Too long!

It has been way too long since I've posted on my blog. Maybe since I've stopped posting on Facebook, I'll post here from time to time - epicaricacy related or not. 

Lessons learned this fall:  What a fall we had!  Our sister-in-law died, which was very sad. She shouldn't have died with C Diff - it is totally treatable. But, they were in remote Canada and couldn't get help in time. I think there was probably some malpractice involved, but that's another story. She was only in her 50s. 

But, for us, the worst thing was out son being assaulted, having been hit in the head and receiving a fractured skull and subdural bleeding. He was in critical condition, and I was told that he could  possibly spend his life in assisted living. For weeks I was a mess, as you can imagine. However, miraculously, he has recovered almost completely. At the same time our daughter had a seizure and was at Northwestern with injuries to her mouth and teeth. She is doing better too, though for weeks it was an awful time. 

I've learned the importance of health and putting your life in perspective. Who cares if you lose your iPad or if you are not able to buy that coat you want, etc.? Keep life in perspective. What are your priorities?  Enjoy your time here on earth. And most of all, be happy. 

Correction in Quinion's Newsletter

The following correction was made in Quinion's newsletter. Unfortunately, he didn't correct his entry on his Web site: "Epicaricacy. Nancy Spector of the Wordcraft website pointed out that I was wrong to say the word epicaricacy doesn’t appear in any of Nathan Bailey’s dictionaries. It is included in An Universal Etymological English Dictionary of 1721 but in the spelling epicharikaky. Ammon Shea, whom I doubted in my piece, tells me it’s also in John Ash’s New and Complete Dictionary of the English Language of 1775 and in A Dictionary of the Synonymous Words and Technical Terms in the English Language by James Leslie of 1806, both in the same spelling as in Bailey’s. The word appears several times in various works in the original Greek spelling; a writer on the Wordcraft site found it a century before Bailey in Robert Burton’s The Anatomy of Melancholy of 1621. It was familiar to Burton and other Greek scholars because Aristotle had used it."

It's on YouTube...

Listen to this YouTube pronunciation of epicaricacy.

Quinion on Epicaricacy

I am not surprised. Quinion has now come out with the opinion that "epicaricacy" is not a fine old English word, but instead an "an erudite modern coining known to hardly anybody and of limited interest." He even seems to refute that it is in Bailey's Universal Etymological English Dictionary, which of course it is as I have written here. I saw it at Powell's Bookstore in Portland (the 1770 edition), though here it is online in the 1763 edition. It's too bad he didn't do a little more digging. I also love this entry on Wordcraft about "epicaricacy." It's erudite, but thought-provoking. While "epicaricacy" isn't in the OED, it was cited as an English word in the OED. As I wrote in a message to Quinion (providing him with the link above from Bailey's), I'll never understand some people's (including the OED's) reluctance to calling "epicaricacy" a word. There are so many worthless words out there (we know this from Tsuwm's WWFTD site), so why the reaction against this great word?

Wow - it has been awhile!

I guess, push come to shove, blogging isn't my thing these days.  There's just too much to do.

However, I recently read something that wasn't really meant for Wordcraft (though, I do plan to mention it as it is relevant for our "rich" vs. "wealthy" thread) and yet I don't like to get political on Facebook - yet I wanted to comment on it somewhere.  I remembered my Blog!  Here is a great quote from Ezra Klein:

Within the general rubric of "inequality," income inequality gets a whole lot more attention than wealth inequality. But wealth inequality is much more concentrated and, in various ways, much more dangerous for the social structure. In particular, it's wealth inequality that really ossifies social mobility.

The children of the top one percent only occasionally manage to match their parent's incomes. But they often receive massive inheritances that grow over time, installing them atop the economic ladder and giving them a political reason to fight like hell against progressive tax policies (the Walton family is a good example here). And this kind of inequality doesn't have any of the salutary benefits of income inequality: Massive inheritances don't make people work harder. They give them a reason to never work very hard at all, and to try to influence public policy so they never have to work hard in the future, either.

How true!  I have seen some of these wealthy families and oftentimes their kids, he is right, end up doing nothing but investing the "family" money.  They have "family" connections and therefore can often get legal protections of their wealth legislated.  It is disgusting, really.  Here is a link to the full article.

Can any Definition Work?

So - is epicaricacy a word, or not?  "If  it's not in a current well-respected dictionary," I am told, "it isn't a word.  "It is not used enough."  "The same people publish the word so it's not in the general vernacular."  Blah, blah, blah.

That's all well and good, though, it  has been in a well-respected dictionary in the past.  However, you can't have it both ways.  It must be that way for all words and their definitions then.  For example, we are talking about the French word couac on Wordcraft.  The meaning in French is "a bad note from a defective or mishandled reed instrument."  Some there think that since that meaning is mentioned elsewhere (not in lexicographic instances) that it is a legitimate definition in English, too.  If it's used that way by some, fine, I agree.  But then epicaricacy is an English word as well.  A tit for a tat, so to speak.

