elephantasia, n. A condition in which one sees elephants (frequently pink) all over the place.


After learning of aphantasia, a condition in which someone has a blind mental eye and thus can't visualize things in their head, the above suddenly occurred to me.

winterset, n. That sad, melancholy moment when you realize that the winter holidays really are over and all you've got left to look forward to is three months of winter blahs and stubborn holiday flab.


The penultimate holiday tradition, surpassed only by paying off bills for presents.

boreham, n. The mythological drama-free family holiday dinner.

nob hill, n. The bony ridge on top of some skulls. A bald man's topknot.

derby lane, n. The spot where a hat, divided in half, got the chop.


For extra silliness, take a look at where the town is located.

summerset, n. The sad, melancholy last day of summer vacation before school starts.


Remember those days? For those of us in the US, that's typically Labor Day (the first Monday of September), at least if you're of school age.

lowell, (LOH-ul) v. To argue over how to pronounce LOL.

doppelbanger, n. When the twins slap your happy derrière at the same time.

lititz, (LIT-itz) n. Things a candelabra is hung from.
 
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/37131074/
 
Inspired by a YouTube newscaster blooper reel clip in which they were trying to pronounce the town's name.

rintintinnatus, n. The noise of a dog that just won't shut up.

Because Adam came before Eve.


Although since something like 500 AD, some Jewish lines of thought held that Eve was actually Adam's second wife, the woman Lilith having been created at the same time and from the same clay as Adam. However, she committed the cardinal sin of insisting she was equal to Adam and thus would not submit to him. She fled the Garden of Eden and, after rolling in the hay with the Angel Samuel (ie. the future Devil), refused to return to the Garden of Eden to be Adam's subordinate. Thus, she was cursed to become a demoness. YHWH subsequently removed Adam's rib (that is to say, his baculum or penis bone) and used it to create Eve, who, because she was made from inferior materials, was deemed lesser to Adam. On the other hand, Eve disturbed many religious authorities by having a greater sexual appetite than Adam did.

Silly Abrahamic religions, being so misogynistic. To be fair, many rabbinic authorities reject Lilith's role as wife as being a tradition possibly derived from Mesopotamian demonology. It's also unclear whether the earliest mention of the Lilith-as-wife myth was meant as part of a collection of religious folktales, a serious religious commentary, or an anti-Semitic satire.

What else comes after thanks but you're welcome? After all the thanks you gave yesterday, it's now time to acknowledge yesterday's thanks with leftovers and brawls in the shopping mauls.

Two nights ago, I randomly noodled about the thought of Karens, those loudly overbearing women full of entitlement, and how much that's actually kind of an insult towards woman who are legitimately named Karen. Further, what about their male counterparts, the so-called Kevins? I knew a Kevin back in school, and he certainly wasn't an obnoxious walking gob of entitlement. And so the following popped into my head. I know vulgarity isn't my usual modus operandi, so I apologize for that.

pissybudget, n. A middle-aged person loudly exhibiting a sense of entitlement.

Do you like birds? Do you like dragons? Do you like dragons that look like birds?

Diana Stein and Heather Bruton have teamed up and produced Draco Avian, an art book dedicated to bird dragons, those little reptilian mimics of our feathered friends. Well worth the $30 purchase price.

Draco Avian

For those aware of Piper Thibodeau AKA Cryptid-Creations, you may also know she's got a Kickstarter to make a plush for one of her punny food animals, the Apricat. As of this journal, the Kickstarter has been fully funded and is working on stretch goals. It will end on June 10, so you have until this Friday to snag yourself your own Apricat.

The Apricat Kickstarter

Cryptid-Creation's DeviantArt gellery

Examples of what an Apricat is: here, in a basket, with Blackbearies, and with pies

This is only a signal boost by a fan, and I am in no way affiliated with Ms. Thibodeau, Toyonomy, or Kickstarter.

Transistors — vital electronic components or MtF transgendered siblings?

'Tis the night before the night before Christmas,
When all through the place,
Lots of kids were scheming
To open a gift and cut to the chase.

Previously, on "Our Wonderful Nature", we took an inside peek at battles between rival European water shrew males during mating season. You can see the episode here.

At some point after, a second short came out. In this short, we take a look at the eating habits of the common chameleon. Even if you don't like vore, you ought to find this episode enlightening. Have a look here.

Yesterday, Saturday, January 25, was the second New Moon after the Winter Solstice in China, thus beginning Chinese Year 4718. It is a Year of the Rat (or Mouse or other similar small rodent), thus beginning another set of twelve animals.

However, a full cycle of animals isn't 12, but 60 years. There are actually five of each animal, one each for the wu-xing* or the Chinese "elements" (technically not elemental substances like the Western classical ones were, rather elemental changes in the relationship of yin/yang duality). Year 4718 is the Metal Rat's turn and is about just after the middle of 60-year Cycle 79.

Shichen: 11 pm to 1 am *
Heading: North
Season: Winter
Lunar Month: Eleventh (about December)
Color: Light Blue
Western Counterpart: Sagittarius
Best Friends: Dragon, Monkey
Worst Foe: Horse

____________

* Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water,

** Shichen are "long hours" consisting of two of our standard hours. There's 12 shichen a day, and each one is assigned to one of the zodiac animals.

It's the first Sunday after the first Full Moon after the Northern Hemisphere's winter solstice.

May the Norther Ferret fill your mittens with vanilla wafers, red gumdrops, and microwaved Peeps!

I don't like phones. I have no cellphone, no mobiles to spy on me, and only a landline set on mute and going directly to the answering machine. Since the phone lines and airwaves are filled with telemarketers and other scammers anyway, I miss out on nothing.

telephone, n. An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance. ~ Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

Nevertheless, there is one phone I fully endorse.

(Thanks, Cocoa-Puff. )

It's not my creation as it's been around since at least the late '80s when I read about it in GAMES Magazine, which, back then, had a schedule of events section each issue which often included at least one of these sorts of days. Including April 31st as Diacritical Day.

According to the blurb in the magazine, You're Welcomegiving was primarily invented so those who've overindulged in turkey and blood sports – er, football, that is – can have a four-day weekend, thus allowing the wives to use them as pack mules in the stores.

Does this mean yesterday was Pleasegiving?

It seems Canada still has a problem with North American House Hippos.

Your home may have more nocturnal activity than you realized. Just ask your cat.

The North American house hippo is a miniature member of the Hippopotamidae family often found roaming about nighttime floors in southern Canada and the northeastern US. Or so says this PSA from YTV of Canada.