Sunday 21 April 2013

d is for doxacatgrapher

D is for doxacatgrapher.  Did you know that?  No?  Don't worry, neither did I.  I had no idea what a doxacatgrapher was until today.  'Cause it was just today when I invented the word.

And do you know what else?  It turns out that I am one.  Yup.  It's true.  I am a doxacatgrapher. 

Doxa means opinion and grapher has stuff to do with writing and whatnot, I think.  There already was a term, doxographer.  My pals from Oxford say that a doxographer is a writer.  But not just any ol' writer.  Doxographers went about collecting and recording opinions.  Specifically, those opinions of the philosophers of ancient Greece. 

Well, I don't know 'bout you but I don't know a whole lot of ancient Greek philosophers.  Sure, I might have heard about them or even read about them but I don't know them.  As a matter of fact, I don't think I know a single one.  I am workin' on building a time machine and if I can ever figure out how to hook the doohickey up to the thingamajig that sits next to that whatchamacallit, I might just be able to meet a couple of them but until then, I'm fresh out of ancient philosophers.

This is exactly why my new word, doxacatgrapher, will be so useful in the twenty-first century.  It's a modern word for modern times.  You see, a doxacatgrapher doesn't collect the opinions of philosophers from the times of long, long ago.  A doxacatgrapher doesn't need a time machine in order to do his or her work.  All a doxacatgrapher needs is a computer.  Well, that and an Internet connection.

This is because doxacatgraphers are, in fact, cat bloggers.  A doxacatgrapher is a blogger who collects and records the opinions of cats.  Usually, cats who philosophise. 

And doxacatgraphers do not need to be cats, themselves.  They could be peeps or dogs or even bunnies.  I know a lot of doxacatgraphers and I will admit that while most of them are cats, a good number of them are of other species. 

Of course, a cat blogger such as myself does have an advantage when it comes to doxacatgraphing.  You see, I myself have been known to philosophise a little and...  I'm a cat.  Therefore, my personal philosophies are, in fact, the philosophies of cats.  So...  while sometimes I do go out and collect the opinions of other cats, sometimes...  I just collect my own opinions.  I do have quite a few of them, you know.  This has never really been a problem.  Occasionally, I might come up with a few contradictory opinions and that can result in one gargantuan headache, of course.  It's very difficult to not listen to what is bein' said between your two, very own ears, you know.  You can try wearin' ear plugs but that usually just makes it worse.  The dissenting opinions of the contradictory philosophies tend to reverberate within your head, bouncing from ear to ear but never makin' their escape 'cause of the ear plugs blockin' their paths.  Finally, you just have to hack up the ol' hairball and let it loose in the world.  But I digress...  Luckily for me, most of the time, I tend to agree with me, myself and I.  I mean...  who wouldn't?

But I do have a word of warning for cat, doxacatgraphers.  A doxacatgrapher does not need to be a cat him or herself however, they must collect the opinions of cats and not the opinions of lesser species.  Sometimes, we cat bloggers are recordin' the opinions of someone else.  Someone who is not a cat.  It is very easy for a cat blogger to collect the opinions of peeps and think that they are doxacatgraphing.  But at that moment, they're not.  Not every blogging cat is a doxacatgrapher.  And not every doxacatgrapher is doxacatgraphing with every post.  Sometimes, we cats are just blogging.  Just blogging 'bout stuff and whatnot.

And that's for the best, I think.  You know what they say...  variety is the spice of life.  Well...  peeps say that.  We cats would say that the true spice of life is anchovy paste.  Hey, do you know something?  I, Nerissa the cat, just doxacatgraphised!  And that was a perfect example of doxacatgraphing, if I do say so, myself.

32 comments:

  1. Mommy loves SCIENCEY and WORDY stuff...you've made her day!

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  2. That is a very impressive word, but then again, doxacatgraphizing is very impressive work!

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  3. You're a complex kinda kitty Nerrisa,xx Speedy

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  4. Mum is a French speaking Swiss person , and thank to you, she increases her skills in (feline) English ! Loupi and Zorro

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  5. That is all very interesting and good to know what that long word means and it seems to have a lot of explanations. It is good to learn new words.
    Have a great day.

