Dissertate

The Word of the Day for October 6 is "dissertate."

dissertate: (verb) Talk at length and formally about a topic.

Synonyms: hold forth, discourse

Usage: The speaker dissertated about the social politics in 18th century England.

Relevance to My Life: While my Russian professor dissertated about the oppressive conditions in the Soviet Union near the end of Stalin's reign, he grew increasingly animated in his words and gestures, attracting a lot of attention from students waiting in the hall. All dressed in dark hues and with his flashing eyes and long, unkempt black beard, he had an air of Rasputin about him.

Ahhh, college.



First Day of Economics Class

This professor was about as far removed from Vladimir and my other Russian professors as you could get.









Contemporary American History

This is closer, but with less screaming and more Russian.
R.I.P. Sam Kinison.









Kurt Vonnegut

And now for English class...









Revenge of the Nerds - Computer is your Friend

Meeting a girl in computer lab, awww...










And now for some extracurricular activities:


Animal House- Flounder and Neidermeyer

ROTC











Shout

The ever-popular Thursday Night Toga Party

Affectation

The Word of the Day for October 17 is "affectation."

affectation: (noun)
1. A show, pretense, or display.
2. a. Behavior that is assumed rather than natural; artificiality.
b. A particular habit, as of speech or dress, adopted to give a false impression.

Synonyms: affectation, pose, air, mannerism

Usage: "Radical chic" is merely an affectation of radical left-wing views and the fashionable dress and lifestyle that goes with them; it seems to be all talk and no walk.

Relevance to my life: Although I am from Connecticut, I have only met one person who truly exemplifies that affectation of speech sometimes called Connecticut Lockjaw. I was stunned into silence as this gentleman, an authentic Boston Brahmin, languidly gestured toward a crystal decanter and insisted, "Baahbrahh, do... do try the brandy." He extolled the virtues of the Napoleon brandy for about 20 minutes after I'd been poured a snifter of it, and with good reason: it was some good stuff.*

What it is NOT: affection**

I was flattered by his displays of affectation: the hugs, kisses and hand-holding all made me feel like a teenager again. wrong

*What is it with speech affectations among the so-called elite?

I had this guest Russian professor one summer, Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kazbegi. My God, she was ancient then, back in 1988. She was a member of some Russian noble family, and at a young ladies' finishing school in St Petersburg at the time of the revolution. Her family packed off to Germany for a while and then she was married off to a Georgian count.

Anyway, back to 1988... she was teaching us Russian history and culture, and I was constantly distracted by her pronunciation: all of her "l" sounds were pronounced as "w" like my 5 year-old Lucy still does on occasion. I made some remark to my professor Boris about it and he told me that it had been a fashionable affectation of speech among the Russian nobles.


I have heard an affectation of speech among some Oxford-educated Brits of an older generation. There was (is?) some game show on British radio which deals with plays on language. The NPR show "Says You!" is based on it, I believe. I can not for the life of me remember what the original British show is called, and it's bugging me because there's an academic-type who is a frequent panelist on it and he has the best affected accent ever! It's a lot like the character Anthony Blanche's speech in the following clip from Brideshead Revisited.





An excellent example of the Connecticut Lockjaw/Long Island Lockjaw is the late William F. Buckley, Jr. Here is a clip of the infamous encounter between him and Gore Vidal. Priceless.