Browsing Month May, 2006
Don’t Be a Bampot!
If you’re a word lover, you’ll want to hurry on over and snap up The Official Dictionary of Unofficial English: A Crunk Omnibus for Thrillionaires and Bampots for the Ecozoic Age, the new book by Grant Barrett. Hey, even William Safire calls this book “remarkably with-it.” (Okay, so I wasn’t with-it enough to know the more…
Biting the Apple at Last
Well, the hard drive in my nifty little IBM Thinkpad X40 seems to be failing. As a result, after 15 years online with a PC, I just ordered my very first Mac. I’ll let you know if I can learn to use that icky trackpad. I feel like I need some kind of ceremony to more…
Flipping Out
I forgot until the other day how much I used to enjoy the little ditties of Danish poet and scientist Piet Hein. I especially his grook called “A Psychological Tip” about how to make decisions by flipping a coin. It’s a surprisingly helpful strategy.
Nevaeh Mind!
I’m not even sure what to say about this NY Times article about the sudden popularity of one of the weirdest female names to come along in a while, Nevaeh. (No, not the skin cream.)
Only One Day Left!
Only one day left in the Martha Barnette Scrabble Challenge! As the KPBS promotional copy puts it: Did you ever wish you could have dueled Jimi Hendrix on the guitar? Or maybe played a game of hoops against Michael Jordan? Some things simply just won’t happen, but if you’ve ever wondered what it’d be like more…
My New Hero!
This just made my day: Moments before a scheduled on-air interview last week, a harried producer ran to the BBC’s reception area to grab the interviewee and whisk him into the studio. Problem was, they didn’t grab the expert — they grabbed his cab driver, who happens to have a limited command of English. As more…
Okay, Okay, the Dark Side of Pandas
Just in time for Mother’s Day Weekend, a most unsentimental piece by the NY Times’ Natalie Angier on the decidedly non-maternal behavior (at least as we think of it) in animals. And as a language watcher, I have to ask: Natalie, what up with all the alliteration and rhyme in this story? Case in point: more…
Talk About the Feathers Flying!
Yet another report of homosexual behavior in animals, this time involving flamingos who’ve been together for more than five years and reared three generations of adopted chicks: ….Twice a year Carlos and Fernando perform an elaborate courtship dance together before stealing eggs from their heterosexual neighbours to bring up as their own… Both of them more…
Today’s Word: Ludic
So, I’ve been trying to think of an excuse to link to this video of pandas at play, just because they’re So. Darn. Cute. Then it occurred to me that it’s a great way to bring up the term ludic (LOO-dic), which means “of or relating to play or playfulness.” In case you were wondering, more…
More on Marryin’ Monkeys
Remember a while back when we were discussing terms for “raining while the sun is still shining,” like “monkey’s wedding” and “pineapple rain”? Well, yesterday, I had a lovely time addressing the annual conference of the International Association of Audio Information Services, and an audience member suggested that in Ireland, the term for that meterological more…
