“The on-going protests in the U.S. lead to the end of the war and Richard Nixon securing the presidency”: from my cable provider’s description of “Fall,” the final episode of the CNN documentary series 1968.
Monday, May 28, 2018
Memorial Day 1918
[“Deck Graves Early Lest Foe Interfere: Our Troops in France Hold Services at Dawn to Avoid German Shells. Mass at the Madeleine. Cardinal Archbishop of Paris Praises Wilson in Address to Knights of Columbus. Cardinal Conducts Paris Services. Decorate Sailors’ Graves in Britain. Honors for Lusitania Dead.” The New York Times, May 31, 1918.]
Sunday, May 27, 2018
“Baby TripAdvisor”
“In the morning, we visited the table room. There were many, many tables in the table room. A button lady gave me my table and my throne too”: Rosemary Counter, “Baby TripAdvisor” (The New York Times).
NPR, sheesh
[An NPR correspondent speaking.]
“When him and Kim Jong-un . . . .”
Related reading
All OCA sheesh posts (Pinboard)
Saturday, May 26, 2018
Bushmiller Mutts
[Mutts, May 26, 2018.]
Looks like everyone is reading How to Read “Nancy.”
Related reading
All OCA Nancy posts (Pinboard)
Henry booths
[Henry, May 26, 2018.]
Readers of a certain age won’t need the final panels of today’s Henry to understand what’s going on: Henrietta and Henry are — of course — talking to each other. I remember the good clean fun of taking over a bank of Garden State Plaza phone booths with friends and making calls back and forth. Hilarity on the cheap.
Related reading
All OCA Henry posts (Pinboard)
From the Saturday Stumper
My favorite clue from today’s Newsday Saturday Stumper: 60-Down, four letters: “Sunset intersector.” A HAND shielding the eyes? The horizon LINE? No. And no spoilers; the answer is in the comments.
Today’s puzzle is by “Anna Stiga,” or “Stan again.” Newsday ’s crossword editor Stan Newman uses that pen name for easier Saturday puzzles of his making.
Friday, May 25, 2018
W2’s mommy
[Webster’s New International Dictionary, second edition (1934).]
This guide word caught my eye. “Aww,” said I. Followed by “Sheesh.”
Mom appears in W2 only in the extra bits that run along the bottom of the page, where the word is identified as “corrupt. of mamma.” In W3 (1961), mom becomes “short for momma,” and mommy becomes “alter. of mammy.” And both mom and mommy are now defined as “mother,” and nothing but “mother.” The old squaw duck (now known as the long-tailed duck) is gone.
How strange and wonderful that while writing this post, I got a FaceTime call from my daughter Rachel and her daughter Talia. Hi Mom.
“Beat Bop”
A blast from the past in The New Yorker: Hua Hsu’s “The Spectacular Mythology of Rammellzee.” It made me remember a 12-inch single from back in the day: Rammelzee vs. K-Rob, “Beat Bop.” It’s an extraordinary record, ten minutes and ten seconds of K-Rob’s storytelling and cultural commentary and Rammelzee’s spectacular wordplay. My favorite line, I think: “Patty Duke played out the hitting the top.” Say what?!
No, I don’t have the original Tartown release with cover art by Jean-Michel Basquiat. I have the plain old Profile single. On the record the name is spelled Rammelzee. The “day” was 1983.
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