Stigmatize

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

stigmatize: (verb) To accuse or condemn as disgraceful.

Synonyms: brand, denounce, mark.

Usage: She was stigmatized because she had a child out of wedlock.

Relevance to My Life: At the opulent holiday party thrown by my husband's employer, I came to anticipate his coworkers' and their spouses' questions about my livelihood with a kind of amused dread; upon learning that I was "just a stay at home mom," I could see their eyes glaze over for that brief instant before they fled, leaving me standing there, stigmatized as an uninteresting frump who would have nothing worthwhile to contribute to a lively intellectual conversation.

Please, Housewives are bad-ass.

Teresa at the Last Supper

Someone ought to tell these chicks that they're boring frumps.

Ok, ok, so these chicks don't really count as housewives, but they're definitely something else.










The Real Housewives of Atlanta - Better Tardy Than Never

I don't think a single one of these women spend any time at all doing the endless loads of laundry that seem to be my lot in life. Might wreck their heinously tacky nails.









The Real Housewives of Orange County Visit Bellagio spa and salon

Watch as they try to turn a normal woman into one of them. *sigh* Nearly everything about these women is fake. It is staggering.

I have to admit though, the waxing scene was pretty funny.







Suburban Housewife

"Mother's Cure."








Mother's Little Helper

Or as the Rolling Stones put it nearly 40 years ago...

Overbalance

The Word of the Day for October 5 is "overbalance."

overbalance: (verb) To have greater weight or importance than.

Synonyms: outbalance, outweigh, preponderate

Usage: The ancients were not always right in hiding the goddess in a well; witness the light which Bacon has thrown upon philosophy; witness the principles of our divine faith - that moral mechanism by which the simplicity of a child may overbalance the wisdom of a man.

Relevance to my life: Much like a parent tells a child that her vote counts for two votes to the child's one, my boss told me that his voice overbalanced my own in the matter; consequently, I found myself hearing those awful words, "We've decided not to ask you back."

Yes. Sometimes jobs suck either because you've been fired, made redundant, or brought to death's doorstep from the boredom of it all.




Johnny Paycheck - Take This Job and Shove It

I'm not the hugest fan of country-western music, but how can you not like this song?







Joanna Expresses Herself - Office Space

How many times have we wanted to express ourselves in just that way?

*sigh* That brought a tear to my eye.








Peter Meets with the Bobs - Office Space

The funniest scene from this movie









Inspiration from Michael Scott

As advice from idiot bosses goes, this really isn't that bad.








Tim's Review - The Office (UK)

Ricky Gervais is disturbingly awesome as Bad Boss David Brent.









The Devil Wears Prada Trailer

Some evil bosses are women.

I really love this movie despite its appearing frothy and chick-flicky.









Gordon Gekko - Wall Street

Some bosses are evil and greedy...









The Devil's Advocate

...while other bosses are the incarnation of evil.








A Good Question to Consider

Happy Monday, everyone!

Hobgoblin

The Word of the Day for November 30 is "hobgoblin."

hobgoblin: (noun)

1. An ugly, mischievous elf or goblin.
2. An object or source of fear, dread, or harassment.

Synonym: bugbear

Usage: But this encompassment of her own characterization... was a sorry and mistaken creation of Tess's fancy-- a cloud of moral hobgoblins by which she was terrified without reason.

Relevance to my Life: The myriad nagging insecurities and personal demons who are my constant companions cluster in the forefront of my mind like a clutch of hobgoblins, ready to tear me down at will without warning.

I Want to Break Free (Queen)
My anthem







I Won't Back Down (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers)
I ought to take this to heart






So now we find me sticking to my resolve, great. The problem is that that inevitably comes back to bite me on the ass. There are the times I stick with it, then there are the times when I ought to throw in towel. The problem I have is distinguishing between them.

I wonder, should I pull a George Costanza and simply start doing the opposite of what my instincts tell me? Thinking further, this just brings me to a new problem: maybe my true instincts have actually been right on the money and I just haven't been listening to them, instead opting for endless second-guessing until I don't know which is instinct, and which is insecurity.




The New George

Portentous

The Word of the Day for November 25 is "portentous."

portentous:(adjective)

1. Of great or ominous significance
2. Marked by pompousness; pretentiously weighty.

Synonyms:

1. Ominous, foreboding, fateful
2. Overblown, pompous, grandiloquent, pontifical

Usage: His hands, large and coarse, were plentifully bedecked with rings; and he wore a heavy gold watch-chain, with a bundle of seals of portentous size, and a great variety of colors, attached to it.

Relevance to my life: It appears that I am blind to the portentous signs which precede disater; time and again I am struck dumb with shock at what unfolds in my life. Others ask, "How could you not have known it was coming?" and I have no answer. Unlike in the movies, there is no ominous leitmotiv to clue me in when the shark is on my trail.

Speaking of portentous leitmotivs, here are some of my favorite musical themes which presage disaster:




Darth vader's Theme (Imperial March )
I love how in the newer trilogy, as Anakin gets older and suffers, you hear the strains of this theme developing.







Jaws, baby
My kids love it when I sing this theme as I wave a forkful of food in front of them. It's a good way to get them to eat food which they find repellent. Even the 9 year-old gets a kick out of it. Yes, we are silly.







The Isengard/Uruk-hai theme from LOTR
The Lord of the Rings has such a developed use of leitmotivs, it's almost Wagnerian, but I love it. It offers that extra textural element to the feel of the story.







Psycho
Ok, this is portentous only for a second or so before the knife plunges, but still. Good music.







The Exorcist
This theme creeped me out before I even saw the movie. Whenever I hear it I still get the shivers.









There are so many more, but I can't think of any others at the moment.

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.