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not all evil news

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— A CHANCE ENCOUNTER

It must be the money. People across the U.S. are buying up lottery tickets in an effort to be the big winner of Wednesday night’s Powerball lottery which is now above the $200 million mark. According to an expert on odds and gambling, if you drive 10 miles to buy a ticket, you are 16 times more likely to be killed in a car crash on your way than to win the prize. If you buy 50 tickets a week, you would win the Powerball an average of once every 30,000 years.

— NON(SUR)PLUSED

The combination of the tax cut and the softening economy will all-but erase the budget surplus. That might be just the right recipe for an all out holy war in D.C this Fall.

— BREAST FEED YOUR MIND

According to a recent study, children who are breast fed for more than six months may end up being smarter than their peers unfortunately the researchers don’t indicate when it is too late to try to catch up…

In another piece of breakthrough science, British researchers indicate that kids who physically bully
others are less likely to suffer from nightmares, psychosomatic illnesses, and aches and pains than their victims.

Scientists discover a brainless sea creature that is coated with an all-seeing eye. I think I may have had him for Social Studies in JR High.

The science of happiness.

New York needed to find a way to get rid of their retired subway cars. Delaware needed to create an artificial coastal reef. Stand clear of the closing doors. I want one!!!

— PUTTING THE REAL IN REALITY TV?

We know that reality television can win viewers as well as celebrities can. But can the participants keep up in the area of public scandal? Survivor’s first winner Richard Hatch is doing his part as he is arrested (again) for assaulting his ex-boyfriend. Maybe we can see him on my fave reality show… COPS!

— VEILED THREATS

Following a fight that broke out during her wedding reception, a bride paid a little visit to the mobile home of one of the participants. When the cops arrived, the first thing they saw was that the door had been kicked off its hinges. I’ll let you take it from there…

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ichnology & supplant (Both in regards to feet)

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ichnology (ik-NOL-uh-jee) noun

A branch of paleontology dealing with the study of fossilized footprints, tracks, traces, etc.

[From ichno- (track or footstep) + -logy (study).]

supplant (suh-PLANT), transitive verb:
1. To take the place of (another), especially through intrigue or underhanded tactics; as, a rival supplants another.
2. To take the place of and serve as a substitute for.

Supplant derives from Latin supplantare, “to put one’s foot under another, to throw down a person by tripping up his heels,” from sub-, “under” + plantare, “to stamp the ground with the foot,” from planta, “the sole of the foot.”

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Spoon.

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spoon (spn)
n.

  1. A utensil consisting of a small, shallow bowl on a handle, used in preparing, serving, or eating food.
  2. The battle cry of the costumed crimefighter known as the Tick.
  3. Something similar to this utensil or its bowl, as:
    1. A shiny, curved, metallic fishing lure.
    2. A paddle or an oar with a curved blade.
  4. Sports. The three wood golf club.

v. spooned, spoon·ing, spoons
v. tr.

  1. To lift, scoop up, or carry with or as if with a spoon.
  2. Sports & Games. To shove or scoop (a ball) into the air.

v. intr.

  1. To fish with a spoon lure.
  2. Sports & Games. To give a ball an upward scoop.
  3. Informal. To engage in amorous behavior, such as kissing or caressing.

[Middle English, from Old English spn, chip of wood.]

spoona·ble adj.
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This is a Children’s Book? (Why I dig Oz)

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People think children’s entertainment today is too violent? Check out this tale of disfigurement, slavery, contract killing, axe murder, and abuse of endangered species:

Now the Wicked Witch of the West had but one eye, yet that was as powerful as a telescope, and could see everywhere. So, as she sat in the door of her castle, she happened to look around and saw Dorothy lying asleep, with her friends all about her. They were a long distance off, but the Wicked Witch was angry to find them in her country; so she blew upon a silver whistle that hung around her neck.

At once there came running to her from all directions a pack of great wolves. They had long legs and fierce eyes and sharp teeth.

“Go to those people,” said the Witch, “and tear them to pieces.”

“Are you not going to make them your slaves?” asked the leader of the wolves.

“No,” she answered, “one is of tin, and one of straw; one is a girl and another a Lion. None of them is fit to work, so you may tear them into small pieces.”

“Very well,” said the wolf, and he dashed away at full speed, followed by the others.

It was lucky the Scarecrow and the Woodman were wide awake and heard the wolves coming.

“This is my fight,” said the Woodman, “so get behind me and I will meet them as they come.”

He seized his axe, which he had made very sharp, and as the leader of the wolves came on the Tin Woodman swung his arm and chopped the wolf’s head from its body, so that it immediately died. As soon as he could raise his axe another wolf came up, and he also fell under the sharp edge of the Tin Woodman’s weapon. There were forty wolves, and forty times a wolf was killed, so that at last they all lay dead in a heap before the Woodman.

From that timeless classic of children’s literature, The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

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When I have a actual *library* in my house, I’ll certainly want this in it –

The Harvard Classics

The most comprehensive and well-researched anthology of all time comprises both the 50-volume “5-foot shelf of books” and the 20-volume Shelf of Fiction. Together they cover every major literary figure, philosopher, religion, folklore and historical subject through the twentieth century.

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queso.

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I don’t understand why everyone’s up in arms about Microsoft removing support for older Netscape-style plugins from the latest upgrade to Internet Explorer. Yes, it’s annoying, I’ll grant you that; now, I have to download QuickTime movies in order to watch them. But strangely, other plugins haven’t been broken (like RealPlayer and Acrobat, at least on my machine), so I’m finding it hard to blame Microsoft, rather than Apple, for this one. And has anyone ever demanded that Netscape add support for ActiveX components? Once again, it smells like hatred, rather than logic, is driving this outrage.

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words of the day, tattoo & misocainea

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tattoo ta-TOO, noun:
1. A rapid, rhythmic drumming or rapping.
2. A beat of a drum, or sound of a trumpet or bugle, giving notice to soldiers to go to their quarters at night.
3. A display of military exercises given as evening entertainment.

Tattoo is an alteration of earlier taptoo, from Dutch taptoe, “a tap(house)-shut,” from tap, “faucet” + toe, “shut” — meaning, essentially, that the tavern is about to shut.

Trivia: The more familiar tattoo, “an indelible mark or figure made by puncturing the skin and introducing some pigment into the punctures,” derives from entirely different roots. That tattoo comes from Tahitian tatau.

misocainea mis-oh-KY-nee-uh, mi-soh- noun

Hatred of anything new.

Greek miso- (hate) + caino- (new).

Welcome to my wall scrawls.