Email: Epiphany's epitome [EH]

If you want to get rid of men, try talking like this: Epiphiphipha ... Phanipha pheniphee pherinepha... They'll get the idea -- or some other idea -- either way, it should work!

Email: Epiphany's epitome [EH]

Epiphany means a showing-forth or revelation as in the Lord's coming to Earth. So when someone "has an epiphany" it's quite an eye-opener (and generally a good thing unless it's a rude awakening and used in the ironic sense). "Epiphanized" sounds like he used it in a very stretched sense -- sort of like how I would do so to be intentionally sabotagerical (see?) of the English language, in spoof of someone who didn't know better. I know it's obnoxious and that's my point. Anyway "epiphanized" in this negative context sounds like “euthanized” to me, or definitely a Bushism! ;-}

Email: Netflix Support

Title request: Willard (1971)

Email: Seeking treasure [EH]

Accept what has happened. Have hope for what is yet to happen. Don't mix them up much less stir in a whole pot of negatives.

God gives us the grace to live each day, no matter what.

[Remember] the mother in Bye, Bye Birdie? "I'll just sit here with the rest of the garbage..." It's not too far of a stone's throw from "I'll just forever be the hidden treasure that no man ever found..."

Press: Alzheimer's risk tied to personality traits - HC

Alzheimer's risk tied to personality traits - Houston Chronicle:

"During the 12 years, 176 people developed Alzheimer's disease. Those with the highest scores for a personality trait called 'conscientiousness' at the start of the study had an 89 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer's compared to people with the lowest scores for that personality trait.

The conscientiousness scores were based on how people rated themselves, on a scale of 0 to 4, on how much they agreed with statements such as: 'I work hard to accomplish my goals,' 'I strive for excellence in everything I do,' 'I keep my belongings clean and neat' and 'I'm pretty good about pacing myself so as to get things done on time.'"

Press: Biggio goes out as 3,060-hit wonder - HC

Biggio goes out as 3,060-hit wonder - Houston Chronicle:

"Three position changes and 3,060 hits since he made his major league debut in 1988 as a catcher, Biggio ended his career Sunday with a lap around Minute Maid Park to tip his cap and bow to his fans.

'They expressed their feelings; I shared mine,' Biggio said. 'It's been an unbelievable relationship over a long period of time. To have this many people in the stands, considering where we are in the standings and the way the season's gone, they know I love them.

'They love me back. That was just one of those special moments today. I'll miss it. The fans have made it worthwhile. That's what the game's about.'"

Press: Female chess player beats the stereotypes - HC

Female chess player beats the stereotypes - Houston Chronicle:

"Hungarian-American Susan Polgar, four-time women's world chess champion, began playing the game when she was 4 years old."

(Brainy and hot -- what more should a man ask for? Chess rocks! Go Susan!)

Neologisms: textese

Cell-phone-text-sending acronym- and abbreviation-based argot. (I'm not the first person to think of the word but Google shows it's still fairly rare on the Web. For an example of textese, here is the first sentence from an article in Engineering News: "My dRtr k8lin ofN sens me sms msgs wi she rites lik ths. It dsnt tke 2 long 4 me to unstnd thM but its strng at 1st.” ["My daughter Kaitlin often sends me SMS messages wherein she writes like this. It doesn't take too long for me to understand them but it's strange at first."])

Press: What's in an African name? Enough, Godknows, to make you Learnmore - TheAge

What's in an African name? Enough, Godknows, to make you Learnmore - TheAge:

"Indeed, Godknows, Enough and company continue an African tradition arguably more logical than the one that churns out excess Justins and Tiffanys. In southern Africa, a child's name is chosen to convey a specific meaning and not the latest fashion."

(Like it or not, Americans don't own the English language. Japanese, Filipino, and other English speakers have developed their own curious argots that are as puzzling as teenagers' textese is to many adults.)

Foods: Turkey bacon

Do you like turkey bacon? Place a few slices (no overlap) between two paper towels on a microwave-safe plate and "mike" it for 3-4 minutes (depending on how crisp you like your turkey bacon: 3 minutes for limp, 4 minutes for semicrisp). It makes a quick side snack for anything.

Language: Shiver me nethers

Upon describing Minnesota's sometime temperatures of 40 below zero windchill, EH replied, "Shiver me timbers!" (a classic pirate phrase meaning "Splinter my masts" with a pun on "shiver"), to which I replied, "Oh, it'll shiver yer nethers!"

Email: Octopusfest [DB]

[DB] Other ways of celebrating [Octoberfest] could be:
eating potatoes - Octuberfest
playing low brass instruments - Octubafest
playing double reed instruments - Octoboefest
dancing ballet – Octutufest

[SD] Serving squid and other tentaculi: Octopusfest

[DB] Another winner -- it just grabs hold of you and won't let go!!

[SD] And potentially much tastier than Ach! Ptoo! Pus! Fest.

Press: 'Here's Johnny!' is lost on freshmen - HC

'Here's Johnny!' is lost on freshmen - Houston Chronicle:

"Wellman asked his freshmen students to recall their earliest political memories. The furthest back most could remember? The Oklahoma City bombing. Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. The war in Kosovo. All in the mid- to late 1990s —- just a decade ago."

(One professor teaching the current freshman class has published books that are older than his students. Yikes!)