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Grandiloquent ... Grandtastic ... Grand Island |
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Written by Jon Rieley-Goddard
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Wednesday, 06 August 2008 19:00 |
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Bombastic tone lurks, ready to redden the face of anyone, like me, who decides to hold forth on language in the tones of an expert.
For example ... .
While posting a fine picture on my daily-post PhotoBlog Buffalonya (q.v.) featuring a noisy heron, that I took at the Environmental Cottage on Grand Island, New York, I hit on the word grandiloquent, which I thought expressed the essential nature of the heron and of the island.
I claimed to have coined the word.
I was proud of my post heading -- Friends that fly: Grandiloquent, noisy.
This morning, while savoring a few pages of Trieste and the Meaning of Nowhere, by Jan Morris (Simon & Schuster 2001), I came upon my word in Morris' prose, describing Trieste:
The private houses of long-dead bankers or shipowners, Gothic, Neo-classic or defiantly eclectic, stand on advantageous corners in glorious grandiloquence.
A quick look in my Webster's II confirmed it.
I had erred on the side of grandiloquence.
I had to edit the heading to remove that I now knew was redundant. Grandiloquent is noisy all on its own.
It would have been better to coin a word in earnest. Say, Grandtastic.
Googling Grantastic yields 1,960 hits.
This morning.
The total may grow, for all I know.
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Last Updated on Friday, 08 August 2008 03:44 |
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Buffalonya coulda been Buffalony |
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Written by Jon Rieley-Goddard
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Tuesday, 05 August 2008 19:00 |
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When I made up the word Buffalonya, I was thinking about the alternate way of pronouncing bologna, or baloney.
Come to think of it, fried baloney sandwich is a staple on cafe menus in this region.
It strikes me that I could have simply stopped at Buffalony, a mash-up of Buffalo and NY, but the result, with a strong, too strong, whiff of baloney, would not have expressed my deep love and slight ambivalence for my adopted city. |
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Last Updated on Tuesday, 12 August 2008 11:01 |
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Written by Jon Rieley-Goddard
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Monday, 04 August 2008 19:00 |
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Stylesheet is one word, or two. The best authorities vary on this question. There are stylesheets for written materials such as books, and there are stylesheets for Web pages at the level of CSS code.
Sometimes stylesheet, sometimes style sheet.
I took my pick. |
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Last Updated on Monday, 11 August 2008 20:59 |
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PhotoBlog feed
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Buffalonya PhotoBlog
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Northern Exposure, No. 24: Under glass
Longfellows, by Hans Godo Frabel, Phipps Conservatory, Pittsburgh, PA, 13June09. Color digital photo, photoshopped in Picasa 3.
©2009 Buffalonya PhotoBlog. All Rights Reserved..
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Northern Exposure, No. 23: Taking panes
Bookstore windows frame East Liberty Presbyterian Church, Pittsburgh, PA, 12June09.
©2009 Buffalonya PhotoBlog. All Rights Reserved..
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Ariel acrobatics
Ariel listens to, and meddles with, the action, The Tempest, Shakespeare in the Park, Delaware Park, Buffalo, New York, 26June09.
©2009 Buffalonya PhotoBlog. All Rights Reserved..
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Waterwings
Parasailing in high wind, Hamburg (New York) Town Park, Lake Erie, 30June09.
©2009 Buffalonya PhotoBlog. All Rights Reserved..
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The Bard’s birds
Hawk and song bird share a high perch overlooking the stage of Shakespeare in the Park, Delaware Park, Buffalo, New York, 26June09.
©2009 Buffalonya PhotoBlog. All Rights Reserved..
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Cottage Kirk, No. 16: Inside voices
Rainy day forces annual Nan Hoffman concert, Music in the Woods, inside. Environmental Cottage, Grand Island, New York, 28June09. Black-and-white version.
©2009 Buffalonya PhotoBlog. All Rights Reserved..
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On Goat Island, No. 28: Falling water
Niagara River above Bridal Veil Falls, Falls of Niagara, Niagara Falls, New York, 22June09.
©2009 Buffalonya PhotoBlog. All Rights Reserved..
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Cottage Kirk, No. 15: Growth indicators
Grasses riot in the woods, Environmental Cottage, Grand Island, New York, 30May09. Black-and-white version.
©2009 Buffalonya PhotoBlog. All Rights Reserved..
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Cloudy but sharp, dramatic
Evening of dramatic clouds, my home, Buffalo, New York, 25June09.
©2009 Buffalonya PhotoBlog. All Rights Reserved..
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Team spirit
Amish farmer talks to balky team while raking hay, Knowlesville, New York, 24June09.
©2009 Buffalonya PhotoBlog. All Rights Reserved..
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