Michal's mulling over the notion of beefing up his gallant Fiction Corpus with a treatise on welfare reforms; cites fatigue

Posted:⛹ 22༜♍²⁶/₂₄♀

I don't question the concept of employing English as everybody's second language. I don't accept the prevailing program by which the English language is taught.

Refining a person's finesse for a language isn't like developing a better pair of eyeglasses. A language - a common language - is not merely an instrument that you can teach yourself to use with a greater amount of precision. A shared tongue can't be cleaved from the prevailing culture of a society of which it is a description. A language isn't recited; it happens - and keeps happening as long as a circle of people keeps using it.

Teaching a pupil to recite English is to rob him of its cultural context. A good instructor must develop a technique for introducing it; the insightful pupil ventures out to seek it.

A dictionary can be an influential tool. The best dictionaries define words on the basis of a specific corpus, a body of writing of varying size and consistency. They can contain everything from a book about literature to some real adventure stories. I burned many candles laboring on my "run-of-the-mill" Fiction Corpus in order to form a unique sort of dictionary based on the ability of one man to tell a story in myriad forms. It is a labor of love and listening.

I have prepared a million words and I have investigated them, reshaping them - not just to teach English vocabulary but to defend the human spirit, and to encourage that soul or spirit not just to recite but to happen.

Michal's Dictionary Navigation — act
fuel
artifact
place
time
person
fetish
kind
A Learner's Dictionary: Common Words in English
A Fuel is the Common Word that Answers the Question, "How?"
The most frequently used words in Michal's Corpus that represent common fuels
time965
truth130
business128
death112
silence58
distance57
direction52
beauty45
action44
conversation42
union39
mercy32
joy28
memory28
opportunity26
expression16
liberty13
rice12

Previous title — act
fuel
artifact
place
time
person
fetish
kind
A Learner's Dictionary: Common Words in English
A Fuel is the Common Word that Answers the Question, "How?"
The most frequently used words in Michal's Corpus that represent common fuels
time965
truth130
business128
death112
silence58
distance57
direction52
beauty45
action44
conversation42
union39
mercy32
joy28
memory28
opportunity26
expression16
liberty13
rice12

Usage of Union in Michal's Fiction Corpus

Michal's Fiction Corpus of Acceptance Literature (FiCAL) is presented under the Bare Bottom imprint. It is currently comprised of six bodies of work, each representing a different pillar of culture and incorporating a wide variety of writhing styles.

If you're wondering...

How do I use this?

Just click on a title to see examples of the word "union" being used in a particular work. You'll stay on the same spot on the page, only the Table of Contents will disappear. To get back to the Table of Contents just click next to the image of the Bare Bottom imprint where it says "Back to Usage of Union: Table of Contents."“And...?”

The Table of Frequency and the Table of Collocation provide numerical information about how many times the word union appears in its original or modified form and with which words. It can help to give you an idea of how a word is used and in what contexts.“Ok.”

Why a Fiction Corpus?

The popular understanding of the word "fiction" and its complement "non-fiction" is a reflection of the cultural influence of a classification system. The Dewey Decimal System is responsible for separating "fiction" from all other work and categorizing it by author's name. This has influenced the popular idea of fiction as a narrative that tends to be "untrue" and the product of an individual's fantasy, a bias compounded by modern art's century-long obsession with abstraction, surrealism and self-expression.“So...?”

My idea of fiction rests on the idea that art doesn't have to be factual to be a true reflection of our existence. Adam and Eve didn't have to exist as two individuals 700 generations ago for them to be true portraits of two human beings trying to work together.“And...?”

The Bible is a Fiction Corpus. It is a body of writing that isn't overly concerned with facts and yet its words carry weight. It was written by many different authors living in different places with different audiences in mind, yet everyone gleans something from it.“Right...”

In preparing my fiction corpus, I have striven to see the world through the eyes of others. Through the eyes of my Adams and Eves I hope that you too will glean some truth about our existence. At the very least you will learn some more about how one man can use the English language.“Ok.”

Who are you, Michal?

I'm just a guy who makes art. And if you're interested in making a solid investment in an aesthetic that supports our present and future welfare, then I will help you look for something that you can buy.“How...?”

