ELINT – Wordplay Wednesday™ 02/05/2020

Big Brother Sees All, Knows All 

The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it … he could be seen as well as heard. … How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. [Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell c. 1949.]

We know we’re being watched. Many of us don’t care. Others care too much. Bottom line is, we can’t do anything about it and that’s more disturbing than the act itself.

Most of us not involved in “upper level electronic information collection” would generally refer to it in that type of convoluted, bungling description. Here, let me make it easy for us. There’s one word for that …

ELINT (elʹint) n. – the gathering of intelligence by monitoring with electronic equipment from airplanes, ships, satellites, etc. [WW #254*]

If there is a word for it, you know it’s happening. But we know that; historically, elint (electronic intelligence) has been around since the early twentieth century. It can be a good thing … or definitely not … what’s your opinion?

Word Challenge: ELINT. Try not to creep yourself out, as you doublethink on how much our daily lives are spied upon and fit elint into your week of subversive writings.

Learning knows no prejudices or boundaries, and it isn’t fattening! Expanding your mind is a no-cost, simple joy. Do you feel that way too? What’s your inspiration? Share your creative genius and Wordplay Wednesday comments below.

Write first for yourself … only then can you write for others. (L.Rochelle) 

Cheers to learning a new word on Wordplay Wednesday!

@PenchantForPen

@Irishwriter

[LinDee Rochelle is a writer and editor by trade, and an author by way of Rock & Roll. She has published two books in her Blast from Your Past series (of three) about pioneering R&R Radio DJs. True behind-the-mic tales make GREAT Holiday and anytime Gifts available on Amazon (eBook and print): Book 1 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The First Five Years 1954-1959; and Book 2 – Rock & Roll Radio DJs: The Swinging Sixties. Coming soon … The Psychedelic Seventies!]

*Note: 1) Dictionary definitions are quoted from Webster’s New World College Dictionary. Yes, we sometimes present them out of “official” context—but that’s half the fun! Think of it as “creative context.” 2) Neither I (LinDee Rochelle) nor Penchant for Penning are responsible for how you use information found here, that may result in legal action.

Endnote: FYI – All links in the PFP site are personally visited, verified, and vetted. Most are linked to commonly accessed sites of reputable note. However, as with everything cyber-security, use at your own discretion.

E-N-Dzzzzzzzz  

Wordplay Wednesday™ February 01, 2017 – Monocolor

Monocolor: color madness in a chaotic world  

On rare occasions I get on my soapbox—usually when the world’s news has exasperated me to distraction. My muse goes into overdrive and my mind slides into the computer. I can’t stop it!

I know my voice is a whisper on the wind, compared to those of the loudmouth know-it-all celebs and politicos. I’m just a nobody know-it-all.

But, I may as well share, since I spent so much time writing it … though someone will certainly misinterpret my words; blow them all out of proportion, and send me into permanent hibernation. Wait a minute—that isn’t such a bad idea …

You may think you know what this week’s word means. You might feel I oversimplify a complex issue. But let me put a different thought on it as we apply it to people …

MONOCHROME: (mänʹɘ krōmʹ) n. – 1) a painting, drawing, design, or photograph in black and white, or in shades of one color often with black or white;2) the art or process of making these; adj. – of or having to do with a single color … [the bolding and italics are mine, hint, hint; WW #97].

Black and White, White vs. Black—but as people, what are we, really? We’ve battled our differences since the beginning of time. To what end? Add a little brown, yellow … throw in some rainbow colors. Has no one thought to create a monochrome blend?

Black and White are supposed to describe certain ethnicities. But in this blended world I think we’ve outgrown those terms. They have become impossible definitions that we continue to chase around the globe. Again, for what purpose?

Hardly monochrome 

A Black person may seem relatively easy to define. Per Webster (in part): “designating or of any of the dark-skinned traditional inhabitants of sub-Saharan Africa, Australia, or Melanesia or their descendants in other parts of the world.”

While Whites—Caucasians—are more of an enigma now than ever, in the history of racial profiling. The dictionary states (in part): “a person with a light-colored skin; Caucasoid.” A tad on the ambiguous side don’t you think?

I am an admitted Caucasian—as dictated by our government—“White. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. It includes people who indicate their race as ‘White’ or report entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Arab, Moroccan, or Caucasian.”

We “Caucasians” have quietly accepted and used our official designation since the late 1700s. After just skimming the surface of this issue however, I’m objecting.

If you read the light exploration into “Caucasian race” on Wiki, you’ll find arguments abound and the definition across centuries and sciences is ill-defined. All ethnicities can have light-colored skin members; doesn’t that make the official definitions of all races erroneous from the get-go?

Even within the same family—my mother’s heritage is Irish and she had olive skin and black curly hair—I appeared with auburn hair and great skin that tans easily (thanks mom!). My dad was of Austrian/German descent. So what does that say about us?

And what of those folks who are lovely shades of brown, tan, or ivory—through natural evolution or enjoyable romps in the hay? Methinks we have diluted the melting pot.

Over the course of the past century, African Americans have eschewed the term Black. Are there anymore “Black” people, or have they all disappeared into the African American reference?

Even after millennia, we can’t agree on any true and definitive basis for “race discrimination”—why not celebrate monochrome and the diversities that brings in common understanding—rather than vilify each other for our differences?

Honestly, any nuances in any race are important only to those in that designation. The rest of us are busy with our own discrepancies.

If we were monochrome …