You know what word I’m hearing a lot of these days?

AWESOME

Particular blame, though, goes to Neil Patrick Harris’ character – Barney Stinson.   (who’s also responsible for bringing “legendary,” “suit-up,” & all sorts of “high-five” variations back into the pop culture vocabulary. 

Now I don’t find anything wrong with the word, “awesome;” I think it’s a great word when appropriately (and sparingly) used.  But a word like that – or any word, really – starts to lose its meaning when used too much. 

So here are a few synonyms for the oft-spoke word which I hope people will use to help expand their not-so awesome vocabulary:  (I’ve highlighted some of my favorites)

AWESOME:  (also known as:)

alarming, astonishing, awe-inspiring, fearsome, formidable, frantic, frightening, grand, impressive, magnificent, majestic, mind-blowing*, moving, overwhelming, shocking, something else, striking, stunning, wonderful, wondrous, fascinating, incredible, bees knees, marvelous, prodigious, shocking, stunning, surprising, unbelievable, bang-up, capital, champion, excellent, fine, first-rate, fly, top, whiz-bang, boss, 10, A-1, A-OK, aces, astonishing, astounding, best, breathtaking, cool, extravagant, fab, fantastic, first-class, greatest, groovy, incredible, legendary, marvelous, mind-blowing, out-of-sight, outrageous, peachy, phenomenal, primo, prodigious, rad, remarkable, spectacular, striking, stupendous, super, superb, terrific, top drawer, tops, turn-on, unreal, wicked, cat's meow, far out, first-rate, great, gangsta, like wow, marvelous, out of sight, out of this world, primo, sensational, superb, steak sauce, pimp, out-of-this-world, shark (as in shark week on Discovery channel) etc. 

And my personal favorite – batman (adj) 

Example Sentence:  “That new white convertible is totally batman.” 

IN OTHER NEWS - you should check out this site called graphjam.com.  It’s pretty Batman. 

Just a quick plug today about a show a friend of mine turned me on to called "The IT Crowd." 

 It's a show on the BBC that depicts the crazy lives of two nerdy IT technicians and their lovely, non-nerdy boss who knows absolutely nothing about computers. 

This show reminds me a lot of The Big Bang Theory (one hot girl, two nerds) but I have to say that I like "The IT Crowd" better, mostly because of how surreal the show tends to get. 

Here's a clip to help you understand what I mean: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EBfxjSFAxQ
(Sorry, just have to put a link - someone disabled the embedding!) 

And did you catch that opening sequence?  The DVD has quite a few references like that

Their DVD chapter menu

Anyway, here's a few more clips from the show that I thought were pretty funny:  

- Nerd photoshoot 
- New Emergency number
- Their attempt to be "social."   

And one more!  (embedded) 

"Never type 'google' into Google." 

Photobooth Montage of the happenings at my friend’s Halloween Party.

This post covers my updates about the Costume Contest I bitched about. 

Since I was already in the Halloween spirit from last night, I decided to go to work in costume on Friday. 

(I was a “mad zombie scientist”) 

Turns out I was the only one in my department who dressed up that day.  Later I learned that only a dozen or so (Out of over a hundred who work in that office) dressed up for work at all. 

Extremely lame, amIrite? 

I thought so, too. 

But then I figured that I might be a shoe-in for the Costume contest so I entered it at the last minute.  Here were some of the entries. 

The Old Woman who lived in a Shoe

a Band of Gypsies

Goldilocks

"Freaky Fairy Tales"

Alice (in Wonderland)

Another Alice in Wonderland + White Rabbit

This guy was just there.

60's dude.

I lost to “60s dude” for Most Original.

That night, I took off my costume and went to my friend, Phil’s drag show at CSUN.  He went as “Big Mamma” from “Chicago.”   (played by Queen Latifah in the movie)   

It was a pretty good show – unfortunately I forgot my camera.  Nico was there, though, and he brought his.  Hopefully I can steal some pictures and add them to this post if he uploads them to his blog. 

It’s that time of year again….!  The time when we all need to switch on the ole imagination and ask ourselves:

“What am I going to be for Halloween this year???” 

I’m sure this is a common question that we’ve all asked ourselves at one time or another.  After all, costumes play a pretty big part in this most important holiday of the year; it’s the one time a year where we’re judged positively on how ‘outrageous’ our outfits are.  And while some may already have their costumes laid out to wear, the rest of us are scrambling for an ensemble that says “Hey, we’re cool too.” 

I’m one of those people that have been scrambling this year.  And I’m stressing out a little because there are a lot of factors to consider in a good Halloween costume. 

A good costume should be at least one of the following: 

• Well-made
• Clever/original
• Sexy
• Easy to identify.  (Bonus points for being ‘a timely reference’ in popular culture)

 But there are also a lot of other factors to consider, such as: 

•  What will I be doing? 
  • Trick-or-Treating?  Walking the streets in some Halloween Parade?  Dancing?  If so, your costume should be light with comfy shoes, don’tcha think? 
  • House party?  Hopefully your costume isn’t too big to fit through some narrow doorway or too large to fit somewhere with high ceilings. 
• What’s the weather going to be like? 
  • Is it going to be hot that night?  Raining?  Make-up might be a bad idea for both these scenarios. 
  • Will it be cold?  Might wanna re-think that “I’m-just-wear-my-underwear” costume….! 
• Do I have to wear this costume more than once? 
  • Going to more than one party this year?  Gotta make sure your outfit’s sturdy / long-lasting. 
  • Maybe you want to wear an R-rated costume this year, but don’t feel like sharing that with your parents/co-workers/kids you baby-sit.  A PG-13 back-up costume would be nice in this case? 

And if anyone ever asks you “What are you supposed to be?” you might as well pack it in early this year, because having to explain your costume a dozen times probably means you didn’t even try. 

So yeah…..picking a Halloween costume may seem like an easy task to some, but to others, not so much. 

Now I could just go out and buy a costume.  They’re a little expensive, but they provide a rather permanent solution to the problem. (I can just re-use it year after year) It’s like an investment of sorts.  But I’m one of those people who believe that making a costume is half the fun. 

Plus, it’s cheaper. 

But I’m out of ideas this year.  I had one earlier, but it doesn’t really work as a costume.  Plus, my last costume got a few hushed whispers of disapproval from some of the people in my office (which I don’t think I deserved) so now I’m feeling a little pressure to censor my costume this year. 

I was "Ahmish."  Some people thought it would be offensive to

fellow co-workers who were Jehovah's Witnesses. 

 I thought these other costumes were a lot more offensive. 

Zombie (w/meerkat bursting through chest)

Cannibal Chef eating baby

Fortunately, my friends have had a lot of themed parties over the years, with which I have already "made" a costume for.  So I think that’s what it’s going to be this year – a re-hashing of an old costume. 

Member of the "Crazy 88" from Kill Bill Vol. 1 for the "Kill Bill" party. 

My version of a Mad scientist for the "Mad Scientist party." 

What's everyone else planning to be for Halloween?