The Word Nerd Sez: N is for ...

nekton

It's taken me a while to get back to my Word Nerd feature. Frankly, I wasn't inspired by the letter "N." It seemed like most N words started with prefixes: neo-, neuro-, not to mention non-. Nertz*, I thought. All these N words are namby-pamby.** So I did what I usually do when I'm stuck for a word: I started browsing the dictionary.

First thing that struck me: there are only 28 pages under the letter N, and two of those are devoted to tables. That's not very many pages; even O has more (at 31), and it doesn't even approach M (75) or the monster S section (168). But I saw some promising candidates: nectary, which is the part of a plant which produces nectar (who knew it had a name?); and negatron, which we know better as the electron and which would have given me time to expound on science and names and things.

But then I saw this word nekton. First of all, it looks cool, with that k in the middle of the word, naked without an accompanying c. (Very Greek, which is its origin ... unlike naked, which is from Middle English.) And the definition: "Free swimming aquatic animals (as in whales or squid) essentially independent of wave and current action." I didn't even know there was a word for that. Actually there are several words to classify aquatic life by their methods of locomotion (or lack thereof). There's one we've all heard of, plankton, which are those life forms that drift within the water. There's also neuston, which are those life forms that float or move on top of the water (water striders, flying fish), and benthos, those that live on the seabed, at the bottom of the ocean (bivalves, coral, anemones).

So again I read the dictionary and learn something new; not just about words, but about scientific classification. And I just know I'm going to have to use benthos in a book sometime, when I get to the Atlantis analogue I've got tucked away for future use. Nifty!

*derived from nuts!
**An eponym taken from the nickname of an 18th-century English poet.

Kitten puddle!

Yes, it is possible to cuddle half a dozen kittens at once. All it requires is flexibility and no dignity.

Janespotting: Sense and Sensibility (1995 film)

I'm going to wrap up my survey of works inspired by Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility with the 1995 starring Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, and just about everybody who's anybody in British film. (As a fun aside, check out the number of actors common to this film and the Harry Potter films ... at least six, by my count.) In addition to starring as Elinor, Emma Thompson also wrote the screenplay, winning an Oscar and Golden Globe, among other awards, for her work. The film was nominated for the Best Picture Oscar (losing to Braveheart, really?), won the Golden Globe for best drama (take that, Mel!), and was generally beloved by critics and Austen devotees. I didn't really count myself as a devotee at the time, but the film set off a desire to seek out more of Austen's work, and I date my mini-obsession with Austen to seeing the film.

I think the film works even if you aren't a fan of Austen, or even period drama. Thompson cuts to the essentials, and they are very clear: the Dashwood women are left with little money and are dependent on others for a comfortable lifestyle. It would be nice if marriage could be for love, but it's not always possible. Thompson cuts out characters who don't reinforce this basic situation—the child-obsessed Lady Middleton and beau-obsessed Anne Steele, for instance—and we don't really miss them. She brings Austen's wit to the fore, and we see Fanny Dashwood's cheapness and social climbing. Best of all, she develops the dry wit of both Elinor and Edward; it makes them more interesting characters, and makes their romance really seem like a meeting of minds. When reserved Elinor can't control her emotions at the denouement ... well, I can't help but watching that scene a couple times over.

Although Elinor and Edward's romance provides the final conclusion, and that of Marianne and Willoughby supplies the passion and drama, the romantic hero of the film, at least in my eyes, is Colonel Brandon. That's entirely the fault of Alan Rickman, who could read the phone book and hold me transfixed. His Colonel Brandon is tender, agonized, resigned, hopeful—all with a few looks, some softly spoken words, and a shy smile when he is finally rewarded with true love. Every time Rickman is on screen I can't help but want more Brandon in the story.*

So overall, I have to consider this version of Sense and Sensibility to be one of the finest adaptations of Austen's work, as I think it actually improves some aspects of the original. Is it the best? Well, it's hard to argue against the faithfulness and completeness of the Pride & Prejudice miniseries ... so maybe it's the best film adaptation ever. I will have to reserve judgement on that, however, until I revisit the excellent film version of Persuasion.... And that will have to wait until later this year. This will be the last Janespotting entry for a while; I'm devoting my summer to my remedial lit project. Coming not too far in the future, I hope, will be a review of Dante's Inferno.

*It makes me really anticipate Rickman's work in the final Harry Potter films, to see him show Snape's tragic history. I also should get a copy of the 1990 supernatural romance Truly, Madly, Deeply, in which Rickman has a wonderful leading man role, as well as an unfortunate mustache; if you haven't seen it, you should.

Photo of the Week--6/8/09

This is one of my favorite photos that I've taken; it dates to February 2006, when we took a week-long trip out to Utah and Arizona. I snapped this vista during a walk through the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon. There's something to be said for going during the off-season, with fewer tourists to compete with and a little snow to brighten up the landscape and contrast with the oranges of the canyon. I had this as my wallpaper for at least a couple of years, until I replaced it with a shot from Antarctica, but I might go back to it if I get tired of cool blues and greens.

Still more random thoughts....

... I'm really glad I've been practicing my kimo (straddle) stance in TKD, otherwise my thighs would be screaming after picking berries for over two hours yesterday.

... speaking of berry picking, the rain held off long enough for me to finish picking, but not long enough to haul over 20 quarts of berries to the car. So much for "scattered showers": we got over 3/4 of an inch of rain yesterday, as it poured constantly for several hours.

... other television failures: why do morning TV hosts think this is a good interviewing style:

Host: So you were fishing in shallow waters when a tiger shark came up and latched onto you. You fought back, but it wouldn't let go.

Man: ... That's right. I tried punching it, poking it in the eye, but it wouldn't let go.

