“Like writing in the sky”

Maeve Brennan, “The Carpet with the Big Pink Roses on It,” in The Springs of Affection: Stories of Dublin (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997).

Related reading
All OCA Maeve Brennan posts (Pinboard)

“London particular”

In the opening minutes of The Divorce of Lady X (dir. Tim Whelan, 1938), two bobbies talk about the fog: “It’s pea soup, I’m afraid. The old London particular.” Wait a minute, wait a minute, thought I, I know that expression. It’s in Charles Dickens’s Bleak House (1853), courtesy of William Guppy, speaking to Esther Summerson:

He was very obliging, and as he handed me into a fly after superintending the removal of my boxes, I asked him whether there was a great fire anywhere? For the streets were so full of dense brown smoke that scarcely anything was to be seen.

“Oh, dear no, miss,” he said. “This is a London particular.”

I had never heard of such a thing.

“A fog, miss,” said the young gentleman.

“Oh, indeed!” said I.

The Oxford English Dictionary cites this passage as the first instance of London particular meaning “a dense fog affecting London.” What’s surprising to me is that London particular had an earlier, now obsolete, meaning: “a kind of Madeira imported through London.” As in “I uncorked a bottle of London particular” (1807). Dickens traded one particular for another, turning wine into fog.

Translation

Nancy Pelosi, earlier today: "I pray for the president of the United States."

Translation: “He's off his rocker.”

*

May 23: Kelly O’Donnell: “Are you concerned about the president’s well-being?” Nancy Pelosi: “I am.”

Q & non-A

CLIP: Complete exchange between Rep. Pressley and Secretary Carson.@SecretaryCarson: "Reclaiming my time."@RepPressley: "You don't get to do that."

Carson: "Oh."@RepMaxineWaters: "The time belongs to the gentle lady." pic.twitter.com/HFlS749tji

— CSPAN (@cspan) May 21, 2019

If I were still living in Brighton, Ayanna Pressley (D, Massachusetts-7) would be my representative.

Melitta Bentz

Our household has used Melitta coffee filters for years, but I never knew how they got their name. I think the story of Melitta Bentz (1873–1950) is a recent addition to the back of the box:

It was 1908 when a German housewife, Melitta Bentz, made coffee history. Tired of the bitterness and troublesome grounds in her daily brew, Melitta poked holes in the bottom of a brass cup and lined it with a sheet of her son’s blotting paper. She then filled the cup with ground coffee and poured in hot water, thereby creating the pour-over filtration system. The result . . . rich flavorful coffee without bitterness or mess. This innovation changed the way people worldwide make their coffee, becoming the precursor to modern day drip coffee brewing. Over 100 years later, Melitta remains dedicated to the pursuit of the perfect cup of coffee.

The company website has an illustrated history of its products. A Wikipedia article about Melitta Bentz notes that her grandchildren control the Melitta Group KG.

Related reading
All OCA coffee posts (Pinboard)

Willie Perdomo on writing letters

“Letters are where we argue, say goodbye, dream, fail, forgive, and tell our secrets, and send regrets. We can't filter our lives or curate our feeds in letters. Letters are where we attempt to tell the truth and wait”: the poet Willie Perdomo talks about the value of writing letters (PBS NewsHour).

New directions in movie rentals

My little town’s Family Video has consigned half its space to an independent take-out restaurant. That’s a purely local development. The reduced-size Family Video still rents DVDs but now also sells CBD products. That’s a national development.

I’m not sure about a punchline. Any pot in a storm?

[I haven’t been to Family Video in years. I just read the signage.]

Sardines in the comics

“My phone is locked!”: in Rhymes with Orange.

Related reading
All OCA sardine posts (Pinboard)

The New Yorker’s Jr.

The New Yorker places commas before and after Jr.. The magazine styles Jr.-related possessives like so: Donald Trump, Jr.,’s. A house style that results in .,’ cannot stand, except, maybe, at The New Yorker.

Reading the May 6 New Yorker, I just noticed that the magazine also uses comma-Jr.-comma with first names: “Don, Jr., suggested to his father,” &c. And the possessive form: “Don, Jr.,’s role,” &c. What’s that they say about a foolish consistency?

A related post
Trump[,] Jr.

[Trivia: What film makes much of Emerson’s observation about a foolish consistency?]

A coach’s pencil and paper

A football playsheet is laminated. So why does Matt Patricia, coach of the Detroit Lions, carry a pencil?

“The one thing that I learned, especially in New England: Sharpies do not work in the rain or the snow. So even that laminate that you’re trying to write on — it doesn’t work. The only thing that works is a pencil. So you pull out a piece of paper, you pull out your note card, you’re writing down adjustments, you’re writing out calls, and the pencil still works. It’s weatherproof. So that's why I have it.”

The coach also notes that he carries “like a full Staples” in his pocket.