Funk • y

Funk • y [fuhng-kee]

funk (1) “depression, ill-humor,” 1743, probably originally Scottish and northern English; earlier as a verb, “panic, fail through panic,” (1737), said to be 17c. Oxford University slang, perhaps from Flem. fonck “perturbation, agitation, distress,” possibly related to O.Fr. funicle “wild, mad.”

noun

1. cowering fear; state of great fright or terror.
2. a dejected mood: He’s been in a funk ever since she walked out on him.

verb (used with object)

1. to be afraid of.
2. to frighten.
3. to shrink from; try to shirk.
   

funk (2) “bad smell,” 1620s, from dialectal Fr. funkière “smoke,” from O.Fr. fungier “give off smoke; fill with smoke,” from L. fumigare “to smoke” (see fume). In reference to a style of music, it is first attested 1959, a back formation from funky.

funky 1784, “old, musty,” in reference to cheeses, then “repulsive,” from funk (2) + -y (2). It began to develop an approving sense in jazz slang c.1900, probably on the notion of “earthy, strong, deeply felt.” … The word reached wider popularity c.1954 (e.g. definition in “Time” magazine, Nov. 8, 1954) and in the 1960s acquired a broad slang sense of “fine, stylish, excellent.”

For more fun with words, see the Online Etymology Dictionary.

Dis • cour • aged

Dis • cour • aged

discourage  mid-15c., discoragen, from M.Fr. descourager, from O.Fr. descoragier, from des- “away” (see dis-) + corage (see courage). Related: Discouraged; discouragement; discouraging.

1. to deprive of courage, hope, or confidence; dishearten; dispirit.
2. to dissuade (usually followed by from ).
3. to obstruct by opposition or difficulty; hinder: Low prices discourage industry.
4. to express or make clear disapproval of; frown upon: to discourage the expression of enthusiasm.

courage  c.1300, from O.Fr. corage (12c., Mod.Fr. courage) “heart, innermost feelings; temper,” from V.L. *coraticum (cf. It. coraggio, Sp. coraje), from L. cor “heart,” which remains a common metaphor for inner strength. In M.E., used broadly for “what is in one’s mind or thoughts,” hence “bravery,” but also “wrath, pride, confidence, lustiness,” or any sort of inclination. Replaced O.E. ellen, which also meant “zeal, strength.”

Vegan pledge, the show, yoga, and a hard week coming up

Busy day. My vegan partner in crime picked me up at 1p so we could set up for the Vegan Pledge week 3. We led our great group of people through the pledge, then  went right over around 4p to work a few hours on the radio show. I got back around 8p, said a quick hello to everyone, then jumped in the car and went to Trader Joe’s to pick up some stuff for the week. The kids are back from their mom’s and we’re about to start the weekly drill all over again.

Except I have to figure out how to crank my show out tomorrow. We’re quite behind. I’m going to make sure to get some yoga in during the earliest available class after I drop the kids off. It is the best way I know of to deal with stress right now, and I’m going to take advantage of it. We’ll see what the Prana class can teach me.

This week is typically hard for me. Tomorrow is the anniversary of my cat Connecticut’s death, and Thursday is the anniversary of my mom’s death. Generally a week of heavy contemplation for me at the very least.

A booklist for February

A booklist for February:

• The Grief Performance, Emily Kendal Frey
• The Truth about Grief, Ruth Davis Konigsberg
• Light Boxes, Shane Jones {of course}

Don’t let February sneak up on you

I haven’t yet prepped for my Light Box month this year, even though I’m 4 days into it. Maybe it’s time to check out Light Boxes again. The trick will be to keep myself mentally and physically healthy in a month that is typically hard for me, on top of the extra stress that I’m already experiencing.

Meanwhile, I’m falling asleep at the keyboard again. Apparently my body is trying to keep me on my new weekday schedule (even though it had no problem letting me sleep in very late this morning). Signing off to finish up The Well of Lost Plots. So much going on that I’ve not dedicated too much reading time the last few weeks—it’s taking me forever to get through this one.