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Goatee vs. Van Dyke 4 Definitions
Homeless Soccer 3 stories
One definition
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The main parts of the beard. |
|
|
Beard terminology
|
beard A male secondary
sex characteristic consisting of terminal facial hair on the cheeks,
lips, chin, and neck. cheek line The line which is
defined by the upper limit of the beard on the cheek. The cheek line may be
defined by trimming or shaving or it may be defined naturally. configuration
The extent of the
area in which terminal beard hairs grow. This typically includes the cheeks,
the chin, the area surrounding the lips, and portions of the neck. density The number of
terminal beard hairs per square centimeter. Higher densities correspond to
greater beard development and thicker beards. facial hair Any part or all of
the beard. Example: the mustache is referred to as facial hair, as is the
entire beard. front The part of the
beard below the lower lip on the front of the chin. full beard A style of facial
hair achieved by growing all beard components (sideburns, front, sides,
mustache, etc.). goatee A style of facial hair achieved by
growing only the beard on the front of and sometimes below the chin. The
mustache is frequently grown to accompany the goatee. mustache The component of
facial hair that grows above the upper lip. (Also spelled: moustache) neck line The line defining
the lower limit of the beard along the neck. The neck line may be defined by
trimming or shaving or it may be defined naturally. pigment The substance within
the hair shaft that gives it color. side The part of the
beard that grows on the cheeks. It connects the sideburns with the mustache
and the front of the beard. sideburns The part of the
beard that grows in front of the ears. The sideburns generally connect the
hair on the scalp with the rest of the beard. terminal hair Coarse, pigmented
hairs that make up the beard. texture The characteristic
of hair shafts that generally determines whether beard hairs will be
straight or curly.
Another Fact |
1.
What is the name of the beard style that covers only a small area below the
lower lip?
This style of beard is commonly referred
to as a "soul patch", or an "imperial". It is sometimes called a "mouche", which
is French for a fly.
Second
definition
Facial Hair
Health Tip #26,
|
|
I guess it’s
a little ironic that I finally do a Health Tip on facial hair, just a few
days after I shave off my
sideburns and goatee. Oh well. I’ve had them before, I’ve even had a full
beard before, and someday I’ll have them again. Men, you might want
to consider growing some facial hair. It is fun to experiment, to try out some style out for a few months. And
the great thing about doing this is that it’s not as permanent as changing
your hairstyle; if you don’t like it, just shave it off! You should try it
at least once! You’ll probably discover something interesting about
yourself. Me, I found out that even though I have brown hair on top, my
beard comes in red and blond. Some types of facial
hair include: Beard: hair all over on the face, usually
edged at some neckline Mustache: hair just under the nose and above
the upper lip Goatee: a mustache and the hair on the chin Sideburns: rectangular cut extending down
parallel to the ears Pointy
Sideburns: like Captain Kirk
and Mr. Spock Mutton Chops: a full beard, but without the
mustache / goatee Van Dyke: full beard but with the goatee much
longer than the rest Handlebars: the ends of the mustache are longer
and are waxed or twirled Hulihee: no hair on chin, cheek-hair is very
bushy like a goatee Chin Curtain: line of hair from sideburns down and
under chin Franz-Josef: the line of hair instead extends
into the mustache |
Third
definition
SOME SAY it should be called a Van Dyke
rather than a goatee. Others disagree. In any case, in popular usage today, they
are almost always just called goatees- a style of facial hair achieved by
growing only the beard on the front and sometimes below the chin. The moustache
is grown to accompany the goatee. "It gives people a different look. And I guess
that the people sporting a goatee do stand out in a crowd. About the girls,
well, there are some who like it, some who don't and some who insist on it,"
says Rahul, a student.
Goatee, a truly guy experience, has
websites dedicated to the art of grooming the goatee and more. While some say
the beard style is the symbol of an arrived gentleman, statements like `avoid
people who drive a German car, use cologne, wear Armani or Prada and sport a
goatee,' feature on the top ten lessons of public relations.
"It can best suit people with
personality such as Sam Pitroda. It is a façade behind which people hide their
original visage," says Sailesh, a globetrotter.
"I think the goatee beard makes a
perfectly normal-faced person look like a goat. This half-hearted attempt for a
beard is probably some smart cookie's idea of converting into a style on his
inability to go completely clean-shaven due to a boil that sprung up between his
lower lip and chin," say Guraz Wankadia, an anti-goatee advocate in Manama.
To mimic success, or for standing out in
the crowd, the goatees are definitely in. "Many people in the 20-35 years age
group are going for the goatee today. It can range from the French beard to the
one below the lip that came into fame after Dil Chahta Hai, and teamed with stylish spiky hair do among the
young who want to look different. Then there are those who would opt for a
goatee for prosperity. Amitabh Bachchan rose from debts to success after he
started sporting a goatee and it can indeed change one's luck," ," says Vijay
Kant, Alexander Mens' Salon, Himayatnagar.
In vogue, for fashion and fetish, if the
goatee suits you, why not go for one. Here are some top tips to help you grow
that perfect goatee. If you have enough hair already, simply don't shave for a
few days, then shape the stubble into the goatee of your dreams. If you don't
have enough hair yet, then to stimulate growth, shave as often as possible. Once
you think you've got enough growth, go for it. A style for that chic, neat
looking visage, goatee will be a popular style, is the common belief.
Fourth definition
|
Goatee vs. Van Dyke |
|
|
I'm a bit sick and
tired of people not knowing the difference between a 'goatee' and a 'Van
Dyke', so I'll illustrate. Goatee - \Goat`ee"\, n. A part of a man's
beard on the chin or lower lip which is allowed to grow, and trimmed so as
to resemble the beard of a goat. A 'Van Dyke' is a
variation of a goatee with a mustache, named after the 17th century
Flemish painter, Sir Anthony Van Dyck (also spelled Van Dyke). (src)
Shaggy has a goatee
The Count has a goatee
Uncle Sam has a goatee
Colonel Sanders has a Van Dyke
Green Arrow has a Van Dyke
Satan has a Van Dyke |
|
By Michelle K. Massie, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
There was no apparent beef between the sausages and pierogies, but Pirates fans were ready to see the sausages eaten alive last night in their first showdown since the infamous July 9 whacking incident involving Pirate first baseman Randall Simon.
"I think it's gonna be brutal," said Paul Bell, 44, of Center, before the game. "Teeth are gonna be bared tonight. There's no stopping the pierogies."
"This is why I came to the game, to see the race," Frank
Hooper, 50, of
Before the race, anticipation for the big event was building among fans.
Cheers of "pierogies, pierogies!" echoed from left field. "Pierogies Rule, Sausages Stink" read the signs of 11-year-old Tina Wiser and her best friend, Cassie Thompson, 8, both of Vandergrift.
"This one says 'Sour Sausages'," Wiser said. "It took us like an hour to think of that one."
With that kind of home field support, the pierogie team hustled from right field to left field as fans stood up and cheered. In the end, the pierogies easily took the coveted prize in the "Great Pierogie/Sausage Challenge" -- the Golden Skillet trophy.
Fans celebrated to the sounds of Queen's "We Are the Champions" and a brief fireworks display.
"She was just telling me that was the greatest relay race we
ever saw," said Gigi Trask, of
From the start, the pierogies were ready for the race.
"We were prepared for the race," said Rick Orienza, director of promotions for the Pirates. "They were prepared and focused. We have a lot of heart and we just wanted it. I think home field advantage also helped. [The sausages] had a long road trip."
The sausages will have the opportunity to avenge themselves in
a rematch next Friday in
Simon, who gained national notoriety after whacking one of the
sausages last month in
Simon was fined $432 by the Milwaukee County Sheriff's office for a disorderly conduct violation. He was also fined $2,000 by Major League Baseball and served a three-game suspension.
But at least for one night, Pirates fans were happy, and not just because the Pirates beat the Brewers.
"I think the pierogies deserved to win," Cassie Thompson said, "because they taste better."
At
World Cup For Homeless, Winning Is Just Part Of The Goal
<top>
The Associated Press
Organizers hope the tournament can spark positive changes in the players' lives
-- and in society's perception of them.
"It's about people who are homeless realizing they have potential," said
organizer Mel Young, president of the International Network of Street Papers.
"It's about inclusion -- including homeless people in society. We are always
looking for new ways of including homeless people."
One player, Marcus Stevenson, a 23-year-old center-right midfielder on the
English team, recently began sharing an apartment in
"It's just helped me a lot," Stevenson said about the Homeless Soccer World Cup.
"It gave me motivation. I realized that if I could get up and go to training, I
could get up and get a job or go to school."
The weeklong street soccer tournament is being played on two squares in central
The small courts make for quick, intensive play, making ball control important.
That could mean a disadvantage for the all-
But coach Stephanie Quinn, 28, said the team still had good chances to advance
to the placement round.
"It'll be tough," she conceded. The
No matter the result, though, the participation has changed many team members'
lives. All players are now in the process of getting housing, she said.
"It teaches them that if they work hard for something, they will achieve
something positive," she said.
The tournament is also about changing society's perception of the homeless.
"People don't really think homeless people are human beings and need things like
this, and I disagree," Quinn said.
For the moment, 18-year-old Triton McEwan is staying with his sister in
"My mother was a single mother. We got evicted and we went our separate ways,"
he said. "I was 16."
After joining the
But it's not all success stories. Three players were sent back to
Their team voted to send them home because they broke rules, said Emil Sernbo,
the editor of Faktum, the Gothenburg-based homeless newspaper sponsoring the
Swedish team.
"The pressure was too large, and these three weren't able to take it," he said.
The team had seven remaining players, and regardless of the tournament outcome,
all were winners, Sernbo said.
"For me, it's a gigantic win just to be here," he said.
The tournament was organized by Young's network of newspapers, the Austrian
branch of the charity Caritas, and a
"The most important thing is getting the psychology of the people right," Young
said. "So much of it is a mental issue, and playing football helps people
overcome these barriers in themselves. They know they can do something. It's a
holistic approach."
Although Young hopes the tournament will become an annual event, he hopes he
won't see the same players next year.
"I would expect most of the players to have moved on," he said.
Copyright © 2003,
Newsday, Inc.
Homeless Players Find Joy
On Soccer Field
The Associated Press
It's a long way from the desperate struggle for survival he'd gotten used to
over eight years of on-and-off homelessness in
"It's great. I feel like a celebrity," he said.
"Is that Erick Riviera again? Unbelievable!" the speaker said in German as
"I performed well,"
That's his new life-philosophy, too, and playing for the
"It's going to give me new confidence to look for some new things," he said.
His teammate, German Santiago, 40, said soccer had also helped him realize his
potential.
"This is like therapy. It helps you relax," he said. "Sometimes you think better
when you're relaxed."
"When you have been so down and people see you going up little by little and you
stay on the top, they want to know how you do it,"
During training earlier Tuesday, the team sharpened strategy and polished its
penalty kicks.
The team's only loss came against
The Americans also sometimes lost focus on the game while celebrating a goal.
"You were moving around, celebrating,"
First-round matches last 14 minutes, but can be shortened to 10 if one teams
wants it.
Besides strategy discussions -- including tips on staying in a triangle, not a
straight line -- practice also included advice of a different kind.
"If you drop the cigarettes, you won't be so tired," coach Stephanie Quinn
reiterated to her players.
Still, Osvaldo Lebron, 38, couldn't help but smoke even during practice.
Cigarette in hand, he leisurely dribbled the ball toward the goal and placed the
ball in the right corner, out of the goalkeeper's reach.
The practice ended on a bad note, with tempers flaring as Quinn pointed out that
the players had to carry their sweaty uniforms back to the boarding school where
they're staying.
"A team that gets along pleasantly usually doesn't win," said goalie Harris
Pankin, 42.
Goalkeeper Rory Levine, 36, said the
Like most of his teammates, he's not planning to play again, even if the cup
becomes a yearly event as organizers hope.
Players must be homeless to be eligible, notes Levine. "I'm planning to get a
home."
Copyright © 2003,
Newsday, Inc.
Organizers of Homeless
World Cup Hope Soccer Can Change Lives
The Associated Press
Slowly, his teammates trickle in. First is James Burch, a 40-year-old who began
wandering the country after his divorce. Then come Rory Levine, a former courier
who lost his job after Sept. 11, and Jeff Rubin, a one-time train operator who
says tragedy changed his life.
There are others, too -- men who have little in common apart from their rough
backgrounds and the fact that they are (or recently have been) homeless.
Since winter, they've been part of an unusual program that uses soccer to try to
inspire the homeless to turn their lives around. For those who stay with the
team, there will be an extraordinary payoff: A trip to
Some 18 teams from around the world, from
"They start playing (soccer), get used to some discipline and start showing up
for practice," tournament organizer Bernhard Wolf said in a telephone interview
from Austria. "And then it goes on to job training and housing."
An advocate for the homeless, Wolf first proposed the idea in 2001 at a meeting
of the International Network of Street Newspapers, an organization of
publications aimed at -- and sold by -- homeless people. Wolf went on to raise
$250,000 to host the event.
Ron Grunberg, editor of a
From the beginning, Grunberg says, it was difficult getting players to show up
for more than a few practices at a time. "With homeless people, there's not much
in the way of organization or ability to stay in touch," he says. "No phone
numbers, no addresses that are fixed."
Then there's the uncertainty of street life. One player was beaten so badly he
had to be hospitalized. Another, recovering from cocaine and heroin addiction,
had to return to rehab.
Another stumbling block was Americans' notorious indifference to soccer, which
made it difficult for Grunberg to find skilled players. (
Pankin, the team's goalie, has been one of the most dedicated players, rarely
missing a practice. He says he was lead singer of a punk band until he was
evicted from his apartment three years ago. Now he sells books on the street and
spends most nights in a
Pankin is known for his in-your-face attitude. Grunberg calls him "Punk-Rock
Spirit" for his tendency to tussle with other players. "I have a bad temper,"
Pankin acknowledges. "It's mostly because I'm a perfectionist. I get more upset
with myself than with the other players."
Of all his teammates, Jeff Rubin, 52, tells one of the more dramatic personal
stories. While working as a train operator, Rubin says, he saw a young woman
leap onto the tracks in front of him, killing herself. The event scarred him so
much, he says, that he eventually left his job, his girlfriend and their
children.
Rubin, who shed a pot belly over months of practice, was slated to go to
For other players, there have been similar complications. One, a felon, couldn't
get a passport until his lawyer intervened. Another has a drinking problem. His
counselor was worried he would relapse while abroad until Grunberg promised to
keep close watch over him.
Stressful as the setbacks have been, there was an infectious spirit of
anticipation at a recent practice.
