Jen Porter

Irradiate the New Year! (Episode 009) January 2024 Lost in Multiversal Translation The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word radiate as something that shines brightly and/or spreads out from a center point. It says the first recorded use of this word was "circa 1619" and that it comes from the Latin radiatus and radius (ray). Where do those come from? No one knows. Except Stargate fans, to whom it's painfully obvious that the root of these words is the name Ra. (I mean, his name's right...

To Nog, or Not to Nog 🍪🥛 (Episode 008) December 2024 Lost in Multiversal Translation Oscillate: The dictionary would have us believe that it's derived from the Latin oscillum (small mouth or small face) which referred to small masks hung from pine trees, which swung back and forth in the breeze to honor Bacchus. However, Dr. Who afficionados will recognize that the word's true roots are not in Latin, but in the name Oswin Oswald, + the ILATE acronym. ILATE is used to help you remember the...

*CORRECTED* Episode 007: How to Launder Clothes (and Time) Like a Seasoned Pro November 2024 Laundry Mishaps (a.k.a.*CORRECTIONS* Explained) It came to my attention following the release of Episode 007 two weeks ago that there was some inaccurate info in the "Lost in Metaverse Translation" bit. I must apologize! Apparently, in my rush to get done so I could go help my family in Council Bluffs, I decided to blindly trust my episode-fetching mechanoids (ChatGPT and CoPilot) -- and they were...

Episode 006: Well-Timed Chaos = Success October 2024 My Big Fat SFF Word Study Give me a word, any word... Convergence purportedly comes from the Latin convergere, which means 'to incline together,' or 'to bend together.' Many meanings have developed over time; all are really versions of 'moving toward union or uniformity' from disparate places. Enter sci-fi, with, well, the most meaningful meaning, of course. Hearken back with me to the days of old, specifically 2001, Star Trek: Voyager, S7:...

Episode 005: Loki's Law August/September "Super Edition" My Big Fat SFF Word Study Give me a word, any word...What's Loki's Law, you ask? Well, it's innately tied to the word conflagration, which is a fancy way of saying "viral dumpster fire." The Oxford English Dictionary says the word conflagration can be traced to 1555, borrowed from the Latin 'conflagrare,' meaning 'to burn up.' Well, that's -- just -- boring. Kind of like Murphy's Law: just a little too lackluster for us sci-fi and...

Episode 004: Week/Weak, Same Dif My Big Fat SFF Word Study Give me a word, any word, and I'll show you how it came from sci-fi or fantasy, or how SF/F makes that word better than the original! I bet you're under the impression that weak and week are different words. The Oxford English Dictionary has traced the word weak to an Old English word meaning 'of little worth.’ Week also harks back to an Old English word -- that probably meant ‘sequence' or 'series.' Week and Weak can be essentially...

Episode 003: Cappuccino — The 'Logical' Choice! My Big Fat SFF Word Study "Cappuccino" (whose purveyors I've kept in business for many, many moons, but especially this last one) is thought by many to be of Italian origin, allegedly named after the Capuchin friars whose robes were the same color (very sus if you ask me)...and borrowed into the English language sometime in the 1800s. However, this is improbable, since we know that cappuccino is made with espresso as its base, and espresso was...

Episode 002: "Tardy" is Actually a Sci-Fi Word My Big Fat SFF Word Study "Tardy" (as in, "How tardy is this so-called 'monthly' newsletter?") is thought by many to be of Latin or Anglo-French origin, (especially if they just Googled its etymology)...but only true sci-fi fans know that: Tardy comes from the root word TARD, from TARDIS (Dr. Who), plus the word ending -dy. TARD, meaning “time and relative dimension.” the word ending -dy, meaning “the state or condition of.” So, “tardy” means “a...

The Blessed Bulletin – Episode 001 by Jennifer Porter | Dec 23, 2023 | News | 0 comments Hello Reader! Grab your beverage of choice for reading news chronicles and prepare to be awed by my uncharacteristic brevity! 😂 (The weatherman says you have a 10-30% chance of being blessed if you believe that I am capable of brevity today — depending on your definitions of both “brevity” and “blessed.”) I know, I know… It’s been a while since you devoured The Frozen. So you may have the following...