-rama

.
.
.

It is interesting to note the widespread use of a new derivative suffix, -rama, in New York advertising language. The appeal of -rama is evidently due to the great success of the wide-screen motion picture, Cinerama, which had its New York première on September 30, 1952…Cinerama was made up in the mid-194os, when Fred Waller, the inventor of this motion picture technique, offered a case of champagne to a co-worker for the best name for the process. The prize was won by Waldo McLowerie, who came up with Cinerama. It was obviously coined on the analogy of panorama and the less frequent cyclorama, from the root cine-, occurring in a great many words related to motion pictures, and the ending -rama, taken from the final part of panorama and cyclorama, disregarding any analytic-etymological considerations. (Panorama, dating from 1796, goes back ultimately to the Greek pan 'every' and horama 'view,' and thus the -o- is an etymologically given phoneme in the compound…)

The transfer was motivated by the similarity in the arrangement of the Cinerama technique…offering a wide panoramic view which creates the illusion of depth, an illusion which is further augmented by stereophonic sound effects...

Immediately after the enthusiastic reception of Cinerama by critics and public, the liquor store next door to the theater called its window display a 'liquorama'; other names followed: audiorama, a display of acoustic instruments; Autorama, a television show; colorama, a color movie; Dekorama, an oil paint decal set; Figurama, an 'amazing new three-dimensional girdle'; Himberama, 'a 4-D show,' advertised on Times Square; motorama, an auto- mobile exhibit; newsorama, a television news program; Phonorama, a new Philco phonograph; scoutorama, a meeting of New York State Boy Scouts; sinerama, in an advertisement of the jacket of a book called Jest and Sex: 'Sexplosively Sexational Sinerama of life'; skinerama, the headline of a World-Telegram article making fun of baldness concoctions; smellorama, the 'symphony' of a 'smell organ,' in an article on experiments in sensory entertainment during the 1920s; striporama, a burlesque movie; telerama, a television show; vistarama, a new anamorphic type of wide-screen photography and projection; and Wonderama, 'the first musical of the future.'

The word Cinerama was by no means the first coinage with this ending in the twentieth century. Well known is the Futurama of the General Motors exhibit during the New York World's Fair of 1939-40, but this did not seem to create a fashion…

The meaning of this suffix is clear: 'a spectacular show or display' (the thing displayed is sometimes indicated in the stem).

John Lotz, "The suffix -rama", American Speech, Vol. 29, No. 2 (May, 1954)

going down

.
.
.
even i, always the ardent decay enthusiast and lover of blight, am kind of freaking out and finding it hard not being overwhelmed with the onslaught of neodepression-related architectural and urban occurrences. i was hoping for the day when architecture would be more about buildings crumbling down than going up, but i never thought it would come so fast and be so in-your-face. i certainly didn't see it happening practically everywhere. i'm trying to come to grips with the debacle by compiling a series of keywords:

bust-towns
disasterscape
excesscapes
frozen skyline
see-through buildings
slumburb
unbuilding



care to share?

piles

cities as piles, composed of:

abetments
abstractions
addresses
altars
aspirations
backdoors
backlots
bad metaphors
binaries
brandings
breakouts
breaks
burning sensations
calls
categories
carcinogens
characters
climates
conflicts
crusts
days
degradations
deprivations
deviations
diapers
doubts
drivers
drives
duties
empty containers
encounters
epicenters
episodes
erotic transfer
erosions
exchanges
expansions
failures
falsifications
fetishes
frames of reference
generations
gradients
group dynamics
half-finished structures
hidden alternatives
hierarchies
hues
inflections
inequalities
inscriptions
itineraries
latencies
layers
lingerings
malfunctions
(processed) materials
(raw) materials
names
networks
parasites
peaks and valleys
pointless systematizations
power struggles
procedures
products
(chinese) products
questions
radiofrequencies
reactions
rebirths
refractions
regressions
regurgitations
reproductions
sadness
scars
scenes
scores
searches
secretions
smells
songs
squares
strategies
symbolisms
things dead
things living
things we’ve lost
things we’ve forgotten
threads
threats
totems
trials
variations on themes
visual impressions
wants
waste

plus whatever else you might want to add.

muckracker

i never knew i had a calling.

word 20 : after _ _ _ _

afterthought

n.

