Interview Thirteen

San Francisco

 

 

Q: So are you there, Shady?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: macron

long] a mark (*) placed

to indicate its pronunciation

mad madder, maddest make mad

Side 2: duchy in W. Europe, north of France

Slip 2 Side 1: -guished from theoretical study

purely scientific; impersonal clinically

 

Q: Why are you mad?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: divides into branches 4: any of these branches to divide into branches to pick up or pitch with a form fork over (or out, up

Side 2: Baseball to bat (the ball) foul to be or become fouled foul up [Colloq.] to bungle foully foulness

Slip 2 Side 1: the smoke of burning matter sooty

sooth truth

Side 2: showing care or concern

her welfare] 2: desirous; eager
a being

 

Q: What can I do to improve our relationship?

A: Side 1: 1: to decline to accept 2: to decline ( to do, grant, etc.) refusal

Side 2: by which the amount of air passing through can be controlled.

Music a part of the range of a voice or instrument 1: to enter in

 

Q: You still sound mad. Is the way I'm doing this (playing solitaire to occupy my right brain) not pleasing to you?

A: Side 1: notorious

Side 2: remarkable; outstanding notable

 

Q: Then why or what?

A: Side 1: riser 1: a person or thing that rises 2: a vertical piece between the steps in a stairway

Side 2: make (a liquid) cloudy, muddy, etc.

stirring up sediment 2: to vex

 

Q: What's a 'riser?'

A: Side 1: the art of preparing skinds of animals to make them appear lifelike taxidermist

Side 2: data about radiation, temperature, etc. from a remote point

telepathy

 

Q: How can 'telepathy' 'vex' you?
A: Slip 1 Side 1: to swell] the climax of a sexual act

orgy [Gr. orgia, secret rites] 1: a wild merrymaking 2: an overindulgent

Side 2: orris any of several European Irises esp. the one yielding a root (orris root) pulverized for perfumery, etc.

Slip 2 Side 1: and vegtables cooked quickly

Sukkot, Sukkoth [Heb. lit. tabernacles] a Jewish folk festival commemorating the

Side 2: superb 1. noble or majestic 2: rich or magnificent 3: extremely fine; excellent superbly

 

Q: So what about a harvest festival orgy?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto planetary

planetarium

Side 2: calm; quiet placidity placidly

Slip 2 Side 1: adaptable able to adjust or be adjusted adaptability

Side 2: one's family and raise as one's own child 2: to take as one's own

 

Q: What event are you trying to describe?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: [see CONJOIN] 1: a joining together; union; combination 2: coincidence

Side 2: confessor 1: one who confesses 2: a priest who hears confessions

confetti

Slip 2 Side 1: (Ex.: Mary's dress) apostrophe

apothecary

Side 2: [pronunciation guide form the bottom of the page, usually a sign-off]

 

Q: May I repeat the question?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: (to make circulate) circulation

Side 2: cistern

Slip 2 Side 1: quicken 1: to animate; revive 2: to move more rapidly; hasten

Side 2: to repeat (a passage, statement, etc.) 3. to state the price of (something) quote

 

Q: You wish me to 'move rapidly' and 'circulate' in something watery? Should I log onto the telecommunications network called The Well where I am a member and where you answer people's questions?

A: Side 1: belonging to the real nature of a thing; inherent intrinsically

introduce

Side 2: architecture characterized by ornamental scrolls on the

 

Q: I have logged on the Well. Now, what conference should I read?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: anneal

Side 2: also; in addition 2: plus 3: as a result 4: in contrast to; but

Slip 2 Side 1: into the spectrum prismatic

prison

Side 2: 2: problem

probability 1: a being probable; likelihood

 

Q: Well, Shady, nothing is happening anywhere on the Well in particular. Or did I misunderstand you?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: 1: to call on (God) for blessing, help, etc.

