Wednesday, June 4, 2014

The letter "U"

ABC Wednesday (unquestionable thanks to all the volunteers) celebrates the letter "U" this week, and I have chosen just one word from the "unusual words that begin with u" site that fascinated me.  I'll slip some other "u" words into this post, though, to describe our urban adventures in Vancouver yesterday:

1. univocalic - a text that uses only one vowel. I found an example via a three-line poem that you can check out at this site but it used the word "no" once in those four lines, which I should think undermines its success.  I'm going to try to write one of my own near the end of this post.  Perhaps, I'll even inspire one or two readers to try their luck.  You can pick any vowel, but only one can appear in your text.  

Black Jack and I walked in David Lam Park before Bill and I left to see a movie. New blossoms and colours seem to be unmasked overnight.
Unless I look with fresh eyes each day, they sometimes catch me unawares.
Tupper came by for a snack yesterday.  She was unwavering in her determination.. 
to follow uand was quite uptight with this..
unruly crow..  
and with a seagull that I have noticed follows her lately.  The crow and seagull declared "uncle" to her unrivalled position on the top step, closest to her source of food (me).
There had been haze in the morning, but after lunch, the sky and water were a beautiful blue.    I added some definition to this photo to bring out the colours.  Would this qualify as an example of ultramarine?
Tupper settled on the Aquabus sign, where she..  
watched me for a while (I took all shots with my 17-50 mm lens).  Ultimately, she left for more useful hunting.
  
My turn
Here's my attempt at a bit of univocalic text about a crow (Butch) and Tupper (Tup).
Butch bugs Tup but cuts fun 'cuz gulls mug dumb chums. "Yum," murmurs Tup, chuffed. "Such luck!  Must run!"  Whoops, here's my edit as "chuffed" is unusable.
Butch bugs Tup but cuts fun 'cuz gulls mug dumb chums. "Yum," murmurs Tup.  Such fuss but luck turns up!  Must run!"
We saw The Grand Seduction. Having watched the preview several times, I was looking forward to seeing it, but to be honest, that preview and perhaps just a couple of other small scenes would have been enough for us.  Blatant dishonesty is supposed to be funny, but in the end, wasn't for either of us.  We felt that there was a lot of unrealized potential for some really upbeat humour.  Brendan Gleeson (below) was excellent, 
and I also enjoyed Gordon Pinsent (front of the photo below).  However, their characters did a disservice to Newfoundlanders and especially to the inhabitants of those small villages left stranded after the mismanagement of the fishing industry.  The review that I've linked above is a positive one, so perhaps it is just that I'm becoming a teeny bit jaded as I grow older.  I'd love to hear your views if you've seen it.  
Bill wrote these words about the movie:  
"Carol and I had seen the trailer for the "The Grand Seduction" and we thought it might interest us both. Unfortunately, it did not live up to our expectations. The central idea of enticing a doctor to an isolated Newfoundland village had promise but the resulting movie fell short. It wasn't that it was terrible because, in fact, it had elements that might qualify it as a "good bad movie" (google those words). Perhaps another director could have turned it into a more believable story. As an aside, I was grateful for the fact that Newfies prefer the word "friggin" over the more common one that infests most movies these days."
We had fun talking about it afterwards as we drank lattés and tried unsuccessfully to do a crossword.  It was also fun to watch Bill kid around.. 
in Andy Livingston Park..
before we rode our bikes homeward.
One last shot taken in the park just by the entrance and that concludes my "U" post.  My utinam (fervent wish) is that you will have a uniquely wonderful Tuesday.  For other "U" words, head on over to ABC Wednesday

10 comments:

  1. Great captures of your hubby, while walking - an art in itself to capture the right moments in someone's walk! How you captured the duck in air so well - I'm envious!

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  2. i like tupper's crow competition. :)

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  3. Love that last shot! I haven't seen that movie but am tempted to now that you wrote about it. I won't have high expectations, but will let you know my thoughts if/when I see it. As USUAL, love all your photos.

    Leslie
    abcw team

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  4. One-vowel words: strength, rhythm, phlegm, shrewd, wrench... I assume you're staying away from three-letter words too.

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  5. Magnificent photos, especially the birds in flight.
    Have a great week.
    Wil, ABCW team.

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  6. Tupper has two friends who are wrapped around her wing!! :) Why did you give up on "chuffed"? It is a wonderful term we learned in Australia and England which suggests being very pleased. I was chuffed that Bill wrote a small review in this segment of your blog! The opposite is "narked". I loved your univocalic poem!!! Your chuffed avid reader, Phyllis

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    1. Phyllis, univocalic means there can be only one vowel in a text. I chose "U" so the "e" in chuffed was a rule-breaker :)

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  7. Oh I SO love you and Bill's zest for life!!! You can see so many things that the average walker doesn't think about. Did you name the birds yourself? The aquamarine is so pretty. Until next post.
    Ann

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