Favorite Words of the Day Part 7

Blah, blah, blah, you know the drill. Here are some words of the day presented by a non-sponsor, Merriam-Webster's Dictionary:

• 1/1/2012 Incommunicado (in-kuh-myoo-nuh-KAH-doh): Without means of communication; in a situation or state not allowing communication
• 1/13/12 Thole (THOHL): chiefly dialect: endure
• 1/15/12 Xylography (zye-LAH-gruh-fee): the art of making engravings on wood especially for printing
• 1/16/12 Ostensible (ah-STEN-suh-bul): 1)intended for display: open to view 2) being such in appearance: plausible rather than demonstrably true or real 
• 1/18/12 Junket (JUNK-ut): 1) a dessert of sweetened flavored milk set with rennet. 2)a) a festive social affair b) trip, journey: as (1) a trip made by an official at public expense (2) a promotional trip made at another's expense
• 1/19/12 Fustian (FUSS-chun): 1) a strong cotton and linen fabric 2) high-flown or affected writing or speech; broadly: anything high-flown or affected in style
• 1/21/12 Weltschmerz (VELT-shmairts): 1) mental depression or apathy caused by comparison of the actual state with an ideal state 2) a mood of sentimental sadness
• 1/22/12 Leonine (LEE-uh-nyne): of, relating to, suggestive of, or resembling a lion
• 1/23/12 Yegg (YEG): safecracker; also: robber
• 1/29/12 Cook's Tour (COOKS-TOOR): a rapid or cursory survey or review
• 1/31/12 Gambol (GAM-bul): to skip about in play: frisk, frolic
• 2/2/12 Stiction (STIK-shun): the force required to cause one body in contact with another to begun to move
• 2/3/12 Gam (GAM): 
• intransitive sense
• to engage in a visit or friendly conversation at sea or ashore
• transitive senses
• to have a visit or friendly conversation with
• to spend or pass (as time) talking
• 2/6/12 Propinquity (pruh-PING-kwuh-tee): 1) nearness of blood: kinship 2) nearness in place or time: proximity
• 2/7/12 Cacography (ka-KAH-gruh-fee): 1) bad spelling 2) bad handwriting
• 2/8/12 Prescind (prih-SIND): to withdraw one's attention
• 2/11/12 Catercorner (KAT-ee-kor-ner): in a diagonal or oblique position: kitty-corner
• 2/12/12 Vade Mecum (vay-dee-MEE-kum): 1) a book for reference: manual 2) something regularly carried about by a person
• 2/14/12 Aubade (oh-BAHD): 1) a song or poem greeting the dawn 2)a) a morning love song b) a song or poem of lovers parting at dawn 3) morning music
• 2/20/12 Duende (doo-EN-day): the poewr to attract through personal magnetism and charm
• 2/27/12 Viva Voce (vye-vuh-VOH-see): by word of mouth: orally
• 2/28/12 Livelong (LIV-lawng): whole, entire
• 2/29/12 Bosky (BAH-skee): 1) having abundant tree or shrubs 2) of or relating to a woods
• 3/1/12 Abeyance (un-BAY-unss): 1) a lapse in succession during which there is no person in whom a title is vested 2) temporary inactivity: suspension
• 3/2/12 Yuppify (YUP-uh-fye): to make appealing to yuppies; also: to infuse with the qualities or values of yuppies
• 3/4/12 Babbit (BAB-it): a person and especially a business or professional man who conforms unthinkingly to prevailing middle-class standards
• 3/6/12 Putsch (PUTCH): a secretly plotted and suddenly executed attempt to overthrow a government
• 3/8/12 Diplopia (dih-PLOH-pee-uh): a disorder of vision in which two images of a single object are seen because of unequal action of the eye muscles - called also double vision
• 3/3/12 WInsome (WIN-sum): 1) generally pleasind and engaging often because of a childlike charm and innocence 2) cheerful, lighthearted

Until next week...

The Daumenator has spoken

Last Words... Probably Not

WARNING: This blog post may not be funny.

Due to a lot of speculation, the world has been predicted to end today. I don't really know what to think of it. When I first heard about it two years ago, I wrote in my Google Calendar, "The world ends today, I think. I really don't know. I think I will find out when I get there." Shows how much I know. It also shows that I really have not changed all that much.

The point is, if the world ends on December 21, this will be the last blog post from J Town that you will read. As of right now, (February 2012) I know that there will be mass hysteria from those who are easily swayed by a few radicals. I know I will not believe the world will end, but will still be cautious anyway. I will get things off my plate, I will clean stuff and make the place where I live look nice. And I will also suit up. That's right; if I die, I am going out in style like the fashionable dude that I know I am. I am in college right now, so I know I will attend my last lecture suit style. I know that will be the last day of lectures before preparations for final exams will begin so that will be a nice end to everything... if the end of the world ever happens.

So I have been writing all of my posts in advance. I do it because I like writing, but I want people, pretty much the people I tell about this blog, to get my material in a timely fashion over a long period of time. It all started when I wrote about 5 posts in a day and I didn't want people to think that I wrote 5 posts in a day. This was at the beginning of 2011. It was Winter Break and I had loads of free time... and a lot of cool ideas. I then decided that people needed some fun thing to read every week. I decided upon the time of 6 o' clock because I needed some time after I got home from school to write a last minute post, if need be. Silly, yes, but all traditions start somewhere.

