Guest Post - An Awesome Word

Awesome.'

This particular word has to be one of my most overused descriptive terms, and I'm sure it's one of yours, too. How can it not be, though? It's such an awesome word to use!

Everyone's opinion of what is awesome is different. A quick Google search of "what is awesome?" will reveal over 166,000,000 hits! Yes, millions of websites devoted to all things awesome! ...Well, what the creators of the sites find awesome, anyway. Me? Personally, I find narwhals and elephants awesome...probably to the point of obsession. You? Most likely not so much.

I also find atomic bombs and Adolf Hitler awesome, too. Wait, before you bite my head off for being inconsiderate, keep in mind that 'awesome' is an antagonym; it has two almost completely opposite definitions. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, 'awesome' can mean either "extremely impressive" or "inspiring great fear."

Of course, many people never think about the latter definition and automatically assume one is referring to the "good" sense of the word. That's what I like about 'awesome.' It's so easy to keep your frenemies guessing (not that I have any!) and your parents wondering why you're being so nice to your younger brother. Think about it! Without even lying, you can tell that flippy-haired snob in your English class, "Your dress is awesome today!" (Hey, I've seen some pretty scary looking monstrosities that have been passed off as "acceptable clothing.") and walk away with a coy smile on your face while she sits there with her mouth agape. OR, when your brother brings home another one of his macaroni masterpieces, say "Hey, little bro, your artwork is awesome!" (of course, within earshot of your mom) and then later have a nightmare about the macaroni man with a foot protruding from his eye.

Like I said, 'awesome' is an awesome word. Next time you use it, though, remember both of its contexts. Oh, and have an awesome day! ;D

-R is for Rachel!

I would also have to agree with Rachel on this one. When writing papers, instructors generally don't want to see such vague words as awesome-be descriptive, what is it that makes it awesome?

People of Interest - Hennig Brand

Wow, it has been awhile since I've posted anything on here (December was a very busy month here). However, I have not forgotten the [rq} and will try to continue with interesting articles to get the brain juices flowing (or at least get more synapses working). So to start off the year I bring you the man who discovered element fifteen - Phosphorous.

I stumbled across this little fact about three years ago in Discover magazine. Apparently the guy - Hennig Brand who was a German alchemist after being a soldier - was like most other alchemists searching for a way to create gold synthetically. I should mention here that alchemy is a fake science and that he was looking for the Philosopher's Stone to turn everyday items into gold.

In his pursuits he came up with a plan which he hoped would be the key. He took fifty buckets of his own urine and stored them in his basement for months. He then boiled the urine until it became a thick syrup, did a few more alchemical steps, and eventually discovered a glowing substance on the surface of the urine. Lo and behold it was the new element Phosphorous. But back in 1669 it was normal to keep these kinds of discoveries secret - lest he actually discover a way to turn urine into gold.

Well let's hope this is the first of even more 2010 articles, and remember that you can write your own Guest Posts.