for the love of words.

cel•e•brate |ˈseləˌbrāt|
verb [ trans. ]1 mark a significant or happy day or event.• [ intrans. ] do something enjoyable to mark such an occasion : she celebrated with a glass of champagne.• reach (a birthday or anniversary).2  honor or praise publicly : a film celebrating the actor's career | [as adj. ] (cel•e•bra•ted) a celebrated mathematician.DERIVATIVEScel•e•bra•tor |-ˌbrātər| nouncel•e•bra•to•ry |səˈlebrəˌtôrē; ˈseləbrə-|adjectiveORIGIN late Middle English (sense 2) : from Latin celebrat- ‘celebrated,’ from the verbcelebrare, from celeber, celebr- ‘frequented or honored.’

...so. here i am, breaking the cardinal rule of blogging, and putting up another post on one day. why, you ask, would i dare to do such a thing? well... simply, for the love of words.see, i just discovered that today - October 16th - is NATIONAL DICTIONARY DAY in the USA. 

NATIONAL DICTIONARY DAY, guys! how amazing is that?! as an avid reader, i've always been a wordie; i'm crazy about discovering new words, their meanings and their origins. when i was in school, i'd often flip open the dictionary and start reading random definitions; heck, i still do that! so i couldn't pass up the opportunity to celebrate National Dictionary Day, albeit in the small little way that i can.and what is that, you might wonder? well, i'm going to introduce you to some pretty amazing words that i'll bet you never knew existed ;) Karen To, a graphic designer, started a project called The Dead Words in 2010, where she illustrates words that were once used in everyday English and are now uncommon, often no longer found in dictionaries and basically on the point of extinction.so how about...

Coquinate (koh-kee-nit) v.1656-1658, to behave as a cook

Example: Martha may seem to be able to coquinate, but her actions are highly scripted..

Lettering by Rebecca Duff-Smith

Findible (fahyn-dee-buhl) adj.1656-1790, able to be cleft or split

Example: This pie is perfectly findible, if we can agree to some simple rules for cutting it.

Lettering by Abbe Sublett

Famelicose ( fuh-Mel-i-kohs), adj. 1730-1775; often or very hungry.

Lettering by Karen To (this, by the way, is the STORY OF MY LIFE.)

Gaudiloquent (goh-DIL-uh-kwuhnt), adj. 1656-1727; speaking joyfully or on joyful matters

Lettering by Karen To

Stigmatypy(stig-mat-tahy-pee) n.1852-1852, printing portraits using dots of different sizes

Example: The use of stigmatypy takes enormous effort, but provides little artistic benefit.

 Lettering by Karen To

Sinapistic(sin-uh-piz-tik) adj.1879-1879, consisting of mustard

Example: The chef’s sinapistic sauces delighted connoisseurs of French cuisine.

Lettering by Hilka Riba

Oporopolist (oh-pawr-po-.list )n. 1671 -1725; A fruit-seller.

Lettering by Karen To

Yex (yesk) n. 700-1828; a hiccup or the hiccups.

Lettering by Karen To

Vicambulate(vi-kam-bul-eyt) v.1873-1873, to walk about in the streets

Example: Would you care to vicambulate with me on this fine evening, my dear?

Lettering by Anne Ulku

Quod (kwad), n. 1690-1700; Prison, the state of imprisonment, Also prison.

Lettering by Karen To

Jussulent (jus-soo-lent) adj.1656-1658, full of broth or soup

Example: The bubbling of the jussulent cauldron and the crackling of the campfire soothed her.

Lettering by Chris Mizen

pretty awesome, huh? :D now it's time for me to get some sleep, but HAPPY DICTIONARY DAY and don't forget to learn some new words!

more about meme

this is just a photo of my face with a heart on it. 

because love is important.

and now for a blog meme!

What is the best ice cream flavor?

chocolate chip cookie dough. but i lo-o-ove Magnum as well - their Death By Chocolate ice cream rules my life, and i still rue the day that their limited edition Mayan Mystica ice cream disappeared, because it was heaven. (on that note, if anyone wants to bring out a chocolate ice cream blended with cinnamon, nutmeg and honey again, i promise to love you forever.)

