Jillian Chantal

July 6, 2012

No Post-

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June 29, 2012

DROP A DIME:

The phrase drop a dime on meant to betray or inform on a cohort. This came from criminal/underworld usage when they would accuse someone of calling the police to rat them out. The pay phone had a slot where the dime would be dropped to make the call. The usage of this phrase began in the 1960s and still carries over today.

I bet ya that a lot of younger folks who only knew pay phones as quarter-eaters have no idea of the origin of this phrase. Imagine in five more years how many won’t even know what a pay phone even is other than their plan payment for their cell service.

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June 22, 2012

ORRERY

I bet you all know what an orrery is. I bet you all used them in elementary school in science class even if you didn’t know what the heck-fire it was called. What is it? It’s the mechanical model of the solar system (some are just of the sun, moon and Earth). Most I’ve seen are of the entire solar system (poor Pluto- has it been whacked off the older ones?). Anyhoo, it’s used to show how the planets move and how they are positioned in relation to the sun. Y’all remember these?

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June 15, 2012

GAZING BALLS:

Gazing balls for the garden were first created in Venice in the 1200s from blown glass and are still made from blown glass. Mad King Ludwig used them in his gardens in Bavaria and they became even more popular in the Victorian age. They were sometimes used as mirror to see if company was coing so the owner could either hide or get refreshments ready for their visitors. They were also used inside for the butler and maids to peer into in oirder to see if guests needed service.

These balls were also sometimes called Witches balls and used to keep away witches and evil spirits.

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June 8, 2012

MR. ZIPPY:

Anyway, when zip codes were still new and people didn’t like to use them, or forgot them, it would drive my grand dad crazy. He always drummed it into us that you could leave off the city and state totally from the envelope if you had that zip code. That code was the most important thing to put on there.

The US Postal Service agreed (probably who drilled it into him) and they came up with a cute little mascot called Mr. Zip (or Zippy) to encourage folks to use the number. It must have worked becaus Mr. Zip is no longer in use. He was around in the
1960s and 1970s.

Interestingly, the new zip codes with the four digits added to the end let your postal carrier know within a block or so of where your home or business is. I know a lot of folks who never put those last four on. Mayhaps Mr. Zip needs to be revived? Call him Mr. Zip + four?

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June 1. 2012

NEIL DIAMOND AND THE MONKEES:

Bet ya didn’t know that Neil Diamond wrote several songs that the Monkees made popular. They are I’m a Believer; Lookout, Here Comes Tomorrow; A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You; and Love to Love. A couple of them are not as popular as I’m a Believer and A Little Bit Me, but I really enjoyed all the songs they sang. I adored this show even though it was a bit silly.

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May 25, 2012

HIPPOGRIFF

The mythological creature called a Hippogriff is the result when a griffin mates with a mare. They have the talons, feathery wings and eagle head of the griffin and the body of the horse. These cretures are rare since the horse was prey to the mythological griffin. These creatures have played a role in many old or medieval poems and stories but the most commonly known one now would be the one in Harry Potter named Buckbeak
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May 18, 2012

BARON WALTER ROTHSCHILD

Walter Rothschild was the second Baron Rothschild. He was a bank and a politician. He also was a zoologist. In his childhood, he loved animals and started his own little zoo. He collected bugs and butterflies and even had a pet kangaroo.

He worked in the family bank for about twenty years and finally was able to quit. He opened a zoological museum while still with the back. Once he left the bank, he traveled the world to seek out animals.

He had some zebras he trained to pull his carriage and he would ride down the mall in London with the zebras pulling him along. I think that is absolutely awesome. I’m a big fan of zebras and I know, based on this man’s love of animals, that he didn’t mistreat them in teaching them to do this. They are after all, part of the equus family of which horses are a part as well.

Baron Rothschild was also the first Jewish member of the peerage who didn’t convert to Christianity.

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May 11, 2012

CHRIST THE REDEEMER

This statue was built of sandstone and concrete between 1922 and 1931 in Rio de Janeiro. It is perched on a mountain overlooking the city in Brazil. It’s the largest art deco statue in the world and the fifth largest statue of Jesus in the world. It is 130 feet tall. I think it is breathtaking in photos and would love to see it in person.
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May 4, 2012

SUPERMOON:

The full moon for this weekend is called a Super Moon because it is as close as the orbiter gets to Earth right now and that phenomenon doesn’t happen a lot during a full moon stage and may not happen again for 100 years. Exceptionally high tides are predicted and maybe even some flooding. The moon will look huge when it rises and folks in some areas will be able to see what looks like a ring of fire around the edges.

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April 27, 2012

ORNITHOGALUM PYRENAICUM

Ornithogalum pyrenaicum is a form of asparagus. It used to grow abundantly in Bath, England and so is also known as Bath asparagus. Other names are Pyrennes Star of Bethlehem and Prussian asparagus.

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April 20, 2012

CRIPPLE CREEK, COLORADO:

Why Cripple Creek, Colorado? Well, it’s a neat place (very old West look still to the place- and very inspiring for a western story!) but also because Levon Helm, of The Band, lost his battle with cancer this week. I love the music they made and this song happens to be one of my favorites.

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April 13, 2012

NO POST: AT RT CONVENTION

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April 6, 2012

JUMP THE SHARK:

The origin of the phrase “jump the shark” comes from an episode of Happy Days. The phrase means that a television show has reached the end of its good ideas but is still on the air. In 1977, an episode of Happy Days had The Fonz water skiing in his leather jacket and he literally jumped over a shark. The phrase comes from that episode. If you google the phrase and The Fonz, you can see the video.

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March 30, 2012

CAMPANILE:

A campanile is a bell tower and is usually affilitated with a church. Even if the tower actually holds no bells, it is still called a bell tower if it was designed to do so. Some modern ones have carillons (a musical instrument made up of bells that play songs) in them. If you’ve ever been to Stone Mountain, they have a beautiful carillon and the songs float over the river as the steamship makes its circuit. It’s lovely.

There’s a beautiful campanile in Venice, Italy and it’s quite impressive. Here it is:

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March 23, 2012

NARCO:

Narcotic comes from the Greek word for numbness, nark.

It’s interesting to me how the word narcotic and the word narcolepsy (falling asleep unexpectedly) both have the same root word and mean stupor and lethargy. Most people I know say narcotics make them sleepy which would be consistent with these two words coming from the same root. I think I’ve talked here about the phrase paradoxical effect before which is the opposite of the expected reaction. With me, narcotics make me wired. It’s very hard for me to take them as I can’t sleep at all when I take one, so they have the opposite effect.

A narco is a slang term for a law enforcement officer who enforces the drug laws. Now, if you had a narco who was on narcotics who had a narcolepsy problem, that would be something, wouldn’t it?

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March 16, 2012

XEBEC:

An xebec is a ship that was used mostly on the Mediterranean Sea in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries. They were used as trading vessels and were quite fast. They had unique overhangs on the bows that aided in their speed. They were lightweight and used by pirates and corsairs (privateers) as well.

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March 9, 2012

AMPELOGRAPHER:

An ampelographer is an expert in the study and classification of cultivated grape varieties. Ampelography is actually the study of the vines themselves. An interesting thing has happened with the advent of DNA testing. DNA testing proved the identities of Zinfandel and Sangiovese as a couple of examples. The tests showed where those grapevines originated. The ampelographers have even been able to tell what causes the various grapes to have certain colors.

March 9, 2012

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March 2, 2012

WINDSOR, CANADA:

The interesting two things I learned about Windsor are that it is south of Detroit. Isn’t that wild? The way the lake turns makes part of Canada be south of part of the U.S. I love that.

The other thing is that because it is south of Detroit, Essex County, which is the county where it is located, is the southernmost county in Canada.
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February 24, 2012

HOROLOGY:

I know where some of your minds went when you saw this title. But, nope, that’s not what this word means!

