town.  Ben Affleck, the tainted protagonist Doug MacRay, plays a lower class Irish bank robber that falls in love with an upper class bank teller (Claire), portending his hidden desire to leave a life of crime (decriminalize), and thus his family, friends, and the town he has known since childhood.  In this battle between the old and the new, the bad and the good, the ugly and the beautiful, all the boundaries are unclear, except one: the code of silence.   

Incriminate: to show evidence of involvement in a crime or a fault.

While the center of the movie is about Doug MacRay's inner struggle, the exterior is wrapped in a typical action robbery caper, in which the annoying FBI, bound by duty to law,  attempt to capture and incriminate a group of bad, yet well constructed, clever, and lovable criminals.

Recrimination: An accusation in retaliation for an accusation made against oneself; the make of such an accusation.

As the story goes, in Charlestown criminals depend on a code of silence- those caught serve their time rather than turn in their friends, family, and neighbors- thus avoiding a slippery slope of recrimination in which one would turn another in, and in turn another would turn one in, in the end destroying all.  Immune from recrimination Doug MacRay (Affleck), James Coughlin, Albert 'Gloansy' Magloan and Desmond Elden, the four life long friends and criminals, are able to do many robberies without getting caught. However, everything changes when during a dicy bank job the four take an attractive bank teller (Claire) hostage to escape, only later to learn that she is a new resident of their very own town.  Thus as a new resident she is not a part of the towns history, therefore is not a criminal, knows not the code of silence, and thus owes no loyalty to them.  For fear that she might have seen or heard something that might reveal their identities and incriminate them, Doug (being the least thuggish, most attractive and clever) contrives to meet her to ensure she doesn't know who they are.  Doug follows her to try to find out what she knows.  But Doug falls for her, as she does for him. As the story proceeds to tangle, Doug needs to try and keep his true identity from her, keep the fact that he is seeing her from his friends, keep his friends happy, keep the mobsters who pull the strings happy, all the while remain true to his love for Claire and his desire to leave "The Town" with her.

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Roots: Plic : Latin : meaning "to fold"

Complicated: (many folds) 1. composed of elaborately interconnected parts. 2. difficult to analyze, understand, explain, untangle..

The movie Salt, a spy mystery thriller, is intentionally complicated; the plot has many folds to disguise whether or not the main character  Evelyn Salt (played by Angelina Jolie) is the protagonist or antagonist until the end of the movie.

Implicated: (wrapped up) 1. to show to be also involved, usually in an incriminating manner: to be implicated in a crime. 2. to fold or twist together; intertwine; interlace.

After shooting the Russian President, Salt is implicated with a plot by a Russian defector/spy Orlov to start a nuclear war between the U.S. and the Russia, putting into question  her allegiance to the CIA or to some other power.

Supplication: a humble and earnest request or prayer.  This word is usually used in the context of Religion; in a religious context all supplications are a declaration of allegiance to God.  

In the movie Salt, there is a flashback that shows us a group of Russian children being raised with the intention of manufacturing super spies with total allegiance to Orlov and his "Day X" plan. There are several scenes where the children, and then later adults, are shown kissing the ring of Orlov, apparently to demonstrate complete submission. Kissing a ring is a symbolic ritual of supplication.  Historically this kind of act was reserved for believed emissaries of God; Kings and Popes.

Explicit: (unwrapped, revealed) Fully and clearly expressed or demonstrated; leaving nothing merely implied; unequivocal: explicit instructions; an explicit act of violence; explicit language.

Salt is Rated: PG13, because of explicit violence.

The movie begins with Salt captured by some Middle East government stretched out in her underwear and tortured to reveal her real identity and mission.  While this scene reveals nearly everything about her physically, it reveals nothing about who she is and what she has done or intends to do, foreshadowing the audiences journey with Salt through this movie and the primary mystery.

Implicit: (wrapped up in) 1. understood though not clearly put into words. 2. Being without doubt, absolute.

In shooting the Russian President Salt implicitly declares her allegiance to Orlov's plan to destroy the United States.

Explicate: (unfold) 1. to explain in detail. 2. to analyze logically and clearly.

