This expression was suggested by a former co-worker and friend who reminded me of a mutual project where somehow the drawings of a waste disposal drum indicated, obviously absurdly, that the inside diameter was larger than the outside diameter. “Blivet” was the term used by the U.S. Army in World War II for “ten pounds of manure in a five pound bag.” Mad magazine had a corresponding term “three-pronged poiuyt” on the March 1965 cover. The term is used to describe something really ugly, unmanageable, damaged, or even a self-important person. You really need to look at the Wikipedia link to understand the impossibility of the illustration.
Author Archives: RF_Alum
Winston Churchill
This book by Victor L. Albjerg is a part of the “Twaynes Rulers and Statesmen of the World Series.” I’ve always thought I should learn more about Churchill, so I went to the library and looked at the selection. This book was by far the smallest, and it was an excellent choice. It is full of fascinating and well-written information.
I knew little about the childhood and earlier manhood of Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill before reading this book. He began to earn the name “young man in a hurry” by being born six weeks premature. His father, Lord Randolph Churchill was said to believe there was no respectable future for his son. Winston was called a “problem child” who had the lowest academic status of all his classmates. His behavior earned him frequent beatings. He was sent to two women to try to straighten him out, but the only distinction he earned with them was to be called “the naughtiest boy in the school.”
Winston as a youngster was given little if any support by his parents. His mother gave him no attention until he became a handsome and promising army officer. His father was immersed in politics, and is said to have only spoke with him father to son three or four times. However, Winston “…never ceased to admire his father and hoped some day to sit in the House of Commons with him…” He did have a remarkable relationship with a stooped and obese woman, Mrs. Everest, who was his nurse. He maintained contact with her throughout her life and kept a photo of her in his study. “Loyalty and devotion to his friends were significant characteristics of Sir Winston Churchill.” Continue reading
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea
The expression is often used to describe the quandry of being faced with two unacceptable choices. The Phrase Finder, one of my favorite sources for explanations of meaning and origin of expressions, says that the Committee to Ascribe a Nautical Origin to Everything (CANOE) tried unconvincingly to say it originated with something to do with ship maintenance. More logical is that it came from Greek mythology when Homer’s Odyssey refers to Odysseus being caught between the six-headed monster Scylla and Charybdis, a whirlpool. (Note that the word “Blue” was added when Cab Calloway recorded the song in 1931.)
Alex & Me
Reviewed by Kathy London
This book by Irene M. Pepperberg is recommended to anyone who thinks science is dull. As Stephen Jay Gould wrote “science must be understood as a social phenomenon, a gutsy human enterprise, not the work of robots.” Irene Pepperberg’s book is subtitled “How a Scientist and a Parrot Discovered a Hidden World of Animal Intelligence – and Formed a Deep Bond in the Process.”
It describes a passionate researcher producing ground-breaking science against considerable odds.
While she has published many scientific papers, this short book is personal, an autobiography centered on her work with the Grey Parrot Alex. Pepperberg writes in an easily-read style.
I have one quibble: the first chapter of the book deals with the aftermath of Alex’s death. This may not make sense until you’ve read the rest of the book. I suggest you start at Chapter 2. Continue reading
Origin of Dime
A grandson and I were discussing the origin of the names for coins, and “quarter” was obvious, since that coin is a fourth of a dollar. “Nickel” is a bit less obvious, but it is named for one of the metals used in the composition of the coin. We wondered where “dime” might have originated, and I said something to the effect that it probably comes from a French word, or something equally boring. Good guess! The “disme” was a coin struck in 1792, and that name came from an obsolete French word for “tenth.” Apparently colonists didn’t enjoy talking in obsolete French when making their purchases, and “disme” morphed into “dime.”
A Rip in Heaven
This book by Jeanine Cummins, subtitled “A Memoir of Murder and its Aftermath,” was recommended to me by my wife. I told her she has recommended three excellent books in a row, but that she has to suggest one that is has a happier story for the next one. The book is about the “Chain of Rocks Murder Case.” Three teenage cousins, Julie and Robin Kerry and Tom Cummins, have sneaked off late one night in April 1991 to see the poetry that Julie painted on the underside of the abandoned bridge over the Mississippi River. They are accosted by four young men who seem at first to be friendly but then tell the three they are going to rob them. The two girls are gang raped and then all three cousins are forced off the bridge into the Mississippi. Only Tom survives. Julie is with him for a while, but she panics, grabs him, and they both sink. He feels as if he is about to drown, pushes her off, and except for a few brief moments following never sees her again.
A warning about the book is that it is written by Tom’s sister. My wife believed the story, but I was uncomfortable that the information was “unbiased.” However, I highly recommend the book to anyone who is or might be involved in an encounter with the legal system. Tom and his father think they are doing the right thing by assisting the early investigation, and are comfortable that Tom is not at risk because he is innocent. Anyone hearing their Miranda rights being read, including the statement that anything they say can be used against them, should shut up until they have a lawyer representing them. This book illustrates that being innocent is not sufficient protection.
The facts presented about the rapes and murders are difficult reading, and the descriptions of the four young men who brutalized the three cousins and forced them to jump to nearly certain death into the Mississippi should serve as a warning. The four who are convicted are portrayed as committing the crimes without remorse. Some are portrayed as proud that they were the ones mentioned in television reports. One bragged “I did that” before he was taken into custody. Continue reading