The plane, a 50-seat regional aircraft that was less than a third full when it took off from La Guardia Airport, had been climbing through the early-morning sky for about 25 minutes. A 17-year-old passenger in a whitish sweater took out something he had carried onboard, and strapped it onto his wrist and his head.
To some people in New York, that is a relatively common sight: an observant Jew beginning the ritual of morning prayer. But to at least one person on US Airways Express Flight 3079 on Thursday — the flight attendant — it looked ominous, as if the young man were wrapping himself in cables or wires.
Hannah Nagila’s sons are 3 and 5 years old, and they already know what an agunah is. They have told their mother what their father tells them: “Daddy says you’re going to be an agunah until you pay back every cent.”
Agunah is the term for a Jewish woman chained to a dead marriage. Under Jewish religious law, a husband must issue his wife an official bill of divorce, known as a get, to end an Orthodox marriage. The central provision of the get is simple: “You are hereby permitted to all men.” Without a get, the woman is branded an adulteress as soon as she enters another relationship. She cannot remarry under Jewish law, and any child from another man is labeled a mamzer, or bastard child. A mamzer can only marry another mamzer or a convert.
Historically, agunah cases were the result of a husband’s death, disappearance, or mental insanity. Today, they more often stem from vindictive husbands who exploit the get as a form of control. The get becomes a bargaining chip—leveraged for large sums of money or custody of the children.
The word sounds retro, but its corrosive power lingers. Once a cruelly common taunt that mocked the way Spanish speakers pronounced “speak,” it set off fights, shattered friendships and trampled feelings.
Now that word forms the title of a poetry series — “Spic Up/Speak Out” — at, of all places, El Museo del Barrio in East Harlem, on Saturday.
Organizers say that the provocative title is intended as a postmodern take, inviting dialogue and debate over issues of identity. Some of the participating poets have embraced the title as a symbolic inversion of the word, that neutralizes its sting. But others are not so sure.
“I guess I get it, but I don’t like the joke,” said Aracelis Girmay, a young poet who declined to participate. “It would be one thing if it were some underground place, but it’s at an institution. El Museo del Barrio is supposed to be the place that I would expect would guard our culture respectfully. This is giving dangerous permission to that word. It’s inviting it through the front door.”
Now, they'll give you the currenttemperature, and that's fine, because if you're going out now you should prepare for the weather as it exists rightnow. But the tricky part is the weather later, when you come back. You know what it's like when you go to work, because the weather report will tell you and you can always look outside. But what about coming home?
The weather report will tell you the high and the low. "Today, the high will be 69 degrees." And today is simple enough. If it's the high and it's today, they're most likely referring to midday, between 12-2, when most people go to lunch. But then they'll say, "tonight, the low will be 42 degrees." Now, you could assume that tonight means the middle of the night, like after midnight. But then the same report will give you the overnight temperatures! And unless you work really late or hang out really late, that doesn't do you any good. And it doesn't resolve what "tonight" refers to.
Is it when the sun goes down? That would make it as early as 4pm in some places. Is it when the evening begins? But does the evening start at 6pm or 8pm?
"Tonight" certainly doesn't mean when I leave work. If I prepare for the low temperature, I'm often overdressed at 6pm. I thought maybe it was 8pm, but again, I've been overdressed. Now I check the hour-by-hour temperatures to see what it's like when I leave work, and you know when those "tonight" temperatures usually hit?
10pm.
According to Weather.com, anyway. Whether there's been a big meeting amongst meteorologists to determine the exact meaning of "today" and "tonight" and "overnight" I don't know, but I'm going to guess no, because they still can't get the weather report right.
This was all brought to you by the fact that in New York City today, the high is supposed to be 66 and the low 42.
I don't know exactly how one dresses for that. Guess I'm using layers.
I have a carton of Edy's Apple Pie ice cream in my freezer right now. The other day I noticed the carton doesn't say ice cream, it says "frozendessert."
This list still has broken characters (the 'o' with a macron). It's particularly troublesome because I can't get to the comments page for �?endan (which should be ōendan).
Between the scripts for the film and the video game, Frommer has a bit more than 1,000 words in the Na'vi language, as well as all the rules and structure of the language itself. "I'm adding to that all the time," said Frommer, who says he would like to see the new tongue catch on in the way that Klingon has become a studied language among especially, um, engaged fans of "Star Trek."
“The Waterfalls” flowed in the East River. “The Gates” snaked through Central Park. Now New York’s latest large-scale public art project is being exhibited in an even unlikelier space: your wallet.
On the back of seven million MetroCards distributed this fall is a single printed word: “optimism.” Composed in clean, bold, sans-serif letters, it floats in a sea of white just beneath the boilerplate fine print. Another seven million are on the way early next year.
Avatar: The Last Airbender, "City of Walls and Secrets":
Katara: The king is throwing a party at the palace tonight for his pet bear. Aang: Don't you mean platypus bear? Katara: No, it just says "bear." Sokka: Certainly you mean his pet skunk bear? Toph: Or his armadillo bear? Aang: Gopher bear? Katara: Just... "bear." ... Toph: This place is weird.
c_b: They're not really my examples, I cut-and-pasted from the original website. Usually I italicize stuff I copy, but it was hard to read so I left it as-is.
Function: verb Inflected Form(s): amazon ranked 1. To censor and exclude on the basis of adult content in literature (except for Playboy, Penthouse, dogfighting and graphic novels depicting incest orgies). 2. To make changes based on inconsistent applications of standards, logic and common sense.
Example of usage: "I tried to do a report on Lady Chatterley's Lover for English Lit, but my teacher amazon ranked me and I got an F on grounds that it was obscene."