Following the scene when Salt shoots the Russian President she has the opportunity to shoot a CIA agent to escape being captured and she doesn't. By explicating this situation in his mind over and over again, the CIA agent forms a hypothesis that by not taking the opportunity to shoot Salt was implicitly declaring allegiance to the CIA.

Replicate: to copy or reproduce.

I couldn't help but notice that by using the theme of an unknown, unpredictable spy the movie Salt replicated elements of another spy thriller; Bourne Identity.  The similarity implies to me the film company may want to replicate the prior success with the Bourne movies, as opposed to create, while disguising this mission with a female lead.  Whether or not the apparent repetition implicates the film company in a plot to extract easy money from audiences may be the more difficult and interesting mystery of this spy thriller.  It is said that Tom Cruise originally secured the lead role, but the script was re-written for Angelina Jolie. Very mysterious...

Budget	$110 million
Gross revenue	$293,500,614

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Roots: Rect : Latin: from "rectus" which meant "straight" or "right"

Rectangle: four sided figure whose parallel, straight sides meet at right angles.
In between fighting the young men set down their guns and dug a ditch and rocks and dirt into a rectangle enclosure that would become their makeshift home for more than a year.

Correct: to make it right.
The young men named a hard won strategic position Restrepo after one of the boys in their platoon who died on their deployment- the first- hoping that naming the outpost with his name could somehow correct, make right, or make the death of their beloved friend more meaningful.

Rectitude: 1. moral integrity. 2. correctness of procedure.
Despite facing difficult and cruel circumstances, including seeing their friends die, American soldiers are asked to act with rectitude to win the hearts and minds of the locals, which is believed to help them ultimately in their war against "bad guys".  The men of Restrepo soon learned the difficulty of identifying good guys and bad guys, and the right things to do in a situation as messy as war.

Rectify: 1. to set right. 2. to correct by removing errors; revise.
After the American soldiers killed a local cow, the locals asked the men of Restrepo to set the situation right by providing them with $500. Being unable to bring the cow back, or provide the locals with money, the soldiers offered the locals food the weight of the cow.

Rectilinear: 1. moving in or forming a straight line.  2. having many straight lines.
When in a gun fight, usually you don't want to travel in a predictable rectilinear way- usually it is advisable to zig zag.


Rectus: from Latin rectus musculus, may refer to any of several straight muscles, such as those of the abdomen. In one scene in Restrepo a soldier retells the story of how he was shot below his bullet proof vest (presumably through the Rectus muscles of his abdomen) and a moment later had a rocket fired at him, yet still managed to escape with his life.  Even when sometimes it seems nothing is going right, sometimes things just unpredictably do.  Sometimes the average (or lucky) soldier lives and the best soldiers die. The details of war are not linear or predictable- war is erratic.


Rector: 1. a clergyman in charge of a church or parish.
No one uses the word rector, however the role of a  rector (clergyman in charge) is  to help other people understand situations, actions, decisions, and consequences to either put their minds at ease, and in some cases help them do right more often than wrong in future situations.

While I have a great deal of admiration for the men and women who fight for the interests of their country, sometimes I question rectitude of fighting in Afghanistan or anywhere near the middle East.  I am not sure there is anything we can accomplish there that will rectify former atrocities or prevent future atrocities.  I hope I am wrong.  Respectfully, Restrepo does not attempt to answer this question but may put this question front and center in your mind.

Roots: AM / IM : Latin : from amare, "to love"

The easiest way to remember the root AM is to think of your best friend, because most of us know that Amigo is spanish for friend. When every you see AM there is something friendly there.  -- Hold on I will come back to this--  But for now, for example, Amiable means "friendly or good natured."

Amicable: friendly, peaceful.  The best people I have known are those that behave amicably in all company regardless of variance in lifestyle, viewpoint, or language even if at odds with their personal preference or opinion.

