Getting Started • Wordle Tactics • Where's Webb • Garlicky Tomato & White Bean Soup
I — In the Beginning ...
No matter the medium, genre, or subject, every writer strives to create a great first sentence. Reporters and editors at a daily newspaper call it a “lede.”
Lede? But, it’s the “leading” sentence in the story – why not “the lead?”
The lead? As in, say, a base metal; a lead sinker, lead pipes, and lead poisoning.
Writing is a craft. When done very, very well, it may be seen as art. But first off—my mother told me this—it’s a craft. And every craft has its tools, its media, and its jargon.
So imagine a note from the copy desk to the managing editor: “Kennedy turned in his review for the Rolling Stones concert. He got art and it’s got a great lead. Birthday party hook. Page one?”
Admit it. You thought about the metal. This is why a great lede is important. And while jargon may confuse the uninitiated, it serves a higher purpose for the professional. Clear communication.
Today, while writing at my digital desk, I see a framed quotation for the stylebook of The Evansville Press, circa 1973.
It’s not enough to write so that you can be understood; you just write so that you cannot possibly be misunderstood.
Raymond Woodbury Pence, DePauw University
That is the professional journalist’s goal; mostly what I’ve aspired to do. But then there are opinion pieces and advertisements and PR assignments where the effort to persuade may blur facts to sway the reader. Honestly, I only did it for the money.
Recently, venturing into fiction, I’ve found myself dabbling in deception, quite on purpose. The goals – entertainment, perhaps a tiny bit of literary accomplishment; mostly, proving to myself that the work could get done. It could. It’s actually pretty good, too.
And so, Dear Reader, welcome to another new beginning. This is it—the lede—the earnest effort to get your attention; pique your interest and perhaps join me in a little exploration.
II — What in the Wordle?
So, what’s your Wordle strategy? Do you have a Wordle strategy?
If I’m getting ahead of myself—you’re wondering what’s Wordle—click here.
My strategy, for now, is a combination of two starter words. I put in Word One and then Word Two, typically getting two or three letters to start with, and move on to guessing words from there.
Here are my statistics as of this writing.
So, a reasonably effective approach — but it will never get me a win on the first or second guess.
Still, for what it’s worth, it says something about me as a puzzle solver and maybe as a person, too. I really want to get the solve. I want to do well. It bugs me when I get four letters in place and there are two or three or more letters that all make a word and I’m left just to guess – and maybe end up with a “Phew.”
So, I’m curious. What’s your strategy? Please feel free to leave a comment.
PLUS: Here’s a Wordle Solver’s Challenge.
Here are the ten letters of the two words I use for my two starter words.
A D E I N O S T R U
The first person to reply to me at ridgek@gmail.com with the two correct words wins a free copy of Murder & Miss Austen’s Ball (A real book – not an e-book!)
III—Where is Webb?
I’ve been following the deployment of the Webb Space telescope closely throughout its launch and deployment. As a result, I’ve spent a lot of time on the Where is Webb NASA website dedicated to the project.
I encourage anyone with an ounce of curiosity about astronomy (or just amazing human achievements) to do the same. As a time when we are burdened with earthly concerns; well it’s a good time to look at the stars.
(Good grief — as I am editing this post I realized that I am writing about a Webb-site. Feel free to insert a groan here.)
The Where is Webb site echoes the amazing telescope’s high technology with some pretty fancy web design. The result: I think it’s fascinating. You can go back and relive the launch and deployment. You get a picture of the scale of the project – where the telescope is relative to the earth and the moon. You can learn more about the amazing Lagrange points and Webb’s “halo orbit.” (Follow the link and go down the page to the third image and click on the “Animation of Webb’s Orbit.)
There are interactive charts of the solar system with graphic images of space rocks and space vehicles (but, unfortunately, not Elon Musk’s Tesla (not yet)).
To me, it’s a wonder-filled distraction from the dreary news back on planet Earth.
IV—Garlicky Tomato & White Bean Soup
This is a great recipe. Three cans to open, add a bunch of garlic cloves, and a “wow” result. This soup is the reason we have immersion blenders.
Ingredients
1 Can tomatoes (28 oz. / 794 gram)
2 Cans white beans (15.5 oz / 439 grams)
Garlic cloves (lots, to taste)
Start heating a big (but not too big) pot with two or three swirls of olive oil. (The original recipe called for ¼ cup. I don’t use nearly that much). A four-quart saucepan is about right for proper immersion blending.
Take a bunch of peeled garlic cloves (a bunch is more than a few or several and less than a handful). (My sister Jean tells me you can never have too much garlic. I follow her advice.) Smash the garlic cloves with the flat of your chef’s knife and chop, chop, chop them up pretty well.
Sautee the garlic for a couple of minutes. Then ...
Add in a big (28 oz.) can of tomatoes (and all the juice). Plum, chopped, pureed – I don’t care. If they are full-sized plum tomatoes, I do cut them up into quarters or smaller with my kitchen shears.
Add in two cans of white beans – beans and all the bean liquid. Little white beans are nice, but cannellini or navy or another white bean will do just as well.Bring it all to a simmer and let it cook for a while.
Puree with your handy, dandy immersion blender.
Finishing Up
Season with salt to taste. Black pepper or white pepper if you like, but I prefer to use modest shakes of Tabasco sauce to bring it to the edge of spicy heat. Add some Worcestershire sauce, or fish sauce, or soy or liquid aminos – something with an umami hit.
Taste and adjust. I usually add a splash of balsamic vinegar and a bit of brown sugar to round off the acidity. Taste and adjust some more.
Presentation
I serve this soup in a wide, shallow bowl with a dollop of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, mixed with a bit of mayo. I spice the blend with some soy or aminos, maybe a bit of Tabasco. Maybe some lemon zest? It wants to have some personality – a bit of zing. Add a few capers with your dollop, too? And encourage the diners NOT to just mix your finishing touch into the soup. Rather, catch a bit of it with each spoonful of soup and enjoy the flavor and temperature contrast.
Inspired by a New York Times recipe by Ali Slagle.
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Thanks.
Ridge