bodner088

Dear Brain Trainers : We are taught using metaphors , parables and " sayings ." We call them sayings because someone once said them. That is not an assurance of their quality. It is just a statement of the obvious. To make things worse (or more worser yet still), the older they are, the more wisdom is to be assumed to be contained in them. And to further worsen things (to make the worst even more worser yet), the more that people say them, the truer they are. This is interesting, because apparently, there are degrees of truth -- I'll have to consult neighbor Bill Clinton regarding the particulars of this issue. Here, for you pleasure, live (somewhat) from The Braintenance Blog Of Blockbusting Brilliance, we offer you the three stupidest things I've ever heard, excluding such conversational Moronyms as "Notary Republic," Redundons [trite, expressions spoken by members of the Order of Illiterati such as " I'll be here for the duration ," and...

Oxymorons are self-conflicting or self-cancelling combinations of words. They are often humorous, brief, thought-provoking (associatively) and memorable. They also help stimulate our mind's ability to freely associate and visualize with greater speed and clarity. They stimulate imagination and creativity. What's more, they're great fun at parties. We've all heard these: JUMBO SHRIMP, AUTHENTIC REPLICA, MILITARY INTELLIGENCE, HELPFUL CIVIL SERVANT and THE WAR ON TERRORISM (more obscure, but a bit more through-provoking in terms of semantics and shades of meaning). With the following list, read each one aloud in your mind , and when you've finished, visualize the conflicting physical images . Then : 1 ) See how many of them you can easily remember; 2 ) See how many you can remember in the sequence in which they are presented. Incidentally, this is my collection of the best of the worst of these creatures: Stretch those neurons....let them reach out and touch one anoth...

We bloggers (and the occasional speechwriter) use dictionary.com for quick word definitions, etymological stories (there's one below) and for alternate word choices. For this last, we use the Thesaurus feature. It (" Dic ," as we chronic abbreviators and vulgar insinuators often call it... for short), is enormously useful, despite the fact that it is so laden with ads, pop-ups, pavilions, flash graphics and other distractions that the quick bit of information which you seek is often hidden (" obscured " would have been a snazzier word choice, but I'm in a rush) on the page. While some people (mostly 23-year old internet billionaires or Baby-Boomers taking a break from looking for an employment opportunity which they'll never find) think this " word search " or " improve your visual acuity "- type exercise is fun, I detest it, although I wouldn't put that in writing. Being the Baron Of Braintenance (my hobby) as well as the mo...