Inimical: hostile, unfriendly, or harmful.  The "in-" prefex negates the meaning of the root "-im-".  Hence, Inimical means "not friendly".  Eminem?  Em (not) em =  them ems nobody, he's slim shady.  Regardless, Eminem, Marshal Mathers, impact has been to grow larger audience for the music genre Rap by telling stories through lyrics at a cadence that can be understood - also by drawing a white audience, regardless of social stratus, into a domain that was previously the exclusive domain of minorities.  While he is held inimically by many for being just another rap bad boy; I argue he is just misconstrued; you just don't understand him

Speaking of of misconstrued.  Emma, Em ma (ma; am in reverse) by Jane Austen, is a novel about the perils of misconstrued romance. As in her other novels, Austen explores the concerns and difficulties of genteel women while creating a lively 'comedy of manners' among her characters.  However, before she began writing Emma, Austen wrote, "I am going to take a heroine whom no-one but myself will much like." In the very first sentence she introduces the title character as "Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich." As the novel proceeds we learn Emma is spoiled; vows to never marry (because she doesn't need to); she greatly overestimates her own matchmaking abilities; she is as blind to the dangers of meddling in other people's lives as she is to the men in her life and the impact of her actions on others.  Yet, as the story proceeds Austen successfully demonstrates how or views of anyone can change as she transforms Emma into someone lovable. Does Emma find love?  You will have to read the story to find out.

Enamored: charmed or fascinated; inflamed with love.  At this point you are probably wondering if I am more enamored with Jane Austen or Eminem. I assure you the relationships are merely Platonic.

Paramour:  a lover.  The "Par-" prefix means "by or through."  So it means an attachment by or through love, as opposed to by social custom or ceremony.  Ironically it has come to mean a lover in secret.  Personally, I believe there are too many marriages driven by what is presumed to be the universally correct sequence of events of life, without enough thought about one's place in this world, objectives, or the consequences of one's actions- which reminds me of Eminem and Emma?  Is there hope for us yet- can we find true love? That's all we want, isn't it?

In one of the most famous quotes in the Torah/Bible, when asked who is, God said, "Ehyeh asher ehyeh" (Hebrew), which is interpreted in English to mean I am that or who I am. Which if I may intrude, using my new found Latin root, this could mean "I love that I love" or "I am love because I love", or just "I am love". Or maybe he was just trying to illusive. Real Torah scholars say that this divine name is mysterious just as God is mystery. It is at once a name revealed and something like the refusal of a name, and hence it better expresses God as what he is - infinitely above everything that we can understand or say: he is the "hidden God", his name is ineffable (not understandable), and yet by producing this name he is the God who makes himself close to men. And we get all that from 3 letters: I AM.

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Roots: Hosp / Host : Latin : from hospes, hospit- meaning "host" and "guest"

Hospital: if you study the history of this word it was once a house for religious pilgrims and travelers, then a home for old people, and finally now a place where sick people go.  We all know this word.

Hospitality: what a good host or hostess offers a guest. We don't all know this word.

Hospice: a place or program to help care for the terminally ill.  Actually, you would be surprised how few people know this word. Some families of people who are told to transfer their elderly grandmother or grandfather to a "Hospice" don't realize the doctor is telling them that they have given up and their beloved is going to die.  I love the people who work at Hospices- these are real heros. A doctor, fireman, or police officer don't expect to go into work every day to find death and carnage- you expect to find it occasionally and mostly to prevent it.  People who work in hospice go into work knowing what they must face- the mortality of human life.

Hostel: an inexpensive, supervised place for young travelers to stay overnight.  This is like the closest thing to a dollar bill found in an old jacket that you are going to get.  Suppose you are barely graduated from high school or college (maybe not yet) and you have a few hundred dollars to live on for a couple of months. You want to see Europe. On one side of the street you see a, I don't know, Hilton. On the other, a place where you can stay for $20 where they have bunk beds and vintage 1960 sofas where you can hang out with people who are well traveled, aspiring writers, hippies, and/or occasional ax murders. Still, I would opt for the Hostel.

Inhospitable: 1. not welcoming or generous.  2. Providing no shelter or food - i.e. think desert or life raft in the middle of the ocean.  While if one has a life threatoning condition for which there is no current explanation one might want to go see Dr. Gregory House the brilliant, unconventional, yet misanthropic doctor in the T.V. series "House", his character is about as inhospitable to patients as he could be.  As the story goes, they keep him around because he is effective, not polite.

Hostage: a person given or held to ensure that an agreement, demand, or treaty is kept or fulfilled.  As recently as Oct. 2010 a $750,000 ransom was paid to release a British couple taken hostage by pirates. Not a lot is know about the person who paid the ransom; the British government previously released this statement: "The government will not make substantive concessions for hostage takers, including the payments of ransom." British officials said negotiating with hostage takers would only encourage more kidnappings. Meanwhile, for a year this poor British couple were forced to sit around with bearded men drinking rum, playing cards, while occasionally being forced to cook or clean the deck for them. What a terribly inhospitable life.  Thank god they were rescued.  Hargh.

