djkittycat

magniloquent [mag-nil-uh-kwuhnt]

adjective:
speaking or expressed in a lofty or grandiose style; pompous; bombastic; boastful

(click to enlarge)
Examples:

His star power is based on brains and brawn; he can recite magniloquent phrases while also giving the impression that he could fillet an enemy, Jason Bourne style, armed with only a Bic pen (Jody Rosen, Why Is Matt Damon Shilling for Crypto?, New York Times, February 2022)

The revealing, magniloquent letter is one of more than 1,600 records and documents relating to George IV from the Royal Archives published online for the first time. (Mark Brown, Letters shed light on lovelorn prince who became George IV, The Guardian, October 2019)

In such magniloquent language did the doctor describe the very simple process of fixing a door to the top landing of the house, which gave her the floor to herself. (Edgar Wallace, The Hand of Power)

His magniloquent western name was the moral umbrella upon which he balanced the fine problem of his finances. He was widely respected. (James Joyce, Dubliners)

It was empty, magniloquent, abstract, flatulent, pretentious, confused, and sub-human. I could have wept salt tears. But I couldn't do anything else; the young man wanted a clean heart and a new spirit, not a little top-dressing. (Logan Pearsall Smith, Unforgotten Years)

Origin:

1650s, a back-formation from magniloquence, or else from Latin magniloquentia 'lofty style of language,' from magniloquus 'pompous in talk, vaunting, boastful,' from combining form of magnus 'great' (from PIE root meg- 'great') + -loquus 'speaking,' from loqui 'to speak' (from PIE root tolkw- 'to speak'). Wycliffe (late 14c) translates Latin magniloquam as 'speechy'. (Online Etymology Dictionary)

Magnus means 'great' in Latin; loqui is a Latin verb meaning 'to speak.' Combine the two and you get magniloquus, the Latin predecessor of magniloquent. English-speakers started using magniloquent in the 1600s, despite having had its synonym grandiloquent since the 1500s. (Grandiloquent comes from Latin grandiloquus, which combines loqui and grandis, another word for 'great' in Latin.) Today, these synonyms continue to exist side by side and to be used interchangeably, though grandiloquent is the more common of the two. (Merriam-Webster)

1. Our window for the internet upgrade was 8am to 12pm and I got a text at 7:30 saying the guy was on his way, and he arrived a little before eight. Glad we were his first stop! Since it was just an upgrade, not setting up new service, it didn't take that long. I think he was gone by 9:30 or so. Everything seems to be working well, both in terms of speed increases and, more importantly, wifi range. When Carla got her Switch 2, it wouldn't connect to the wifi if it wasn't in my room (where the router is), which is inconvenient. We hoped it was just our crappy old router affecting it and not the Switch itself, and sure enough it works fine now. Whew!

2. Since the guy finished so early, we decided to go to the farmers market and then go to Disneyland for lunch afterwards. Got two bottles of the watermelon lemonade at the farmers market, as well as some more rhubarb as Carla wants to make a rhubarb syrup to make rhubarb lemonade. We also got some delicious grapes. Carla had run to the store while the internet guy was here and I had meant to ask her to get some sort of fruit and totally forgot, so I was excited to find some really tasty grapes at the farmers market.

3. It was very sunny down in Anaheim today, though not super hot. Crowds were decent. We had a nice lunch and had a fun afternoon. Definitely felt a little wiped out from that sun afterwards, though.

4. This is what I wake up to every morning. Molly always sleeps in this spot right next to my pillow. She usually keeps me company the whole night, too.

Hello! Fandom5K is a fanwork exchange for completed fic with a minimum of 5,000 words. We have one open late pinch hit with a number of video game fandoms.

Ideally, this is due 25 July at 23:59 US Eastern so we can plan to reveal on the 26th, but I'm happy to discuss later deadlines! Please see the link below for more details.

