Saturday Afternoon Thread of Consciousness

If Only I Were a Styracosaurus - At work, I have to walk past my co-workers' desks to get to the break-room. One lady's desk is covered in giant stacks of children's dinosaur books. I don't know what her job is, but I want it.

O! Cursed Poseidon! - So how long do you think it will be before we start seeing petitions to ban teaching The Odyssey in our schools because Odysseus is a lecherous wine-o?

But at least our libraries are safe from those who would protect us from ourselves - for the moment.

Thus Spake Zizek:

Words are never “only words.” They matter because they define the outlines of what we can do. In this regard, Obama has already demonstrated an extraordinary ability to change the limits of what one can publicly say. His greatest achievement to date is that he has, in his refined and non-provocative way, introduced into the public speech topics that were once unsayable: the continuing importance of race in politics, the positive role of atheists in public life, the necessity to talk with “enemies” like Iran.

LOOK OUT!!
John W. Dean III is about to throw a banana cream pie right at your face.

Here's mud in your eye, Mr. Chairman! Bwa-ha-ha-ha!

Not to beleaguer the point, but... AlphaDictionary.com has compiled a list of the 100 Most Beautiful Words in English. The L.A. Times notices:

There does seem to be a definite Francophile (not on the list) bent to the words that made the grade. Is it the pretty, soft sounds? The unusual vowel pairings? The (not on the list) je ne sais quoi?

I'll give you your quoi - Class War. As in: The dignified and aristocratic Normans require a certain eloquence to their parlance that transcends the grumbling sounds that make up Saxon chit-chat. And we still carry that prejudice within our ears to this very day.

On the other hand, #11 on the list is "cockle." As in, "Look, Joel! Cockles!" (And then I duck.)