Horology is the science of measuring time and/or the art of making timepieces. Horologists are people who make watches and clocks or collect them. So, if you’re ever at a party and want to get a shocked look from someone, tell them you’re a horologist and wait for the gasp. LOL!
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February 17, 2012

LUPERCALIA:

Lupercalia was the celebration in old Rome for fertility during the time of the Caesars. It was celebrated in February. When the Christian’s philosophy took root in the culture, they tried to incorporate the pagan holidays and that may be why February was chosen for the time to celebrate St. Valentine’s day.
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February 10, 2012

CAREFREE HIGHWAY:

The legend is that Gordon Lightfoot got the idea for this song from a road sign north of Phoenix, Arizona. It’s on a highway that leads to a town called Carefree, Arizona. It’s a highway near interstate 17. I think it’s super awesome. He said he wrote down the name of the highway as a good song title and kept it for 8 months until the song came to him.

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February 3, 2012

SEAHORSES:

Seahorses are named from the Greek word Hippocamus. Hippo means horse and Kampos meaning sea monster.

Today’s fact is that the male seahorse is the one who gives birth. Yep, tis true. I bet you knew that one already, didn’t you? The female deposits eggs into a sac on the male’s front and he carries them from anywhere from 9-45 days. Once he releases them, they emerge fully formed and his job is done. No nuturing, no child support, nothing. Off he runs to play another day.
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January 27, 2012

UYIMBUBE:

Uyimbube is a Zulu phrase meaning you are a lion. It was a lyric in a song written by an African singer of Zulu origin named Solomon Linda. The song was recorded in the 1930s. It was called Mbube.
Eventually, the song made its way to the international stage and was recorded by The Weavers as a song called Wimowah, which was a mis-hearing of the word Uyimbube from the original song.

We all know the song as The Lion Sleeps Tonight.
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January 20, 2012

TAUGHT v. TAUT:

TAUT:adj. taut·er, taut·est. 1. Pulled or drawn tight; not slack. See Synonyms at tight. 2. Strained; tense: nerves taut with anxiety. 3. a. Kept in trim shape; neat and tidy.

TAUGHT: vb the past tense and past participle of teach

In the recent past, I’ve read quite a few books and novellas.I was appalled at the same mistake that I saw in two of the books. These books were professionally edited.

Not once but five times in one of the books I read and twice in the other one, this word was used completely wrong.

Dig these sample sentences which are not exact quotes but are paraphrased: “his taught nerves…” and “his stomach taught” “Over the taught ridges of his abs” and “a sighting of one taught butt cheek”
Come on! Really? What did his belly teach? Math? Science?

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January 13, 2012

PARADOXICAL EFFECT:

I’ve still got the remnants of the cold/illness from the trip back from England and am off and on taking stuff to help me breathe, thus, I got the idea for this Friday Fact. I have a weird body chemistry and have what’s called a paradoxical effect when I take certain medications. This effect means that the opposite intended reaction happens when the medications are ingested.

The paradoxical effect usually happens with sedatives and barbituates as well as anti depressants. It can also happen with antibiotics and that may well be why I usually have to have more than one dose of those when I get an infection.
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January 6, 2012

OLD BLIGHTY:

A nickname for England is Old Blighty. The term has been around since the British held India as a colony. Blighty is derived from an Indian word that means Britain- bilāyatī.

The soldiers slurred the word into Blighty. The term became popular during WWI when men would hope for an “old Blighty” wound- one not bad enough to kill you, but bad enough to be sent back home to get well. A number of songs were written with the term in the lyrics.
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December 30, 2011

UNION JACK:    

The Union Jack is the current flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and was designed in 1801. There are three crosses on the flag. One is the Cross of St. George who is the patron saint of England, one is the cross of St. Patrick who is the patron saint of Ireland. The third is the cross of St. Andrew, who is the patron saint of Scotland. Wales is not represented on this flag.  The blue field on the bottom with the white cross is the St. Andrew cross. The top red cross with the white edging is the St.George cross and the white field under that top cross with the red stripe is St. Patrick’s cross. I think it’s a neat combination of the three lands’ flags.

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December 23, 2011

HAMPTON COURT PALACE:

Hampton Court Palace started out as the palace of Thomas Wolsey, Archbishop of York. He built it in 1514.  Legend has it that Henry VIII badgered the man until he gave it up to the king.  He was allowed to keep an apartment there until he fell from favor and was arrested.

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December 16, 2011

MYRRH:

Myrrh is one of the three gifts of the Magi in the story of the birth of Jesus. What exactly is Myrrh? It’s a cross between a tree and a bush and provides oil as well as resin. These are used for astringent and antiseptic purposes. The Egyptians used myrrh in mummification and the oil was also used to anoint priests. It is used for sore throats and mouth ulcers.

One interesting fact is that when myrrh is burned, it acts as a mosquito repellant. Us Floridians sure would appreciate that. 

One of the myths of where myrrh came from is quite colorful. The goddess Myrrha was forced by Aphrodite to commit incest with her father. She escaped being murdered by her father after that when the gods turned her into a myrrh tree.  The drops of gum resin that form on the tree are said to be the tears of Myrrha.

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December 9, 2011

MISTLETOE:  

Mistletoe is a parasite. it grows on host trees and sucks nutrients from that host. It has been revered back to ancient times - believed to bestow fertility and be an aphrodisiac, it was used as far back as Druid and Roman times in fertility rites. It was also believed to protect against poisoning.

Branches of mistletoe were hung in ancient dwellings to protect from evil spirits as well as witches. If you get a chance, read this article. It is full of wonderful information: http://www.theholidayspot.com/christmas/history/mistletoe.htm

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December 2, 2011

COCKNEY:

Eliza Doolittle was a Cockney but it’s not merely a person who drops their ‘haitches when they speak.

It’s actually defined as a person born on the East Side of London within the sound of the ringing of Bow Bells.  Bow Bells is the bells of the church of St. Mary Le-Bow. So, a person who lives in London and speaks with a twangy accent, may not be a true Cockney after all.

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November 25, 2011

TRYPTOPHAN:

I bet a ton of you folks out there were sleepy, sleepy, sleepy yesterday after eating all that turkey. Know why? Turkey naturally contains an amino acid called Tryptophan. It’s something our bodies need and don’t produce. We use the tryptophan to convert to niacin which is essential to the human body. The niacin then converts to seratonin. Seratonin is a calming agent and plays a role in inducing sleep.

Tryptophan is used in some medical supplements as well. People take it as a sleep aid and for seasonal affective disorder. It has also been used as an antidepressant.

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November 18, 2011

NATURALIZATION CEREMONY:

Naturalization is the process whereby a foreign national can become a United States Citizen. The requirements are that the person has to have legally resided in the United States for five years, or if the candidate for citizenship is married to a U.S. citizen, he or she has to have lived here for at least three years. There are also some special rules for those who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces.  There is also a test that the candidate must take.  I wonder how many of us that are born here could pass that test? I shudder to think. 

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November 11, 2011

VETERAN’S DAY:

Only Friday Fact this week is that it’s a fact that I love our military Veterans. Happy symmetrical day- 11/11/11. Y’all know how I feel about that.

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November 4, 2011

ROLLING STONE MAGAZINE:

I spent some time before November researching pop culture and fashion for my 2011 NaNoWriMo novel which is set in late 1967. I wanted to share this Friday Fact since its anniversary is coming this week. Rolling Stone Magazine was founded in 1967 with the first issue being published on November 9, 1967. The first cover featured John Lennon and he actually graced the cover a number of times, both alone and with others. He was also on one of the first ten covers with Paul McCartney. There is even a cover with him and Yoko Ono featuring a photo that was taken a few hours before his death by Annie Leibovitz.  

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October 28, 2011

DIA DE LOS MUERTOS:

Dia de los Muertos is also known as The Day of the Dead. It’s an old ritual from the Aztec culture. The Aztecs used skulls as part of the ritual and the skull is still an integral part of the celebrations. For the day is a celebration; a celebration of the lives of the ones who have passed on.  The Catholic church tried to get rid of this tradition but was unsuccessful and therfore,  merged it into the same time of year as All Saint’s Day. It therefore occurs on November 1st and 2nd. Skull masks are worn and the celebrants dance in memory of their dead. The Aztecs believed the dead visited them during this time and that death was not the end of life but the beginning of a new kind of life.

Today, Day of the Dead celebrations still take place and in Mexico, it’s a really big deal. The people make the favorite foods of their deceased relatives and have picnics at the grave sites. They also decorate the graves with marigolds  and candles. Toys for dead children and tequila for deceased adults are brought as well. The cemeteries are the place to be that day.

