i need some ideas from you guys! i love to bake gingerbread cookies for christmas and give them out as gifts. every year i try to outdo myself and make them cooler than the year before. last year i made hula dancers, hippies, and kings and queens. this year i want to try to make some of them look like they're tattooed. and here is where i need your ideas. how can i make this a really cool effect? i don't want to use the normal frosting i use because i feel like it'll come out too blob-ish. then i was thinking about how you can transfer pictures onto cakes and thinking maybe i could somehow do that (i don't know how i'd do that though, i'm not a cake decorator!) and stick the images i want to use as tattoos onto the cookies arms and legs. i was also thinking about those decorating markers, but i've never had any luck with those.

so, any cool ideas?! i'll take ideas for different ways decorate them too. i was thinking about maybe making some naked ones this year! :)
thanks in advance!!

Current Mood: curious

Hi all,

I've been scouring Ravelry and past threads here for a good men's scarf pattern, but haven't been able to come up with anything that quite fits the bill.

I'm looking for a simple, reasonably masculine pattern. What I've gathered from the recipient-to-be is that he's ok with an all-over repeated pattern, but nothing too complex (i.e. nothing with cabling). He already has a bulky alpaca scarf that I made him, so he wants something thinner, flatter, and lighter than that. I think he'd be happy with a plain seed-stitch scarf, but I don't want to get too bored knitting the thing. Any suggestions?

Hi, I'm new here. My husband and I just closed on our first house together a few weeks ago and are starting to get settled in. Prior to that, we had been living on the outskirts of a large city in a second floor apartment. We now have an acre of land in a smallish country town. I am eagerly awaiting my first seed catalogs and have already been out working in my yard. We plan on square foot gardening (hopefully pesticide free), composting, using rain barrels and planting fruit-bearing trees. Ideally, we'd like to be as self-sustaining as possible. Would love to meet other gardeners from the group. I look forward to participating!

( Some yarns I've spun recently )

From Bontekoe's East-Indian Voyage, 1646, here in the quite literal (if rather awkward) English translation from the Dutch original; two ships are travelling together and one sends a boat over to the other.

"Before daylight the Middelburgh put out the yawl and rowed to us, came at daybreak behind our ship under the gallery and called out to us, at which we were marvellously startled for we never expected anyone to be near about us."

Now one talks quite naturally, in a variety of languages, about a ship putting out a boat (or calling into port, or sending a message, or much else besides), but to continue like this without a change of subject seems distictly odd. After all, it is the boat that makes its way over to the other ship, and the people inside that boat who call out. Or perhaps this sentence would not make you pause?

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RealBakingWithRose/~3/8hRIUbEMW-c/glorious_vanilla_bean_paste.html

http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/2009/12/glorious_vanilla_bean_paste.html

Known as the Vanilla Queen Patricia Rain knows more about the bean than anyone I know.

Recently, she sent me some samples and I've lost no time in baking my favorite Golden Lemon Almond Cake with the Tahitian vanilla bean paste, using about 1/4 the volume of the usual vanilla extract.

Here's how she describes it on her site: Not all vanilla pastes are created equal, which is why I carry the paste I do. What's so great about our vanilla paste? It's a concentrated flavor made from triple strength pure vanilla extract and freshly ground vanilla beans. It contains no sugar or additives other than xanthan gum, a natural thickener. It packs a lot of flavor and you use less than regular extract.

For more information, other products, and recipes check out www.thevanillaCOMpany.com

I was very much part of alt.callahans on 9/11 2001, and while I'm not very active online these days, I thought I would share this clip of the dedication of a local memorial to this tragedy. It's a real shame the media rarely covers stuff like this.

( As seen on YouTube )

May our shared pain be lessened.

Current Mood: pensive

What's the English word for "merenung" (indonesian)?
I can only say "think deeply".
Is there any other word more poetic?
In what context do you use "retrospect" and "brood over"?

And is it:
He's thinking deeply over his life
or
He's thinking deeply about his life

thank you for your help.