(a law, ruling, etc.) as pertinent 4: to beg for; implore

Side 2: 1: to turn upside down 2: to reverse the order, position, direction, etc. of

invertibrate

Slip 2 Side 1: baser elements into gold alchemist

alcohol 1: a colorless, volatile, pungent liquid used in various forms as a fuel, an intoxicating

Side 2: 1: to let air into 2: to publicize in the air prevalent on (or off) the air that is (or is not) broadcasting up in the air 1: not settled [Colloq.] angry, excited, etc.

 

Q: I'm going to the radio conference which has an "On The Air" topic. The most interesting new posting seems to me someone's notes on the Dalai Lama's recent address entitled "Compassion and Non-Violence." Is this what you have been indicating?

A: Side 1: writing or speech translated into another language

Side 2: transfer, transferred, transferring

 

Q: He states that the purpose of life is compassion and joy, and that the main question for our time is how to achieve world peace. Do you wish to comment, Shady?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: trickle [ME striken, to strike]

slowly in a thin stream or fall in drops

Side 2: sing in a full voice

Slip 2 Side 1: with a moving line a lure and line used in trolling

Side 2: periwinkle

 

Q: He also said that gentleness is basic to human nature, and before we can achieve world peace we must achieve inner peace. Any comments?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: a vaulting vaulter

vaulting 1: leaping 2: unduly confident [vaulting ambition]

Side 2: from a verb verbally

verbalize to use word for communication to express in words

Slip 2 Side 1: construction [it's all right; he lords it over us] the player, as in tag

Side 2: irrecoverable than cannot be recovered, rectified or remedied

 

Q: The Dalai Lama states that compassion develops inner strength and self-confidence. Compassion for children is the most important thing to develop.

A: Slip 1 Side 1: clock orig. bell shape] a waven or embroidered ornament on a sock

Side 2: not talking much; taciturn

closet

Slip 2 Side 1: soft, think fur 3: the fur

martial 1: of or suitable for war 2: warlike; bold

Side 2: a projection of the temporal bone behind the ear the mastoid projection

masturbate

 

Q: I think we're disconnected, Shady. Over and out?

A: Side 1: nerve-racking, nerve-wracking very trying to the patience

Side 2: divination] 1: divination communication with the dead

 

Q: Yes, sometimes I feel the same way. Are we through for today?

A: Side 1: CLEAVE split; divided an opening made by cleaving; crack; crevice

clematis a flowering vine

Side 2: 4: neat and tidy

(pronunciation guide)

[End of Interview 13]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interview Fourteen

San Francisco

 

 

      Remembering the trance-inducing effects that oak smoke once had for me, I burned some oak bark and shavings in the room before beginning, hoping to optimize the connection.

 

Q: It's been a while since we chatted, Shady. Are you there and available?

A: Side 1: piggish gluttonous; filthy piggishness

      piggy

      Side 2: pie a baked dish of fruit, meat, etc. with a under or upper

 

Q: You sound like your normal cantankerous self, today! What's bothering you?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: and domesticated there as a beast of burden

      Side 2: mind by an effort; recall 3: to be careful not to forget 4: to mention (a person) to another as sending regards

      to bear or to call back to mind remember

      Slip 2 Side 1: re-, again + plenus, full] 1: to make full or complete again

      Side 2: repair] repairable

 

Q: You feel that I'm treating you badly by letting so much time pass? I apologize. I had to finish up another manuscript. Speaking of manuscripts, I wanted to ask you if you have a specific goal in mind for this set of interviews. My goal has been, from the start, to get to know you better. What about you?

A: intellectual involving or appealing to the intellect

      Side 2: inter- 1: between

      interfaith

      intergroup

 

Q: An intellectual exchange of ideas, right? Between 'faiths' and groups. How do you feel about how our book is shaping up? Especially my inclusion of articles on divination and oracles? Do you have anything to suggest along these lines?

