Sunday, April 29, 2007
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
addendum to year in review
I've finally kicked a nasty habit.
It only took about three decades, but I no longer bite my nails. During that (first) fateful trip to Hawaii, perhaps the longest stretch of un-stressed-ness I've experienced, I managed to not chew on the tips of my fingers until they resembled bloody stumps as I usually do. And, I've managed to return to work -- and fairly intense (sometimes self-induced) stress levels without the nail-biting.
Yay!
It only took about three decades, but I no longer bite my nails. During that (first) fateful trip to Hawaii, perhaps the longest stretch of un-stressed-ness I've experienced, I managed to not chew on the tips of my fingers until they resembled bloody stumps as I usually do. And, I've managed to return to work -- and fairly intense (sometimes self-induced) stress levels without the nail-biting.
Yay!
peep jousting
I first found a reference to this pastime in a WaPo story, but Anica Skywalker tipped me off to this link . Man, newspapers are offering valuable multimedia content these days ...
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Father Crunk
"Roll deep, and buy your own drinks, for one knows not what someone has put in that appletini." --- Fr. Bailey
The New York Times
June 17, 2006 Saturday
Late Edition - Final
A Hard Core, Hip-Hop Spiritual Journey
BYLINE: By BRENDA GOODMAN
SECTION: Section B; Column 4; Metropolitan Desk; Religion Journal; Pg. 5
LENGTH: 892 words
DATELINE: ATLANTA, June 16
Just as the sun started to burn through the smog on a recent Monday morning, the Rev. Ricardo Xavier-Zatwon Bailey, 32, a priest at Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Church here, loosened his collar, slipped on his headphones and rolled up to a radio-studio microphone.
''Yes, party people, it's Father Ricardo Bailey coming at you live and hard core from the basilica at Q-100.''
Sandwiched between songs by the likes of Trick Daddy and the Pussycat Dolls, Father Bailey has a weekly gig on one of the most popular morning shows in Atlanta, ''The Bert Show,'' where he has been introduced to listeners as ''Father Crunk.''
That an ordained Catholic priest might call himself ''Crunk,'' a hip-hop fusion of the words ''crazy'' and ''drunk,'' might seem outrageous enough, but what is really making Atlantans choke on their morning coffee are his radio riffs, which take their cues as much from the pages of People magazine as the Book of Proverbs.
Recently, for example, the subject of his discussion was a rumored bar fight between the tabloid princesses Lindsay Lohan and Jessica Simpson.
After Ms. Lohan supposedly sent a drink to Ms. Simpson that Ms. Simpson, in turn, supposedly ignored, Ms. Lohan supposedly proceeded to berate Ms. Simpson publicly.
Father Bailey saw multiple lessons in this supposed exchange.
''When you go to the club, Atlanta, roll deep,'' he said, advising his listeners to travel in packs. ''That way, people won't be ready to start some drama with you if you've got some homies around. When you go to the club, Atlanta, buy your own damn drink. Like I said before, you have no idea what somebody put in that appletini.''
Father Bailey closed by advising: ''Jesus rose above the drama. So can you.''
Another talk, titled ''Stop Dippin' and Dappin' if You Don't Know What's Happenin','' compared speculation over the paternity of Katie Holmes's baby to the fallout after the Virgin Mary's pregnancy. ''Folks were hating on Mary,'' Father Bailey said. ''They were filling Joseph's mind with the fact that he better kick Mary to the curb because he wasn't that baby's daddy.''
See the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John for more details, Father Bailey said, and stop ''fanning the flames of haterology'' with gossip.
When Father Bailey goes on the air with his brand of divinely inspired dish, the telephone lines light up.
The first question from callers has typically been ''Is he for real?'' said Jeff Dauler, a producer and co-host of the show. Then they want to know where and when to find him on Sunday.
Father Bailey, who grew up in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood here, was ordained in 2003.
He insists that he is for real and that his street-smart sermonizing is not for show.
''That's just who I am,'' he said. ''It's not an act. The parishioners are used to it.''
Apparently so. He has become so sought out that the Archdiocese of Atlanta had to give him a dedicated link on its Web site.
His popularity is a great relief to Catholic leaders here, who were not sure that having one of their priests on a radio show that made a name for itself with a gag that outed cheating spouses was such a good idea.
