joy and shadows

After seeing the following statement on CNN.com, I've lost my patience and feel a need to rant.

Astronomers have pieced together what appears to be the first direct evidence that solar storms can reek wreak havoc with comets, destroying the ion tails of icy wanderers in a collision of highly charged particles.

All definitions are taken from Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary.

MALAPROPISM: the usually unintentionally humorous misuse or distortion of a word or phrase; especially : the use of a word sounding somewhat like the one intended but ludicrously wrong in the context.

EXAMPLE 1: See above.

REEK: 1 : to emit smoke or vapor 2 a : to give off or become permeated with a strong or offensive odor b : to give a strong impression of some constituent quality or feature

WREAK: 2 : to give free play or course to (malevolent feeling) 3 : BRING ABOUT, CAUSE

EXAMPLE 2:

Mary was not phased fazed by the final exam.

PHASE: 1 : to adjust so as to be in a synchronized condition 2 : to conduct or carry out by planned phases 3 : to introduce in stages -- often used with in (phase in new models)

FAZE: to disturb the composure of : DISCONCERT, DAUNT (nothing fazed her)

EXAMPLE 3:

Our boss gives us free reign rein to do whatever we want.

Free reign: Easy to mistake for "free rein" b/c of the conjunction of freedom and power

Free rein: Refers to letting a horse go where it wills; loosening the reins enough that the horse is in control and not the rider.

Got one? Post it! These last two have been annoying me every time I see them. It's getting to the point where ppl think that's the correct word to use b/c everyone else uses it. It's NOT the correct word. It's WRONG.

The weekend in a nutshell.

1. I am never driving all the way back from Boston again. Nevernevernevernever.

2. Boston is a very fun place to visit. We spent the weekend walking the Freedom Trail and eating. Among the touristy things we saw:

--Paul Revere's house
--Old North Church ("One if by land, two if by sea")
--USS Constitution
--Destroyer berthed next to Constitution
--Newbery St.
--Boston Green and the pond
--Little Italy/North End

3. Paul Revere is associated with Revere Ware pots and pans b/c he was the first to roll copper in sheets in the US. Shut up, I didn't know.

4. Never again will I complain about the size of the apt we have. Our friends live in a goddamn shoebox. It's a very cute shoebox, but it's a shoebox.

5. I need a lot more sleep.

...but I have a lot of shit in the attic.

Sailor Moon manga. Old VHS tapes. Swords. Stuffed animals. Fabric. Cosplays. Doujinshi. Piles and piles of books. A TV and VCR.

Anyone want a stack of Oh! My Goddess!! comic/manga? I'll send it to you FREE, I swear! You'd be doing me a favor!

God made me a pack rat and never told me why. Sheesh.

Thanksgiving at the Q's this year. It was cozy and pleasant, and the food was delicious. My mom and dad came, and even G&P stayed for dinner (which probably goes a long way towards mending the Wine-Pressing Fiasco.) Ate myself stupid and then worried down some pie, then spent the remainder of the evening rolling around and holding my stomach. Also worked in 5 eps of RahXephon - interesting series. Well worth further DVDs.

Today Mom Q and her neighbor and I went out to Intercourse, PA, to do some shopping. You're well into Amish/Mennonite country once you're out there, and we saw quite a few horse-and-buggies, and men walking around who looked like they should be named "Zedekiah." Mennonites are much more relaxed about using modern things than the Amish are (and are much more friendly; the Amish will speak to you as little as possible) and I was much amused by one little Mennonite boy with the traditional dress on - and a GameBoy.

Did also have one funny moment where I was waiting in line for the restroom, and it appeared that the men's room door had locked by accident. There was a young Mennonite woman standing in line with two cute little boys, obviously waiting for it. Another woman standing in line suggested that someone pick the lock, and the Mennonite girl gave me a big grin, produced a hairpin, and opened the door.

I picked up some fabric while there that would be just perfect for Woody's shirt if husband and I decide to be Woody and Jessie from Toy Story some Halloween, after a long time looking. Afterwards, we went to some outlets, which were mobbed. Neighbor and I looked at one another and wondered what kind of idiots we were, but Mom Q was having a ball.

Tonight husband and Dad Q are off to see The Incredibles. His mom waved off, and I've seen it twice now, so I'm content to wait for the DVD. Tomorrow, we'll visit my parents, then go to the Jints-Iggles game on Sunday. Busy weekend!

Somewhere in there I have to prepare a job talk, but that doesn't need thinking about right now. O_o

It's official: I'm out of bobbins. Time to head out to get some more, tomorrow.

