Sacrilegious

The Word of the Day for October 31 is "sacrilegious."

sacrilegious: (adjective)

1. Grossly irreverent toward what is or is held to be sacred.
2. Having committed sacrilege.

Synonyms: blasphemous, profane.

Usage: They took an oath to defend and protect the united cities, to punish the violators of this oath and to inflict vengeance on sacrilegious despoilers of the temple.

Relevance to my life: When he and I were acolytes and had just extinguished the candles on the altar, Joel Baker tried to kiss me in the corridor right behind the giant crucifix hanging on the wall in the front of the church. I was so stunned by his sacrilegious move that I was afraid that the church roof would cave in.

Example from literature: In Anne of Green Gables, Marilla had a brooch.

Marilla wore her amethyst brooch to church that day as usual. Marilla always wore her amethyst brooch to church. She would have thought it rather sacrilegious to leave it off--as bad as forgetting her Bible or her collection dime. That amethyst brooch was Marilla's most treasured possession. A seafaring uncle had given it to her mother who in turn had bequeathed it to Marilla. It was an old-fashioned oval, containing a braid of her mother's hair, surrounded by a border of very fine amethysts. Marilla knew too little about precious stones to realize how fine the amethysts actually were; but she thought them very beautiful and was always pleasantly conscious of their violet shimmer at her throat, above her good brown satin dress, even although she could not see it.

Oh, I love that book! I can't wait to buy the set for Natalie when she's a bit older.

Today's video compilation includes something from The Exorcist & Fallen, because nothing says "sacrilegious" like a good demonic possession. I'm also tossing in some Anne of Green Gables.

Warning, there are graphic scenes in this.
If blasphemy and sacrilege offend you, DON'T WATCH THIS.
 Don't say I didn't warn you.




Another great tale of possession is Fallen, with Denzel Washington. It has a nice twist to it as well, which I love. This scene is so creepy.





Finally, going back to the previously-visited theme of Anne of Green Gables, here is a clip with assorted funny moments.
 And yes, that is the chicken dance you hear.

Frump

The Word of the Day for October 30 is "frump."

frump: (noun)

1. A girl or a woman regarded as dull, plain, or unfashionable.
2. A person regarded as colorless and primly sedate.

Synonym: dog

Usage: Her hairstyle had not changed since the early 1970s, and she did little to shed her reputation as a frump.

Relevance to my life: Like Toula in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," I went through a frump-girl phase which endures even now on some days, and even though photographic proof of it exists, thanks to people whom I later had to kill, I will be taking it to my grave.

Example from the movies: In "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," (@ the 4:10 mark on the first video clip below) Toula and Ian are on their first date when Ian recognizes her:

Ian: "I remember you. You're that waitress."
Toula: "Seating hostess, actually."
Ian: "I remember you."
Toula: "I was kind of going through a phase, up til... now. And, uh... I was frump-girl."

I love this movie. I'm not usually the hugest, gushing sort of fan of romantic comedies, but I love this one.

The scenes where Toula first meets Ian's parents and then when his parents meets he family made the s2bx and me laugh because we could relate: My family is small and WASP; his is large and Catholic. At dinner time at my parents' house, just like in the movie, you can hear the clink of cutlery on the plates.

The first time my parents met a good portion of his family came as sort of a surprise to them. Granted, there was no bacchanalia complete with a lamb roasting on a spit in the front yard, but it was large, loud and raucous, very un-WASP-like.



Frump-girl bit



Trailer



Some funny bits

Immutable

The Word of the Day for October 29 is "immutable."

immutable: (adjective) Not subject or susceptible to change.

Synonym: changeless

Usage: Destiny was too potent, and her immutable laws had decreed my utter and terrible destruction.

Relevance to my life: Denial is a strong force, it prompted me to bang myself against the truth, an immutable brick wall, but no matter how many times I screamed "No," my child was still dead.

What it is NOT: unable to be muted -
The Mute button on the damned remote is stuck, now the tv is immutable! wrong but funny lol

Example from the movies: In The Shawshank Redemption, when Andy naïvely mentions that he might simply ask Warden Norton for more funds to expand the library, Brooks explains that that is not likely to happen:

"Son, six wardens have been through here in my tenure and I've learned one immutable, universal truth: Not one of them born whose asshole won't pucker up tighter than a snare drum when you ask for funds."

Now for some scenes from the movie, and other randomness:





Icy-cold, Bohemia-style beer



Mozart



Escape

Clancy Brown, who played Captain Hadley, the foul-mouthed, baton-wielding guard also provided the voice of Mr. Krabs from Spongebob and the arch-enemy The Kurgan in Highlander. This naturally makes me think of Queen.

