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January 05, 2005
because knowledge is power
2 words + 2 questions
• Thaumaturgy:
The performance of miracles; magic.
Of all the words in English that refer to the making of magic, this is perhaps the most resonant. It doesn’t have the negative associations of words such as sorcery or necromancy because it referred originally to the production of wonders for positive ends rather than any intent to cause someone harm. The origin is the Greek word thaumatourgos, miracle working (from thauma, marvel, plus ergos, work). Though it’s not that common a word, it seems to have generated a surprisingly large set of derivatives since it first appeared in English in 1727.
• Hapax legomenon: [via kottke.org's remaindered links]
NOUN:
Inflected forms: pl. ha·pax le·go·me·na (-n)
A word or form that occurs only once in the recorded corpus of a given language.
ETYMOLOGY:
Greek : hapax, once + legomenon, neuter sing. passive participle of legein, to count, say.
• “What is 'production' in music?”:
RJD2 is a producer. El-P is a producer. They “produce” “beats” for artists.
I think what is confusing people about your question is the “muddy” sound part of it. To this I believe the context of the blurb is referring to the character/personality of the “Producer”'s output. El-P, for example, is well known for sampling at 22kHz which gives his “productions” a very “muddy” quality that actually works to define the aesthetic of an El-P “production”.
• “What struck you the most about Watchmen?”:
What struck me most was the multiple levels of interweaving - and how they were using every bit of power at hand to further the story - visual iconography repeated at different levels, multiple storylines weaved together, Powerful characters you could identify with, a troubling world they have to deal with, a plausible storyline (within their world). Calling deeply on historical, poetic and pop-culture themes, without showing their hand. Just really well-done. And I agree that there's really nothing else in the same league. I think I'll have to re-read it now.
• Bonus question! “What sort of drink should I order at a bar and what does it say about me?”
Posted by Jon Rubin at January 5, 2005 05:39 PM