Review of the Book: Homeport

I've finished the book Homeport by Nora Roberts.  It is a typical escape novel which I would give a six out of ten.  It was fast paced, had a couple of plots, and entertaining for an afternoon's read.

Review of the Book: Slow Burn

I guess I just wanted to read a lot this weekend. I've just finished the book Slow Burn by Julie Garwood. It was entertaining and fast paced. A typical Garwood escape novel and if you are a fan, you will like this book too. I would give this a seven out of ten.

Review of the Book: Freakonomics

I just finished reading Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. I have to give this book a ten out of ten. It was interesting, well written, and completely captivating.

Steven D. Levitt is the economist and Stephen J. Dubner is an author and journalist for The New York Times Magazine. Mr. Levitt does not look at the world like most people. For instance, take the chapter in his book "Where Have All the Criminals Gone?" and you will find that legalized abortion is the reason for the drop in crime in the United States (Roe vs. Wade). This is a fascinating conclusion and I have to thank him for coming up with something reasonable because, as we all know, gun control was never the answer however much it has been touted by various government agencies.

In chapter 6, "Perfect Parenting, Part II; or: Would a Roshanda by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet?", he talks about the most common names for children and then divides it up by socioeconomic status such as income and education. Absolutely fascinating! It gives you insight into why certain names are chosen for children. Victoria, Jonathan, and Charles are the three children in my family so after reading the book you will have a good idea of the socioeconomic status of my parents.

I highly suggest visiting the website for the book at http://www.freakonomics.com/. It contains information on the book, the author's blog, and links to their monthly column in The New York Times Magazine.

La Palabra del Día – Sicofante o Sicofanta

Esta palabra tiene una historia muy interesante...

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De La Página del Idioma Español: http://www.elcastellano.org/

En la antigua ciudad griega, la organización del Estado y la formulación del Derecho eran muy diferentes de lo que hoy conocemos. Por ejemplo, no existían los fiscales, de manera que cualquier ciudadano podía acusar a otro ante la asamblea del pueblo, la Eklesía (que dio origen a la palabra ‘iglesia’) aunque, como ocurre aun hoy, a muchos les gustaba la función más que a otros y la ejercían regularmente y con cierto deleite. Eran los sicofantes, que hoy llamaríamos, según los casos, acusadores, delatores o soplones. Los sicofantes cumplían ciertamente una función social en la sociedad griega, aunque la moderna institución de la fiscalía los haya tornado hoy seres despreciables en ciertas circunstancias. Fueron sicofantes los que acusaron a Sócrates de no creer en los dioses del Olimpo, acusación que lo llevó a ser condenado a muerte mediante la ingestión de cicuta, el veneno extraído de la planta del mismo nombre.

Etimológicamente los sicofantes son mostradores de higos (o de vulvas). ¿Suena confuso? Antiguamente la palabra griega sykon (higo) se usaba para referirse metafóricamente al órgano genital externo femenino y también al gesto, considerado por entonces indecente, de ponerse el pulgar dentro de la boca, lo que solían hacer los sicofantes para indicar la culpabilidad de un delincuente. Esto en cuanto a la primera parte de la palabra; la segunda, fantes, proviene del griego phantes (el que muestra), que también está en el origen de fantasma. Pero ésa ya es otra palabra...

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De Real Academia Española: http://www.rae.es/

sicofanta

(Del lat. sycophanta, y este del gr. συκοφάντης)

1. m. Impostor, calumniador.

Word of the Day - Sycophant

Now, you can say "What a (or you're such a) sycophant!" instead of the old "What a (or you're such a) brown noser!"...

Synonyms of Sycophant: adulator, courtier, flatterer, toady, apple-polisher, bootlicker, brown noser, ass kisser

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From Wiktionary, the free dictionary: http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sycophant

Noun

sycophant

1. One who uses compliments to gain self-serving favor or advantage from another.
2. One that seeks gain through the powerful and influential, a brown noser.

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sycophant

Sycophant (Gr. συκοφάντης), in ancient Greece was the counterpart of the Roman delator, a public informer.

According to ancient authorities, the word (derived by them from συκο suko, "fig", and φανης fanēs, "to show") meant one who informed against another for exporting figs (which was forbidden by law) or for stealing the fruit of the sacred fig-trees, whether in time of famine or on any other occasion. The Oxford English Dictionary, however, states that this explanation, though common, "cannot be substantiated", and suggests that it may refer instead to the insulting gesture of "making a fig" or to an obscene alternate meaning for "fig".

Another old explanation was that fines and taxes were at one time paid in figs, wine and oil, and those who collected such payments in kind were called sycophants because they publicly handed them in.

Thus the term has come to mean one who seeks to please people in positions of authority or influence in order to gain power themselves, usually at the cost of pride, principles, and peer respect.

A popular synonym for the term is "toady" or "toadying", derived from the term "toad eater".

Starting a Blog

I decided I wanted somewhere to post my thoughts and ideas, just like thousands of others. :-)