An epicaricacy story on me!

Yes, here you can have your laughs on my misery:

I was in the airport and entered a bathroom.  I entered the first stall and upon leaving went to wash my hands.  I noticed that the sink was disgustingly wet..."a bunch of slobs," I thought.  Then I looked around.  "Why are men using urinals in the women's bathroom," I thought?  Funny how your mind works.  Then, just as a man walked up to me to tell me I was in the men's bathroom, I realized, "Ah...that's why the men are using the urinal.  I am in the wrong bathroom!"  The man said, "I won't tell anyone!"  I sped out and found a women's bathroom and washed my hands there.

Lessons learned:  1) Don't always think you are right!  2) Men's bathrooms are disgusting!

Children of the Nazis

This is a video of the children of Nazis.  In my head I guess I knew that the general public in Germany supported Hitler and the Nazis, but in my heart I couldn't believe it.  Here it is from the mouths of their children.

OEDILF Epicaricacy Limerick

Cat asked for the limerick, so I've posted it below, along with the author's note.  The workshopping is finished, and it should be approved soon.  Yah!  If you haven't visited that site before, you should take a look at it here

Epicaricacy is a word
That is currently used by a nerd:
"Taking joy in misfortune."
The word that I'm torchin',
Schadenfreude, will soon be interred!

Whether epicaricacy is really an English word or not has been debated. It was first cited in Nathaniel Bailey's Universal Etymological English Dictionary in 1727, spelled as epicharikaky, though the subsequent Oxford English Dictionary has not cited it. It is cited in specialty dictionaries, however. The pronunciation of epicaricacy has been debated as well. The pronunciation I am using, ep-ih-KARE-ih-kuh-SEE, is the most often spoken one. However, Mrs. Byrne's Dictionary uses EP-i-kar-IK-i-see. Without epicaricacy we only have a German word, Schadenfreude (pronounced shah-den-FROY-duh in this limerick), to mean "taking joy in another's misery."

Pronunciation of epicaricacy

There's always workshopping angst on OEDILF.  My limerick on epicaricacy is being held up because the word is so rare that no one knows the "correct" pronunciation.  Mrs. Byrne's dictionary says it might be:  /EP i kar IK i see/  Tsuwm on Worthless Word of the Day replicates that pronunciation, but then tells me in email that he thinks my way is right:  ep-ih-KARE-ih-kuh-SEE.

Clearly my limerick needs it to be pronounced my way, so I am going to leave it.  If it stays at 3 approvals (I am not even sure how many they need now, but more than 3), so be it.  It will never be approved.  I like the limerick anyway!

Not word related...and not for NRA lovers

So...does the NRA still believe that guns don't kill people?  Would that horrible shooting in the Colorado theatre have happened without assault rifles?  And, really, why would an innocent person ever need an assault rifle?  Or a handgun, for that matter?  I can understand rifles for hunting or gun collections.  However, when we allow people to conceal guns, and especially to have assault rifles, we are welcoming this kind of violence.

I will never understand those who support guns ad lib.  And I can assure you, once the supporter's family is involved in something like this, he/she will no longer be a supporter.  I've been there.

By the way...just curious, did anyone's concealed handgun help in this situation?

Busy is as busy does...

Wow, where have I been?  I am just too busy for my own good.  

I received a google alert about epicaricacy here.  Also, I actually went back to OEDILF (it has been awhile there too!) and wrote their first epicaricacy limerick!  Here it is (until they slash it up):

Epicaricacy is a word
That is currently used by a nerd:
"Taking joy in misfortune."
The word that I'm torchin',
Schadenfreude, will soon be interred!

So much interest...but no OED entry

How many blogs are there are "epicaricacy?" Here's another. It seems more popular than the word "the!"

And now about healthcare

Well, I've opened some of my favorite controversies, so now what about healthcare? The Chicago Tribune printed the most inane, and insulting really, statement today. They of course don't support the Affordable Care Act (they are very conservative), which I refuse to call "Obamacare" (I find that word juvenile and unsophisticated). They said, "The healthy are subsidizing the sick" with this bill. Give me a break. What is all insurance about? Isn't that the point, be it health care, auto, home, etc.? I have never made a claim on our home insurance (more than 20 years), and yet home insurance, folks, is required if you have a mortgage. Yes, required. I guess that means that I have subsidized my neighbor whose house burned down. How sophomoric to think that way.