A: Side 1: dawe, jackdaw] a European black bird like the crowd, but smaller

      Side 2: form of IT [the work itself is easy]

 

Q: I have been reading how crows are considered sacred in many religions which utilized divination by the observation of flights and cries of birds. I'll include something about 'ornithomancy' next. Thanks! Anything else on this subject?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: inhibition an inhibiting or being inhibited

      Side 2 -ing a suffix used to form the present participle or verbed nouns

      ingenious

      Slip 2 Side 1: does a single operation in assembling the work as it is passed along.

      assemblyman a member of a legislative assembly

      assent

      Side 2: astrophysics the science of the physical properties and phenomena of heavenly bodies

 

Q: You wish me to include an essay on divination by the stars? Astrology? Astrodiagnosis? Meteoromancy? Sure! But I have always thought horoscope charts very unscientific, based as they are on a sky map which is no longer accurate due to the precession of the equinoxes. Am I wrong? What are your ideas about astrology, etc.?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: bloomers [Amelia Bloomer, U.S. feminist] a woman's underpants gathered above the knee

      blooming blossoming, flourishing

      Side 2: bark blazed (a tree or trail) with blazes

      Slip 2 Side 1: kumquat [Chin. chin-chü, golden

      small, orange fruit

      Side 2: lacework lace, or any openwork decoration like lace

 

Q: How poetic! "Blooming blazes, golden lacework!" Apt for the Milky Way. I'm an inhibited astronomer, actually. Some of my happiest moments have been spent gazing at the night sky. And the day sky, for that matter. Okay, an essay on stargazing. Anything else you wish to include, my non-fleshy co-author?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: soundness of judgment

      San Jose city in W Calif.

      San Juan Puerto Rico

      Side 2: crystalline substance found in natural beds, in seat water, etc. and used for seasoning food salt

      Slip 2 Side 1: gas, etc. used to produce anesthesia

      anesthetist

      anesthetize

      Side 2: Anglo-Saxon a member of the Germanic peoples

      England before the 12th cent. 2: the language of OLD ENGLISH

 

Q: Salt definitely has been used for divination. I could check salt use by the Anglo-Saxons, or perhaps you wish to point me to their techniques of divination in general. As for anesthesia, the oak smoke I used as incense earlier has definitely relaxed me. And come to think of it, the Druid priests considered the oak sacred. Is that what you're thinking about, Shady?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: premium very valuable

      premonition

      Side 2: Pres. President

      pres. present

      presage [L. prae-, before + sagire, to perceive keenly]

      Slip 2 Side 1: L. sanctus, holy] 1: holiness 2: sacredness

      sanctuary

      Side 2: seaport in W. Calif. San Francisco

      sang pt. of SING

      Slip 3 Side 1: Rom. poet

      horde a crowd or throng, swarm

      hording to form or gather

      Side 2: domesticated for drawing loads, carrying riders, etc.

      2: a frame with legs to support horse

 

Q: 'Hippomancy' -- divination by observing the behavior of horses. I will add it to the list. I just did a 'double-take' on the name "Shady." You would not, perhaps, be connected to tree spirits? It would be most apt!

A: Slip 1 Side 1: expressing praise

      laugh make the sounds and facial movements that express mirth

      Side 2: a period of late recently

      lately not long ago; recently

      Slip 2 Side 1: 1: in one side and out the other 2: from the beginning to the end 3: completely to the end through

      Side 2: threnos, lament

      a song of lamentation

      Slip 3 Side 1: exceptional 1: unusual

      Side 2: exclusive 2: not shared 3: sole [an exclusive right]

 

Q: I interpret your reply as "Recently I was connected to the tree spirits, but something unusual occurred that I lament." Am I correct? And if so, what was this 'something?'

A: Side 1: 2: a) public employment [diplomatic service] b) a branch of this; specif. the armed forces 3: work done for

      Side 2: sexiness

      Sgt. Sergeant

      sh interj. hush! be quiet!

 

Q: Okay, 'nuff said! But please continue. This is an excellent connection.