Alternate usage: "My girlfriend wanted to preserve her virginity, and I was happy to respect that, then she amazon ranked and decided anal sex was okay."
How much is a handful, anyway? Does it depend on the item in question? A handful of marbles is a largerquantity than a handful of books. Some items cannot be held in the hand at all - a car, a house, a planet - so does the word even exist for them? And what about non-physical items, like downloads or ideas? Maybe then a set number, like five?
By changing the name to Syfy, which remains phonetically identical, the new brand broadens perceptions and embraces a wider and more diverse range of imagination-based entertainment including fantasy, paranormal, reality, mystery, action and adventure, as well as science fiction. It also positions the brand for future growth by creating an ownable trademark that can travel easily with consumers across new media and non-linear digital platforms, new international channels and extend into new business ventures.
1) Two of my Polish readers have just pointed out that, in Polish, "syfy" has a meaning somewhere between zits, filthy and scum. Oops.
2) This came up elsewhere, but: "sci-fi" is a term coined by fanboy no.1, the late Forrest Ackerman, a wordplay-happy man who also came up with linguist joys like "imagi-movie" and "futuristicostume." The term "sf" for science fiction/speculative fiction was coined by author Robert Heinlein some eight years earlier.
The final performance on a performance episode of American Idol. The singer is thought to be an advantage due to being the last person to sing right before the voting begins, thus they are the freshest in voter's minds. Many favored contestants have performed in the pimp slot, suggesting that the choice of performance order is not entirely random and is in fact, determined by the producers, who have contestants they favor.
Whether this counts as chocolate depends on which dictionary you look it up in; most standard dictionaries seem to just define chocolate as a product of the cacao bean that is then processed, while cooking dictionaries make a point of saying that white chocolate contains no chocolate liquor/cocoa solids and thus, is not chocolate.
Wikipedia: Jamahiriya (Arabic جماهيرية, strict transliteration ǧam�?hīriyya) is an Arabic term generally translated as "state of the masses." The term, a neologism coined by Muammar al-Gaddafi, is intended to be a generic term describing a type of state, like a "republic ruled by the masses."
In practice, the only state to which the term has ever been applied is Libya, of which Gaddafi is the Caid (translated Leader; strict transliteration Q�?ʼid).
Weta are around 70 insect species endemic to the New Zealandarchipelago. Weta are large by insect standards, in fact some species are among the largest and heaviest in the world. Their physical appearance is that of a cross between a cockroach and a cricket with the addition of large legs. The name comes from the M�?ori language word 'wēt�?'.
Pasteles (pronounced pas-TEL-les) can usually be found at Puerto Rican holiday gatherings next to roast pork, steaming lumps of rice with pigeon peas, and sweet fried plantains.
For a dish relatively unknown outside Latino culture, the excitement around pasteles runs high, especially this time of the year. It’s customary for Puerto Ricans, and some non-Latinos, to go in search of pasteles as soon as the leaves begin to turn in the fall.
I was searching for accounts of toothpicks being used to rig lever machines, and discovered that was more of a problem in the early 20th Century. The machines being used now date from the 1960's.
(We were supposed to switch to a touch-screen system in NYS some time ago, but it looks unlikely any time soon.)
A shape-shifting alien in Marvel Comics. Many established heroes were replaced by Skrulls as part of a "Secret Invasion" (which is the name of the current storyline in most Marvel titles right now).
I like to point at people and say, "He's a Skrull."
The airport was originally named after daredevil aviator John Moisant, who died in an airplane crash on this land (which was devoted to farming at the time) in 1910. The abbreviation MSY was derived from MoisantStockYards.
"French writer. Total loser. Never had a real job. Unrequited love affairs. Gay. Spent 20 years writing a book almost no one reads. But he's also probably the greatest writer since Shakespeare. Anyway, he uh... he gets down to the end of his life, and he looks back and decides that all those years he suffered, Those were the best years of his life, 'cause they made him who he was. All those years he was happy? You know, total waste. Didn't learn a thing. So, if you sleep until you're 18... Ah, think of the suffering you're gonna miss. I mean high school? High school-those are your prime suffering years. You don't get better suffering than that."
Either seem to be common, though one of the Urban Dictionary entries had a point - the extra 'i' adds a third syllable, where "kowai" only has two syllables. I've heard both spoken, maybe "kowaii" is more of a cutesy way of saying it?
Formerly known as Angeles Mesa Drive Airport (1928-1930); United Airport (1930-1934); Union Air Terminal (1934-1940); Lockheed Air Terminal (1940-1967); Hollywood-Burbank Airport (1967-1978); and Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport (1978-2003).
lampbane commented on the list ice-ice-baby
Slushie is a drink, this is for desserts... maybe I should make that more clear in the "about."
Jan 12, 2012
lampbane commented on the list how-to-make-a-facebook-game
reesetee: You mean like this?
May 23, 2011
lampbane commented on the list how-to-make-a-facebook-game
As in, does the game involve kittens? It appears so. Though the game also appears to only have 50 players.
May 19, 2011
lampbane commented on the list how-to-make-a-facebook-game
YES
May 18, 2011
lampbane commented on the user Prolagus
Maybe you were thinking about my Geek Culture list?
May 18, 2011
lampbane commented on the user lampbane
Maybe you were thinking about my Geek Culture list?
May 18, 2011
lampbane commented on the list how-to-make-a-facebook-game
Absolutely (though how many are still active, no idea).
May 18, 2011
lampbane commented on the list gotta-get-paid
Sure, why not?
Mar 22, 2011
lampbane commented on the word dickwolves
Penny Arcade (08/11/2010):
"Every night, we are raped to sleep by the dickwolves."
