rush limbaugh don't know football...
you may know that espn hired dittohead limbaugh to offer commentary on its sunday morning NFL pregame show. too bad. he brings nothing. not only did he predict that the lowly dallas texans would beat the k.c. chiefs in week 2 (what was he smoking?), but he suggested that philadephia eagles q.b. donovan mcnabb is overrated and a token black playing the quarterback position.
surriously. i hope mcnabb punches him in the face. i'd pay to see that.
do you know any slow or special people
do you know any slow or special people
do you know any slow or special people
do you know any slow or special people
do you know any slow or special people
do you know any slow or special people.....
i wanna go to hawaii, yeah!
you may need this recipe....
ok. i doubt you'll ever be in prison but if you get caught up in the fast life, you need to learn to adapt to prison life. remember, there's only way to get your drink on behind bars -- pruno. it's a sick fermented drink made from sugar, fruit, ketchup and bread rolls. yumm.
bling-blang....
i love fall from grace stories. this one is great. it's about a bigtime stylist who was pawning million dollar jewelry loaned to him by harry winston etc.
stringers and superstringers...
the insider dynamics of the ny times have always been interesting and tumultuous. (i highly recommend a.e. rosenthal's autobiography, btw). anyway, the village voice has a story about bylines that talk a bit about how staff writers don't really do most of their own reporting.
let them watch fox news...
you know things ain't going well in iraq, or "Mess-o-potamia" as the daily show calls it, when you start reading things like this.
let them watch fox news...
you know things ain't going well in iraq, or "Mess-o-potamia" as the daily show calls it, when you start reading things like this.
say hello to my little friend...
i didn't even realize that the great al pacino remake of "scarface" got bad reviews and initially flopped at the box office. it may be my top movie of all time, up there with "carlito's way" (way way way underrated), "casablanca" (saw this in the theater and it blew me away), "training day" and "the exorcist."
i may have to blog more about films....so don't sleep.
free tibet...
remember the catchy late-90s trendy political movement? well the ny times had this story today about how the chinese are basically trying to turn tibet into a chinese colony. guess how they want to do it? by moving in millions of ethnic chinese, which undermines the indigenous culture of tibet.
by the way, the movie "kundun," is a great film on the subject.
death by "mysterious ways"....
this is from fareed zakaria's excellent column on msnbc. here's iraq's sordid history in the last century:
IRAQ HAS ONE of the most violent histories of any country on the globe. In comparison even with other states in the Middle East, Iraq’s modern history has been marked by turmoil, coups, bloodshed and mayhem. Consider the fate of its rulers:
Faisal I: Installed by the British in the wake of a violent revolt, he ruled for 10 years and was one of a handful of Iraqi leaders to die of natural causes, in 1933.
Ghazi I: Faisal’s son, he witnessed a coup against his prime minister three years after being installed and then, in 1939, died mysteriously. The official explanation was that he drove his car into a lamppost.
Faisal II: The young king, his regent and almost the entire royal family and entourage were killed in a bloody coup in 1958.
Abdul Karim Qassem: Qassem came to power in the coup of 1958. In 1963 he was killed in a coup himself.
Abdul Salam Arif: Arif came to power in the 1963 coup, which unleashed a wave of massacres across the country. Three years later he died mysteriously in a helicopter accident.
Abdul Rahman Arif: Brother of the above, he lasted about as long. In July 1968 he was ousted in the Baathist coup and exiled to Istanbul.
Ahmed Hasan-al-Bakr: Became president after the 1968 coup and stayed in power until 1979, when he stepped down for reasons of “ill health” in favor of his deputy, Saddam Hussein.
maybe he's not so crazy...
christopher hitchens has notably gone off the deep end recently, but once in a while he still puts out something as worthwhile as this. while i'll admit that bama redneck judge roy moore is an easy target, this article gets to its point nicely.
belief-o-matic...
beliefnet (actually a pretty well-done web site) has a new feature called belief o-matic, which actually tells you what religion or belief you have by analyzing answers to 20 questions.
i like its disclaimer: "Warning: Belief-O-Matic™ assumes no legal liability for the ultimate fate of your soul."
some li'l rhody slang....
don't know exactly who wrote this little dictionary of rhode island-ese, but here goes:
ACI
The Adult Correctional Institute. It's located in Cveaanstin. People are
always either being remanded to it or escaping from it.
Antnee, Bvenda, Richit, Shevl
Names for children in Rhode Island's Italian-American neighborhoods.