I now am reading posts that I wrote a year ago. I find it to be a little strange because hints of things that I really liked at the time keep showing up. For music, it was songs that I listened to repeatedly. I would also repeat jokes a lot. They may not have been good, but I repeated them often. But reading posts that I wrote so long ago is like looking at your art projects that you created in 1st grade; they just seem so long ago and their quality does not tend to match yours now. I tend to judge my past self quite harshly so maybe it is just me who sees the many mistakes that I make, but it is interesting to see progression in typing speed, word style, and way of phrasing things. I found that I have adopted the phrase, "In the sense that" when writing academic papers to try to sound more scholarly. I haven't been caught yet so it must work, duh, science.

Time for a random tangent: Small fonts vs. Large fonts.

Small fonts are your conservative friend. They help you fit your words in a small, enclosed space, such as a page, text box, or one line. They are handy when you want a one-page résumé and you just pick small fonts and strategic margins.

Large fonts are for people with terrible eye sight, but have you ever checked out a large print book from a library? Well, you should; you just fly right through the book so much faster than if the words were small. You read many more pages, which makes you feel so accomplished. Each page has less words, but still, you are reading and it feels great. Large fonts are also great for street signs.

Small fonts are really tiny. They are placed on commercials so you really can't read them,  but are there to show any disclaimers that the commercial might have. You have to really strain your eyes in order to see what is written sometimes.

Large fonts give the impression of someone shouting. You don't truly want someone shouting at you. Also, if there is a typo in a large sign, it truly is a big mistake.

And those are the pros and cons of small and large fonts.

One last thing to say before I end this post:

I once thought a "Proton" was a super hero. It was when I was at a laser tag place and I needed a nickname. There was list of suggested names and I saw proton next to Neutron and Electron. I thought Neutron was just paying homage to Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, a  animated character who has a real knack for science and real humorous friends. I also though electron was the name for a voting machine. But when I saw Proton, I thought that was the name for a heroic robot. Since we were playing with lasers, I thought that was a great idea. Little did I know... I was wrong.

The Daumenator has spoken

My Classical Collection

Lately, I have found that classical music has become my, "get stuff done" music. When I am folding laundry, when I need to focus, or when I need to embarrass somebody by saying that the song is totally "their jam." Regardless of the true reason, I have created a mass of classical music in my library that I feel people should know about.


By the way, the pictures that are located next to the songs are not under my control and should be ignored.

The Barber of Seville Overture by Gioachino Rossini



The Marriage of Figaro Overture by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart



Clair De Lune by Claude Debussey



Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Franz Liszt



Orpheus in the Underworld by Jacques Offenbach



The Swan, from Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns



Sabre Dance by Aram Khachaturian



Peer Gynt Suite No. 1 Morning by Edvard Grieg



Spring for Four Seasonsby Antonio Vivaldi

The Daumenator has shown


P.S. Last, but not least, the full 1812 Overture by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Questions

I was recently given a few questions for being a judge at a comedy competition. The questionnaire was supposed to allow me to have funny answers so that everyone could laugh while reading them. Sadly, this was not the case for this set of questions. They were very feminine questions such as, "Who was your favorite Spice Girl?, How many times did you cry during "Up?",What inspired your hairstyle?, and Favorite Romantic Comedy?"

As you can see, there was not a very much room for a guy like myself to work with. I did my best, but I felt the questions could have been better. Then it hit me. I could try to write better questions for this shindig. Here are some questions that I have brainstormed thus far:

• Describe the type of socks that best fit you, both physically and emotionally
• Fill in the blank: A ______ is the best animal to fist bump
• What celebrity would you call to bail you out of jail? BONUS: What if it was for arson?
• What would you call a refrigerator with sarcasm?
• What is the first thing you would say to a purple elephant in the room at a psychiatrist conference?
• What would you name a new mix between purple, grey, and brown?
• If value was not part of it, what is the best coin in the United States?
• You just created a cereal that is made out of styrofoam cardboard and peanut shells. What is the slogan?
• Favorite toe on either foot, be specific
• What animal is best suited for the name "Helga?"
• What is your catch phrase when you karate chop someone?
• How would you pronounce the name of the restaurant, "Bojangles?"

I then opened the floor to an acquaintance of mine to see if it was just me who could come up with questions. Turns out, I wasn't:

• What song never fails to cheer you up?
• If you had a catch-phrase, what would it be? (I had to revise my earlier one, they beat to it)
• If you had a third arm (but not a fourth), where would you want it to grow from?
• Which movie would you choose to be your life story?
• You're starting your Pokemon journey: who do you want as your starter?
• A wild unicorn appears! What do you do?
• You're sucked up by a tornado. Where does it transport you?
• You're joining a band. What instrument do you play?
• Should Pluto be reinstated as a planet?
• Which animal would be your valiant steed?

Due to my competitive nature, I then persisted to come up with more questions:

• You have one of the following to add to your cat, pick one: Mustache, Monocle, Beard, Viking horns, Earring (one), Sweater Vest, Boxing Gloves
• What is your prison name (keep it clean)?
• You get to name your own radio station and DJ name, GO!
• Favorite Chinese Year (Pick one): Dragon, Rabbit, Tiger, Ox, Rat, Pig, Dog, Rooster, Monkey, Goat, Horse, Snake
• Write your own survey question
• You are a superhero named Captain Fantastic, what is your sidekick's name?
• Staring Contest: You vs. (Celebrity of your choice)
• Create 7 new dwarf names for Snow White
• Select the Peanuts character that best describes you

Well, those are all the questions that I have for right now. Until next time.

The Daumenator has spoken