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October 21, 2011

DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME:

I read some crazy things this week that I wanted to share. Since most of you who read my blog are also writers, I thought you might enjoy some of the things writers, composers and musicians did to help them with their muse.  Beethoven doused his head with cold water as he thought that helped him compose better; Charles Dickens always had his bed face the North Pole as he said the magnetic pull helped him create; Rudyard Kipling was a little more sensible. He had to have black ink to write. (I’m a little weird about my pens, too- I like blue but I write usually on a computer).  The composer Rossini always wrote in bed and under the covers.

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October 14, 2011

POPE FORMOSUS:

Pope Formosus (c. 816-896) was elected Pope on October 6, 891.  He had been in some controversial positions over the years before he became Pope and his involvement in political intrigues continued into his papacy.  So much so that a later  Pope, Stephen VI, had Formosus dug up, dressed in papal robes and tried for crimes. This was called the Cadaver Synod. He was convicted of not being worthy to be Pope.  They annulled all the acts he performed as Pope, cut off the three fingers of the hand he used to consecrate and ripped the papal vestments from his body. Then they threw his body into the Tiber River.  (A monk later pulled it out and when Stephen VI died, Formosus was reinterred in St. Peter’s.)

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October 7, 2011

GOLDENROD:

The goldenrod is the state flower/herb for a couple of states.

The goldenrod has two interesting facts related to it. It is a source of rubber and was actually investigated for use in WWII as such. Thomas Edison experimented with it and grew a plant that yielded 12% rubber. Henry Ford gave Edison a Model T with tires made of goldenrod.

The other interesting thing about goldenrod is that it’s been used medicinally.  It is used for kidney and bladder issues as well as for sore throats, colic, menstrual cramps and as a poultice for wounds.

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September 30, 2011

SAINT BERNADETTE:

Saint Bernadette was a Christian Mystic. She became a saint in 1933. The name Bernadette means Brave as a Bear. The woman who became a saint saw her first vision of Mary, the mother of Jesus, at age 14. The location was where the shrine at Lourdes was built. This shrine is a healing spring. Her feast day is April 16.

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September 23, 2011

U BOATS:

 We’ve all heard of the submarines the Germans used in WWI and WWII and we’ve all called them U boats. Have you ever seen the German word for them? It’s a great word. It’s Unterseeboot. It means under sea boat. So easy. How cool is it that a German word is so easily translated to English?

In English, we call our own under sea boats submarines and the German ones U boats. In German, they call ours the same thing they call theirs. Same kind of boat, same name. 

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September 16, 2011

EMERALDS:

Long prized by the upper classes of Egypt, the emerald, a type of  gem called beryls, was rumored to be the favorite of Cleopatra- she even had her own mine of them. Interestingly, Elizabeth Taylor, who played Cleopatra in a film version of the story with Richard Burton, received emeralds from him as both engagement and wedding gifts (maybe not so interestingly- as it was the film where they fell in love, right?)

Anyway, Emeralds are said to bring luck in love as well as faithfulness. It also gives the wearer wisdom. Let’s hope it brings wisdom in choosing love as well, right?

The emerald is May’s birthstone. It has healing properties for the eyes, lungs, and heart, by tradition.

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September 9, 2011

RED, YELLOW AND HUNGER:

If you’ve ever wondered why restaurants are usually red or yellow on the outside, it’s because the colors make a person hungry. Red is the color that stimulates the heart rate and causes excitement and energy. Yellow is associated with speed. So there ya go, fast food and jiffy stores like to use these colors to attract customers.

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September 2, 2011

BAMAKO:

Bamako is the capital of a country in Africa called Mali (not to be confused with Bali which is in the Indian Ocean and where part of my book Surfer Bride takes place). This country is on the Niger River and has a population of 1.8 million. It’s the fastest growing city in Africa. The name Bamako comes from the word for Crocodile River which is Bambara (not to be confused with Bam Magera, a professional skateboarder).  So, any bets on how many crocs are in the river?

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August 26, 2011

AN ARM AND A LEG:

One traditional story of how the phrase an arm and a leg came into use was through the charges of portrait painters. This may be an urban myth but it was what I learned a long time ago so I’m gonna share it with you.  Portrait painters charged less for paintings that were just of a head and shoulders. If the subject wanted a picture with his or her limbs depicted, it would cost more. Thus the phrase “it cost an arm and a leg.”

Really, it may have been the cost of the canvas as one would presume that a full body portrait would call for a bigger piece of canvas than that of just an upper torso and face, right?

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August 19, 2011

STATUES AT GETTYSBURG:

The statues of the men on  their horses at Gettysburg have meaning. If all four feet are on the ground, the rider survived the battle. If one foot is off the ground, the rider was injured and if two feet are off the ground, the rider died. I thought that was quite unique and a poignant tribute to injured or fallen soldiers.  

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August 12, 2011

CATENARY ARCH:

A catenary arch is a perfect physical embodiment of compression. There’s no wasted section of the arch and it’s self supporting. The word catenary comes from the Latin for chain.   If you hook each end of a chain to a post, the way it hangs loose is  a catenary as it acts on its own weight. An example of an inverted catenary arch is the St. Louis, Missouri Gateway Arch.

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August 5, 2011

SCHOOL OF ATHENS:

The School of Athens is a famous fresco painted by Raphael in 1510. He was hired to paint art in some of the rooms in the Vatican and one of his most famous works is still there to this day. It’s a picture of philosophers gathered together and some of them have the faces of some of Raphael’s contemporaries. He even has himself peeking out of one of the corners.  The central figures are Plato and Aristotle. They are surrounded by other philosophers/mathematicians/astrologers. 

These philosophers may have all lived in different eras and ages but Raphael painted them in a timeless school of philosophy all together. Included are Socrates, Euclid, Pythagoras, Diogenes, Ptolemy and Zoroaster. Also there, and controversial at the time, is a female philosopher,  Hypatia.  Raphael had to disguise her likeness to get away with putting her in the picture.

Heraclitus is depicted as looking like Michelangelo and some of the other philosophers are depicted with the faces of some of Raphael’s contemporaries.  Here’s a link to check out all the people featured in the painting: http://www.newbanner.com/About

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July 29, 2011

VILLA BORGHESE GALLERIA:     

The Villa Borghese was built by the Cardinal Borghese to show off his art collection. It is a spectacular building. The interiors will take your breath away. The ceilings are all painted and look almost three-dimensional.

One of my favorite things there is a sculpture called The Rape of Persephone by Bernini. It is exquisite. The marble is carved to look like Pluto is holding Persephone and you can even see the indentations of his fingers on the skin of her thigh. She has a look of anguish on her face and a little tear escapes from her eye.  Pluto’s muscles are well-defined and the dog, Cerberus, is magnificent. His fur looks real. I was amazed at the craftmanship of this piece and the man was only 23 when he did it- there are other Bernini statues there as well. One he did when he was eleven. It was awe inspiring- two babies milking a goat. And he was only eleven!

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July 22, 2011

VENICE, ITALY:

Venice was also on my itinerary while in Italy.  One of the unique things about Venice is that all the traffic is either by boat or by foot. There are no cars in the city. How wild is that? Here in the US, we can’t get away from roads and cars, cars, cars. 

Venice was a powerful part of the trade world between the East and the West in the days before the Americas were discovered. Once that happened, Venice fell to the wayside because of the new shipping routes that opened. Venice was ruled by Doges. A Doge is like a Duke but they ruled like a constitutional monarch.

Two famous residents of Venice were Marco Polo and Casanova.  Different time periods, though- one in the 1200s and one in the 1700s.

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July 15, 2011

ROME, ITALY:

Built on Seven Hills, Rome was allegedly founded by twins who were raised by wolves. Romulus and Remus were these twins. Romulus killed Remus and named the city for himself. It’s located on the Tiber River and is a place rich in history and lore. The city itself is not pretty; it’s dirty and crowded, but the monuments are awe-inspiring and the atmosphere is electric.  

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July 8, 2011

NORTHWEST PASSAGE:

The Arctic Ocean and the Northwest Passage was first navigated by Roald Amundsen between 1903 and 1906. This is a sea route that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Many explorers tried to open that route for many, many years. Amundsen was the first to  have success. Canada says the Passage is theirs and the US and European countries say it is an international strait. Right now, it’s open for use for free passage.

