The Food Chain
Nations have recently been led to borrow billions for war; no nation has ever borrowed largely for education. Probably, no nation is rich enough to pay for both war and civilization. We must make our choice; we cannot have both.
– Abraham Flexner, educator (1866-1959)Word of the day
videlicet
PRONUNCIATION:(vi-DEL-uh-sit, wi-DAY-li-ket)
MEANING:adverb: That is; namely; to wit. (used to introduce examples or details).
ETYMOLOGY:From Latin videlicet, contraction of videre licet (it’s permissible to see), from videre (to see) and licere (to be permitted). The word is mostly used in its abbreviated form, viz. How did this abbreviation come about? In medieval Latin, the symbol of contraction for -et resembled the shape of z.
USAGE:”The choreographer, videlicet Victor Kabaniaev, received formal training in Russia and has created more than 40 dance and ballet works.”
Jeffrey R. Smith; A Jaw-Dropping Dracul at The Crucible; Alameda Sun (California); Jan 15, 2009.
“In 1902, the Wanganui Herald reported that the mayor had proposed ‘to have the name of our town spelt correctly - viz, by reinstating the letter h, making it Whanganui in accordance with its original name and meaning.’”
One Little Letter Means So Much; Dominion Post (Wellington, New Zealand); Sep 18, 2009.
Every atom in your body came from a star that exploded. And, the atoms in your left hand probably came from a different star than your right hand. It really is the most poetic thing I know about physics: You are all stardust. You couldn’t be here if stars hadn’t exploded, because the elements - the carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, iron, all the things that matter for evolution and for life - weren’t created at the beginning of time. They were created in the nuclear furnaces of stars, and the only way for them to get into your body is if those stars were kind enough to explode. So, forget Jesus. The stars died so that you could be here today. (Lawrence Krauss)
(via saintsandliars)
Mexican restaurant, mexican food, beer - Kansas City, Missouri
This here is a little, out-of-the-way Mexican restaurant on Paseo near 80th St that’s been around for 27 years. They have some pretty kick ass tamales and some really good chili relenos… but what makes it really good is this pork sauce they put on them. It’s amazing stuff!
I had the hardest time pulling Caleb away from this jack-in-the-box earlier tonight.
Is there anything more amusing than seeing a grown man play with a jack-in-the-box and make the ‘surprise face’ EVERY time?
National Geographic’s International Photography Contest 2009
The Big Picture has some of the best shots on display.
XEROX IS DOING SOMETHING COOL If you go to this web site, LetsSayThanks.com you can pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is serving in Iraq. You can’t pick out who gets it, but it will go to a member of the armed services. It is FREE and it only takes a second.
Has anyone else noticed the similarities between Google Chrome’s logo and the old memory game Simon?
Every time I click on the shortcut to open a window I hear the Simon “BOOP” sound in my head…
Uninspired
I just spent wasted 1.5 hours walking around Target trying to get in the holiday mood. It didn’t work.
On the upside I did obtain, in one package, all four Blade movies for just $9.99 so it wasn’t a total loss! (Four? You ask. Apparently. Who knew?)
I saw this when I was checking tire prices for my Kia. Are they serious? Do they really think someone who drives an Astin Martin or a Bentley is going to shop for tires at WALMART????
(edit: They also have Rolls Royce, Lamborghini, and Sterling listed)
wtf?
Twilight Love: NO Photoshop necessary
Adventures in Diabetes - The Holidays
This is my first holiday season since I was diagnosed with diabetes. All my family traditions surrounding holiday foods are beyond carb-laden… they’re a diabetic nightmare.
Every year I’d make batch after batch of cookies… sugar, chocolate chip, chocolate peanut butter chip, chocolate drop, chocolate mint chip, peanut butter, gingerbread, molasses cookies, and more. Every year I’d also make a dozen or more loaves of breads, blueberry lemon, pumpkin, apple cinnamon… Then came the candies; fudge, cherry mash, chocolate covered pretzels, turtles, truffles, rum balls, bourbon balls, and whatever else I had the time and money for.
Then there’s Christmas dinner… mashed potatoes, STUFFING, warm dinner rolls, dishes made with lots of marshmallows and/or whipped cream… I feel my blood sugar rising just thinking of all this.
So this year, I have to reinvent my family traditions. I don’t know if I have the energy for this….
About Me
Singular: being out of the ordinarySynonyms: curious, extraordinary, funny, odd, offbeat, peculiar, queer, rare, strange, uncommon, unique, weird
Related Words: bizarre, eccentric, far-out, outlandish, outré, way-out; aberrant, abnormal, exceptional, irregular; notable, particular, remarkable
Notions: small useful items
Synonyms: novelties, odds and ends, sundries
Related Words: bauble(s), bric-a-brac, gewgaws, knickknacks, trinkets; hodgepodge, miscellany, variety
