Elliott's Quarantine Quintet

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet! This will be my final EQQ post. For ten weeks, I have fulfilled my initial goal of  posting every Monday, Wednesday and Friday (except for this one, which is coming late). Now I will dedicate that time to other (as yet to be determined) creative pursuits. Today's post is in the same vein as Post #10 My top 5 SAT COVID-19 nouns ( https://quarantinequintet.blogspot.com/2020/06/my-top-5-sat-covid-19-nouns.html ), and the same caveat exists. I do not know if any of these adjectives have ever been, or will ever be, on the SAT. They just sound like the kind of vocabulary words we used to be encouraged to study. Once again, all definitions are from dictionary.com.     1. Cloistered-secluded from the world; sheltered Do you remember when we used to go out to places and do things? I hope to be able to resume that practice in the not too distant future.     2. Intractable-not easily controlled or directed; not docile or manageable; stubborn;

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet!     1. Light-year While this unit may first bring to mind Buzz Lightyear from the Toy Story movies, it is a common unit used in space to show things such as the distance between stars. The unit is derived by the distance that light would travel in a year. One light year is approximately 5.8786 x 10^12 miles (that's 5,878,600,000,000 miles) or approximately 3.1039 x 10^16 feet (that's 31,039,000,000,000,000 feet).     2. Parsec Han Solo bragged about making the Kessel Run in 12 parsecs, but, as any Star Wars nerd will all too happily tell you, a parsec is a unit of distance, not time. The unit is derived from something having to do with astronomy and trigonometry that I don't understand (and would need Neil deGrasse Tyson to explain) and is also used when relating astronomical distances. The bottom line is that a parsec is approximately 1.9174 x 10^13 miles that's (19,174,000,000,000 miles), or about 3.3 light-years.     

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet! We are beginning Week 10 of EQQ. A portmanteau is "a word blending the sounds and combining the meanings of two others." Such words come in handy when trying to convey an idea that no one word totally captures. 1. Brunch (breakfast and lunch) When you eat a meal at 11 in the morning, it's not really breakfast, and it's not really lunch. That's where this term comes in handy. Brunch is probably the portmanteau that I (and most people) use most often. 2. Spork (spoon and fork) I'm a bit surprised that this utensil - which combines the uses of two utensils into one - is not more widely used. I am ready to join the movement to mainstream the spork.  3. Bionic (biology and electronic) The use of technology to enhance human bodies is an age-old idea, and, with recent technological improvements, as well as those to come in the near future, I think we will soon see a greatly increased use of bionics. 4. Tween (between

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet! The summer of 1969 is sometimes referred to as "the Summer of Love," which got me thinking about what the summer of 2020 might be referred to one day.     1. The Summer of Isolation With social gatherings either discouraged or forbidden, we are missing out on customary (and much needed) social interactions. For me at least, there has been a strong recurring feeling of loneliness.     2. The Summer of Despair COVID-19 has caused massive amounts of illness and death as well as job losses and other strains on life.     3. The Lost Summer Many summer camps, parks and swimming pools are closed. Large backyard gatherings such as barbecues are strongly discouraged. There will be no baseball for at least the first half of the summer. Basically, the summer of 2020 hasn't had many of the hallmarks of summer.     4. The Summer that Changed Everything While I do believe that a COVD-19 vaccine or at least some sort of medical treatment

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet! I have not had the time to look into the etymology behind the names of the instruments that made this quintet.     1. Glockenspiel This percussion instrument - which is basically a xylophone except with bars made out of metal instead of wood - gains the top ranking in the quintet by a mile. I dare you not to enjoy saying its name.     2. Piccolo I grew up watching Dragon Ball and was quite the fan back in my day. I cannot hear the name of this woodwind instrument - which is essentially a miniature flute - without picturing the green character from Dragon Ball.     3. Tam-tam There's just something cool about words that feature repeating syllables, which is earns this percussion instrument - basically a large gong (who knew there were different types of gongs?) - the third spot on this quintet.     4. Double bassoon I suppose one could play its smaller orchestral woodwind cousin, the bassoon, but it sounds so much cooler to be playin