Who Wants to Live Forever

Riposte

The Word of the Day for October 28 is "riposte."

riposte: (noun) A quick reply to a question or remark (especially a witty or critical one).

Synonyms: comeback, counter, rejoinder, replication, retort, return

Usage: His sassy comment brought a sharp riposte from the teacher, and the shamed student's cheeks turned a deep crimson.

Relevance to my life: I'm usually pretty on target and timely with the snappy ripostes, but on occasion when I really do need to say something witty immediately, I am left speechless, until ten minutes later when the moment has passed. Oh, I hate that!

What it is NOT: "to post again" -
My constant editing screwed up the html formatting of my blog, so I had to riposte it. wrong

Comics' comebacks when dealing with hecklers are some of my favorite examples of ripostes. Some are witty, but most are the standard "STFU, you maggot-d*cked motherf***er," "Yo Mama" and grade-school type comments "I know you are but what am I," but I laugh at them because I am both child-like and childish.

Jimmy Carr and Heckler





George Carlin, His Potty Mouth and Some Random Heckler
"You gotta use psychology."



Richard Herring (I've never heard of him before) and Drunk



Joe Rogan appealing to the ever-popular vein of homophobia



Bill Maher and Assorted Others Deal With Hecklers

Unstinting

The Word of the Day for October 27 is "unstinting."

unstinting: (adjective) Bestowed liberally.

Synonyms: lavish, munificent, overgenerous, too-generous, unsparing.

Usage: Her suitor's unstinting devotion was flattering yet slightly unsettling.

Relevance to my life: Tired of the unstinting criticism from him, I closed myself off and shut him out. Perhaps things might have turned out differently with more frequent kind words from him and more patient understanding from me. We'll never know, though.

The judges' unstinting praise of Robert Muraine at his audition seemed sincere, although one was also unstinting with a donkey-bray laugh.





Feel free to show your unstinting admiration for me in other ways.


Something wet...





Something small...





Something funny...





Something sweet...





Something perfect...




I also accept:





Relax, people... I'm kidding, although if you could get me Viggo's phone number, that would be swell.

Sanguineous

The Word of the Day for October 25 is "sanguineous."

sanguineous: (adjective)  Relating to or involving blood or bloodshed.

Synonyms: butcherly, gory, slaughterous

Usage: He was an angry youth with a sanguineous temperament and was always getting into fights.

Relevance to my life: The OB nurse's eyes fixed in shock on the sheets of my hospital bed, made sanguineous by the mixed blood from me and my child which poured out of my body in a rush of amniotic fluid, cold evidence that she had been negligent in dismissing my fears that something had gone horribly wrong with my labor.

This is straight from the Davinci Code:

The Sanguineous Sekhmet Saga

People never seem to get tired of their spooky cults, do they?

If you like a story about secret societies,  the sinister occult and conspiracy theories, then another good read is the "thinking person's Davinci Code:" Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco.

Ideate

The Word of the Day for October 24 is "ideate."

ideate: (verb)

1. transitive  To form an idea of; imagine or conceive.
2. intransitive  To conceive mental images; think.

Synonyms: conceive of, envisage, imagine

Usage: Such characters represent a grotesquely blown-up aspect of an ideal man... if not realizable, capable of being ideated.

Relevance to my life: I will admit unashamedly that I went through a time where I wistfully wished for revenge: long nights I'd spend in bed while my feverish brain ideated scenarios in which I came out victorious.

Ok, that was ideate used as a transitive verb, which means that it takes a direct object, in that case, "scenarios." It can also be an intransitive verb, which means that it can stand without a noun phrase following it, like:

Fixed upon revenge, I ideated well into the night, imagining complex scenarios where those who'd done me wrong would come to rue the day that they'd wished me ill.

At first glance I did not like this word at all. It sounded to me to be either a product of "corporate-speak" (as in "The committee meets bi-weekly to ideate new visions for the workplace") or a slangy back-formation of a verb from a noun, like conversate from conversation, interpretate from interpretation, and orientate from orientation. A note: we generally consider orientate  to be an error in American English although I believe it is acceptable Standard British English.

Now while formation of new words is the hallmark of a vital living language system, for the purposes of formal language, it seems wasteful to have two verbs so close in form having the same meaning, like converse/conversate, interpret/interpretate, or orient/orientate. It's not only wasteful, but it seems to be clumsy and inelegant. I think I have a thing about elegance in language, and actually, some slang and curses hold a kind of elegance in their inventiveness.

Ok, my own issues aside, I felt compelled to look into this word a bit more. According to Merriam-Webster online, ideate goes back to 1610, so it's not quite the same as a modern-day slang term like conversate, which makes me shudder every time I hear it.