''We were very, very reluctant,'' said Gareth N. Genner, president of Holy Spirit Preparatory School, the school associated with Father Bailey's church. ''There was so much about the show that wasn't a good fit with our mission in terms of the content.''
(The school, in fact, does not let students listen to the whole show. Instead, they get a digital copy of the program and play the 10-minutes of Father Bailey's segment over the loudspeaker on Monday mornings.)
Father Bailey says he is careful to walk a line that entertains but does not stray from Catholic teachings, and he tones it down for Sunday Mass.
As one of just 250 black Catholic priests in the United States, Father Bailey knew he already stood out. He simply decided to use that to his advantage.
Being called ''crunk'' does not bother him, he said, because the word has evolved to mean superexcited or hyped up, not intoxicated. ''When I go to the pulpit and tell people to get crunk for Jesus, I'm not telling them to get 'crazy drunk' for Jesus.''
Still, he knows that not everyone digs his steelo (translation: style).
''I know there are some people who probably have a bad taste in their mouth and say I don't represent what a priest is supposed to be,'' Father Bailey said. Remarkably, he has heard from only three.
Mr. Genner, too, said he had heard few complaints about Father Bailey's approach.
''The only issue we heard is whether we should have been prepared to engage with Q-100 at all,'' Mr. Genner said. ''By engaging with them, we are supporting a media style which is counter to our faith.''
Their rebuttal to those concerns, he said, was that it was important to ''engage culture.''
''You can't lock yourself or your faith in a closet,'' Mr. Genner said.
And Mr. Genner said Father Bailey seemed to be reaching a population that they could not have otherwise engaged.
''We've heard from people who say they haven't been to church in 40 years who come to see Father Bailey,'' Mr. Genner said. ''There are evangelical churches in Atlanta which attract people because of their style and presentation, and I believe Father Bailey is the perfect antidote to that. He tells it to you the way you want to hear it.''
URL: http://www.nytimes.com
The New York Times
June 17, 2006 Saturday
Late Edition - Final
A Hard Core, Hip-Hop Spiritual Journey
BYLINE: By BRENDA GOODMAN
SECTION: Section B; Column 4; Metropolitan Desk; Religion Journal; Pg. 5
LENGTH: 892 words
DATELINE: ATLANTA, June 16
Just as the sun started to burn through the smog on a recent Monday morning, the Rev. Ricardo Xavier-Zatwon Bailey, 32, a priest at Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Church here, loosened his collar, slipped on his headphones and rolled up to a radio-studio microphone.
''Yes, party people, it's Father Ricardo Bailey coming at you live and hard core from the basilica at Q-100.''
Sandwiched between songs by the likes of Trick Daddy and the Pussycat Dolls, Father Bailey has a weekly gig on one of the most popular morning shows in Atlanta, ''The Bert Show,'' where he has been introduced to listeners as ''Father Crunk.''
That an ordained Catholic priest might call himself ''Crunk,'' a hip-hop fusion of the words ''crazy'' and ''drunk,'' might seem outrageous enough, but what is really making Atlantans choke on their morning coffee are his radio riffs, which take their cues as much from the pages of People magazine as the Book of Proverbs.
Recently, for example, the subject of his discussion was a rumored bar fight between the tabloid princesses Lindsay Lohan and Jessica Simpson.
After Ms. Lohan supposedly sent a drink to Ms. Simpson that Ms. Simpson, in turn, supposedly ignored, Ms. Lohan supposedly proceeded to berate Ms. Simpson publicly.
Father Bailey saw multiple lessons in this supposed exchange.
''When you go to the club, Atlanta, roll deep,'' he said, advising his listeners to travel in packs. ''That way, people won't be ready to start some drama with you if you've got some homies around. When you go to the club, Atlanta, buy your own damn drink. Like I said before, you have no idea what somebody put in that appletini.''
Father Bailey closed by advising: ''Jesus rose above the drama. So can you.''
Another talk, titled ''Stop Dippin' and Dappin' if You Don't Know What's Happenin','' compared speculation over the paternity of Katie Holmes's baby to the fallout after the Virgin Mary's pregnancy. ''Folks were hating on Mary,'' Father Bailey said. ''They were filling Joseph's mind with the fact that he better kick Mary to the curb because he wasn't that baby's daddy.''
