David Zapatka Entering the 2020s, which seemed so far into the future, caused me to pause and focus on the plethora of words that come into our language every year. Entering the year 1920, some of the world’s great minds were inventing the rotary dial telephone, the pop-up toaster, and forming the League of Nations,…
Tag: word of the month
Community News, December 2019
Word of the Month: Shungite-fullerenes
David Zapatka Shungite-fullerenes: a unique combination of carbon and silicate minerals found in an ancient deposit in Karelia, Russia. Friend and fellow wisdom seeker book club member, Sandria (Joy) Valente, gave me a special gift recently—a shungite-fullerenes rock. I had never heard of these before. Joy explained shungite-fullerenes rocks have special properties and are called…
Community News, September 2019
Word of The Month: Extirpate
David Zapatka While traveling this summer on the Goldwing, I chose to visit the granddaddy of all outdoor sporting goods stores, Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, Missouri. If you’ve never been there, it’s spectacular and certainly worth a visit. More than 4,000,000 tourists visit this store every year, more than double the tourists to the…
Card Games & Sports, August 2019
Word of the Month: Demotic
David Zapatka I attend a five-day conference every summer where experts are brought in to speak about a wide variety of topics. This year’s annual gathering had 218 speakers lecturing, hosting interactive gatherings and running tournaments on 308 interesting and entertaining topics. Being a lifelong student, I’m in my element when I can learn from…
Community News, July 2019
Word of the Month: Sarcophagus
David Zapatka Just having toured the Valley of the Kings and Queens in Luxor, Egypt, my mind is filled with hieroglyphic and sarcophagus images. Touring the tombs of Tutankhamun, Seti 1, Seti 2, Ramses 2 and Nefertari, I was astounded by the beauty, artistry, vibrant colors, carvings and intricate work done by these ancient people.…
Community News, June 2019
Word of the Month: Curry
David Zapatka Having spent the past week in Myanmar and India eating fabulous cuisine off the cruise ship, curry dishes are fresh on my mind. I’ve long loved Indian cuisine and all those many curry flavors. I’m impressed by how many different types of curry and varying spices there are. What I’ve learned is curry…
Community News, May 2019
Word of the month: Cenotaph
David Zapatka I’m writing this column as I’m departing from Hiroshima, Japan, on the cruise ship Insignia, part of the Oceania fleet. Having just visited the Atomic Bomb Dome and seeing the memorials to all those who lost their lives, I felt somber and my throat was constricted with the flood of emotions coursing through…
Community News, September 2018
Word of the Month: Fluorescence
David Zapatka I was reading in the Costco magazine about Marvel Studios movies and how they have become so popular when I ran across the word “zeitgeist.” The article read, “10 years ago, Marvel truly exploded into the zeitgeist when the Marvel Cinematic Universe launched with Iron Man.” Zeitgeist – noun zeit·geist ˈtsīt-ˌgīst, ˈzīt- 1. the…
Clubs & Classes, June 2018
Word of The Month: Hoedown
David Zapatka Listening to classical music this morning as I do every morning and evening, I heard Aaron Copland’s familiar Hoe-Down classic. I’ve always thought a hoedown was a country-style social gathering with dance and music. Right on track, the upbeat and catchy Copland tune comes from his score to the ballet Rodeo, which…
Community News, March 2018
Word of the Month: Meme
David Zapatka Reader Kim Park offers a word that has only been in use the past 42 years, meme. Meme – noun ˈmēm an idea, behavior, style or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture. Memes (discrete units of knowledge, gossip, jokes and so on) are to culture what genes are to life.…