Monday, July 19, 2004

Whoa!
Check out this big bad word:
synecdoche
SYLLABICATION: syn·ec·do·che
NOUN: A figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole (as hand for sailor), the whole for a part (as the law for police officer), the specific for the general (as cutthroat for assassin), the general for the specific (as thief for pickpocket), or the material for the thing made from it (as steel for sword). 

ETYMOLOGY: Middle English synodoches, from Medieval Latin synodoche, alteration of Latin synecdoch, from Greek sunekdokh, from sunekdekhesthai, to take on a share of : sun-, syn- + ekdekhesthai, to understand.
OTHER FORMS: synec·dochic (snk-dkk) , synec·dochi·cal (--kl) —ADJECTIVE
I'm going to be busy for hours trying to figure out a way I can slip this into a casual conversation. 
 

So anyways, not a big deal weekend-wise. Did one jump had a bad landing. More embarrassing than painful. We had a pool party at our house Saturday night and I slept in on Sunday.

The only thing I watched was Ghosts of the Abyss, James Camernon's documentary about the Titanic. It was originally released in 3D in IMAX theaters. I wish I had seen it in the theater.

James Cameron led an expedition to the Titanic in 2001 and filmed a great deal of the wreckage using technology specifically created for the endeavor; namely two Remotely Operated Vehicles he nicknamed "Jake" and "Elwood". These little robots on fiber optic leashes were used to squeeze through windows and tight spaces to film deep into the interior of the shiprwerck. Cameron invited his friend Bill Paxton along. Paxton has acted in 4 of Cameron's movies, including Titanic. The reason he was asked along seems to be as a stand-in for the audience. He's not a technician, diver, marine biologist, etc. so many scenes with him in it involve the professionals explaining to him about what is going on.

In his first experience aboard the tiny submersibles they take down to the Titanic wreck he is understandably quite nervous. By the later dives he participated in he is helping out like an old hand. He narrates most of the movie, too.

I really liked this documentary. It is a nice complementary piece to his movie and you really get a feel for the layout of the ill-fated ship. I enjoyed the movie Titanic, but like a lot of people older than 14, I thought the love triangle was pointless. I give Mr. Cameron some points back with this movie.

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