Words...

In two and a half weeks, my friend Amy will finally be coming for a visit. We've been trying to schedule a visit ever since I left Ohio in 2004. I miss Amy.

I'm very lucky to have a lot of good friends. But not all of them share my rather abstract interests. Different faiths, economics, law, string theory, literature, etymology... I'm frequently overtaken by random whims of rabid curiosity. Amy shares my interest in literature and words. She understands my fascination with words that have fallen out of the common vernacular or words that are just plain fun to say. Inevitably, if Amy and I are out drinking, we will start demanding that the people around us tell us their favorite words. Our demands have only ever been met by either confusion, amusement or enthusiasm. Amazingly, no one has ever told us to f*ck off, despite how we tend to disparage those who choose lame or cheesy words.

So, my plans for Amy's stay include a visit to the Algonquin Hotel. Sure, we'll be ordering alcohol from the bar not sneaking nips out of flasks but we'll be channelling Dorothy Parker and the rest of the Vicious Circle just the same. If you see us, remember, words likes love, hope and peace are "bad" but words like funicular, persnickety, niggling, dunderhead, fallacious, balderdash, supercilious and the like are "good."