umpire, umlaut, unbe, Sartre, uncial, uncinate, unction

umpire: [Middle French: nomper, from Latin, non not par paired]  one person having the authority to decide

umlaut:  [German,  um, around, laut, sound] rhymes with 'about'

     two dots above the vowel, indicating a specific sound

see notes under "ablaut" in a prior post...

unbe: to not be

   A surprising phrase; humorous and yet deep in meaning.  

   I wrote my thesis in philosophy on Sartre’s Being and Nothingness and this concept of ‘nothingness’ or negation, as funny as it may seem, is important in Existentialism.  The introduction of the idea of zero was a milestone in mathematics.  How about anti-matter in physics?  Or it’s centrality in Buddhism and zen meditation?  Minimalism in poetry and art.  

   I love classical music and of all the myriad symphonies and pieces I have heard and that have moved me, it is John Cage's 4:33 (four minutes and thirty-three seconds) that moves me the most...the symphony plays nothing as you are gently lead to meditate on the nature of music, the devotion of the players to their art as they sit on stage holding their precious instruments, the seriousness of the conductor and of the audience, being attentive, the gentle sounds through the windows. 

    My uncle was a professional jazz pianist and his favorite phrase was “less is more.”  I think that is why I love Thelonious Monk’s exquisite music so much.  As a bass player, leaving enough out, not playing the unplayed note, makes the music all the more beautiful. 

uncial: \un' shel\  [L. uncial, ounce, 12th part, an inch]  large capital letters 

with rounded forms and cursive strokes, used in 300's - 700's A.D. in Latin manuscripts 

uncinate [L. uncus hook]  bent at the tip like a hook; hooked

unction [L. unctio anointing]  the act of anointing as a rite of healing or consecration