2009 September 21, 7:38 AM Central Time (USA)

2009. September 21. 14:39 | (1296 comment)

Are we still in (virtual) residence? I kinda like Hungary.

2009 September 19, 7:33 AM Central Time (USA)

2009. September 19. 14:38 | (3 comment)

had trouble sleeping last night. only got about 3 hours - might have to FAKE it today.

September 18, 7:17 AM Central Time (USA)

2009. September 18. 14:26 | (3 comment)

fake 1 |fāk|
noun

  • a thing that is not genuine; a forgery or sham : the painting was a fake.
  • a person who appears or claims to be something that they are not. See note at quack .
  • a pretense or trick : his excuse for coming was a fake.

adjective

  • not genuine; counterfeit : fake designer clothing | expressing fake emotions.
  • (of a person) claiming to be something that one is not : a fake doctor.

verb [ trans. ]

  • forge or counterfeit (something) : the woman faked her spouse's signature.
  • pretend to feel or suffer from (an emotion or illness) : he had begun to fake a bad stomach ache.
  • make (an event) appear to happen : he faked his own death.
  • accomplish (a task) by improvising : all the experts agree that you can't fake it
  • Music improvise : he fakes the melody line of a standard tune.

DERIVATIVES

faker noun

fakery |ˈfākərē| noun

ORIGIN late 18th cent. (as an adjective; originally slang): origin uncertain; perhaps ultimately related to German fegen ‘sweep, thrash.’ Compare with fig 2 .
fake 2
noun & verb

  • variant spelling of flake 4 .

ORIGIN late Middle English (as a verb): of unknown origin.

flake 1 |flāk|

noun

  • 1. a small, flat, thin piece of something, typically one that has broken away or been peeled off from a larger piece : paint peeling off the walls in unsightly flakes | flakes of pastry.
  • • a snowflake.
  • • Archaeology a piece of hard stone chipped off for use as a tool by prehistoric humans : [as adj. ] flake tools.
  • thin pieces of crushed dried food or bait for fish.
  • 2.  informal a crazy or eccentric person.

verb

  • 1 [ intrans. ] come or fall away from a surface in thin pieces : the paint had been flaking off for years.
  • • lose small fragments from the surface : my nails have started to flake at the ends.
  • 2 [ trans. ] break or divide (food) into thin pieces : flake the fish | [as adj. ] ( flaked) flaked haddock.
  • • [ intrans. ] (of food, esp. when well cooked) come apart in thin pieces.
     

ORIGIN Middle English : the immediate source is unknown, the senses perhaps deriving from different words; probably of Germanic origin and related to flag 2 and flaw 1 .

flake 2

noun

  • a rack or shelf for storing or drying food such as fish.

ORIGIN Middle English (denoting a wicker framework): perhaps of Scandinavian origin and related to Old Norse flaki, fleki ‘wicker shield’ and Danish flage ‘wicker framework.’

flake 3

verb [ intrans. ] ( flake out) informal

  • fall asleep; drop from exhaustion.

ORIGIN late 15th cent. (in the senses [become languid] and (of a garment) [fall in folds] ): variant of obsolete flack and the verb flag 4 . The current sense dates from the 1940s.

flake 4 (also fake |fāk|) Nautical

noun

  • a single turn of a coiled rope or hawser.

verb [ trans. ]

  • lay (a rope) in loose coils in order to prevent it from tangling : a cable had to be flaked out.
  • lay (a sail) down in folds on either side of the boom.

ORIGIN early 17th cent. (as a noun): of unknown origin; compare with German Flechte in the same sense.

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september 17, 9:48 PM Central Time (USA)

2009. September 18. 04:33 | (3 comment)

Got some new prints in the mail today. From traversing the landscape with my scanner (see documentation photo at right). Very pleased. Imagine the image below, but a meter and a half wide, photographically printed on metallic paper. Title: Milwaukee Falls

2009 September 16, 6:40 AM Central Time (USA)

2009. September 16. 14:07 | (5 comment)

Sitting in bed with my laptop and its webcam.

nathaniel in bedMost of today I have meetings, and will be teaching classes (talking about art). In between, I'll drink coffee, and think about art. Maybe write about art. Maybe even start to make some art. At night, I'll probably play with my daughter, and think about tomorrow. Ah, the artist life.

Virtual residencies are interesting, don't you think?

 

Nathaniel Stern
Wisconsin / Johannesburg, USA / RSA