A: Slip 1 Side 1: flowers, etc.

      spray can

      Side 2: sportscast

      Slip 2 Side 1: enough

      Side 2: 2: all the conditions, etc. surrounding and affecting the development of the organism environment

      Slip 3 Side 1: provocative

      provoke [L. pro-, forth + vocare, to call]

      Side 2: publish 1: to make publicly known; announce 2: to issue (a printed work) for sale to write books, etc.

 

Q: I'll water the plants at once. And I gather you feel you've said enough on different types of divination. Also, it sounds as if you're urging me to go ahead with plans to publish these conversations. Am I correct?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: lave to wash; bathe

      Side 2: the early form of any animal that changes structurally when it becomes an adult [the tadpole is the larva of a frog]

      Slip 2 Side 1: to guess conjecture

      conjoin

      Side 2: conference 1: formal meeting for discussion

      Slip 3 Side 1: foreman 1: the chairman of a jury 2: the head of a group of workers. forelady

      Side 2: foolhardy foolishly daring; reckless

      Slip 4 Side 1: to make a bid b) a bidding 2: an amount, etc. bid 3: a chance to bid 4: an attempt or try (for) bid for

      Side 2: the bridegroom

      bestow

      a present as a gift (often with on) bestowal

 

Q: What conference are you suggesting I join?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: apparatus {L. ad-, to + parare, prepare] 1: the materials, tools, etc. for a specific use 2: a complex machine

      Side 2: money, etc. set aside

      approval 1. the act of approving 2: favorable attitude or opinion 3: formal consent.

 

Q: A 'complex machine conference' could mean my teleconference network, The Well, which I access on my computer. What conference there should I join?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: rate for having attained heaven after an exceptionally holy life. saintliness

      Side 2: seeds yield an edible oil.

      saffron 1: plant having orange stigmas

      Slip 2 Side 1: two times ten; 20; the twenties

      Side 2: stress

      sprain

      as of meaning twist

 

Q: 'Saintly saffron' could imply the Buddhism conference. I'll check Response 20 and report back. Response 20 is interesting, Shady. It's a discussion of the Three Paths of Buddhism. Is this what you had in mind? If so, how did you know about it -- unless you also have a computer and modem connection?

A: Side 1: reception 1: a) a receiving, or being received b) the manner of this 2: a social function for the receiving of guests

      Side 2: rebus {L., lit. by things] a puzzle consisting of pictures, etc. combined to suggest words or phrases

 

Q: I was just kidding. Anyway, the 'reception' has been terrific. I guess the oak smoke helps! I'll check back soon. Over and out?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: put-down [Slang]

      remark or crushing retort

      put-on [Slang] a hoax

      Side 2: supply (esp. food) purveyor

      purview [Anglo-Fr. purveu est, it is provided] scope or extent

[End of Interview 14]

 

 

 

 

 

Interview Fifteen

San Francisco

 

 

Q: Yesterday's interview went so well, that I'm proceeding immediately after a ceremonial fumigation of the room with oak smoke again. So, anything on your mind, Shady?

A: Side 1: like spasms; fitful spasmodically

      Side 2: exceptional; unusual 4: of or for a particular purpose 5: not general; specific specially

 

Q: I thought our whole connection yesterday was exceptional. What about you?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: learning acquired knowledge or skill

      [L, laxus, loose]

      Side 2: leaves the flat, thin parts, usually green growing from the stem of a plant. 2: a petal

      Slip 2 Side 1: drab a dull yellowish brown

      Side 2: dredging to coat (food) with flour or the like

 

Q: I am learning to be looser, and not 'push' so hard during our conversations. And you're right about the leaves on those plants. They've turned brown -- I'm afraid I've lost them. I am cursed with a 'black thumb.'