Where is your dad?

he's at home, in Lil' Hometown. while i'm here, in Lil' Varsity Hometown. i miss him!

What is your favorite candy?

Jelly Belly jelly beans. they. rule. the. world.

What is the last thing you had to drink? 

water. how boring.

What was the last sporting event you watched?

Baseball! Giants vs Cardinals! this morning, at 2AM! i'm pretty tired, yo.

Ever go camping?

ye-e-e-es. all the time. in the game reserve. not the highlight of my life ;)

Do you take vitamins daily?

nope. i should, but i don't. 

What color is your vehicle?

what vehicle?

What color is your toothbrush?

YELLOW!

How do you like your popcorn?

lightly salted works for me :)

How did you get your worst scar?

i fell on Valentine's Day while running after my sister at school when i was 9. 

Look to your left. What do you see?

mah friend Jaime! (we're sitting in a meeting. and i'm writing a blog post. naughty naughty.)

Have you bought any new clothes this week?

nopers.

Have you met anyone famous?

ehm. i guess not, since i can't think of any :/

What are you doing tomorrow?

school, basically. 

What do you think of when you think of Australia?

ALEXANDER! obviously. everyone should think of Alexander.

Do you use chap stick?

yes - Softlips for the win!

When was the last time you ran?

heh. i don't run. i power walk like a winner though, and i did that today... does it count?

Do you have a dog?

nah. i wish. just a cat of amazingness!

What are you wearing right now?

glasses, grey "I Heart She & Him" tee, blue jeans, brown sweater, black All Stars. all thoroughly soaked by the rain that is currently drenching campus. it's fantastic :P

What color is your watch?

don't have a watch. derp.

How many states have you lived in?

we have nine provinces in South Africa... and i've lived in two of 'em :)

Do you dye your hair?

not in the slightest! i dyed a bit of it blue once though, just for kicks... it was brilliant.

Do you like cats?

what a silly question. i invite you to look around my blog and get back to me if the answer to this question remains unclear to you. srsly.

and finally, here are some inspiring words:

k, that's all.

♥

caturday: s01e02

hiiii there!

so this is how it's going to go. i'm going to say,

"GUESS WHAT??!"

and your response is going to be, 

(yes, you will make that facial expression, too.)

and then i will reply,

i will make this facial expression as well... yep - AWESOME.

so, what will the basis of this week's Caturday post be? hmmm. well, i watched a ton of series episodes this week. so much proud! but i couldn't find any photos of kitties watching series. and let's face it, i didn't really try that hard to find said picture, because watching series episodes should never be the highlight of ANYONE's life. (seriously, Hannah.) so i limited myself to modelling the blog post name itself after series titles (oooh look at what i did there!) and for an actual image, i decided to go with this honey:

look at his cute little anxious face! that is how my soul is looking now. if my soul has an appearance, you know. and my soul's appearance (or non-appearance) is looking all anxious because it is soooo soon before us Journo 2 kiddies find out which specialisations we've been allocated into for next year! and i might be harping on about it, but this is a big deal for me. a really big deal. PLEASE LOVE ME, JOURN DEPARTMENT, AND GIVE ME DESIGN. kthxbaai.

and then, because i couldn't (and probably never will be able to) stop at just ONE image... i have to share just ONE more with y'all. 

now, this TOTALLY relates to my life, especially yesterday, but it requires a little explaining before you can see it. (if you've looked already, you're a silly spoiler... ha!) one of my non-continuing courses is called Modern Fiction, and in it we study a whole bunch of (for the most part) really cool texts which have been translated from various languages into English. i love most of the books themselves, but sometimes the lectures on them go right over my head. particularly when they're postmodern novels. wheeeeeeee! (that was the sound of them going over my head, in case you were wondering.) 

we've just started a new book, which is - you guessed it - postmodernist! and what is one of the main themes of postmodernism, friends? why, metatextuality, of course. to quote our beloved present lecturer directly, metatextuality means that "the text refers to itself and to its own processes." that definition comes straight out of my notes, by the way. whoo, guys - METATEXTUALITY! texts within texts! auto-referential-ness! so i have something here for all you postmodernists and Modern Fiction boffins. may i present to you... 

