WOW 3 - parsimonious

Word of the week

parsimonious

WOW 2 - verbose

Word of the week 

verbose

Word Origin - Chronology

Chronology is the arrangement of facts and events in the order of time.
The word 'chronology' is made from two Greek words.
'chrono' meaning time and 'logos' meaning word, logic, discourse or reasoning 


A chronological list of events is a list of events arranged according to the time that they occurred.
Chronology of key events in India from 1858 to 2013

A chronograph is a watch that also includes a stopwatch. It displays different counters or mechanisms for measuring elapsed time. Counters can register seconds, minutes and hours. This gives its owner the ability to time anything he wants.

Omega Speedmaster Professional - also called Moonwatch

On April 15, 1970, a hand-wound mechanical wristwatch saved three astronauts hurtling through space in their crippled craft. The wristwatch, a chronograph, was of a design that was unchanged since the mid-1950s. Despite this, or perhaps because of this, it performed where millions of dollars worth of machinery and computers had failed. Used to time a critical engine burn to align the Apollo 13 capsule for Earth re-entry, the chronograph, an Omega Speedmaster Professional, confirmed its place as perhaps the most useful of watch complications. 

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A vintage Rolex chronometer

A chronometer is a timepiece designed to keep time with great accuracy. It has a high grade movement which has been finely adjusted at the factory and its performance tested under different temperatures, different positions, and even under water.
A chronometer is almost always accredited and certified by either the watch manufacturer or by the Swiss based standards laboratory, COSC (Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres). Rolex is probably the world's most well known chronometer certified watch.


Mythological origin

Chronos was considered to be the personification of time in early philosophical works. Chronos was represented as a winged serpent with additional heads of a bull and a lion, and between them the face of a god.  

 

 His consort is the serpentine Ananke (Inevitability). Together they are said to have circled the world in their coils and split it apart to form the ordered universe of earth, sea and sky. Chronos was depicted in Greco-Roman mosaics as a man turning the Zodiac Wheel. Often the figure is named Aeon (Eternal Time), a common alternate name for the god.
 

Aion, the god of time, stands turning the wheel of heaven inscribed with the signs of the zodiac.  Beneath him reclines Gaia (Mother Earth) attended by the four Karpoi (Fruits) of the seasons - from left to right: Eiar (Spring), Theron (Summer), Phthinoporon (Autumn) and Kheimon (Winter).

Details of Father Time portrayed in the Rotunda clock in the Library of Congress, Washington DC

In astronomy, the planet we now call Saturn was called Khronos by the Greeks. Given that Saturn had the longest observable repeatable period in the sky, which is currently around 30 years, it was thought to be the keeper of time, or Father Time, since no other objects had been seen or recorded to have a longer period. 

Chronos was usually portrayed as an old, wise man with a long, gray beard, such as "Father Time." That is why it is often depicted as an elderly man with a long gray beard. He is commonly shown dressed in a robe, holding a scythe and an hourglass or other timekeeping device. 

You can view The Rotunda Clock by John Flanagan. in the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C.

It is beautiful and full of details (description here).  

The hands are two intertwining serpents in enameled copper. The seated figure to the left is a student reading; to the right, a student writing. 

 

NOTE: The Greek God of Time, Chronos, is not to be confused with the Greek Titan God, Chronus - also known as the father of Zeus. There seems to be considerable confusion here - it definitely left me confused while I was looking up information for this post. Mythology, being what it is, it is not easy to separate the different myths from Egyptian, Greek and Roman times.

Stone Soup - An old folk tale

The story was told in the 1947 children's book, Stone Soup, by Marcia Brown, which featured soldiers tricking miserly villages into cooking them a feast. The book won a Caldecott Medal in 1947.

The book is based on the old French tale about soldiers who trick miserly villagers into making them a feast.

The folktale was first retold by Ann McGovern in 1968. This is the version we read in class. 

Ann McGovern on why she wrote Stone Soup

Showcase - "verbose" - Akshay

Today in the assembly our headmistress gave a lecture on discipline. She said that we have to walk in line, stand only on the left side of the corridor. She even told us why we have to walk on the left side. We were bored while the head mistress was explaining every word in detail. After we went back to class, a group of kids from my grade started a rumor that the head mistress was verbose because she wanted to skip a meeting.

How many of you identify with what Akshay has written about? 
After reading this, did you have a smile on your face? That smile is not just because of the humor Akshay has injected at the end but also because this situation is probably very familiar to many of you. Or could it be that maybe it was you that 'started this rumor' at some point in time? :)
Akshay has made a connection with the reading audience in this piece.
The meaning of the word 'verbose' is definitely clear and it ends with a bang. 
Good writing, Akshay!

Showcase - "lugubrious" - Aadya

Aadya explains the meaning of the word "lugubrious" beautifully in just seven sentences. 

Notice the sensory details that she uses to connect with the reader. We will be learning more about this when we discuss details in writing. 

 Well done, Aadya!

It was a misty night. All the villagers were lugubrious because their king had died. They roamed around in the streets wearing black. Wolves howled in the distance. Clouds covered the moon keeping the night dark. All the women wept as the coffin was carefully buried. The villagers then said a silent prayer.

Showcase - Flat to Sparkling - I was hiding.....

This piece written by Anumita Shringi. 

What makes it go from flat to sparkling? Good use of adjectives, similes, metaphors.
Are you able to connect with the emotions in the story? She has used words to heighten the experience for the reader and make the reader feel what the character is feeling.

Keep it up, Anumita!

FLAT :

I was hiding in the bathroom. It was uncomfortable. But I couldn't come out, because HE was looking for me. Suddenly, I heard his footsteps!                        

Sparkling:

I have never been and would never ever like to be in such an uncomfortable, horrific situation.  I was hiding in the dark and dingy public bathroom. The floor was wet, the toilet was stinking, and the tap was running. On top of that, there were scary caterpillars and cockroaches. And as if that was not all, there were spiders with the webs reaching almost till my head. However, I had no other choice but to stay in this miserable place to save my life. A dangerous most wanted criminal was looking for me. I was investigating a case of kidnapping. While trying to overhear a conversation of the gang something happened and made them look towards me.  I ran for my life and luckily found this place to hide in which was not so visible. I could hear the footsteps of those people moving around here and there, searching for me. My heart was pumping so loudly that I felt that they could hear it. Suddenly I heard footsteps, steadily approaching in my direction and stopping just outside the bathroom. My heart beat stopped - I was trembling and felt darkness engulfing me! But then I heard those footsteps heading away.  Sigh! I felt relieved and thanked god.