Tag Archives: style

Clothes

Clothes: (n) items worn to cover the body.

“The clothes make the man.” Unless she’s a woman.

Why do the clothes make anything?

Here’s the truth:  clothes look very good on people who would look very good without them.

If you do not look very good without clothes, draping cloth over you does not do a lot to jazz your appearance.

It can communicate wealth. I suppose it can pass along the image of style. But if you look fairly rotund without clothing, clothing is like putting drapes on a wide window.

People who are slender can put on a suit and look very proficient and businesslike. People who are portly always have to worry about whether they should unbutton the coat when they sit, for fear of launching a button.

Women who are lean can wear a dress and make it look pretty much look like the hanger it was hung upon, while women who are more “Greek” in their shape can take a perfectly lovely dress and make it appear very broad at the beam.

We are happy to wear clothes simply because they hide a multitude of fleshly sins. Yet there is no outfit that can completely disguise what lies within.

I’ve spent a lot of money on clothes and I’ve spent a little money on clothes–and at the end, the tally was, “what you see is basically what you get.”

 

 

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Ceiling

Ceiling: (n) the upper interior surface of a room

I offer no criticism nor judgment to those who pursue owning their own domicile where they can roam the halls as Lord or Lady of the
 Manor. For about eleven years, I did it myself.

I was intrigued. I was told by those who owned homes that it was ridiculous to pay rent and have no revenue being laid up for the future.

I bought into it.

For a while it went along real well. I especially was fascinated with adding small improvements that would show my flair and style.

And then the house turned against me. It felt very personal.

I do not know what I did to offend my four walls and a roof, but one after another, grievances, complaints and near-disaster lined up to offer a rebellious tantrum.

One night it all came to a head as I was sitting in my bedroom and the ceiling began to leak.

No–that word is too passive. It actually poured water down on me and the floor below.

It didn’t stop. There was no explanation. And I will always remember my first inclination:

“Damn, somebody outghta DO something about this.”

It took me a moment, but I did eventually realize that “somebody,” in this case, was me.

The explanation for my outpouring was pretty simple. The hot water heater had exploded, pouring out all of its contents–ruining carpets, warping floors and making the house smell like a high school locker room.

After eleven years, I got rid of my home. I will never own another one.

I do not begrudge those who disagree with my assessment, but for me, when the ceiling begins to pour forth water, I want to call a landlord instead of tapping my own resources.

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Acerbic

by J. R. Practix

dictionary with letter A

Acerbic: (adj.): a sharp and forthright style of speaking: e.g. his acerbic wit

Nice:   I like your outfit.

Mean:  Did you dress in the dark?

Acerbic: Oh, I didn’t know that was back in style.

 

Nice:  That was a delicious dinner.

Mean: Thanks for the grub–now I’ll spend the next two days in the toilet.

Acerbic: I see you must have gotten yourself a cookbook without knowing where to locate all the spices.

 

Nice:  I loved your singing.

Mean: Here’s twenty dollars. Take some singing lessons.

Acerbic: Interesting. How would you characterize that style?

As you can see, we all have the chance to be nice–or to take the degrading position of meanness. Unfortunately, I believe that acerbic is just mean people pretending they’re nice … by adding three drops of clever.

Acclivity

by J. R. Practix

dictionary with letter A

Acclivity: (n) an upward slope.

I suppose you could have a long debate over the issue of whether life is downhill, even-footed, or a climb.

Candidly, there have been times when I have felt noble to suffer the slings and arrows of misfortune, believing myself to be on a holy quest–uphill–for the common good. Yet too often, in the end I discovered that I put myself through some unnecessary puncture wounds for very little payoff.

Likewise, I have run away from the acclivity and have searched out a path that tilted downwards, only to discover that it was an access road to an unforseen hell.

Yet at the same time, walking straight ahead on a plain path often brings bland results, with no challenges, improvements or subtleties to discuss over dinner with your equally bored family.

So what IS the case? Are we supposed to be looking for the acclivities, approaching them as slopes to climb “because they’re there?” Or are we smarter if we lower our blood pressure points and seek an easy path?

Here’s what I have found: Find important things to do and never question if they’re difficult OR easy. Just confirm that they’re important. If they happen to be easy, allow yourself some style points and creativity in embellishing your results, to get extra credit. If they end up being hard, then take a few extra minutes of planning to simplify the process down to its rudimentary necessities and try to make it fun.

But if you find yourself walking straight ahead, repeating the same things over and over again, be very frightened. That is the broad way of destruction, which is always crowded with mediocrity, boredom and bickering.

Human beings don’t die from a challenge. Most human beings don’t croak because they have rested up. Human beings are much more likely to deteriorate because difficulty is avoided at all costs.

So am I looking for an acclivity? No. But if it’s important, I’m not afraid of it and certainly have talents which enable me to make it enjoyable.

It’s not so much the style of the path as it is making sure that the path has great style.