THE METACAT!

aaaaah tis a cat within a cat! tis auto-referential! postmodernism eat your heart out!

...and now i'll stop being sarcastic and say ADIOS, AMIGOS, have a delightful rest of your Caturday and i'll see you all soon :)

picture perfect

the time has come for me to live up to my promises and tell y'all about Picture Pot! :)

like i explained in the last post where i spoke about this, Picture Pot is an annual event run by one of the community engagement societies here at Rhodes. Masincedane, the society in question, is made up of this incredible group of young people who help run a soup kitchen in the 'township' just outside of our town. they do a CRAZY amount of good work, and on top of this, they come up with the most inspiring, artistic and smart ideas for fundraising events! 

one of their recurring events is called Singing For Soup and is fairly self-explanatory - the society's committee members rally together a whole bunch of local musicians, mostly made up of students (and trust me, there's no shortage on the musicians side among the Rhodent population) who play on an evening where soup is sold and all proceeds go to the furthering of the kitchen. doesn't that sound epic? :)

the second main event which they hold every year is the one i want to talk about - PICTURE POT. the basic idea behind this fundraiser is to gather artwork created and donated by Rhodents - be it paintings, sketchings, photography, collages, sculptures, pottery, even baked goods - and display all of this fantastic art on an evening - sort-of like a shnazzy art gallery opening! at the door, you pay an entrance fee and this fee entitles you to ANY ONE of the pieces of artwork on exhibition, provided it hasn't been claimed by someone before you. amazing, right? 

here's the beautiful illustration i walked away with last year:

and now, onto THIS YEAR!

the trick is to show up early if you want the cream of the crop, because it's incredible how fast pieces go. it's also sometimes in your best interest to act on impulse and claim an illustration that grabs you rather than looking through the whole exhibition and returning to something you liked... because chances are, by the time you get back to it... it'll be sold! ha :)

Sindi and i met up and Picture-Potted together; i was tasked with taking a few photos at the event by the student newspaper i work for, so i surreptitiously tried to get shots of artwork that i really liked but that had already been claimed - like the little "If-You-Give-A-Mouse-A-Cookie"-esque muisie in the photo below! how cute is he? :D

there was also quite a range of photography on display, which mesmerised friend Mike... :P

...while Clarkie the Bandmate was bemused by some of the more intriguing art ;)

...seriously, though, the art just went on and on - even under the stairwell of the little house the exhibition was held in!

Sinds and i got there fairly early, so we were among the lucky few to get some REALLY awesome artwork! funnily enough, each of us got an illustration by the same girl - my incredibly beautiful friend Emma :) Sindi's favourite of the three illustrations Emma submitted had already been claimed by the time we got to it (you can see it in the first image i've posted of this year's event - it's the illustration of a girl in a colourful skirt with the words, "there are still ROADS in my shoes" written in), but the one she claimed is just as awesome! observe:

so great and hitRECord-ish :)

and mine... oh, i just adore mine. i'm not even going to talk about it, you should just LOOK at it.

yeah, i love it.

so, that was this year's Picture Pot! i'm so grateful to have experienced it twice now, and to have walked away with such incredible artwork on both occasions! i'm inspired by the creativity and love that goes into this project and all the projects of Masincedane :)

Sirin = ♥

i have Tumblr to thank for another of my new favourite things/people in life. at the beginning of April this year, someone i follow reposted a piece of artwork by the marvellous Sirin Thada. i was immediately drawn to that particular illustration, which i'll post right below this text so you might have a similar experience to my own ;)

see? isn't that great? polar bears hugging with some cool arty design and a witty, yet heartbreaking phrase written in for good measure. i was hooked. so i went along to Sirin's homepage on tumblr and immediately felt like i'd stumbled across a gold mine. 

get the joke? get it? heehehe.

