Shmoopsie versus Mr. Wigglepants

This is disturbingly addictive. And apparently I have a penchant for cats considered less attractive by the general populace.

penchant
noun
A definite liking; a strong inclination.

What in tarnation?!?!

I had no idea tarnation was a portmanteau. I use it all the time. I always assumed it shared a derivation with Tarheels or beating the tar out of someone.

tarnation
1. noun
The act of damning or the condition of being damned.
2. interjection
Used to express anger or annoyance.

From tarnal, a variant of eternal, and damnation.

Tarheel
noun
A native or resident of North Carolina.

The term “Tar Heel” was originally a pejorative—much like the term “Georgia cracker”—that dates back to colonial times. North Carolina was the poorest of the 13 original colonies, and the state’s primary exports were naval stores—pitch and tar. “Tar Heel” was thus an insult levied at the state’s residents who were so poor and ignorant that they “walked around barefoot with tar on their heels”.

Of course, in this house, Tarheel still is a pejorative, but then, we're Duke fans.

Hysterical Blindness

I feel this term is appropo, given the continued support (even though it has dwindled) of the President.

There are people suffering, dying, hungry, thirsty, terrified, and sick in New Orleans. It has been 4-5 days and apparently the US has just "mobilized" the National Guard and people are now being transported out of the "war-zone", as I call New Orleans right now. I have heard many say that the government isn't to blame for the mayhem, but yes they are to blame. I've also heard of police looting after they thwarted a looting attempt. Women are being raped. There are bodies lying about. The other day, I heard two babies dehydrated and died inside the Superdome.

This is beyond depressing. The world's view on America has always been pretty shitty and as of this very moment, I do not blame them. This is tragic. The troops that we are supposed to be supporting are desperately needed here. It should not have taken 4 days for some serious help in New Orleans. 4 whole days! It's HELL down there right now. We need some troops here. Our President kept sending more and more and more and more troops to Iraq... did he forget that we MAY need them here at one point or another?

*sigh*

My point. I just don't understand how people continue to be supportive of this man. I just can't see it. Are they totally blind or is it like a marriage? You don't ever go against your man--you have to be a united front! From someone that thinks that most politicians are weasley, there MUST be some hysterical blindness going on! Our President is a screw-up. Plain and simple. He's lied to us. We should accept that and get over it. He won't be re-elected, thank the sweet LORD, but there will be another asshat sitting up in the White House. Be it Democrat or Republican. I just can't see how people are defending him at all. There is no defense for his lies.

As for the governor of New Orleans... meh. No words...

I feel rage, so I won't continue...

My youngest son is ill, some virus his older brother brought home but avoided himself, I would guess. What troubles me is that he is not at all querulous, which is his normal bent when ill. He is, in fact, utterly placid - unnaturally so.

querulous
adjective
1.Given to complaining; peevish.
2. Expressing a complaint or grievance; grumbling.

Missing: Fats

NEW YORK -- Fats Domino was missing Thursday, days after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, said his longtime agent, Al Embry. Embry told The Associated Press that he hadn't been able to contact Domino since talking to him Sunday evening by phone.

The 77-year-old R&B legend, whose real name is Antoine Domino, told Embry that he planned to stay at his New Orleans house with his wife, Rosemary, and their daughter.

-snip-

Domino, who has rarely appeared in public in recent years, has a home in the 9th ward, a low-lying area of the flooded city.

This makes me incredibly wistful. My father, now in his eighties, had me listening to "Blueberry Hill" and "Ain't That A Shame" at a tender, young age. Thank you, Daddy, for also exposing me to Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Glenn Miller, and many other artists who were meaningful to you.

Listen to a clip of Blueberry Hill

classic
adjective
1. Having the nature of, constituting, or serving as a type: archetypal, archetypic, archetypical, classical, model, paradigmatic, prototypal, prototypic, prototypical, quintessential, representative, typic, typical.
2. Characterized by enduring excellence, appeal, and importance: classical, vintage.

