Category: random

panoply

I woke up this morning (at 5 AM, despite the fact that my alarm was set for 9:35) with the word “panoply” ricocheting off the walls of my skull. Turns out I had no idea what it meant. Well, maybe a vague idea of one of the definitions.

Here’s what dictionary.com says:

  1. A splendid or striking array: a panoply of colorful flags. See Synonyms at display.
  2. Ceremonial attire with all accessories: a portrait of the general in full panoply.
  3. Something that covers and protects: a porcupine’s panoply of quills.
  4. The complete arms and armor of a warrior.

Here’s what the OED says:

  1. A spiritual or psychological protection or defence; an attitude, etc., affording such protection.
    1. Full armour; a complete suit of armour. Freq. with connotations of brightness and splendour. Now rare.
    2. In extended use: any complete covering or protective layer.
    1. A splendid or impressive array; fine or magnificent display; splendour; pomp. Also: splendid attire.
    2. b. fig. A full or extensive array of resources; a wide range or array (of).
  4. A group of pieces of armour arranged as a trophy or ornament. Obs.

I think OED 3a is the definition I was most familiar with. I think OED 1 is my favorite definition.

Here’s a link to the OED, but it’ll only be good for three days.

I don’t know what the word was doing in my brain or where it came from, but it came with a directive to blog it. So I did.

ick ew yuck scary

Last night some guy got shot and (presumably) carjacked where I normally park a few times a week.

I’m not usually parked there after dark (deliberately), but I was planning to turn onto Union St from PA Ave at 9 PM last night when I realized that a stretch of yellow tape and a plethora of police cars were impeding my ability to do so. I assumed it was some drug thing, as it’s a druggy kind of area, and now, terrible as it may sound, I hope it was some drug thing. I’d much rather believe that than think that it was random.

airplane shooting

This is now all over the headlines, but a man was shot and killed on an American Airlines plane in Miami.

There aren’t many details yet, but here’s the WashingtonPost.com article about it.

There are reports that the man was bipolar and hadn’t taken his medication. It’s unknown if he was actually any kind of threat. I obviously don’t know any more than anyone else, but either way it’s sad.

a source of strength

I very rarely watch the evening news, but on September 11th and throughout the following days, I was glued to ABC and Peter Jennings. I was grateful for his calm air, his continuous presence, and his sheer humanity. After I’d spent too many hours of staring disbelievingly at the screen, his weariness was a welcome reminder that I was not alone, and that it was okay to feel so…well, I guess you know.

Thank you.

who will play you?

This poorly titled New York Times Opinion piece by David Brooks lends an interesting slant to the Woodward & Bernstein legend.

Watergate has become a modern Horatio Alger story, a real-life fairy tale, an inspiring ode for mediacentric college types – about the two young men who found exciting and challenging jobs, who slew the dragon, who became rich and famous by doing good and who were played by Redford and Hoffman in the movie version.

A new breed of spam

Spammers, it seems, have become more literate. They’ve moved beyond random assemblages of words designed just to get through filters, to whole phrases, and now, to whole emails of phrases. I assume the point is to get you to click on one of the links included in the text, or maybe just view the images that probably automatically load in most people’s email clients, so that they can see which addresses are being read. Gmail doesn’t load the images, and of course I don’t click on the links, so I don’t know for sure. Maybe they’re selling the meaning of life and I’ll never know because I think it’s spam.

But anyway, I kind of like this new breed. It doesn’t leave as much room to the imagination, but I enjoyed some of these quotes. It’s like getting daily inspiration emails.

Bis moaje
Marriage, it seems, confines every man to his proper rank.
You need to play with supreme confidence, or else you’ll lose again, and then losing becomes a habit.Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure nor this thing nor that but simply growth, We are happy when we are growing.

The weak in courage is strong in cunning.

Successful people are simply those with success habits. An ideal wife is one who remains faithful to you but tries to be just as charming as if she weren’t.

Only in dreams does the happiness of the earth dwell.

The brain can be easy to buy, but the heart never comes to market.

Modern art is what happens when painters stop looking at girls and persuade themselves they have a better idea. Sitting quietly, doing nothing, spring comes and the grass grows by itself.

Complete possession is proved only by giving. All you are unable to give possesses you.

It is as painful perhaps to be awakened from a vision as to be born.No man is free who is not a master of himself.So long as we are loved by others I should say that we are almost indispensable and no man is useless while he has a friend.

Autobiography begins with a sense of being alone. It is an orphan form. We should be as careful of the books we read, as of the company we keep. The dead very often have more power than the living.Some facts should be suppressed, or, at least, a just sense of proportion should be observed in treating them. Authority is never without hate.omelet