Beah
An alcoholic beverage.
Bubbla
Drinking fountain. The word is apparently also used in parts of the upper
Midwest and Australia. We've read in a couple of places that the usage may
be related to the Wisconsin-based manufacturer, Kohler, which marketed a
fountain under the Bubbler name around 1914.
Cabinet
A drink made from milk, flavored syrup, and ice cream. In other parts of
the country it's called a milk shake or a frappe. A liberal interpretation
of the entry for cabinet in the Oxford English Dictionary might suggest
that the term originated from the English Newcastle or cabinet pudding, "a
pudding made of bread or cake, dried fruit, eggs and milk, usually served
hot with a sauce." Or it might not.
Camavo
A member of the holy muscle car trinity, along with the Firebird and the
Iroc. Popular with mullet-headed men who have girlfriends named Shevl and
who wear black t-shirts with the sleeves cut off.
Chariho
A district made up of the towns of Charlestown, Richmond, and Hopkinton.
Chourico
Pronounced shuh-reese. A smoked Portuguese sausage that is dense and
spicy. There's also Linguica (leeng-gwee-sa), which is less spicy, as it's
made with less chili pepper.
Cveaanstin
The municipality south of Providence and north of Warrik.
De boatayuz
More than one, less than three.
De klenzaz
The local dry-cleaning establishment.
Downsella
Where you keep that treadmill that you used for about a week back in '93.
Eas' (or Wes') Grennich
Witches may live there, but they're not pronounced.
Fuggeddaboudit!
Literally "forget about it," this phrase can mean anything from "yes" to
"no" and everything in between, depending upon context and inflection.
Donnie Brasco (as played by Johnny Depp), in the film by the same name,
explains some of the subtleties:
"Forget about it" is like if you agree with someone, you know, like
"Raquel Welsh is one great piece of ass, forget about it." But then, if
you disagree, like, "A Lincoln is better than a Cadillac? Forget about
it!" you know? But then, it's also like if something's the greatest thing
in the world, like Mingrio's Peppers, "forget about it." But it's also
like saying "Go to hell!" too. Like, you know, like, "Hey Paulie, you got
a one inch pecker?" and Paulie says, "Forget about it!" Sometimes it just
means forget about it.
Gagga
Otherwise known as a destroyer, bellybuster, or hot weiner. A small hot
dog with a natural casing, slathered in mustard, meat sauce, chopped
onions, and celery salt, and served in a steamed bun.
God
v. 1. To protect from harm; watch over. 2. To watch over to prevent
escape. 3. To keep watch at (a door or gate). 4. To take precautions: god
against infection. --n. 1. One that gods. 2. Watchful care: under close
god. 3. Defensive posture or stance. 4. Football. One of the two players
on either side of the center. 5. Basketball. Either of the two players
stationed near the middle of the court. 6. A device that prevents injury,
damage, or loss. (American Heritage Dictionary, sort of)
Gravy
In most places, you would get whiplash trying to get a good look at the
person you overheard asking for more gravy for their paster. In Rhode
island they're just asking for more tomato sauce. According to Bartlett's
Dictionary of Americanisms, it has also been used to denote the filling in
a pie.
Grinda
Otherwise known as a hoagie, po' boy, or sub. It's a sangwidge.
Hot
The thing in your chest that pumps blood and keeps you alive.
Idear
All those dropped Rs have to go somewhere. They end up tacked onto the
ends of words ending in "A," like idear, bananner, paster, and vaniller.
Jeet?
Have you eaten yet? The appropriate response (assuming you haven't eaten)
is "No, joo?"
Jimmies
A liberal sprinkling of these can brighten up a dull, dreary ice cream
cone. We hear they're also called Ants in the Woonsocket area.
Lore
Don't break it or they'll put you in the ACI.
NiRoPe
Usually heard as part of the phrase, "NiRoPe Pricing," the word comes from
the names of the three Cardi Brothers, Nick, Ron, and Pete, whose
furniture store commercials are ubiquitous on Southern New England
television and radio stations.
No school Fosta-Glosta
A catchphrase (much like "Whatchootalkin'boutWillis?"), uttered by
much-beloved media personality Salty Brine during winter snow-day reports.
Foster and Glocester are two abutting communities in the northwest of the
state that are completely snowbound during months containing an "r." Salty
always lumped the two together when making no-school announcements; most
Rhode Islanders believe there's a town out there called Fosta-Glosta.
Salty's been gone from the radio for a few years now, but the phrase
refuses to die. A sure way to find out if someone is lying about having
spent time in the state (as though one would), is to challenge him with
the phrase "No school..." A real Rhode Islander knows the rest.
No suh!
I believe you are pulling my leg, my friend.
On Special
On sale.
Packy
Short for package store, which is what they call liquor stores around
here. In Rhode Island, they're not open on Sundays.
Please?
This is not a plea for more porridge, but a polite way of saying, "What
the hell did you just say?"
Potty
A celebration.
PSDS
What you hang earrings from. Think about it.
P'tuckit
The municipality north of Providence and south of Attleboro.
Quahog
A kind of ocean clam, or bivalve mollusk, found in the waters of the North
Atlantic. They come in two varieties: Arctica islandica, the ocean quahog;
and Mercenaria mercenaria, the bay quahog. They make handy ashtrays.
The common name, poquaûhock, is taken from the languages of the
Narragansett and Wampanoag Indians, and it's thought that today's
pronunciation can be traced to those origins. The Narragansetts, from the
west side of Narragansett Bay, probably pronounced the word "po-kwa-hok."
Today's western Rhode Islanders thus pronounce it "kwa-hog." The
Wampanoags of the East Bay called it "po-ko-hok," and today, eastern Rhode
Islanders likewise say "ko-hog."
Rhode Island handshake
A little extra gratuity for services rendered.
Sangwidge
A meal served between two pieces of bread. Also Sammich.
Saugy
A particular brand of hot dog, made with natural casings, that cuts loose
with a distinctive "snap" when bitten into.
Side by each
You'll hear this one mainly around Woonsocket. It comes from the French
"côté par chacun" and would be translated by most people as "side by
side." Other Woonsocketisms include the use of double pronouns, as in,
"I'm going to the supermarket, me," and the misplacement of phrases or
modifiers, as in, "Throw me down the stairs my bag," or "Drive slow your
car."
South County
A mythical area that roughly includes Washington and Kent Counties.
Stuffie
Clam stuffing baked in a clam shell. Also known as a stuffed clam.
David Steinbrick, a producer at Cox Communications, sent us this tidbit:
"Over the years, I have heard the best way to describe a 'stuffie' to an
outsider. A stuffie is 'a clam meatloaf in an ashtray.' Succinct and to
the point. Except the non-native may wonder why we cook food in ashtrays."
Wikkit
An intensifier that's interchangeable with "very," as in, "We was drivin'
wikkit fast." Also used to mean "extremely good" or "spectacular," as in,
"Them forttajuly fyahworks was wikkit!"
Warrik
The municipality south of Cveaanstin and north of Eas' Grennich.
that annoying oreck guy as seen on TV...
apparently oreck vacuums are pretty much crap- 95% marketing and 5% product. anyway, check out this funny vacuum comparison from slate.
bermuda of the north...
i was googling around the net a bit tonight and found this little bio of mv. yankee, a former block island ferry that lived a long and interesting life. anyway, block island is a little island 30 or so miles off the coast of l'il rhody.
the mind of a suicide bomber...
fareed zakaria, an excellent columnist for newsweek and msnbc, does a little explaining of what drives a person to strap a bomb to their chest. it's a well-reasoned look at the problem that goes way beyond dubya's lame rhetoric. zakaria has written some other damn good columns, so check up on him often.
ever get the feeling you're being googled?......
yes, google transformed the internet and spawned its own verb, but there's a new kid on the block. apparently teoma is the new big thing on the web. word on the street is that it will be a household name before long. better design and better ability to REALLY get what you want means teoma could be the search engine of the future.
when in doubt, deregulate...
that might as well be the mantra of the dubya white house. pretty much any problem can be solved by turning over public assets to his list of preferred companies (see: halliburton, enron, etc.). anyway, paul krugman explains today just how these idiots cut out the lights. it makes sense. if for-profit power companies aren't responsible for maintaining the transmission systems, these blackouts are bound to happen again.
beer of the week...
i haven't done this in a while, but i felt the need to recognize a certain excellent micro-brew, specifically Smuttynose Brewing Co.'s Shoal's Pale Ale. i had heard that it one top prize as best American beer at the highly esteemed great british beer fest, so it's starting to get some real attention.
this new hampshire beer is well-balanced with some real hop kick to it. a very good pale ale.
Posts
All Comments