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July 1, 2011

MANHATTAN:

Manhattan is an island and one of the five boroughs that  make up New York City.  It has been a seaport for many hundreds of years.  I’ve taken a cruise around the whole island and it’s amazing how it goes from vastly populated at the south end to woods at the north. Also, the Staten Island Ferry is a cool, FREE, way to see the island from the water. It travels all day every 20 minutes between the two islands. You can get a nice view of Lady Liberty as well.

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June 24, 2011

MISOGYNIST vs. PHILOGYNIST:

I pride myself on being a wordsmith but have to confess that the word philogynist was new to me when I heard it. It means the opposite of misogynist- it is a person who likes or admires women. I have a good friend that is the dictionary definition of this word. He’s loves women and when you talk to him, you’re very aware of it. He’s interested in all you have to say, he makes eye contact at all times and he’s very tactile.  He’s just so cute and fun and is the first to tell you that he loves women.

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June 17, 2011

CALIGULA: 

Caligula ruled the Roman Empire from 37-41 AD. yep, less than half a decade- some of the citizens of the realm were probably relieved that he was gone so soon.  He tortured his enemies with no regard for whether they were enemies of the state as well; he killed Christians by crucifixion. He made people bow to him as a god.  He had sex with his own sisters and would have dinner parties where he’d leave the table and have sex with his  so-called friends’ wives. Once he came back to the table, he would rate the women’s performance for the whole group of diners. He’d married four times by the time he died.

He spent money from the treasury at will and then raised taxes to cover his expenditures. He extorted people for money as well.  He was ambushed and assassinated-by his own Imperial guard in an underground passageway. They killed him with a sword being thrust into his privates. Kind of a fitting end to a licentious despot.

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June 10, 2011

SAINT BARTHOLOMEW:

Saint Bartholomew, also known as Nathaniel, was one of the original 12 Apostles. He went to India and Armenia (Turkey) to spread the Gospel. He was eventually flayed alive and skinned. How awful that must have been. He was in Armenia when he was killed. There is also some thought that he was crucified upside down like St.Peter.

St. Bartholomew is painted on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel. He holds a knife in one hand and his skin in another. He has the face of Michelangelo. The ceiling of that chapel is stunning. Literally. The room is smaller than you would expect.

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June 3, 2011

WIVES OF HENRY VIII:   

 Henry VIII  must have been a man that liked patterns in his life.  H followed one in how he got rid of his spouses. Check it out:

Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived (now, if he’d lived longer, I’m sure she would have died-just because I like the symmetry of that- LOL)

The other patterns  were that 1/2 of his wives had Catherine, Katherine or Kathryn as their name; 2 of his wives were named Anne;  and 2 out of the six were cousins- the 2 that were beheaded at that.  How wild is all that?

So, Catherine of Aragon- divorced;  Anne Boleyn-beheaded;  Jane Seymour- died of natural causes; Anne of Cleves- divorced; Kathryn Howard- beheaded; Katherine Paar- survived the king.

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May 27, 2010

NAPKINS:

Ever been to a fancy restaurant and they remove your white napkin to give you a black one? Wonder why?  

LINT! The answer is LINT!!  They do this so that the person wearing dark clothes doesn’t stand up after dinner with white lint all over his/her clothes.  How’s that for service? Pretty cool, huh?

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May 20, 2011

THE RIGHTEOUS BROTHERS:

The Righteous Brothers aren’t brothers at all. They started as a multi member band called The Paramours. Eventually, Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield split off and made their own “group.” Betcha you don’t know how they got their name. That info is your Friday Fact this week. The two of them were onstage singing a duet when they were still in The Paramours. When they finished, a African American marine in the audience stood up and yelled, “that was righteous, brothers.” AND there you have it. How awesome is that?

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May 13, 2011

ANNIVERSARY:

Today is the anniversary of Friday Facts. The traditional gift for a first anniversary is paper or plastic and the modern choice is a clock.

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May 6, 2011

BOCA RATON:

Today’s fact is Boca Raton. It is a town on the East Coast of Florida. The word Boca in Spanish is mouth and is used to describe an inlet. Raton is Spanish for mouse. The Spanish sailors that first came to Florida used the term mouse to describe the small rocks that scraped their ships’ hulls. So, Boca Raton basically means Rocky Inlet. The original area that the Spanish referred to was Biscayne Bay near Miami Beach but sometime in the early nineteenth century, the name mistakenly was used to refer to the current Lake Boca Raton. The name thus migrated northward by some forty odd miles. The actual city of Boca Raton was founded in 1925.

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April 29, 2011

TASER:

Tasers are used by many police forces and I bet you didn’t know it’s actually sort of an acronym: It stands for Thomas A. Swift’s Electric Rifle. The man that worked on the invention of it (Jack Cover) loved the series of young adult novels featuring Tom Swift as the protagonist. One of the stories was actually named Tom Swift and his Electric Rifle and Tom had a rifle that shot electric bolts from it. The stories were written by Victor Appleton (a house psuedonym of the Stratemeyer Syndicate- the same company that brought us The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys) beginning in the 1910s and going into the 1940s.

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April 22, 2011

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN:

Ben Franklin was a polymath and invented a number of things. Here’s a few:

(1) at age 78, frustrated by his vision issues, he invented the bifocal.

(2) Of course, we all know he invented the Franklin stove- being made of iron, it burned wood more efficiently, thus saving fuel and the funds needed to buy it.

(3) He pointed out (and named) the Gulf Stream, that current circulating in/over the Atlantic that causes trips across to be longer in one direction than the other (and, yep, I can attest from first hand experience that this is true).

(4) the catheter- Yep. He did this to help his brother who had a kidney stone.

(5) Lightning rods

(6) The odometer when he was postmaster general- to learn the distances traveled to deliver the post.

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April 15, 2011

FABERGE EGGS:

The Faberge jewlery firm was founded in the 1840s. Peter Carl Faberge took over from his father. The Tsar came to him one year and asked him to design a gift for his wife for Easter. He wanted a jeweled egg with a surprise inside. This began a royal tradition that lasted until the Bolsheviks came along.

I had the thrill a number of years ago to visit a traveling exhibit of the Faberge collection in New Orleans. It was stunning. The eggs were gorgeous and even the cigarette cases and hair brushes designed by Faberge were exquisite. If you ever get the chance to go, don’t hesitate.

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April 8, 2011

COCO CHANEL:

Coco Chanel was born in 1883 in France and her birth name was Gabrielle Chanel. She was raised in an orphanage after the death of her mother as her father couldn’t take care of her. The orphanage was run by nuns and Coco was raised as a strict Catholic and the nuns taught her to sew.

Gabrielle left the orphanage and changed her name to Coco. This was the name she took when she became a singer in a nightclub before she started to sew for a living. Some suppose her new name came from one of the songs she sang in the lounge but she herself was quoted as saying it came from the word “cocotte”- a word that means “kept woman”- she shortened it to Coco. She was indeed a kept woman by the time she was twenty years old. She never married and had numerous affairs throughout her life, even with the Duke of Westminster and Igor Stravinsky. She was also involved with a German officer during the occupation of France in World War II. She was a sassy, savvy business woman and I love that she was raised by nuns yet didn’t act like one herself.

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April 1, 2011

HAMZA HANDS:

A Hamza hand is a symbol used in both the Jewish faith and the Arabic faith. It’s a symbol used as a talisman against the evil eye. In the Jewish faith, they call it hamesh and in the Arabic faith, it’s called hamza. I believe it symbolizes the hand of Fatima. In the Christian faith, they call it the hand of Marion.

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March 25, 2011

RMS QUEEN MARY:

(1) Cary Grant loved the ship so much that he tried to plan his trips to London to coincide with her schedule so he could travel on her. He even proposed to one of his wives onboard.

(2) It took five days for the ship to go from New York Harbor to Southampton.

(3) on a one-way trip, they would carry 25,000 lbs of fresh meat, 20,000 lbs of fresh vegetables, 5,000 lbs of butter/lard, and 50,000 (yes, 50,000) bottles of wine, liquor and mineral water.

(4) Her maiden voyage was May 27, 1936.