I find it pleasing to look at all my full bobbins in the box, though. Each color is a different project - from the Christmas stockings that were my first project with the machine, to the signal flag pillows, to the Amalthea outfit, to Anna Williams, to Seung Mina, to Tenten, to the baby quilt, and last to Diao Chan.

( Cosplay blabber )

My journal is called _____ because _____.
My subtitle is _____ because _____.
My friends page is called _____ because _____.
My username is ____ because _____.
My default userpic is _____ because _____.

My journal is called "joy and shadows" because my username (Arafel) is both a corruption of the Irish word for joy (aoibheal, aoibhneas) and the Hebrew word for fog or shadows (arafel). While this is something of a Humpty Dumpty reasoning (the word means what I say it means), the dichotomy is pleasing.

My subtitle is currently "w00tabiscuit" from w00t (expression of enthusiasm) and "biscuit" (one of husband's pet names.) And it makes me think of Weetabix.

My friends page is called "partners in crime" because... they are.

My username is "Arafel" because it's been my online handle since I ws 13, and I'm now 29. Also, Arafel is the heroine of C. J. Cherryh's duology "The Dreaming Tree," and I likes her.

My default userpic is Lady Amalthea from The Last Unicorn because I love the movie and have this thing about wanting white hair.

Answers appreciated, if you can think of something to say. ^_^;;

01. Who are you?
02. Are we friends?
03. When and how did we meet?
04. Do you have a crush on me?
05. Would you kiss me?
06. Give me a nickname and explain why you picked it.
07. Describe me in one word.
08. What was your first impression?
09. Do you still think that way about me now?
10. What reminds you of me?
11. If you could give me anything what would it be?
12. How well do you know me?
13. When's the last time you saw me?
14. Ever wanted to tell me something but couldn't?
15. Are you going to put this on your LiveJournal and see what I say about you?

Thanks to the ppl who did leave a comment after all. I felt better when I went home, feeling droopy, and husband and I had the following conversation:

Me: Hiiii...

Him: *sounding sad* Hiiii...

Me: *comes upstairs to hug* Are you sad too?

Him: Little bit.

Me: Bad day at work?

Him: No, I kind of squished my left nut.

Me: *breaks down laughing*

Note on The Incredibles: Jason Lee voices Syndrome, the main baddie in the movie. Those of you who have seen Mallrats also know that Jason Lee played Brodie, the ultra-fanboy. In Mr. Incredible's first meeting with Syndrome (who is calling himself Incrediboy at the time) he calls Incrediboy "Brodie."

Which of course you won't get if you haven't seen Mallrats. And Syndrome is Brodie to the nth power - I kept expecting him to make some kind of inquiry about Bob and Helen's sex life.

IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THIS MOVIE, GO OUT AND SEE IT ALREADY KTHXBYE.

Look, Right Stuf is selling Lavie's goat toy from Last Exile! Too cute.

Our new DVD player arrived yesterday.

It plays files encoded with DivX.

OH YES

But it doesn't play files encoded with XviD.

OH NOES.

So that means about half of my Samurai Champloo downloads are playable on the TV, which is going to add that Uber-L33t dimension to Anime Night. (Wheeee! Fansubs!) Ani-Kraze ought to catch up on the DivX sooner or later, right? (AFF is the one that codes with XviD currently, I think.)

And DUDE, the player was only about $63 from Amazon! With free shipping and all that.

Now to send my poor husband away for the weekend so I can catch up on all my anime.

Nice change of pace from 13 and 14 - definitely some funny antics from Jin and Mugen were in order after the Mugen!Angst. Which is far less pretty than Vash!Angst, but Mugen doesn't have much of a problem with killing people.

Highlight of the ep: Jin tries to catch a fish.

One of the things I'm really liking about this series is that it laughs at itself. Jin isn't Mr. Super-Serious Zen Samurai all the time (like when he catches a fish.) Mugen's a vicious stray dog, but not all the time. Sometimes he's just an idiot, and a womanizing idiot at that. Very, very distracted at the thought of nekkid ladies.

It's also highly amusing to see that Mugen and Jin have reached this gentleman's agreement of "ok, we're going to kill one another, but that means no one else gets to do it instead of me, so I'll save your ass for now. And while we're at it, let's ditch Fuu and go to the brothel."

In the brothel (what is it with this series and brothels anyway?):

Mugen wants teh sexx0r.

Jin wants a backrub.

BWAH.

Oh, and Mugen X Yatsuha OTP.

(Anyone else want in on the fansubs? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?)