Some of my favorite eponyms

For those of you who do not know, an eponym (as defined by the Merriam-Webster's online dictionary) is "one for whom or which something is or is believed to be named." Let me give you an example- a newton is a good idea that seems to have appeared out of nowhere. It's obviously derived from the famous Sir Isaac Newton, and in this case specifically refers to the story of Newton being sat down beneath an apple tree, and then being bonked on the head with an apple, and thinking hard enough about that incident to then formulate his theory on gravity (and consequently, he invents calculus). Now, I'm not going to vouch for the credibility of the previous sentence, and quite honestly am a bit skeptical of the story myself, but that is not the issue here. In fact, there is no issue, I am merely trying to show an example of an eponym. I trust you now understand.

Recently on one of my favorite blogs, Schott's Vocab, there was a competition between the readers trying to see who can formulate the best eponymous word. Being a fan of words, I decided to give the comments section a look over, and perhaps share some of the eponymous words I found amusing here.
So, my readers, here you are-

Number 1. dawkins: SI unit of disbelief = inverse of graham

Number 2. to sun (tzu) sue: keep your friends close but your attorneys closer

Number 3. Kanye’d: Get embarrassed by someone in a formal public setting. Usually by someone who’s drunk.

Number 4. T.Hanks Giving: this is the special occasion you give someone Sleepless In Seattle, BIG, Philidelphia, The Money Pit, Dragnet, Turner and Hooch, Forrest Gump, et al……

Number 5. A Clintonian Truth: Technically accurate but deliberately misleading. “I did not have sex with that woman” and others.

After reading through ten pages of the comments sections, I've been inspired to create an eponymous word of my own.

To Ray Comfort- To continuously babble on about scientific topics you're ignorant about, only to continue mouthing off the same tripe after being proved incorrect time and time again.

What, too wordy? Not wordy enough?

Oh well...

You know...

I have been neglecting this blog recently, even though I've tried to make constant efforts to update it. I've been busy for a while, but I've still been reading all the blogs in my RSS feed.

So, it's two days after the glorious Thanksgiving holiday here in America, and I have to tell you that there is no way in hell anybody would ever be able to get me to accompany them to a Black Friday sale. The lines are crazy. (In case you didn't know, Black Friday is the day after Thanksgivings in which you see America consumerism at it's worse...or best, depending at how you look at it.)
I live conveniently close to a local shopping center, so you can only imagine hordes of people setting up camp after having finished their Thanksgiving dinners.

And I don't care how cheap that laptop is, it isn't worth the cold morning surrounded by people who have become your enemies just for becoming your immediate competition. It especially isn't worth it when I already have a perfectly functioning computer at home.

That's just a thought unrelated to anything else on this blog.

(Click the image to expand.)

The cold weather

I just stepped outside my comfortable home here in California for a few minutes and felt the cold breeze of a morning with cloudy skies. It makes me realize just how much I really do like my coffee- the hot beverage that replenishes my energy (because sleeping takes so much out of me...)

Enjoy the recent Non-sequitur.

Presbyterian theologian rejects common sense.

(Source of the story can be found here- The Christian Post)

It doesn't surprise me much that a Presbyterian theologian doesn't choose to adhere to the standards of sound logic and reasoning, but to reject common sense is a ludicrous idea. Of course, this is just playing around with words- the theologian (Dr. Margaret Aymer) doesn't mean reject common sense in its everyday use, but to adhere to "uncommon sense".

"Common sense would say, in the face of the world today, prayer is ineffectual. Common sense would say, in the face of the world today, giving thanks is learned powerlessness."

"As children of a living God, redeemed by the Christ, inspired by the Spirit, I am here to remind you that we are not called to be a people of common sense," she proclaimed. "We are called to be a people of uncommon sense; and as a people of uncommon sense, Paul charges us: rejoice, pray, give thanks."

Common sense would say that prayer is ineffectual, and with good reason. There is no real evidence concluding that prayer gives the believer the ability to change anything without doing a damn thing, and that is why it is common sense to not believe its effectiveness. For giving thanks, I don't quite understand what Dr. Aymer is stating- giving thanks when thanks is deserved is just common courtesy.

I don't really think Dr. Aymer understands when she states that Christians are not called to be a people of common sense, seeing as though common sense is valued in society is a useful tool. Claiming ignorance, or lack of necessary life tools, is not something you should "rejoice" about. But like I said, Dr. Aymer may not be making the case that one shouldn't have common sense, but that one should include unsubstantiated claims when examining their common sense.

Rejoicing amid such conditions makes no common sense. But Aymer, who is associate professor of New Testament and Chair of Biblical Studies at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, explained that the Christians' joy "rests not in our human ability to change the grief of the present, but in our steadfast hope in the One who holds the future," as reported by the Presbyterian News Service.

It's all fine and dandy to have hope for the future, but when a hope for an afterlife that is not guaranteed to be true replaces your desire to change the wrong things going on around you, then you have a problem. This is the only life you're absolutely sure to have, and when you go around thinking that it doesn't matter because you'll live in Heaven Avenue (which has never been proved to exist) when you're dead, well, that doesn't make much sense at all. I suppose that's what uncommon sense is all about then.

H1N1 Vaccine

I got my H1N1 Vaccine yesterday, and boy does it feel good. The waiting in line? Not so much. That's in the past, and we want to move towards the future. Speaking of which, Sylvia Browne (who allegedly can see into the future) was on the Jay Leno show recently. Go ahead and watch for yourself!

November 1st

Here I am, on November 1st, typing away on my computer desk with nothing better to do. There are only two months left in this year, and I have to admit that time goes by much too fast for my comfort. I don't even know what to blog about today. You see, I'm not one of those bloggers who usually likes to spread things that other people (presumably popular people) have already blogged about (unless it can absolutely warrant a second opinion, like an album review). I've also never been one to just talk about my atheism, and I'd like to use the blog to just share my thoughts from time to time about anything. I hope you don't mind, it's a way for me to get my frustrations out, or share something I believe deserves to be shared.

So, on that note, there is a movie titled The Wolfman (a remake of a movie over half a century old) due in 2010.

The trailer can be viewed here-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JB1NY2xut8

What do you think?