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet! This is the first post of week nine of EQQ. Most states have several unofficial nicknames, so, to keep things consistent, I am only considering official state nicknames. For the sake of objectivity (in an otherwise completely subjective ranking), I have omitted Texas (the Lone Star State) from this ranking.     1. The First State-Delaware  Delaware gets to claim this unique title due to its being the first of the thirteen colonies to ratify the Constitution. That is certainly a fact of which all Delawarians can take great pride.     2. The Keystone State-Pennsylvania A keystone is the central piece at the top of an arch which holds the whole thing together. In a more metaphorical sense, a keystone is the most important part of something. Pennsylvania claims this nickname due to its significant role in the independence movement (i.e. home to Independence Hall, Constitution Hall, the Liberty Bell, etc.).     3. The Centennial State-Colora

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet! We've made it eight week's, folks. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic (at least in Houston) does not seem to be any weaker than it was when I started. This post is part B to Post #23 from Wednesday about my top 5 names for males of animal species ( https://quarantinequintet.blogspot.com/2020/07/post-23-my-top-5-names-for-males-of.html ).     1. A female chimpanzee is called an empress And I bet they constantly remind all of the other animals of that fact. Also, a male chimpanzee being called an emperor was #2 in Wednesday's quintet.     2. A female chinchilla is called a velvet An appropriate name due to its soft skin.     3. A female wolverine is called an angeline Anything that references an angel is a good name to have.     4. A female dragonfly is called a queen Same as #1, I bet female dragonflies constantly remind the other bugs of this fact.     5. A female fox is called a vixen Something about the word sounds elega

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet! Humans are referred to as men and women, but did you know that a lot of animal species also have different terms for males and females? And some of them are pretty cool!     1. A male alpaca is called a macho Is there anything more masculine than being called a macho?     2. A male chimpanzee is called an emperor I'm not sure who got to come up with these names, but male chimpanzees definitely lucked out. I don't think it's possible to be called an emperor and not sound important.     3. A male kangaroo is called a boomer    OK, boomer!     4. A male goat is called a billy I bet the snobby male goats go by william.      5. A male horse is called a stallion The word stallion has a majestic feel. Before you ask, yes, my next post will be about my top 5 names for females of animal species

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet! I'm starting my eighth week of this blog. Honestly, when I started it by saying that I would keep it up as long as the COVID-19 pandemic lasted, I was hoping that it would be over, or at least much smaller, at this point. One of the easiest and most effective things that we can all do to combat the pandemic is to wear a mask whenever we leave our house, so, on that theme, here are my top 5 fictional masks. For me, a great mask is iconic, instantly recognizable and strongly associated with the character who wears it and evokes strong thoughts and/or feelings.      1. Darth Vader mask It is clearly the best mask in all of fiction/pop culture, and I would have an issue with anybody that did not rank it #1. Vader's mask is not only an extremely cool-looking mask, but it is an essential part of his character (and his life, seeing as how he needs it to breathe).     2. Phantom of the Opera mask This mask gives off a strong air of eleg

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet! We've made it seven weeks, folks! I know that not all of these are elements by a scientific definition, but it's my blog, so I get to do what I want.      1. Vibranium This metal that is mined only in Wakanda contains the ability to control and manipulate energy, which is why Wakanda is such an advanced, powerful country. It's fun to imagine to power that would come with obtaining some Vibranium.      2. Adamantium This metal from the Marvel Cinematic Universe - whose best-known use is in Wolverine's claws - is indestructible. So any weapon made out of Adamantium would be indestructible also. If only my car's bumper was made out of Adamantium. :)       3. Mithril This metal from J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth was mined by the dwarves in Khazad-dum. It is stronger than steel but extremely lightweight. The potential uses of Mithril could span from weapons to construction to jewelry (it's also shiny).      4. Dil

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet! We made it to post #20! Also, after my most recent post, I passed 500 total page views for EQQ! My most popular post among all my previous posts was post #7 My top 5 collective nouns for groups of animals ( https://quarantinequintet.blogspot.com/2020/05/post-7-my-top-5-collective-nouns-for.html ), so, in an effort to rekindle some of that popularity, I have decided to make another animal-based post.     1. Porcine-of or relating to swine, hoggish; piggish This adjective comes in handy if your want to deliver a good dis while also sounding sophisticated (be sure to properly pronounce the soft C for maximum sophisticated airs).     2. Vulpine-of or relating to a fox, cunning or crafty I think of this adjective as generally complimentary, if in a slightly mischievous way. I wouldn't mind being described as having a vulpine manner.     3. Ovine-pertaining to, of the nature of, or like sheep We all know those people who follow the crowd,