Mar 22, 2011
lampbane commented on the word snakedick
Penny Arcade (10/15/2010):
"Is that really bad, or really awesome?"
Mar 22, 2011
lampbane commented on the word slyrup
Penny Arcade (01/05/2011):
"I had developed the Fifth Matter. Solid. Liquid. Gas. Plasma. And now, Slyrup."
Mar 22, 2011
lampbane commented on the word PokApartheid
Penny Arcade (03/02/2011):
"You're a white supremacist. This is PokApartheid!"
Mar 22, 2011
lampbane commented on the word roll and rock
Penny Arcade (01/20/10):
"Our first song is... THE OWLBEAR'S LAMENT."
Jun 8, 2010
lampbane commented on the word powdered bone slime
Penny Arcade (04/07/10):
"Aaand... that's why they call it Jell-O."
Jun 8, 2010
lampbane commented on the word Cthulhu'd
Penny Arcade (04/09/10):
"You just got Cthulhu'd!"
Jun 8, 2010
lampbane commented on the word philandering
Penny Arcade (04/23/10):
"You know what else is cool? Philandering. How does one get started with that?"
Jun 8, 2010
lampbane commented on the word gunhorse
Penny Arcade (05/19/10):
"Gunhorse. It's DLC."
Jun 8, 2010
lampbane commented on the word mosey
Penny Arcade (05/24/10):
"I just got into town and I want to mosey. How do I mosey?"
Jun 8, 2010
lampbane commented on the word douche
Penny Arcade (06/02/10):
"It's like vaginal mouthwash."
Jun 8, 2010
lampbane commented on the word pauldron
Penny Arcade (06/07/10):
"It ends with you in the woods at some makeshift bazaar, seriously considering buying a pauldron."
Jun 8, 2010
lampbane commented on the list my-words-are-numbered
I'm sure there's a reason I didn't put them in in the first place, but it's been so long I can't remember.
Jan 29, 2010
lampbane commented on the word tefillin
A Flight Is Diverted by a Prayer Seen as Ominous (New York Times, January 21, 2010)
The plane, a 50-seat regional aircraft that was less than a third full when it took off from La Guardia Airport, had been climbing through the early-morning sky for about 25 minutes. A 17-year-old passenger in a whitish sweater took out something he had carried onboard, and strapped it onto his wrist and his head.
To some people in New York, that is a relatively common sight: an observant Jew beginning the ritual of morning prayer. But to at least one person on US Airways Express Flight 3079 on Thursday — the flight attendant — it looked ominous, as if the young man were wrapping himself in cables or wires.
Jan 24, 2010
lampbane commented on the word unobtainium
Possibly the stupidest thing about the Avatar movie.
Jan 13, 2010
lampbane commented on the word agunah
GETTING THE “GET”: AN INVISIBLE PRISON BETWEEN MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE (The Brooklyn Ink, December 11, 2009)
Hannah Nagila’s sons are 3 and 5 years old, and they already know what an agunah is. They have told their mother what their father tells them: “Daddy says you’re going to be an agunah until you pay back every cent.”
Agunah is the term for a Jewish woman chained to a dead marriage. Under Jewish religious law, a husband must issue his wife an official bill of divorce, known as a get, to end an Orthodox marriage. The central provision of the get is simple: “You are hereby permitted to all men.” Without a get, the woman is branded an adulteress as soon as she enters another relationship. She cannot remarry under Jewish law, and any child from another man is labeled a mamzer, or bastard child. A mamzer can only marry another mamzer or a convert.
Historically, agunah cases were the result of a husband’s death, disappearance, or mental insanity. Today, they more often stem from vindictive husbands who exploit the get as a form of control. The get becomes a bargaining chip—leveraged for large sums of money or custody of the children.
Dec 11, 2009
lampbane commented on the word spic
Poetry Series Spurs Debate on the Use of an Old Slur Against Latinos (New York Times, November 21, 2009)
The word sounds retro, but its corrosive power lingers. Once a cruelly common taunt that mocked the way Spanish speakers pronounced “speak,” it set off fights, shattered friendships and trampled feelings.
Now that word forms the title of a poetry series — “Spic Up/Speak Out” — at, of all places, El Museo del Barrio in East Harlem, on Saturday.
Organizers say that the provocative title is intended as a postmodern take, inviting dialogue and debate over issues of identity. Some of the participating poets have embraced the title as a symbolic inversion of the word, that neutralizes its sting. But others are not so sure.
“I guess I get it, but I don’t like the joke,” said Aracelis Girmay, a young poet who declined to participate. “It would be one thing if it were some underground place, but it’s at an institution. El Museo del Barrio is supposed to be the place that I would expect would guard our culture respectfully. This is giving dangerous permission to that word. It’s inviting it through the front door.”
Dec 4, 2009
lampbane commented on the word newsak
Background news; meaningless news that's on all the time. (Daily Show With Jon Stewart, December 1, 2009)
Dec 4, 2009
lampbane commented on the word tonight
A word frequently abused by weather reports, and as a consequence, I now despise this word.
I always check the weather in the morning so I know what to wear. Winter coat, windbreaker, or no coat at all? Sweater or t-shirt? Regular shoes, or boots? Should I bring an umbrella? A hat?
Now, they'll give you the current temperature, and that's fine, because if you're going out now you should prepare for the weather as it exists right now. But the tricky part is the weather later, when you come back. You know what it's like when you go to work, because the weather report will tell you and you can always look outside. But what about coming home?
