• agbamume - "strength" in Igbo
• Amandla - "strength" in Xhosa
• Murphy - "sea warrior"
• Aethelthryth (Audrey)- "noble Warrior"
• Aengus - "one strength"
• Ermentrud - "universal strength"
• Oz - "strength" (Hebrew)
• Treasa "strength"
• Gerhard/Gerard - "spear + brave; hardy"
• Baldric - "brave + rule"
• Bassil - "brave" (Arabic)
• Ferdinand - "journey + Brave"
• Sigurd - "victory + guardian"

• Edna
• Prisca
• Etta
• Darla
• Halsey
• Vera
• Gemma
• Jemima
• Keeley
• Dulcie
• Theodora
• Thea
• Della
• Delta
• Dervla
• Devlin
• Ayanoor
• Delia
• Cordelia
• Dahlia

It seems that every person on this dating site has one line in their profile that makes you go REALLY!?!? Here are some of the more puzzling things about people I've been matched with.

• Hit is what it is ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, (headline. What is it, commas?)
• i dont have no time for fake peoples or Fairweather friend..i also like taken long walk and work out
• PLEASE NO TATOOS OR WANNABE VAMPIRES (you know, I totally can't fault him for the vampires part!)
• A woman who can find the right balance of vanilla life and her sexually.
• Living out west in europe was really nice. helping w sports teams and it's been a nice ride so far.. (western Europe? Is he from Asia, where Europe would technically be west of him?)
• I also write poetry and I have had a few ...

• Nightshift - the Commodores
• No Rain - Blind Melon (come on, the entire song is an ad for Prozac)
• Vincent - Don McLean
• Wonderland - Big Country
• "Kilkelly" sung by pretty much anybody makes me bawl like a little bitch
• Just a Shadow - Big Country. (choke me up? This one causes me to sob like a baby every time)
• Belief in the Small Man - Big Country

• vintage patterns
• Polaroid
• Timex Sinclair
• Sinclair cartridges (separate?)
• Irish flute
• Hitler book
• Hawaiian song book
• toy typewriter
• mechanical calculator
• Kodak camera from the 50s
• Johanna Spyri book -- tried, but nobody wanted it :o(
• American Sailormen song book -- tried, but nobody wanted it :o(
• Millennium Falcon :o( - gave to Lil Bitch
• Bodhrán
• that 8-track player
• film book in different languages
• dildophone?
• egg cooker & egg cups -- tried, but nobo...

• The Holly and the Ivy
• The Holly Bears a Berry
• Fairytale of NY
• O Come Emmanuel
• O Holy Night
• It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
• Silver Bells
• Gloucestershire Wassail
• Feliz Navidad
• Coventry Carol
• Christmas at Ground Zero (Weird Al)
• Christmas in Hollis

• those little corn-shaped corn holders for eating corn. Can I say "corn" a few more times?
• tissue box cozies - are your tissues really going to get cold? While we're at it-- toilet paper cozies and pretty much cozies in general... except tea cozies because they actually serve a purpose.

• lawyer -- I said this in 1st grade because every single girl in my class said she wanted to be a nurse, and every boy wanted to be a football player. I had to say something different... I'm not sure I even knew what a lawyer did!
• comedian -- I had two jokes, both on the same theme "When I grow up, I want to be a comedian. I think I'd be good at it because whenever I tell someone about it, they laugh" the other one involved imitating grandfather saying "what, you think you're some kind of comedian?" That dream didn't last long.
• archaeologist-- yeah, I studied this in college even. This is what happens when you let a 7-year-old read National Geographic.
• librarian-- I liked the idea of being in a quiet place surrounded by books when I was in elementary school.