A: Slip 1 Side 1: archaic 1: ancient

      Side 2: small animals with eight legs, including spiders and scorpions

      Aramaic

      Slip 2 Side 1: three times as much

      threescore sixty

      threnody lament

      Side 2: the other side 4: around [touring through France] a) from beginning to end of through

      Slip 3 Side 1: such a system socialistic

      Side 2: [see SOLICITOUS] 1: to appeal to (persons) for (aid, donations, etc.)

      soliciting

      Slip 4 Side 1: Babylonian

      baby sitter

      Side 2: avouch [see ADVOCATE] to affirm

 

Q: What is an old Aramaic lament -- my lack of skill as a gardener? Perhaps you are referring to that something 'lamentable' that occurred to you recently, mentioned in our previous conversation. Are you are describing that incident? "Through socialistic soliciting of a baby sitter in archaic Aramaic" you got into some sort of trouble? Care to elaborate?

A: Side 1: consisting of a thin metal blade

      Side 2: hastened disintegration] a stone coffin

 

Q: Because of this incident you were stabbed to death and your disintegration hastened by a stone coffin? More, more!

A: Slip 1 Side 1: headache

      in the head 2: [Colloq.] a cause of worry, annoyance or trouble

      Side 2: hatchet a small ax with a short handle

      Slip 2 Side 1: rank of a king, etc.

      a sovereign, ruler, etc.

      throng 1: a crowd 2: any great number of things considered together

      Side 2: threat an expression of intention to hurt, destroy, punish, etc. 2: an indication of a source of imminent danger

 

Q: You were axed in the head by the king and threatened by a crowd? Fascinating! What was your name or nationality at the time?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: evolve [top of the page]

      Side 2: exhale [top of the page]

      Slip 2 Side 1: now remained ever since] 2: at some time between then and now

      Side 2: India

      sit-down 1: a strike in which

 

Q: Okay, I'll stop pushing you, and breathe deeply. But it sounds as if you might have been an Indian, and 'sit-down' could be 'Siddha' or some name like that. Am I jumping to conclusions? On the right track?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: con [Slang] confidence [con game] conned, conning [Slang] to swindle or trick

      Side 2: compensatory

      compete

      Slip 2 Side 1: good-hearted kind, generous,

      good-heartedly

      Side 2: gold leaf gold beaten into very thin sheets, used for gilding

 

Q: Okay, okay, sorry. Just trying to find out more about you. So let's talk about something else. You pick the subject.

A: Slip 1 Side 1: mulligan stew a kind of meat stew

      Side 2: musketeer a soldier armed with a musket

      muskmelon any of various juicy, sweet melons

      Slip 2 Side 1: envy 1: discontent and ill will over another's advantage

      Side 2: enroll

      recorded in a roll or list 2: to enlist 3: to make or become a member enrollment

      Slip 3 Side 1: vaporize to change into vapor

      Side 2: a drifting or irresponsible life 3: shiftless; worthless 1: one who wanders from place to place vagabond

 

Q: Too nonsensical. Over and out?

A: Side 1: prehendere, take] adapted for grasping, esp. by wrapping around something, as a monkey's tail

      prehistoric

      Side 2: 1: to wholly occupy the thoughts of; engross 2: to take possession of before someone else or beforehand preoccupation

 

Q: Gotcha! See you later!
[End of Interview 15]

 

 

 

 

 

Oracles & Divination 5

How Temples Were Created

A Maybe So Story

 

 

Once upon a time, dear hearts, when our planet was but a downy chick and humankind had just recently swung down from the trees, an ancestor of ours named Ugoo headed home to his tribe. A lengthy hunt had delayed him beyond nightfall and a rainstorm was on his tail. He slouched through the forest primeval expecting the worst because, more often than not, the worst was sharpening its claws on a nearby tree. His particular genus of Homo Erectus -- and not too erect at that -- was considered quite tasty by some of the toothier inhabitants of the Middle Pleistocene. And things bestirred themselves out there in the gloom in a manner that Ugoo found most unsettling. When he passed a particular tree that had grown a particular way, two of its limbs rubbed together, one against the other and gave off a most peculiar squeak. Or squeal, if you prefer. Now, although Ugoo had not progressed very far up the evolutionary ladder, he did know that trees sang in the wind. But they certainly did not squeak or squeal midway in between out of nowhere!