You know what? I still don't really like the word ideate. I think I have to say it to myself one hundred times today and see if that changes anything. If not, no worry. English is rich in synonyms. I'll stick to envisage, conceive, imagine.

See? Corporate-speak.

Countervail

The Word of the Day for October 23 is "countervail."

countervail: (verb) Oppose and mitigate the effects of by contrary actions.

Synonyms: counteract, counterbalance, neutralize

Usage: I hope that my letter of apology will countervail the foolish actions of my colleagues.

Relevance to my life: The most effective way I found to countervail the idiotic words of ignorant assholes and regain a sense of equilibrium was to vent to a friend for a while. Thank God he had on his flame retardant long underwear.

Dance CounterBalance

I thought that the music was lame, but the dance itself was amazing with their balance and counterbalancing moves.
I also like Momix and Pilobolus.

Redoubtable

The Word of the Day for October 22 is "redoubtable."

redoubtable: (adjective)

1. Arousing fear or awe.
2. Worthy of respect or honor.

Synonyms: formidable, unnerving

Usage: On his comely head he set his helmet, well-wrought, with a crest of horse-hair that nodded menacingly above it, and he grasped a redoubtable spear that suited his hands.

Relevance to my life: He criticised me for my redoubtable defense of sharp sarcasm and a wounding tongue; yet all the while his mouth dripped blood from the brutal barbs lobbed my way.

What it is NOT: doubtful -
It's redoubtable whether or not I'll be able to make the drive to see you; my car is in the shop. wrong

Ok, today's video clip deals not with the word "redoubtable" itself, but the synonym "formidable."

This is a false cognate of a French word,  formidable, which means "terrific" in French and it reminds me of one of my favorite Fawlty Towers moments when Basil says, "Formidable" to a Frenchwoman. The way he says it always makes me laugh.






I have the entire Fawlty Towers collection on dvd. The best episode ever is The Germans; second is Basil the Rat.

Sundry

The Word of the Day for October 21 is "sundry."

sundry: (adjective) Consisting of a haphazard assortment of different kinds.

Synonyms: assorted, miscellaneous, mixed, motley

Usage: Walking-sticks, canes, baseball bats, and sundry other items stood in the umbrella stand next to the front door, but I could not find a single umbrella!

Relevance to my life: The food processor, crock pot, pie plates, rolling pin, and other sundry kitchen gadgets lying around my kitchen are proof that I am still elbow-deep in my cooking and baking phase.

or:

The sundry attacks directed at me for a fairly innocuous comment of mine shocked me with their presumptive arrogance, faulty logic and an undercurrent of sexist double standards.


What it is NOT: a kind of tomato - that adjectival form is sun-dried, as in sun-dried tomatoes.


You may see this word most often in the phrase "various and sundry," which, a good style manual will tell you, is a cliché, and not appropriate for formal writing.

I'm in a bit of a shitty mood, feeling hateful towards the random assortment of assholes out there, so here's the Asshole anthem:






Ok, I can't help but laugh whenever I hear Denis.

I know, I know, you unflappable types out there are saying, "Non illegitimati carbonundum," right?

If only I could brush them off that easily. I suppose it's time to practice the fine art of detachment. Again.

Dumbstruck

The Word of the Day for October 20 is "dumbstruck."

dumbstruck: (adjective) So shocked or astonished as to be rendered spechlesss.

Synonyms: dumbfounded, dumbstricken, flabbergasted, stupefied, thunderstruck

Usage: He stood dumbstruck in the doorway as the partygoers yelled "Surprise!" in unison.

Relevance to my life: His comment: "You know, you're a damn fine-looking woman now, but do you know how drop-dead you'd be with a little plastic surgery?" left me uncharacteristically dumbstruck, and wondering if all men are born without that filter between the brain and the mouth or if it's just the ones who are interested in me.

What it is NOT: "hit with the stupid stick" or any other derivation of dumb meaning unintelligent, although I like the image of being hit with the stupid stuck.

I was stricken dumb by these video clips this morning only because I was laughing too hard to breathe and was therefore unable to speak:









I can't see office clips without dragging out the next two:





"It's not that I'm lazy, it's that I just don't care."

Exhilaration

The Word of the Day for October 19 is "exhilaration."

exhilaration: (noun) The state of being stimulated, refreshed, or elated.

Synonyms: excitement

Usage: Few Yosemite visitors ever see snow avalanches and fewer still know the exhilaration of riding on them.

Relevance to my life: Although the two happiest days of my life were the births of my daughters, the greatest exhilaration I felt was on the opening night of the gallery exhibit in which I had three of my paintings.