Sirin mixes just the right amount of smart-mouth with a tenderness and realness that i find is so often lacking in what i see around me recently. i can get a true sense of the kind of person she is through her work, and i know she'd be someone i'd get along REALLY well with. take this illustration, for example...

hi, welcome to the story of my life.

this is from her website: “My work is a colorful concoction of everyday observations and embellished eavesdropping, mixed with a dash of pop culture. I am particularly drawn to the basic, boring struggles and emotions we all share. Heartache and silly daydreams, petty jealousies and snarky attitudes, irrational fears and insecurities — these are the things that move me.

I love the challenge of depicting these modern day mini-dramas in a way that is engaging and fun, hopefully sometimes funny, that can resonate with the young and young-at-heart around the world. Of course, there are times when my work is plain old silly. Because that’s just how I roll.

My art is done by hand on paper. I usually start by sketching in pencil, sometimes in ink. Then I color everything in with gouache. I also often use crayons, colored pencils, markers, and collaged bits of tape, to add another dimension to my work. Visually, I am inspired by everything from textiles, to graffiti, to old cartoons.”

oh, and i mean, she draws cats. cats. this one below is Gimli to perfection...

...and i absolutely adore her take on LOLCATS :D

fairly soon after i started following Sirin's work, she started a new project which she named I Stole This From You. its goal? to tell the stories of people from all over the world with precious items that they've stolen, borrowed or have had handed down to them.

participants take a photo of their sentimental item and write up a ±100 word caption to explain why the item is important to them. then Sirin illustrates them and adds in the caption. they turn out beautiful, like these.

i knew immediately when i heard of the launch of this project that i wanted to take part, so i sent through my own story and waited to see if i'd be lucky enough to have Sirin design an artwork in honour of it. and she did! here it is:

in short? i love Sirin; i love her work and her sense of humour. i'm so glad i stumbled across her work and that i got to be a part of her incredible I Stole This From You project.

and now? TO BED! g'night, y'all :)

happy caturday: The Beginning

if you recall a blog post i wrote not too long ago (appropriately named "i love cats"), you'll know that i'm crazy about cats. it is a borderline case of obsession.... i love them a long time.

 

ooooh trippy cats!

i even got into an argument on one of my best friends' facebook walls about it - seeing is believing:

lifetime loneliness? BUDDY, PLEASE.

anyway, i've been thinking i should have a "staple" type post on my blog, something weekly that'll encourage me to blog more regularly and will hopefully also force me to get posts in between the "staple" posts, for variety's sake. and what better than to combine my love of cats with this "staple" post? 

ladies and gentlemen, i present to you... CATURDAY.

every Saturday from now on, i'll be posting a GPOC - a gratuitous picture of cats/a cat. (thanks for the abbreviation, Tumblr.) i know, i know - i didn't coin the phrase and i won't pretend i'm smart enough to have done so. but it's worth utilising for the occasion :) sometimes it'll be themed according to what's going on in my life or a public holiday that i celebrate or whatever; sometimes it'll just be a random picture. either way, it'll be amazing!

so, aside from that TRIPPY DJ CAT and the CUTE KIDDEN above, may i present this week's inaugural GPOC:

a cat with books. because that is awesome, plain and simple.

and then, because i'm going to sleep now so i can wake up at 3:30AM to watch the Giants play the Reds, here's a themed GPOC of GIANTS CATS! (i can already tell i'm going to be terrible at posting just one photo...)

and now, really, that is THE END!

college kids

if you haven't listened to Relient K's "College Kids", you really should. it pretty much sums up how i'm feeling riiiiight now! and by riiiiiight now, i mean at 1:06AM, when i should be sleeping. but am instead designing a newspaper by hand. but am in actual fact avoiding THAT work by re-drawing this Venn diagram and writing this blog post. astounding, isn't it?

anyway, time to stop procrastinating.

♥