Just a Bite 8-18-2009

Quote to ponder under the apple tree

The score never interested me, only the game.
~ Mae West (born August 17, 1893)

Resources to bite into

1.An early liberated woman

Mae West was considered outrageous for her independence, outspokenness, and frank sensuality for most of her 87 years. She was also a well-loved comedian, playwright and actress so famous for her double entendres that she once said she could order a cup of coffee and people would look for a hidden meaning. On the other hand, she gave her fans plenty of reason to expect her dialogue to be risqué. Consider these quotes:
•To err is human, but it feels divine.
•I used to be Snow White, but I drifted.
•When women go wrong, men go right after them.
•I've been in more laps than a napkin.
You can find many more quotes at http://www.brainyquote.com/

2. Defining pairs

The current Brain Aerobics Weekly features a word quiz adapted from Schott’s Original Miscellany. Do you know the meaning of common phases like a) kith and kin, b) dregs and dross, and c) jetsam and flotsam? (Answers: a) friends and family, b) solid particles at the bottom of some liquids and refuse, and c) items thrown off ships and floating wreckage.) Learn much, much more by ordering Ben Schott’s book. Just click here.

3. The Elegance of the Hedgehog

The current Brain Aerobics Weekly also features a quote from my newly favorite novel, The Elegance of a Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery. In poetic language, she describes the beauty of the ancient Asian tea ceremony and compares it to the still lovely current ritual of pausing in one’s day for the jewel-like moment of sipping and pondering. She writes, “With each swallow, time is sublimed.” How is time sublimed for you? To order this “thought-full” book, click here.


Tips/ideas/insights to savor

Another highly quotable celebrity is Ogden Nash, born August 21, 1902 and famous throughout the 20th century for his light and often pithy verses. (e.g., “Parsley is gharsley,” and “If called by a panther, don’t anther.”)

Since August 21 is Poet’s Day, this week is an ideal time to try matching his wit. Mr. Nash said that he thought in rhyme from the age of six, but he was never hampered by the fact that words were spelled differently or that they didn’t exist at all. (Shakespeare made up hundreds of words; what’s stopping the rest of us?) Here are three words which Ogden Nash found ways to rhyme. What can YOU do with them?

Jellyfish

Caribou

Galoshes


Ogden Nash’s rhymes:
•You can have my jellyfish/ I’m not sellyfish.
•I will tame me a caribou/ And bedeck it in marabou.
•Yes, today I may even go forth without my galoshes/ Today I am a swashbuckler; would anybody like me to buckle any swashes?

To order The Best of Ogden Nash, click here.

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