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet! As a special treat as I begin my seventh week of EQQ, I am including images on a blog post. I have confirmed that all images of state flags are in the public domain (even though, since I am doing this blog for fun and not making money from it, I would likely qualify for the fair use exemption). N.B. I am not considering the Texas flag for this quintet. In my opinion the power, beauty and grandeur of the Lone Star flag is unrivaled. 1. Michigan   I am not normally a fan of overly busy flags, but Michigan's flag is definitely an exception. It contains two moose, an eagle and three different Latin Mottos. Pretty epic. 2. Indiana Not only is the torch spreading light a great symbol, but I have learned through a little background research that there is symbolism in the starts on Indiana's flag. The thirteen stars in the outer circle represent the thirteen colonies. The five stars in the inner circle represent the next five states to

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet! We made it another week! Chiasmus is "a rhetorical or literary figure in which words, grammatical constructions, or concepts are repeated in reverse order, in the same or modified form." For some reason, the use of chiasmus makes the speaker or author sound incredibly clever and creative and helps strengthen the message being conveyed (which is probably the reason why it has been a popular technique for thousands of years). 1. We don't stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing." - Benjamin Franklin. This was my senior yearbook quote and is a perfect example of the power of chiasmus. I happen to be a strong believer in the idea that Franklin is conveying about the importance of play not diminishing as we get older. 2. "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." - Walt Disney Like Franklin above, Disney uses chiasmus to get across a philosophical sta

Welcome back to Elliott-s Quarantine Quintet! The plan for the National Basketball Association to play an abridged remainder of the season and playoffs at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orland by Disney World combines two of my favorite things: basketball and Disney. I probably had more fun creating this quintet than I have with any other EQQ blog post so far.     1. Chicago Belles The princess from Beauty and the Beast is one of the top Disney princesses all-time in my humble opinion. Fans would start wearing long orange-yellow dinner gowns to show their devotion to the team. Plus, Benny the Bull can stay on and play the role of Beast.     2. Oklahoma City Thumper The rabbit who close friend of Bambi's was one of my favorite Disney characters as a young child. What team wouldn't want to thump their opponents?     3. Atlanta Hooks I can't imagine that Captain Hook was a very good basketball player. I imagine it's hard to shoot a jumper with a hook for one of y

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet! Let me come right out and state that I have a lot of respect for football referees at every level. I definitely could not make calls nearly as accurately. Since all the signals are standardized, referees don't have much choice in the matter, but some signals are funnier than others. The fact that referees almost always look extremely serious while making these signals adds to their amusing nature.     1. Roughing/Running into the kicker I find watching a referee do a mini kick with a straight leg incredibly amusing.     2. Ball juggled and no possession There's just something about the way that referees move their hands up and down for this signal.     3. Ineligible receiver downfield It's just a grown man putting his hand on his head. Why is it so funny?     4. Loss of down Both hands on the back of the head with elbows flared out, yet, it is not a provocative gesture.     5. Illegal substitution Same signal as ineligible r

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet. We've made it five weeks, folks! In recognition of that accomplishment, today's post is about The Lord of the Rings , the same as my first post on this blog ( https://quarantinequintet.blogspot.com/2020/05/post-1-my-top-5-non-fellowship-lotr.html ). Who doesn't love the wise wizard Gandalf? Plus, Sir Ian McKellen's portrayal is incredible. These quotes are based on the movies rather than the books because all three movies in The Lord of the Rings trilogy are in my top ten favorite movies of all-time and also because I have never read any of the books (yes, there are some differences. Some quotes are completely made up for the movies).     1. "So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time given us." This is Gandalf's response to Frodo's stating, "I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened."

Technically, any same can be adjectived by adding an -ian, -ic, -esque, etc. suffix, but there are very few names that have made their way into the popular English lexicon as eponymous adjectives. I like using eponymous adjectives where appropriate, but some are more enjoyable to use than others. All definitions are from Dictionary.com     1. Orwellian-of, pertaining to, characteristic of, or resembling the literary work of George Orwell or the totalitarian future described in his antiutopian novel 1984 (1949) Personal confession time: I have never read 1984. I don't know how I got through high school and college having never read it, but I understand the basic idea just through pop culture. The ever increasing use of surveillance on private citizens by governments today certainly has an Orwellian feel to it.     2. Quixotic-extravagantly chivalrous or romantic; visionary, impractical, or impracticable, resembling or befitting Don Quixote Again, I'm embarrassed to say that I h

