July 29, 2005
*Ask Jen: Interview Edition
Shank writes, "Do you prefer Jennifer or Jen, or does it matter at all? If you were stranded on a desert island and had to choose one of your commenters to hang out with, who would it be and why? When and why did everyone start paying so much attention to politics? Remember the nineties? When MTV couldn't even get people to vote? What happened?"
Okay, QuizMaster, I'm hard up for material, so I'll humor you on this one. I prefer Jennifer or Jen, but never Jenny. Unless you're really attractive and smart and single.
If I was stranded on a desert island, I'd have to go with Paul(!) for amusement purposes. He's married, so no funny business, but he'd be a good conversationalist. Plus he's smart, so he might be able to rig a way off the island.
What politics?
I do remember the 90s. I graduated high school, went to college, voted for Clinton, left college, made more money than I've been able to since 2001, voted for Clinton again, made even more money...what was the question? Oh, right, voting. People still don't vote. Apathy lives!
Do you have a question for me? You can e-mail it. If I know the answer, I'll answer it. If I don't, I might make something up.
Friday Quote
"Love, like a river, will cut a new path whenever it meets an obstacle."-Crystal Middlemas
July 28, 2005
*Ask Jen: Chinese Law Edition
Reader Anna writes, "Can you please post something about crime and punishment in China?"
Well, that's a bit of a broad topic, but I'll give it a stab.
The earliest complete legal code to have survived in China was the Tang Code. It stated that laws originated out of necessity rather than any divine reasons, and had finely graded punishments based on both the actual crime and the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator.
The worst of the crimes listed in the Tang Code were the Ten Abominations, and anyone who was guilty of one of these crimes could not be saved by their higher rank in society or relationship to the emperor. These were crimes that endangered the emperor or the government, threatened the family, or involved "black magic". The Ten Abominations were:
1. Plotting rebellion
2. Plotting great sedition
3. Plotting treason
4. Contumacy
5. Depravity
6. Great irreverence
7. Lack of filial piety
8. Discord
9. Unrighteousness
10. Incest
For the first three (which were the most serious of the Abominations), decapitation was the punishment. And for the first two, execution of the criminal's extended family was carried out as well...for plotting rebellion, the entire male line over the age of 15 was executed. Those under 15 were enslaved. The females were either enslaved or exiled, and all the family's property was seized.
Women generally got off lighter than men, regardless of the crime. They were beaten less severely, and if they were pregnant, they could not be beaten at all. Plus pregnant women weren't executed until 100 days after the birth of their baby.
Do you have a question for me? You can e-mail it. If I know the answer, I'll answer it. If I don't, I might make something up.
July 28, 1914
Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia one month after the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, kicking off the WWI festivities.
Thursday Quote
"You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life."-Albert Camus
July 27, 2005
Wednesday Quote
"Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing, it's when you've had everything to do and you've done it!"-Margaret Thatcher
July 26, 2005
July 26, 1847
On this date, the Republic of Liberia declared its independence, becoming the first democratic republic in African history.
July 25, 2005
July 25, 1999
On this date, Lance Armstrong became the first American team cyclist to win the Tour de France.
July 22, 2005
July 22, 1587
A new colony was delivered to Roanoke Island off North Carolina on this date. Later, they would be known as The Lost Colony.
Friday's Quote
"To see a world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, An eternity in an hour."-William Blake
July 21, 2005
Let's talk goats
Goats were the first animals to be domesticated and they are hardy and social beasts.
Goats make a really cool sound called "bleating."
Goat milk is very nutritional and is used for drinking as well as manufacturing goat cheese. Goat meat is consumed all over the world.
Some goats produce specialized and valuable coats - namely mohair and cashmere. Mohair is a long fiber produced by Angora goats. It is similar to the lustrous long wool of sheep, but distinct from the angora fiber produced by Angora rabbits.
Cashmere is the soft undercoat which can be produced by nearly any type of goat. Some goats produce an excellent quantity and quality of cashmere.
Goats have also played a part in mythology. The Sumerian god Marduk was often seen in the company of a goat. The Semitic goat-god Azazel was a symbol of life and energy.
In both Judaism and Christianity the goat symbolized lewdness, though the Christians carried it much further where the goat came to be associated with lust and the devil.
Once at a petting zoo, a goat grabbed hold of my wife's sweater and wouldn't let go. My wife thought it was very funny until the goat started pulling with all its might. Then she panicked and started shrieking, which was pretty damned funny. She now has an intense fear of goats. That was quite a few years ago, but even now if the mood strikes me at bedtime I'll turn out the lights and tell her that that goat was really Satan and he can now control her through her dreams. I take an occasional elbow to the ribs, but the general reaction is usually worth the pain.