The coach, a likable woman in her late 20s named Stephanie Quinn, has never led
a team before but took on the role for her friend, Grunberg.
The rules she's teaching are different from those of standard soccer. In
At practice, Quinn shows a firm-yet-friendly rapport with her players, blowing a
whistle and shouting words of encouragement as the team scrimmages. "You should
be anticipating where the ball's coming from," she calls out. "Keep your eyes up
so you can see where everybody is."
What's most striking is the camaraderie between the players, who have little if
any contact with each other outside of practice. When one team member chases an
errant pass and falls, another helps him up and tells him to be careful. When
someone scores a goal, there are high-fives all around.
"A lot of homeless people, because of the lives they lead, don't get to form
friendships and trust," Quinn says. "The person next to them might have a drug
problem, or steal everything they have. So to see them joking around and having
to rely on each other is cool."
She pauses for a moment, intent on an unfolding play. Someone kicks the ball,
and it sails through the air, smacking Pankin in the face. It stuns him, but he
springs back into play, and the team erupts into laughter.
"Be easy on him, we need him!" Quinn shouts, laughing with them.
The team's primay expenses are airfare and passport fees; room, board and
competition expenses are covered by the tournament organizers.
To pay for plane tickets, the team has relied on private donations and money
from fund-raising events, as well as grants from the U.S. Embassy in
The project, of course, begs a question: Wouldn't the effort and money be better
spent on more traditional services -- funding for shelters or food programs, for
example?
"Look, this is all extra for us," Grunberg responds, saying his regular work for
the homeless continues. "We're doing our regular jobs, too. We're working extra
hours, nights, Sundays, so on. This is just another form of outreach."
Organizers say soccer hooks homeless people because it doesn't involve paperwork
and office visits -- the stuff of traditional social services.
"It's a fun, familiar environment; there's a low barrier to participation," says
Will Balakrishnan of Street League, the charity organizing the English team.
Balakrishnan says one of the English players, a young man named Darren, uses his
team as a kind of group therapy to keep off drugs. "Even after he left his
formal recovery program, he had the team to provide once-a-week support,"
Balakrishnan says in a telephone interview.
Not everyone responds so well. Pankin says applying for low-income housing is "a
lot of hassle" and says he's hoping "some rich landlord" will hear about the
team and give them a place to live.
But whatever their individual futures hold, for now the players are committed to
practicing and winning -- and that in itself is a valuable experience, Quinn
says.
"If you show up at a job, even if you don't feel like going, it will get you
someplace," she says. "That's my biggest thing to teach them."
Copyright © 2003,
Newsday, Inc.
here is his add in the classified
"Looking to sell a cheap
digital camera - I don't need it any longer
as I'm in the hospital. I'm
including the last photo that I took so
that you have some idea about the picture quality."
Top 17 Bumper Stickers You Would Like To
See
Jesus loves you...but everyone else thinks you are an ass.
Impotence...Nature's way of saying "No hard feelings,"
The
proctologist called
...they
found your head.
Everyone
has a photographic memory
...some
just don't have any film.
Save your breath...You'll need it to blow up your
date.
Your ridiculous little
opinion has been noted.
I used to have a
handle
on life...but it broke
off.
WANTED: Meaningful
overnight relationship.
Guys...just because you have one,
doesn't
mean you have to be one.
Some
people just don't know how to drive...
I call
these people "Everybody But Me,"
Heart
Attacks...God's revenge for eating His animal friends.
Don't like my driving?
Then quit watching me.
If you can read this...I can
slam on my brakes and sue you.
Some people are only alive because it is illegal to shoot
them.
Try not
to let your mind wander...It is too small and fragile to be out by itself.
Hang up and drive!!
And The Number One Bumper Sticker you'd Like To
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Welcome to
...now speak English
Michigan facts of Trivia
<top>
Q. What
A. Hamtramck
Q. During the lumber boom era, what name was given
to the row of saloons that lined
A. Hells' Half Mile
Q. In 1936, what UP city processed 100,000 sq. feet
of bird's eye maple for use in the English luxury liner, the Queen Mary?
A. Escanaba
Q. When the
A.
Detroit
Q. Bloomfield Hills was first known by what name?
A. Bagley's Corners
Q. Where is the world's only marble lighthouse?
A. Belle Isle (Livingstone Lighthouse)
Q.
Utica was originally known by what name?
A. Hog's Hollow
Q. Approx. how many lakes are in the state?
A. 11,000
Q. The home offices of Life Savers candy,
Beech-Nut gum and Squirt soft drink are in which city?
A.
Holland
Q. What coastline has been given the name "Graveyard
of the
A.
Whitefish Point,
ENTERTAINMENT
Q. Debuting in 1936 over WWJ in
A. The Green Hornet
Q. The
Supremes were originally known by what name?
A.
The Primettes
Q. What Detroit-based male singing group was known
as The Primes until 1960?
A. The Temptations
Q. Under what title did Motown artist Stevie Wonder
originally write "My Cherie Amour" in 1966?
