Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Fauxcabulary and the Bucolic Plauge
It makes me very excited when folks submit new words to the budding compendium Fauxcabulary.com, so many thanks to the clever enthusiasm of Tina Glengary and Evan “Pheezy” Cordes for their contributions: procraftinate, and napatorium.
Shirley Palma had a submission I loved, but unfortunately didn’t fit exactly with the intent of the collection. I decided to include it here because I like her storytelling and think she’s adorable. Below, in her words:
i’m submitting the “bucolic plague”
and even though it was just a slip up on my part, and of course, necessarily
responded to with a very deep freudian interpretation, it seems this term is
already quite popular out in the world of the internet. dammit. here’s some
spottings in the wild (OH DEAR GOD)...although one of my faves is from a certain mr. jerry spires that talks about
the bucolic plague interchangeably with the “infectious country” music he
performs. DAMN THAT’S FUNNY.i like to speak to “bucolic plague” in less of the infection/disease manner
and more uh, metaphorically?i thought of the bucolic plague best describes the almost unstoppable
onslaught of pastoral imagery that we are forced to contend with in an urban
setting - rock climbing walls in every gym, restaurants touting outdoor
patios, potted plants in every office lobby! why the hell did we move to the
city if not to escape the damn sheep and trees and rustic charm?assholes.
anyway, i guess my only pseudo original contribution might be instead
“fauxphraselary” - when the fauxcabulary you want to submit is more a phrase
than a cabulary.
Shirley’s sentiments seem to be not so much spreading, as already shared (wow, all those S’s were purely accidental), evinced by the creation of a handful of air fresheners in response to the idea of “urban forest”. We surround ourselves, or choose to go to, what we like. I used to think I was a nature girl, until I realized that it was nurture trying to take over nature.
My nature is to enjoy civilization.
The magical combination of stinging nettles and dock leaves is only interesting for a second. Speaking from experience, the book was better.
Once while reading a book on the side of the Potomac River because I used to like that sort of thing, having already carefully avoided a large nest of black snakes that same day, a fat poisonous caterpillar fell down into my pants and gave me a rash on my hip. Cheers to finding a cure for the bucolic plague infesting cities, while preserving it where it belongs — in the wild.
Thank you everyone for your lovely submissions, and keep them coming! Feel free to practice using these words in sentences, that’s what they’re there for.
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