Money

I love Mallard Fillmore:

"As the debate continues over whether to put President Reagan's face on our money, I'm sure President Reagan would prefer to be honored by the government's simply remembering that it IS OUR MONEY..."

Top 10 Words You Simply Must Know: #1

Defenestrate - throw somebody or something out of window: to throw something or somebody out of a window (formal or humorous)

It is quite entertaining to defenestrate paper airplanes.

My high school employed a math teacher who, unbeknownst to the administration, hid Jack Daniels in a flask in his lower left-hand drawer. One day, this teacher left the class unattended... and his JD made it out the classroom's 2nd floor window - splashing onto the first floor window and into the classroom of another math teacher (the one with lemon trees) where I was seated. I would be thrilled to report that, due to quick thinking and handy resources, we were a bunch of high-schoolers pacified for the afternoon by a tasty bourbon-lemonade beverage. Alas, this was not so. Poor "Jack" got fired, and later passed away.
It's a sad, sad story on so many levels.

Top 10 Words You Simply Must Know: #2

Garbology - study of waste materials: the study of a cultural group by an examination of what it discards

Garbology might be a good career choice for dumpster divers. Recycling may make the job of future garbologists extremely difficult--they'll have less to study.

See word #7 for more info.

Top 10 Words You Simply Must Know: #3

Digerati - computer experts: people who have or claim to have a sophisticated expertise in the area of computers, the Internet, and the World Wide Web

Not too long ago, computer expertise was considered nerdy. These days, many people strive to be among the digerati.

My dad was amongst the pioneering digerati. He's still a nerd - but I love him anyway.

Top 10 Words You Simply Must Know: #4

Antipodes -
1. places at opposite sides of world: places at opposite sides of the world from each other, or the areas at the side of the world opposite from a given place
2. opposites: two points, places, or things that are diametrically opposite each other

One could say that Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli and Warren "Potsie" Weber are antipodes.

Top 10 Words You Simply Must Know: #5

Hallux - first digit on the foot: the big toe on the human foot, or the first digit on the hind foot of some mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians (technical)

The ballerina had her hallux insured for $10 million!

Isn't it enough that I've made my Madeleine memorize the names of bones in the human skeletal system? Now I have to teach her hallux? Oh, the things a mother does to deliver genius via her offspring [sigh]...

Top 10 Words You Simply Must Know: #6

Otiose -
1. not effective: with no useful result or practical purpose
2. worthless: with little or no value
3. lazy: unwilling or uninterested in working or being active (archaic)

Will e-mail render traditional letter writing otiose? Let's hope not.

Will blogging render LeAnn otiose? Most certainly.