(5) She served as a troop ship in WWII and Churchill was aboard to plan the D-Day invasion. It was a big secret when he was aboard as there were death threats against him. When she was a troop ship, she was called the Grey Ghost as she was painted grey and could slip quickly past in the fog.

(6) After WWII, she brought nearly 15,000 war brides and children to the United States and Canada.

(7) She became a luxury liner again in July 1947. She was sold in 1967 to the City of Long Beach, California as the Cunard/White Star line was losing money due to the popularity of air travel.

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March 18, 2011

KANSAS CITY LIBRARY:

In Kansas City, Missouri, they decided to try to revitalize the downtown area and remodeled the library and the parking garage. I think what they did is awesome. How much fun is this building?

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March 11, 2011

JAWS AND HOUSE:

But if you watch the show, at the end is the phrase “That’s some bad hat, Harry.”

That is an exact quote from Chief Brody as played by Roy Scheider. He’s sitting on the beach watching for a shark attack. A man sits in front of him and blocks his view of the water. The man says something along the lines of, “You don’t go in the water, do you, Chief?”

Brody replies, “That’s some bad hat, Harry.” I guess the producers of the House show like Jaws, too. Listen for the line the next time you watch either one.

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March 4, 2011

CHEESY JOKE:

March 4th is the day the members of the Army hate the worst of the year as they are ordered to March Forth.

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February 25, 2011

GUEST WITH HUNGARIAN FACTS:

http://jillianchantal.com/2011/02/25/an-interview-with-count-anton-varga-friday-facts-hungarian-facts/

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February 18, 2011

UXORIOUSNESS:

In wills and deeds, you may sometimes see the words “et ux” – it means “and wife” so a piece of property can be given to the donee et ux or the buyer et ux. Uxoriousness means that a man has great fondness for his wife. Some may even say excessive submissiveness to her- but we all know that can’t be true, right? Anyway, there’s your word of the week.

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February 11, 2011

ABRAHAM LINCOLN:

What I want to talk about is Lincoln’s psychic visions. He had numerous psychic episodes in his life. One of them he related to his wife was he’d seen himself in a mirror once with a double reflection. One was blurry, one was not. He thought that meant he’d lived through his first term as president and would die in the second term. Eerie, yeah?

Even more eerie was the dream he had a week or two before he died. He dreamed he heard a woman crying, followed the sound and saw a woman in one of the rooms of the White House sitting beside a coffin. He stepped into the room and asked the lady who died. She said, “the president.” He looked inside the coffin and saw himself.

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February 4, 2011

EUREKA:

This word means “I have found it” in Greek and it’s the motto for the State of California. It refers to the gold rush of the 1800s. Gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill in 1848. California became a state in 1850. The motto is featured on the seal of the state.

The interesting thing about the use of this word as California’s motto is that it’s supposedly the word that Archimedes in ancient Greece said when he discovered the method for determining the purity of gold. Someone very clever in California picked the perfect state motto for them. And someone equally clever named that television show by the same name.

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January 28, 2011

THE BISLEY BOY:

Watched a show on National Geographic Channel called Secrets of the Virgin Queen. There seems to be some theory espoused by some folks that Queen Elizabeth the First was a boy. Seems the legend goes that Henry VIII took her to the country in 1542, when she was nine, to avoid the plague that was felling people in the city of London. The legend goes on to say that she actually died and the people who she was left with tried to find another red-haired girl to take her place. They didn’t want her father to be upset about her death. They couldn’t find a young girl and thus substituted a young boy.

The alleged evidence: A grave of a young girl dressed in Tudor clothes was found on the estate where Elizabeth stayed; the fact that Elizabeth never married; that she was completely bald and wore wigs to cover it; no post-mortem was allowed on her body after her death; she wore white pancake make-up- said to cover stubble on her face.

I don’t believe this to be a “fact.”

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January 21, 2011

LUTHIER:

a Luthier is someone that makes or repairs stringed instruments. This includes guitars, violins, cellos and all those type of instruments. The name comes from the French word for lute which is luth. My son is a guitarist. He has an assortment of them and just recently spent over two hundred dollars on these things called pick-ups. They change the sound of the instrument or so I’ve been told. He’s very picky about his instruments and had a professional install these pick-ups. Most people who fix or make these instruments here in the USA call themselves guitar or violin makers, but I like the sound of the technical term myself.

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January 14, 2011

WORD ORIGINS:

I’m always intrigued by the origin of certain words. Thought I’d share today two of my favorite linked-origin words. Amnesty and Amnesia.

Amnesty is defined as a general pardon; usually from offenses against a government (think crimes, etc) or to overlook or forgive an offense.

Amnesia is defined as partial or total loss of memory.

Both of these words are from the Greek word amnestia (which is the same word in Latin) which means oblivion or forgotten. Or amnestos- which means not remembered.

How interesting that a medical condition and a legal action have the same root word.

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January 7, 2011

OCULUS:

Oculus is the Latin name for eye. Oculi is plural. An oculus today means a window. Usually round but they can be oval as well. The most famous of the oculi in the world would have to be the round skylight in the Pantheon in Rome. The Pantheon is a building erected many, many centuries ago as a building dedicated to all the gods and Gods. Pan means all and theo means religions.

I have been to the Pantheon and it is a magnificent building. It was not restored when I was there and according to my older son, it wasn’t much better when he went to Rome in 2004. It’s an interesting piece of architecture. It has the huge skylight that fills the place with sunshine on nice days. The oculus is open to the weather, so on rainy days, the rain pours in and rolls off the marble/granite floor. It has quite a few recessed areas where, in the long distant past, many statues of the various gods were placed. The front door on the place is massive. Really, really massive. Heck, the whole thing is massive, but the door is amazing! Interestingly, the building looks square from the outside but it very rounded on the inside. And the carving work on the walls and the dome is impressive.

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December 31, 2010

JOHN TYLER:

John Tyler was the tenth president of the United States of America. Here’s a fact I bet you didn’t know about him. When he left office in 1845, he wasn’t done with his political career. In 1861, he was elected to represent his state, Virginia, in the House of Representatives. AND no, not the House of the United States of America; rather the House of Representatives of the Confederate States of America. How’s that? YEP!! A former US President served in the government of the CSA. He’s the only US President to have this “honor”- to serve the rebel government.

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December 24, 2010

POINSETTIA:

The proper name for the plant I picked for this Christmas Eve version of Friday Facts is Euphorbia pulcherrima. My Latin background it telling me that means something along the lines of beautiful and good feelings. That is a very loose translation and the best I can do- LOL! The Mexicans call this plant Noche Buena, which means the good night- Christmas Eve. We commonly call it the poinsettia. It got its name here in America from the man who introduced it to our culture in 1828- he was the first US Minister to Mexico and his name was Joel Poinsett.

The symbolism is interesting as well. The red color symbolizes the blood sacrifice of Jesus and the star shaped leaves are said to symbolize the Star of Bethlehem.

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December 17, 2010

PROSOPAGNOSIA:

Prosopagnosia is the disorder wherein the affected person can’t recognize faces. They have an inability to process the face as a whole and recall the features. This is interesting to me and I think it would be a great characteristic to give a hero/heroine in a story such as a romantic suspense. Wouldn’t it be an awesome plot point to have a character being stalked by someone that they couldn’t recognize from day to day? After all, these Friday Facts are supposed to give some writing ideas.

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December 11th for December 10th

HODAD:

A Hodad is a wanna be surfer. Usually someone that hangs out at the beach and acts like they can surf when they actually have never been on a board, or maybe have been on one and can’t stand up on it or can’t ride very well. Being called a hodad is not a compliment.

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December 3, 2010

HANUKKIYAH:

A Hanukkiyah is candelabrum with eight candles in a row and a ninth set a little higher than the other eight. This candelabrum is used at Hanukkah. It is a particular type of menorah for this holiday. One candle is lit the first night of Hanukkah. The second night, two candles are lit and so on until the eighth night of the holiday. A menorah is different than a Hanukkiyah in that it has seven stems as opposed to eight. Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday that celebrates a time in history where the Jewish people regained their temple and needed to purify it from its use as a place to worship other gods as well as to slaughter swine. They were chagrined to find there was only one day’s supply of oil in the temple. They lit the menorah anyway and the oil lasted eight days.

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November 26, 2010

SIRENS:

The Sirens seduced men with their voices. These part bird, part women creatures lured men toward them with songs. The men would follow the sound of the music and end up drowned on the rocks. Ulysses heard about the sirens from Circe and was determined to hear them sing. He wanted to survive, though, so he had his men tie him to the mast of his ship. He had them all plug their ears with beeswax and not listen themselves so that the ship wouldn’t be lost at sea. He made them promise not to untie him no matter how he begged. He was thus able to hear the music and be safe.

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November 19, 2010

BASIL RATHBONE, SPY:

I adore, adore, adore Basil Rathbone. He was the ubiquitious Sherlock Holmes. He was a great actor. He played a lot of villains in his career as well. He was a master fencer and that skill was used in a lot of his films. The funny thing about that was since he was usually the bad guy, he lost the on screen duel. In fact, he only won one on film. In real life, he was the son of a British man and woman and they lived in South Africa until Basil’s father was chased out of the country as a British spy during the Boer War. This is truly amazing because during WWI, Basil was an intelligence officer; perhaps following in dear old dad’s footsteps. Basil had a knack for disguises (not unlike the Sherlock Holmes character he’d play in the future). On on occasion, he disguised himself as a tree (!) and brought back some good information as well as some prisoners. This was an unusual mission as it occurred in daylight hours. A very brave man indeed. He was awarded the Military Cross- an award for gallantry during active operations against the enemy. I like that- gallantry! This man was quite gallant.

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November 12, 2010

CAFE DU MONDE:

If you’ve never been to Cafe Du Monde, you’ve never almost asphyxiated on powdered sugar. The stuff is everywhere. In the air, on the floor, all over the tables and in your lungs as soon as you get inside. Take your last deep breath and enter the world of sugar. The beignets are divine- very hot! They will burn your fingers and believe me, hot sugar can be painful. But dang, the taste is so worth it.

The coffee is not for the likes of me. It’s chicory coffee and I swear, I’ve had a cup walk out of Cafe Du Monde and across the street to Jackson Square beside me. I think it even walked faster than me. I’m not a fan of strong coffee and this stuff will knock your head off. Many people love it but I just am a big ole wimp. I like a 1/2 shot of coffee and the rest milk. In other words, wave the coffee over my glass of milk and move on.

Go to Cafe Du Monde if you are ever in New Orleans. You’ll love it. If you choke on the sugar air and die, you’ll die happy! laissez bon temps rouler (Let the good times roll)!

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November 5, 2010

ENVELOPES:

The first envelopes with gummed flaps were produced in 1844. In Great Britain, they were not immediately popular because it was thought to be a serious insult to send a person’s saliva to someone else.

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October 29, 2010

PASS THE BAR:

Do you know the origin of the phrase “pass the bar?” The bar is actually the barrier between the well of the courtroom and the gallery. Most of the time, in my experience, it is a rail with a swinging door, but it doesn’t have to be.

The well of the courtroom is the area where the judge and jury sit and where the counsel tables are located. The gallery of the courtroom is where the audience sits.

A person that has “passed the bar” is a person that has earned the right to sit in the well of the courtroom at one of the counsel tables. They thus “pass the bar” each time they enter the courtroom and take their seat.

October 22, 2010

POLYMATH:

A polymath is a person that is well educated in a number of various areas. An example of a polymath would be Leonardo Da Vinci. He was truly a Renaissance Man. He was educated in math, history, art and the sciences.

A true polymath is learned in many disciplines. A well-rounded person could be called a polymath- such as my favorite one, Aristotle. He was not only a philosopher and teacher, he was involved in music, theatre, science, politics and other endeavors. A more modern polymath was actor, lawyer, athlete Paul Robeson. He was also a social activist that was involved in the fight for freedom for people in Africa, the Caribbean and Australian aborigines.

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October 15, 2010

ESTHER:

Interesting tidbit about the Book of Esther in the Old Testament: it is the only book of the Old Testament that doesn’t mention God. Bet ya didn’t know that one, now did ya?

This book in the Bible deals with a woman of Jewish ethnicity that lived as a non-Jew. She was married to King Ahasuerus. She learned of a plot by a prince name Haman to kill all the Jewish people in Persia over a perceived slight by one, who happened to be Esther’s cousin. When Esther told the King, he put a stop to it and decreed that the Jews could destroy those who had planned to destroy them. (this is a major paraphrasing of this book- I suggest a read of it as it is intriguing).

The day after the battle, there was a feast and that feast is the origin of the Purim Festival that is celebrated to this day. One of the the ways to celebrate is a recitation of the Book of Esther and a celebratory meal. The festival is also celebrated by giving charity to the poor.

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October 8, 2010

CANTONMENT:

A cantonment is either a temporary or semi permanent place for the lodging of troops. It comes from the French and means corner or district.

Pensacola , Florida is located on a bay that leads to the Gulf of Mexico. Historically, it has been a vital part of the defense of the countries that have owned it, dating back to the first Spanish occupation. There is a highway in Pensacola that’s called 9 Mile Road- it is actually US Hwy 90 but the name 9 Mile Road comes from the fact that it is 9 miles from the center of downtown (and yeah, we have 8 1/2 Mile Road and 10 Mile Road and even 8 1/2 Mile Creek Road – since there’s a creek beside it).

My little area of Florida was actually a place for soldiers to be billeted in the past, thus the name. It is North of the City but close enough to reach by horseback (if you were one soldier on a fast horse) in less than two-three hours and the entire troop could be moved in less than a day and a half, if necessary.

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October 1, 2010

BARROW:

Today I decided to discuss one of my favorite songs and what something means in it. Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da is a cool Beatles song. The first line is Desmond has a barrow in the marketplace. Today, class, your lesson is on the barrow. What the heck is a barrow, you may ask. Historically, in Britain, the markets set up on certain days of the week. The sellers of goods kept them in barrows or push carts. Some sold flowers, some sold meats and vegetables and some sold clothing among other things.

There are still markets scattered all about London and outer lying areas. They sell wonderful things. Sunglasses, batik dyed dresses, jewelry, head bands, old records, and just about anything you can imagine. Such fun to go and browse all the merchandise on display. A cool way to spend a weekend in the fall. Oh, to be in England in the fall.

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September 24, 2010

HURDY-GURDY:

The Hurdy-Gurdy has a long history. It is actually a sort of combination of a guitar and a piano. Not really a piano but it does have a keyboard element. The Hurdy-Gurdy was earliest known to exist in the 11th Century. The instrument was played in medievel times and into the Renaissance. It has a sound similar to bagpipes.

The shape of the instrument changed a bit in the later years of the Renaissance. The French version looked more like a lyre (more round) and the other versions had the guitar look to them. The instrument became the instrument of the lower classes for a time after music tastes changed. There was a resurgance in the upper classes in the 18th Century when famous composers wrote some songs for it.

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September 17, 2010

DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION:

In honor of the fact that today- September 17th- is Constitution Day and the fact that I am at a DAR conference in Orlando, I dedicate this week’s episode of Friday Facts to an organization that is near and dear to my heart. I love what the DAR stands for and all the good it does.

Anyway, The Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in October, 1890 by Eugenia Washington, Mary Desha, Mary Lockwood and Ellen Hardin Walworth. The Society was founded to foster patriotism. The requirements to join are to be able to trace lineage to someone who offered aid or assistance to the cause of American Independence. That’s it. That’s the only criterion.

The organization does many wonderful things. It even sponsors six schools for children. One that’s special to me is Kate Duncan Smith DAR School in Grant, Alabama. It makes a huge difference to a very rural area of the state. I was the National liaison for the school for three years. The kids are great- they are all so grateful to the ladies of the DAR and they are a joy to be around. I am now on the finance board but they have meetings on Wednesdays and a five hour drive one way on my lunch hour isn’t quite feasible.

DAR offers scholarships to college students as well as to members that want to continue their educations. We sponsor essay contests, food drives, send supplies to Veterans hospitals, send movies, phone cards and socks to the base in Germany where wounded soldiers are sent and a plethora of other things. Check out the DAR website if you’re interested in all the other things we sponsor and do in t he furtherence of patriotism.