See the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John for more details, Father Bailey said, and stop ''fanning the flames of haterology'' with gossip.
When Father Bailey goes on the air with his brand of divinely inspired dish, the telephone lines light up.
The first question from callers has typically been ''Is he for real?'' said Jeff Dauler, a producer and co-host of the show. Then they want to know where and when to find him on Sunday.
Father Bailey, who grew up in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood here, was ordained in 2003.
He insists that he is for real and that his street-smart sermonizing is not for show.
''That's just who I am,'' he said. ''It's not an act. The parishioners are used to it.''
Apparently so. He has become so sought out that the Archdiocese of Atlanta had to give him a dedicated link on its Web site.
His popularity is a great relief to Catholic leaders here, who were not sure that having one of their priests on a radio show that made a name for itself with a gag that outed cheating spouses was such a good idea.
''We were very, very reluctant,'' said Gareth N. Genner, president of Holy Spirit Preparatory School, the school associated with Father Bailey's church. ''There was so much about the show that wasn't a good fit with our mission in terms of the content.''
(The school, in fact, does not let students listen to the whole show. Instead, they get a digital copy of the program and play the 10-minutes of Father Bailey's segment over the loudspeaker on Monday mornings.)
Father Bailey says he is careful to walk a line that entertains but does not stray from Catholic teachings, and he tones it down for Sunday Mass.
As one of just 250 black Catholic priests in the United States, Father Bailey knew he already stood out. He simply decided to use that to his advantage.
Being called ''crunk'' does not bother him, he said, because the word has evolved to mean superexcited or hyped up, not intoxicated. ''When I go to the pulpit and tell people to get crunk for Jesus, I'm not telling them to get 'crazy drunk' for Jesus.''
Still, he knows that not everyone digs his steelo (translation: style).
''I know there are some people who probably have a bad taste in their mouth and say I don't represent what a priest is supposed to be,'' Father Bailey said. Remarkably, he has heard from only three.
Mr. Genner, too, said he had heard few complaints about Father Bailey's approach.
''The only issue we heard is whether we should have been prepared to engage with Q-100 at all,'' Mr. Genner said. ''By engaging with them, we are supporting a media style which is counter to our faith.''
Their rebuttal to those concerns, he said, was that it was important to ''engage culture.''
''You can't lock yourself or your faith in a closet,'' Mr. Genner said.
And Mr. Genner said Father Bailey seemed to be reaching a population that they could not have otherwise engaged.
''We've heard from people who say they haven't been to church in 40 years who come to see Father Bailey,'' Mr. Genner said. ''There are evangelical churches in Atlanta which attract people because of their style and presentation, and I believe Father Bailey is the perfect antidote to that. He tells it to you the way you want to hear it.''
URL: http://www.nytimes.com
Friday, March 23, 2007
where in the world
is Carmen SanDiego?
Not the geography video game, but the PBS game show for kids with the annoying acappella band ...
Not the geography video game, but the PBS game show for kids with the annoying acappella band ...
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
year in review
I fully intended to post a look back at my life as lived in 2006, but instead here's a rough, belated outline:
1. started the new job at the same company, this time at the office just blocks away from my home. That means I can walk to work, making the world a safer place because I'm not driving in it.
2. discovered that cars usually work better if you change the transmission fluid more frequently than every oh, say, 100,000 miles. acquired new car (paid in full with parental guilt bonds) that is very very cute. One good friend compares the 2007 Honda Civic to a TicTac, but I feel its design is far superior, more like a Velamint. It's atomic blue (a sky blue shade that coordinates well with its orange turn signals) and has a large digital speedometer that looks like it belongs on KITT. It also allows even the smallest nephew to become a back-seat driver. "Wow, Aunty, you're driving 45? Can you go 100?"
3. Went to new places, including Hawaii, short stays in Denver and Salt Lake City, and returned to some old ones, like Seattle.
more notes on that and other 2006 revelations in future posts. It's nearly 2 a.m. EDT and I sleepy.
1. started the new job at the same company, this time at the office just blocks away from my home. That means I can walk to work, making the world a safer place because I'm not driving in it.