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet! The minor league baseball farm system is pretty cool. I like how many of the teams are not located in major cities. I am not going to get into the politics and business decision of Major League Baseball deciding to eliminate many minor league teams; suffice it to say I am not happy about it. There is something extra special when a team's name is not only a cool one but also has local significance. So here are my top 5 minor league baseball teams that definitely meet both of those qualifications.     1. Augusta GreenJackets (A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants) Augusta is famous for hosting the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, and the winner of the Masters gets the iconic green jacket (plus a nice payout; when Tiger Woods won the 2019 Masters, his payout was 2.07 million dollars). So I think its pretty cool that Augusta's minor league baseball team is an homage to that famous piece of clothing (though I don't get wh

Today's post comes a little later in the day than usual (not that anybody would have noticed) I don't know how a company ends up with a specific stock ticker symbol. Somehow, though, some companies ended up with some really cool ticker symbols. Also, I feel it is necessary to point out that this is in no way, shape or form financial advice.     1. TAP It is only appropriate that this ticker symbol belongs to one of the world's largest brewing companies, the Molson Coors Beverage Company, brewer of such beverages as Coors and Coors Light, Keystone and Keystone Light and Blue Moon.     2. XRAY This ticker symbol belongs to Dentsply Sirona, an American dental equipment maker. I had never heard of this company, and you have no reason to remember the name. Nevertheless, it is a pretty cool ticker symbol to have.     3. HOG As you may have guessed, the ticker symbol for Harley Davidson cines from the nickname for its motorcycles. A cool company deserves a cool ticker symbol.    

     Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet!   I have so many wonderful memories from elementary school of picking out crayons from my Crayola box of 64 and drawing something with them. Now that I think about it, it makes me sad, how little time I have spent drawing since elementary school considering how much joy I used to get from it. However, I know that none of you signed up to be my psychologist, so I'll leave that be for now and get right to my five favorite color names.     1. Robin's Egg Blue This color name tops my list because of how descriptive it is. If I were to try to describe it, I would say it is like turquoise but a little bit greener, but there really is no better way to describe the color than Robin's Egg Blue. Of course, this description is only good if you have seen a robin's egg. I imagine most people have, and, with today's internet image searches, it's easy to see what one looks like in case you have not.     2. Mauvelous I am a

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet! This is the 10th EQQ post, which I believe makes it an official blog. It is also longer than I stick with most new things that I try out, so I am proud of myself for that. I have no idea if any of these nouns have ever been, or will ever be, on the SAT. They just sound like the kind of vocabulary words we were encouraged to know for use on the test. To clarify, I am not necessarily attributing these thoughts and feelings to anybody else; they are merely my personal experiences.   All definitions are from Dictionary.com.       1. morass "any confusing or troublesome situation, especially one from which it is difficult to free oneself; entanglement" It also sounds like you're saying "more ass" :)     2. cataclysm "any violent upheaval, especially one of a social or political nature. This noun is much more often used in it's adjectival form, cataclysmic, or relating to a cataclysm.     3. quagmire "a

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet! I don’t know who assigns epithets, but, whoever it is has a lot of power (and with great power comes great responsibility). Something as seemingly simple as an epithet has an enormous effect on how a historical figure is remembered centuries or millennia later. There are plenty of ‘the Greats’ (Alexander, Constantine, Alfred, Peter, Catherine, etc.). While being remembered as great is certainly not a bad way to be remembered, it is quite vague and doesn’t really tell me anything about you.     1. Suleyman I a.k.a. Suleyman the Magnificent I don’t know much, or, really, anything about this 16th century Ottoman sultan. But his epithet tells me all I need to know about him; he was magnificent.     2. William I a.k.a. William the Conqueror This Norman’s conquest of England was certainly a history-altering event, so it is appropriate that he be remembered for all posterity as a conqueror.     3. Leo VI a.k.a Leo the Wise I know nothing

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet! You’ve got your share of Lions, Tigers and Bears, but there are a bunch of unique mascots among Football Bowl Subdivision schools.       1. Demon Deacons (Wake Forest University) I am a big fan of this oxymoronic name of the mascot for the university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.     2. Ragin’ Cajuns (University of Louisiana at Lafayette) Not only is the rhyming name of this mascot a lot of fun to say, but I like the mental image of a bunch of Louisianians running around and going crazy (kind of like how I picture Mardi Gras in New Orleans).     3, Thundering Herd (University of Marshall) Although there is a bison on the football helmets of the team from the university in Huntington, West Virginia, a thundering herd of just about anything sounds intimidating. Apparently, the term can also refer to a computer science problem that I don’t really understand.     4. Mean Green (University of North Texas) Long-time readers of thi