en masse

en masse – n - In a mass; all together; as a group.

George Bush is expected to push for amnesty en masse for illegal aliens in his State of the Union speech tonight. I wish I could remember who said that "a declining civilization will almost instinctively make the wrong decisions." Incidentally, how seriously am I supposed to take this so-called War on Terror?

logistics

logistics – n - The branch of military science and operations dealing with the procurement, supply, and maintenance of equipment, with the movement, evacuation, and hospitalization of personnel, with the provision of facilities and services, and with related matters; the planning, implementation, and coordination of the details of a business or other operation.

I was interested to learn that the Union Army of the Potomac, with about 105,000 men present in Spring of 1862, needed 600 tons of supplies daily to maintain itself. I am therefore highly skeptical of Herodotus' claim that Xerxes fielded a five-million-man army in the second Persian War (480-479 BC). McLellan had railroads and steamboats at his disposal; Xerxes had sailboats and oxcarts.

imprecation

imprecation - noun - a curse; the act of invoking evil upon someone

This word comes in pretty handy today. It seems, as the roads improve, people drive slower. I have been leaving an extra 10 or so minutes before my normal (non-winter-weather time) and arriving at work at a progressively later time. GAH! Why? Well the idiots[backspace][backspace][backspace][backspace][backspace][backspace] people on the road who can't figure out the accelerator is on the right-hand side and drive like a normal person on perfectly clear highways. Driving 20 mph below the speed limit when the roads are clear does nothing but make every driver behind you frustrated and angry, and potentially causes wrecks. I speak an imprecation on these morons!

consummate

consummate - verb - to bring to a state of perfection; fulfill (adj - complete or perfect; supremely skilled; superb)

I used this word in the definition of yesterday's allegedly 'R' rated posting, so I thought to define it today. Surprisingly it hasn't already been used!

doxology

doxology - n - A hymn or form of words containing an ascription of praise to God; the Doxology, the metrical formula beginning “Praise God from whom all blessings flow.”

One reason I'm not a libertarian is that, if I can judge from such Austrian school writers as Lew Rockwell, their doxology is, "Praise be to Walmart from which all blessings flow."

Congratulations are in order for Jeff, who produced our first R-rated WoD! I'm now working on a second such entry.

exquisite

exquisite - adj - of special beauty or charm or rare and appealing excellence as a face, a flower, coloring, music or poetry; extraordinarily fine or admirable; consummate

In following yesterday's word, I am providing a couple of pictures I find matching today's word. These are posted by request from Jack. The credit for the pictures goes to http://www.domai.com where they were originally posted.



An exquisite beauty!

et alia

et alia - adv - And others (used as an abbreviation of 'et alii' (masculine plural) or 'et aliae' (feminine plural) or 'et alia' (neutral plural) when referring to a number of people).

As in a recent email by Michael George to "Clint et al." Just call me Et for short. (Yes, you're right: that p---ed me off.)

pulchritudinous

pulchritudinous - adj - physically beautiful; comely

I had in mind to add a link to a picture of something I consider extremely beautiful, but then thought perhaps it (the picture) wouldn't be well received. So I'll leave you with some ideas of things I consider beautiful, ranked in order of most to least. However keep in mind, the 'least' on this list is still extremely beautiful.

the unclad feminine form
vibrant Sunsets
the Ocean
flora in full bloom

macabre

macabre – adj - Gruesome and horrifying; ghastly; horrible; of, pertaining to, dealing with, or representing death, esp. its grimmer or uglier aspect; of or suggestive of the allegorical dance of death.

One of my earlier movie memories is of the brouhaha surrounding the 1955 movie Macabre. The gimmick was that every ticket purchased came with a $1000 Lloyds of London insurance policy covering the purchaser if he died of fright watching the movie. As far as I know, nobody collected.

absentminded

absentminded - adj - lost in thought and unaware of one's surroundings or actions.

I guess this applies to me on this list recently. I have had time to put words in the list, but just haven't thought about it. I've been preoccupied with getting my software written and ready for testing and being responsive to the bugtracker to get defects fixed and closed as quickly as possible. I'll try to be less absentminded and be more attentive to getting my words on the list.

bien pensant

Bien pensant - n - A French phrase literally translated as "good thinking" or "right thinking", commonly used as a mild pejorative to describe the acceptance of a fashionable idea after it has been established in the mainstream without a sufficient amount of critical thought. The term has been used by both the political left and right, to critique, respectively, views seen as reactionary, or excessively politically correct, amongst other things.

My son Michael was married yesterday, and will be heading for Fort Riley as soon as the honeyman is over. For once, I have an answer to "What's new?" other than "I ate dinner, read a book, and hit the sack."

favonian

favonian - adj - pertaining to the west wind; soft; mild; gentle

I can't believe I haven't used this word before. I was going through some of my word lists from back in high school and thought about this one. I used to try to find ways to use this one in a sentence because of how neat it sounds. Anyway, probably doesn't apply to what just happened to Hz employees a couple of days ago.

unequivocal

unequivocal –adj - Not equivocal; unambiguous; clear; having only one possible meaning or interpretation: absolute; unqualified; not subject to conditions or exceptions

I've actually seen three good movies lately, and I recommend them all: World Trade Center (PG-13), Apocalypto (rated R for some intense violence), and (much to my surprise) The Black Dahlia (rated a hard R; strictly for adults).

ineluctable

ineluctable – adj - Incapable of being evaded; inescapable.

Jeff, you may have heard that we had a couple of hundred layoffs Friday. The rewrite group didn't lose any heads but legacy and GDD did. Another thing: I think we may have lost Natalie, co-founder of our peculiar institution. Do you have any ideas why?

sunder

sunder - verb - to break apart; to separate; to divide; to sever

I ran across this word in reading more of my Andre Norton books, in this case "The Beast Master" and "The Beast Master's Ark". Both real page-turners. I have a hard time putting them down and going to sleep. Highly recommended, as are all the Andre Norton books, which are typically short, quick reading, but very addictive.

bildungsroman

Bildungsroman – n - a type of novel concerned with the education, development, and maturing of a young protagonist.

As just one example, try Robert Lewis Taylor's Pulitzer Prize winner The Travels of Jamie McPheeters.

cortege

cortege - noun - a train of attendants; a procession, especially a funeral procession


It is interesting this word can mean the folks following a king or those following a hearse.

ex nihilo

ex nihilo - adv & adj - Out of nothing.

Sorry about my recent absences, but I seldom get a chance to come up for air these days. Implementaion of the rewrite is less than a year away.

impart

impart - verb - to make known, tell, relate or disclose; to give, bestow or communicate; to grant a part or share of

Slightly related to yesterday's word. It was used in the same sentence which I recall even less now.

impute

impute - verb - to attribute or ascribe (something discreditable) as to a person; to attribute (righteousness, guilt, etc) to a person or persons vicariously; ascribe as derived from another.

What an interesting word. This was used in a sentence Sunday which I can't recall completely (and now _really_ wish I could) but was in the gist of something God does to us. Something like 'God imputes us with grace'. I find the concept of ascribing someone with righteousness vicariously a bit odd.