2. discovered that cars usually work better if you change the transmission fluid more frequently than every oh, say, 100,000 miles. acquired new car (paid in full with parental guilt bonds) that is very very cute. One good friend compares the 2007 Honda Civic to a TicTac, but I feel its design is far superior, more like a Velamint. It's atomic blue (a sky blue shade that coordinates well with its orange turn signals) and has a large digital speedometer that looks like it belongs on KITT. It also allows even the smallest nephew to become a back-seat driver. "Wow, Aunty, you're driving 45? Can you go 100?"
3. Went to new places, including Hawaii, short stays in Denver and Salt Lake City, and returned to some old ones, like Seattle.
more notes on that and other 2006 revelations in future posts. It's nearly 2 a.m. EDT and I sleepy.
solving the mystery
So tonight BJones answered the question that's troubled him since he was a wee pre-teen: what exactly was Eddie Money singing in the chorus of the 80s song "Take Me Home Tonight"?
You know the one. It goes like this:
"Take me home tonight
I don't want to let you go (something something something)
Take me home tonight
Because just like (something something)
And then a woman's voice interjects
"Be my little baby
Baby, my darlin' ... oh oh oh oh oh"
So BJones pulls up the video on the youtube so we can listen to it. JScharp discerns "until you see the light" for the first mystery phrase.
We then search online for lyrics to the song (clearly the easiest way to figure it out) but that's even more confusing.
"Because just like Ronnie says"? Who's Ronnie?
She's the interjecting woman, according to the comments. Wikipedia explains further:
"The Ronettes were a girl group of the 1960s from New York City, best known for their work with producer Phil Spector. They consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett (a.k.a. Ronnie Spector) ... Their most famous songs include ' Be My Baby'."
"Ronnie Spector accompanied Eddie Money on the 1986 hit song 'Take Me Home Tonight'."
So it's like this song was an early form of sampling! Very interesting. Never picked up on the reference.
You know the one. It goes like this:
"Take me home tonight
I don't want to let you go (something something something)
Take me home tonight
Because just like (something something)
And then a woman's voice interjects
"Be my little baby
Baby, my darlin' ... oh oh oh oh oh"
So BJones pulls up the video on the youtube so we can listen to it. JScharp discerns "until you see the light" for the first mystery phrase.
We then search online for lyrics to the song (clearly the easiest way to figure it out) but that's even more confusing.
"Because just like Ronnie says"? Who's Ronnie?
She's the interjecting woman, according to the comments. Wikipedia explains further:
"The Ronettes were a girl group of the 1960s from New York City, best known for their work with producer Phil Spector. They consisted of lead singer Veronica Bennett (a.k.a. Ronnie Spector) ... Their most famous songs include ' Be My Baby'."
"Ronnie Spector accompanied Eddie Money on the 1986 hit song 'Take Me Home Tonight'."
So it's like this song was an early form of sampling! Very interesting. Never picked up on the reference.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
the redhead's show
Here's the review of the redhead's show in the CityPaper.
Time's Arrow
Group Photography Eloquently Captures The Mercurial Glimmers Of Changes
Group Photography Eloquently Captures The Mercurial Glimmers Of Changes
Here's the good part:
"Ten untitled ink-jet prints from Kelly Egan's "Velocity Series" do take what Furlong sets up and translates it poetically into a still experience. These are landscapes, too--barely extant, wind-swept, flying past, vanishing as if all is essentially lost and irrevocable. They are softly beautiful and coldly worrisome, distressing and serene. "
Here are the details of the show:
http://www.goucher.edu/x15884.xml
"Wishful Re-Thinking," an exhibit featuring photography that reinterprets the idea of landscape, will be on display in Goucher College's Rosenberg Gallery from Monday, January 22 through Wednesday, March 7. The gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and during scheduled events in Kraushaar Auditorium. Call 410-337-6333 for additional hours and directions.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
A shocking line
This story is so outrageous ... it's like it's embedded with smaller chunks of outrage, like chocolate chips in a chocolate-chocolate chip cookie.
