I saw Black Hawk Down yesterday. Gory and long, but exciting. It made me think about the imminent (January 2003) commencement of my indenture at the Greek army. Anyway, there is a scene in the film where some soldiers in a helicopter are arguing about whether limo is good in Scrabble®. The guy who wants it “coming off the board” claims that it’s an abbreviation, and therefore it’s not good. Well, it’s good. And so is humvee(s).

Chris sent me this, because it looks like “fufurasu”:

foofaraw \FOO-fuh-raw\, noun:

1. Excessive or flashy ornamentation or decoration.
2. A fuss over a matter of little importance.

I think I am going to be using the word foofaraw as the antonym of minimalism from now on in architectural discourse, simply because it sounds contemptuous. Foofaraw, like humvee(s), is an acceptable Scrabble® word in the Official Tournament and Club Word List, used in North America for tournament play. Neither word is acceptable in OWL (the British source).