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Roots: Crypt / Cryph : Greek : meaning "hidden"

Crypt: a tomb or underground room where dead bodies are, particularly under a church.

The Cask of Amontillado is a poem by Edgar Allen Poe. If you read it you will never forget the root Crypt.  Just a taste: "My heart grew sick; it was the dampness of the catacombs that made it so. I hastened to make an end of my labour. I forced the last stone into its position; I plastered it up. Against the new masonry I re-erected the old rampart of bones. For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them."

Medical words with "Crypto-" in them always means there is something hidden about the condition. Example: Cryptosporidiosis, a parasitic disease of the mammalian intestinal tract. Symptoms may include anorexia, nausea/vomiting, abdominal pain, or diarrhea. The parasite C. parvum is considered to be the most important waterborne pathogen in developed countries. It is resistant to all practical levels of chlorination.

Cryptic: 1.) Mysterious; puzzlingly short.  2.) Acting to hide or conceal.  Use example: "I can't imagine why that would be frustrating at all, just because someone refuses to tell you what they're thinking, even all the while there making cryptic little remarks specifically designed to keep you up at night wondering what they could possibly mean...now why would that be frustrating?" Bella (from the Twighlight saga).  I find this quote frustrating because in the Twighlight movies I find Bella to be frustratingly cryptic about her various boy interests.  I grew up socially awkward; I have always found women cryptic and a little scary. Looking back through the years I have often found they were doing everything but hitting me over the head with a message and I never got it.  


Encrypt - to encode a message.  Cryptography: 1.Secret writing. 2.) The encoding and decoding of messages. 



The movie War Games is about a young man (played by Matthew Broderick) who who unwittingly accesses a U.S. Military supercomputer and starts a game of Global Thermonuclear War, playing as the Soviet Union. As the story goes, with his brand new modem, he dialed every number in Sunnyvale, CA to find computer games. A computer that does not identify itself intrigues him. On this computer, Lightman finds a list of games but cannot proceed further. Two older hackers explain the concept of a backdoor password and suggest tracking down the "Falken" referenced in Falken's Maze, the first game listed. Lightman discovers that Stephen Falken is an early artificial intelligence researcher, and guesses correctly that his dead son's name "Joshua" is the backdoor password he was seeking.




Some scholars believe that the Book of Revelation in the bible was not actually a prediction of the future of the world but actually an encrypted messages between Christians at a time when Christians were being killed for being Christians.


Apocryphal: of doubtful genuineness or authenticity.  Usually this applied to Christian writings the Catholic councils either excluded from the Bible or included with a sort of question mark or asterisk.  Here are some apocryphal subjects that I think are interesting.

• Devotion to Mary, esp. the Assumption of Mary’s perpetual virginity.
• Veneration of relics: Acts of Thomas; esp. Veronica’s handkerchief.
• The so-called “harrowing of hell” per 1 Peter 3:19: see the Gospel of Nicodemus, medieval mystery plays.
• Apocryphal ideas displayed in Art: Peter crucified upside down, Thecla, the female apostle, thrown to the lions (Acts of Paul); Veronica; the Arabic Infancy Gospel (a palm tree bending low); John and the poisoned chalice (Acts of John); the ox and the donkey at the Nativity (Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew; already on sarcophagus lid two centuries earlier); the Mary Cycle in Chartres Cathedral (Protevangelium of James); Dante’s Inferno (Apocalypse of Paul); Milton’s Paradise Lost (scenes in hell); Herder’s poem “St. John” (Acts of John).

Gates of Hell, by Auguste Rodin

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Roots : Dis / Dif : Latin : meaning "apart"

In English its meanings have expanded to include, "do the opposite of" "deprive of" "exclude or expel from" the opposite or absence of" "not" and "completely". Ironically we have taken a concise Latin meaning and broken it apart.


Diffraction: 1. the bending or spreading of a beam of light. (applies to anything that travels in waves)
"fract" means "broken". So diffraction means broken apart.

