wotd - aa *smirk* no, it's a real word, scrabble players!

[scottobear]

aa (ah-ah) noun

Lava having a rough surface.

[From Hawaiian, apparently from the sound one emits on touching the hot lava surface.] (Italics mine)

Aa is one of the two kinds of lava typically found in Hawaiian volcanoes.
The other kind is pahoehoe, one with a smooth, ropy surface. You can see their pictures at:
http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/Products/Pglossary/aa.html
http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/Products/Pglossary/pahoehoe.html

"Aa has a surface that's broken into blocks with sharp, spiny projections."
Ian Skilling, Lavas and Life, The World & I (Washington, DC), Jul 1998.

"With so much to memorize, trying to recall that aa is a kind of solidified lava or that an ai is a three-toed sloth, would tax the brain unnecessarily. Mr. Keskaroonkul estimates he knows nearly 110,000 words, or nearly 70% of Webster's New World Dictionary, published by Merriam-Webster. In comparison, the average college graduate is said to have an active vocabulary of 10,000 to 15,000 words."Joseph Pereira, Hard Scrabble: Thais Who Play Very Well Learn the Dictionary -- But Some Have No Idea at All What the Words Mean; Why Clutter Up the Mind?, The Wall Street Journal (New York), Jul 19, 1999.

Here's a fascinating story about a failed 1940s collaboration between Walt Disney and Salvador Dali. oooh... I'd love to see it.

Also, some folks might want to check out TCUP - The Collective Unconsciousness Project... a place I store some of my dreams. a fun place to travel around, too, now that it's been rewritten. Hooray for spell check and keywords!

Explore Updates:
* Choose which keyword you want to travel with.
* Search for a keyword of your choice.
* See how many unread dreams are associated with each keyword.
* The system now remembers your font size preference.
* 20 new photographs.
* A new scrollbar.

Log Updates:
* You can now title a dream, which will show in your dream log area.
* There is now a spell check.

Overall Updates:
* Conversion of all pages to XHTML,
for increased compatibility with current and future web browsers.
* The interface is cleaned up a little.

You are Lawrence Ferlinghetti

The "Which Beatnik Are You?" test was created by aglaea. Take the test here!

Comments

[cath555.livejournal.com]

LOL. if I recall from the geology class I took to satisfy the natural science requirement in psych, aa is aerated lava. obsidian is glassy, dense lava. lava hurled through the air as a projectile during an eruption, taking on a football shape, is known as a bomb. and, according to my prof, it's not a good idea to inform the agents at the checkout counter when leaving iceland that your luggeage is so heavy because you're carrying bombs for reseach home. tends to delay said return home.

what can I say- I like rocks. they're fun.

Re:

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

rocks are keen!

My buddy Danny's got his degree in geology, and has tons of rocky info like that to share with me. :)

[cath555.livejournal.com]

I have always been a rock hound, used to drag them home by the pocketful. I thought about getting a degree in geology, but decided I'd be happier just admiring as I always have- doesn't pay to complicate simple pleasures sometimes :)

Re:

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

I agree... I love literature, but too much grammar or analysis can kill the magic.

Re:

[cath555.livejournal.com]

true. sometimes, over analysis just defeats the purpose.

I was wrong in my memory of aa. what is aerated lava called? durn. oh, well. nifty lava pics, anyhow. lava flows look disturbingly and appealingly... touchable. I'd have the urge to try to play with the molton stuff like wax ;-) I'm also facintated by glass-blowing, for the same reasons.

Re:

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

stick with wax! molten sand and rock hot!

D, D, & D!

[poppie.livejournal.com]

Wow! That Dali/Disney/Destino link is cool! Thanks for sharing :)

Re: D, D, & D!

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

glad you like! :)

What's more surreal than Donald Duck?

[ex-darkbloom383.livejournal.com]

That was an incredibly fascinating story about Walt and Salvador. Thank you. Oh, what might have been. A woman with snails for feet and a toy car for a head! An animated Dante's Inferno! Don Quixote! My goodness.

When I have a little more time, I will explore the collective unconsciuos project. That looks very interesting. Thanks for sending me off into slumberland with thoughts of surrealism and the secret world of dreams.

Re: What's more surreal than Donald Duck?

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

My pleasure to share the info with you. :)

I can only hope more info or graphics from the project appear later.

[sirenity.livejournal.com]

Lava is cool. Hell, if it weren't for that great stuff, I wouldn't be sitting here, now, would I? =)

Ever been to Hawaii? The big island? It's magnificent. That's the only Hawaiian island with an active volcano and all of the city of Hilo is one big lava rock. You can drive and drive and see it all around you. It's like looking at some weird Willy Wonka concoction b/c the land looks like a huge brownie.....lol.

Re:

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

As long as the brownie has cooled! :) Beautiful stuff!

[kitaryufinn.livejournal.com]

Dali and Disney... I get shivers at the notion. Oh, if it had just been. Thanks for that link/info. Delightful and saddening it never went further. The dream collective will have to wait until later, but looks interesting.

Re:

[scottobear.livejournal.com]

I know I look forward to any new developments, if any might be deiscovered.