JarJar -- Luke -- Anakin -- Jabba -- Han Solo -- Greedo -- Lando -- Yoda -- Vader -- Boba Fett

• Cloverfield : Anakin . Why? I understand that having a reality-based documentary type movie filmed by whiny yuppies makes it more realistic, but do they really have to yell "OH SHIT!" all the time? Can't you make it less realistic? Note to self: buy whatever kind of camera they used; it can run on batteries all day and night, survive helicopter crashes and be eaten by aliens and still be fine.
• Clone Wars : Luke . OH GOD MAKE IT STOP! It was painful. It was every bit as awful as they said, except it had some really cool space battle scenes, which is why it didn't rate a sub Jar Jar.
• The Dark Knight : Vader . Everyone says Heath Ledger should get an Oscar, and they're right and not because he's tragically dead-- he really was aw...

• PJ Harvey , "White Chalk" (Anakin): WTF? Why does this sound like a 3rd rate Juliana Hatfield wannabe at an open mike night in Trumansburg?
• Siouxsie, "Mantaray" (Anakin): WTF? Why is this so happy? Why is this so corny? It's like cabaret-lite, and not in a good way.
• James Blunt, "All the Lost Souls" (Luke): My first reaction to hearing this CD was 'wow, Joni Mitchell has really gone downhill.' Then I looked and saw it was James Blunt. This sounds like Joni going places you'd never want to hear any human being go.
• Bruce Springsteen, "Magic" (Han): Critics are shitting themselves so much over this CD stock in Serenity Incontinence Products has tripled. It sounds like... Bruce Springsteen. I was never really into him, so I'm not terribly excited.

Here are some recent releases on the Star Wars Scale JarJar -- Luke -- Anakin -- Jabba -- Han Solo -- Greedo -- Lando -- Yoda -- Vader -- Boba Fett

• Arcade Fire, "Neon Bible": Lando. It sounds like their last one, but that's not a bad thing
• Modest Mouse, "We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank": Yoda. I like it.
• LCD Soundsystem, "Sound of Silver": Boba Fett all the way! All the good parts of the last album x 10 with better and more coherent lyrics!
• ADULT., "Why Bother?": Vader. I've only listened to it a couple of times, but it's not like their last album & Ep with the guitar and rock-y thing going. This goes back to their earlier sound, only it takes it a step farther. Awesome.
• Ellen Allien, "The Other Side: Berlin": Yoda. It's a good mix, but gets kinda too ...

• Baba O'Reilly
• Edge of Seventeen
• Epic (Faith no More)
• The Scientist
• Train in Vain

• Poison- BBD
• My Humps
• Bust a Move
• All the Single Ladies
• Hey Ya
• Now That We Found Love

• Ca’de Ambros Taleggio- the outside hard rind is all moldy, which is a bit off-putting. It’s kind of smelly through the package, but deceptively mild tasting. It’s creamy inside and reminds me of brie.
• Mitics ricotta salata — delicious! Tastes like queso blanco, only a little sheepier!
• Maxorata - Delicious! The rind is dusted with paprika, so it's a hard goaty cheese with a paprika flavor. I was a little dubious at first, but IT TOTALLY WORKS! http://www.maxorata.es/english/reason.ht...
• Garrotxa: mild with a little sheepiness. I like the rind! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrotxa_ch...
• Valdeon: Spanish blue cheese. Must like blue cheese! It's like normal blue x100! Kinda salty to eat on its own. Eat it with crackers, bread, or grapes. http://www.sfgate.com/food/cheesecourse/...
• Marcel Petite Compté - tastes like strong Swiss cheese to me, but is harder and d...http://www.formaggiokitchen.com/travelog...

• Guards
• Django Django
• Ruby Suns
• Casxio

• people who refer to Ted Nugent unironically as "The Nuge."
• Choco Tacos (the existence thereof)
• saying TEAMWORK MAKES THE DREAM WORK!!!

