Sunday, August 7, 2011

Rhetoric - metastasis



metastasis [məˈtæstəsɪs] n.

1.) A sudden change of subject; an abrupt transition (Garner's Modern American Usage 3rd Ed.)

Etymology: Late Latin, adoption of Greek µετάστασις, removal, change, noun of action of µεθιστάναι, to remove, to change.

      "In any weather, at any hour of the day or night, I have been anxious to improve the nick of time, and notch it on my stick too; to stand on the meeting of two eternities, the past and future, which is precisely the present moment; to toe that line. You will pardon some obscurities, for there are more secrets in my trade than in most men's, and yet not voluntarily kept, but inseparable from its very nature. I would gladly tell all that I know about it, and never paint "No Admittance" on my gate.
      I long ago lost a hound, a bay horse, and a turtle dove, and am still on their trail. Many are the travellers I have spoken concerning them, describing their tracks and what calls they answered to. I have met one or two who had heard the hound, and the tramp of the horse, and even seen the dove disappear behind a cloud, and they seemed as anxious to recover them as if they had lost them themselves" (Walden, Henry David Thoreau, 1854).

(Diptyque de Melun, Jean Fouquet, 1450)
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Hi readers. Yep, another week has already gone by and it's the final day to submit your weekly challenge entries. The D4 juggernaut was held at bay by jos xx last week, but will anyone be able to stop him this week? Will Intraman finally come back from vacation and take the lead outright? Only time will tell...

16 comments:

Curl Jung said...

It's wonderful to visit your blog.
Because on each visit I learn something new and Great.
*Thumps up*

Bibi said...

re: Ah you're giving me way too much credit *blushes* Things went pretty well yesterday. Actually, they're going pretty well overall. When I read what I have so far it doesn't sound like complete nonsense, so that's good, right?
I'm writing every day. Want to have this thing finished as soon as possible XD

Bibi said...

re (again.. sorry for spamming): Actually, it's kind of nice to know someone else is writing during the Summer months as well. Let's work hard! ^^

Once Upon A Time... said...

let's just think positive and hope i win again haha even though i doubt it!

re your comment: yes the gentleman is wearing some kind of crappy shirt. but the picture is cool..isn't it?

jos xx

Debra She Who Seeks said...

I don't really understand how the examples illustrate the concept. What am I missing?

DEZMOND said...

in my language a word similar to metastasis (metastaza) denotes a pause in the development of cancer cells in human body.

Unknown said...

@Debra: That's a single example and the emboldened sentence marks the sudden change of subject.

Unknown said...

I almost didn't see 'Rhetoric' in front of that and thought you were going to be talking about something entirely different. Plus I read metastasis as mastitis and thought you were going to talk about cows.

I'm starting to think I need my glasses prescription checked...

GMSoccerPicks said...

I always found a sad connotation for this word. I tend to associate it with C*ncer (yeah, i wont say it)

D4 said...

See, this one would be difficult to use..

As far as the German radio comment, the reason I love their radio is because it's very well rounded. What's your musical preference?

Unknown said...

Very cool artwork as always, but that baby is creeping me out lol.

ivy said...

Love the Walden part. Such a test of times. Have you ever read "happy as a big sunflower"? It's a true journal of a Swed who grew up on the prairie just after the states' Civil War. I loved his tales of chasing down stubborn oxes and the like, out of the farm. He'd even get mysterious letters from suitors too. So snailmail used to be fun.

j. littlejohn said...

wow -- i've been pronouncing that word wrong or a while

D4 said...

Thing about them Germans and radio, finding songs IN German isn't all that popular. Still, the closest to indie-ish rock that I know of is: www.dark-section.de/ it does have a lot of German in it, and well "gothic". The play button is on the right hand side. Also if you want to just lurk through stations there's usb based web radios that do well. I use muzee but they're sold out on amazon so they come up to about $25 which is WAY too much for what it is. You can get those things for about a dollar.

Meri said...

Yea! I love when I read your blog and already know the word. It makes me feel smarter than I am. ha.

Unknown said...

That's Jesus? Sorry little baby-J ;)

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