Everybody makes. Everybody sells. Some people know how to protect their interests. Some better than others. Few people know how to listen. Listening to somebody means considering their interests as if they were your own. Going out and doing something to satisfy another person's interest is how we build a strong economy. Without a strong economy, democracy collapses.“And...?”

Buying 4Occupy is buying for democracy. Don't give your money to somebody who's ruining it. There's no such thing as cheap democracy, quick democracy, or easy democracy. There's good, solid, complete democracy and the tyranny of feudalism. Let's not mix the two. Let's not buy everything on the cheap. Let's not create another tyrant and enslave ourselves because it was easier not to think about what we were doing. Let's protect our interests. Let's listen.“Ok.”

Who's really behind this site?

Have you ever been to one of those post-it-yourself retail websites where there's a really attractive top-seller ready to give you tips on how you can be a top-seller too?“Uh...”

Have you ever been to a "job" interview where you sit in a line, walk through one door, get hired as a contractor and walk out another door, so that the other applicants don't realize that everyone's getting "hired" to work in the same market?“Maybe...”

The internet is full of people who are ready to exploit your ignorance. They are people who want to make money at the expense of our economy. They are cheats.“And...?”

I, Michal, am behind this site. Not some fat plutocrat exploiting my image. I like to do things the right way. I like to work with people who take the time to do things right.“Why...?”

I used to work for a company that didn't do things the right way. My labor was exploited because of mismanagement. That company was the United States Postal Service, an independent agency of the United States Government that is ultimately controlled by Congress. I'm mad because if the Federal Government can exploit labor, who is going to stop every other cheat from doing it?“Labor Unions...?”

Don't say labor unions. I went to my labor union and they did nothing. They ignored me because labor unions aren't democracies. Holding a free and fair election for a "representative" once in a blue moon does not equal people ruling. Democracy means open government. It means we the public need to accept the hard work. It's the only way to secure liberty and equality.“Ok.”

What's the difference between use and usage?

Definition-wise, not much. But the -age suffix is ultimately French in origin and with most things French, at least in American eyes, the immediate thought is that of something precious and arcane whose value should be judged very carefully. This is in contrast to the word France, which is associated with a beautiful place. Thus people in France or from France are beautiful, warm, kind people. Generous even. Unlike French people who suck. Unless you're frenching, in which case you're only sometimes sucking.“And...?”

Along those lines, usage means you're in bed. Use means you're just heavy petting. Also notice that common people, like common words, get used...whereas "proper" things make "appearances." Whether or not you are being exploited is a different story. Exploitation is what happens when somebody uses you or your property without listening to you. Listening is what happens when you consider another person's needs as if they were your own. You don't have to satisfy those needs. All you need to do is consider them. So many of us can't even do that.“So...?”

Help stop exploitation. Buy 4occupy. Buy a better world. Whether or not you feel you can afford to buy art, consider joining my protest. I want to guarantee every working man and every working mother on this planet a 15-day universal holiday. But I can't. Only we can do that. We have to work together. We have to accept the idea that everyone deserves time for himself and we need to build that time into a new kind of calendar. We have to give peace it's own day. We have to make love something you can't avoid. We have to make even the most miserly cold-hearted capitalist among us say that he cashed his check on Love Your Neighbor Day. There won't be any other way to say it once the Acceptance Calendar is widely adopted.“Ok.”

Back to Usage of Union: Table of Contents

Union, a morphological approach

I have yet to make a morphological analysis of the word union.

That doesn't mean it's not high on my list.

Table of Frequency for the Word "Union."
This table lists in descending order the total number of times that the word unionand any of its morphological derivations appears in the Fiction Corpus, along with a breakdown of frequency by title, the respective rank of each word in the complete list of all words in the Corpus, as calculated both densely and competitively, as well as the percent increase in frequency of the word over the frequency of the next lowest rank in the complete list.
Percent Increase over next rank	RANK		WORD	Frequency
	RANK			TOTAL # of occurences	MCDONALDS	JESUS	SEX	TSIGA	JACKSON	DINGBATS
	dense	competitive		TOTAL # of occurences	modern/sloppy	biblical/terse	poetic/high-brow	hard/fast	talky	mixed salad
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
I have yet to publish the table of frequency for the word union, but I will get to it shortly. -Michal

Back to Usage of Union: Table of Contents

Usage of Union in Death to McDonalds

An aerial view of Dodger Stadium in the foreground, with an imaginary partially submerged Los Angeles behind — A story bible for a comic book series set in a post climate-change California narrated by eight characters who live through a natural disaster that sinks Los Angeles and triggers a war with an expansionist Mexican government covertly supported by China.

