Thursday, September 20, 2007

Material

MATERIAL, adj. Having an actual existence, as distinguished from an imaginary one. Important.

Material things I know, or fell, or see;
All else is immaterial to me.

—Jamrach Holobom

2007 Update: In physics, composed of matter, having mass. In politics, composed of suspicion, provoking outrage.

"It violates every concept of fact we have in Washington!  Or Sacramento!" -Brian Bilbray (R-San Diego) 9/19/2007

31 comments:

Minka said...

First thing that came to mind and I am sorry about this:

" I'm a barby girl,
in a barby world,
happy plastic,
It's fantastic..."

material: San Fernando Valley?

Minka said...

uh...I think this is better:

material,n. fabricated illusion

TLP said...

The first thing that came to me was, I am a material girl....

The second thing (as a former accountant for the state) was that on financial reports, sums such as two hundred thousand dollars were generally considered immaterial. Can't account for that small amount? Immaterial.

TLP said...

Didcha know that flour used to come in cloth material bags? Well, it did. My mama made me many a dress out of material gained that way.

The Old Mule said...

material: quark + gluon

Unknown said...

i'll materialize again tomorrow

*poof*

Anonymous said...

i fear i am in woeful need of good material for today's word and/or my comment. alas (and/or alack) the gray material that resides within my sorry skull seems incapable of firing off neurons and/or conjuring up any good one-liners. d'oh!

perhaps i should come back later -- after coffee.

oh, and TLP: the lovely material used for flour sacks also comes in handy for drying dishes. just sayin'... ; )

Anonymous said...

I hope you saved one of those flour dresses, TLP.

Material: When a comedian's is good, he takes a bow. When it's bad, the material of the curtain closes right after the cane, but hopefully before the tomatoes.

Oh and nice poem from yesterday. I can't miss a day around here!

PS: Minka, thanks for that earworm. Actually I used to sing that to Tali as a baby. Ah lullabies (but I believe I inserted her name instead).

tsduff said...

I neglected to bring my reading material to work today - so rats...I guess I'll have to go for a walk at lunch.

Anonymous said...

Material is what keeps my bum from getting frostbite in winter. Very necessary is material.

Anonymous said...

MATERIAL adj.the etymology of this word tells us that it was created by combining the words matter and real [They were obviously combined by someone with a serious spelling challenge!] Therefore, the word material should be used only when speaking of things that really matter, and never applied to the false or insubstantial -- i.e. this definition, which I have just made up out of whole cloth.

Give me but a little material to work with and I will fashion you a story.

Anonymous said...

MATERIAL, phr. Why Matt has only imaginary friends.

Hey, leggo! You're stretching the material!

Mo'a said...

Material or Medium is what artists use in weaving their magic.

Nessa said...

Mate Rial: n, Money paid to buy a bride in Iran.

Tom & Icy said...

I still get that gooey matter stuff in my eyes, especially after I sleep.

Anonymous said...

I am writing stale material as in I know it

Madonna was the original material girl, but three pop star generations later girls named Britney, Lindsay and especially ETC, have supplanted her

Minka, before there was the Valley there was Long Island. Our materialism runs deeper

Jamie Dawn said...

Like you said, Physics tells us that material is stuff that has mass.
Philosophy asks us if anything is really real?
Chocolate truffles are real because they increase the mass of my bohunkus. So, I supppose my bohunkus is real too.
Other than those two things, I don't know of any other material that actually exists...
except maybe my blog - in which case yours exists also, too, in addition, as well.

Minka said...

pia, yes... but as Madonna has been surpassed, so has Long Island :)

TLP said...

Will Doug materialize here today?

Kyahgirl said...

Material: in my world, something I will make curtains out of!

Cooper said...

Speaking of...
Where do you get your material , maybe we can swap sources.

mireille said...

"In philosophy, materialism is that form of physicalism which holds that the only thing that can truly be said to exist is matter; that fundamentally, all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions; that matter is the only substance. As a theory, materialism belongs to the class of monist ontology. As such, it is different from ontological theories based on dualism or pluralism. In terms of singular explanations of the phenomenal reality, materialism stands in sharp contrast to idealism." I love wikipedia. Takes the work out of commenting. Or even thinking. xoxo

tsduff said...

Who let the dog out?

Doug The Una said...

Clever definition, Minka. Bad song.

TLP, the expression "budget dust" is sometimes used now for $14M items. Crack an egg and you'd have been a cobbler.

Precisely, Mule.

Karma, you outsourced!

Neva, that's what happens when you print reruns. By the way, I think if you innoculate Joel with blue ink it may help.

G, CPS will be right over.

Terry, do you have The Pennysaver up there? You can sometimes get them wrapped around a fish.

Jenn, where would the bum be without it?

Quilly, I know that about you. You just reminded me of a scene between Lili Taylor and Robert Downey in Shorrt Cuts.

Amoeba, you're in saran wrap country.

See, Mo'a, and I thought you made your material out of magic.

Or for tea in Argentine mosques, Nessa. That was good punning.

Icy, are you sure you aren't just having an epiphany? Have you ever been to Damascus?

Pia, let no one challenge the depth of Long Island shallows.

Jamie Dawn, theology asks: is it really your bohonkus?

Minka, we're awfully judgemental of places we drive through, aren't we?

Sorry, TLP. Long days and restless nights. Well, the restless night part is kind of poetic licentiousness.

Kyah, I bet you have the best smelling drapes.

Cooper, you'd need a new wardrobe.

Mireille, but what about Anaximenes, a materialist who thought all things were made of air? Does air have substance in the minds of 6th century BCE observers? Yeah, I'm messing with you.

Terry, no one all day long.

Anonymous said...

ouch.

Doug The Una said...

Sorry, Neva. I only meant a playful sting.

Anonymous said...

please tell me YOU know that I knew that. because i SO did. ; )

Doug The Una said...

Normally I know that, but you had a rough week. Just wanted to make sure I didn't overbite when your skin was thinner than usual.

Anonymous said...

This reminds me of the New York socialite who wanted her own in-house string quartet. After a group finished auditioning for her, she was rudely critical.
"Well," said the second violinist, putting away his instrument, "It just goes to show--you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear."
Hope I haven't shared this before; it's a favorite.

Anonymous said...

God it is early! I totally ruined that. It's "You can't make a silk ear out of a sow's purse."
Sheesh.

Doug The Una said...

Weirsdo, I enjoyed it both ways, but yes, the second version is better crafted.