• Eve
• Jane
• Sally
• Vera
• Ellia (?)
• Gemma (?)
• Judy

ADDED 5/18/12

• Darla
• Dinah
• Cora
• Della
• Delia
• Cordelia

ADDED 9/8/12

• Eloise
• Elsie/Elsa
• Ida

ADDED 11/12/12

• .. if it weren't for the pesky meaning!
• Ceiling
• Aviary
• Antenna
• Rubella
• Scarletina
• Influenza
• Cholera
• Chlorine
• Malaria
• Fluorine
• Dentistry
• Cretin
• Euglena
• Amoeba
• Calorie

• M.I.A.
• Editors
• Maximo Park
• LCD Soundsystem
• Beastie Boys
• Ladytron
• Radio 4

• "Enemies Like This" - Radio 4 - seriously. This may be one of my top 5 albums EVER!
• "Life Processes" - ¡Forward Russia!
• "Thrills" - Ellen Allien
• "Multiply" - Jamie Lidell
• "An End Has A Start" - Editors
• "Yours Truly, Angry Mob" - Kaiser Chiefs
• "Turn On The Bright Lights" - Interpol
• "Beauty And The Beat" - Edan
• "Kala" - M.I.A.
• "Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes" - TV on the Radio
• S/T - Locos Por Juana
• "Absolution" - Muse
• "Logic Will Break Your Heart" - the Stills
• "Is This It" - The Strokes
• S/T - Glasvegas
• "Backstroke" - Matthew Dear
• "Loving Sounds of Static" - the Mobius Ba...

• Cheryl
• Brenda
• Carol
• Courtney
• Tatum
• Jackie
• Jacqueline (all I hear is "jackal")
• Madison, Addison
• Nevaeh
• Layla
• Arlene/Harlene/Darlene (anything ending in -lene!)
• Verla
• Velma
• Wilma
• Wanda
• Desirée
• Jenna
• Camryn
• Phyllis
• Wendy

WEST: Wistah-ish region

• Russian Icon Museum - Clinton: http://www.museumofrussianicons.org/
• Willard Clock Museum -Grafton: http://www.willardhouse.org/
• Plastic Museum - Leominster: http://www.plasticsmuseum.org/
• Plumbing Museum - Worcester: http://www.clui.org/clui_4_1/lotl/lotlv1...
• Higgins Armory Museum- Wistah: http://www.higgins.org/

NAWTH SHAW:

• Quilting Museum - Lowell: http://www.nequiltmuseum.org/
• Textile Industry Museum - Lowell: http://www.athm.org/
• Public Health Museum - Tewkesbury: http://www.publichealthmuseum.org/
• Shipbuilding Museum- Essex: http://www.essexshipbuildingmuseum.org/m...
• Hammond Castle - Gloucester: http://www.hammondcastle.org
• Maritime Museum- Newburyport: http://www.customhousemaritimemuseum.org...

SOATH SHAW:

• Fuller Craft Museum- Brockton: http://www.fullercraft.org/
• Battleship Cove - Fall River: http://www.battleshipcove.com/
• Lizzie Borden museum- Fall River http://www.lizzie-borden.com/
• Sandwich Glass Museum: http://www.sandwichglassmuseum.org
• tons o' crap in Plymouth: http://www.townofplymouth.org/#Plymouth%...

• Just remember, when you think you're free/ the crack inside your fucking heart is me

(Marilyn Manson, "Speed of Pain")

• Grey would be the color, if I had a heart

(NIN, "Something I can Never Have")

• In the end, all you can hope for is the love you felt to equal the pain you've gone through

(Editors, "Bones")

• Last night I dreamt That somebody loved me/ No hope, but no harm Just another false alarm

(The Smiths, "Last night I dreamt That somebody loved me")

• I watched a film to change my feelings/ S...

• kitchenette
• anywho
• guesstimate
• happenstance
• credenza (anyone who knows what this is, let alone uses the word without irony, is a giant wanker)
• ironical (it just sounds wrong, even though it isn't)
• co-inkydink (you know, like cutese for 'coincidence')
• invite, as a noun as in "thanks for the invite." Is that even correct? Shouldn't it be "invitation?"

