Tag: words

licotic – adj. anxiously excited to introduce a friend to something you think is amazing – a classic album, a favorite restaurant, a TV show they’re lucky enough to watch for the first time – which prompts you to continually poll their face waiting for the inevitable rush of awe, only to cringe when you discover all the work’s flaws shining through for the very first time.

I’ve felt this quite a few times, often with my kids. Usually it’s an older movie or show that I loved and I try to introduce to them. Only to realize that in my naiveite of youth, I loved it more than it deserved and ignored the shortcomings.

I also think that the cinematography and storytelling in media has improved so much over the years that many shows I loved as a kid don’t resonate anymore because the skill of media has grown.

From the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

volander: n. the ethereal feeling of looking down at the world through an airplane window, able to catch a glimpse of far-flung places you’d never see in person, free to let your mind wander, trying to imagine what they must feel like down on the ground – the closest you’ll ever get to an objective point of view.

I snap these types of photos all the time. This was me leaving Denver for Fort Lauderdale recently:

Here was last year above Hawaii:

and leaving Melbourne:

As I fly, I sometimes think about the world below me, what it’s like from the ground, what it’s like for people who’ve walked there. Sometimes I plan to go someday and see.

Often, I know I’ll never get there.

I flew to Las Vegas a few weeks ago, and there are lots of places I could visit that I see, and some I have. However, much of the mountains above Colorado, the desert outside Las Vegas to the East, these are places I’ll never go.

But I can dream.

From the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

astrophe n the feeling of being stuck on Earth.

Us geeks are supposed to love space, right? Science Fiction? The Moon is a Harsh Mistress? Star Trek/Star Wars/Lost in Space? The desire to travel throughout the universe?

I know I wanted to get off this planet at some point. I’m sure I hoped there would be a way to leave the Earth, hopefully as smoothly as they do in Red Thunder. I don’t see that coming anytime soon: no anti-gravity, no teleporters, no space elevators. Just heavy thrust rockets.

At this point in my life, I’m not interested. Even when we ran the DBA in Space campaign, that wasn’t something I’d have chosen to do.

I don’t have any astrophe these days.

From the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

slipfast adj. longing to disappear completely; to melt into a crowd and become invisible, so you can take in the world without having to take part in it – free to wander through conversations without ever leaving footprints, free to dive deep into things without worrying about making a splash.

I used to be incredibly shy. When I first started going to conferences and events, I was like Tim. I didn’t want to participate. I wanted to listen, but if I were at the front of the room after a talk, I didn’t want to ask a question or be included. I wanted to be invisible and listen.

My life is different now, and I engage often with others. I enjoy seeing people and talking with them. I enjoy actively taking part in the world.

To a point.

There are times I want to feel slipfast, just being an observer of the world without participating.

From the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows