http://www.languagehat.com/archives/004633.php

1) Tom Shippey's TLS review of Christopher Upward and George Davidson's The History of English Spelling and Richard J. Watts' Language Myths and the History of English makes both books sound interesting, especially the Watts.

2) John Emerson has done some digging into references in Lolita and presented the results in this Haquelebac post. (I regret his dismissive attitude toward Zoot Sims, but that's a side issue.) I particularly appreciate his gloss on "the art of being a granddad" ("Certainly a reference to Victor Hugo’s 1877 L’art d’être Grand-Père. Hugo was a highly affectionate grandfather who once told his four-year-old granddaughter that she had a cute ass. He was also one of the horniest bastards who ever lived; his preference in women was 'the first one who comes along'") and his explanation of "columbine kisses."

I have had a good day. Lots of talking, Time with friends. Some fighting. Now I prepare to sleep before onto Crown Tourney in the morning. Much more on all that happened today when this weekend is over>

A: I had no idea it was nearly 20 years old.

B: I completely missed the fuss in February.

C: I also missed the fatality in 2007.

Also posted at Dreamwidth, where there are comment(s); comment here or there.

If a Myth Fails in a Kelp Forest, Does It Make a Sound?

Soft-shell lobstermen listen
to the catch in the sea siren's
quick-pincered voice, puzzled
at her veiled cross-references to
post-Byzantine, haremless life
and orthodox triune espionage
conducted beneath Mediterranean
subfloors and among Phoenecian
ruins excavated for touristic use,
shrug and return to setting traps.

----

I've finally seen Avengers today. I didn't have time to do it before I left an I was too busy traveling so I just watched from afar how big it got. I was a little afraid that I won't be able to enjoy it after all that hype but I had fun.

There were a lot of great one-liners and not just from Tony Stark (I was afraid that with Captain being such a straight man and Thor being so serious and old-fashioned he will just out-snark and out-cool them) but he had great foils in other characters. I also was afraid that with all the superpowers and cool toys he, Thor, Captain and Hulk will take up all spot light and the normal humans will become background. That was especially true for Black Widow who in promos seemed to be there just so the Avengers could pretend to have female member (Hawkeye at least had his arrows she just seemed ridiculously underpowered). So her screentime and very central role was a pleasant surprise.

I liked all the small things. Tony/Pepper easy rapport - you could feel they are happy together (and Gwyneth Paltrow not waring heels made me smile, although they were really good at hiding the height differences for the most part). I loved the family moments between Thor and Loki (I was glad it wasn't forgotten). It was nice to see a little of Natasha and Clint backstory and their connection (it's not like they are ever going to get their own movies). Interactions of the big four from fighting to cooperating - especially Tony and Bruce were fun and Samuel L. Jackson is a perfect Nick Fury (The Ultimates creators were truly inspired) and surprisingly Maria Hill had enough to do to stand out. And of course everyone's interaction with Agent (that's his first name) Coulson were fun and gave the feeling of shared history and universe. This little moments made all of them more relatable and give the movie something besides the explosion/cgi fest.

Please note that while we try to note spoilers in meta posts where possible, and we try to make sure links for new material like the movies are categorized separately and clearly labeled, we can't guarantee that posts are spoiler-free.  Follow all links at your own risks.
 
 
( SG-1 Debrief - Stargate SG-1 Newsletter – Issue 212 – 05/24/2012 )
 
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