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  6. Mum can't even say that word and she doesn't know what it means - still neither do we!!
    Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx

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    1. It's easy peasy, you two. A doxacatgrapher is a cat blogger who blogs 'bout the opinions of cats! Kind of like you!!! purrs

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  7. Nerissa, thanks for 'splaining that big word.....all very interesting and cool.

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  8. OMC!! The human says she thinks she was at uni with someone like you!!! It's why she's changed her name and moved to a new town!! mol ;)

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  9. I say that was a superb example of the lesson topic that you are teaching. xoxox

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  10. How fun! I want to create new words too!

    BTW, did you know that every time I load your page, I get all sorts of pop-up ad windows? Not sure which script or plugin is doing that, but thought you might want to know if you didn't already.

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    1. I don't think that's supposed to happen. I'm gonna let Blogger know. Thanks so much for tellin' me, Sparkle. purrs

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  11. Sounds to us as if you have been doing some heavy duty thinking. And like you have the cat world figured out. Frankly, you made our heads hurt, and we need to take naps. Keep up your thinking so we can keep napping. Purrs and hugs from the kitties at The Cat on My Head, Lily Olivia, Mauricio Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Josette

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  12. Oh Nerissa, I think that is such s great idea! The world needs doxacatgraphers and you invented them! I think you should be nominated for a Nobel Prize!
    Purrs

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  13. Nerrissa! Wow what a title! a Doxacatgrapher! Me learned something today too!
    Cats are crepuscular, meaning most active at dawn and dusk and at night, when hunting is most effective.
    But that is going backwards to C
    Kisses
    Nellie

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  14. Well, we learned something new today! Now after all that...we gotta go take a nap. ;)

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  15. You seem to have been thinking really hard and have figured this all out. You absolutely made our brains hurt and so we are going to take a nap. Mom says she likes your new word. Purrs and hugs from the kitties at The Cat on My Head, Lily Olivia, Mauricio Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Josette

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  16. That is a pawsome word. I got lots of opinions that need recording. Maybe I show my peeps. Have a marvelous Monday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  17. That's an amazing word! I will write it down so I won'r forget it and hopefully I won't forget where I wrote it down.

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  18. We love learning new words, especially one that makes great sense!

    Piggy kisses,
    Katie and Coccolino the mini pig

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  19. I always feel so much cleverer once I have visited you!

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  20. My Mom minored in Philosophy in college and majored in Rhetoric and Communication so this was right up her alley :)

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  21. Whoa! You are too smart for me! woo woo!

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  22. Nerissa Buddy, I have a tiny bone to pick. Dox-a-cat-grapher is kinda hard to say, the stress being on the CAT, which is a point in its favor I admit, but the current spelling makes the last three syllables sound like "kat-graf-fer" which feels awkward on the tongue. What I think you need is an "o": dox-a-ca-TOG-raf-fer, like "fo-TOG-raf-fer."
    Hey you said you wanted cat opinions (though I admit the Human's career as an English teacher may have influenced this just a tad, so feel free to ignore.

    Point #2, Come visit this evening cause I think you'll REALLY like my post. Curious now?

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    1. You know... I agree with you. Doxacatographer is way easier to say than Doxacatgrapher but.. don't you think that that places the emphasis on the 'to' rather than the 'cat'? Dox-a-ca-TO-gra-pher? Whereas Dox-a-CAT-gra-pher points out the most important syllable... cat!

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    2. Nova Scotia, Winnipeg. Winnipeg, Nova Scotia.

      Potayto, Potahto! Hey, it's all Canada right? What's a few thousand miles, MOL!

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  23. Hi Nice to meet you. We are Canadians. We live in Quebec just north of Ottawa (so in the national capital region). Nice to meet you!

    Lee and Phod

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  24. Hi Nerissa, Still pondering that thorny phonics problem are you? Heh heh. We think your spelling is probably better after all, what with emphasizing CAT and all ;-)

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  25. Mom really likes your new word. Me, I think it's cool, too, though looking at it makes my head hurt. I'm not so hot on this reading stuff. Thank you so much for your kind words about Austin.

    Spyro

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  26. My dogs never philosophize Nerissa- I think it is a talent only cat's as clever as you must have. They don't even like anchovy paste!

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  27. why yes! Nissy, you did just doxacatgraphise!! Pawsome!!

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I love hearin' from my pals. I really, REALLY do. PURRS.