Tuesday's Word

obsequious* \ob-'see-kwee-es\ adj [ME, fr. L obsequiosus compliant, fr. obsequium compliance, fr. obsequi to comply, fr. ob- toward + sequi to follow -- more at OB- , SUE] : exhibiting a servile attentiveness or complaisance syn see SUBSERVIENT ant contumelious -- ab-se-qui-ous-ly adv -- ob-se-qui-ous-ness n

This blog wishes to serve in the public's best interest by reminding all that President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and their friends and supporters are oil rich. Do they work for you?

This week's Word comes by way of Siel, babe grad student and writer in Los Angeles! Please support her as she tries to think globally and act locally. Be sure to check her blog: http://greenlagirl.com. Does she wear black lace panties while sipping Fair trade coffee?

*Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary

Tuesday's Word

scurrilous* \'sker-e-les, 'ske-re-\ adj 1 a : using or given to coarse language b : vulgar and evil <~scurrilous imposters who used a religious exterior to rob poor people -Edwin Benson> 2 : containing obscenities or coarse abuse - scur-ri-lous-ly adv - scur-ri-lous-ness n

~, as in "Be quiet over there ~ dogs," Sen. Kennedy-jokingly berating judiciary colleagues for groaning when he was allowed two extra minutes at Alito's confirmation hearing.

This blog wants to know which party uses religion as a vehicle to power? Which man of questionable intellect and feigned piety is taking us to Hell? Who has lost all moral authority?

This week's Word comes by way of lifelong friend Johnny Prit who lives in Republica Dominicana with his lovely wife Carmen! John should blog; his life has been interesting. I recall once in college when the professor, Jane Smith, suggested a writing assignment about Big John. He tried to grab a fish from an aquarium and impaled his thumb on the fish's dorsal spines.

*Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary

Choice

It's Blog for Choice Day with the Thirty Third Anniversary of Roe v. Wade. This idea was ruthlessly stolen from arse poetica. Thanks, ae, you are the greatest! Happy birthday to your godson!

For those who wish to see real writing, read ae; she knows what she is doing!

http://arsepoetica.typepad.com

Not Too Bright*

Q: How many Bush Administration officials are required to change a light bulb?

A: None. There is nothing wrong with the light bulb; its conditions are improving every day. Any reports of its lack of incandescence are a delusional spin from the liberal media. That light bulb has served honorably, and anything you say undermines the lighting effect. Why do you hate freedom?


*Ruthlessly stolen from Catherine at http://povertybarn.typepad.com

Thinkers Anonymous

I've been thinking.

It started out innocently enough. I began think at parties now and then to loosen up. Inevitably though, one thought led to another, and soon I was more than just a social thinker.

I began to think alone - "to relax," I told myself - but I knew it wasn't true. Thinking became more and more important to me, and finally I was thinking all the time.

I began to think on the job. I knew that thinking and employment don't mix, but I couldn't help myself.

I began to avoid friends at lunchtime so I could read Thoreau and Kafka.

I would return to the office dizzied and confused, asking, "What is it exactly we are doing here?"

Things weren't going so well at home either. One evening I had turned off the TV and asked my wife about the meaning of life. She spent that night at her mother's.

I soon had a reputation as a heavy thinker. One day the boss called me in. He said, "Skippy, I like you, and it hurts me to say this, but your thinking has become a real problem. If you don't stop thinking at work, you'll have to find another job." This really made me think.

I came home early after my conversation with the boss. "Honey, I've been thinking..."

"I know you've been thinking," she said, "and I want a divorce!"

"But, Honey, surely it's not that serious."

"It is serious," she said, lower lip aquiver. "You think as much as college professors, and college professors don't make any money, so if you keep on thinking we won't have any money!"

"That's a faulty syllogism," I said impatiently, and she began to cry.

I'd had enough. "I'm going to the library," I snarled as I stomped out the door.

I headed for the library, in the mood for some Nietzsche, with a PBS station on the radio. I roared into the parking lot and ran up to the big glass doors...they didn't open. The library was closed.

To this day, I believe that a Higher Power was looking out for me that night.

As I sank to the ground clawing at the unfeeling glass, whimpering for Zarathustra, a poster caught my eye. "Friend, is heavy thinking ruining your life?" it asked. You probably recognize that line. It comes from the standard Thinkers Anonymous poster.

TA is the reason I am what I am today: a recovering thinker.

I never miss a TA meeting. Each time we watch a non-educational video; last week it was "Porky's." Then we share experiences about how we avoided thinking since the last meeting.

I still have my job, and things are a lot better at home. Life just seemed...easier, somehow, as soon as I stopped thinking. I think the road to recovery is nearly complete for me.

Today, I registered to vote as a Republican.

Tuesday's Word

cognition* The higher mental processes through which we understand the world, process information, make judgments and decisions, and communicate knowledge to others.

Thinking is a process by which a new mental representation is formed through the transformation of information by complex interaction of the mental attributes of judging, abstracting, reasoning, imagining, and problem solving. Thinking is the most inclusive of the three elements of the thought process and is characterized by comprehensiveness rather than exclusion.**

George W. Bush has no cognition; no intellectual curiosity. For more on the practical applications of psychology, see Thursday's post: Thinkers Anonymous.

*Understanding Psychology, Robert S. Feldman, Second Edition, McGraw-Hill, 1990.
**Cognitive Psychology, Robert L. Solso, Third Edition, Allyn and Bacon, 1991.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Sarah!

And how pretty!

Tuesday's Word

bus'y* (biz'e) adj. 1, actively occupied. 2, crowded with activity, as a busy day. --v.t. --bus'y-ness, n.

*Webster Handy College Dictionary

Tuesday's Word

1984* (1949) A satirical novel by George Orwell. Set in the society of the future, toward which Orwell believed both extreme right- and left-wing totalitarianism were heading, it is the story of a middle-aged man and a young woman who rebel. In this terrifying society, there is no place for truth, for historical records are destroyed and propaganda replaces information. Thought and love are punished, while privacy is impossible. Placards everywhere say: "Big Brother is watching you." Big Brother represents Stalin, and the satire is chiefly directed against Russia.

Bloggers, we know who Big Brother is, and how stupid he is. What we don't know yet is the extent to which he is willing to go to bring down this country.

Inspiration for this week's Word comes from Karena's post: Bad guys Forced to Use Pig Latin to Hide Plots. Thank you, Karena! See: http://karenas.typepad.com/my_weblog/

*Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia, Third Edition

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Bloggers!

Welcome 2006!!