WOTD: purlieu

Today's word is purlieu, a noun, meaning neighborhood.

If Mr. Safety Boy were to move into this city, citizens would cry out, "There goes the purlieu".

WOTD: lusory

Today's word is lusory, an adjective meaning playful.

Here are some lusory elevator residents, having some random fun.

If you can't get to the link, try this:
http://www.bestofgooglevideo.com/video.php?video=180

WOTD: dimication

Today's word is dimication, a noun, meaning a fight or contest.





This self-defense class may prove to be useful if you ever find yourself involved in a dimication.


If you have trouble with the link, go to:

http://www.bestofgooglevideo.com/video.php?video=147

WOTD: parlous

Today's word is parlous, an adjective meaning 'perilous or dangerous'.

Some swing sets have been found to be parlous, and therefore not safe for children, such as this swinging monster.

If you can't get to the above link, try this:

http://www.bestofgooglevideo.com/video.php?video=301

WOTD: otiant

Today's word is otiant an adjective meaning 'idle, or resting'.

This baby panda lay otiant next to its mother until taken by surprise.

If unable to reach the link above, try this:
http://www.bestofgooglevideo.com/video.php?video=567

WOTD: peripatetic

Today's word is peripatetic, an adjective meaning walking or wandering around.

Tony and Paul are a couple of peripatetic characters in this clever video.

WOTD: luxate

Today's word is luxate, a verb, meaning 'to throw out of joint or dislocate'

Don't try this at home, or you may luxate your shoulder.

If you have trouble with the link above, try this one: http://www.bestofgooglevideo.com/video.php?video=16

WOTD: orchesis

Today's word is orchesis, a noun, meaning the act of dancing or a rhythmical moving of the body.

Example: In my humble, Gettin-Jiggy-Wit-It opinion, I say that Michael Jackson cannot hold a candle to this man who takes his orchesis around the world.

OK, maybe not, but it made me smile, anyway. Maybe it'll do the same for you.

If you have trouble with the above link, try going here: http://www.bestofgooglevideo.com/video.php?video=178

Man Sues For Right To Take Dog’s Name

A Los Angeles man claims that the state of California will not allow him to take his dog’s last name when they marry later this month. Gary Schwernske, an accountant, is suing California and Los Angeles County, claiming a denial of equal protection.

Mr. Schwernske’s dog, Frederick Postman, say they just want what every married couple already enjoys under the law.

“If I were a woman, they wouldn’t have a problem with it,” says the frustrated soon-to-be-groom.

Indeed, California’s law allows a woman to change her name when getting married by simply checking a box on the marriage application and paying the nominal application fee.

But Mr. Schwernske faces more than legal difficulties involving his marriage to Frederick.

“First of all, this state still does not recognize gay marriage,” says John Corman of the Boys Acquiring Rights For Freedoms (BARFF) organizations. “And unless Freddy is willing to undergo a sex change operation, I don’t see how Mr. Schwernske is going to pull this off.”

Mr. Schwernske, undeterred by the gay issue, says surgery is not an option. “I would never ask Freddy to do that. I am going to fight this no matter what it takes.”

Some of Schwernske’s co-workers feel he’s just doing it for the attention. Gail Swarthmore, who shares a cubicle with Schwernske, does not approve of her cubicle mate’s behavior. “Everyone around here knows he’s doing it just to make me jealous. He’s not even gay anyway.”

Schwernske’s mother, Mrs. Schwernske, agrees. “I could see it if he was a woman. I mean, that would make more sense, wouldn’t it?”

If Mr. Schwernske’s history of protests counts for anything, he will be fighting this matter for a long time. In 2004, Mr. Schwernske, petitioned against his then-employer to have Frederick included in his company’s health benefits package. Mr. Schwernske claimed discrimination at that time, but a spokesperson for the company stated that Freddy was denied inclusion because of a pre-existing condition.

When asked how long he would be willing to fight this battle, Mr. Schwernske replied, “I think I speak for the both of us when I say I am determined to set a precedent here. No one has ever had the nerve to step up like this. I just want to do what’s right. In my heart, I know I’m a Postman, and a Postman I’ll be.”