Disseminate: to spread widely.
"seminare" means "to sow".  Seminare in turn comes from the laten "semen" which means "seed".   So Disseminate means to sow by spreading widely apart.  Imagine a primitive farmer scattering seeds by tossing handfuls.  I would suggest that our influence on the world can be extended in two ways: through the children we procreate and through the ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc. we disseminate.  As I naturally think about the meaning of life; I see this is karma and/or metaphysically how we live after death.  We were born of those who came before us; their flesh AND their ideas, and we will in turn pass something on to the future. So be careful of your words- they are like your children.

Dissention: disagreement in opinion.  Do you agree or disagree with my words above.  Disagreement would be Dissension.  You dissent from either my description of the word or the meaning of life. It's o.k.

Distracted: having attention diverted.

"Tract" means "drag or draw."  So distracted means drawn away or drawn in different directions.

I blame distraction for long periods of neglect of this blog; and also my inability to complete any of my various projects. I'm a good starter, not a good finisher- my many interests distract me- pull me in different directions.

Dissipate.  1. to cause to spread out to the point of vanishing. 2. to spend wastefully or foolishly; squander.

Dissipate suggests a gradual disintegration as if by crumbling or breaking apart into tiny pieces.  Think of tiny excited molecules bumping into each other, spreading outward until there are so many bumps the excitement is reduced.  This is heat.  If you are in a cold environment you need to bundle in dense material to try to contain the heat; to try to get those molecules to stay in one place and keep bumping into each other.  You don't want to allow your heat to dissipate completely or in other words, waste it.  You, and your time are dissipating like the universe.  You want to make the most of it- don't fritter it away- focus.

Reflection II from Datdatdat / A. N. Fischer on Vimeo.

Roots : The / Theo : Greek : meaning "God"

Theology: the study of gods or religion.

I have an amateur interest in Theology; I have an equal interest in ancient spiritual texts and social science study of religion.

Apotheosis: 1. transformation into a god. 2. The perfect example.

After his assassination Abraham Lincoln underwent an apotheosis that transformed the controversial politician into a saintly father of democracy. Other examples of apotheosis have been: Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, and JFK. In the apotheosis of these figures, that which was intended to be killed, only became stronger.

Atheistic: denying the existence of god or divine power.

Monotheism:  the worship of a single god.

Polytheistic: the worship many gods.

Pantheistic: 1. seeing the power of god in all the natural forces of the universe.  2. worshiping all gods of all creeds and cults.

Pan = all.  Thus Pantheistic = "all gods". The pantheon is a place the romans built where all gods could be worshiped to eliminate the need for so many separate temples. I agree, what a hassle.

My personal religion might almost be considered pantheistic; I went through a phase where I read the original sacred texts of several of the major religions and found that if you look beyond the specific rituals and rules (usually created 100s of years after the religion began) they are expressions of the same essential truths.

Theocracy: 1. government by officials who are regarded as divinely inspired.

Fearing theocracy, and/or religious intolerance, the founders of the United States included a provision in the constitution demanding separation of church and state.  Iran is the most well known modern example of theocracy; and such a fine example it is.

Roots : Extra : short for extraordinary, meaning "beyond the ordinary"

Extraterrestrial: beyond the earth.

After reviewing "Google Apps," Google's packaged offering for organizations, an official at ASU was quoted saying, "it is like something out of this world". ASU decided to use Google technology for it 65,000 population of faculty and students because they determined their IT resources would have no ability to keep up with the pace of innovation of Google products, whereas a dependence on Microsoft products requires an expensive investment in IT infrastructure and personnel that are beyond the reach of a non-profit public institution.  I would argue this same logic could be applied to many private organizations as well.

Extravaganza: goes beyond the limits of reason or necessity.

When extra is used as a prefix it does not mean "extremely" but instead means "outside or beyond"


Extrapolate: to extend or project facts or data into an area not known in order to make assumptions or to predict facts or trends.