For example, this line:
So, the would-be pedophiles were upset that a 29-year-old had tricked them into having sex with someone they believed was 12? So they are attracted to children, but weren't happy when they found out they had been satisfying their desires with someone old enough to make adult decisions?
Not that this excuses the adult-posing-as-minor from his other deeds --- including enrolling in the 7th grade at several Arizona schools --- but sheesh. I'm not sure that Stiffler and Snow get to be angry.
For example, this line:
"The authorities said Mr. Stiffler and Mr. Snow were shocked, too, and angry about being duped by an adult posing as a minor."
So, the would-be pedophiles were upset that a 29-year-old had tricked them into having sex with someone they believed was 12? So they are attracted to children, but weren't happy when they found out they had been satisfying their desires with someone old enough to make adult decisions?
Not that this excuses the adult-posing-as-minor from his other deeds --- including enrolling in the 7th grade at several Arizona schools --- but sheesh. I'm not sure that Stiffler and Snow get to be angry.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Well, Frank is my middle name ...
Now, I know I have a bit of a neurosis about my middle initial. Once I hit confirmation age I rarely wrote my name without it, much less signed anything. I even introduced myself that way. What can I say? My parents blessed me with few syllables, so I tried to include letters as many as possible.
But according to this article, Harry S Truman had a lot more to complain about.
"Harry S Truman's middle initial led to controversy. Truman's parents could not agree on his middle name, so they settled on the letter S, sans period. Some deemed Truman's lack of a longer middle name as emblematic of his slight stature. How could the short, lightly regarded machine politician sit at the great FDR's desk? As Bruce Kuklick recounted in The Good Ruler: From Herbert Hoover to Richard Nixon, "one frustrated voter exclaimed, 'They say the S doesn't stand for nothing; the whole god-damn name doesn't stand for nothing.' "
Now, the Truman family dilemma makes a lot of sense to me. I have many fears associated with production of offspring, including the possibility that I might bestow upon my child a name that becomes connected with a mass murderer or some other awful association during his or her lifetime. As David Wallis points out, even Barak Obama is a victim. I wonder if there are any/many names that have followed the opposite course, moving from infamy to acceptability.
The fear of poor name choice, however, is trumped by the fear of producing an axe murderer or serial rapist or mime or boy band member myself.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
I'm the [insert carbohydrate here] man!
I'm not ready to concede defeat on a $20 bet I made with my sister over the weekend, about a children's story I remember my parents reading to me. The details are a bit fuzzy, but I remember the oft-repeated phrase "Can't catch me, I'm the Pancake Man!"
My sister remembers nothing of the sort and instead insists that the protagonist of this fable was in fact a gingerbread man, pointing to his recent appearance in the Shrek movies as evidence.
True, a Google search reveals far more references to gingerbread men than flapjack fellows, but I've found at least one example . Someone out there knows what I'm talking about!
Frankly, there's a lot of food on the loose, especially starchy ones, according to this Amazon list . Highlights include The Runaway Tortilla, The Flying Latke and that Hawai'ian favorite, The Musubi Man. Surprised not to see On Top of Spaghetti mentioned but by now you probably can't the first line of the song out of your head.
Listen to it on Scoutsongs.org:
"On top of spaghetti,
All covered with cheese,
I lost my poor meatball,
When somebody sneezed.
It rolled off the table,
And on to the floor,
And then my poor meatball,
Rolled out of the door.
It rolled in the garden,
And under a bush,
And then my poor meatball,
Was nothing but mush.
The mush was as tasty
As tasty could be,
And then the next summer,
It grew into a tree.
The tree was all covered,
All covered with moss,
And on it grew meatballs,
And tomato sauce.
So if you eat spaghetti,
All covered with cheese,
Hold on to your meatball,
Whenever you sneeze."
My sister remembers nothing of the sort and instead insists that the protagonist of this fable was in fact a gingerbread man, pointing to his recent appearance in the Shrek movies as evidence.
True, a Google search reveals far more references to gingerbread men than flapjack fellows, but I've found at least one example . Someone out there knows what I'm talking about!
Frankly, there's a lot of food on the loose, especially starchy ones, according to this Amazon list . Highlights include The Runaway Tortilla, The Flying Latke and that Hawai'ian favorite, The Musubi Man. Surprised not to see On Top of Spaghetti mentioned but by now you probably can't the first line of the song out of your head.
