Thanks to all who delurked, especially to those who contributed a favorite word. I�m starting to think, along with manduca, that delurking might be my new favorite word. It�s hard to pick just one. For a long time I would have said lugubrious, just because it sounds so fantastic and sounds, well, lugubrious.

I once participated in a poetry workshop led by a woman who claimed her favorite words were diarrhea and gonorrhea. �They just sound so incredibly beautiful.� I�m not sure I�d veer that far away from meaning in favor of sound. It makes me feel�lugubrious.

But lately I�ve been partial to the word parablendeum. It sounds so Latinate and imbued with meaning. But of course parablendeum isn�t a real word. It is the fictional industry that employs the narrator in John Cheever�s short story, �The Housebreaker of Shady Grove.� I once titled an entry "Parablendeum," which strangely has become the top google hit for the word. Scarcely a day goes by when someone does not surf by seeking to increase his or her knowledge of parablendeum. I can�t tell you how happy that makes me. When I was in high school I wanted to be John Cheever. I�ve always loved his peculiar blend of comedy and tragedy. (sidewaysrain recently quoted her sister as saying, �The problem with you people is that you don�t know the difference between comedy and tragedy.� I happen to prefer that state of affairs. What good does separating them do?)

You know what else makes me happy? Not just that my favorite purveyor of kitsch gifts, The Unemployed Philosopher�s guild is selling a Global Warming mug (it�s emblazoned with a map of the world, parts of which disappear into the ocean when you fill it with hot liquid), but that according to today�s New York Times, consumers are emailing them to correct the mug�s accuracy. So is it comedy or tragedy? You be the judge.

* * * * *

Only four more days to participate in National Delurking Week!

(Image provided by TranceJen)

2 people said it like they meant it