Elliott's Quarantine Quintet

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 of...

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 sh...

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 kno...

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...

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. Illeg...

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...

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 ti...

     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.    ...

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. ...