Two movies have come to my attention that seem like sure bets to raise us all from the summer malaise created by such stinkfests as Death Race and College. One of them, Choke, is based on the book with the same name by author Chuck Palahniuk. While it would be hard to live up to the cult status of Fight Club, any film adaptation of Palahniuk’s irreverent, skewed sense of humor promises to be a good time.
The other, Burn After Reading, I’d heard rumblings about and was initially interested in because of the Coen Brothers connection. The trailer I saw last night on TV sealed the deal for me. Brad Pitt as Gym Darsh + John Malkovich as irate CIA agent + comedic George Clooney = Gold.

Definition: noun a joint financial arrangement whereby the participants usually contribute equally to a prize that is awarded entirely to the participant who survives all the others

Etymology: French, from Lorenzo Tonti died 1695 Italian banker

Quotation:
– WWII paintings are found, “The Curse of the Flying Hellfish”
Burns: Then it’s agreed. Of course, we can’t sell the paintings now, we’d be caught. How many of you are familiar with the concept of a “tontine”?
[all stare at him, until Ox raises his hand]
Burns: All right, Ox. Why don’t you take us through it?
Ox: Duh, essentially, we all enter into a contract whereby the last surviving participant becomes the sole possessor of all them purty pictures.
Burns: Well put, Oxford.

– from “The Curse of the Flying Hellfish” episode of The Simpsons

Thanks to Clay for the suggestion.

Clay, Tres, and I were once again rocking out on a fine Thursday evening when we all spontaneously began playing a strange calypso groove. None of us had ever practiced or played calypso in our lives but our minds latched onto it like steel traps and we couldn’t stop even if we wanted. Things got even stranger as I noticed the door slightly ajar and a tiny cartoonish face peeking in. It would seem our leprechaun roommate who we all met a couple weeks ago had a Korean friend. With nary a word, he tiptoed into the room, climbed onto the stool, and pulled the microphone down to sing. What you’re about to hear is the recording of that fateful session…

Definition: noun self-possession or imperturbability especially under strain

Etymology: French sang-froid, literally, cold blood

Quotation: “Et Michael Phelps en perd son habituel sang froid. Pour 8 centièmes de seconde, le relais américain devance la France, pour remporter un titre olympique qui échappait aux Etats-Unis depuis 1996.”
(Rough) Translation: “Michael Phelps loses his usual sang froid. By 8 hundredths of a second, the American relay edged out France, to regain an Olympic title which had eluded the United States since 1996.”
- from an article in Le Monde, a French news publication

Despite my quotation of a French source on an originally French expression, the term “sang froid” is also utilized extensively in English press and prose. I just couldn’t resist this particular instance of its use in the native tongue.
Let me explain. Yesterday my roommates and I spent an inordinate amount of time watching the Olympics, and the men’s 400m freestyle relay was set to cap off the night. Many countries were represented but there were only two real contenders for gold: France and the US. France took down the gold on the last meeting in 2004 and, despite our status this go-around as the slight favorite, claimed that they would “smash” us again. And for the first three legs of the relay it appeared as if they would do just that. Going into the last leg they were ahead by half a body-length–well more than one swimmer could reasonably be asked to overcome in just 100 meters. But the USA’s own Jason Lezak did just that. He held on for the first 75 meters or so and then kicked it into overdrive, thrusting himself above the water with gigantic strokes and walked down the Frenchy competition to win the gold by eight hundredths of a second. Our house exploded in jubilation. It’s been a while since I’ve been so proud to live in the USA.
So while the picture above doesn’t necessarily represent “sang froid”, it captures an awesome moment and comes as a direct result of some serious cold-blooded revenge enacted upon the French by Jason Lezak. Check out the video.

Definition: verb to deviate from the truth : equivocate : lie

Etymology: Latin praevaricatus, past participle of praevaricari to act in collusion, literally, to straddle, from prae- + varicare to straddle, from varus bowlegged

(circa 1631)

Quotation:

In my younger days, when I was sent out from Patton, Corbett & Strode to depose people — claimants, witnesses, local government officials — I soon learned, in a way I had not fully realized, that people lie. Oh, do they lie, they fib with smiles on their faces, they prevaricate with tears in their eyes, they fabricate looking at you straight on, they perjure themselves with monotone certainty and they dissemble with righteous indignation.

- from The Sunday Serial in The New York Times Magazine

A cool word with a cool origin. I like that it started out as “bowlegged” then morphed into “straddle” and took that metaphor to apply to language as “to lie”. I’m pretty sure there’s a word for these type of metaphor-words…but I don’t know it and I’m too lazy to look it up right now. The quote comes from a sweet little noir mystery story in one of my favorite publications–The Times Magazine. You should check it out.

Definition: noun 1: the low-cut neckline of a dress  2: a décolleté dress   3: bust

Etymology: French, action of cutting or wearing a low neckline, from décolleter

Quotation: “First came Casual Fridays, that dread episode in the history of fashion, with their invitation for men to trade in suits for Dockers and to swap a proper shirt and tie for an open neck and a daring flash of masculine décolletage.”
- from “Shorts Crack the Code”, a fashion article in the New York Times

First of all, this is a pretty sweet word. It’s nice to sprinkle foreign words into conversation, especially if they’re French…they just sound nice. This word could be especially useful for pointing out a particularly attractive vixen in a bar to your friend. “Décolletage at 3 o’clock”…subtle yet effective. Salma knows what I’m talking about.
On a different note, what exactly is the New York Times saying in this article? That shorts in the workplace are a new thing? Please, I’ve been rocking shorts to work Monday to Friday for the last three summers. News? More like Olds.

According to this article in Raleigh’s News & Observer, Raleigh has been raking in high-rankings (say that ten times fast) lately. Not only is it the No. 1 “Best Place for Young Adults” (Bizjournals) and No. 1 “Healthiest City for Men” (Men’s Journal), Raleigh is also the No. 4 “Gay Ghetto” according to the widely renowned Gay Real Estate USA blog. Look out San Francisco.

Definition: noun (also leitmotiv) a dominant recurring theme

Etymology: German Leitmotiv, from leiten to lead + Motiv motive

Quotation: “Salvatore’s suppressed longings are a sly leitmotif: on Valentine’s Day all across the city the women want to watch television to see Jacqueline Kennedy give a tour of the White House, whereas their men grouse and turn away. Salvatore, on a couch in the apartment of a loving, luscious brunette, is riveted to the screen.”
- from a review of Mad Men in The New York Times

“Dominant recurring theme”…hmmm…I could probably apply that word in just about any conversation about a TV show, movie, or play. “In Lost, we’re constantly discovering new and unsettling details about characters’ pasts…you might say it’s a leitmotif” (no big deal). Yep, this one’s going right in the ole bag of tricks.