As an HR Analyst (a seeming contradiction) I have extrapolated trends from data relating to people to suggest courses of action that would be beneficial to organizations.  For example, at Google I applied public actuarial health statistics (birth rates) and proprietary organizational statics (current headcount, presumed growth rates, and daycare costs) to predict the number of Google babies (Booglers) that would be born in a given time period, and the related cost for the organization to provide Googlers with childcare.  On the basis of this extrapolation informed decisions could be made about the cost of providing this benefit relative to its perceived value to the organization.  Google adjusted the portion of the benefit paid by the organization in order to focus the demand for the Benefit on a population who valued it more highly, while reducing the cost for the organization.  Now in my mind, in the world of human resources, that is extraordinary.

Extramundane:  situated in or relating to a region beyond the material world.

The world of Harry Potter is extramundane- it is full of magic, wizards, castles, and mythical creatures.  As the story goes, Muggles, that is ordinary humans, are mundane.  The series of books appear to be a treatise on why the primary protagonist, Harry Potter, is beyond the ordinary.  In that sense I found the books to be quite predicable and ordinary.  Sorry, that is just my opinion.

Extrovert: means "turned outward" - toward things outside of oneself.  Extrovert is opposite of introvert, "turned inward".

Typical extroverts are excited by people, places, and things outside of their world.  Introverts, on the other hand, are excited by the world of ideas they create inside of their minds and this may not require the participation of others.  The perfect person would be one who could take that role of an introvert and apply it as an extrovert. That is they can dream of a new world and then create it as well.  In my mind that is what the most successful scientists, inventors, religious figures, politicians, and business people are able to do.  It is difficult and out of the ordinary- so society reveres these individuals as extraordinary human beings or at times even gods. Something to aspire for.

Extraneous: 1.existing or coming from the outside. 2. not forming an essential part; irrelevant.

I hope my comments on words are not extraneous to assimilation of the words by your subconscious mind.

Roots: Err: Latin : from errare, means "to wander" or "stray"

Error: wandering or straying from what is correct or true.

Erratum: a mistake in a book or publication.

Aberrant: straying or differing from the right, normal, or natural type.

Errant: 1. wandering or moving about aimlessly. 2. straying outside proper bounds, or away from a an accepted or pattern or standard.

Erratic:  1. having no fixed course. 2. lacking consistency.

Erroneous: mistaken, incorrect.

Roots : Art : Latin : from "skill" or "cleverness"

Artful: 1. Skillful. 2. Wily, crafty, sly.

Have you noticed my attempts to be artful in my selection of movie posters for this blog?

Artifact: a simple object, such as a tool or ornament, made by human workmanship or modification.

Some anthropologists believe that the ability to produce and use artifacts are what make us human. (and also successful)

Artifice: 1. Clever skill. 2. Clever Trick.

There is a secret part of me that admires the artifice of an intelligent criminal.

Artisan: a skilled worker or craft person.

Kevin Spacey displayed that he is a true artisan actor in The Usual Suspects.

Artless: 1. ignorant, unskillful. 2. Free from guile, or stratagem.  

"So full of artless jealousy is guilt, it spills itself in fearing to be spilt." William Shakespeare

Roots : Cur : Latin : from curare, meaning "care for"

Manicure: care of the hands.

Pedicure: care of the feet.

Have you noticed that after 1 million years, Dinosaur skeletons are badly in need of a manicure and pedicure?

Curative: having to do with curing diseases.

Curator: someone in care of something where things are on exhibit, such as an art collection or a zoo.

Curators must have a wide variety of knowledge regarding the objects of their specialty, be it antiquities or animals.  They wish to put together an enlightening display or show for people.

Procure: to get possession of, to obtain.

Museum curators, procure art and artifacts for the museum- they purchase or borrow objects, and in so doing, keep them pristine and accessible to the public.

Sinecure: a job or position requiring little work but usually providing some income.

With Latin prefix sine, "without", it means "without care."   The scarecrow in the musical 'Wicked' (based loosely on the Wizard of Oz) might be described as a sinecure.  People of royalty are true sinecures.  Ben Stiller's character in the Movie, "Night at the Museum" thought being a security guard at a museum would be a sinecure; it turned out to be just the opposite.

Roots : Luc : Latin: from lux for "light" and lucere "to shine"

Lucent: 1. giving off light. 2. easily seen through.

Lucid: clear in meaning. As if light were shining through it.

I hope the definitions I provide in my vocabulary blog are lucid.

Lucubration: 1. hard and difficult study. 2. the product of hard study.

