Word of the Day for Tuesday August 30, 2005

evanescent \ev-uh-NES-uhnt\, adjective:

Liable to vanish or pass away like vapor; fleeting.

"The Pen which gives. . . permanence to the evanescent thought of a moment. "
--Horace Smith, Tin Trumpet

"Every tornado is a little different, and they are all capricious, evanescent and hard to get a fix on. "
--"Oklahoma Tornado Offers Hints of How a Killer Storm Is Born," New York Times, May 11, 1999

WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Three men trying to steal fuel from a New Zealand farm Monday ended up setting fire to their own car.

Police said the trio had siphoned diesel into a petrol-driven vehicle. When their car would not start, they examined the fuel pipe using a cigarette lighter.

One click, a boom and the car burst into flames.

"It wasn't a major whodunnit," senior sergeant Ross Gilbert told Reuters, from the small North Island town of Waipukurau, about 140 miles northeast of Wellington.

"Fortunately for them, there is no criminal charge for stupidity."

The men, aged 18 to 19, escaped injury but were charged with theft.

Word of the Day - courtesy of Jared

ex·trap·o·late
v. ex·trap·o·lat·ed, ex·trap·o·lat·ing, ex·trap·o·lates
v. tr.

1. To infer or estimate by extending or projecting known information.

2. In mathematics - To estimate (a value of a variable outside a known range) from values within a known range by assuming that the estimated value follows logically from the known values.

Fargo

I just watched one of my favorite movies: Fargo
Now, one important thing to note...I saw the TV version of the movie. In fact, that's the only version I've ever seen. As I understand it, the uncut version has pretty nasty language. I've seen this movie 5 times (all on TV) and I've never wished for more swearing or thought it would be better if it would just show more blood. That's why I've never bothered to buy this one. I just wait to catch it on TV. I like it that way.

The best part of the movie is Marge's monologue (to the killer in the back of the police car),

"There's more to life than a little money, ya know. Don'tcha know that?
And here ya are. And it's a beautiful day. Well. I just don't understand it."

Stars

Can't wait to get Switchfoot's new album "Nothing is Sound" - coming out in September. This is part of what the band has to say about it:

"I believe I've heard about a man who was exploited to sell everything from indulgences to the wars of men. And yet he offered only one bitter pill that was not easily marketed. Maybe that's what this record hopes to be: a simple bitter pill of truth that steps outside of our hamster wheel and looks up at the stars and beyond."

Maybe you've heard "Stars", the new release, on the radio. This is my new favorite song! I love both the music and the lyrics:

Maybe I've been the problem
Maybe I'm the one to blame
But even when I turn it off and blame myself
The outcome feels the same

I've been thinking maybe I've been partly cloudy
Maybe I'm the chance of rain
And maybe I'm overcast
And maybe all my luck's washed down the drain

I've been thinking 'bout everyone,
Everyone, you look so lonely...

But when I look at the stars
When I look at the stars
When I look at the stars, I see someone else
When I look at the stars
The stars, I feel like myself

Stars looking at a planet
Watching entropy and pain
And maybe to start to wonder
How the chaos in our lives could pass as sane

I've been thinking 'bout the meaning of resistance
Of a hope beyond my own
And suddenly the infinite and penitent
Begin to look like home

I've been thinking about everyone
Everyone, you look so empty...

But when I look at the stars
When I look at the stars
When I look at the stars, I see someone else
When I look at the stars
The stars, I feel like myself.

When I look at the stars
The stars, I see someone...

An Affair to Remember

I was surfing for something to watch on TV tonight and ran across one of my favorite movies, with a half hour to go. Mind you, I do own this movie (the letter box version...which is SO much better) but I had to watch it to the end anyway. I usually allow myself to watch "An Affair to Remember" once a year, but I haven't seen it in over a year and a half. Of course I cried at the end. Can't seem to avoid it. The tears start as soon as Nickie puts his hat and coat back down and looks around for the painting, then it intensifies when he see the painting and closes his eyes in realization (sigh...love that part). Then I just lose it through the last five minutes till the end. But this is a good cry...a heart-warming, renews-your-faith-in-mankind cry. I'll wait a couple of months, then I need to watch the whole thing - in letter box, of course.

Time flies

I was out for a walk the other day and saw a yard strewn with toys for younger kids, and I suddenly got a flashback to another time in my life that really doesn't seem that long ago.

I remember a time when I had the sweetest, most perfect baby girl...an adorable little girl in pigtails, with a laugh like a dolphin...and a charming, lively little boy with a buzz cut who was into dinosaurs and action figures. I remember rocking babies to sleep, walks with the stroller, puppet shows in the living room, picnics in the family room watching "All That" and reading stories at bedtime.

I happen to think the children are, for the most part, still cute and charming...just different now. Especially the older ones. (sigh)