Uncouth Reflections

RIP

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Epaminondas

epiminondas writes:

Posted in Movies, Performers | 1 Comment

Linkage

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes:

The older I get, the more I look at very young women and think, “You know, she’s not beautiful, but she’s pretty attractive in a just-emerging, still-in-the-bloom-of-youth sort of way.” Seems nuts that women are encouraged to wait so long to get married. At least from a biological perspective . . .
“It takes all sorts to make a world and I’ve met a lot of them over the years, and I can stand pretty much anything anyone says about anything — until someone says to me, ‘You can’t say that.’ At which point my inclination is to punch his lights out.” — Mark Steyn
I’d say that Michael Sam’s agent was pretty smart to have his client come out of the closet right before the draft. Teams are now under pressure to draft him because homophobia. GMs aren’t even permitted to critique him as a player. If he doesn’t get drafted, the NFL is going to have a problem on its hands . . .
Donald Pittenger takes a look at one of the great movie matte painters.
Will the overselling of global warming discredit mainstream science? It seems to me that science as we deal with it in our daily lives — that is, institutionalized science, with all its sermonizing and policy toadying — is already pretty discredited. The scientific method isn’t even what most people are referring to when they talk about science. Rather, they’re talking about the opinions of ordained experts — of modern-day priestly figures. To the folks who talk this way, to ask for actual scientific proof is to reveal yourself as “anti-science,” not because you’re contradicting something scientific but because you’re expressing contempt for the elite party — which by its own twisted definition is science in the same way that, to Christians, the Word is God. We live in a weird world. (H/T Glynn Marshes)
Speaking of the expert class.
I continue to be amazed at how the U.S. and Russia seem to have switched places over the last 30 years. It’s as though the world’s ideological polarity has flipped. (H/T Spike Gomes)
Is it more worthwhile to be an unpaid intern or a paid camgirl? (H/T Advocatus Diaboli)
Happy to see that the Swiss have said “FU” to the EU.

Posted in Linkathons | Tagged Advocatus Diaboli, Donald Pittenger, global warming, Mark Steyn, Michael Sam, Spike Gomes | 2 Comments

Tattoodle

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Glynn Marshes

Glynn Marshes writes:

n. A tattoo that looks like you let one of your teenage girlfriends write on you with a pen.

19571-priyanka-chopra-tattoo-on-wrist_large

Posted in Performers, Women men and fashion | 1 Comment

Then And Now: Parliament

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Eddie Pensier

Eddie Pensier writes:

Old Parliament House, Canberra, 1927.

Current Parliament House.

Posted in Architecture | Tagged architecture, Australia, parliament | 2 Comments

Art Du Jour

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes:

Jean-Léon Gérôme, “Diogenes,” 1860

Click on the image to enlarge.

Posted in Art, Philosophy and Religion | Tagged Academic art, cynicism, French art, Jean-Léon Gérôme, painting | 2 Comments

She Has Killed Our Grandmothers

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Fabrizio del Wrongo

Fabrizio del Wrongo writes:

Norma Shearer has killed our grandmothers. She has killed what they stood for. She has murdered the old-time Good Woman. She has cremated the myth that men will never marry ‘that kind of woman.’ She has abolished ‘that kind of woman.’ There remain – free souls.

— Motion Picture Magazine, 1932

Posted in Movies, Performers, Sex | Tagged Feminism, Film, movies, Norma Shearer, Pre-Code | Leave a comment

The Camera Loves…

Posted on February 11, 2014 by Eddie Pensier

Eddie Pensier writes:

…Shirley Temple Black (1928-2014)

Posted in Movies, Performers | Tagged rip, Shirley Temple, the camera loves | 2 Comments

Architecture Du Jour

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Blowhard, Esq.

Blowhard, Esq. writes:

Eugène Atget, Le Château, fin Octobre, le soir, effet d’orage, vue prise du Parterre du Nord, 1903

Click on the image to enlarge.

Posted in Architecture, Art, Photography | Tagged Eugène Atget, France, traditionalism | 3 Comments

What Meaning Is This?

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Eddie Pensier

Eddie Pensier writes:

Re-reading this post from last November at Sasha’s blog:

Not long ago, I was wondering at how some words got to have two opposite meanings. There were two I knew of immediately: sanction, which means both “to allow” and “to prohibit”; and peer, which means both one’s equal (“a jury of one’s peers”) and one’s superior (“a peer of the realm”).
Much pondering gave me some other examples:
first degree which is the worst sort of murder but the least worst sort of burn;
handicap, which can mean an advantage, or a disadvantage;
to lease, offering something for rent or being the one who rents it;
and strike, either to hit something or (in baseball) to not hit something.

Off the top of my head I came up with two others: seed, either to add seeds to something (“seeding a field”) or to remove seeds from something (“seeding a lemon”); and similarly, dust, to remove dust (“dusting the shelves”) or add it (“dust the cake with powdered sugar”).

If that’s not confusing enough for you, here’s a list of 75 other self-contradicting words and terms. Not all of them are exact opposites, but they’re illustrative of the greater point that the English language is greater and stranger than any of us realize.

Readers, what are some of your favorite English quirks?

‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.’ Illustration by Jon Tenniel.

Posted in Books Publishing and Writing, Personal reflections | 4 Comments

Wie Schön Das Ist, Daß Du Bei Mir Bist

Posted on February 9, 2014 by Eddie Pensier

Eddie Pensier writes:

Three classic Motown songs re-recorded in German translations by the original artists. If you’re half the language geek I am, this will make you smile non-stop. I find it strange that when it comes to operas, I’m generally allergic to translations, but I feel nothing but affection for these perfect little gems of American pop. There’s something profound about world culture versus American culture in that statement, but I’m too lazy/tired/dumb to pry it out.

Marvin Gaye’s German isn’t half-bad actually. I’ve heard WAY worse. The title of this post is the translation of “How sweet it is to be loved by you” (Actually, “how beautiful it is that you are with me”, but that’d be massively missing the point.)

Do click the link to check out The Supremes’ “Wo Ist Unsere Liebe? (Where Did Our Love Go)” and The Temptations’ “Mein Girl” (translation pretty obvious).