PDPH 14 - Code Vein (Video Game), Octopath Traveler II (Video Game), よるのないくに | Yoru no Nai Kuni | Nights of Azure (Video Games), Xenoblade Chronicles (Video Game)

We originally moved our weekend Disney trip from Saturday to Sunday because the internet guy was coming this morning, but then he ended up getting done so early that we decided to go ahead and go today for lunch and just stay home tomorrow.

( Read more... )

The Portrait of a Lady | Anna Chronistic and the Scarab of Destiny | Mother of Souls

The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

Continuing my adventures in the classics where a woman makes very bad romantic choices. Alas, this time she goes so far as to marry the bad choice. I knew nothing about this book other than the title and its author until February of this year, when I came across a reference to “Isabel Archer sitting in her chair” in Researcher’s First Murder.

She sure sits in that chair, huh.

( Read more... )

Side note: Read a decent chunk of this while sitting in a park and a random fellow remarked “I finished that book two months ago, it’s very psychological” and I was like yeah, you’re not wrong.

Anna Chronistic and the Scarab of Destiny by Anakaret Wells

Time-travel novel that made me wonder if I’m a dummy or if the plot in the last third of the book was poorly explained. Of course, those are not mutually exclusive options.

Additionally, I think it rude to offer several intriguing times and locations and then spend the bulk of your time travel novel in an upper-class home in 18th/19th century England. (No, I cannot recall which century it was and I may even be mistaken in this broad range.)

( Read more... )

Mother of Souls by Heather Rose Jones

Third book in the Alpennia series. The new romance here was my least favorite of the three couples, perhaps because it itself is least certain of being a settled Romance at all. Yet I did enjoy the imagery of their particular pairing. Also, just plain fun to hang out with the gang again.

...I may have gained a het ship I support in this series, despite the impossibility of the class and religious differences???? C’mon, I know this setting is too grounded for it but I think the hets should have this.

( Read more... )

Posted by jwz

https://www.jwz.org/blog/2025/07/xscreensaver-wayland-and-locking/

https://jwz.org/b/ykrj

Welp, I got crickets in answer to my question, "How do I find the wl_surface backing an Xwayland X11 Window?" and that does not bode well for XScreenSaver ever being able to lock your screen on Wayland.

The only existing mechanism for third-party screen locking is the "ext-session-lock-v1" protocol and that API requires you to provide it with a set of wl_surfaces to display while locked.

So either I need to find the wl_surface of an existing X11 window, or I need a way to create an X11 window that is a child of a new wl_surface. Without that, we're dead in the water. I don't think there's another way.

(The "ext-session-lock-v1" model is a terrible idea and also doesn't work on Gnome or KDE, but it is the only game in town.)

Previously, previously, previously.

https://www.jwz.org/blog/2025/07/xscreensaver-wayland-and-locking/

https://jwz.org/b/ykrj

Posted by jwz

https://www.jwz.org/blog/2025/07/jwz-mixtape-253/

https://jwz.org/b/ykrh

https://www.jwz.org/blog/2025/07/jwz-mixtape-253/

https://jwz.org/b/ykrh

Posted by jwz

https://www.jwz.org/blog/2025/07/even-god-cannot-hear-us-here-what-i-witnessed-inside-an-ice-womens-prison/

https://jwz.org/b/ykrf

Rümeysa Öztürk:

I was looking forward to taking a short walk and catching up with friends at the interfaith center, when I was suddenly surrounded and grabbed by a swarm of masked individuals, who handcuffed me and shoved me into an unmarked car.