Thursday's Quote
"If a man walks in the woods for love of them half of each day, he is in danger of being regarded as a loafer. But if he spends his days as a speculator, shearing off those woods and making the earth bald before her time, he is deemed an industrious and enterprising citizen."-Henry David Thoreau
July 20, 2005
July 20, 1869
Mark Twain's The Innocents Abroad was published, detailing his journey to Europe and the Holy Land.
Wednesday's Quote
"The sun, with all those plants revolving around it and dependent upon it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as if it had nothing else in the universe to do."-Galileo
July 19, 2005
On Or Around This Date In Egypt...
2781 B.C.--the first known Egyptian calendar is developed.
365--Alexandria is hit by an earthquake, and approximately 50,000 people died.
1799--One of Napoleon's soldiers finds the Rosetta Stone.
Tuesday's Quote
"The richness I achieve comes from Nature, the source of my inspiration."-Claude Monet
July 18, 2005
July 18, 1870
On this date, the Vatican Council proclaimed papal infallibility in matters of faith and morality.
Later, this would bite them in the butt, as seen in the 1999 documentary "Dogma".
*Ask Jen: Talk About Your Nipples Edition
Reader Cara writes, "Are male nipples as sensitive as female nipples?"
Well, in my limited informal research on the subject, I would have to say nipple sensitivity is entirely dependent upon whom said nipples are attached to. In other words, it varies. Some women do not have very sensitive nipples at all, and some men have very sensitive nipples.
So let's ask the readers: how sensitive would you say your nipples are? Are they an erogenous zone, or would you really prefer to have them left alone in favor of other areas?
Do you have a question for me? You can e-mail it. If I know the answer, I'll answer it. If I don't, I might make something up.
Monday's Quote
"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature."-Anne Frank
July 15, 2005
July 15, 1939
On this date, Clara Adams became the first female aviator to complete an around the world flight.
And if she had disappeared, you might recognize her name.
Quote of the Day
"The New York Post quoted Senator Hillary Clinton saying that she would never run for President, declaring 'That is not something I'm going to be doing.' Which in Clinton talk means 'I will be President in three years.'"-Tina Fey
July 14, 2005
I'll Give You a Topic...
...bridal registry etiquette.
It's my understanding that bridal registries are for things you need in your new home together, rather than, say, South Park t-shirts and Star Wars action figures and dozens of DVDs (which I'm assuming the groom-to-be picked while the bride was picking things like cookware and sewing machines).
Now, I'm not saying every couple doesn't need Monty Python's Holy Grail in their new home...or that they don't need Wookies to play with...I'm just saying it seems a little off to ask people to buy them for your wedding.
Yes, no?
July 14, 1099
On this date, Christian European knights of the First Crusade began the final push to capture Jerusalem. They celebrated by massacring the city's Jews and Muslims...and a few Eastern Christians for variety.
I'm so glad we worked out that whole Christianity-Judaism-Islam thing since then.
Quote for July 14
"I would hope that understanding and reconciliation are not limited to the 19th hole alone."-Birthday boy, Gerald Ford
July 13, 2005
*Ask Jen: Drinking and Dialing Edition
Reader Lindsay writes, "I have a question for Jen: Why do people drunk dial?"
Why do you ask? Who have you been talking to?
Alcohol is a depressant, and some of us tend to start dwelling on our relative unhappiness when we drink. Which perhaps leads us to think about when we were happy(-er) and who we were happy(-er) with...leading us to want to reach out and touch someone. These are the pathetic drunk dialing scenarios. Booty calls also fit in somewhat with this scenario.
Alternately, it can make us dwell on the people who we think have wronged us...leading us to lash out at them at 3 in the morning. These are the angry drunk dialing scenarios.
Do you have a question for me? You can e-mail it. If I know the answer, I'll answer it. If I don't, I might make something up.
July 13, 1568*
On this date, Alexander Nowell discovered bottle-conditioning for beer (ale), when he forgot his corked bottle outside unintentionally.
(For American beer history, check this site.)
* The date he is credited with the discovery is often given as 1602. Since he died in February, 1602 at nearly 95 years of age, it seems a little unlikely.
July 12, 2005
*Ask Jen: Neener Neener Edition
Reader CarolAnn writes, "Jen - do you have any idea where the children's phrase.....'ne ner ne ner ne ner' came from? Thanks."
Wow, that is a tough one. I don't know any original sources for neener-neener or its sister nyah-nyah...but if I were to fabricate an explanation, I'd say it likely comes from Old English "ne". Which means "no" or "not".
