A happy ending to the bizzare phantasmagoria

SVC Word of the Week - Phantasmagoria
(A sequence of images, real or imaginary, which appear bizzare or too fantastic) 

Life in the present times appears too bizzare for words.  Routines have gone haywire, and everything we once did without thinking now needs careful introspection.  Almost a series of  bad phantasmagoric images we can't wait to replace with happy ones. If predictions of scientists and researchers are to be believed, we may soon be heading towards regular life, pending a vaccine. Which may be arriving soon. And that will most certainly put an end to the conundrum being viewed in the media at least.

The need to be Scrupulous about hygiene in the new normal

SVC word of the week - Scrupulous
(To be careful and attentive to details)

The pandemic has certainly put a check on the lack of hygiene. Even as the world limps back to normalcy, people are learning to be more careful and thorough about maintaining personal hygiene. Hand washing and sanitization are being given due attention with everyone becoming more scrupulous in a bid to keep the infection at bay. And this is certainly a sign of the times to come. No washing your hands off of good hygiene now.

It's all in the name - Eponyms and Expression

Word of the week: Eponym

The current trail of earthquakes have shaken us all. Every time the slightest tremor strikes, it is the magnitude of the earthquake on the Richter scale which makes the headlines alongside videos of jiggling furniture!  The Richter scale is, in fact, an eponym. An eponym is a word or phrase based on the name of a person. Scientists and explorers have a habit of naming their discoveries after themselves—or other people name their discoveries after them. The Richter scale is named after Charles Richter, a US seismologist, who developed this scale. Another such example

from science is Celsius, the unit for measuring temperature, also of the human body, named after Anders Celcius. Can you think of a few more eponyms?

Is the time for Wayfarers yet ? or not ?

SVC word of the week: WAYFARER

The word “Wayfarer” means someone who travels by foot, but today you probably know them only as the best-selling style of sunglasses worldwide. During the summers, everyone avoids or dislikes being a wayfarer but ironically would definitely wear one of these Wayfarer sunglasses to avoid the heat.

WILL SOMEONE CONJURE A COVID-19 VACCINE?

SVC Word of the Week: CONJURE

Scientists and pharmaceutical companies are working round the clock to find not just a cure but also preventive medicines for COVID-19 which has affected millions across the world. The task however, is not easy–one can only hope someone can ‘conjure’ a vaccine soon. Incidentally, to conjure something means to perform a clever trick and make things appear or disappear, or what you would call an act of magic. Only in this case, more than magic, we need a scientific breakthrough and if all goes well, it should be just round the corner.  

Quarantined, aren't you?

A word which is being used frequently in the last few weeks is 'Quarantine'. Historically, it signified a period of 40 days of isolation imposed upon ships, persons or animals, on arrival at a port or place, when suspected of carrying some infectious or contagious disease. But now we don't necessarily attribute a 40 day period to the word. It essentially means a strict exclusion, detention or isolation to prevent the spread of a contagious disease. Today about  1.5 billion people worldwide are in quarantine. Let's all pray it ends soon and things are bright and beautiful again. Be positive and take good care.

Aspire to Inspire

Aspire or inspire? Confused? It's a simple case of Self versus the Other.
Aspirations are your dreams, ambitions, goals, vision for the future. You ASPIRE to achieve them. INSPIRE is when you arouse the urge in someone else to do something; simply put, to inspire is to encourage someone to attain their objective.