Every once in a while, someone writes a book or article deconstructing the use of humor in bleak times. A perfect example is Stalin’s USSR, where jokes were told, quietly, all over the country. But I don’t think I’ve heard anyone talking about humor in Nazi Germany before, and I think that’s because of two […]
Pet Peeve
“We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.†The suggestion is that maybe some people might be slightly put out in some undefined way. But when the train is 40 minutes late, or your email has stopped working, I think that the people in charge know good and well that there’s been an […]
Hitler Makes a Mean Pizza
I heard this on the radio, but wanted to see for myself. In Bombay, most people have no problem eating at a restaurant called, “Hitler’s Cross,†which has swastikas and pics of the Führer himself. Apparently, he’s just another historical figure to them. One customer said: “Tomorrow if someone keeps a name like Saddam Mutton […]
Weight.
Some things that have occurred to me lately. I may be wrong about these: 1. You weigh more after passing gas than you weighed before. 2. You burn more calories digesting cold food than you do digesting warm food. 3. On a cool day, you burn fewer calories when you’re wearing a jacket than when […]
My Brother Mitch
Mitch has requested a moratorium on posts about ants. So I won’t post …. [End of Post]
Socially Unacceptable Accents
I’ve mentioned this to lots of people over the years, but I’m still not sure about the answer, so I’ll post it here. I’ve noticed that it’s socially acceptable to mimic a French accent. If you attempt a Parisian accent while commenting on the wine, none of your peers will assume that you’re anti-French, or […]
Word Show-Offs
I was reading a review of a book recently (about vegetarians) in which the reviewer called Britain, “the land of the rosbifs.†As the French are called “Frogs,†or the Germans, “Krauts,†the English are called rosbifs (roast beefs) by the French. I don’t remember why I know this, but it occurred to me that […]
More Ants!
Yes, that’s right. I don’t deny how geeky it is to link to more ant stuff, but here goes. 1. Scientists figure that ants sort of count how many steps they’ve taken, in order to get their way back to the nest. To test his hypothesis, scientists did a little test. They let the ants […]
Never Trust the Press (version 964)
The altered image on the top makes the smoke look much more menacing and the city darker. I have a deep distrust of the press. Every reporter has an angle, and they can cut and paste quotes and reports to show off that angle. They don’t all do it, and they don’t do it all […]
The Penis Tree
 They DO grow on trees! Not just a penis tree, but a debate on the meaning of the penis tree. (link) (I first heard about it on NPR, but this article on the Web is more in-depth.) [End of Topic]