Frame #827

im at the hospital. anns here. my mother called her. shes administering last rights. how is nana supposed to take communion through a tube.

Expedia Cheap-Flights

4 August, 7:41 PM

Frame #1882

like i told mom. bail bonds are like communion wafers. the bail bondsman is the priest. im the altar boy. i get the idiots who steal wafers.

Justin Bieber

16 August, 12:37 PM

Frame #1035

im taking a walk. the director finally gave me more than a union break. it doesnt happen often. i carry the whole picture. not that i mind.

Twitter Hashtag

6 August, 4:28 PM

Back to Usage of Union: Table of Contents

Usage of Union in The Gospel of Jesus H.

A picture of the planet Mars — An experimental science fiction Christology that makes Jesus the hard boiled narrator of his own early years on a bizarro earth made dark by volcanic ash and informally ruled by a man from Mars who sells bottled air.

When the driver was asked very politely to turn and park his vehicle on the side of the road, he exploded: pieces of terrorist flesh, car parts, and flesh from honest men flew everywhere. Suddenly, the checkpoint was under attack: mortar fire scattered a few troops but then they regrouped. Union helicopters began firing rockets into houses in various neighborhoods in eastern Berlin, especially around Berlin Mitte, which the Union General Staff believed was the center of operations for terrorist activities throughout the beleaguered city. Small arms fire gave the generals an excuse to target buildings that they thought were terrorist strongholds. Many innocent people died.

– Verse 676 from the chapter called Adolescence

It was difficult to be sympathetic, considering that everyone else was also suffering. If America had one ally though, it was Poland. After the Russian Federation and China, Poland had the next largest economically recoverable coal reserve in the world. Crippled by pressure within the European Union (namely France and Germany), Poland ultimately ratified the Protocol, but, if not for Australia's demurral, would have been the next to the last sovereign country to do so.

– Verse 9 from the chapter called Security

"Anyway, despite the fact that in the United States I had always received Communion in the hands, I didn't feel the need to rebel. I always enjoyed going up to the altar rail and kneeling - it made me feel closer to God. Once I were kneeling, I also enjoyed taking Communion on the lips - why not? After a few years, however, the archbishop changed his mind. Now you could take Communion in your hands. However, the priests didn't mention that. They kept silent. Instead, they announced that, from now on, we should form lines instead of rushing up to the altar rail. To ensure that we did it, they came out from behind the railing and had deacons and altar servers form the first lines.

– Verse 681 from the chapter called Security

In those days, out of all the member states of the European Union, Poland had the strictest gun control laws. It was hard to get any kind of firearm, but even handguns took two years of paperwork. They were expensive, and thank God I bought a stolen one for four hundred dollars from my friend. That was a gift, even if the numbers were scratched off.

– Verse 763 from the chapter called Adolescence

The Google Protocol had successfully controlled the emission of dangerous chemicals into the atmosphere by proscribing the unlimited burning of biomass and fossil fuels. The Polish government, which, in the case of European Union protocols, had already established a precedent of absurdity (by, in that case, insisting that restaurants serve soup at exactly sixty-five degrees Celsius and pork cutlets, for example, at exactly seventy-five degrees Celsius or else lose their licenses), took a step further. After several homeowners had successfully sued local Catholic cemeteries for allowing masses and masses of people to light candles on All Saints' Day weekend, the next year, Parliament, under pressure from the Catholic Church to do 'something,' passed a statute which completely outlawed the burning of candles. Obviously, this satisfied no one.

– Verse 301 from the chapter called Vows

Back to Usage of Union: Table of Contents

Usage of Union in Sex for Children

A drawing of a man between a woman's legs in front of another man in a hospital bed — A literature book narrated by a pair of siblings on either side of the Atlantic whose profoundly weird sexual experiences pose a serious challenge to their traditional understanding of mathematicians, marriage, gay young men and God.