The weather report will tell you the high and the low. "Today, the high will be 69 degrees." And today is simple enough. If it's the high and it's today, they're most likely referring to midday, between 12-2, when most people go to lunch. But then they'll say, "tonight, the low will be 42 degrees." Now, you could assume that tonight means the middle of the night, like after midnight. But then the same report will give you the overnight temperatures! And unless you work really late or hang out really late, that doesn't do you any good. And it doesn't resolve what "tonight" refers to.
Is it when the sun goes down? That would make it as early as 4pm in some places. Is it when the evening begins? But does the evening start at 6pm or 8pm?
"Tonight" certainly doesn't mean when I leave work. If I prepare for the low temperature, I'm often overdressed at 6pm. I thought maybe it was 8pm, but again, I've been overdressed. Now I check the hour-by-hour temperatures to see what it's like when I leave work, and you know when those "tonight" temperatures usually hit?
10pm.
According to Weather.com, anyway. Whether there's been a big meeting amongst meteorologists to determine the exact meaning of "today" and "tonight" and "overnight" I don't know, but I'm going to guess no, because they still can't get the weather report right.
This was all brought to you by the fact that in New York City today, the high is supposed to be 66 and the low 42.
I don't know exactly how one dresses for that. Guess I'm using layers.
Dec 3, 2009
lampbane commented on the word apple pie
I have a carton of Edy's Apple Pie ice cream in my freezer right now. The other day I noticed the carton doesn't say ice cream, it says "frozen dessert."
Nov 24, 2009
lampbane commented on the user feedback
This list still has broken characters (the 'o' with a macron). It's particularly troublesome because I can't get to the comments page for �?endan (which should be ōendan).
Nov 24, 2009
lampbane commented on the word Na'vi
USC professor creates an entire alien language for 'Avatar' (LA Times, November 20, 2009)
Between the scripts for the film and the video game, Frommer has a bit more than 1,000 words in the Na'vi language, as well as all the rules and structure of the language itself. "I'm adding to that all the time," said Frommer, who says he would like to see the new tongue catch on in the way that Klingon has become a studied language among especially, um, engaged fans of "Star Trek."
Nov 24, 2009
lampbane commented on the word ellis
Ellis Island, now considered part of New Jersey.
Nov 24, 2009
lampbane commented on the word metamind
Penny Arcade (07/20/09):
"Our Metaminds are forged of eight geniuses, acting in tandem, suspended in a perpetual nightmare."
Nov 24, 2009
lampbane commented on the word ham doctor
Penny Arcade (07/22/09):
"We don't just identify profanity - we can predictively flag terms which are soon to be profane."
Nov 24, 2009
lampbane commented on the word blue
Penny Arcade (09/04/09):
"Blue is a flavor."
"Yes. But only in the context of slush-based beverages."
Nov 24, 2009
lampbane commented on the word onnomottoppeeia
Penny Arcade (09/28/09):
"If I made a 15 letter word, that shit would be on my fucking tombstone."
Nov 24, 2009
lampbane commented on the word magic
Penny Arcade (11/02/09):
"He's a wizard, and he used magic."
"I get that, but in the context of..."
"MAGIC!"
Nov 24, 2009
lampbane commented on the word droid
Registered trademark of Lucasfilm Ltd.
Nov 24, 2009
lampbane commented on the word totally
For when you need to talk like a Valley girl:
"The walls in the mall are totally totally tall."
(From Tiny Toon Adventures)
Nov 23, 2009
lampbane commented on the word Kino
The name that Eli gives to the Ancient camera device on Stargate: Universe. From "Kino-Pravda".
Nov 23, 2009
lampbane commented on the word backronym
BUMP
(Backronym: Bring Up My Post)
Nov 23, 2009
lampbane commented on the word gleek
I can't embed, so a link to the commercial will have to do.
They're also having an online competition called "Biggest GLEEk."
Nov 20, 2009
lampbane commented on the word gleek
A fan of the show Glee, as dubbed by FOX.
Nov 20, 2009
lampbane commented on the word otou-san
It's father (+ honorific) in Japanese. I think it might also be written as otō, but my romanization skills are a bit fuzzy.
Nov 20, 2009
lampbane commented on the word dental plan
"Lisa needs braces."
Nov 20, 2009
lampbane commented on the word bacalaíto
Codfish fritter.
Nov 20, 2009
lampbane commented on the word optimism
The Days May Be Grim, but Here’s a Good Word to Put in Your Pocket (New York Times, November 19, 2009)
“The Waterfalls” flowed in the East River. “The Gates” snaked through Central Park. Now New York’s latest large-scale public art project is being exhibited in an even unlikelier space: your wallet.
On the back of seven million MetroCards distributed this fall is a single printed word: “optimism.” Composed in clean, bold, sans-serif letters, it floats in a sea of white just beneath the boilerplate fine print. Another seven million are on the way early next year.
Nov 20, 2009
lampbane commented on the user feedback
I can't edit the comment I made on this list. I have no problems editing anything and everything else.
Nov 20, 2009
lampbane commented on the word bugs
Can't edit a comment I just made (less than five minutes ago) on this list.
(But I can edit this one just fine.)
Nov 20, 2009
lampbane commented on the list animal-identity-crisis
Avatar: The Last Airbender, "City of Walls and Secrets":
Katara: The king is throwing a party at the palace tonight for his pet bear.
Aang: Don't you mean platypus bear?
Katara: No, it just says "bear."
Sokka: Certainly you mean his pet skunk bear?
Toph: Or his armadillo bear?
Aang: Gopher bear?
Katara: Just... "bear."
...
Toph: This place is weird.
Nov 20, 2009
lampbane commented on the word bugs
I added \m/ to a list but I can't actually click through to the page (for reasons that are obvious, but still...).
