A Must Read

In my next post I will write about the magnificent German autumn I am experiencing this year (pictures too!). But for now I leave you all with an excerpt from, The Book of Lists, by David Wallechinsky and Amy Wallace, a true collection of things you will never need to know. I have, however, found it incredibly entertaining. Viel spass!

29 Words Rarely Used in Their Positive Form
Negative Form------------Positive Form
1. Inadvertent-------------Advertent (giving attention; heedful)
2. Analgesia---------------Algesia (sensitiveness to pain)
3. Antibiotic---------------Biotic (of or relating to life)
4. Unconscionable---------Conscionable (conscientious)
5. Disconsolate------------Consolate (consoled, comforted)
6. Incorrigible-------------Corrigible (correctable)
7. Uncouth----------------Couth (marked by finesse, polish, etc; smooth)
8. Indelible----------------Delible (capable of being deleted)
9. Nondescript------------Descript (described; inscribed)
10. Indomitable-----------Domitable (tamable)
11. Ineffable---------------Effable (capable of being uttered or expressed)
12. Inevitable-------------Evitable (avoidable)
13. Feckless---------------Feckful (effective; sturdy; powerful)
14. Unfurl-----------------Furl (to draw in and secure to a staff)
15. Disgruntle-------------Gruntle (to put in good humor)
16. Disgust----------------Gust (inclination; liking)
17. Antihistamine---------Histamine (a crystalline base that is held to be responsible for the dilation and incresed permeability of blood vessels which play a major role in allergic reactions)
18. Disinfectant-----------Infectant (an agent of infection)
19. Illicit------------------Licit (not forbidden by law; allowable)
20. Immaculate-----------Maculate (marked with spots; besmirched)
21. Innocuous-------------Nocuous (likely to cause injury; harmful)
22. Deodorant------------Odorant (an odorous substance)
23. Impeccable-----------Peccable (liable or prone to sin)
24. Impervious-----------Pervious (being of a substance that can be penetrated or permeated)
25. Implacable------------Placable (of a tolerant nature; tractable)
26. Ruthless--------------Ruthful (full of compassion or pity)
27. Insipid----------------Sipid (affecting the organs of taste; savory)
28. Unspeakable----------Speakable (capable of being spoken of)
29. Unwieldy-------------Wieldy (strong; manageable)

And a quote that made me laugh tonight...
Jack: "We have to talk. You have to leave."
Algy: "But if I leave, how can we talk?"
(from the film The Importance of Being Earnest)

A Cute Little Story Titled, "Germlessny"

Here is a story written by my HIM partner, Amy. She posted it on her blog many months ago, but I figured it needed a re-debut, considering how true it still is. :)

There once was a charming, sophisticating and quite talented young girl named Amy. She was an artist and a really good dish washer. But she was bad at every other chore around the house. She always said it was because she perfected her dish washing and didn’t have time for the other chores. So, she lived in an apartment with dirty floors, broken windows, and rotten food in her refrigerator (only sometimes). She didn’t know how to change this!! But one night she had a dream. In this dream she was told of a far away land called Cananada or something, where the people are wonderful homemakers. They vacuum and mop the floors, fix broken windows, and take out the trash! What a wonder! She had to meet these people and discover their secrets!!!

So, she booked a flight on Dream Air and went to Cananada. She didn’t know a soul in the country but decided to be brave. She said that the first person she met with a name that also begun with the letter A (because all good names begin with A of course), she’d ask them if she could, for one night, conduct an experiment and stay with them in their house. So, as soon as she got of the plane, she just started meeting people. After an hour or so of doing this, she was getting tired and a bit upset that no one had an A name yet! But finally she met a girl named Allison, which in Cananadan means “Good guitarist, pianist, and professional vacuumer”, and presented her proposal. Allison, quite logical in reasoning, decided that Amy didn’t seem to be a terrorist and took her up on her offer. So, they set off for Allison’s home.

As soon as Amy set foot in the house, her jaw dropped. Clean, shiny floors! Spotless sinks! No odor from the trash! It was unbelievable. But then she stepped in the kitchen and could not believe her eyes. Piled a mile high (well maybe less than a mile but really high none the less) was a massive heap of dishes sooooooooo dirty that all the spotless parts in the rest of the house were no longer amazing. She was overwhelmed with grief. Here she was, a champion dish washer, standing in a kitchen of dirty dishes that have never been washed! It made her cry. Allison noticed her distress and asked her what the cause of it was. Once Amy shared her grief, Allison said that the reason was that she had spent so much time perfecting her vacuuming and other talents that she no longer had time to wash the dishes. She just didn’t know what to do.

But Amy did. She had a plan. Here was Amy, a professional dish washer but not so good a vacuuming. And here was Allison, a professional vacuumer along with great trash taker outer, window fixer, bathtub scrubber, etc., but not so great at dish washing. Wouldn’t it be perfect if they just decided to live together and then they could both teach each other how to do the other’s job? What a brilliant plan! She shared with Allison her brilliant plan and she agreed, this was brilliant! (I say brilliant a lot because it really was brilliant!). So, now if you go to a land called Germany, you’ll find Allison and Amy living together in perfect, clean harmony. They teach others their cleaning methods and act as “missionaries to the unclean”. But don’t be fooled. Just because the land of Germany has the word “germ” in it, it does not mean that there are a lot of germs there. It actually means the exact opposite. In fact, I’ve even heard they are thinking of changing the name of the country to Germlessny.

The End