Listen to it on Scoutsongs.org:
"On top of spaghetti,
All covered with cheese,
I lost my poor meatball,
When somebody sneezed.
It rolled off the table,
And on to the floor,
And then my poor meatball,
Rolled out of the door.
It rolled in the garden,
And under a bush,
And then my poor meatball,
Was nothing but mush.
The mush was as tasty
As tasty could be,
And then the next summer,
It grew into a tree.
The tree was all covered,
All covered with moss,
And on it grew meatballs,
And tomato sauce.
So if you eat spaghetti,
All covered with cheese,
Hold on to your meatball,
Whenever you sneeze."
Sunday, December 10, 2006
It's not the size ...
but how you use it.
A desi friend sent me this link to a BBC story that could make many South Asian men shudder --- Condoms 'too big' for Indian men : A survey of more than 1,000 men in India concludes that condoms made according to international sizes are too big for most Indian men.
Clearly they have not heard of this product .
Friday, December 08, 2006
curse words
Profanity is always exciting... its origins are ripe for urban legands and creative uses (different parts of speech, for example) should be applauded. Here is a link to fascinating commentary about the use of curses in Francophone Canada.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/04/AR2006120401286.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/04/AR2006120401286.html
Thursday, November 30, 2006
a more affectionate form of biological warfare
So, I'm sick. Every day this week I've had symptoms that are slowly assembling (kind of like Voltron) to form a pretty nasty nasty cold. Sunday and Monday, I had a fever. Tuesday and Wednesday brought on a runny nose. Now my nose is so stuffy that my throat is getting scratchy as a result.
Actually, I have a fever but no chills, because it's so amazingly hot outside. Over 60 degrees in November, dudes.
I'm not the only person in the office under the weather. It seems like everyone independently caught something over the Thanksgiving weekend, probably from small children they encountered during the trip. My own youngest niece spent the weekend, her second as a 3-year-old, charging around dishing out hugs and kisses with abandon, leaving trails of contamination in her wake.
The redhead once said that instead of bombs we should send battalions of toddlers to our enemies. Picture it -- swarms of pre-kindergarteners, armed with sippy cups, demanding glue and chocolate, not necessarily in that order, sneezing on every horizontal surface. That ought to bring down even the most dasterdly foes.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
the search begins
So, since the sibling-offspring are still too young to read this blog, I can reveal here first that Auntie Santa is going to be packing watches for at least two of the three of them.
Now, I haven't always stuck to my values when purchasing a gift for the kids. I bought A.J. his first GameBoy when he was 3 -- an original (and used) model from eBay. And Kayla can wile away the hours playing Barbie Real Estate Investor because I contributed one of the two hot-pink mega-mansions when she turned 4. But I always debate whether I should yield to the silly commericalization of their society and purchase gender-specific, Disney-fied versions of whatever they're asking for. Then again, the Mickey Mouse watch is classic ...
As I began my quest the 21st century way (with a Google search) I discovered this article about the difficulties of selecting a wristwatch for an Indian child.
" ... please ensure that you are updated with the life of your young one to ensure that when you are out shopping for them, you have it right. You don't want them to sulk away and wish that they had another set of parents."
Just for purchasing an out-of-style watch?!
My own parents and relatives always seemed pretty quick to give small children watches --- sometimes even before the kid had a firm understanding of the passage of time. I always figured watches, like umbrellas, were status symbols in the old country. And the 'rents believed ripping the paper off a present was the most fun of all. The two concepts had merged in one package I opened as a four-year-old, only to discover that Kris Kringle had brought me vitamins, toothpaste and a purse-sized bumbershoot. If that's not proof that the Red Man is a lie, I don't know what is.
Now, I haven't always stuck to my values when purchasing a gift for the kids. I bought A.J. his first GameBoy when he was 3 -- an original (and used) model from eBay. And Kayla can wile away the hours playing Barbie Real Estate Investor because I contributed one of the two hot-pink mega-mansions when she turned 4. But I always debate whether I should yield to the silly commericalization of their society and purchase gender-specific, Disney-fied versions of whatever they're asking for. Then again, the Mickey Mouse watch is classic ...