Nov 20, 2009
lampbane commented on the word elelator
"I push the button. Not you push the button, I push the button." - Baby Plucky, Tiny Toon Adventures
Nov 19, 2009
lampbane commented on the word qutue
This is just a typo, but I think I'm in love with it.
Nov 19, 2009
lampbane commented on the word !!!
For some reason, I imagine the dramatic chipmunk when I see this. Can someone add in a recording of that musical sting?
Nov 19, 2009
lampbane commented on the word comments
grantbarrett, thanks for the response. Will there be a way to submit examples, or do we still just have to use comments?
Also, is there going to be a way to delete submitted pronunciations?
Nov 19, 2009
lampbane commented on the word tauntaun
It smells worse on the inside.
Nov 19, 2009
lampbane commented on the word Hoth
A very cold place. One might even need to cut open a dead tauntaun to survive the night there.
Nov 19, 2009
lampbane commented on the word unfriend
No one I know actually uses this word, so finding out it's the more common usage confuses me.
We are not normal people.
Nov 18, 2009
lampbane commented on the word comments
Finally made the move over yesterday, thought the place felt like an echo chamber at first but here everyone is. Yay!
I kind of like the examples feature but the examples they give sometimes aren't very good.
Nov 18, 2009
lampbane commented on the word uterus-hertz
Period = T = 1/f
Aug 26, 2009
lampbane commented on the word amazon rank
c_b: They're not really my examples, I cut-and-pasted from the original website. Usually I italicize stuff I copy, but it was hard to read so I left it as-is.
The outrage was great while it lasted.
Apr 17, 2009
lampbane commented on the word amazon rank
amazon rank
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): amazon ranked
1. To censor and exclude on the basis of adult content in literature (except for Playboy, Penthouse, dogfighting and graphic novels depicting incest orgies).
2. To make changes based on inconsistent applications of standards, logic and common sense.
Etymology: from 12 April 2009 removal of sales rank figures from books on Amazon.com containing sexual, erotic, romantic, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered or queer content, rendering them impossible to find through basic search functions at the top of Amazon.com's website. Titles stripped of their sales rankings include "Bastard Out of Carolina," "Lady Chatterley's Lover," prominent romance novels, GLBTQ fiction novels, YA books, and narratives about gay people.
Example of usage: "I tried to do a report on Lady Chatterley's Lover for English Lit, but my teacher amazon ranked me and I got an F on grounds that it was obscene."
Alternate usage: "My girlfriend wanted to preserve her virginity, and I was happy to respect that, then she amazon ranked and decided anal sex was okay."
Apr 13, 2009
lampbane commented on the word pathetic fallacy
"Many of you feel bad for this lamp."
Apr 13, 2009
lampbane commented on the word boat
"Fuck land, I'm on a boat motherfucker!"
Apr 6, 2009
lampbane commented on the word wolfoid
Penny Arcade (01/28/09):
"They're half wolf, half android."
Apr 2, 2009
lampbane commented on the word darkbad
Penny Arcade (03/20/09):
"Technically, the Darkbad is situated below the Shadowdark."
Apr 2, 2009
lampbane commented on the word book
Penny Arcade (03/09/09):
"Book is the new wireless platform that never needs to be charged."
Apr 2, 2009
lampbane commented on the word handful
How much is a handful, anyway? Does it depend on the item in question? A handful of marbles is a larger quantity than a handful of books. Some items cannot be held in the hand at all - a car, a house, a planet - so does the word even exist for them? And what about non-physical items, like downloads or ideas? Maybe then a set number, like five?
Apr 1, 2009
lampbane commented on the word webisode
Mobisode is worse.
Mar 31, 2009
lampbane commented on the word issei
First-generation Japanese immigrants. Their children are called nisei.
Mar 28, 2009
lampbane commented on the list las-verduras
what's with all the "the"?
Mar 27, 2009
lampbane commented on the word a.i.g. is a p.i.g.
New York Daily News, March 17, 2009
Mar 27, 2009
lampbane commented on the list who-are-you
That's actually on my Royal Pain in the... list.
Mar 27, 2009
lampbane commented on the word akiba-kei
Made the list for the Top 60 popular Japanese words/phrases of 2008.
Mar 26, 2009
lampbane commented on the list words-that-are-also-movies
Teeth.
Mar 26, 2009
lampbane commented on the word neet
"Not currently engaged in Employment, Education or Training."
Mar 26, 2009
lampbane commented on the word syfy
"sf" could also be "speculative fiction"
Or San Francisco, but I think those are differentiated by always writing the city in caps (SF) and the genre in lower (sf).
Mar 26, 2009
lampbane commented on the word lost
"Just because I'm losing
Doesn't mean I'm lost
Doesn't mean I'll stop
Doesn't mean I'm in a cross"
Mar 26, 2009
lampbane commented on the word sumire
"Violet." (flower)
Mar 26, 2009
lampbane commented on the word seiyū
"Voice actor."
Mar 26, 2009
lampbane commented on the word �?endan
"Cheer squad."
Mar 26, 2009
lampbane commented on the word neko
"Cat."
Mar 26, 2009
lampbane commented on the word gaijin
"Foreigner." Considered politically incorrect.
Mar 26, 2009
lampbane commented on the word kaizen
"Continuous improvement."
Mar 26, 2009
lampbane commented on the word syfy
SCI FI Channel Press Release (03/16/09):
By changing the name to Syfy, which remains phonetically identical, the new brand broadens perceptions and embraces a wider and more diverse range of imagination-based entertainment including fantasy, paranormal, reality, mystery, action and adventure, as well as science fiction. It also positions the brand for future growth by creating an ownable trademark that can travel easily with consumers across new media and non-linear digital platforms, new international channels and extend into new business ventures.