This is a grand organization to belong to and I bet those four women from almost 120 years ago had no idea that what they created would take off and be so successful. I bet they’d be proud.

Go out and celebrate today that we have one of the best countries on Earth to live in and they we have such a wonderful Constitution.

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September 10, 2010

SEANCES:

I’m not an expert by any means about seances. Not at all. But this is Friday Facts and I’m editing my historical novel that is set in 1920. If you didn’t know, seances were all the rage in the late 1800s and early 1900s. There were mediums all over England and other countries. There was a huge effort to communicate with the dead. Houdini partook in this activity and promised his wife that he’d try to contact her after his death. They even had a code set up so no false mediun could scam them. As far as I can tell from my research, he was never successful in sending a message to his wife.

One of my favorite writers, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was also a fan of the seance. He was a very popular writer in his time, writing books, selling stories in serial form to The Strand magazine, and of course we all know of his famous consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes. Sir Arthur had many seances at his home due to his fascination with the after life.

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September 3, 2o1o

EQUUS QUABBA:

This is a zebra, also called Equus Quagga- that is the name of the species of this animal. The genus is equus. Equus is Latin for horse.

This one in particular is of one of the non-extinct types. There are several different species of zebras and some f them are extinct. They have been over-hunted for their pelts and for food in many parts of Africa. They can still be found in plentiful numbers on preserves. It’s a shame, really, that they aren’t more populous in the wild.

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August 27, 2010:

SYNESTHESIA:

Synesthesia is a psychological condition. It is when two senses act together. The root of the word is Greek- Syn means together and aisthesis means perception. People with this condition usually see words or numbers in colors. Different words are different colors. Numbers can also be perceived as colors. Most people with this condition are women, left handed and of normal intelligence. It is an involuntary thing and is usually inherited on the mother’s side (if you wondered what that side of the family that is, it is the enate side). The people with this condition are called synesthetes. A lot of them are artists.

There are various kinds of synesthesia. The one that has been discussed in my household relates to musical notes and sounds. Eddie Van Halen and Pharrell Williams are synesthetes as was Franz Liszt. Vladimir Nabokov was, too.

There is even an organization of synthetes. They have a convention and everything. How cool is that? This year, they meet in Nashville in October.

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August 20, 2010

MERCURY IN RETROGRADE:

Normally, the planet Mercury has three retrograde periods in a year. This year, we are lucky enough (insert sarcasm here) to have four periods of retrograde- two of them are in my birth sign which I believe intensifies the effect. Mercury usually follows an orbital pattern the same as the earth but periodically, it appears to be moving backwards (all planets do this)- this is called retrograde. Mercury is the planet that governs thinking and perception as well as communication. Mercury rules people who work in these kinds of fields- perfect for me (NOT) as a lawyer as well as a writer.

When Mercury is in retrograde miscommunications and misunderstandings occur. There are also issues with electronic devices such as phones and computers. It’s not good to make big decisions when Mercury is retrograde due to these confusions. When Mercury is forward moving, our minds are clearer and more focused.

This time around Mercury is retrograde from August 20 to Sept 12. The last time was in April/May and boy, did some wonky things happen then. I had to call in security to my hearings at the courthouse twice. People were wacky and irate. It seemed no one was listening to anyone else. It was a rough time. I tried to blame it on the moon phase but as soon as I heard about Mercury back in retrograde, I remembered the December chaos and knew that was the problem.

Don’t know about you, but I’m gonna be extra sure I communicate clearly – think before I speak- between now and September 12.

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August 13, 2010

TRISKAIDEKAPHOBIA:

Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number thirteenth and paraskevidekatriaphobia is fear of Friday the Thirteenth. I figured that since August 13, 2010 was such a day that I’d share one or two or three of the origins of the superstition of these days in the calendar. One of the theories is that because Judas was the 13th disciple to arrive at the last supper and betrayed Jesus, that the number is unlucky. Another theory is that 12 witches in Roman times make a coven and the 13th would be the devil. There is also a Norse myth where 12 gods were having dinner and the 13th guest walked in, uninvited- it was Loki – the god of mischief- he arranged for one of the gods to shoot the god of happiness and joy with an arrow tipped in poison- that god died and the whole Earth was dark and mourned for the loss. Based on the Last Supper and the Norse Myth, there is a corresponding superstition that if you have 13 at a dinner party, one will die (that sounds like an Agatha Cristie novel to me).

My pet theory has to do with the Knight’s Templar. There is a theory that the King of France, on October 13, 1307, ordered that all the Knights Templar be arrested and executed. It was a Friday- this is one of the only theories I know that actually says the day of Friday- most of the rest of the theories deal with the number, not the day of the week. Jesus was crucified on a Friday but the last supper where Judas was guest number 13 was a Thursday.

The Knights Templar were originally formed to protect to protect Christians on Crusade but they became wealthy and powerful and the King of France, Phillip, I believe it was, wanted to strip them of their wealth and power. Some of them were warned ahead of time and escaped. This theory is my favorite for personal reasons. Here is the shield of the Knights Templar:

In hoc signo vinces means In this sign, victory- it is the motto of the Knights. You may see the initials IHS on various vestments and altar decorations in churches and it means “in this sign” – it was used by early Christians as a way to not be discovered, similar to the fish drawn in the sand. It referred to the Sign of the Cross.

A picture of a Knight Templar: Note the Cross on his robe.

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August 6, 2010

JAI ALAI

Jai Alai was first played in the Basque region of Spain. It originated from people throwing a ball against the church wall as a fun past time. It grew from there and the first games were played in the United States at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair and the first fronton was built in Miami in the mid 1920s. The arenas where they play are called frontons. The game is played with a very hard ball called a pelota and the ball is caught in a curved net with a handle called a cesta (Spanish for basket).

Jai Alai means Merry Festival in Basque. The game is very similar to racquetball in that one side serves and the other must catch it in the basket and fling it back to the wall. The ball must be in play all the time. No holding the ball in the basket. The balls get up to very high speeds. The highest clocked speed was 188 mph. Since the ball is harder than a rock, don’t you know that could break your bones if it hit you at that speed? Since the balls are so hard and hit the granite wall so hard, a ball lasts about 20 minutes in play before it splits.

This sport draws quite a number of gamblers and seems very exciting to me. Much more so than a staid game of tennis.

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July 30, 2010

DOLPHIN v. DOLPHIN FISH:

A dolphin like Flipper is a mammal and not a fish. It is very intelligent and is able to communicate with humans. They have been used for therapy with children with Asberger’s and austism to help them learn to communicate. I also read an article recently regarding Dolphins and diabetes. A mahi-mahi or dolphin fish is a fish. Cold blooded and not intelligent. A nice dinner, but not much interaction with children and probably have nothing to do with helping anyone other than to a full tummy.

So, the question- what kind of sea critter is the Dolphin Hotel trying to pass off here? Opinions?

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July 23, 2010

TOQUE:

A Toque is the subject of the day. A chef’s hat is called a toque. The etiology of the word is French (actually it’s real root word is Spanish but the French made the name popular) and it means a cap with a small brim or no brim at all. The ones that chefs wear are actually called toque blanche. That means white hat with no brim. The question I always had was why white? and why white chef coats? All I can think of is spaghetti sauce all over the front. Which is how mine would be were I a chef. And the way I cook, I would probably have some on that brimless hat as well.

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July 16, 2010

PROHIBITION:

The Prohibition Era (1920-1933) was the impetus for a couple of interesting developments in this country. I’m going to talk about two of the long-term repercussions of Prohibition in this post. Two things that are still part of our culture. One is the emergence of organized crime and the other is Nascar racing.

Gangsters like Al Capone and Lucky Luciano made a lot of money supplying liquor and beer to the Speakeasys. Speakeasys were places a person could go to drink alcohol during this era. The worst kind of criminals became involved in this underground way of life. The era of the “organized” criminal had come and it has never left.

The good old boys in the south ran the illegal booze in small, fast cars. The cars were souped up to be fast enough to out run the police. One of the reasons that Prohibition was a bust was because there was no way to tax illegal products. At the end of prohibition, taxes were re-imposed on liquor and a brand new kind of Bootlegger was born: the Moonshiner. You see, some of those boys down south had been making their own hootch- not illegally importing the good stuff, but making their own. Their sales didn’t stop after the law was repealed. People still wanted to drink home-stilled booze. So, these guys still needed those fast cars. Only now they were out running the Revenuers. The tax men. They didn’t want to have to pay Uncle Sam his cut. So, fast cars to outrun cops continued to be developed. This was the birth of the tradition of racing cars.