WOTD: euphonious

Today's word is euphonious, an adjective, meaning 'agreeable or pleasing to the ear'.

Who knew that a man playing the piano with his balls could sound so euphonious.

If you have trouble with the above link, go here:

http://www.bestofgooglevideo.com/video.php?video=194

WOTD: callow

Today's word is callow, an adjective meaning immature or inexperienced.

Some people may feel that the participants in this video are callow, but I daresay not a small amount of skill is required to drive those cars.

If you have trouble with the link above, go to:

http://www.bestofgooglevideo.com/video.php?video=333

An Auspicious Visit to Mickey D's

Yesterday at the grocery store, I realized I’d misplaced or lost my credit card and didn’t really worry about it because I assumed it was somewhere in my office. I checked my bank statement online to find out what my last purchase was: Office Max on Monday. So we went to Office Max to see if they had it. Nope. I kept forgetting about it, probably because I didn’t want to go through the hassle of getting another card and it if was stolen, somebody would have gone crazy with it already. Ron dug through my trash and kept asking me where it could be, I think he was reminded of the last time I had to go through the replacement process. He felt guilty because he was the one who left it somewhere. Such a pain last time because it wasn’t just a matter of a phone call to Citibank. They told me it would be 7-10 business days (which apparenytly sounds better than 2 weeks) before I got my replacement card. So I waited the two weeks and when nothing arrived, I called again and they said, “Oh, I guess we never sent it out. OK, it’ll be two weeks.” So I told them, no, it would not be two weeks, the least they could do is expedite it. Not only are you without a card for two weeks but all your accounts that you have tied into your card (like Netflix, and Amazon.com, and my cell phone bill and my Home Warranty bill) starts ringing alarm bells, and you don’t have a new card number because it’s gonna be "8-10 business days” before you can give them one. And I just didn’t want to go through that again. So I just hoped it would sort of turn up.

Today, I checked the Citibank activity again and my shoppping from Tuesday showed up. The grocery store and the coffee place. Nope. That doesn’t ring a bell either. So we go through our nightly ritual of “what do you want to do for dinner” “I dunno what do you want to do for dinner”. Well, we almost went to the freezer for our low calorie selection when the brilliant thought of McDonald’s came dancing into our heads. I had a gift card for some reason and wanted to get rid of it, so off we went.

We pull up to the first window to pay for our meal and Ron hands me his credit card (the Citibank card with HIS name on it because he hasn’t lost HIS card like SOME people). I push his hand away saying something about how silly it is for him to give me his card because I have a gift card and if there is still a balance due, it’s going to be so small that it’ll be ridiculous and at this point I’m thinking about the next thing I’m going to say, except that my mind is going too fast. My mouth is only as far as “but I have a gift card”, but I’m already thinking about the comparison I’m going to make to the trip I made a couple of days ago to FedExKinko’s to make a few copies, like 26 cents worth, and I used my credit card and OHMYGOD I FORGOT TO PULL THE CREDIT CARD OUT OF THE THING AT FEDEXKINKO’S! At this point my mouth has only gotten as far as “it’ll be ridiculous to use the credit card for such a small - “ and I just skipped the rest and said “I know where I left my credit card”.

And we get to the 2^nd window and pick up our food and Ron pokes his head in the bag to make sure everything is there and do you ever feel guilty if they see you peeking in the bag like you don’t trust them, so you just make a cursory check, but you also feel like you can’t fully explore the bag because you don’t’ want to hold up the line in front you like some old lady who has just pulled out her checkbook after her groceries have already been bagged? I hate it when the guy in front of me doesn’t immediately take off when he’s handed his bag of food at the Drive-Thru, so I feel compassion for the guy behind me if I take to long to leave the Drive Thru window, just I feel bad if I take to long to put my change back in my wallet at the checkout stand and keep the person behind me waiting too long - which why I HATE IT WHEN THEY PUT THE RECEIPT AND BILLS IN YOUR HAND WITH THE COINS ON TOP!!!