Suddenly, I was thrust into a nightmare. Thousands of questions crept up in the hours that passed. It felt like an eternity as my shackled body was jostled from one location to another. Who were these people? Had I been a good enough person if today was my final day? I was relieved to have finished filing my taxes, but I couldn't shake the thought of a book I needed to return to the library.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

https://www.jwz.org/blog/2025/07/even-god-cannot-hear-us-here-what-i-witnessed-inside-an-ice-womens-prison/

https://jwz.org/b/ykrf

Posted by jwz

https://www.jwz.org/blog/2025/07/visit-dubai/

https://jwz.org/b/ykrd

Caitlín Doherty:

I went to Dubai wrongheaded. I learnt nothing and left nauseated. I had thought it would be fun -- funny, even -- to experience the disorientation of standing at the pivot point between two world systems. Instead, it was merely disorientating -- sickeningly so. There are hells on earth and Dubai is one: an infernal creation born of the worst of human tendencies. Its hellishness cannot be laid solely at the feet of the oligarchs, whose wealth it attracts, nor the violent organised criminals who relocate there to avoid prosecution. It is hellish because, as the self-appointed showtown of free trade, it provides normal people with the chance to buy the purest form of the most heinous commodity: the exploitation of others. If you want to know how it feels to have slaves, in the modern world -- and not be blamed openly for this desire -- visit Dubai. But know that you will not be blameless for doing so. Every Instagram post, every TikTok video, every gloating WhatsApp message sent from its luxury is an abomination. A PR campaign run by those who have already bought the product, and now want only to show you that they can afford it. [...]

If you try to humanise the place you will lose your mind. If you ask yourself what the woman at the hair-braiding stand left behind to be here, and why, you will lose your mind. If you accept the kindness of the staff with whom you make a paltry effort to speak each morning as they clear your dirty breakfast plate, you will lose your mind, because your tip is the only kindness you can meaningfully offer in return. Trying to attend to your own towel by the pool might cause the man who stands for hours in the ferocious sun to do so for you to lose his job. Being served makes us cruel infants. It demeans us all.

Previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously, previously.

https://www.jwz.org/blog/2025/07/visit-dubai/

https://jwz.org/b/ykrd

fan_writers comm - for meta about writing



Come on over to fan_writers geek out about writing! Some posts shared in the comm:
- "Where I Need to Be": A discussion on your preferred writing environment.
- "Links to Writing Meta": Writing meta from AO3 and Dreamwidth.

Going Home (1756 words) by thawrecka
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Bleach (Anime & Manga)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Ishida Uryuu & Kurosaki Ichigo
Characters: Kurosaki Ichigo, Ishida Uryuu
Additional Tags: Missing Scene, Post-Thousand Year Blood War Arc (Bleach), Family Feels, Cousins, group hug
Summary:

In the wake of the Quincy war, Ichigo drags Ishida home.

Asking the Question (1599 words) by thawrecka
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Bleach (Anime & Manga)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Abarai Renji/Kuchiki Rukia, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Ayasegawa Yumichika/Madarame Ikkaku
Characters: Abarai Renji, Kuchiki Rukia, Ayasegawa Yumichika, Madarame Ikkaku, Matsumoto Rangiku, Kurosaki Ichigo, Kurosaki Isshin
Additional Tags: Established Relationship, Marriage Proposal
Summary:

Renji asks for life advice and finds most of his friends unqualified to give it.

Piercing Moment (697 words) by thawrecka
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Bleach (Anime & Manga)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Abarai Renji/Kuchiki Rukia
Characters: Abarai Renji, Kuchiki Rukia, Ayasegawa Yumichika
Additional Tags: Piercings
Summary:

Rukia and Renji have a moment over an ear piercing. Yumichika is also there.

This is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time) on Saturday to midnight on Sunday (8pm Eastern Time).





Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.

Fandom: The Lord of the Rings
Characters/Pairing/Other Subject: Narsil and the One Ring
Content Notes/Warnings: none
Medium: stained glass, mirrors, acrylic paint
Artist on DW/LJ: n/a
Artist Website/Gallery: leftenwright on Reddit

Why this piece is awesome: Absolutely gorgeous piece. The simple, elegant lines of the sword and ring are great subjects for stained glass. The broken end is still sharp.