RELATED: words describing things that will automatically make me hate the thing in question no matter how cool it is:

• whimsical
• heartwarming
• precious

• Cecilia
• Dervla/Dearbhile
• Ada
• Agnieszka
• Ludmilla
• Jadwiga
• Eavan/Aoibheann
• Sorrel
• Vera
• Bryony
• Dulcie
• Ianthe
• Rhianydd
• Jemima
• Fiona
• Olive
• Fionnuala
• Lucy
• Ivy
• Josephine
• Líadan

• Armchair Terrorist
• Control Group
• Petard
• Nebulous
• Test Subjects
• Merry Meat
• Spork
• Fang Shui
• Surreal Killer
• Tine
• Pink Freud
• Squid Disco
• Schwa
• Xyster
• 300 Roses (in honor of Krista!)
• Heartworm or Ringworm (I'm sure there are like 500 local bands with these names)
• Zooanthropy (I still love this, I don't care if it's taken by some teenagers in Arizona)
• Electric Flesh Brush http://www.retronaut.co/2012/07/dr-scott...

Wow, this isn't a very impressive resume.

• my dad knows Ben Burtt Sr., who is the dad of the guy who did the sound effects and made up the languages for the Star Wars movies.
• my dad allegedly served pizza to the Kingston trio and Tom Paxton and possibly Peter, Paul & Mary, depending the story.
• my stepdad played on a bunch of records by the Burns Sisters as well as Martin Simpson.
• I handed Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke a flyer once at an Indigenous Peoples' rights rally in NYC
• My mom was friends with Betsey Johnson in college.
• My grandfather tried the case that eventually made it legal for women to go topless in NY (i.e., breastfeed in public). (he was on the losing side, though)
• I went to college with Ralph Vaughan Will...

There have been a bunch of new releases lately that we've listened to ad nauseum at work. here's a rundown, if you care: Star Wars Scale JarJar -- Luke -- Anakin -- Jabba -- Han Solo -- Greedo -- Lando -- Yoda -- Vader -- Boba Fett

• VA- Instant Karma. This is a bunch of people covering John Lennon songs with the proceeds going to save Darfur. IT IS PAINFULLY HORRIFYING! Ack. Seriously, people. John Lennon songs don't need to be cheesed up. Contrary to what most people say, Avril Lavigne's rendition of "Imagine" was my favorite cover, because she sings it plainly and simply and doesn't really add any thing to it. It's a simple song, and she sings it the way it was meant to be, plain, letting the words speak for themselves. This is in sharp contrast to shit like Aerosmith Aerosmithing up "Give Peace a Chance," which makes me want to rip m...

• a Weird Al tour shirt that glows in the dark
• the Doctor Who Role playing game (first edition!)
• an illustrated collection of Terry Jones (the Monty Python dude)'s stories
• complete scripts to all the Monty Python tv shows (although that one is currently on half.com)
• a car window sign that says, "My other transport is the Millennium Falcon" (thanks, former roommate!)
• a box of vaccuum tubes
• a signed photograph of Jon Pertwee (Dr. Who #3)
• not one, but 2 CDs by William Shatner
• an LP of Leonard Nimoy reading "War of the Worlds"
• a 1st edition Doctor Who comic book that I've never removed from the plastic (mostly because it was a present and I never l...

• A: Aesthetic
• B: subtle
• C: indict
• D
• E
• F
• G: Gnostic, gnaw
• H: Sarah
• I
• J
• K: knee, knife
• L: walk, talk
• M
• N: column
• O: women
• P: pteredactyl, psychology, receipt
• Q
• R
• S
• T
• U

• Aisha
• Chaim
• Eve (Chava)
• Beathag/Beathan
• Enid
• Zoe
• Can/Nurcan
• Mahatma
• Omri
• Vitaliy/Vidal
• Vitus/Vito
• Zoticus
• Vivian/Viviana
• Zhivko/Zhivka
• Aayush/Ayushi/Ayusha
• Cheranraj
• Janu
• Mugeshan
• Praan/Praanav/Praanak
• Sagalpreet
• Sajiva

• Claudia Annifyr Schreiber ("lame" + "boring/wretched" + "writer/scribe")
• Sweeney Bancroft (grandmothers' maiden names)
• Aedes ("unpleasant") -- [mosquito genus]
• Anopheles ("useless")-- [mosquito genus]
• Nulligravida (female who has never been pregnant)
• Callipygian ("having shapely buttocks")
• Nullipara (female who has never given birth)
• Ateknia (state of being childless)
• Atocia (female sterility)
• Axilla (armpit)
• balanism (use of suppositories)

so I can cross them off the list and not worry about them!