What it is NOT: spelled like exhiliration -
Everyone has some words which are difficult to remember how how to spell; this one is mine. I can never remember that first "a." I have to look it up every single time. *sigh*

Here's a Sunday morning pick-me-up. Natalie watched this and said, "Ohh, pretty lights!" heh



When Natalie saw the chick's dress in this one, she said, "Nice dress, Nancy." *snort* My kids crack me up.





This one is not techno-related at all, but I've listened to it nonstop since last night. Chingon is badass. lol





Here is the link to the song as it is on the soundtrack, which is better quality, naturally, than the live version. I may have to watch both Kill Bills today now. Hmm.

Affectation

The Word of the Day for October 17 is "affectation."

affectation: (noun)
1. A show, pretense, or display.
2. a. Behavior that is assumed rather than natural; artificiality.
b. A particular habit, as of speech or dress, adopted to give a false impression.

Synonyms: affectation, pose, air, mannerism

Usage: "Radical chic" is merely an affectation of radical left-wing views and the fashionable dress and lifestyle that goes with them; it seems to be all talk and no walk.

Relevance to my life: Although I am from Connecticut, I have only met one person who truly exemplifies that affectation of speech sometimes called Connecticut Lockjaw. I was stunned into silence as this gentleman, an authentic Boston Brahmin, languidly gestured toward a crystal decanter and insisted, "Baahbrahh, do... do try the brandy." He extolled the virtues of the Napoleon brandy for about 20 minutes after I'd been poured a snifter of it, and with good reason: it was some good stuff.*

What it is NOT: affection**

I was flattered by his displays of affectation: the hugs, kisses and hand-holding all made me feel like a teenager again. wrong

*What is it with speech affectations among the so-called elite?

I had this guest Russian professor one summer, Svetlana Aleksandrovna Kazbegi. My God, she was ancient then, back in 1988. She was a member of some Russian noble family, and at a young ladies' finishing school in St Petersburg at the time of the revolution. Her family packed off to Germany for a while and then she was married off to a Georgian count.

Anyway, back to 1988... she was teaching us Russian history and culture, and I was constantly distracted by her pronunciation: all of her "l" sounds were pronounced as "w" like my 5 year-old Lucy still does on occasion. I made some remark to my professor Boris about it and he told me that it had been a fashionable affectation of speech among the Russian nobles.


I have heard an affectation of speech among some Oxford-educated Brits of an older generation. There was (is?) some game show on British radio which deals with plays on language. The NPR show "Says You!" is based on it, I believe. I can not for the life of me remember what the original British show is called, and it's bugging me because there's an academic-type who is a frequent panelist on it and he has the best affected accent ever! It's a lot like the character Anthony Blanche's speech in the following clip from Brideshead Revisited.





An excellent example of the Connecticut Lockjaw/Long Island Lockjaw is the late William F. Buckley, Jr. Here is a clip of the infamous encounter between him and Gore Vidal. Priceless.

Dissonance

The Word of the Day for October 16 is "dissonance."

dissonance: (noun)

1. A harsh, disagreeable combination of sounds; discord.
2. Lack of agreement, consistency, or harmony; conflict

Synonyms: noise, racket

Usage: Maddening church bells of all degrees of dissonance, sharp and flat, cracked anad clear, fast and slow, made the brick-and-mortar echoes hideous.

Relevance to my life: With a devil whispering into my left ear, an angel into my right, the Voice of My Insecurities hemming and hawing in the background, and my ever-present Inner Critic passing judgment over everyone and everything, it can be difficult to maintain focus; sometimes the dissonance inside my head can be downright crazy-making.

I have such a headache. I don't know if it's the cacophony from inside my head or the lagers at last night's birthday/retirement party for my sister-in-law, but I think I need an Advil or four.

Mannequin

The Word of the Day for October 15 is "mannequin."

mannequin: (noun)

1. a woman who wears the clothes displayed at a fashion show; model
2. a life-size dummy of the human body used to fit or display clothes
3. an artist's jointed model

Synonyms: fashion model, model, fashion plate, dummy

Usage: She longed to become a mannequin and preened for hours before going out in public.

Relevance to my life: I've never been what you might call a clothes horse or a shopping-addict; a mannequin I am not, although if L.L.Bean or Land's End ever needs another catalogue model I'm ready with my Original Field Coat, Gore-Tex gloves, and wool sweater. God, that's sexy.