Link: Narsil

Intro/FAQ
Days 1-15

My check-in: More work on the pod-together stories. Today was largely "what you need to know to enjoy this story" fandom summaries, but also a handful of titles and working out some of the posting details. ("A handful of titles," fml.)

Day 19: glinda, sanguinity, ysilme

Day 18: badlyknitted, brithistorian, carenejeans, chinashop, cornerofmadness, glinda, goddess47, nafs, sanguinity, sylvanwitch trobadora, ysilme

( more days )

When you check in, please use the most recent post and say what day(s) you’re checking in for. Remember you can drop in or out at any time, and let me know if I missed anyone!

Journaling: What is making you smile these days? Create a top 10 list of anything you want to talk about.
Creative: Write from the perspective of a house or other location.

Part 1

Here are 10 interesting things I've done (Note: all these took place 15+ years ago. I am not interesting anymore.).

1. I was a participant in phase 1 of a clinical trial for an Ebola virus vaccine.
2. I was in Rwanda on the 10th anniversary of the genocide.
3. I allowed a Sri Lankan child to put me in my underpants in a bathtub of what looked like tomato soup and whack me with something like a cabbage leaf. It was strange. This was for a project on ayurvedic medicine.
4. I survived an earthquake in Bolivia.
5. Skydiving.
6. Guanacos laughed at me when I was hiking in Tierra del Fuego. They see you (and you don't see them) and they make his noise like laughing. It's funny and weird.
7. I hiked alone part of Ruta de los Jesuitas between Argentina and Chile. This is an ancient path that the Jesuit missionaries would walk between camps.
8. When landing in Zanzibar, the small plane dropped too fast, and something happened to my ears, and I was completely deaf for the first day of my stay there. It was strange.
9. On 9/11, I was working on an organic pineapple farm in Ecuador which only had radio contact with the outside world, and I didn't know what happened for about three days until I went to an internet cafe in the nearest town to figure out what the kids were talking about.
10. A baboon once stole my breakfast jam.

Part 2

Title: 221 B
Fandom: Sherlock Holmes (ACD)
Rating: Gen
Length: 300
Note: POV building, in response to this scholar's comment in The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes: It is curious how frequenly Holmes' clients took insufficient care of their property. The result was always highly satisfactory for Holmes invariably made a reconstruction of the missing client from the missing article.
Summary: How 221B helps divert its occupant.

( Read more... )

Posted by jwz

https://www.jwz.org/blog/2025/07/space-nazis-socially-and-economically-disadvantaged/

https://jwz.org/b/ykrb

Elon Musk's Neuralink filed as 'disadvantaged business' before being valued at $9 billion:

Elon Musk's health tech company Neuralink labeled itself a "small disadvantaged business" in a federal filing with the U.S. Small Business Administration, shortly before a financing round valued the company at $9 billion. [..] Neuralink's filing, dated April 24, would have reached the SBA at a time when Musk was leading the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency. [...]

According to the SBA's website, a designation of SDB means a company is at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more "disadvantaged" persons who must be "socially disadvantaged and economically disadvantaged." An SDB designation can also help a business "gain preferential access to federal procurement opportunities," the SBA website says. [...]

Jared Birchall, a Neuralink executive, was listed as the contact person on the filing from April. Birchall, who also manages Musk's money as head of his family office, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Previously, previously, previously, previously.

https://www.jwz.org/blog/2025/07/space-nazis-socially-and-economically-disadvantaged/

https://jwz.org/b/ykrb

Posted by jwz

https://www.jwz.org/blog/2025/07/xwayland-wl_surface/

https://jwz.org/b/ykrZ

Dear Lazyweb, how do I find the wl_surface backing an Xwayland X11 Window? This says that the window will be sent a WL_SURFACE_ID ClientMessage, but this appears not to be the case.

Previously.

https://www.jwz.org/blog/2025/07/xwayland-wl_surface/

https://jwz.org/b/ykrZ