Among these photographs, there were a lot of small decorative objects: homemade objets d'art - like: cotton-ball snowmen with carefully glued faces. There was pottery with fingerprints. There were men made out of alphabet blocks, with felt strips for legs and arms and big felt hats on top of wooden spherical heads. Their faces were simply painted; they had bells for hands and feet. I picked one up and it jingled for me. I really liked it. I smiled. It had the letter 'M' on its belly. I put it back on the shelf, next to the letter 'I' man and the letter 'K,' both of whom were sitting in the shade of a tall communion candle. "These must be Olympia's," I thought, as I carefully closed the glass door.

– Title 3, Regarding a Dream, Chapter 1, The First Day, Part 1, Victory & Calendar Reform, Section 6, The Drawing Room, Paragraph 5

By then, our Nike had reestablished himself with dearest alma mater. Several times I paid a visit to his house on Prospect Street, but only before he invited Macy to live with him. I heard about that from Luke, when we were discussing his own return to campus. At that point, I knew I could not escape the inevitable reunion; I spent many a day in agonizing self-reflection.

– Title 1, Regarding Peaches and Bananas, Part 2, Section 7, Trying to Kiss, Paragraph 15

If Nike were plagued with happiness - if he could not shake that feeling of joy, that irrepressible feeling of perfect communion - he would not understand why he must be so happy. He would still know why he's not unhappy - and if some strange fortune were smiling on him, he would know exactly why he be happy at that particular moment in time - that's precisely why he's so comfortable, because he knows what sorts of things are capable of satisfying him.

– Title 3, Regarding a Dream, Chapter 1, The First Day, Part 1, Victory & Calendar Reform, Section 1, Cancer, Paragraph 7, Clauses 1-2

Back to Usage of Union: Table of Contents

Usage of Union in Tsiga Tsiga Tsiga

Bullets whizzing by a statue of Nikola Tesla — A collection of stories featuring a sexy Parisian ghost, a spooky Moon base full of vagina-faced aliens, a policeman with an Irish name, a truck full of watermelons, a flautist, and a man who has to see another man about a diseased horse.

It seemed to Gog like a good time to consummate their union. Magog disagreed. "I'm not ready to let you saddle me with children," she said. "There are other things I have to do first."

Gog didn't want to argue.

The next day, they entered a valley. A softly rising ridge seemed to lead all the way to the mountain. "It looks like a day's journey," said Gog.

His consort squinted. She noticed there were no trees along the ridge. They would have to find firewood to take with them. "Good thinking," said Gog. "Go find some."

– from “In the Beginning, There was Gog,” a fantasy story featuring a man with a sword

Back to Usage of Union: Table of Contents

Usage of Union in Sorry Ms. Jackson

Chiseled letters from an ancient stone tablet hanging on a wall — A real play. With drama in it. Talk fast. It takes two hours. Set in a guest house. In a small community. After a murder. Lots of suspicion. The characters learn to listen to each other. It's funny.

LUKE: Hoopani Koopani.

Hoopani Koopani.

Witi tay rah!

Kissa kissa kissa ha!

Winna tee, winna tee.

Tee tee ta.

FLETCHER: What the devil was that?

LESBIAN: It's a haka dance developed by the Maori people of New Zealand. I didn't know Aussies could appreciate it.

LUKE: It's me old school chant - thanks to the junior rugby union.

– ACT I, lines 369-378

LUKE: Hoopani Koopani.

Witi tay rah!

Kissa kissa kissa ha!

Winna tee, winna tee.

Tee tee ta.

FLETCHER: What the devil was that?

LESBIAN: It's a haka dance developed by the Maori people of New Zealand. I didn't know Aussies could appreciate it.

LUKE: It's me old school chant - thanks to the junior rugby union.

GREY GOOSE: Your husband's been teaching it to me.

– ACT I, lines 370-379

LUKE: Winna tee, winna tee.

Tee tee ta.

FLETCHER: What the devil was that?

LESBIAN: It's a haka dance developed by the Maori people of New Zealand. I didn't know Aussies could appreciate it.

LUKE: It's me old school chant - thanks to the junior rugby union.

GREY GOOSE: Your husband's been teaching it to me.