• a house
• a place to live without roommates
• children
• a car newer than 10 years old (or with all the parts working)
• a Master's Degree
• retirement
• Any sort of long-term financial stability

• referring to feet as "tootsies"
• the word "credenza"
• those memes that brag about how bitchy and in-your-face you are and how people around you should just deal with it.
• the word "happenstance"
• people calling that tv stand thing an "entertainment center." I don't know what else to call it, but that just sounds dumb.
• when people make a big point of pronouncing words foreignly, like "oh, I enjoy the Goldberg Variations by BAAAKKKKHHHHHHHHHHH. Would you like a KWAH-SOHHHHHNNNN for breakfast?"
• shirts that come with fake shirts attached, like sweaters with collars and long sleeves attached as if over a blouse, or cardigans with fake tank top bits attached.
• brown and blue together

• find 5 current bands that I like
• do something about the finances I've been ignoring
  • the IRA from the job 10 years ago
  • the 401K from the job 6 yrs ago
  • that savings bond I lost 20 yrs ago
• apply to grad school
• finish a writing project

• Thomas Jefferson
• Benedict Arnold
• D.B. Cooper
• Eleanor of Aquitaine

• Nuy'ae
• Drysi
• Lunaria
• Ardeth
• Sansevier
• Aldred/Aldreth
• Natrium
• Kalian
• Ferrus
• Cupric
• Stibian
• Stannic
• Argenta
• Wulfram
• Auric
• Hydrargy
• Plumbic?

This comes from working retail and hearing X-mas music non-stop...

• Chipmunk's Christmas Song
• I'm Gettin' Nuttin' For Christmas
• I Saw mommy Kissing Santa Claus
• Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer
• Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
• Frosty The Snowman
• Santa Claus is Coming To Town
• Here Comes Santa Claus
• Jingle Bell Rock
• Sleigh Ride
• Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
• Do You Hear What I Hear
• Holly Jolly Christmas
• It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
• Santa Baby
• The 12 Days of Christmas
• 'Twas the Night Before Christmas (anybody attempting to read this poem, even if they add "funny" lyrics, to music)

• patio & ratio
• plough, through & rough
• garage & cabbage
• dove, prove, rove
• women & omen
• ache & Apache
• curtain & curtail
• lorry & worry
• ginger & singer
• nasty & tasty
• rooked & crooked

• Chad
• Todd
• Brad (or any name containing Brad, like Bradley, Bradford etc.)
• Preston
• Arnold
• Peyton
• Jackson
• Tyler
• any US Presidential surname (Carter, Reagan, and the above Jackson and Tyler etc.)
• Glenn
• Darryl
• Wesley
• Weston
• Craig
• Marshall
• Merle
• Donald
• Ronald

• in tempore cave- beware of time
• Liberum arbitrium - Free will
• Homo homini lupus - Man is a wolf to man
• contra spem spero - against hope I hope
• Magnus frater spectat te - Big Brother is watching you
• Memento vivere - A reminder of life (literally remember that you have to live)
• Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur - The world wants to be deceived, so let it be deceived!
• Non est ad astra mollis e terris via - There is no easy way from the earth to the stars. (Seneca)
• Non timetis messor - Don't Fear the Reaper
• Omnia mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis - All things are changing, and we are changing with them
• Per aspera ad astra - Through the thorns to the stars

How is stuff different from when I was born in the Dark Ages? (1972) Note: I'm not saying any of this stuff is better as in "The Good Old Days..." I actually dig my computer and electric kettle. These are just random observations!

