trustycoffeemug

a spotter's guide to clowns. Remember to exercise discretion when approaching.

Order: Clownidae
* Family Stanczykae (medieval jesters and harlequins)
* Family Commediae
** Genus Marceau (mimes and other street performers)
**Genus Emmitkellidae (classic clowns, birthday clowns, sad clowns, punch and judy puppets
*** Subgenus Vaudevillae (the Three Stooges, Charlie Chaplin, the Marx Brothers)
*** Subgenus Nightmaridae (scary clowns)
*** Subgenus Clussi (sexy clowns)

(n.) a sensation that follows right after one gets one's hopes up, during which the hopes come crashing down and break into shards of bitter, bitter reality.

(n.) a flatbread smeared with crushed tomato and cheeses, topped with the spicier forms of meat and perhaps more exotic toppings. widely enjoyed as a form of food which the eater does not have to make themselves

was invented by italians, probably as a form of atonement for either opera or mussolini

a bit of former yugoslavia; today known for giving us spotted firefighter dogs, the necktie, and a cheap alternative for filmmakers who hoped to film in greece

a country to the northish and eastish of westernish europe.

one of those countries where a genocidal war of attrition could be fought and outsiders would probably only be vaguely aware of it.

(n.) speculation about how the world will eventually end, whether concerned or hopeful.

a mainstream religion that predominates throughout the western world. it purports to follow the teachings of jesus christ/jesus of nazareth, a sectarian leader from roman-occupied judea some 2000 years ago, regarded as a divine figure (either god or a relative of His) by christians. jesus taught many things, but since almost nobody can agree on what exactly they were, discussing these things is a bit difficult.

christianity comes in a number of flavors.
--catholicism: more or less original recipe christianity, supposedly founded by jesus' friend peter, who tried to bring his teachings to rome and in doing so was crucified upside down and became known as the first pope. catholics favor big cathedrals and elaborate vestments, and a complicated hierarchy of bishops, priests, deacons, monks and nuns, and thus they're the only denomination that gets to fight demons in the movies. practically any denomination that is not catholic is protestant.
--other episcopal denominations, who like the vestments and complicated hierarchy but don't want to follow the pope, resulting in a number of schisms. includes the egypt-based coptic church which broke away in 42 AD; the greek-based eastern orthodox church, which broke away in 1054; the german-based lutheran church that broke away in 1517; the england-based anglican church which broke away in 1534; and the episcopaleans who are basically anglican but refuse to acknowledge anything from england.
--then there's a bunch of denominations that don't like having elaborately-dressed bishops or cathedrals at all, so they settle mostly for button down shirts and office buildings: see presbyterians, baptists, and the red-headed stepchild of the family tree, the mormons

as might be inferred, it's a whole big thing.

the process by which a new human being is brought into the world. traditionally occurs nine months after the act of coitus between a fertile male and female individual.

births are generally regarded as joyous occasions, until the oxytocin wears off and the dread sets in.

(n.) a thing which a reporter may report on, in the hopes of validating their career decisions

(n.) how non-pretentious people say "film"

(n.) a horse from the wrong side of the tracks, which grew up meaner and could not afford scoliosis treatment

(n.) the grinning killer of the ocean depths, a squeaking sexual predator, a maritime molester, a blowholed bastard, a swirling nest of aquatic evil

considered one of nature's surprisingly intelligent animals

(n.) a boss-man or pooh-bah, usually in sinister secret societies or chess clubs

what the modern European union has instead of gladiator fights or mortal kombat

seafaring gentlemen of the nordic persuasion circa the ninth and tenth centuries, who made their living pillaging and raiding and reaving and so on

today remembered either as savage unwashed brutes or as admirable noble savage types (mostly by fans of heavy metal)

(n.) a traveling attraction which offers clowns, stunt performances and trained animals.

circus is also the latin word for "circle," which explains why Piccadilly Circus is one of London's most disappointing tourist attractions next to pall mall

(n.) the ability to compel one to obey commands

the general food chain of authority begins with god, standing above popes, emperors, royalty and presidents, who in turn stand above important officials, who are above unimportant officials, and thence scary looking men in suits, scary looking men in military uniform, mayors, bureaucrats, police officers, school principals, and, at the bottom tier, landlords, employers, and the clergy.

and then there's you maggots

(n.) dough that's been shaped into long strands. a most versatile form of food.

supposedly invented by the chinese and then introduced to italians by marco polo. this supposition is untrue, but everyone will still say it anyway so you might as well

(also: pasta)

(n.) 1) one who propagates terminological inexactitudes; 2) one who wouldn't say they lie, as such, just exaggerate and occasionally leave out a few minor details.

(also: prevaricator)

(n.) the circuitous and sometimes unethical act of using one sum of money to buy a larger sum of money