Elliott's Quarantine Quintet

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. ...

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 Gre...

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet! I don’t know who gets to come up with these terms and who gets to decide what they are, but there are some pretty awesome collective nouns for a groups of animals.        1. A murder of crows This group sounds both cool and tough.     2. A conspiracy of lemurs Lemurs always look like they’re up to something.     3. A consortium of crabs I like the idea of crabs sidling along but saying in a snobby, British accent, “We’re a consortium.”     4. A pride of lions It is only fitting that the kings of the jungle get a majestic name.     5. A flamboyance of flamingos They’re pink, have skinny legs and are often preening themselves, so this name seems fitting. I’m looking for suggestions. What should the collective noun be for a group of journalists?

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet! There is no shortage of really cool vehicles (loosely construed) throughout the Star Wars movies. This list is another one that could go on quite a bit longer. I went back and forth a couple times on this one, but here are my top 5.        1. Millennium Falcon One of the most, if not the most, iconic vehicles in pop culture history, the Millennium Falcon not only looks cool but performs well also. That performance was best exhibited upon both entering and exiting the Death Star on the mission to destroy it in Episode IV: A New Hope.     2. Pod racer I know that a lot of people like to pretend that Episode I: The Phantom Menace never existed, but, to me, the pod racers were one of the coolest parts of the movie. They look like a lot of fun to race (providing you don’t kill yourself during the race). And it was pretty impressive that the slave boy Anakin Skywalker built his champion pod racer by hims...

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet!   One of the many wonderful things about the Harry Potter saga is all the cool names that characters have. It’s also cool how the etymology of many of the names relate to the person’s character traits (though that may be a subject for another Quarantine Quintet). Frankly, this list could go on extensively, but here are my top five.       1. Filius Flitwick There is not a more fun name to say than that of the vertically challenged Charms Master who happens to also conduct the Hogwarts choir.     2. Xenophilius Lovegood I don’t remember him playing much of a role in the Harry Potter story beyond being Luna’s father. Nevertheless, how can you not dig a guy named Xenophilius?     3. Fleur Delacour The Triwizard champion from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic performed admirably in the competition, but it’s the rhyming first and last names that makes her name fun.     4. Quiri...

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet! Is it true that when you say something in Latin or Greek you automatically sound much cooler?     1. Esse quam videri, to be rather than to seem (North Carolina) This quote, which is attributed to the great Latin orator Cicero is all about keeping things real. I try not to be a poser, and I like when other people don’t try to be posers. Also, Latin mottos remind me of my six years of Latin in middle and high school, good times!     2, Dum spiro, spero, while I breathe, I hope (South Carolina) It is just a coincidence that my top two state mottos happen to come from the Carolinas. Yet I really like the optimism of this Latin motto. Remind yourself of this when you feel like giving up. Also, the alliteration makes it fun to say.     3. Live Free or Die (New Hampshire) Despite the fact that New Hampshire’s state motto has been co-opted by a certain movie franchise, I think it perfectly captures the A...

Welcome back to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet! Is there a more beloved or widely-read children’s author than Dr. Seuss? He wrote and illustrated more than 60 children’s books. His popularity spans generations. And many of his books provide a deeper lesson and manage to do so in an entertaining way.     1. The Lorax   Despite The Lorax being first published in 1971, the underlying message is just as relevant and important nearly 50 years later. There are increasingly dire consequences of the exploitation and over-consumption of natural resources for personal and financial gain, and, in his iconic style, Dr. Seuss expertly relays that message. Plus, the Lorax has an awesome mustache.     2. Oh the Places You’ll Go! It’s no wonder that this book is a popular graduation present.  Despite being a children’s book, Oh the Places You’ll Go! captures the fullness and complexity of the adventure of life better than just about any other published work...

Welcome back to Elliott’s Quarantine Quintet! As a child, I thought the names of Pokemon were just random cool names, but, as I grew older and wiser (but kept playing Pokemon games), I started to realize just how clever some of the names are. Although Pokémon Generation VIII came out in 2019, Generation I remains the Golden Age of Pokémon.     1. Ekans I don’t remember when the exact moment was for me, but the realization that the name Ekans is snake spelled backwards is the epitome of an Aha! Moment. It's hard to beat that simple brilliance. Also, Ekans’s evolution Arbok is cobra spelled backwards but with the C switched to a K.     2. Arcanine At some point during high school the word arcane, meaning rare ad mysterious, came up in one of our vocabulary units. It was at that point that I realized that Arcanine is a portmanteau of arcane and canine.     3. Kangaskhan I always knew that Kangaskhan looked like a kangaroo, but it was only...

Welcome to Elliott's Quarantine Quintet! Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at around noon (Central Time) until the point at which we can all frolic together again, I will share a list of my top 5. These lists will cover everything and anything. The three movies of the Lord of the Rings trilogy are all in my top ten favorite movies. I have seen each of them multiple times (I have spent more time watching Lord of the Rings movies than I care to think about). I actually re-watched all three early on in my quarantining. Also, I thought each of The Hobbit prequel movies fell far, far short of the standard of the original trilogy. So the first EQQ post is of my top five non-Fellowship of the Ring Lord of the Rings characters.  I do want to come clean about one thing. I have not read any of the Lord of the Rings books. So these rankings are based on the original movie trilogy with the addition of the extensive background research I have done about the Third Age of Middle-eart...