Lucubration is a word that initially meant, 'study by lamplight'. You had to be pretty motivated to keep studying after dark in a time before electricity, hence its meaning, "hard study".  If you know anyone who has studied for the bar they could explain. 

Translucent: partly transparent.  i.e. light can partially shine through.  

A good thief, con-artist, or criminal of any type would NOT be translucent although would attempt to appear as such.  

Elucidate: to clarify by explaining. Explain.  "to shed light on"

Let me elucidate the name Lucifer.

Lucifer: "light-bearer" or the name Satan had before he fell from heaven.

Myth holds that Satan was once God's right hand man, whose job it was to bring light, but he was eventually thrown from heaven because of his insubordinate pride.  When I think of something that produces light I think about the sun. The sun seems pretty important: it holds our planet in place, produces much of the light we see, enables all living things on this planet to survive, and has even occasionally been worshiped as a God.  Similarly Lucifer, a creation of God, thought he was more important than God.  Demonstrating poetic irony, God damns Lucifer to hell, the hottest and most fiery place in the universe.  I don't know what images this conjures for you but this reminds me of the sun.

Roots : Polis / Polit : Greek : meaning "city" & "city state"

Acropolis: a high fortified part of a city, especially an ancient Greek city. Acro = "high". Polis = "city".

If the shit hits the fan you are going to want to have an acropolis to hide up in.

Megalopolis. 1. a very large city. 2. a thickly populated area that includes one or more cities with the surrounding suburbs.

A modern example of a megalopolis is the seaboard from Boston to Washington, DC, which is home to 50 million people.

Politic: 1. cleverly tactful. 2 wise in promoting a plan or plan of action.

Smoothly agreeable and courteous with a degree of sophistication. Example. "The politic employee knows he can pacify an angry manager with a smooth apology for the error".

Politicize. to give a political tone or character to.

Sexual conduct, birth control, marriage, recreational drug use, and gun ownership are just a handful of the personal topics that have been politicized in America. Americans seem to care a great deal about what other people do regardless if it has any personal impact on ourselves. So much for Liberty.

Roots : Popul : Latin : "People"

Population: the people of an area.
The Census is a national government survey that attempts to determine the actual size and characteristics of the population.  A census survey is one that goes to an entire population. A random sample survey only goes to a random selection of individuals.  For most scientific questions random sample surveys have proven to predict the response of the larger population within 1 to 5% points of error and they cost a lot less money.


Popular: 1. liked by many people. 2. relating to the general public.
I was never popular in school.  I kept to myself and typically went to work immediately after school or wrestling practice, depending on the season.  My first party I attended was the summer after I graduated from High School.  Very untypical I was not popular by any definition.

Popular culture: the culture of the general public.
Popular culture comes and goes.  Just ask, Brett Michaels.

Populist: A believer in the rights, wisdom, or virtues of the common people.
Once it was its own political party, now it seems everyone wants to get in on the Populist game.  Democrats and Republicans trade barbs that the other is not as Populist as they are.  "I'm more populist than you are!"

Populace: 1. the common people or masses. 2. population.
The populace requires large amounts of sports programming, sitcoms, and reality t.v. to lull it into complacency or it will could break out into pandemonium.

Populous: numerous, densely settled, or having large population.
New York City is populous, Casper Wyoming is not.

Vox Populi: the voice of the people. From the latin "vox pouli, vox Dei" or "the voice of the people is the voice of God".Vox populi is an important underpinning of democracy.

Roots : Demo : Greek : meaning "people"

Democracy: "rule by the people".  (Forms of government)


Equality and freedom are important characteristics of democracy.These principles are reflected in all citizens being equal before the law and having equal access to power. For example, in a representative democracy, every vote has equal weight, no restrictions can apply to anyone wanting to become a representative, and the freedom of its citizens is secured by legitimized rights and liberties which are protected by a constitution.




Demographic: having to do with with the study of human populations, especially their size, growth, density, and patterns of living.

The U.S. Census, occurring every 10 years, is the largest study of the american population and is a vital planning tool for city, state, and federal government agencies as well as private organizations.


Endemic: 1. found only in a given place or region. 2. often found in a given occupation, area, or environment.

Means literally "in the population".  But also, common. typical.  The saguaro cactus, scorpions, and gila monsters are all endemic to Arizona.