Here is my very own mini-mannequin (see the third definition) for art puroposes. It's a little Art on the Gogh kit with a mannequin, pencil, teeny-tiny pad of paper, water bottle, and minuscule watercolor set. I bought it for a fund-raising effort put on by the figure drawing group which I used to attend regularly, and keep meaning to take part in again but haven't in ages. I'm bad.





I would post a picture of one of my sketches from the figure drawing group, but I think that MySpace has some prohibition against nudity, so I guess you're SOL. Drawing from live, nude models (as opposed to cadavers? wth...) isn't nearly as embarrassing as I'd thought, although the first time we had a male model I was a little bit... flustered, for about the first 2-minute gesture pose but then I realized that time was a-wastin' and got down to sketching.

What?! I'm being honest here.

Today's movie clips:

I couldn't embed this one, so just click for the song Mannequin from Fame. Oh yeah. I bet you'd forgotten about that one, hey?

Now for that truly execrable* movie Mannequin, which goes to show that not all of those 80s John Hughes-type movies were classics you'd want to watch over and over. Of all the retellings of the Pygmalion and Galatea myth out there, this is probably the worst I've seen yet. Good God, the dancing! My eyes!

Wait! Did someone say "Pygmalion?"






*What a great word execrable is, don't you think?

Borderland

The Word of the Day for October 14 is "borderland."

borderland: (noun)

1. District consisting of the area on either side of a border or boundary of a country or an area.
2. An indeterminate area, situation, or condition:

Synonyms: border district, march, marchland

Usage: The borderland was sparsely populated, and the lawless region saw few visitors.

Relevance to my life: Since the death of my son I have spent too much time drifting aimlessly in that borderland between living and not living: on good days dredging up a reasonable facsimile of an active existence, and on bad days merely existing from breath to breath, and letting those breaths carry me through the day.

I was searching for a clip to add to this entry and found several things relating to the horror film "Borderland," but I'm not really in the mood for that today. I thought for a second about posting the video to "Borderline,"(heh) but even I am not that evil. So I keep looking and found this on Google.

Excellent.

Borderland Sciences Research Foundation

There is nothing quite like the acquisition of knowledge.* The lamp of Borderland Sciences shines in the darkness lighting a path for the intrepid investigatior. This is the essential curriculum!

Alternative Science
Alternative Science has been known under many titles for thousands of years. It has always been an alternative science because it requires the investigator to go outside of their normal perceptions. Shamans and healers of all ages share a common heritage with the Alternative Scientist. A world of patterns, geometry and subtle radiation are operative to both. Alternative science struggles with language to describe the experience of subtle energy. Teaching how to manipulate this subtle energy has always been a challenge. Borderland Sciences preserves this collection so you can aquire your own education.MORE!

20th Century Collection
These research texts provide a look into the early resarch of subtle energy by qualified scienctist before teh materialistic paradigm squeezed vitalism out of the picture.many of these texts hold secrets and models of the physical universe that were classified when they were completely worked out by academic engineers. Drink from the Source.

Radionics
Radionics as a healing art originated from the research of the distinguished American physicians Dr. Albert Abrams. He was born in San Francisco in 1863 and became one of the most highly qualified specialists of his day. A graduate of the University of California, he wrote several medical text books and eventually won for himself a national reputation as a specialist in diseases of the nervous system.

In the course of his research Abrams made the startling discovery that diseases could be measured in terms of energy, and he devised and instrument which calibrated dials which enabled him to identify and measure disease reactions and intensities. From this work, called E.R.A. of the Electronic Reaction of Abrams, came Radionics as we know it today. Learn More About Radionics!

RIFE, LAKHOVSKY, AND TESLA
Earlier this century Georges Lakhovsky described researches indicating that living cells can be regenerated by applying energy fields of multiple wavelengths.Rife developed a radiant gas broadcast unit that could kill dangerous viruses in an animal host.Tesla assisted in pioneering the use of electricity and electro-magnetism in the treatment of infectious diseases and cancer.

GERRY VASSILATOS AND TESLA
RADIANT ELECTRICITY Through successive experimental arrangements, Tesla discovered several facts concerning the production of his effect. First, the cause was undoubtedly found in the abruptness of charging. It was in the switch closure, the very instant of "closure and break", which thrust the effect out into space.

ERIC DOLLARD AND TESLA
CAPACITANCE INADEQUATELY EXPLAINED
The perception of capacitance as used today is wholly inadequate for the proper understanding of this effect. Steinmetz mentions this in his introductory book Electric Discharges, Waves and Impulses. To quote, "Unfortunately, to large extent in dealing with dielectric fields the prehistoric conception of the electrostatic charge (electron) on the conductor still exists, and by its use destroys the analogy between the two components of the electric field, the magnetic and the dielectric, and makes the consideration of dielectric fields unnecessarily complicated

Dr. T. HENRY MORAY
Radiations effect pigments, bacteria, fungi and enzymes. Radiations INDUCE CHROMOSOMAL ABERRATIONS in animals. One will find a real field for therapy advancement in the study of radiation absorptions of tissues and the study of mutations in animal matter. Modern living away from natural radiations, because one is indoors so much of the time away from natural radiations, necessitates ARTIFICIALLY supplying various rays.

