Meaning, Muggled


Pair of glasses over can of Campbell's Bean with Bacon soup

As you can plainly see, I’ve put the Campbell’s soup can into effect.

I was hoping to have thoughts on the last Harry Potter film up soon, never mind all
the other posts in the pipeline. But of course if wishes were horses I’d be buried under a pile of stallions, mares, foals, ’n’ fillies — and I know too well that just wanting a thing to be does not, in the words of Jean-Luc Picard, to mix my multimedia franchises, make it so. Which brings us to another round of word-verification definitions, those lists of lexicographical alchemy that result from my attempts to conjure a bit of amusing sense from nonsense; for more on the phenomenon, you’re welcome to click through the boldface type above to the page on this blog that explains it and collects the definitions to date, while I try to regroup.

afenemat — [uh fen uh mat] n. What you lay outside to welcome visitors who insist on entering through the window.

BenCur — [ben kur] The (sadly unsuccessful) all-dog production of Ben-Hur.

cacturne — [kak turn] n. Short, romantic piano composition about desert plants.

Play Right


Sorry, comics friends, but this has nothing to do with the Justice Society

The All-Star break seems like the perfect time to talk a little baseball.

I’m very happy that the National League won this year’s MLB All-Star Game 5-1 — not just because the game decides home-field advantage for the World Series, a fact that I fervently hope affects my Phillies, but out of good ol’ NL pride. National League baseball is real baseball.

The Now 52


Flash speeding at reader head-on surrounded by lightning and motion lines
Art © 2011 DC Comics. Pencils, Inks: Francis
Manapul. Colors: Brian Buccellato.


I guess the new “52” initiative from DC, which rewrites the continuity of its main superhero universe (again) together with setting up a comprehensive digital-release plan for its comics, gives another meaning to “downloading the latest version of
Flash”.

DC in ’76



Cover to Our Army at War #295 © 1976 DC Comics.

This post is currently down for maintenance.

I before Zzzzz


Last night my nephew “I”, alias Ishmael for the sake of public sharing, arrived
with his sisters, “E” & “M”, and their mother for their annual summer visit.

Mom-Mom: “Are you ready to get in your PJs?”

Ishmael, who turned four last week: “No!”

Uncle Brian: “I just heard Mommy tell your sisters to put on their pajamas. She’ll probably be in here in a minute.”

Ishmael: “Yeah... We’re gonna have to hide.”



Related: I Elephants An M and E Post What I Said

Go Cub Go


photo of snow-leopard cub being licked by its mother

You don’t have to be a Mac user to appreciate this snow leopard.

But you do need some way of glomming onto cyberspace to watch 6ABC’s video of
the newborn cub at The Cape May County Park & Zoo in Cape May Court House, New Jersey. It was born in May to 8-year-old mama snow leopard Himani and 11-year-old papa Vijay, almost exactly a year after Himani gave birth to twin boys Sabu and Kaba. Just last month, The Philadelphia Zoo’s 3-year-old snow leopard Maya gave birth to a pair of cubs by 5-year-old Amga, video and photos of whom are also online. [Update: All but the zoo home-page links have gone bad.]



Related: Sweet 16 Brew Ha-Ha Ducks Uncovered