From The Intellectual Life of Colonial New England
Monthly Archives: February 2013
Am I the only one who wants to see a cross-over between these two period soap operas about archaic aristocracies? Let’s see an HBO-PBS team-up please!
Hey, we just set out;
Our captain’s crazy.
This is the Pequod;
__ we’ll all die, maybe.
None of the other ships
would chase the White Whale.
But it’s the Pequod,
__ so call me Ishmael.
x-chaser. ‘A naval officer with high theoretical qualifications’ [Royal Navy] : from early C. 20 … The x is that x which figures so disturbingly in mathematics. Also [Royal Air Force] : ‘Damned if I know. Chasing X has never been my strong suit.’
– Partidge’s Concise Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English
When I read the news that scientists had captured and separated wild dolphins to investigate their use of “signature whistles” to call out to each other, the sounds that earlier research had concluded was a sort of name that individual dolphins used to identify themselves, I was touched. After all, it was clearly evidence of a deep and emotional connection between these very intelligent animals.
But, then I realized there was so much more going on. Continue reading
A few days after I proposed an expansive design to reform US rail travel, Bloomberg proposed some smaller scale reforms to help get Amtrak back on the rails. Continue reading
From The Lady in the Lake by Raymond Chandler.
_
Private detective Philip Marlowe (the narrator) and police lieutenant Al Degarmo arrive at Bryson Tower—”a white stucco palace with fretted lanterns in the forecourt and tall date palms“—to interview one of the residents about an unsolved murder… Continue reading
Speaking of outlets for creativity that I don’t often publicize here, I also do some amateur design work. Some of it is obvious in the form of book covers and promotional graphics. Most of it, however, I typically keep to myself. Perhaps I should share. For example:
If I were to open a small-scale hardware store (there still are small-scale retail outlets, right?) I would give it the catchy, quirky-fun, palindromic name “Skrew Werks” and use this logo:
ghiyar
Compulsory distinctive patch of colored cloth (for example, red, blue, yellow) worn by dhimmis.*
zunnar
A distinctive girdle or belt worn by dhimmis.
– Daily Life in the Medieval Islamic World
* J’s note: Dhimmis were/are non-Muslims living in Muslim lands.
COCK-LOFT, subs. (old). — The head. [A COCK-LOFT is properly a small loft, garret, or apartment at the top of a house …] An old proverb runs, ‘All his gear is in his COCK-LOFT’; i.e., ‘all his wealth, work, or worth is in his head.’
– Historical Dictionary of Slang