Ugoo stopped short, his eye teeth bared, snarling to keep up his courage while the hairs on his neck -- and very plentiful hairs they were -- stood up straight. 'Squealk!' went the tree again. The dark, moonless night closed in around him, He knew that the forest abounded in lions and tigers and apes of all shapes and snakes that ate babies and you name it and its fiercer brother lived just over the hill! Trembling in every limb, Ugoo tightened his sphincter so as not to loose every vestige of control (a recent village discovery) and grabbed a rock in each hand. 'Squealk!' went the tree again. He heaved both rocks at the sound and lit out for home with nary a backward glance. Into the men's cave he scrambled and shook one of his older brothers awake.

"Ooh-ooh!" he panted, pointing over his shoulder. "Ooh-ooh-ooh!"

Everyone sprang to their feet, most suddenly and thoroughly awake, because 'ooh-ooh!' had been agreed upon as the alarm sound whenever dire events threatened. 'Ooh-ooh!' They peered fearfully out the door. But nothing dire happened and Ugoo had to tell his story in great and wondrous detail. If he ornamented it a bit we shouldn't wonder, because the frowns on his kinsmen's pronounced prefrontal arches were getting deeper and deeper. He pantomimed a frightful apparition with long bloody fangs. Only by his quick thinking and a few well-aimed blows had he survived to tell the tale! One of his brothers shut him up with a good thud on the cranium and they all went back to sleep.

When the tribe gathered in the morning for a breakfast of gamy Hypohippus and waterlily roots, Ugoo told his story again. By now the ogre had grown taller than the tree itself with heads that grew back faster than Ugoo could pound them to pulp with his stone adz. His kinsmen made an appreciative audience when not awakened unnecessarily. Had not they themselves experienced many inexplicable, strange events in the forest? They believed everything Ugoo said and then some! So it became the custom, whenever one of them passed the 'Ooh' tree, to shout 'Ooh!' and throw a rock or two, even if it did not go 'squealk!'

Now as you all know, if you put energy into a spooky place, it gets spookier. That is one of the facts of life every child learns. So after a year or two of this particular nonsense, quite a pile of rocks had accumulated under the Ooh Tree and many stories had grown up about the numerous close calls and heroic battles with the tree monster. By the time a few more years passed, all the rocks in the area had been thrown and villagers had to remember to bring them from the river to have something on hand. One young man who forgot his rocks threw a stick one day and invented spears, but that's another story entirely.

One night, there occurred a stupendous thunderstorm of the sort quite frequent in those times and a bolt of lightning shattered the Ooh tree into splinters, leaving only a scorched stump. Do you think this ended these odd goings-on? It definitely did not! The 'squealk!' disappeared with the tree, but now the tribe provided the sound themselves.

"Ook! Ook!" they would hoot, throw a rock or two and then run for their silly lives.

The few villagers who might have entertained some doubts about these happenings kept their thoughts to themselves. If nothing else, the children had been remarkably well behaved since the monster appeared. All a parent had to do was go 'Ook!' and point down the path for all mischief to cease.

Gradually Ook the Monster's place became an impressive rock pile and when Grandma Ha-Ah dropped dead near the spot, a funeral dance had to be held there to convince her spirit not to inhabit the place. The funeral food offerings were donated to the monster in the hope of keeping him preoccupied, and the berry harvest ceremony was danced to keep the fruit from molding and the waterlily roots fresh. Afterwards, they gathered at a respectful distance to stare at the rockpile. It was taboo to approach any nearer or else your insides fell out.