• households generally had one phone, and it was a rotary dial one
• there was only one telephone company and they owned all the phones.
• TV got 4 stations: NBC, ABC, CBS, and PBS. In order to pick up some of them you had to play with the antenna on top of the TV.
• there were no VCRs, you had to watch movies in the theater. When VCRs first became popular, you had to wait years before movies came out on tape.
• there was one stereo in the house, and it had a record player and an 8-track in it.

I haven't worked in the record store for at least 3 months... here are some recommendations since I haven't heard any sucky albums lately, only the ones I've bought!

JarJar -- Luke -- Anakin -- Jabba -- Han Solo -- Greedo -- Lando -- Yoda -- Vader -- Boba Fett

• Jamie Lidell Jim : Vader . This album is awesome. It's even more poppy and R&B-like than the last one (you can't detect any traces of his past as an electronic music guy, that is), but it's still fun and up-beat without being cheesy.
• The Stills Oceans Will Rise : Vader . The songs on here are really catchy yet beautifully and interestingly arranged. All the instruments work well together, and the lyrics are awesomely depressing and dismal as usual. I love this band.
• Cut Copy In Ghost Colors : Yoda . Dance music that's seriously fun. Equal parts disco and indie rock that works on...

• Gareth
• Marius
• Emlyn
• Emrys
• Jude
• Eamon
• Fintan
• Flannan
• Cian
• Cathal
• Ciarán/Kieran
• Cillian/Kilian
• Cormac
• Finian
• Dorian
• Amyntas
• Jarvis
• Jonas
• Rufus
• Rupert
• Amias

scale: JarJar -- Luke -- Anakin -- Jabba -- Han Solo -- Greedo -- Lando -- Yoda -- Vader -- Boba Fett

• Rolling Stones, "Shine a Light" sdtrk: (LUKE). Take all the RS songs you know, and then muzak-ify them while played live. Boring. You can get this as a flash-drive wrist band too! How avant garde!
• REM, "Accelerate": (GREEDO). Critics are shitting themselves because this album doesn't suck as much as anything REM has done in the past 15 years. It's not bad, but then I haven't liked anything they've done since "Document."
• Kylie Minogue, "X". (LUKE). OK, it's dancey in that generic dance way. Beyond that there's really nothing to it.
• Janet Jackson, "Discipline": (JARJAR). Shoot me now. No, really.
• Panic At The Disco, "Pretty. Odd" (LANDO). They've tried to mature by listening to...

Here's what I think of some of the shizzle that's come out lately. As always - the scale goes <br> JarJar -- Luke -- Anakin -- Jabba -- Han Solo -- Greedo -- Lando -- Yoda -- Vader -- Boba Fett

• Ben Harper, "Lifeline" (Lando) - sounds like Ben Harper. It's nice; reminiscent of a slightly funkier Cat Stevens. If you like BH, you'll probably like this. If you like singer-songwriter types, you'll probably like this.
• Jamie T., "Panic Prevention" (Lando)- this straddles the line between brilliant and annoying. It's like an older Art Brut meets the Streets. It's cute and catchy, but all that talking sometimes gets on my nerves.
• New Young Pony Club, "Fantastic Playground" - (Greedo) kind of fun indie girl pop. Not really my cup of tea, but nothing really wrong with it.

• biotech lab worker (5 years)
• after-school program teacher (1 year)
• substitute pre-school teacher (6 months?)
• bakery assistant (3 months)
• record store clerk (4 years)
• office bitch (6.5 years)
• donut & coffee engineer (2 months)
• survey researcher (2 months)
• Kosher Dining hall worker (4 months, part-time)
• house cleaner (one summer)
• babysitter (tons of non-consecutive time)
• reporter (6 months, part time)
• recorder player for a puppet show (?, gigs over a period of a couple years)
• grocery store cashier (part time, 2 months)
• temp (6 months)
• music teacher (part time on and off over ...