WATER RESEARCH
Trevor Constable reviews Your Body's many Cries for Water.

* There is nothing quite like the acquisition of knowledge ....and I bet this is nothing like that at all. Get your foil beanies ready.

Note: all misspellings are as I found them on the website.

People, I could not make this shit up if I tried.

Have a great Tuesday!

Intone

The Word of the Day for October 13 is "intone."

intone: (verb, transitive)

1. To recite in a singing tone.
2. To utter in a monotone.

(verb, intransitive)

1. To speak with a singing tone or with a particular intonation.
2. Music To sing a plainsong intonation.

Synonyms: cantillate, chant

Usage: I heard the eight singers of the King of Sicily intone the first verse of seven o'clock mass in the Sainte-Chapelle.

Relevance to my life: He intoned the litany of my faults as if he were a priest presiding over a Black Mass; until then, I had no idea I was so very evil. Look out world, She is come.

What is it NOT: "in tune*"
The choir was so poorly intone that I thought my ears might bleed from the discordant sounds. wrong

*If you don't like that one, give me suggestions for others. :)

Ok, here are some examples of songs, prayers, meditations, etc being intoned from various traditions:


Tibetan Buddhist Monks




Benedictine Monks





Tibetan Nuns





Jewish Cantor





Livestock Auctioneer




Square Dance Caller





Have a great day everyone, and Happy Thanksgiving to my friends in Canada.

Kinetic

The word of the day for October 10 is "kinetic."

kinetic: Supplying motive force; characterized by motion.

Synonyms: energizing

Usage: The bustling market was the kinetic center of the city, and movement seemed to radiate outward from it.

Relevance to my life: A kinetic sleeper, Lucy often assaults me after climbing into bed with me and falling asleep: a belt across the bridge of the nose here, a bony knee or elbow lodged into my ribs there, it reminds me an awful lot of the third trimester of my pregnancy with her.*

What it is NOT:

• kinesthetic (adj) - Referring to the sense that detects body's position in space, its weight, or movement of the extremities.
  Very much like the word "proprioception," which refers to the ability to sense the position and location and orientation and movement of the body and its parts.
  
  My sense of proprioception is whacked: no joke, I often walk into doorways, hitting them with my shoulder, like a cat without whiskers, missing a crucial sense; other times my balance is eerily good.
• frenetic (adj) - Wildly excited or active; frantic; frenzied.
  
  Although "frenetic" implies energy, it has a wilder, emotional connotation to it than kinetic does.
  
  

*Seriously, sleeping with this kid next to you requires protective padding. She's lucky she's so damn cute.






And now, an example of kinetic art. I don't know if I'm more child-like or childish, but I thought this was too cool:

Rattlebrained

The Word of the Day for October 9 is "rattlebrained."

rattelbrained: (adjective) Giddy and talkative; foolish.

Synonyms: rattlepated, scatterbrained, scatty

Usage: Grandpa's rattlebrained, crackpot ideas always made us laugh.

Relevance to my life: I had not realized just how rattlebrained I appear when I get nervous and begin babbling inanely until I saw a short video clip of myself, made so that someone could hear my voice and its delightful accent; that first clip was so alarming that I had to go on and make several more, but since each was worse than the last, I fixed myself some Dutch courage and finally, hours later, ended up with clips that were amusing, and a bit embarrassing. I really do look like a dork sometimes.

What it is NOT: "ratatouille" - a French stew of vegetables: zucchini, bell peppers, tomatoes and eggplant. Yeah, I know, not an obviously misunderstood one, but I have a funny anecdote to go with it so you're stuck.

So this one Saturday I had the girls, and Lucy had been cranky all day ever since her dad had dropped them off that morning. She is usually a cheery little monkey, and gets over any morning crabbiness quickly, so I was wondering what was up.

I asked her, "Lucy, what is up with you today? Why are you so cranky?"

and she replied, stomping her foot: "Because I stayed up too wate wast night watching Watatouille!"

heh

Example from literature: Nothing is leaping to mind at the moment; it certainly could be used to describe Lydia Bennett, (again, Jane Austen's P&P), as in "Lydia's rattlebrained schemes to get a husband," but it sounds more like a word found in those cheesy Regency romance novels written for bored 20th century middle-America, whitebread, slightly puritanical housewives. You know, the ones that make frequent use of "flibbertigibbet," and "cicisbeo." It's like genteel porn for nice girls, because the seduction ends with a passionate kiss... *fade to black* No juicy details whatsoever.

