Bill M.'s definitions

Liberal media

A term that implies that news reporting has a bias towards "left" or politically liberal ideas, but in reality is an illusion created when highly opinionated people inevitably use selective hearing to filter out and pick up on topics they don't like, forgetting the rest.

You can find some on-line conservative newspapers that claim to be "the real news, not the liberal media kind!" as well as some on-line liberal papers that claim to be "the real news, not the conservative-bias kind!"

by Bill M. August 27, 2004

Dio

1. Heavy metal band fronted by Ronnie James Dio, formed in 1983 after leaving Black Sabbath.
2. Ronnie James Dio himself, a heavy metal singer best known as popularizing the "horns" hand guesture in the world of heavy metal, which is still seen at heavy metal concerts today
3. (adjective) refers to a band's albums or time span that feature Ronnie James Dio; more specifically in reference to Black Sabbath and Rainbow

1. The songs "Holy Diver", "Rainbow In The Dark", "The Last In Line", and "Hungry for Heaven" are by the band Dio.
2. "Dio? Yeah, he rocks!"
3. "When it comes to the band Rainbow, I really like the Dio years. I also like Dio-era Black Sabbath."

by Bill M. September 10, 2004

deism

The belief that God (or some form of deity or divine creator) exists, but plays no interactive role in our day to day lives

The founding fathers of the United States were largely deists.

by Bill M. July 27, 2004

bass guitar

(BASE - gitt - TARR) A musical instrument that's a hybrid of the upright bass (also known as the double bass or bass violin) and the electric guitar, conveniently combining the low tonal range of the upright bass with the portability and playability of the guitar. Popularized by models created by Leo Fender in the 1950s, although he wasn't the first to manufacture a bass & guitar combination.

Like the original upright bass, bass guitars most commonly have 4 thick strings tuned EADG. But extended-range models with five (BEADG) or six strings (BEADGC) are available too, as are 8 and 12 string models (based off the idea of 12 string guitars).

Paul McCartney and Sting both play the bass guitar.

by Bill M. July 27, 2004

wwjd

Stands for "What Would Jesus Do?", where "Jesus" refers to Jesus of Nazareth (see New Testament). Often printed on cheap bracelets or along the length of lanyards.

Articles with "WWJD?" are worn by Christians to promote and/or reflect the idea that in times of conflict or moral dilemna, one should speculate (based on the teachings and behaviors described in the Gospels) what Jesus would probably have done in the given situation.

"I'm not sure if I should write this webpage script in Perl, Java or PHP. Hmm, What Would Jesus do?"

"WWJD? Well for starters, he probably wouldn't purchase and wear tacky jewelry."

"Why is exclaiming 'Jesus Christ!' considered taking the Lord's name in vain, but wearing tacky 'WWJD?' jewelry isn't?"

by Bill M. July 30, 2004

Berkshires

("BURK - sheerz") The western half of Massachusetts. Pretty much everything west of Springfield, regardless of whether or not the town is in the actual county of Berkshire. Known for its heavily wooded areas, ski resorts, and small towns, in contrast to the more urbanized eastern half of the state.

"We went to the Berkshires last winter to go skiing."

by Bill M. December 17, 2004

acoustic

1) A musical instrument that is not electric
2) A musical performance that uses no electric instruments (aside from microphones and similar amplification)

1) Jimi Hendrix played an electric guitar on the song "Purple Haze", but Paul Simon played an acoustic guitar on Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson". Techno and dance music uses electric drums, but rock music typically sticks to acoustic drums.

2) Eric Clapton's band did an acoustic show on "Mtv Unplugged".

by Bill M. August 27, 2004