1. a later or second thought; reconsideration.
2. reflection after an act; an appropriate explanation, answer, expedient, or the like, conceived of too late for the occasion.
3. something added, as a part or feature, that was not included in the original plan or design.


aftertaste

n.

1. a taste remaining after the substance causing it is no longer in the mouth.
2. the remaining sensation following an unpleasant experience, incident, etc.


aftershock

n.

1. a small earthquake or tremor that follows a major earthquake.
2. the effect, result, or repercussion of an event; aftermath; consequence.

aftercast

n.

1. a casting made from a mold that was itself made from an original casting.


afterword

n.

1. a concluding section, commentary, etc., as of a book, treatise, or the like; closing statement.

word 19 : exhaust

exhaust

v.

1. to drain of strength or energy, wear out, or fatigue greatly.
2. to use up or consume completely; expend the whole of.
3. to draw out all that is essential.
4. to empty by drawing out the contents.
5. to create a vacuum in.
6. to draw out or drain off completely.
7. to deprive wholly of useful or essential properties, possessions, resources, etc.
8. to destroy the fertility of (soil), as by intensive cultivation.
9. to pass out or escape.

word 18 : sustain

sustain

v.

1. to support, hold, or bear up from below; bear the weight of, as a structure.
2. to bear (a burden, charge, etc.).
3. to undergo, experience, or suffer (injury, loss, etc.); endure without giving way or yielding.
4. to keep (a person, the mind, the spirits, etc.) from giving way, as under trial or affliction.
5. to keep up or keep going, as an action or process.
6. to supply with food, drink, and other necessities of life.
7. to provide for (an institution or the like) by furnishing means or funds.
8. to support (a cause or the like) by aid or approval.
9. to uphold as valid, just, or correct.
10. to confirm or corroborate, as a statement.

xxx

what exactly do we want to sustain, anyway?

gloss vs. gloss

gloss

n.

1. a superficial luster or shine.
2. a false or deceptively good appearance.
3. a cosmetic that adds sheen or luster.

gloss

n.

1. an explanation or translation, by means of a marginal or interlinear note, of a technical or unusual expression in a manuscript text.
2. a series of verbal interpretations of a text.
3. a glossary.
4. an artfully misleading interpretation.

word 17 : embalm

embalm

v.

1. to treat (a dead body) so as to preserve it, as with chemicals, drugs, or balsams.
2. to preserve from oblivion; keep in memory: his deeds embalmed in the hearts of his disciples.
3. to cause to remain unchanged; prevent the development of.

see also: dead space

word 16 : reactor

reactor

n.

1. a person or thing that reacts or undergoes reaction.
2. a device whose primary purpose is to introduce reactance into a circuit.
3. a patient or animal that reacts positively towards a foreign material.
4. an apparatus in which a nuclear-fission chain reaction can be initiated, sustained, and controlled, for generating heat or producing useful radiation. also called atomic pile, chain reactor, chain-reacting pile, nuclear reactor, pile.
5. a large container, as a vat, for processes in which the substances involved undergo a reaction.

word 15 : reactivate

reactivate

v.

1. to make active again.
2. to restore the ability to function or the effectiveness of.
3. to rouse from a state of inactivity or quiescence.
4. to cause (as a repressed complex) to reappear in consciousness or behavior.

*beautiful lil' pic by gay sexy geek angelo plessas

word 14 : potlatch

potlatch

n.

1. from chinook jargon, "a gift," from wakashan (nootka) patshatl "giving, gift." a ceremonial feast among certain native american peoples of the northwest pacific coast, as in celebration of a marriage or accession, at which the host distributes gifts according to each guest's rank or status. between rival groups the potlatch could involve extravagant or competitive giving and destruction by the host of valued items (such as property) as a display of superior wealth.

see also : situationist international

word 13 : erasure

erasure

v.