Yeah, I read them all when I was a young teenager and then moved on to the slightly racier ones, those books which introduced me to all sorts of giggle-worthy euphemisms, like "love button" and "throbbing member." Oh yeah, baby. If our parents only knew that a lot of our practical pre-sex sex education came courtesy of Kathleen Woodiwiss and Johanna Lindsey, well... it would explain a lot. Forget Lady Chatterly's Lover, hand me Fires of Winter! Actually, no, I like D.H. Lawrence.

Well, that was a pleasant tangent. I'd like to thank you all for going on this morning ramble with me. Enjoy your coffee!

Now I'm cracking up. God, I am easily amused. I can't help but think of Shakespeare when I hear "rattlebrained."


The Shakespearean insult of the day is:

You scullion! You rampallian! You fustilarian! I'll tickle your catastrophe!

Taken from: Henry IV, part 2


I can't think of a better time to add a clip from the reduced Shakespeare Company. If they come to a town near you, go see them.

Here is Othello, performed as a rap:

Here are all of Shakespeare's comedies distilled into one:

Odoriferous

The Word of the Day for October 8 is "odoriferous."

odoriferous: (adjective) Having a natural fragrance.

Synonyms: sweet-scented, sweet-smelling, perfumed, scented, odorous, sweet, aromatic.
Although it often has the connotation of something pleasant-smelling, it can also be a straight synonym for "malodorous" or bad-smelling.

Usage: There were large bottles filled with serpents, ticketed according to their species; dried lizards shone like emeralds set in great squares of black wood, and bunches of wild odoriferous herbs.

or

The odoriferous corpse lay in the bathtub for a full week before anyone thought to do anything about it. By then, the doorway to the bathroom was buzzing with a moving curtain of blowflies.

Relevance to my life: When I've just fixed my gin and tonic, I like to hold it my hand first and breathe in the lovely odoriferous fume of lime, tonic and juniper before diving in for that first crisp sip that dances on my tongue.

Example from literature: In Walter Scott's Ivanhoe,* Cedric the Saxon receives some unexpected visitors one evening, one priest, another one a knight and both of them Normans, so Cedric wants to overdo the hospitality a bit so that his house guests would have no reason to scoff at Saxon hospitality. There was a bit of a "divide" between the Normans and the Saxons in the 12th century. It was that whole Norman invasion of 1066. It sort of changed things. Forever. It actually changed the English language, but that's another topic for another day. :)

"Oswald, broach the oldest wine-cask; place the best mead, the mightiest ale, the richest morat, the most sparkling cider, the most odoriferous pigments, upon the board; fill the largest horns--Templars and abbots love good wines and good measure-- Elgitha, let the lady Rowena know we shall not this night expect her in the hall, unless such shall be her especial pleasure."

*I love this book. I don't even know how many times I've read it. My copy is an old one, too - one of those fabric-bound hardcover books. It reeks of that old-book smell, you know what I mean? I love that smell even though it tends to make me sneeze.

I also liked the movie adaptation they made of it way back in the 80s. I had the hugest crush on Anthony Andrews. Oh yeah.

And now, for your entertainment, some jousting!

HUZZAH!

Ok, after watching that twice I don't know whether to read the book again or watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail. heh

Patter

The Word of the Day for October 7 is "patter."

patter: (noun)

1. the glib, rapid speech of comedians or salesmen.
2. chatter
3. the jargon of a particular group

Synonyms: line of gab, spiel

Usage: The automobile salesman spoke about the old car so approvingly and at such length that the customers soon began to grow tired of his patter.

Relevance to my life: Jack and Victor's merciless, rude and rapid-fire attacks on the bartender's lame attempt at patter leave me in stitches: in a battle of wits, Boaby the barman is completely unarmed against the two crotchety old bastards. I haven't stopped laughing since I was turned on to Still Game*.

What it is NOT: "pater" as in Pater Familias, or Head of the Household -
In O Brother, Where Art Thou, after the fateful encounter with his ex-wife Penny and her fiance, Vernon T. Waldrip, that got him banned from the Woolworth, the wayward Ulysses Everett McGill is sitting in a movie theater with Delmar O'Donnell discussing his grievances with women:

Everett: Believe me, Delmar, a woman is the most fiendish instrument of torture ever devised to bedevil the days of man.

Delmar: Everett, I never figured you for a pater familias.

