death and all his friends

Vocabulary lesson:

CATASTROPHE - There are catastrophic natural disasters everywhere you turn. The 7.8 earthquake that hit Sichuan province, central China has killed at least 12,000 people so far. (In 2006, I was in Chongqing, which is on the outskirt of the majorly affected area.) Another 100,000 are either dead or missing from the cyclone in Myanmar (still Burma to me), while the military regime there are blocking foreign aid from reaching the survivors. On the homefront, we've got tornadoes ripping through the Midwest and the Southeast and wildfires in Florida. Maybe Armageddon is upon us. Is it time to start believing in God yet? (P.S. Despite all the lead in your children's toys, please find your way to donate to the China relief efforts!!!)

VINDICATED - The Boston Herald apologizes to the Patriots for a false story accusing the Patriots for taping the St Louis Rams Superbowl walkthrough. No such tape ever existed. But the damage is done. How much to bet that this apology won't catch media fire as the original accusation did? Such bullshit!

INJUSTICE - Amanda loses to Pavarti 3-5 on Survivor Micronesia finale. So freaking wrong. It's okay, Amanda. I love you, baby.

TRIPTYCH - Triptych means a lot of money. Francis Bacon's "Triptych, 1976" went for $86 million today at an auction - that's a whopping $28.7M a panel. Who buys this stuff? I mean, investing in a Heath Ledger Joker action figure would be so much cheaper.

POLYGAMY - All the rage in Eldorado, Texas. Polygamy is when a man has multiple wives. I mean, technically, it can mean any person having more than one spouse, but come on, when have you ever heard of a woman having more than one husband? Anyways, this Texas polygamy sect has been raided due to allegations of pedophilia and abuse. All of this under the guise of religion - this sect practices the teachings under The Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Again I ask, is it time to start believing in God yet? Really though, why the hell would anybody want more than one wife?

OPTIMISM - Looks like Obama is gonna win the Democratic nomination, since all the superdelegates are jumping ship and getting all up in the momentum that is Obama. People think when Obama wins, their shit will start spelling like roses, Amy Winehouse will stop smoking crack, their friends will stop talking on the cell phone while having lunch with them, black people will stop being so angry and white people will stop pretending to be black people, ice cream won't melt all over your fingers and get them all sticky when you don't have a wet-nap to clean yourself up, and Barbara Walters will stop talking about her extramarital sex affairs (eeks!). Yeah, we are all dreamers. (P.S. Superdelegates are like these superheroes, or like the Rebecca Romjin mutant in X-Men. They can shape-shift: One minute I am a Hillary supporter, the next minute Obama. You can't tell who I really am. Catch me if you can.)