Anyway, it’s 8:40pm and we have a decision to make. Do we go to FedExKinko’s and see if they have my card? Or do we go home and eat? As I weave left and right in concert with our should-we, shouldn’t-we debate, we ultimately decide to go home and eat, because surely Kinko’s is open 24 hours? Especially one next to a college. So we go home. Ron goes upstairs to look up the number to Kinko’s and calls. I unpack the McDonald’s bag which is missing Ron’s Big Mac.

Ron gets some guy who giggles when he asks if this is Kinko’s and comes down and eats his food minus the Big Mac.

You see the problem with this is it’s too late to go back to McDonald’s because now it’s your word against theirs. You have virtually no evidence, and you look like a thief if you don’t report it immediately, like say, when you are still parked at Window #2 and checking your bag’s inventory while pissing off the guy behind you and the cashier.

Anyway, Ron finishes his other burger and goes back upstairs to get a real Kinko’s phone number and asks if they have my card and they do and then he asks when they close.

“Nine o’ clock?” he says. “O.K. We’ll be there in less than 10 minutes.”

So I grab my half-eaten burger and he grabs my half-eaten fries and we are out the door and at Kinko’s in less than 10 minutes.

I envisioned sending the employees a gift basket of junk food or something to thank them for being so honest and turning in my card, rather than going on a shopping spree or selling it to their friends, because frankly, I have no faith in humanity. I think people suck and are naturally dishonest, selfish, and greedy people. I suppose by lowering my standards, I become shocked and amazed when they do something that should be expected of a normal human person. How cynical is that?

LBR: Daddy Long Legs

So my friend Jane told me (actually, she told the whole world, it's in her blog) about a website called Daily Lit, where she was re-reading one of her favorite books called Daddy Long Legs by Jean Webster. You subscribe to a particular book and get a fragment or chapter each day via email. It's all Public Domain stuff, and its free. Anyway, so I subscribe to it this week and it's in 50 parts, so it should take me 50 days to read it. However, at the bottom of the email is a link for you to have the next fragment sent right away, in case you want to read another piece. The next thing I know, I'm done. And it was FAB-u-lous! What a great story! It's funny, and moving and brilliant! And it used one of this week's WOTDs: exigent!

And now I'm going back in there to find something else to read one fragment at a time for the next 50 days.

WOTD: edacious

Good Morning boys and girls. Today's word is edacious, an adjective that means 'eating a lot' or 'voracious'.

Perhaps this snake had an edacious appetite, snarfing down a whole egg (minus the shell - and speaking of which - you should make sure to watch the whole video so as not to miss out on THAT little gem).

If you have trouble with the link above, try this:

http://www.bestofgooglevideo.com/video.php?video=398

WOTD: exigent

Today's word is exigent, an adjective meaning urgent, or requiring immediate attention.

It's exigent that this family learn English before they pick up their posh British cousins from the airport.

If you can't get to the above link, try this:

http://www.bestofgooglevideo.com/video.php?video=25

WOTD: detritus

Today's word is detritus, meaning rubble or debris.

As in: Crash testing can produce a whole helluva lot of detritus, as seen in this video .

If you have trouble with the link go to:

http://www.bestofgooglevideo.com/video.php?video=587

Of Bowling and Roller Coasters

Does anybody get this video besides me?
And by "get" (and if you get me, I wouldn't have to explain it fer chrissakes) I mean "think it's funny" or "appreciate the off-beat humor aspect of it"?
One example of how I get this thing in the first place is that I own the dang song on the video!

WOTD: eidetic

Today's word is eidetic, which involves vivid recall of visual images.

As in: Billy Bob Johanson's eidetic memory allowed him to re-create an entire Where's Waldo poster after only viewing it for twenty seconds.

WOTD: Incunabula

Been a long time since I posted a WOTD (Word Of The Day).

Today's word is incunabula.
A plural noun meaning the primary stages of anything; infancy; origin.
Or, books printed before 1501 A.D.
As in:
"Get 50% all incunabula for a limited time only at Amazon.com"