Everett: Oh-ho-ho-ho yes. I have spread my seed.

I love that movie.

*See video below for an example of Jack and Victor versus Boaby the Barman:

Condescension

The Word of the Day for October 6 is "condescension."

condescension: (noun) A communication that indicates lack of respect by patronizing the recipient.

Synonyms: disdain, patronage

Usage: Natasha did not like the visitor's tone of condescension to childish things.

Relevance to my life: In her interview with Katie Couric, the repugnant condescension in Governor Palin's disdainful comment, "Nooo, I worked all my life; in fact I've usually had two jobs..." when referencing some mythical scenario involving parents' giving their kids a passport and a backpack upon graduating and urging them to travel the world, struck me as incredibly offensive and testified further to how out of touch she is with who really makes up the country. If she sincerely believes that this is a large segment of the population, then she is far more rooted in willful ignorance than I had previously thought.*

What it is NOT: Condoleeza Rice's ESP -

"Why is everyone running aorund like crazy in the White House Situation Room?"

"Oh, that's just Condi sensing something."    rimshot

--->better:   "condensation:" (noun) any liquid that has condensed from a vapor, esp. on a window or glass -

The drops of condescension on my chilled Gin and Tonic rolled lazily down the glass and onto the coffee table, forming a ring on the wood because I'd been to lazy to hunt up a coaster. wrong


Example from literature: again, from Jane Austen - in Pride and Prejudice the idiotic Mr. Collins described the attitude of his patronizing patroness (Lady Catherine de Bourgh):

Mr. Collins was eloquent in her praise. The subject elevated him to more than the usual solemnity of manner, and with a most important aspect he protested that "he had never in his life witnessed such behavior in a person of rank - such affability and condescension, as he had himself experienced from Lady Catherine."

That cracks me up. Jane Austen's grip on irony was amazing and amusing. :)

*I was seriously pissed off and offended by Governor Palin's comment when asked why she hadn't gotten a passport until a year ago. Rather than giving a simple explanation, she immediately went offensive with it, and frankly, that was unnecessary and demonstrates what little class she possesses.

Yes, I traveled.  You bet your ass I did.

I got a master's degree in teaching English as a Foreign Language so I could travel extensively, if I wanted to, and pay my way doing it. I met lots of other ex-pats doing the same thing. None of us were from prep schools or rich families. There was nary a trust fund baby among us; neither were we all overprivileged liberal brats. We came from a wide range of political, social and economic backgrounds, but we all shared the desire to travel and experience other cultures and we found ways to afford it by working for it.

Governor Palin then went on to assert that the way she learned about the world and gained a global perspective was via education and books, a claim which she belies every time she opens her mouth. I have rarely seen a more provincial, close-minded asshole. The thought that she might actually be that close to so much political power chills me to the bone.


Ok. No more political-talk from me. I have to worry about blowing an aneurysm in my brain.

Despairing

The Word of the Day for October 2 is "despairing."

despairing (adjective) Characterized by or resulting from despair; hopeless.

Synonyms: desperate

Usage: The set-back to their hopes made them despairing and desperate.

Relevance to my life: The Great Online Dating Experiment I have embarked on over the past two years has left me despairing of ever being in a normal relationship again. Although the prospect of a wider pool of applicants is indeed a lure for some, so is the temptation to toss back the small ones in hopes of a bigger catch: I feel like a small mutated sea bass in an ocean of brightly-colored tropical fish.

If only I were joking.


Boy, do I need this weekend away with my girlfriends. I may even get a tattoo.



And just because this makes me laugh every time I see it:






Yes, I do have a juvenile sense of humor sometimes.

Unprejudiced

The Word of the Day for October 1 is "unprejudiced."

unprejudiced: (adjective) Free from undue bias or preconceived opinions.

Synonym: impartial

Usage: I claim to be an absolutely unprejudiced witness.

Relevance to my life: I could have easily been considered an unprejudiced juror in one contentious local case going to trial last year because, in my depression, I had neither read the local newspapers nor turned on the news for some time except to catch the weather: I hadn't even heard of the crime. I was a defense team's dream.

What it is NOT: spelled like "unprejudice"  -
Don't forget the damned "d" at the end of the word, people! This is the past participle of the verb used as an adjective. If there were such a word as "unprejudice," it would be a noun.  Even then, it'd probably be wrong, since in English we generally use the un- prefix on adjectives and verbs. As always, there are exceptions. It is English after all. 

That doesn't change the fact that "unprejudice" is still not a word. If you're looking for a noun that means "unprejudice," the first one that pops into my head is "impartiality."

* Not a real word, though perhaps it ought to be.