As I began my quest the 21st century way (with a Google search) I discovered this article about the difficulties of selecting a wristwatch for an Indian child.
" ... please ensure that you are updated with the life of your young one to ensure that when you are out shopping for them, you have it right. You don't want them to sulk away and wish that they had another set of parents."
Just for purchasing an out-of-style watch?!
My own parents and relatives always seemed pretty quick to give small children watches --- sometimes even before the kid had a firm understanding of the passage of time. I always figured watches, like umbrellas, were status symbols in the old country. And the 'rents believed ripping the paper off a present was the most fun of all. The two concepts had merged in one package I opened as a four-year-old, only to discover that Kris Kringle had brought me vitamins, toothpaste and a purse-sized bumbershoot. If that's not proof that the Red Man is a lie, I don't know what is.
Guinea hen, not Constantinople
I think that for as long as I've celebrated Thanksgiving and had a reasonable understanding of geography I've been confused by the coincidence that both a bird and a country are named "Turkey."
A quick search on dictionary.com reveals that turkeys were originally confused with what wikipedia describes in greater detail as a guinea fowl of Turkish origin.
A quick search on dictionary.com reveals that turkeys were originally confused with what wikipedia describes in greater detail as a guinea fowl of Turkish origin.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Akeelah and the Bee
I defied usual patterns of behavior moments ago by making it entirely through Akeelah and the Bee without falling asleep, after working until nearly 1 a.m. Saturday morning. Usually, the redhead says, the whir of a DVD sliding into the player is enough to lull me into a deep slumber, but perhaps the skim latte I sucked down at 6 p.m. helped stave off the ZZZs.
Anyway, although I'm inclined to enjoy any movie that features Scrabble so prominently, the story of Akeelah, an 11-year-old from the 'hood who gains the love and respect of her family and peers as she prepares for the national spelling bee, was just cloyingly sweet. Probably best suited for those who still can muster that suspension of disbelief so necessary to truly enjoy such a film, such as my 6-year-old niece.
The redhead declined to watch it, asking "what's with all the spelling bee movies these days?" There do seem to be several live and film depictions of the contests out there, what with the 2005 adaptation of Bee Season and the musical on Broadway. But he never even saw the best of the bunch: Spellbound, a documentary about kids preparing for the nationals.
And who knows? They may someday exist only in fictionalized form. Some people are blaming what's known as the No Child Left Behind act as a good reason to disband spelling bees altogether.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
but does it taste any good?
Urban Word of the Day: nicotini
Could this really be possible? Would people really serve tobacco-infused vodka, and would people really stave off the cravings with it?
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: daily@urbandictionary.com <daily@urbandictionary.com>
Date: Nov 9, 2006 7:55 AM
Subject: Urban Word of the Day: nicotini
Urban Word of the Day
www.urbandictionary.com
November 09, 2006: nicotini
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=nicotini&defid=1952548
An alcoholic drink that includes nicotine as an ingredient. Usually made with vodka in which tobacco has been soaked. Generally billed as an alternative for smokers in smoke-free establishments.
After the citywide smoking ban came into effect, my only option was to drink an occassional nicotini while barhopping.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: daily@urbandictionary.com <daily@urbandictionary.com>
Date: Nov 9, 2006 7:55 AM
Subject: Urban Word of the Day: nicotini
Urban Word of the Day
www.urbandictionary.com
November 09, 2006: nicotini
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=nicotini&defid=1952548
An alcoholic drink that includes nicotine as an ingredient. Usually made with vodka in which tobacco has been soaked. Generally billed as an alternative for smokers in smoke-free establishments.
After the citywide smoking ban came into effect, my only option was to drink an occassional nicotini while barhopping.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
robocalls
This was a phenomenal election year for robocalls ... I got three from Bill Clinton and one from Jesse Jackson, as well as the usual rings from actual candidates themselves.
But I was inspired by this headline on Kevin Cowherd's election column. Imagine if we could robocall all the people who were elected to office and say, "Hi, I'm [insert name here]. Yesterday was Election Day, and I'd like to know I can count on your support for the next [insert length of term here]." Wonder if that would make any difference in the way people use their new or extended power ... or if it would have more of an effect if we could do it randomly and periodically. :]
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