A. "Oh My Marsha"
HISTORY
Q. In 1870,
A.
Telephone numbers
Q. On
A.
Charless A. Lindbergh
Q. On what date did the star & stripes first fly
over
A.
Q. What ambitious automotive pioneer organized
General Motors Company in Sept. of 1908?
A. William Crapo Durant
Q. What annual license fee (how much) was charged
to
A.
Fifty cents
Q. In which year was the first policewoman
appointed in
A. 1893
Q. What was the world's first urban freeway,
completed in 1942?
A. The Davison Freeway,
Q. In 1879, what amount was paid to the Campau
family by the city of
A. $200,000
Q. In 1866, which
A.
James Vernor (Vernor's
ginger ale)
Q. At what
Q. Who, in 1688, founded the first permanent
settlement in what later became the state of
A. Father Jacques Marquette
Q. In 1954 the world's first shopping mall opened
in what
A. Southfield (Northland Mall)
Q. What safety and traffic flow feature was first
introduced near
A. Painted center lines
SPORTS/LEISURE
Q. Where does
A. First
Q. What is the nation's largest indoor/outdoor
museum complex?
A.
SCIENCE/NATURE
Q. Compared to Chicago, "The Windy City," how does
A.
The same (10.4 mph)
Q. Arnold F. Willot, born in
A.
The cold permanent
wave
Q. The
A.
Ohio sandstone
Q. What is
A. Onions
Q. Opened in 1904, what is the oldest freshwater
aquarium in the nation?
A. Belle
Q.
What revolutionary dental tool wa s patented by G.F. Green of
A. The electric dental drill
Absinthe
<top>
Absinthe takes its name from
Artemisia absinthium, the botanical name for the bitter herb wormwood and
the ingredient which contains the thujone which supposedly accounts for its
alleged mind altering properties. Wormwood was first used to flavour alcoholic
drinks as far back as 1792 when a potion was created by Pierre Ordinaire, a
French doctor living in
From the mid 19th century onwards absinthe became associated with
bohemian
So if absinthe was so popular, why was it banned? There were a
number of reasons. It got caught up in the temperance movement that was sweeping
Europe at the beginning of the 20th century and became the scapegoat for all
alcohol, then findings were published showing that thujone was a neurotoxin in
large quantities which caused convulsions and death in laboratory animals and
there was also pressure from the wine producers who saw its popularity as a
threat to their sales. The final nail was driven in the coffin with the lurid
'Absinthe Murder' which took place in
So what is modern absinthe like? Well broadly speaking if you like
pastis you will like absinthe, the anise is not so heavy and quality absinthes
should be unsweetened (most are not) but there is a family resemblance. Remember that absinthe is not
hallucinogenic and should not be drunk with any expectations of getting 'high'.
It certainly has some effects that are secondary to the alcohol and these can
best be described as a feeling of clarity and sharpness of perception, but bear
in mind that absinthe is far stronger than most spirits you will be used to
otherwise you will still be seeing the Green Fairy when you wake up the next
day.
Infamous "van Gogh" beverage contains potent toxin with curious
brain effects, UC Berkeley scientists discover
By Kathleen Scalise, Public Affairs
BERKELEY -- Long suspected to have contributed to psychoses, fits
and hallucinations in such famous artists and writers as van Gogh, Poe and
Baudelaire, the liqueur absinthe they cherished contained a potent toxin that UC
Berkeley scientists now say causes neurons to seriously malfunction.
The researchers report their findings in this week's edition of the
journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"Based on what we've discovered, large consumption of old absinthe
would have greatly disrupted the nervous system," said scientist John Casida, a
UC Berkeley professor of environmental chemistry and toxicology. "Our findings
could explain many of the symptoms described in the literature."
Casida said it was not previously known how the neurotoxin
alpha-thujone, found not only in absinthe but also in many popular herbal
medicines, acted on the body to bring about poisoning or whether the mechanism
could account for strange behaviors noted in many 19th century absinthe
drinkers. Vincent van Gogh, Edgar Allen Poe and Charles Baudelaire were among
them.
The UC Berkeley researchers discovered that alpha-thujone acts on
the same brain receptor responsible for a form of epilepsy. The receptor
controls the chloride channel that regulates excitation and keeps neurons under
control.
"Basically, alpha-thujone blocks the channel and allows the neurons
to fire too easily," said UC Berkeley postdoctoral researcher Karin Höld,
co-author of the study along with Casida; fellow UC Berkeley postdoc Nilantha
Sirisoma; and two collaborators at Northwestern University Medical School,
Tomoko Ikeda and Toshio Narahashi.
"In light of the findings on how alpha-thujone works, it's not
surprising that absinthe had such a remarkable effect," Casida said.
Symptoms described, for instance, in Wilfred Niels Arnold's 1992
book on Vincent van Gogh and others who consumed quantities of the popular 19th-
and early 20th-century liqueur included forms of bizarre and psychotic behavior,
hallucinations, sudden delirium, convulsions, and even suicide and death.