Tags: english

http://feeds.reference.com/click.phdo?i=329876fdbf162b7e7e42df4c97dfba6e

http://www.dictionary.com/wordoftheday/archive/2009/12/07.html

fatuous: inanely foolish; stupid; also, illusory.

Dear linguaphiles,

I created a website and I would like to make it multilingual. Here is a short introduction from the first page of the site. I would like it to be translated to as many languages as possible (except Hungarian, because I can do that. :) ). It would be a great help!
Thanks in advance and if you are interested in participating in the website, just let me know. I hope it can be useful one day.

( Text )

Tags: translation
Current Location: Budapest

Hey all

I'm doing my first afghan and now that I'm at the border I have run into a problem. The border consists of three rounds and I think the second round is my problem. In the picture, the entire afghan lies flat, but this border makes the border wavy and very un-flat. I sensed this would be the case when I read the second round, but I'd hoped somehow the 3rd round would magically flatten it out and it's not. Something I noticed with the second round is that is speaks of working in a dc when the round before it is all sc. Before I rip out a few hours' work, I thought I'd ask here to see what you guys think. I'm -thinking- that in the second round when it says "next dc" it means "next 2sc." How about you guys?

Here's the pattern for the border:

Rnd 1: Hold piece with right side facing you and join purple with sc in outer corner sp at upper right, 2 sc in same sp, sc in each st and each joining across to next corner, 3 sc in corner; sc evenly around, adjusting sts as needed to keep work flat, and working 3 sc in each rem outer corner sp; join with sl st in beg sc.

Rnd 2: Ch 3, 2 dc in same st; *sk next dc, 3 dc in next st; rep from * around, join with sl st in 3rd ch of beg ch-3. Finish off purple.

Rnd 3: Join white with sc in same st, ch 2, 2 dc in same st, ch 1, skip next 2 dc of same 3-dc group; *sc in first dc of next 3-dc group, ch 2, 2 dc in same dc; ch 1, skip next 2 dc of sam 3-dc group; rep from * around, ending join with sl st in beg sc, fo.

For reference, the pattern is in 100 Afghans to Knit and Crochet by Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss and the pattern is Deep Purple pages 72-74.

I don't know how linguistic this question actually is, but I'm thinking this might be a good community to ask it in anyway.

As we discussed in this post, McDonalds has made its way around the world. I also know that McDonalds has gone out of its way to accomodate different culinary tastes in different parts of the world. Here in Israel, even in the non-kosher branches of McDonalds, there are no pig products and no mixing of meat and dairy. Finely chopped Mediteranian style salads are available, and while they discontinued the McShwarma a while back, you can still order a McKebab and you can ask for your burger or whatever you order to be put in a laffa instead of a bun if you want.

What cultural accomodations have you seen in other non-American branches of McDonalds?

Main problem being, I have VERY thin and fine hair. ( More info and pix intense behind the cut )

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap091206.html

Comet McNaught, the Great Comet of 2007, was the brightest comet of the last 40 years.

I apologize for desperately begging the group for help, but this is actually just barely on topic:

1. I am an academic geek and a half.
2. This is related to Internet use and gaming.

I am conducting a pre-test survey for a research project related to my PhD coursework, and I'm having a very difficult time getting enough respondents, otherwise I wouldn't be trolling LJ communities for assistance. Please, please, please, if any FACEBOOK USERS have 10 minutes to spare to take my survey, please do, and earn my gratitude forever.

http://tinyurl.com/yabhnaq

ETA, 2 AM: Some individuals using IE and Chrome have experienced issues with the survey - if you do, please let me know!

ETA, 2:03 AM: I seem to have fixed it for IE, don't have Chrome downloaded yet to test. Anyone who had trouble, please feel free to retake the survey if you have the time. Thank you for your assistance!

Current Mood: anxious

I cracked open my skull, and all this oozed out....