One year ago...

One year ago, in Beslan, Russia, some ninety 6 and 7 year old children laid out their best clothes and planned brightly colored bouquets of flowers to give to their teachers on the 6 and 7 year olds' very first day of first grade at School No 1.

Twenty-two first graders wouldn't come home again.

From a Washington Post article: One year later, the children are preparing to go back to school, many for the first time since the siege. Tamerlan and his classmates are at the heart of Beslan's struggle to endure. The first-graders are the most vulnerable group in this small city, psychologists said, because the only school day they know is the day they and their families became hostages.

"School means death for them," said Fatima Bagayeva, a psychologist at the local hospital who has been working with the youngest survivors. "They have no other memory of school."

Before it would end in a burst of fire and bullets on September 3rd, three hundred thirty-one would die in the siege.

One hundred eighty-six were children.

remember
verb
1. To renew an image or thought in the mind: bethink, mind, recall, recollect, reminisce, retain, revive, think.
2. To care enough to keep (someone) in mind: think about, think of.

This product is AMAZING!

I hardly ever promote things. I promote concepts (recycling, independent outlets, literacy, etc) and vacation destinations (Chicxulub, Boothbay Harbor, Mahabaleshwar, etc), but rarely things.

That said, I have in the past heartily recommended the What Not to Wear books and Dyson floorcleaners. And now I am adding another "swear by": Dove Invisible Solid Anti-Perspirant Deodorant.

I do not make such statements lightly.

endorsement
noun
1. The act of endorsing.
2. Something, such as a signature or voucher, that endorses or validates.
3. Approbation; sanction; support.
4. An amendment to a contract, such as an insurance policy, by which the original terms are changed.

(whispering) I see Dead Blogs.

For those who thought my Weaning My Money blog had died an ignoble death, it is arisen anew. A mere lacuna brought on by circumstance.

lacuna
noun
An interval during which continuity is suspended: break, gap, hiatus, interim, void.

Sweet Mother of God...

Familiar with the Doodlebops? There are just way too many things wrong with this show. Like for starters? The girl one's arms look like they belong to a cadaver. I can't even talk about them any more. The mere thought of Doodlebops renders me

aphonic
adjective
Lacking the power or faculty of speech: dumb, inarticulate, mute, speechless, voiceless.

Hurricane what?

In 1953, The National Hurricane Center began naming storms, rather than relying on the old system of map coordinates for identification. Originally, all storms were named for women, but, starting in 1979, men's and women's names were alternated.

An international committee of the World Meteorological Organization now creates and maintains the annual lists. Names are used on a six-year rotation, meaning the 2005 list will come up again in 2011. (See this year's hurricane season outlook) Names of especially damaging and deadly storms are retired. From the 2004 list, Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne -- four major hurricanes that struck Florida -- will not reappear when the list returns in 2010.

On this year's list, Franklin and Lee replace Floyd and Lenny, which were retired in 1999.

For 2005, Atlantic tropical storms will be named:
Arlene
Bret
Cindy
Dennis
Emily
Franklin
Gert
Harvey
Irene
Jose
Katrina
Lee
Maria
Nate
Ophelia
Philippe
Rita
Stan
Tammy
Vince
Wilma

I'd love to head that naming committee. I'd whore the names out, selling them to corporate sponsors. Can't you just see the TropicAOL Storm graphics now? Sure, there's always the risk that, say, Tropical Storm IBM might turn into Hurricane IBM and kill a few hundred people, but even that can be spun positively with the right marketing.

We're just that powerful... IBM.

or

Our products won't peter out either... IBM.

But most Tropical Storms would just blow a little bit, providing a few days of corporate visibility and a few sound bites. And the corporate money could be put into the federal disaster management funds, defraying the absurd costs.

Most importantly, Gert and Wilma can retire. Those names conjure up a type oncompatible with a potentially crushing weather front.

dowdy

noun

A colorless and primly sedate person; a frump.