Elliott's Quarantine Quintet

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 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...