Weird Word Wednesday - Obfuscate

Any word that has a “bf” combination makes it into my book for being weird. I have heard of it before, but never really found a good opportunity to use it effectively.   

“Obfuscate” is a transitive verb meaning 1. To darken or make obscure & 2. To confuse.  You can change it into a noun as obfuscation, but I wouldn’t recommend using it after a glass of wine.  It gets more difficult to pronounce.   

“ I enjoy watching political debates but am annoyed by the rampant obfuscation.” 

S-)

 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/obfuscate

ob·fus·cate

verb
\ˈäb-fə-ˌskāt; äb-ˈfəs-ˌkāt, əb-\

transitive verb

1

a : darken b : to make obscure <obfuscate the issue>

 

2

: confuse <obfuscate the reader>

 

Monday Vent-Bogey Man

It is Monday morning and I am exhausted and in need of uninterrupted sleep.  My husband had a momentary lapse of judgment and allowed our two young boys to watch a part of “The War of the Worlds” right before bedtime. Luckily for them, it was a part where there is a lot of screaming, running, and the aliens suck up people and dissolve their remains into liquid.  If you haven’t seen it, let me assure you it is quite horrifying.  Now, these two boys had nightmares when he had another lapse of judgment last summer and let them watch him playing a video game involving zombies chasing people through a forest.  Those nightmares lasted a few days and they still talk about it.   Although they are typically good little sleepers, they were sobbing and scared when I called them upstairs.  It became apparent that they would not go to their own beds so I allowed them to come into our bed, just to stop the crying.  My husband can sleep through anything, but, unfortunately, two little extra bodies kicking and rolling around kept waking me up, although I’m not actually sure I fell asleep.  I put them back in their own beds around midnight, but one returned by 2:00 a.m.  So, here we are at 5 in the morning and I have to get moving, yet all I want to do is go back to bed.  Thanks honey!!!

Now it's your turn! Come on, you know it will make you feel better!

S-)

Bright Side Friday!

I know that I usually start out by commenting, that the fact that it IS Friday, could be a bright side on it's own. I'm still standing by that. This has been one of those weeks that I have felt like I was just trying to survive each day. I didn't even realize I had made it to Friday until I got on Twitter and saw all of the "#FF" and "Happy Friday" postings. I'm still trying to shake off the sleepy from a terrible night's sleep, but knowing that it is Friday has given me strength and a renewed drive. Or, it could be this second cup of coffee that I added chocolate milk to...

Anyways, here is my Bright Side Friday. Please post yours. It makes us all feel better hearing about happy things.

We had terrible storms hit a few days ago. Most people in our area lost their power. We did not. This is a switch as we used to be the ones who ALWAYS lost our power and everyone around us was on. I can't even remember how much food we have had to throw away over the years. This time we were spared. I almost felt a bit guilty. Some were out for 36 hours and others more than 48. To top it off, trees were down all over, including in our back yard. Someone was watching out for us, because it fell parallel to the power lines. Absolutely unbelievable. Thankful. Truly thankful.

=J

P.S. This is a photo of the tree that broke off about 30 feet up. The trunk is on the left between the lines, and the top 60 feet of the tree is on the ground going off towards the right. Weirdest thing about this, is that ALL of the trees in the neighborhood that went down, are pointing in the SAME direction!

Mommy, why do chains and whips excite her?

 

“Sticks and stones can break my bones, but chains and whips excite me” That’s what I get for giving contemporary music a listen with my 5 & 7 year old. I typically listen to Christian music. I know that may sound dorky, but I really like it and it is good music. It is also refreshing to have the radio on and not have to be concerned about what my child will hear. “Mommy, why do chains and whips excite her?” “I think because they’re shiny, hey, look at that airplane!!” What happened to the dance music of the 80s and 90s that you could belt out without offending anyone? Yes, I know my mother raised her eyebrows at Madonna’s “Like a Virgin”. Oh, wait a minute, that doesn’t exactly support my case. Well, fine, I guess it has always been a bad influence on young minds. My line is apparently drawn at S&M and I must be getting old and crabby. On second thought, it did have a nice beat to it. 

S-)

Image borrowed from: BludOgre at http://photobucket.com/images/whips and chains/

Weird Word Wednesday: Pandiculate

 

Today's weird word is PANDICULATION. We all do it. I have even seen cats and dogs do it. What is it? Think about how you feel the first thing in the morning. You don't want to get up but you some how get yourself out of bed. As your feet hit the floor you have an uncontrollable urge to stiffen your body, stretch your arms, yawn and perhaps even add a groan in there. THAT is PANDICULATION. So here is the weird part, well to me at least, it's a noun! I know, I am shining my geek side out there like a beacon. But really, it is a "thing" right? Have you ever thought of the act of stretching as a thing? Oh, I know. Add "tion" to the end of a lot of words and it changes from an action to a thing: elate ---> elation, and... well now my mind is in the gutter and I can only think of 2 more words. One word has to do with pooping and the other with spending some quality time with yourself. I won't share those.

Back to my point. Did you even know that there was a word for it? At some time, someone thought one word was needed for the entire act of "stretching and stiffening especially of the trunk and extremities" and created the term. Have you ever used the word? I think I am going to start, just because I can't believe it exists. When it makes a comeback in popularity, you'll know who to thank!

When I saw this ad, I knew I had to include it. An actual machine so people can pandiculate. "Better than 2 hours in the gymnasium" where can I get one of those?


http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/pandiculation?show=0&t=1308747368

pan·dic·u·la·tion

noun \pan-ˌdik-yə-ˈlā-shən\

: a stretching and stiffening especially of the trunk and extremities (as when fatigued and drowsy or after waking from sleep) 

 

=J