O.E. gor "dirt, dung, shit," a Gmc. word (cf. M.Du. goor "filth, mud;" O.N. gor "cud;" O.H.G. gor "animal dung"), of uncertain origin. Sense of "clotted blood" (especially shed in battle) developed by 1563.
gore
c.1400, from Scottish gorren "to pierce, stab," origin unknown, perhaps related to O.E. gar "spear" (see gar), which is certainly the source of the third meaning of Mod.Eng. gore , "triangular piece of ground" (O.E. gara ), hence also "front of a skirt" (mid-13c.), and "triangular piece of cloth" (early 14c.).
Watching the Tsunami (or what one friend called 'the swami') was -and I know this is going to sound terrible-kinda addictive in a way. In the same way, perhaps, that some people are drawn to accident scenes, or have a strange fascination with horror stories-ghoul and gore galore- or others, still, to pornography and violent images. But that picture of the huge wave from the helicopter, silently and inexorably making its way inland, the sun's dazzling light dancing on its back, was an image sheer out of Tarkovsky.
One person remarked, my heart is very upset by all that has happened there and the cynic in me asks: is that true? I mean, is that what you really feel or are you just saying that? Cut off your little finger or save the whole of China? How far out does your sense of identity, sympathy, and commonality extend? Always gets you just how vociferous the brothers are in condemning Israel and how silent they are when it comes to Darfur, say, or the backward rag heads that are the Saudi 'royal family'.
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Last night faced with the choice of watching Bangladesh beat England (hurrah!), going to 'The Last Word' to pick up Lorrie Moore's book (after reading Dyer's rave review), or going to watch a, er..local dance (mujra). But the thought of being in a crowd of 200 drunken guys ogling at some scantily clad, voluptuous women 'dancing ' just doesn't do it for me. And when my friend said to me, "come on, loosen up, get in tune with the 'punjabi way of things'" you knew, if ever you needed convincing, that that was it!
Well, the Lorrie Moore book is very dull so far, I have to say. And no, not in comparison!
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Dyer's usually on the money though, so let's see.
"I don't even need an intellect, now that I've got all my books around me. Finding myself, at last, in the perfect situation for work I don't want to do any work...Needless to say, I have no impulse to read. Books are to be arranged and classified, shuffled around...
I think of people living in my street, couples with children, families, and I feel a kind of pity for them, because they are not here, they are not me, in this lamp-lit solitude, surrounded, at last, by the books acquired over twenty years."
On Camus: "He achieved something priceless: a heart free of bitterness."
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