sanguine: optimistic or cheerful; bloody or ruddy
One of the first times I heard this word used was over ten years ago in an episode of one of my all-time favorite TV shows, and that is Joss Whedon's Firefly. (Fox Network was kind enough to prematurely pull the plug on this show. Way to go, Fox.) But anyway, thanks to this awesome show I became aware of the dual definition of this word.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Word of the Day
misadventure: a mishap or unlucky event
This word is part of the title of one of my favorite books, and that is L. Sprague de Camp's The Compleat Enchanter: The Magical Misadventures of Harold Shea. Fun read, fun word.
This word is part of the title of one of my favorite books, and that is L. Sprague de Camp's The Compleat Enchanter: The Magical Misadventures of Harold Shea. Fun read, fun word.
Monday, September 2, 2013
Dino-rhino-croco-gator-arachno-monkey-melon-what?
Where do I start with this...?
I'm sure most of us have at least heard of those oh-so high quality, cleverly named movies on the Sci-Fi channel (oops, I mean Syfy, because that makes so much more sense). And I bet most of us have watched (or at least attempted to watch) at least one of them. You know, those movies like Dinoshark, Arachnoquake, Piranhaconda, 2-Headed Shark Attack, Pegasus vs. Chimera. Recently there was Sharknado, which, for some reason I'm sure I'll never understand, has somehow become popular enough to warrant theatrical release and a sequel. Astonishing. For all the wrong reasons.
What's more, I actually sat down recently and watched Sharknado. The whole thing. (Embarrassing, I know, but I guess I'm just that kind of masochist.) I don't know why, but for some reason I now feel compelled to express my sentiments on this particular movie. So here it goes.
Honestly, Sharknado is downright dreadful. It's about waterspouts that suck up a bunch of sharks and thereafter flood the city of Los Angeles with shark-infested waters. How ridiculous does that sound? Pretty darn so. But even though it is so horrible, I couldn't stop watching. I just couldn't. I remember recently coming across a review of Sharknado in which someone stated that the movie is so bad, it's good. And I guess, for lack of better words, that's how I felt while watching it. The movie is absolutely horrid in all respects (acting, dialogue, special effects, action sequences, plot...you name it, it is terrible). Yet, although I am embarrassed to admit it, I almost enjoyed watching it. The only reason I can come up with for my enjoyment of it is the fact that it is so utterly laughable. Really, I laughed so hard I cried, so hard I felt sick to my stomach. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.
Now don't get me wrong. This movie is not meant to be funny (at least I don't think it is, I'm not entirely sure). But regardless, it is funny. Hilarious. Sidesplittingly so. There are countless reigning moments of unintentional (I think) hilarity that I just can't get past. Just to give a better idea of what I'm talking about, I'll summarize some of those scenes here:
1. A heroic old man (and a randy one at that) saves a woman and her dog from imminent danger, with the help of a barstool, of course. He then meets an untimely end when he is swept up by a shark-infested wave of water. As one of the sharks engulfs him, clearly in the process of making lunch out of his head, the old man's dying words are, "Ow!"...Ow? That's it? If I even had the cognizance to waste my breath on speech while being attacked by a shark, my choice of words would certainly be far more colorful than a mere, "Ow."
2. After some befuddling sequence of events, the main characters are being preyed upon by a shark in a flooded living room. After another ridiculous series of events that involve a baseball bat, blood-spurting appendages, and a bookshelf, the surviving characters stare into the heavily blood-tinted water only to have one of them proclaim, "Looks like it's that time of the month."...Yeah. It doesn't get much classier than that.
3. Some explosives are loaded into a helicopter. The helicopter is flown within throwing distance of a few tornadoes. The explosives are thrown into the tornadoes. The obedient tornadoes dissipate and leave the world to better, happier times. Um, okay. But what I found even better was that during this scene, the pilot pulls the helicopter right up next to one of the tornadoes and then informs his explosive-wielding passenger, "There it is! To your left!"...Thanks, but I'm pretty sure she could see the huge whirling dervish of a tornado without your help, buddy. Way to go, Captain Obvious.
4. A man kills a bunch of a sharks that happen to be flying up in the sky with a piddly handgun. All of them are one-shot kills. Shooting one-handed. And not even aiming. Oh, and then he proceeds to pick up a chainsaw and slice a shark perfectly in half when it comes flying at him. And then a bit later, when yet another shark comes flying at him, he ends up jumping, chainsaw in hand, right into its mouth in a touching (funny haha) act of sacrifice. But fear not, for he cuts himself out of the shark, using his chainsaw, of course. Oh, and then, once freed, he reaches back inside the shark and pulls out another eaten victim. And after about two seconds of CPR she's perfectly fine, even though she was within the shark's stomach for, I don't know, at least half an hour. And they all live happily ever after...So, yeah. I don't even know what to say at this point. There really just are no words.