Pandemic: widespread and affecting a large portion of the people.

Pandemic is a stronger version of epidemic.  In 1348 a pandemic outbreak called Black Death struck Western Europe and killed 25 million people.


A demagogue leads the people, usually in trouble, by lying and appealing to their prejudices.

A famous usage was by Erich Ludendorff. After learning of Hitler's appointment as Chancellor, he expressed his disappointment to German President Paul von Hindenburg; "By appointing Hitler Chancellor of the Reich, you have handed over our sacred German Fatherland to one of the greatest demagogues of all time. I prophesy to you this evil man will plunge our Reich into the abyss and will inflict immeasurable woe on our nation. Future generations will curse you in your grave for this action."


Demotic: popular or common.  Demotic describes what is done by ordinary people as a group.  It often describes speech and accents.

The movie Fargo, introduced many people for the first time to the peculiar language, accent, and dialect that is demotic to the rural areas of the northern mid-west states (North Dakota, Minnesota, & Wisconsin). Dont ya' kno'w.

Roots : Pac / Peas : Latin : "Agree" and "Peace"

Pacify: 1. to sooth anger or agitation. 2. to subdue by armed action.

Gandhi and his followers could not be pacified; they eventually won India's freedom from British rule.

Pacifist: a person opposed to war or violence, especially someone who refuses to bear arms or to flight, on moral or religious grounds.

Clearly Gandhi was a pacifist; his tactics were peaceful non-violent protests and moral persuasion.

Pact: an agreement between two or more people or groups; a treaty or formal agreement between nations to deal with a problem or resolve a dispute.

The Stability and Growth Pact (SGP) is an agreement between the 16 members of the European Union (EU) that take part in the Eurozone, to facilitate and maintain the stability of the Economic and Monetary Union.  

Appease: to make peaceful and quiet; to calm, satisfy.

Appeasing usually involves giving something, whereas pacifying can refer to anything from rocking a baby to using armed force to stop an uprising.

Roots : Bell : Latin: "war"

Antebellum: existing before war.  [In the U.S. we think about this as the period before the Civil War.]

Bellicose: warlike, aggressive, quarrelsome.

Our youngest cat, Sawyer, is often bellicose with the other animals that live in our home, including but not limited to: Milo (our old grey blind deaf clawless cat), Frieda (our rambunctious 9 month old black lab), Lisa, myself, and anything else that moves, or doesn't move, or is covered with fur (including sofas).

Belligerence: aggressiveness, combativeness.

Our old cat, Milo, while not prone to belligerence, can become a warrior of amazing powers when rebellion breaks out in the household.  He is the enforcer of peace and equanimity.

Rebellion: open defiance and opposition to a person or thing of authority.

While Lisa and I currently laugh at Frieda's attempts at rebellion, we are concerned we might be lulled into a sense of complacency by a relatively easy antebellum period prior to her imminent increase in size.

[Bellona was the goddess of war, her husband Mars was the god of war.]

Roots : Vest : Latin : from vestire, "to clothe" or "to dress"

Also, vestis, noun, "clothing or garment"

Divest: 1. to get rid of or free oneself of property, authority, or title. 2. to strip of clothing, ornaments, or equipment.

I was grateful to divest myself completely from real-estate as I saw Arizona real-estate values decline with no abatement in sight (30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%...).  Homes declining 70%, huh?  Is this the stock market?

Investiture: The formal placing of someone in office. Term originally referred to the new clothing placed upon someone taking office symbolizing power.  Picture kings, popes, bishops, etc.

Transvestite: a person who wears the clothing and adopts the mannerisms of the opposite sex.

Begins with the prefix "trans," meaning "cross",  thus in Latin transvestite is literally "cross dresser".

Travesty: 1. an inferior or distorted imitation.  2. a broadly comic imitation in drama, literature, or art that is grotesque and ridiculous.

Like transvestite, however less specific, it means "to disguise" in Latin.  The Daily Show by John Stuart specializes in Political Travesty.  I occasionally hear people use tragedy and travesty interchangeably- for the record, travesty does not mean tragedy and tragedy does not mean travesty.  9/11 was not a travesty- the guy caught on an airplane years after this event with a bomb in his underwear was a travesty.