1. the act or an instance of erasing.
2. the state of being erased.

n.

1. a correction.
2. a surface area where something has been erased.
3. deletion by an act of expunging.
4. a place where something has been erased; a spot or mark left after erasing.

see also : neobarbarisms

*gerhard richter, phantom interceptors, 1964.

word 12 : degenerate

degenerate

n.

1. a person who has declined, as in morals or character, from a type or standard considered normal.
2. a person or thing that reverts to an earlier stage of culture, development, or evolution.
3. a sexual deviate.

v.

1. to fall below a normal or desirable level in physical, mental, or moral qualities; deteriorate.
2. to diminish in quality from a former state of coherence, balance, integrity, etc.
3. (pathology) to lose functional activity, as a tissue or organ.
4. to revert to a simple, less highly organized, or less functionally active type, as a parasitic plant that has lost its taproot or the vestigial wings of a flightless bird.

see also : degenerate utopia

* comics found by way of things

word 11 : mark

mark

n.

1. a visible impression or trace on something, as a line, cut, dent, stain, or bruise.
2. a badge, brand, or other visible sign assumed or imposed.
3. an affixed or impressed device, symbol, inscription, etc., serving to give information, identify, indicate origin or ownership, attest to character or comparative merit, or the like.
4. something serving as an indication of position.
5. distinction or importance; repute; note.
6. an object aimed at; target.
7. a sign, usually an X, made instead of a signature by someone who does not know how or is unable to write his or her own name.

see also : marker

word 10 : crack

crack

n.

1. a break without complete separation of parts; fissure.
2. a slight opening.
3. a sudden, sharp noise, as of something breaking.
4. a resounding blow.
5. a witty or cutting remark; wisecrack.
6. a break or change in the flow or tone of the voice.
7. opportunity; chance; try.
8. a flaw or defect.
9. pellet-size pieces of highly purified cocaine, prepared with other ingredients for smoking, and known to be especially potent and addicting.
10. a mental defect or deficiency.
11. a moment; instant.

v.

1. to break without complete separation of parts; become fissured.
2. to break abruptly and discordantly, as because of weariness or emotion.
3. to fail; give way.
4. to succumb or break down.
5. to utter or tell.
6. to solve; decipher.
7. to break into.

see also : gutterspace

* guggengraph found @ architechnophilia

word 9 : remediation

remediation

n.

1. the act or process of correcting a fault or deficiency.
2. the act of correcting an error or an evil.
3. the act of "setting straight" or "making right".
4. action to remedy or correct damage to the environment.
5. cleanup of a site to levels determined to be health-protective for its intended use.
6. correcting degradation.

see also : wastelands,waste

word 8 : appropriate

appropriate

adj.

1. suitable or fitting for a particular purpose, person, or occasion.
2. belonging to or peculiar to a person; proper.

v.

1. to set apart, authorize, or legislate for some specific purpose or use.
2. to take to or for oneself; take possession of.
3. to take without consent; seize; expropriate.
4. to take possession of by force, as after an invasion.
5. to take possession of or make use of exclusively for oneself, often without permission.

see also: people's palace, people's choice

word 7 : activate

activate

v.

1. to make active; cause to function or act.
2. (physics) to render more reactive; excite.
3. (chemistry) to hasten reactions by various means.
4. to organize or create.
5. to convert into active derivatives.
6. to aerate (sewage) in order to accelerate decomposition of impure (organic) matter (by microorganisms).

see also : urban catalyst

word 6 : intelligentsia

intelligentsia

n.

1. the intellectual elite of a society. intelligentsia (from latin: intelligentia) is a social stratum of people engaged in mental and creative labor directed to the development and dissemination of culture, encompassing intellectuals and social groups close to them. the term has been borrowed from russian, a transliteration of "интеллигенция" ("intelligentsiya").

see also: nothingness