So I guess that's it. Sharknado. I really don't know why I felt the need to watch that movie, let alone share my sentiments on it. But I did. My IQ certainly didn't fare well with that, but oh well. It was all in good fun. I guess.
I'm sure most of us have at least heard of those oh-so high quality, cleverly named movies on the Sci-Fi channel (oops, I mean Syfy, because that makes so much more sense). And I bet most of us have watched (or at least attempted to watch) at least one of them. You know, those movies like Dinoshark, Arachnoquake, Piranhaconda, 2-Headed Shark Attack, Pegasus vs. Chimera. Recently there was Sharknado, which, for some reason I'm sure I'll never understand, has somehow become popular enough to warrant theatrical release and a sequel. Astonishing. For all the wrong reasons.
What's more, I actually sat down recently and watched Sharknado. The whole thing. (Embarrassing, I know, but I guess I'm just that kind of masochist.) I don't know why, but for some reason I now feel compelled to express my sentiments on this particular movie. So here it goes.
Honestly, Sharknado is downright dreadful. It's about waterspouts that suck up a bunch of sharks and thereafter flood the city of Los Angeles with shark-infested waters. How ridiculous does that sound? Pretty darn so. But even though it is so horrible, I couldn't stop watching. I just couldn't. I remember recently coming across a review of Sharknado in which someone stated that the movie is so bad, it's good. And I guess, for lack of better words, that's how I felt while watching it. The movie is absolutely horrid in all respects (acting, dialogue, special effects, action sequences, plot...you name it, it is terrible). Yet, although I am embarrassed to admit it, I almost enjoyed watching it. The only reason I can come up with for my enjoyment of it is the fact that it is so utterly laughable. Really, I laughed so hard I cried, so hard I felt sick to my stomach. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.
Now don't get me wrong. This movie is not meant to be funny (at least I don't think it is, I'm not entirely sure). But regardless, it is funny. Hilarious. Sidesplittingly so. There are countless reigning moments of unintentional (I think) hilarity that I just can't get past. Just to give a better idea of what I'm talking about, I'll summarize some of those scenes here:
1. A heroic old man (and a randy one at that) saves a woman and her dog from imminent danger, with the help of a barstool, of course. He then meets an untimely end when he is swept up by a shark-infested wave of water. As one of the sharks engulfs him, clearly in the process of making lunch out of his head, the old man's dying words are, "Ow!"...Ow? That's it? If I even had the cognizance to waste my breath on speech while being attacked by a shark, my choice of words would certainly be far more colorful than a mere, "Ow."
2. After some befuddling sequence of events, the main characters are being preyed upon by a shark in a flooded living room. After another ridiculous series of events that involve a baseball bat, blood-spurting appendages, and a bookshelf, the surviving characters stare into the heavily blood-tinted water only to have one of them proclaim, "Looks like it's that time of the month."...Yeah. It doesn't get much classier than that.
3. Some explosives are loaded into a helicopter. The helicopter is flown within throwing distance of a few tornadoes. The explosives are thrown into the tornadoes. The obedient tornadoes dissipate and leave the world to better, happier times. Um, okay. But what I found even better was that during this scene, the pilot pulls the helicopter right up next to one of the tornadoes and then informs his explosive-wielding passenger, "There it is! To your left!"...Thanks, but I'm pretty sure she could see the huge whirling dervish of a tornado without your help, buddy. Way to go, Captain Obvious.
4. A man kills a bunch of a sharks that happen to be flying up in the sky with a piddly handgun. All of them are one-shot kills. Shooting one-handed. And not even aiming. Oh, and then he proceeds to pick up a chainsaw and slice a shark perfectly in half when it comes flying at him. And then a bit later, when yet another shark comes flying at him, he ends up jumping, chainsaw in hand, right into its mouth in a touching (funny haha) act of sacrifice. But fear not, for he cuts himself out of the shark, using his chainsaw, of course. Oh, and then, once freed, he reaches back inside the shark and pulls out another eaten victim. And after about two seconds of CPR she's perfectly fine, even though she was within the shark's stomach for, I don't know, at least half an hour. And they all live happily ever after...So, yeah. I don't even know what to say at this point. There really just are no words.
So I guess that's it. Sharknado. I really don't know why I felt the need to watch that movie, let alone share my sentiments on it. But I did. My IQ certainly didn't fare well with that, but oh well. It was all in good fun. I guess.
Saturday, August 31, 2013
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.
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.
Friday, August 30, 2013
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.
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.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
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.
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.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
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.
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.
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