So what's the beef about requiring healthcare insurance anyway? This, people, is all political. As a nurse, I have seen the youngest and healthiest suddenly taken devastatingly sick. So, for those 25 year olds who have a perforated appendix, which goes to septicemia, and they need to be in the ICU on a ventilator, etc., etc., etc....what happens? Who pays for that when those patients decide they are too healthy for insurance? I saw a case just like that once. A college student didn't buy health insurance, even though her parents had given her money for it. Therefore, she had hundreds of thousands of dollars of bills that no one could pay. Well, either the taxpayers pay for that or those who are insured pay for it. Certainly we wouldn't let her die, right? That's the problem. Devastation can happen to anyone at any time. Are people too dense or too protected to realize this? Young families can suddenly find themselves with a child with leukemia who needs hospitalization, chemotherapy, and a bone marrow transplant. What if they didn't buy health insurance. Should that child die? Does the Tribune not know how much this happens and how expensive it is? Clearly no.

Do you really think the cost will be less if we don't require insurance? If so, you haven't thought about the details or the variety of circumstances. We'd all be paying for those who don't buy insurance....or let them die.

Further, do you really think the government doesn't require people to buy anything? Do you have a license to practice law? Nursing? Medicine? CPA? Etc.? That's the government. Do you have a car with no insurance? In Illinois you could go to jail.

The whole argument is just ridiculous and I sincerely hope the Supreme Court won't, again, let us down. The Chicago Tribune has already let me down with their emotional reaction, instead of looking at the facts.

Epicaricacy post

It has been a long time since I've heard from my Google Alerts related to epicaricacy. It's not much, but here is a post about it on a forum.

On another front, I have a comment about all the hullabaloo about birth control being paid for by religious organizations. Here is my take. First of all, I have worked for two major catholic universities; DePaul and Loyola. The latter is a big medical center as well. Both of them provided birth control for their employees through their health insurance. Therefore, I suspect that many Catholic organizations already do this, and this discussion is a political one, for the likes of people like Rush. By the way, I heard he lost more than 100 advertisers. Good for them!

Secondly, let's say that I, as Jewish woman, work for a Catholic university that does not provide birth control through their health insurance. Would that be their choice? I suppose. However, only if they don't take any tax money from the federal government. Were they wholly for-profit institutions, I'd support that. But...Catholic hospitals and universities get a lot of federal funding in one way or another. First, they have large buildings on a lot of land where they don't pay property tax. Can you imagine the bill for Loyola's lakeshore campus that has a lot of land/buildings right on the lake? Secondly, surely Loyola takes federal funding for their students. The medical center takes money from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid. Lots of money! So, if they want their choice not to pay for birth control pills, then they don't have the right to take taxpayer's money. You cannot have it both ways.

Thirdly, why has no one brought up the whole Viagra situation? Did you know that most of these so-called "religious" organizations do pay for Viagra type products, but want to avoid paying for birth control. Does anyone besides me see the irony in this?

I have never heard any of these arguments. Why not?

First epicaricacy sighting of 2012!

Here it is! Just what you've been waiting for, readers! The first "epicaricacy" sighting of 2012.

Holidays

I wish everyone a Happy New Year, and depending on your religion (or lack thereof), a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Solstice, Happy Kwanzaa, or whatever.

The below link is for nurses use of social media. I thought others might like it, too.

Social Media Guidelines for Nurses

A video!

My Google Alerts is working well. There is now a video out there about epicaricary. It's a little boring, but still!

Speaking of videos, here is one about why nurses should be careful when using social media, and how to use it appropriately.

Life has been busy!

I haven't been able to Blog in awhile. I couldn't believe this fall. I counted how many presentations I've given since the first of the year, and it's 24, most of them in other cities and one was in Malta. Besides that, I've published 2 articles and 2 book book chapters, with 2 more book chapters at the publishers now. All of this, besides my daily work. No wonder I've neglected my Blog and also Wordcraft.

Finally I have a few days off and am enjoying just doing errands, if you can believe it. And thinking a bit (about something other than work). The holidays are coming. I love Thanksgiving and can't wait to host my family. I go all out! But then there's Christmas. Being Jewish around Christmas in the U.S. is not easy. Everyone assumes you're Christian. Just yesterday at my job they were planning a "Christmas dinner" and then we were going to sing Christmas carols. The dinner would be fine...but carols? Really? Should I sing "Dreidel, Dreidle, Dreidle; I made it out of clay"? I was planning to just skip the dinner, but a colleague said something like "what about people who don't celebrate Christmas?" The planners didn't like it, but they decided to give up on the singing. I of course said nothing, not wanting to be a wet blanket. I can hardly blame them really, but they also don't get it. For us, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are our high holidays. But that definitely isn't considered. We have meetings and conferences during that time. Heck, we even had a major meeting during Passover one year.

For those who are interested in the e-word, here is a link to a site that came up in my Google Alerts.