One day a marauding band of bigger and less hairy people came down from the north, as they always seem to do. Their warriors had stone-tipped spears which gave them a tremendous advantage. They killed off most the men including, I'm sorry to report, Ugoo and, as was their disgusting custom, ate their brains. The women and children they enslaved, and settled down to enjoy themselves. As so often happens with conquerors, they absorbed the local customs and began throwing rocks and offering food to Ook. In fact, they adopted him as the guardian spirit of the village in spite of his not having provided much protection to the original inhabitants. The invaders' chief once had seen a lovely cairn -- a grave of a famous leader -- over which the rocks had been placed in a symmetrical manner. He decided to please Ook -- who now was referred to as !Ook with an honorific glottal stop prefix -- by putting a band of his slaves to work cleaning up the place. After two slaves were defenestrated and excraniated for refusing to have anything to do with the project -- they wanted to keep their insides inside -- everyone else pitched in with remarkable vigor. Two others died of fright in spite of the work being done in broad daylight, but the rest laid a nice mud and rock terrace and built an altar at one end. The chief sacrificed a maiden and everyone went home feeling pleased with themselves.

It was only a matter of time before an outcast, who had been chased into the forest for laughing during an eclipse, began to live there. He had had a dream in which !Ook offered him immunity in return for his services, or at least that's what he told everyone. Often in his crazed fits he became !Ook himself and roared and shrieked all night to the horrified awe of the tribespeople. They would then make sure to bring especially tasty tidbits the next morning. The outcast had !Ook's permission to eat the food offerings, and before long he was even giving advice during his more lucid moments to whomever stopped by.

Time passed as time passes, oh beloved and best, and one set of conquerors replaced another. The Place of !Ook grew fancier and fancier. One especially demented individual discovered if you hit two flinty rocks together they cracked along a sharp edge. Better knives and spear tips were made, skin scrapers, nose piercers, lip gougers and other useful things. Another maniac grabbed up a burning branch from a forest fire and placed it on !Ook's altar where it was kept alive by feeding it dry wood. Food offerings smelled so good when they burned! Before long the whole village was enjoying baked waterlily roots and roast lizard and congratulating themselves on how technologically advanced they had become. !Ook became The Fire-Bringer and the chaser of darkness. No longer did they have to go to bed with the sun but instead sat up staring into the campfire while 'The Adventures of !Ook' was recited by a tribal elder. Of course there were those who bemoaned the passing of the good old days when everyone turned in at a decent hour. Thus was born the earliest version of Prometheook -- excuse me, but it may be so --who brought the heavenly fire to earth.

Over the millennia, !Ook's Place became a temple of impressive proportions. If the local volcano had not erupted and covered it with ash, you could see it today. In the center where the original tree stood, a tall wooden pillar had taken its place. Upon it were carved a series of pictographs that told the whole story of how !Ook brought Agnook (fire) down to mankind at the risk of his own reputation. It was a lovely, lovely spot with dried blood clots on the altar, and impressive sacrifices were celebrated during the dark of the moon every month.

If it existed today, of course you would find a missionary church built on the temple ruins. Holy places, doviest of loves, have a way of remaining holy, no matter who wins the battle.

#

 

 

 

 

 

Interview Sixteen

May 30, 1991

 

 

Q: G'morning, Shady. Are you up for another chat? I'm fumigated and ready to go!

A: Side 1: outstation a remote or unsettled

      outstretch

      extend 2: to stretch beyond

      outstrip to set a faster pace than

      Side 2: from a group

      [pick out]

 

Q: Am I setting too fast a pace? I would like to talk more about that recent incarnation of yours. Okay? Or would you prefer some other topic.