"The question has been sitting around for a century waiting for
someone to say how absinthe and alpha-thujone might work," Casida said. "We
decided to take a look at it in terms of where the toxin goes in the body and
what happens to it."
Absinthe is made from grain alcohol and the common herb wormwood.
The herb yields a bitter oil used to produce various formulations of absinthe.
This liqueur was very popular until it was banned broadly in the early 20th
century.
While the historical aspects are interesting, Casida said he is
more concerned about herbal concoctions consumed today that contain
alpha-thujone. Many have not been subjected to rigorous toxicology tests, he
said, including wormwood oil and cedarleaf oil, which are readily available at
herbal medicinal outlets and contain quantities of the neurotoxin. Wormwood oil
often is used to treat loss of appetite and stomach, liver and gall bladder
disorders. The National Institutes of Health, which funded Casida's study, have
slated alpha-thujone products for further scientific review next year.
Absinthe itself isn't the health threat it used to be, said postdoc
Nilantha Sirisoma. Still banned in some countries but easily available over the
Internet, today's version of the emerald-green alcoholic beverage tends to have
very low alpha-thujone levels, although there is a great variation among brands
and home brew can be particularly dangerous.
At the moment,
"absinthe seems like it's getting more popular," said Höld, who monitors some of
the Internet traffic on the subject. "It seems to be kind of an 'in' thing."
Researched Phrases
<top>
Mouth-breather: (noun) a stupid
person. As in, This mouth-breather still doesn't understand that I can't help him out.
Etymology uncertain, but possibly derived from biology.
I think maybe because dumb people hold there mouth open. hmmmm..
here is a little bit more
I am proud to be a mouth breather.
I know, I know, mouth breathers have been portrayed as morons in the nose
breather controlled media, but we're not, really. We just can't figure out how
to breathe through our noses.
Now, tell me that you are able to do everything that "normal" people do. Are you
able to spell everything correctly? Are you able to walk without looking awkward
all of the time? Does your hair do what you want it to? If your answer was "no"
to any of these questions, you can't do something that most other people can.
However, the nose breathing media doesn't portray you as a "bad speller" or a
"awkward walker" or a "bad hair girl" or whatever.
Mouth breathing has some distinct advantages over nose breathing. For example,
my tongue plays a more active role in smelling things. Also, I almost never have
to blow my nose. I do occasionally have to blow my mouth, but the mouth is a
much larger storage area than the nose, so I don't have to do this often - just
when my mouth snot starts effecting my speech.
Most of my friends don't even know that I am a mouth breather. I have figured
out a way to keep my lips just barely open when I breathe. Of course, I'm hardly
ever silent because a much more effective strategy is to never shut up. People
don't seem to notice me breathing through my mouth if I am talking while I do
it. I've learned to be like Jack Black from Tenacious D: I can talk both on the
exhale and on the inhale. I bet he's a mouth breather.
The only real draw back to being a mouth breather is that I tend to fog up my
own computer screen while I'm working. This means I go through a lot of tissues.
I keep a box by the work computer, which, of course, has given me an undeserved
reputation as somebody who needs the tissues for another (and, frankly,
perverted) computer related activity. Frankly, I would rather be thought of as a
public masturbator by my peers than disparaged with the term "mouth breather."
I have some hope, though. The President of the United States of American is a
mouth breather. Maybe soon he will lead us out of the shadow and "set my people
free." I guess I can only hope.
One entry found for towhead.
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Main Entry: tow·head
Pronunciation:
'tO-"hed
Function: noun
Date: 1829
1 : a low alluvial island or shoal in a
river : SANDBAR
2 : a head of hair resembling tow
especially in being flaxen or tousled;
also
: a person having such a head of hair
- tow·head·ed /-"he-d&d/ adjective
From Bruce Hartmann:
Do you know the origin of the expression tow head (possibly toe head) meaning a young boy with blond or at least sandy colored
hair? None of my etymology books has this one. Thanks for your help.
Tow
means "flax or hemp fiber", and so tow headed is literally "flaxen haired". This meaning of tow comes from Middle Low German touw (which means "flax, hemp fiber").
This probably went back to the prehistoric Germanic base *tow-, *taw "make, prepare" (source also of English tool), in the sense "make yarn from wool;
spin".
THREE SHEETS IN THE WIND
From Benjamin Weatherston: “How does the term three sheets to the wind denote drunkenness?”
It’s a sailor’s expression, from the days of sailing ships. The terminology of
sailing ships is excessively complicated and every time I refer to it people
write in to say I’ve got it wrong, usually contradicting each other. So treat
what follows as a broad-brush treatment, open to dispute on fine points.
We
ignorant landlubbers might think that a sheet is a sail, but in traditional
sailing-ship days, a sheet was
actually a rope, particularly one attached to the bottom corner of a sail (it
actually comes from an Old English term for the corner of a sail). The sheets
were vital, since they trimmed the sail to the wind. If they ran loose, the sail
would flutter about in the wind and the ship would wallow off its course out of
control.