Host: So were you thinking, "Hey, I might not survive this"?

Man: Sure.

Host: But eventually you got free.

Man: Yes. I pried his mouth open and worked my arm free.

Host (to wife): Now you look over and see your husband struggling with a shark, and you steer the boat over to his side. He's bleeding profusely, but you manage to wrestle him back into the boat all by yourself.

Woman: ... Yes.

Host: How were you able to do that? Was it just pure adrenaline?

Woman: I think so. I knew I had to get him back to shore, so I just pulled him into the boat.

This style is used all the time, and explains why everyday people sound so tongue-tied on television: it's because the interviewers want to tell all the interesting bits, and rarely ask questions unless they're of the yes-or-no variety. I just thought I'd point that out, in case you're ever tempted to do a live TV interview.

Making up for lost time....

It's true what they say about your tastes changing as you get older—not just your preferences, but your actual sense of taste. I was a bit of a picky eater when I was a kid*, and even into my twenties I had a long list of fruits and veggies I didn't really care for. A few of those foods I now really enjoy, like spinach (raw), tomatoes, blueberries, honeydew melon, and onion (although I can't eat it raw). My biggest conversion, though, has been into an eater of strawberries.

When I was growing up, my folks kept a strawberry patch along with the huge garden on their property. There were many nights when we had strawberry shortcake for dinner: a tasty shortcake, warm from the oven, covered with crushed strawberries that had been lightly sweetened. I'd eat the shortcake happily, but avoided the strawberries, unless I could get some pulpless juice to put on one corner. I wasn't wild about the taste of strawberries, but I especially disliked the texture and would pick off any threads of berries that got caught on my shortcake.

Well, things are a bit different now. I learned to appreciate strawberries the way I learned to enjoy several other fruits: mixed in a fruit salad, or even dipped in chocolate. A few years ago we stayed at this wonderful B&B in Arizona and they served a delicious breakfast dish that was berries, yogurt, and granola. I liked it so much I started making it at home. I found other uses for strawberries, like making a tasty dessert with angel food cake, yogurt, whipped cream, and berries. When they got a little mushy, I'd freeze them and use them in smoothies. Take a can of fruit (peaches, pineapple, even pears), a big handful of frozen strawberries, and a little fruit juice, and you can blend up a tasty tasty extra big serving of fruit. (I'm not sure where rum falls on the food pyramid, but sometimes I add a little of that to the smoothie as well.)

So when my mom asked me to pick her strawberry patch while my folks were out of town, I said sure. Here's my share of today's haul, which I split with my cousin. I've got maybe 9 or 10 quarts of strawberries, and I'm going to have some with honeydew for my afternoon snack, berries and yogurt for breakfast, a few quarts to contribute to my TKD team ice cream social tomorrow, and some to freeze. In any case, I've still got quite a few more strawberries to eat to make up for the first 35 or so years of my life, when I didn't eat my share.

*My mom might take issue with the "a bit of" qualifier, but I was never as bad as some kids I've met who wouldn't eat macaroni and cheese because the pasta was the "wrong shape." I just knew what I didn't like, and that list included quite a few things.

Janespotting: Suspense and Sensibility by Carrie Bebris

This is the second in the "Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mysteries," a series that features the protagonists of Pride and Prejudice as they encounter various mysterious circumstances after their wedding. The first volume, Pride & Prescience, involved the Darcys solving the strange behavior of Caroline Bingley after her engagement to a mysterious American. I thought it was a pretty fun read, although I wasn't thrilled with the paranormal angle to the story. It was fun to see the Darcys as a married couple, loving towards each other yet still bantering back and forth.

In the second volume, Suspense and Sensibility, the Darcys encounter various characters from Austen's Sense and Sensibility. Since that novel was set 15 years before P&P, the character we first encounter is Mr. Henry Dashwood, the now-grown son of John and Fanny Dashwood and nephew of the three Dashwood sisters. He appears as an adult during the social season in London; there he meets the Darcys, who have brought Elizabeth's sister Kitty there to expand her horizons (and perhaps find a husband). Henry seems a little shallow at first, interested in little other than entertainment, but seems to become more serious after meeting Kitty and the Darcys. Mr. Darcy takes him under his wing, and by the time Henry proposes to Kitty, the young man seems eager to take up his responsibilities as a landowner and gentleman.

Of course, that's when things get complicated: Henry's behavior starts to change, as he drinks, gambles, and carries on in a scandalous manner reminiscent of his infamous ancestor, Sir Francis Dashwood. (Francis Dashwood was a real person associated with the Hellfire Club in the mid-18th century; while we lived in London, we actually visited the caves where Dashwood and his compatriots supposedly indulged in Satanic rituals—actually, probably just drinking.) Henry's actions force Kitty to break off the engagement, and he quickly descends into debauchery, going so far as to re-establish the Hellfire Club. Elizabeth, of course, suspects something strange behind the sudden change, and with Darcy's help manages to free him from the influence of a sinister mirror.

Now, I'm not giving anything away by telling you the problem is a sinister mirror, since we see Sir Francis and the mirror in the prologue to the novel, and that's the big problem with this mystery. It's really no mystery; we know from the beginning what is causing the problem, and so we're just waiting (and waiting) for Mr. & Mrs. Darcy to catch up. This giveaway isn't a fatal flaw; we still get to enjoy the interactions of Elizabeth and Darcy, plus we get to see them meet Elinor and Edward, still loving and practical, as well as the still-annoying Lucy Steele Ferrars.

So as a chance to revisit some of Austen's characters, this is a diverting enough book; as a mystery, not so much. I'll be interested to see where the author takes the Darcys when they visit the less well-known Austen works.