A: Slip 1 Side 1: a close manner

      closely closeness

      close closed closing

      Side 2: cliquishly

      clitoris

      Slip 2 Side 1: amuck AMOK

      Side 2: to + mors, death] to put amortize

 

Q: Okay, let me change the subject. How would you describe the ultimate goal or purpose of our conversations?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: pigtail

      hanging at the back of the head

      pike clipped form of TURNPIKE

      Side 2: a piece + mele, part] piece by piece made or done piecemeal

      Slip 2 Side 1: men

      menace a threat or danger

      menacing to threaten

      Side 2: the open spaces of a net, screen, etc. 2: a net or network 3: a netlike material as for stockings 4: the engagement of gears mesh

      Slip 3 Side 1: dissident

      Side 2: (from a course) 2: to amuse divert

      divest

 

Q: A pieced-together, back-of-the-head road that is menacing to men, although meshing with and amusing to certain dissidents?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: embrace embraced

      Side 2: chin; she; thin

      [pronunciation guide]

 

Q: Why should this threaten anyone?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: by workers living on it 2: a large, cultivated planting of trees

      planter 1: the owner of a plantation

      Slip 2 Side 1: bail [L. bajulare, bear a burden] 1: money deposited with the

      Side 2: backbite to slander (someone absent) backbiter

      Slip 3 Side 1: canto [It. L. canere, sing] any of the main divisions

      Side 2: capillary [L. capillus, hair] very slender 1: a tube with a small bore

 

Q: Because these 'verses' slander the 'plantation owner?' Who's the 'planter'?'

A: Slip 1 Side 1: black-spotted tawny coat

      Africa and Asia 2: same as JAGUAR

      leotard [19th-c Fr. aerial performer] a tight-fitting garment for an acrobat

      Side 2: free time during which one may indulge in rest, recreation, etc. free and unoccupied leisure

 

Q: I'm impinging on the leisure of Jaguar, an aerial acrobat? How and why?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: India

      sit-down 1: a strike in which

      Side 2: now remained ever since] 2: at some time between then and now

      Slip 2 Side 1: not operative; invalid

      nugget a lump, esp. of native gold

      Side 2: fat; ape; car; ten; even

      [pronunciation guide]

 

Q: 'Slip 1' I also received yesterday, Shady. And the pronunciation guide is your usual sign-off. Are we through for today?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: bestride

      or stand stride

      [prob. ABET]

      proved wrong

      Side 2: bode or bided, biding [Archaic or Dial.] 1: to stay; continue

      Slip 2 Side 1: criticism

      unexpected unforeseen unexpectedly

      Side 2: below the normal or allowed weight

      underworld 1: Hades; hell

 

Q: Okay, good. I would like to repeat my original question: how would you describe the ultimate goal or purpose of our conversations?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: not skilled or experienced

      unprecedented having no precedent or parallel; unheard-of

      Side 2: different

      different from

      Slip 2 Side 1: cut (vegetables, etc.) into small cubes no dice [Colloq.]

      Side 2: 1: interchange of ideas by open discussion 2: the passages of talk in a play, story, etc. dialogue

      Slip 3 Side 1: pitcher one who pitches; specif. Baseball the player to pitches the ball to the batters

      Side 2: into the ground to grow 2: to set firmly in position 3: to settle; establish 4: [Slang] to place (a person or thing] in such a way as to trick, trap, plant

      Slip 4 Side 1: to make or work in garden

      for or grown in a garden gardener

      Side 2: horn; tool; oil; [pronunciation guide]

 

Q: 'An unprecedented dialogue that plants a garden (of ideas)?' I like that.

A: Side 1: reluctantly

      rely [L. re-, back + ligere, bind] to trust

      Side 2: relent [L. re-, again + lentus, pliant] to become less stern, severe, or stubborn; soften

 

Q: You are trusting me more, Shady? Good! I've been feeling a certain irritation from your side. So, do you feel that our conversations are valuable in and of themselves, without any specific goal or purpose?

A: Slip 1 Side 1: accident 1: an unintended happening 2: a mishap

      Side 2: with liberal arts rather than technical education 3: formal; pedantic 4: merely theoretical academically

 

Q: You didn't intend to sound irritated? And my question seems academic? Not really, sinc