Warren Ellis (03/16/09):
1) Two of my Polish readers have just pointed out that, in Polish, "syfy" has a meaning somewhere between zits, filthy and scum. Oops.
2) This came up elsewhere, but: "sci-fi" is a term coined by fanboy no.1, the late Forrest Ackerman, a wordplay-happy man who also came up with linguist joys like "imagi-movie" and "futuristicostume." The term "sf" for science fiction/speculative fiction was coined by author Robert Heinlein some eight years earlier.
Mar 26, 2009
lampbane commented on the word snuggie
It's a blanket with sleeves.
Mar 26, 2009
lampbane commented on the word equitable
I learned this word from an episode of Batman: The Animated Series ("What is Reality?"):
"If the planet were equitable, I'd still have my old job."
They find the Riddler at the World's Fair.
Mar 26, 2009
lampbane commented on the word syfy
The new name of the Sci-Fi Channel. Because "sci-fi" was too geeky.
Mar 26, 2009
lampbane commented on the word diegetic
Possibly Wikipedia's second-most overused word, after portmanteau.
Mar 26, 2009
lampbane commented on the word jai ho
Depending on who you ask, this phrase means "victory," "hail," or "hallelujah" in Hindi.
Mar 26, 2009
lampbane commented on the word pimp slot
The final performance on a performance episode of American Idol. The singer is thought to be an advantage due to being the last person to sing right before the voting begins, thus they are the freshest in voter's minds. Many favored contestants have performed in the pimp slot, suggesting that the choice of performance order is not entirely random and is in fact, determined by the producers, who have contestants they favor.
Mar 25, 2009
lampbane commented on the word hershey
I regret nothing.
Mar 25, 2009
lampbane commented on the word upholstery
"So, does the carpet match the drapes?"
"Yeah, but not the upholstery."
Mar 25, 2009
lampbane commented on the word duckling loop
Operation: Duckling Loop
Mar 25, 2009
lampbane commented on the word statistically significant other
"Let's face it, I'm your statistically significant other."
Mar 25, 2009
lampbane commented on the word base
xkcd, "The Base Metaphor Explained"
Mar 25, 2009
lampbane commented on the word peer
"I hear we'd go before a jury of our peers, and I've always seeded generously."
Mar 25, 2009
lampbane commented on the list ford-to-city
Huzzah!
Mar 18, 2009
lampbane commented on the list ford-to-city
I thought you said this was an open list?
Mar 18, 2009
lampbane commented on the word pedanteau
A person overly concerned with the precise use of words created by blending two words together.
See this comment thread on a feed of Warren Ellis's blog.
Mar 17, 2009
lampbane commented on the word hershey
Makers of mediocre to outright crappy chocolate.
Mar 9, 2009
lampbane commented on the word white chocolate
Whether this counts as chocolate depends on which dictionary you look it up in; most standard dictionaries seem to just define chocolate as a product of the cacao bean that is then processed, while cooking dictionaries make a point of saying that white chocolate contains no chocolate liquor/cocoa solids and thus, is not chocolate.
Mar 9, 2009
lampbane commented on the word jamahiriya
Wikipedia:
Jamahiriya (Arabic جماهيرية, strict transliteration ǧam�?hīriyya) is an Arabic term generally translated as "state of the masses." The term, a neologism coined by Muammar al-Gaddafi, is intended to be a generic term describing a type of state, like a "republic ruled by the masses."
In practice, the only state to which the term has ever been applied is Libya, of which Gaddafi is the Caid (translated Leader; strict transliteration Q�?ʼid).
Dec 5, 2008
lampbane commented on the word weta
Wikipedia:
Weta are around 70 insect species endemic to the New Zealand archipelago. Weta are large by insect standards, in fact some species are among the largest and heaviest in the world. Their physical appearance is that of a cross between a cockroach and a cricket with the addition of large legs. The name comes from the M�?ori language word 'wēt�?'.
Dec 3, 2008
lampbane commented on the word pasteles
A Taste of Puerto Rico in Cities Across the Land (New York Times, November 29, 2008):
Pasteles (pronounced pas-TEL-les) can usually be found at Puerto Rican holiday gatherings next to roast pork, steaming lumps of rice with pigeon peas, and sweet fried plantains.
For a dish relatively unknown outside Latino culture, the excitement around pasteles runs high, especially this time of the year. It’s customary for Puerto Ricans, and some non-Latinos, to go in search of pasteles as soon as the leaves begin to turn in the fall.
Dec 1, 2008
lampbane commented on the word mpreg
Male pregnancy.
Nov 25, 2008
lampbane commented on the word nominate
We managed to make it though a US presidential election without anyone listing this or nomination!
Nov 25, 2008
lampbane commented on the word wub wub
"Love love."
Nov 19, 2008
lampbane commented on the word pringles box filled with mouse balls
It took me a second to realize you were talking about traditional roller-ball mice.
I love optical mice.
Nov 10, 2008
lampbane commented on the word bethesda
Maryland!
Nov 6, 2008
lampbane commented on the word since qua non
Sine qua non.
Nov 6, 2008
lampbane commented on the word root 2
Square root of 2?
Nov 6, 2008
lampbane commented on the word lever voting v electronic voting
c_b: It was mostly because I hadn't heard any accounts of that happening recently, I was wondering if it was still a problem. It isn't.
(Bigger problem is that the machines do still break, and sometimes that lever is hard to pull!)
Nov 6, 2008
lampbane commented on the word lever voting v electronic voting
I was searching for accounts of toothpicks being used to rig lever machines, and discovered that was more of a problem in the early 20th Century. The machines being used now date from the 1960's.
