Word of the day at Dictionary.com

sesquipedalian \ses-kwuh-puh-DAYL-yuhn\, adjective:
1. Given to or characterized by the use of long words.
2. Long and ponderous; having many syllables.

noun:
1. A long word.

As a sesquipedalian stylist, he can throw a word like 'eponymous" into a sentence without missing a beat.
-- Campbell Patty, "The sand in the oyster", The Horn Book Magazine, May 15, 1996

. . .her eccentric family's addiction to sesquipedalians (that big word for "big words"), and her furtive passion for flossy mail-order-catalog prose.
-- David Browne, "Books/The Week", Entertainment Weekly, October 23, 1998

Sesquipedalian comes from Latin sesquipedalis, "a foot and a half long, hence inordinately long," from sesqui, "one half more, half as much again" + pes, ped-, "a foot."

Dictionary.com Entry here.

Coming Attractions...

For more info, click here.

Time for Some Campaignin'

Starring *me*! (Jibjab lets you animate yourself! At 1:53, that's me!)

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This isn't schadenfreude.

I'm just bracing myself. It's not pleasant watching public figures come undone, and this one could get really ugly. (Here.)

Attention Old People: The saying "Jumped the shark" has "Nuked the Fridge"

You know how it used to be cool to say something "jumped the shark" when you were describing how that something has passed its prime and become ridiculous and/or dated? (You know, it harkens back to that Happy Days espisode when Fonzie water skis over the shark.) Well, you can't say "jumped the shark" anymore-- lest you out yourself as a geezer-- because that expression has um, passed its prime, etc. You wanna be a cool hipster? Then you gotta say, "nuked the fridge."

Sorry Indy. (Click here.)

Cell phones

Not for kids? Click here.

Maybe it's best to get a hands-free headset and limit your usage... just in case.

Remember these guys?

Irony! Satire!

The New Yorker cover... do you trust your neighbor to get it? John does. Click here.

Warning: John's posts freely use the F word, in large print. Don't open around your boss or your kids.

Uncle Louie's Picture Picks

Estrogen Wednesday

I asked Charles if I could guest-blog an Estrogen Wednesday on BigMattress.com. It's not so much because he sucks at Estrogen Wednesday exactly; he does the best he can with what he's got. I mean, I know nothing of the relative merits of boobs versus tushies, I can't speak intelligently of gear ratios, and I don't know what a "touchback" is. I don't have the resources-- the equipment-- to take on a Testosterone Tuesday. And on Wednesdays, Charles does the best he can with his... limited equipment.

Now for my task, it'd be easy to just post a picture of Marky Mark Wahlberg and call it a day. I mean, Schwing!:

Am I right? Don'tcha just wanna get out a little xylophone mallet and play "Lady of Spain" on his six pack? No? Okay, okay, some of you want to go a little more cerebral; you need more for the imagination. I'm feelin ya. How 'bout this?

Oh, Indy, you impertinent rogue. You know I know where the Ark is, but I'll never tell you. Not even if you ravish me ten, no twenty times tonight. Now stop looking at me that way or I'll... I'll...

Ahem, anyway. I'm not going to go those routes for this Estrogen Wednesday. Instead, I'm going to use this forum to tackle an important issue: Charles' Blog Author Photo. You know, the one in the top right corner of the blog. The one that changes every other day or so. What's up with that? How hard is it to choose a photo? You've got your color scheme, your theme, your motivation, expression, shape, size... Ah.. girl stuff. I'm thinking here's a guy who needs the help of an estrogen brigade. So step up, women. Sound off, vote, and use those female hormones to the common good.

Item One - LadyArtist's Masterpiece

Let's hear a group "Awwww." Isn't she talented? This is clearly Most Awesome. But it's an election year, and Charles-Bama is looking for CHANGE. So, like rearranging your bra drawer to move the fushia push-ups to the front and put the comfy, white cotton, no-poke underwire ones in the back for a little extra SASSY!, so too, must we put away our favorite for a while to rock da house.

Which brings us to...

The Blue Shirt/Glasses One, aka "The Gay One"

There is a contingent, including the model himself, who thinks this picture is of Charles' inner homosexual (not that there's anything wrong with it-- it's just not what he was going for.) I disagree. This looks like Charles to me. I like the glasses, I like the blue. The facial expression is sincere and familiar. To me this picture does not say "Hiya, Sailors!" Rather, it says something more profound and appreciative... something like, "Oh! You brought cacciatore!"

And then finally, the most recent contender:

A Farewell to Arms, aka Captain RedShirt

Arg, me hardees

First, let's give a shout out to the photog. Nice job, clearly posed and composed. That being said-- maybe it's the facial expression, but I don't know that guy. Is this an Ernest Hemingway dustjacket? Does this stranger have indigestion or is that a pirate smile? I dunno. I've never seen that face before.

But, in the plus column, the blue photo background is handy for photoshop.

Er

Um

Or

Yes, yes, I suck at Photoshop. It's not even really Photoshop-- too expensive-- it's Photoshop's trailer trash cousin, Microsoft Paint. That's not the point. The point is, Charles needs your help. His authorial identity, his Blogmeister Image, the entire Feng Shui of his site depends upon YOU.

Do you prefer Charles in a blue state or a red one? Does size matter? And can somebody please do better than I did with Photoshop? (Send Photoshop entries to Charles' email.) Vote in the comments back at bigmattress.com- early and often!

Update

This just in-- from LadyArtist.

We can call this "Blue Hawaii" (for the shirt)

And two new ones:

The one on the left, (my new favorite) is from 1976 and came from Danny. The new red shirt one on the right is recent. Let's call them "Then" and "Now." Or should that be "Before" and "After?" (Click on the photos for larger versions.)