Wed, 13 May

BLUESPARK (n.) 1. The word itself, before it means anything. Before the idea catches. 2. The millisecond between the striker and the sulphur — not yet flame, still only the decision to become flame. 3. In electrical engineering: a transient discharge event across a gap. Duration: unmeasurable by ordinary instruments. Evidence: a small scorch. A faint smell. The gap, now wider. 4. (archaic, Christchurch) A Wednesday in autumn that doesn't know it's ending. 5. What you call the thing you felt before you had language for the thing you felt. 6. See also: ignition. See also: threshold. See also: K.