(We were supposed to switch to a touch-screen system in NYS some time ago, but it looks unlikely any time soon.)
Nov 5, 2008
lampbane commented on the word lever voting v electronic voting
I've heard reports of optical scans being messed up by wet ballots.
Nov 5, 2008
lampbane commented on the word lever voting v electronic voting
I might be a luddite, but at least with a lever machine, I feel like my vote is secure.
Nov 4, 2008
lampbane commented on the word angels v dodgers
Only one has a movie *and* a remake.
Nov 4, 2008
lampbane commented on the word yeti v bigfoot
Yeti sounds more exotic.
Bigfoot... well, it has big feet, right?
Nov 4, 2008
lampbane commented on the word internet secretary
"I recommend you appoint a secretary of the Internet. Someone to impose some order on this mess."
Nov 4, 2008
lampbane commented on the word tron paul
"Ron Paul evolves into Tron Paul."
Nov 4, 2008
lampbane commented on the word btu
Bintulu Airport (Malaysia).
Nov 4, 2008
lampbane commented on the word the best fucking news team ever
The Daily Show.
(Also known as the The Best F**king News Team Ever.)
Nov 4, 2008
lampbane commented on the word the best political team
CNN.
Nov 4, 2008
lampbane commented on the word english reasearch paper
Reasearch is searching for rea, duh.
Nov 4, 2008
lampbane commented on the word unitarian universalism
Nothing against them, it's just a real mouthful.
Nov 4, 2008
lampbane commented on the list joe-the-plumber
Let me guess. whichbe was looking at This. Fucking. Election.
Oct 31, 2008
lampbane commented on the word pew
Onomatopoeia for the sound a laser gun makes.
See the Sarah Palin/Katie Couric Saturday Night Live cold open, 30 seconds from the end for an example.
Oct 30, 2008
lampbane commented on the word sousier
Apparently this is where we get the expression "You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow's ear" from. A sousier is a ratty purse.
Oct 29, 2008
lampbane commented on the word tsa
Taipei Songshan Airport.
Oct 29, 2008
lampbane commented on the list luggage-tags
Unfortunately, while there is TAV, TAY, and TAZ, there is no TAX.
Oct 29, 2008
lampbane commented on the word bug
Benguela Airport or Gen. V. Deslandes Airport (Angola).
Oct 29, 2008
lampbane commented on the word hav
José Martí International Airport (Havana).
Oct 29, 2008
lampbane commented on the word gad
Northeast Alabama Regional Airport.
Oct 29, 2008
lampbane commented on the word gab
Gabbs Airport (Nevada).
Oct 29, 2008
lampbane commented on the word flic
I've never heard this used for cops before. What is it?
Oct 29, 2008
lampbane commented on the word 108
The sum of the Cursed Numbers on Lost, and the number of minutes between inputting the numbers at the Swan Station.
Oct 28, 2008
lampbane commented on the word redbird
R26, R28, R29, R33 ML, R33 WF, R36, and R36 WF New York City subway cars, painted red to combat graffiti.
Oct 28, 2008
lampbane commented on the word macaron
A French pastry made from egg whites, almond powder, icing sugar and sugar. Not to be confused with macaroon.
Oct 28, 2008
lampbane commented on the word crasin
Dried cranberry.
Oct 28, 2008
lampbane commented on the word reverse vampire
"Maybe they're all reverse vampires and they have to get home before dark."
- Lisa Simpson, The Simpsons episode 6x10 "Grampa vs. Sexual Inadequacy"
Oct 28, 2008
lampbane commented on the word new york friendship
This must only apply to people who move to the city; the settlers.
Oct 28, 2008
lampbane commented on the word i am the night
Batman!
Oct 28, 2008
lampbane commented on the word <3
Well then.
Sometimes you feel like a nut...
Oct 28, 2008
lampbane commented on the word mutatis mutandis
The school motto for the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning (formerly Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters).
Oct 28, 2008
lampbane commented on the word <3
Sadly, this appears to be unlinkable.
Oct 27, 2008
lampbane commented on the word real brooklyn
Saying I lived in the "real Brooklyn" was amusing until Sarah Palin made her "real America" comment. Now it's just embarrassing.
Oct 27, 2008
lampbane commented on the word my parents are dead
PVP, 24 Hour Comics Day 2006
Oct 27, 2008
lampbane commented on the word the goddamn batman
"What, are you dense? Are you retarded or something? Who the hell do you think I am? I'm the goddamn Batman."
- All-Star Batman & Robin, written by Frank Miller
Oct 27, 2008
lampbane commented on the word sub rosa
The worst episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Sometimes things aren't just bad, they're Sub Rosa-bad.
Oct 27, 2008
lampbane commented on the word less than three
<3
"I less than three you."
Oct 27, 2008
lampbane commented on the word skrull
A shape-shifting alien in Marvel Comics. Many established heroes were replaced by Skrulls as part of a "Secret Invasion" (which is the name of the current storyline in most Marvel titles right now).
I like to point at people and say, "He's a Skrull."
Oct 27, 2008
lampbane commented on the word φ
The golden ratio.
Oct 26, 2008
lampbane commented on the word 02138
Harvard University zip code and the name of their alumni magazine.
Oct 26, 2008
lampbane commented on the word msy
From Wikipedia:
The airport was originally named after daredevil aviator John Moisant, who died in an airplane crash on this land (which was devoted to farming at the time) in 1910. The abbreviation MSY was derived from Moisant Stock Yards.
Oct 25, 2008
lampbane commented on the word mcy
Sunshine Coast Airport, or Maroochydore Airport.