ALICE: That's what you do together. I thought you drank.

GREY GOOSE: Actually, I just challenged him to a drinking contest. He accepted.

LUKE: I'm not gonna let him drink with the flies, am I? Besides, he just challenged me.

MS. JACKSON: Go.

– ACT I, lines 374-383

LUKE: Kissa kissa kissa ha!

Winna tee, winna tee.

Tee tee ta.

FLETCHER: What the devil was that?

LESBIAN: It's a haka dance developed by the Maori people of New Zealand. I didn't know Aussies could appreciate it.

LUKE: It's me old school chant - thanks to the junior rugby union.

GREY GOOSE: Your husband's been teaching it to me.

ALICE: That's what you do together. I thought you drank.

GREY GOOSE: Actually, I just challenged him to a drinking contest. He accepted.

LUKE: I'm not gonna let him drink with the flies, am I? Besides, he just challenged me.

– ACT I, lines 373-382

LUKE: Witi tay rah!

Kissa kissa kissa ha!

Winna tee, winna tee.

Tee tee ta.

FLETCHER: What the devil was that?

LESBIAN: It's a haka dance developed by the Maori people of New Zealand. I didn't know Aussies could appreciate it.

LUKE: It's me old school chant - thanks to the junior rugby union.

GREY GOOSE: Your husband's been teaching it to me.

ALICE: That's what you do together. I thought you drank.

– ACT I, lines 371-380

Back to Usage of Union: Table of Contents

Usage of Union in Miscellaneous Dingbats

The title of the book at the end of a string of miscellaneous dingbats — A story book full of short fiction stories. An interesting bedtime mystery. A fairy tale. Science fiction romance. Adult life. Uninspiring gay fiction. Horror.

"Let's stick to the models," said Proctor. "They've got a union we can contact."

Bob laughed. "Figure models have a union? How do you know?"

"My wife, Elizabeth," said Proctor. "She used to be a member. A long time ago."

– from “We Need To Talk,” a mystery story featuring an artist's model put in a weird position

Proctor and Bob interviewed the union leadership. Nobody recognized the victims. Either they weren't members or they hadn't paid dues in a while. Bob got a list of members going back ten years. It had Elizabeth's name on it. He showed it to Proctor. Proctor crossed her name out.

– from “We Need To Talk,” a mystery story featuring a gay lover put in a weird position

Problems arose when a new development was begun at the western end of Profile at Login Road. That particular section of Login had fallen under the purview of City Rural Route 15 as the result of a union grievance involving guaranteed work-hours. Never mind that the rest of City Rural Route 15 was ten miles away.

– from “Wrong Again,” a success story that isn't factual and yet is true, since the details are fictional

Management, rather than allow any rural route to permanently profit from this massive windfall of mail, decided it didn't have time to settle the issue immediately. Yet dictator Steve the Second somehow found time to drive out to Profile and Login every single day to personally deliver one woman's mail. Until he could hire and train a temp to do it for him.

The rural union filed a grievance. Of course a month was not enough time to arbitrate a local matter. Not with the National Mail Count on the horizon. There were grievances all over.

– from “Wrong Again,” a success story that represents things that have actually happened, though the details are fictional

On the next day one of the old men was back. I asked him to come inside but he stayed at the window. He wanted to know where I was from. I gave him a brief history of my country and we started arguing over European aid to Africa and whether the Soviet Union was right to have ever been there. It seemed like no matter what I said I was wrong. At least the man treated me like a civil human being. Until he got angry with me and left. I went back to teaching my imaginary class.

– from “A Black Man in Moscow,” an inspirational story that isn't factual and yet is very true no matter who you are

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Collocation of Union in the Fiction Corpus

Table of Collocation for the Word "Union."
This table lists in descending order of frequency a selection of word pairs that appear in the Fiction Corpus and groups them according to the morphological derivation of the word union that appears in the pair.
Type	Frequency
	TOTAL # of occurences	MCDONALDS	JESUS	SEX	TSIGA	JACKSON	DINGBATS
	TOTAL # of occurences	modern/sloppy	biblical/terse	poetic/high-brow	hard/fast	talky	mixed salad
-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
I have yet to perform a collocation analysis of "union." I hope I can get it done sometime soon. -Michal