Extend this idea to sailors on shore leave, staggering back to the ship after a
good night on the town, well tanked up. The irregular and uncertain locomotion
of these jolly tars must have reminded onlookers of the way a ship moved in
which the sheets were loose. Perhaps one loose sheet might not have been enough
to get the image across, so the speakers borrowed the idea of a three-masted
sailing ship with three sheets loose, so the saying became three sheets in the wind.
Our
first written example comes from that recorder of low life, Pierce Egan, in his
Real life in
The
version you give, incidentally, is comparatively recent, since the older one
(the only one given in the big Oxford
English Dictionary) is three sheets in
the wind). However, online searches show that your version is now about ten
times as common as the one containing in,
so it may be that some day soon it will be the only one around. The version with
to seems to be gaining ground because so many people think a
sheet
is a sail.
WHAT IS the meaning and origin of
"three sheets in the wind"?
(M. Kiran Kumar,
Narsapur)
This is a relatively old expression, which is not often heard these
days. When you say that someone is "three sheets in the wind" or "three sheets
to the wind" what you mean is that the individual is very drunk. Here are a few
examples.
* Mohanty was three sheets in the wind by the time we arrived.
* If Sunil is three sheets in the wind, don't discuss anything
important with him.
* Many of the students were three sheets in the wind at the party.
The expression "three sheets in the wind" was quite popular with
sailors till the late 19th century — when wooden ships were common. The "sheets"
refer to the "ropes" or "chains" tied to the lower corner of sails; they do not
refer to the sails themselves. I understand that on the lower edge of a sail
there were usually four "sheets" or ropes attached. By tightening or slackening
the sheets one controlled the sail. If the sheet was not tied and allowed to run
free, then the sail was said to be "in the wind". When three sheets were not
tied and left hanging loose, then the sails merely flapped around and the ship
moved in a jerky sort of way. In other words, when three sheets were in the
wind, the ship wallowed and staggered like a drunken sailor!
Graveyard Shift
This term for a late-night work shift dates to around the turn of
the 20th century. The nautical term
graveyard watch appears in 1895. 1907 sees the move to land-based industry
and the word shift added in place of
watch. Both terms are American in origin.
The
term does not date to the 16th century as is claimed in the Internet lore title
Life in the 1500s. Nor does it have
anything to do with men stationed in graveyards listening for those accidentally
buried alive to ring bells in their coffins to alert others that they are alive,
nor is it a reference to medical students robbing graves in search of cadavers.
Instead, the term simply evokes the desolation and loneliness of late-night
work.
Grandfather Clause
A grandfather clause is one that allows
someone who previously had the right to do something to continue doing it even
though the law forbids it to others. For example, when I turned nineteen, the
state of
The
term comes from discriminatory practices of certain Southern states against
blacks. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, some Southern states had laws
requiring payment of a poll tax or taking of a literacy test before one could
vote. The poor and illiterate were denied the right to vote. This was
race-neutral except for clauses in the state constitutions that exempted someone
from poll taxes or literacy tests if their grandfather had had the right to
vote. This meant that virtually all whites, whose grandfathers could vote before
the imposition of these laws, were allowed to vote, while most blacks were
denied the right to vote. Over the years, the term has lost the racial stigma
and no longer connotes racial bias.
The
term grandfather clause dates to 1900.
The verb form, to grandfather, is more
recent, dating to 1972.
esprit d'escalier (ess-SPREE dess-kahl-YAY)
a remark that occurs to someone only later, after the fact;
the thing you should have said, but didn't think of.
this wonderful french
expression literally translates as "wit of the staircase." the english quickly
recognized its usefulness, and had adopted it by the early 1900s. the oxford
dictionary of quotations defines esprit d'escalier as: "an untranslatable
phrase, the meaning of which is that one only thinks on one's way downstairs of
the smart retort one might have made in the drawing room."
Mojo
Mojo
is from Black English, first
recorded in the mid-1920s. It is common throughout the South. The earliest recorded usages are in reference to the
blues and jazz music. The meaning has
always been magic, charm, or amulet or more broadly the power and influence derived from such a supernatural source.
It is probably African in origin. Gullah (the dialect of the South Carolina
Atlantic islands) has the word moco meaning witchcraft or magic. And the
Fulani language of
Claim: Phil
Collins wrote the song In the Air Tonight
after witnessing an incident in which a man refused to come to the aid of a
drowning swimmer.
<top>
Status: False.
Example:
[Collected on the Internet, 1994]
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The story has to do with Phil Collins
supposedly watching his close friend drown from a nearby cliff, while he
stood helpless, too far away to rescue. In addition, supposedly there was a
man who could have rescued the friend but just stood idly by. Then, Phil
writes a song about the experience and gives the man a front row ticket to
the show where he premieres the song. While Phil sings the song to him, the
spotlight is on the man in the front row. |
Variations: There are many variations in the
details of this seemingly straightforward legend:
The song is
usually said to be a first-person account, but it is sometimes reported that Collins based the song on
an incident he heard about (but did not witness).