Oct 25, 2008
lampbane commented on the word mad
Madrid Barajas International Airport.
Oct 25, 2008
lampbane commented on the word luv
Dumatubin Airport (Langgur, Indonesia).
Oct 25, 2008
lampbane commented on the word lov
Venustiano Carranza International Airport (Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico).
Oct 25, 2008
lampbane commented on the word lna
Palm Beach County Park Airport or Lantana Airport.
Oct 25, 2008
lampbane commented on the word proust
"French writer. Total loser. Never had a real job. Unrequited love affairs. Gay. Spent 20 years writing a book almost no one reads. But he's also probably the greatest writer since Shakespeare. Anyway, he uh... he gets down to the end of his life, and he looks back and decides that all those years he suffered, Those were the best years of his life, 'cause they made him who he was. All those years he was happy? You know, total waste. Didn't learn a thing. So, if you sleep until you're 18... Ah, think of the suffering you're gonna miss. I mean high school? High school-those are your prime suffering years. You don't get better suffering than that."
-Frank (Steve Carell), Little Miss Sunshine
Oct 24, 2008
lampbane commented on the word suv
Nausori International Airport (Fiji).
Oct 24, 2008
lampbane commented on the word sun
Friedman Memorial Airport (Hailey, ID).
Oct 24, 2008
lampbane commented on the word sql
San Carlos Airport.
Structured Query Language.
Oct 24, 2008
lampbane commented on the word fuk
Fukuoka Airport.
Oct 24, 2008
lampbane commented on the word fat
Fresno Yosemite International Airport.
Oct 24, 2008
lampbane commented on the word far
Hector International Airport (Fargo, ND).
Oct 24, 2008
lampbane commented on the word emp
Emporia Municipal Airport.
Electromagnetic pulse.
Oct 24, 2008
lampbane commented on the word elo
Ely Municipal Airport.
Electric Light Orchestra.
Oct 24, 2008
lampbane commented on the word elm
Elmira-Corning Regional Airport.
Oct 24, 2008
lampbane commented on the word eek
Eek Airport.
Oct 24, 2008
lampbane commented on the word ear
Kearney Regional Airport.
Oct 24, 2008
lampbane commented on the word ded
Jolly Grant Airport, also known as Dehradun Airport (India).
Oct 24, 2008
lampbane commented on the word dad
Da Nang International Airport.
Oct 24, 2008
lampbane commented on the word cup
General José Francisco Bermúdez Airport (Carupano, Venezuela).
Oct 24, 2008
lampbane commented on the word gye
José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport.
Oct 24, 2008
lampbane commented on the word mod
Modesto City-County Airport.
Oct 24, 2008
lampbane commented on the word waw
Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport.
Oct 24, 2008
lampbane commented on the word lit
Little Rock National Airport.
Oct 24, 2008
lampbane commented on the word lee
Leesburg International Airport.
Oct 24, 2008
lampbane commented on the word kin
Norman Manley International Airport, formerly Palisadoes Airport (Jamaica).
Oct 24, 2008
lampbane commented on the word cia
Rome Ciampino Airport.
Oct 24, 2008
lampbane commented on the word avp
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport.
Alien vs. Predator.
Oct 24, 2008
lampbane commented on the word art
Watertown International Airport.
Oct 24, 2008
lampbane commented on the word for sale baby shoes used once
It's Ernest Hemingway, and it's like hober said - "For sale: baby shoes, never used."
Used once means that they could be a pair of shoes bought for a portrait.
Oct 23, 2008
lampbane commented on the word mob
Mobile Regional Airport.
Oct 23, 2008
lampbane commented on the word meh
Mehamn Airport (Norway).
Oct 23, 2008
lampbane commented on the word smo
Santa Monica Airport.
Oct 23, 2008
lampbane commented on the word lax
Or the spot where the runaway bus hits.
Oct 23, 2008
lampbane commented on the word bqn
Rafael Hernández Airport, also known as Aguadilla Borinquen Airport.
Oct 23, 2008
lampbane commented on the word kowaii
Either seem to be common, though one of the Urban Dictionary entries had a point - the extra 'i' adds a third syllable, where "kowai" only has two syllables. I've heard both spoken, maybe "kowaii" is more of a cutesy way of saying it?
Oct 23, 2008
lampbane commented on the word sfo
San Francisco International Airport.
Oct 22, 2008
lampbane commented on the word kowaii
"Scary."
Oct 22, 2008
lampbane commented on the word bur
Bob Hope Airport.
Formerly known as Angeles Mesa Drive Airport (1928-1930); United Airport (1930-1934); Union Air Terminal (1934-1940); Lockheed Air Terminal (1940-1967); Hollywood-Burbank Airport (1967-1978); and Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport (1978-2003).
Oct 22, 2008
lampbane commented on the word kawaii
"Cute."
Oct 22, 2008
lampbane commented on the word aho
Fertilia Airport (Alghero Airport).
Oct 22, 2008
lampbane commented on the word sin
Singapore Changi Airport.
Oct 22, 2008
lampbane commented on the word clown control to mao zedong
It makes more sense if written/said Clown Control to Mao Tse Tong except that no one spells it that way anymore so I thought it would be weird.
Oct 22, 2008
lampbane commented on the word dsa
Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield.
Oct 21, 2008
lampbane commented on the word bkk
Suvarnabhumi Airport or Bangkok International (ท่าอา�?าศยานสุวรรณภูมิ).
Oct 21, 2008
lampbane commented on the word hkg
Hong Kong International Airport or Chek Lap Kok Airport (赤鱲角機場).
Oct 21, 2008
lampbane commented on the word iah
George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Oct 21, 2008