You know you’re sleep deprived when you finally do get to sleep and you dream of sleeping.
This is how I feel today.
Doctor red tape is making my week hell today. Went for my blood draw on Monday as I was TOLD by the doc’s nurse to do, went, and then was told I couldn’t get my blood drawn until my freaking appointment on the 23rd. Which means, no drug refills. Which means no drugs.
Bastards.
Duane Eddy is god. Thanks to Brother Jack for introducing his music to me.
Your strange, made up, Word of the Day: Warpipulas. Please feel free to make up your own definition.
Thank you. That will be all for today.
Tags: duane eddy, ghost riders in the sky, God, music
Pat – that’s a great definition for Warpipulas. I love it!
Warpipulas are part of this:
CHTHONIC/?k??n?k/ — Concerning, belonging to, or inhabiting the underworld.
The biggest problem with this word, once you’ve worked out how to spell it, is how to say it. American dictionaries suggest that the initial ch should be silent, while most British ones say that it should be said as k, reflecting the Greek source, khthon, earth. No such ambiguity exists with another word from the same source, autochthon, the original inhabitants of any country, those who seem to have sprung from the soil; here the ch is said as k.
The classic Greek word referred not to the surface of the ground, which would be gaia, but to what lies underneath. Both gaia and khthon were associated with the supernatural beings that dwelled in these domains, Gaia being the personification of the Earth and the original mother of all beings, while the deities of chthonic realms were Pluto and Persephone.
The English word is comparatively new, from the late nineteenth century. It has flowered as a favourite term of SF and fantasy writers. “Like the rumble of a live volcano it came,” wrote Piers Anthony in his 1985 collection of short stories, Anthonology, “throbbing up from the fundament, pressuring chthonic valves, gathering into an irresistible swell.” One of Charles Stross’s characters was heavily sarcastic with its help in The Jennifer Morgue:
“Really?” asks the woman. “Are you sure it’s all over?” Billington glances at her. “Pretty much, apart from a few little details — mass human sacrifices, invocations of chthonic demigods, Richter-ten earthquakes, harrowing of the Deep Ones, rains of meteors, and the creation of a thousand-year world empire, that sort of thing. Trivial, really.”
The Deep Ones, by the way, are frog-like creatures from the imagined world of H P Lovecroft that’s usually referred to as the Cthulhu Mythos. It’s said that Lovecraft took the name of Cthulhu, his enormous alien god creature, from khthon. Certainly, Lovecraft did a lot to popularise chthonic and it’s through his influence that it remains so popular in SF.
World Wide Words is copyright © Michael Quinion, 1996–2008.( Retrieved here today for entertainment purpose: http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-cht1.htm )
Bev – one way or another, it’ll work out. And, dontcha just love those late night eureka moments? :)
Jan – eek! no death, please!
It seems like one out of every three of my medical encounters has some sort of mix up. I guess I should be grateful though because none of them have caused my death. So far.
Hi Jayne. I’m sorry to hear about the medical mix-up. I totally know how aggravating all that can be especially dealing with the way the Army’s medical program works. I do hope it gets all straightened out for you and that you get your refills soonest.
I remember Duane Eddy but I honestly don’t remember from where. I do love Ghost Rider’s In The Sky though. My dad was a huge Johnny Cash fan so it got played quite a bit. I think I’m remembering it from a TV show or movie as well but for the life of me I can’t remember which one. I’ll probably have one of those “eureka” moments later tonight while I’m sleeping. ;)