The time lapse
between Collins' witnessing the incident and his writing the song varies: he
wrote the song right away, he waited several years, or he wrote the song many
years later (because he was a child when the incident took place).
The nature of
the tragic incident also varies: it is most often a man standing idly by while
someone else drowns (or nearly drowns), but other forms mention a deliberate
drowning (i.e., murder), a rape (of Collins' wife), and Collins' catching his
wife in an adulterous act.
The victim
takes on one of several identities: Collins' brother, Collins' wife (but only
when the incident involves a rape), a close friend of Collins', a stranger, a
rapist (whom Collins recognizes as his wife's attacker and refuses to help), and
Phil Collins himself (who supposedly nearly drowned when a boat he was sailing
in capsized).
Collins himself
does not aid the drowning victim himself because he is either too drunk (or
stoned), too far away, or too busy soliciting help.
In versions
where Collins learns the identity of the killer/rapist (sometimes by hiring a
private detective), he invites the man to an upcoming concert (sometimes
specifically arranged to take place in the man's home town) or sends him tickets
anonymously.
At the
subsequent concert, Collins premieres "In the Air Tonight," which he sings while
a spotlight shines on the invited guest (or while he stares at the man, without
the spotlight). In some variations Collins never learns the man's identity and
sings the song at every concert as an anonymous accusation.
The results of
Collins' musical revelation vary: the invited stranger is humiliated (sometimes
leading to a divorce or job loss), he commits suicide, or he is arrested by
waiting policemen.
Origins:
In the Air Tonight (as well as most of Collins' 1981 Face Value album) deals with his bitterness and frustration over the
end of his marriage to his first wife, Andrea. As Collins has repeatedly
explained, the lyrics are not based on any specific real-life event.
This rumor --
nothing more than another case of song lyrics being interpreted too literally --
originated not long after the release of the song 1981 and has been in
continuous circulation ever since.
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I can feel it coming in the air tonight, Oh
Lord I've been waiting for this moment all my life,
Oh Lord Can you feel it coming in the air tonight, Oh
Lord, Oh Lord Well, if you told me you were drowning I would not lend a hand I've seen your face before my friend But I don't know if you know who I am Well, I was there and I saw what you did I saw it with my own two eyes So you can wipe off the grin, I know where
you've been It's all been a pack of lies And I can feel it coming in the air tonight, Oh
Lord I've been waiting for this moment for all my
life, Oh Lord I can feel it in the air tonight, Oh Lord, Oh
Lord And I've been waiting for this moment all my
life, Oh Lord, Oh Lord Well I remember, I remember don't worry How could I ever forget, it's the first time,
the last time we ever met But I know the reason why you keep your silence
up, no you don't fool me The hurt doesn't show, but the pain still grows It's no stranger to you or me |
Mental-Health Therapist Goes Ballistic
Robert Powers, a mental health practitioner and professional counselor, got upset when he received a memo last summer saying only the manager of his office would have the key to certain supply drawers, according to state documents.
Powers took the memo and shot it several times with a .22-caliber handgun before returning it to the office, the document says.
Two days later, he reportedly called the office secretary and said he was too angry to return to work because he "might shoot somebody."
The comment prompted several co-workers to seek protection orders against him.
The state revoked Powers' license to practice as a counselor or therapist on the grounds of unprofessional conduct.
Cruise Ship Repossessed, Passengers Left on Shore
Soiled Underwear Causes Emergency, Results in Fine
The city bomb squad and hazardous materials crew responded after an Erie Water Works employee spotted a black bag near the 33-million gallon Sigsbee Reservoir last month.
The reservoir was shut down for several hours while the bomb squad X-rayed the bag and hazardous materials crews waited to test it.
Police tracked down Troy Musil, 18, of
Musil pleaded guilty last week to defiant trespass. The judge gave Musil a 90-day suspended jail sentence and ordered him to pay $500 a month for 10 months to the emergency agencies that responded.
If he doesn't pay, the judge said Musil would be jailed. A telephone number for Musil couldn't be found.
It's a Good Thing Nobody Said 'They Killed Us'
To a 4-year-old, it must have made perfect
sense.
Some neighborhood kids spent New Year's Day
playing street hockey in Elora, Ontario, reports the
Nothing unusual there, especially when the NHL
lockout (search) has Canadians starved for
something to do.
But when one of the players complained to a
4-year-old spectator that his team had been "robbed"
of a goal, the thoughtful tyke took it
literally.
He marched right back home and promptly called
911.
"Some of the kids said to him, 'Call the cops,
someone stole a goal there,'" explained
Provincial Police Sgt. Dave Rektor. "So he went
in and called the cops."
When the dispatcher asked for details, the boy
hung up. A call back and a conversation with the
boy's mother quickly resolved the matter.
"He wasn't trying to be malicious," laughed
Rektor. "It was just the innocence of it that was
funny."