Daytona was a popular place in the 1920s and 1930s to race to beat land speed records so it seems only right that Daytona Beach, Fla became the home to Nascar. I’m not a fan myself but some of my favorite people on this planet are big fans.

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July 09, 2010

PALINDROME:

A palindrome is a word or phrase that can be read the same way frontwards and backwards. The most famous one of course is a Napoleon quote: Able was I ere I saw Elba. I wonder how long he had to think to come up with that. Or did it just flow right out of his brain and out of his lips? It is an appropriate quote, isn’t it? He was quite the able general until he was exiled to Elba. (and that’s not Elba, Alabama, baby!) Or is it just an urban legend that he actually said those words? I don’t have a clue except that it has always been attributed to him.

Female names are also fun palindromes: Hannah, Emme, Eve. More fun palindromes are parents’ names: dad, mom, pop. There are lots of these words in the English language. What about racecar? Bob, tot, level, redder, etc., I could go on but you get the drift. These are fun to think about.

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July 2, 2010

CODPIECE:

Codpieces came about so that men would have easy access to relieving themselves without removing their breeches (sounds pretty lazy to me). The name came from the old English word for scrotum or “codd” – the pieces of fabric that made up the cod piece were initially flat and laced or tied closed.

There is a story about Anne Boleyn and the Duke of Bologna wherein he appeared before her after leaving his lady love and hastily closing his cod piece- the bulge in his pants amused her and she asked him if that was his cod or was he just glad to see her. (Of course, she said it in old English, not modern slang) . Interesting that the old saying came from her, huh? Another nail in her coffin (pun intended).

Henry heard her comment and thought the Duke was sporting the newest style from the European Continent and he asked his tailors to make his codpieces padded like Bologna. He meant the Duke but his tailors pictured sausages and thus the size of Henrys’ codpieces were quite large.

Codpieces are used more these days in the sadist and/or leather culture. Some ballet boys also pad their tights. AND some, like Barishnikov, don’t- or so I’ve heard.

check out the Prince of Persia’s codpiece:

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June 25, 2010

THE WORLD CUP

The World Cup started in 1930 and has been staged every four years since then except for 1942 and 1946 because of WWII. There are preliminary games held over the three years between the games to determine who qualifies for the actual tournament. From the 3 years of preliminary games, 32 teams from around the world are chosen to play in the finals.

In the history of the Cup, Brazil has the record for most wins with five championships. This year’s tournament has been really wild and unpredictable. The French and Italians played the championship match in 2006 – Italy won- that was a wild game. The one French guy head butted an Italian and got a red card near the end. Both these teams are out this time around very quickly. I believe some of the teams got a little cocky this time around and didn’t take the lower seeded teams seriously and they got smacked down because of it.

The tournament lasts for a month. This one ends July 11, 2010. Brazil will be the host nation in 2014. USA plays Ghana next on Saturday, the 26th.

A red card puts a player out of the game. A yellow card is a warning. Depends on the level of the foul. The ref carries one card of each color in each pocket. You will see him whip it out periodically.

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June 18, 2010

CAPUCHIN MONKS

The Capuchin Monks are an offshoot of the Francisans. They believe in living much like hermits- in the way that St. Francis envisioned. They were forced into hiding in their early days because the Church authorities accused them of shirking their church duties. They took refuge with an Italian Order. They adopted the style of dress of the Italian monks and took on the brown habit with hood. Many of them wore beards and had the tonsured head. The hood they wore was called a capucchio. The look of the brown hood and tonsured head is where the word cappuchino comes into play. I am really not quite sure how people made that analogy because it seems odd to me. But there you have it. There are also monkeys called Capuchin Monkeys that have taken their name from these monks. Check out the cappuchino and the capuchin monkey and tell me what ya think. Remind you of a monk?

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June 11, 2010

CARAMEL PIE

A fun thing to do with sweetened condensed milk is to take two cans, rip off the labels and put them into a pot of water (on their sides). Bring water to a boil and then simmer the cans and water for four hours. Keep an eye on the water level and make sure there is always enough water to cover the cans at all times. Roll the cans around periodically as well. In four hours, carefully remove the cans from the water and open them. TA DA! You’ll find caramel. Mix in a bowl and then pour into a graham cracker crust, cover with whipped cream and mini chocolate chips. Serve your caramel pie. ENJOY!

By the way, warning label: Be sure to keep the water level up and a lid near so you don’t have an explosion- never seen it happen but it is a warning from Borden.

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June 4, 2010

MANSARD ROOF

I am a huge fan of Mansard roofs. They look so unique on a home or on any structure. Lots of apartment buildings in Paris have these type roofs. A Mansard roof allows for living space to be built into attic areas with less work than a total renovation. These roofs will accomodate dormer windows to allow for sunlight to enter the attic.

The style was named after a French architect, Francois Mansart (1598-1666). He used this style roof on a lot of his buildings. The style first became popular before his time and he revived it. Parts of the roof of the Louvre are Mansard style.

The roof itself has two slopes on each side of the building. The lower slope is steeper than the upper. I just adore these buildings. Very romantic look to me. Seems almost like a fairy tale house. I can almost see Goldilocks coming out the door of the top one. As to the one on the bottom, can’t you see having a spot of tea with a friend on the closed in porch on a pretty spring day?

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May 27, 2010

White Cats/Blue Eyes/Deafness

The vet told me that as many as 85 percent of pure white cats with two blue eyes are born deaf. If they have some color or only one blue eye, the chances of the cat being deaf are much less.

The reason I’m offering this as a Friday fact is that, first of all, I’m trying to be diverse with these little tidbits. But secondly, I think a beautiful deaf cat could be used in lots of ways. Paranormal: a deaf cat that’s a shape shifter who can hear in human form; Contemporary: a pet that gets lost and the fireman (cliche- so use the meter reader if necessary) that finds it is a hot, sexy man; Regency: the heroine is feared/unaccepted by the ton because she has a white cat that can’t hear and she carries it to keep it safe; and lots of ideas for fantasy come to mind as well.

See if you can put a pretty pussy cat in your WIP. Could be fun.

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May 21, 2010

NYMPHAEUM- Today’s subject is the nymphaeum of the ancient world. As I have said on this blog before, Itook Latin for four years and as a result of that, became enamoured of the ancient world. I have written a manuscript called Solo Honeymoon wherein the hero is an Italian Count. I really wanted to set a love scene in a nymphaeum, but didn’ t manage to work it in. Still debating adding that to my “pond” scene.

Anyway, a nymphaeum is really just what it sounds like- it is a sanctuary/natural grotto consecrated to water nymphs. They were bulit around natural springs. They had statues and paintings inside. Sometimes weddings were held in these places. There have been over twenty found in Rome. There are nymphaeum in Turkey, Jordan, and Greece as well.

So, if you set a story in any of these places, a good love scene could be created in such a wonderful setting. I can see using these in all genres. Contemporary lovers happen upon one; a vampire hiding in one for a paranormal; a medievel story could be set in one; in a fantasy, a fight between two opposing forces; and I can even see chick lit- as in a high maintenance tourist breaking a heel (or a nail). See what a multi-use thing a nymphaeum can be to a writer?

Hope you enjoyed today’s Friday Fact.

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May 14, 2010

TUSCAN OVEN

The Tuscan Oven: a Pensacola restaurant that opened a few years ago that I love. It has the absolute best pizza EVAH! It is made in a wood fired beehive shaped oven from Tuscany. I recommend it if you are in the mood for some fabulous food. If you ever write a story with a character from Pensacola, they have to visit this place as it is a particular favorite of the locals. Here is the web site: http://www.thetuscanoven.com

The best items on the menu are the Friazos (Ice cream dessert), Abbondanza pizza (All meat pizza), the Tuscan sandwich, and the caprese salad. One of these would be a good choice for your hero/heroine to order. So, there is your fun fact today on researching a yummy place to eat in Pensacola, Fl.