Word of the Day

phantasmagorical: dreamlike or whimsical in appearance

As a fan of all things fantasy, I have come across this word a number of times. It's an all-around awesome term, or at least I think so.

Word of the Day

flummox: to bewilder or confuse

I've simply always liked the look and sound of this word. And what's more, bewilder is also one of my favorite words, so this one's sort of a twofer.

Word of the Day

canard: a false and often derogatory story or rumor

I remember learning this word during a vocabulary lesson way back in grade school. I scarcely (more like next to never) come across it in conversation. That is, until my dad used it the other day.

When it rains, it pours.

Today was just one of those days. As in, I've had better days. Of course work played a large part in this. Bosses, clients, mountains of paperwork, all that good stuff. But I won't even bother to elaborate on that. I'll just move right on to the next page in the story of my day.

Let me preface the following statements with the admission that I suffer from a bit of arachnophobia. There you have it. After all, admitting is the first step. So, with that clear, two of the worst parts of my workday involved eight-legged freaks. The first incident starred a spider with some wicked parkouring skills. This particular spider first played a game of Pong on the walls before finally jumping a distance of roughly three feet to land on my leg. After sufficient amounts of thrashing on my part, the spider finally fell from my leg. I then did the only logical thing I could think of: I panicked and fled the scene. Upstanding display of bravery, I know, but that's how it goes. What happened next? A spider crawled out of a sink drain and ran at me as I attempted to wash my hands. I pride myself on maintaining a proper level of hygiene, but if that's what I get for it then forget it.

But it wasn't just spiders I was at war with today. When I ventured out of work I realized that a new family of wasps has moved in above the door. One particular wasp felt the need to harass me all the way to my car, and it even made an attempt to fly into my ear. I don't have nearly as much of a problem with wasps as I do with spiders, but that certainly doesn't mean I want one cramming itself into my ear canal, thank you very much.

After all of that trauma, I decided to unwind with a good book. I'm currently reading Midnight by Dean Koontz, and I'm just now getting to the more gritty, intense details of the plot. So, I was excited to delve into the story. But today that just wasn't destined to happen. Outside forces kept pulling me away. You know, things like the phone, a puppy with boundless stores of energy, an equally so kitten. So, despite my intent and desire, I didn't do much reading. Or any at all, really.

But everything is fine now. I made some cookies. And if cookies are involved, all is well.

Monarchs and Maggots

For whatever reason, I have been in a very musing mood today (this can be a very dangerous thing, for all those involved). During my musings I came to the solid conclusion that the world is a strange place. Sometimes it’s just downright backwards. Things are not always what they seem.

Take the monarch butterfly versus a maggot, for example. If someone were to simply walk up to me out of the blue and ask, “Monarch or maggot? Which would you choose?” I would likely be inclined to reply, “Monarch.” After all, monarchs are beautiful butterflies, fluttering about from plant to plant on delicate wings. Whereas maggots are, well, maggots, nasty little buggers that they are. But upon deeper thought, maybe that shouldn’t be my automatic answer. Why? Well, that charming little monarch is actually a poisonous butterfly, able to sequester a particular substance from milkweed and use it as a toxin against certain predators that attempt to ingest it. On the other hand, although an ugly sort, maggots can be quite valuable and potentially lifesaving in the medical field, able to clean wounds and rid them of necrotic flesh. That being said, if someone were to now walk up to me and ask, “Monarch or maggot? Which would you choose?” my answer might not be so quick and simple. In the case of a medical emergency, for example, such as in any unfortunate hypothetical scenario where I find myself afflicted with some necrotic flesh, I certainly should not so easily discount the maggot. And perhaps I shouldn’t so easily accept the company of the monarch butterfly.

So it’s monarch versus maggot. Beautiful toxin chamber versus repulsive lifesaver. Things just aren’t always what they seem.

(As a side note, I must admit that the aforementioned concept of monarch versus maggot has, in truth, been bouncing around in the dark corners of my brainpan for some time now. I don’t know exactly why or how that concept of monarchs and maggots welcomed itself into my mind, and there’s a good chance that it doesn’t even make that much sense, but it forced itself in regardless. And it’s been stuck there in the mud of my mind ever since, just collecting cobwebs. That is, until my musings of today broke it loose and finally found a use for it.)

Word of the Day

lycanthrope: a werewolf; a person suffering from the delusion that he or she is a wolf or other wild animal

As an admittedly major fantasy geek, I come across this word very frequently. Most recently, I came upon it multiple times while reading Larry Correia's Monster Hunter series. It's one of my all-time favorite words (obviously, since I've mentioned it here).

Word of the Day

batrachian: pertaining to amphibians, especially frogs and toads

I remember coming across this word in various school biology courses over the years. But, more recently, I stumbled upon it in Karl Edward Wagner's novel Bloodstone, which involves a certain group of amphibious swamp creatures.