Do you have a question for me? You can e-mail it. If I know the answer, I'll answer it. If I don't, I might make something up.
Mall Bomber
If this happened in America, you'd really have yourself a news story:
Police said a preliminary investigation indicated the bomber blew himself up among a group of teenagers crossing a busy intersection.
But it happened in Israel, so good luck seeing it on your evening news for more than 15 seconds.
Teenagers at a mall. Not a government or military target. Teenagers at a mall. If that doesn't make you sick--if that doesn't make you realize the mindset of what we're dealing with--I don't know what will.
July 12, 1984
On this date, feminists rejoiced. Geraldine Ferraro was the first woman to make it onto a major party presidential ticket, when presidential candidate Walter Mondale chose her as his running mate.
On November 6, feminists did not rejoice. The Mondale-Ferraro ticket was defeated in the biggest Republican landslide ever.
We've yet to see another woman on a major party presidential ticket.
Tuesday Quote
"A committee is a group that keeps the minutes and loses hours."-Milton Berle, who was born on this date in 1908.
July 11, 2005
July 11, 1807
On this date the U.S. Vice President, Aaron Burr, participated in a duel with Alexander Hamilton. Thus ended Alexander Hamilton's political career. And you know, life.
It didn't do much for Burr, either, career-wise.
Monday Quote Song
The silicon chip inside her head Gets switched to overload. And nobody's gonna go to school today, She's going to make them stay at home. And daddy doesn't understand it, He always said she was as good as gold. And he can see no reason 'Cause there are no reasons What reason do you need to be shown?Tell me why?
I don't like Mondays.
Tell me why?
I don't like Mondays.
Tell me why?
I don't like Mondays.
I want to shoot
The whole day down.The telex machine is kept so clean
As it types to a waiting world.
And mother feels so shocked,
Father's world is rocked,
And their thoughts turn to
Their own little girl.
Sweet 16 ain't so peachy keen,
No, it ain't so neat to admit defeat.
They can see no reasons
'Cause there are no reasons
What reason do you need to be shown?Tell me why?
I don't like Mondays.
Tell me why?
I don't like Mondays.
Tell me why?
I don't like Mondays.
I want to shoot
The whole day down.All the playing's stopped in the playground now
She wants to play with her toys a while.
And school's out early and soon we'll be learning
And the lesson today is how to die.
And then the bullhorn crackles,
And the captain crackles,
With the problems and the how's and why's.
And he can see no reasons
'Cause there are no reasons
What reason do you need to die?Tell me why?
I don't like Mondays.
Tell me why?
I don't like Mondays.
Tell me why?
I don't like Mondays.
I want to shoot
The whole day down.--The Boomtown Rats' "I Don't Like Mondays"
It's a song I know by heart probably only because Bon Jovi did a cover on it (with Bob Geldof) on their live album.
For the curious, here is the story behind the song.
July 08, 2005
*Quote For Friday
"The pain of the world will sear and break our hearts because we can no longer keep them closed. We've seen too much now. To some degree or other, we have surrendered into service and are willing to pay the price of compassion.But with it comes the joy of a single, caring act. With it comes the honor of participating in a generous process in which one rises each day and does what one can. With it comes the simple, singular grace of being an instrument of Love, in whatever form, to whatever end."
-Ram Dass
(Emphasis added.)
July 07, 2005
*Quote For The End of This Day
"Not a day passes over the earth but men and women of no note do great deeds, speak great words, and suffer noble sorrows."-Charles Reade
*65 Years Ago...
September 7 will be the 65th anniversary of the start of the London Blitz. Hitler thought bombing London would demoralize the people and cause the poor to revolt against the government.
The British government conspicuously failed to collapse.
The British people conspicuously failed to be demoralized.
Roughly 43,000 civilians died. Roughly 1,000,000 homes were destroyed.
London survived.
Hitler did not.
*Terrorist Attacks
I don't have much to say, other than that my thoughts are with the citizens of Great Britain today.
Be safe, everybody.
*Thursday's Quote
"I never graduated from Iowa, but I was only there for two terms--Truman's and Eisenhower's."
July 06, 2005
*Ask Jen: Winers Edition
Reader Chris writes, "After a (briefly) exhaustive search of your site, I notice you don't ever mention wine once. Why is that? Are you winophobic or possibly a winoholic?"
Well, it's not true that I've never mentioned wine. I mentioned it here. I don't consider myself a wine connoisseur or anything, but I do have a few bottles squirreled away. I'm told they're really good. All I really know about wine is what kind of meat they generally go with...reds with reds, whites with whites.
Jew