Searching for salvation in the dictionary! 0:-)

metal56 · Post by **metal56** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 12:36 am

I like this, it reminds me of me:

The dictionary tormented Jones, for it offered the certainty of semantic conceptions and grammatical clarity he sought, yet in his current predicament he could not believe such a tool possible. In a language of infinite propositions, this was a map of enumerations; in a world of infinite language games, here were basic rules. Clearly the dictionary is either a proof of God’s existence or its refutation. Jones desired to believe in the dictionary; he saw salvation from his confusion inside its orderly pages, he wished to take refuge inside its definite explications and reassuring passages on the proper placement and punctuation of expletives, e.g. f*ck! f*ck? f*ck.

http://www.blackwoodpress.com/dub_volumeVI_numberII

lolwhites · Post by **lolwhites** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 3:27 pm

Re - the title of your thread.

I think you'll find it under S...

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 5:42 pm

I thought you'd posted a snippet from a Lovecraftian pastiche there, metal (Blackwood Press > Algernon Blackwood > The Insanity of Jones (not that I've read it) > stories of foolish academics who dig too deep and are driven mad by reading ancient, arcane books on the occult > the mind-shattering horror of the Cthulhu Mythos)...and maybe you have?

"But then, with mounting horror, my eyes fell upon the name 'Derrida' in the unexpurgated text, and I knew that a fate far worse than Cthulhu himself could inflict awaited the fragile minds of mankind..."

http://www.arkhamhouse.com/
http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/language ... 00024.html
http://www.chaosium.com/index.php?section_id=13

metal56 · Post by **metal56** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 5:54 pm

fluffyhamster wrote:I thought you'd posted a snippet from a Lovecraftian pastiche there, metal (Blackwood Press > Algernon Blackwood > The Insanity of Jones (not that I've read it) > stories of foolish academics who dig too deep and are driven mad by reading ancient, arcane books on the occult > the mind-shattering horror of the Cthulhu Mythos)...and maybe you have?

"But then, with mounting horror, my eyes fell upon the name 'Derrida' in the unexpurgated text, and I knew that a fate far worse than Cthulhu himself could inflict awaited the fragile minds of mankind..."

:lol

:

Derrida! Derrida! Derrida! Derrida! Derrida! Derrida! Derrida! Derrida!
Derrida! Derrida! Derrida! Derrida! Derrida! Derrida! Derrida! Derrida!

metal56 · Post by **metal56** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 5:56 pm

lolwhites wrote:Re - the title of your thread.

I think you'll find it under S...

2 : liberation from ignorance or illusion

Too late for meeee!!!

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Fri Nov 26, 2004 10:32 pm

Talking of Lovecraft, I believe that is the name of a certain shop in the - ahem - dodgy bit of Soho in central London.

Which brings me (yup, dontcha know it, we're playing the mental associations game "Psychologist's couch" here!) to a conversation I once had with Japanese high school teacher of English:

Him: Where are you from, Mr Fluffyhamster?
Me: I was born and bred in London.
Him: Ah, London!
Me: Oh, you've been?
Him: Yes. I remember Soho! Many seedy shops there!
Me: Yes indeed!

(I do my "Nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more!" Eric Idle impersonation, cackling evilly; puzzled/worried look from Japanese teacher)

Me: Oh, you mean CD shops! Um, yes, there are many! (I thought from the way you'd pronounced it you had meant 'seedy').

I can't remember if I told him the meaning of "seedy" (and thus the reason for my misunderstanding) - probably not i.e. I hope I didn't, that might've embarrassed him (but not me)!

The writer within me demanded I make a few changes to my Lovecraft pastiche passage - see if you can spot them:

"But then, with mounting horror, my eyes fell upon the name 'Derrida' in the unexpurgated text, and I knew finally that a fate far worse than anything even Cthulhu himself could ever have inflicted now awaited the fragile minds of mankind..."

Better?

Hmm, still, "awaited", should it be used like that?

Maybe I should stick to TEFL rather than (re)writing (bad!) pulp fiction.

fluffyhamster · Post by **fluffyhamster** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 10:15 pm

More Cthulhu Mythos-inspired silliness/fun:
http://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=1484