• 01:36 Tunnels make me giggle. #
• 09:58 holy frozen testicles! Its cold! #
• 12:18 I drove to DC. This stadium is like 1/3 saints fans! #
• 13:43 And the redskins fans around us just shrugged and went "that play is a microcosm of our season" #
• 14:28 Saints are getting owned on bothsides of the ball. #
• 14:56 Where o where did our offense go? #
• 15:14 Breevine intervention? #
• 15:31 Bloody hell overtime! #
• 23:26 I just realized I haven't eaten since Saturday morning besides chips in the car. Waffle house to the rescue! Then, nap. #

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Today at work, there was a group a Pentecostal ladies and I couldn't help but look at their hair. (Now, if I understand correctly, these ladies are not allowed by their religious tenets to cut their hair, no trims, no dusting, just growth. I'm pretty sure that it's ok to perm, but not color the hair. Curling irons, hairspray, etc are also ok. Most of the time, adults wear their hair up, but children can wear it down.) This group of ladies had the "brown football helmet" from Steel Magnolias do's, some spit curls held together with a can of spray and about a million bobby pins. I couldn't help but feel sorry for their hair, it was teased, frizzy and unhealthy looking. Once I started thinking about it, I realized that I have never seen a Pentecostal girl/woman with hair that I was jealous of. I asked a regular who is a hairdresser, about this, and he said that because the hair is never trimmed, the ends split, and break, and split, and break, etc all the way up the hair. So, long hairs, how true is this? Do you need trims if you are not teasing, heating, and spraying your hair into submission, or does everyone need a trim sometimes?

Disclaimer: I'm not trying to spark religious debate. Truly, I don't care about anyone's religion but my own. I'm using this subset of the population as an example, because I noticed this phenomenon in said subset. If anyone here is Pentecostal, I am not trying to insult either your religion, or your hair, I am speaking from my personal recollection, and positing a question for discussion.

Current Mood: tired

Always the same wall. Then she reaches up and scratches the paint and it sounds just like a blackboard, and I wince. Then she ducks her head, bounces around backwards on the chair, and looks at the wall from another angle. Then she poofs up her tail and does the Travis-Bickle-in-front-of-the-mirror scene from Taxi Driver, sans gun and words but with all the crazy. If Casey happens to be there, she'll do it more than once. Then she gets her orders from the invisible thing on the wall and runs the loop 110 mph through the house - desk area, kitchen, bedroom, living room and back to the crazy chair with the invisible thing on the wall. And she always does it widdershins.

Serafina is a really weird cat. Or maybe it's just me.

I've heard of people being able to bring in their crochet and knitting onto an airplane. But I don't understand the full details of it.

In January, I'll be flying internationally for roughly 23 hours and I want to bring in my yarncrafts with me on board. But I want to know the details before then in case I end up being forced to surrender my hooks.

I've heard of those crystallites hooks, and having tried them once before, I didn't like the feel of them in my hand. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Also, could someone better explain the restrictions they have on yarncrafts? I think blunt scissors (5 inches or shorter) are allowed, but I'm not sure.

Please and many thanks in advanced!

~K.

Whatever your thoughts on McDonalds, those golden arches have certainly marched around the world. The other day, I found myself musing on how people refer to their restaurants in different countries.

In Melbourne, at least when I was a teenager (80s-90s), our nickname for McDonald's was always "Macca's". (Very Australian, that. In fact, "Macca" is a common nickname for anyone whose surname starts with a "Mc" or "Mac").

When I went to China in 1994, it was called 麦当劳 (mai4 dang1 lao2), which literally means something like "wheat merits reward" or some such (any Chinese native speakers out there able to give me a better translation?)

The nickname I've heard used among North Americans is "Mickey D's". Is this specific to a particular region? Are there other nicknames?

I believe the Francphone world, or at least some of it, calls it something like "McDo".

What others have you linguaphiles out there heard and used?

Current Mood: whimsical

wintercreeper (Euonymus fortunei emerald & gold) and rhododendron

( 1 more )

On Friday, I had a rather awkward long hair moment.

I'm a huge fan of hockey, so I go to every home game that my college plays. My friends and I always sit in the first row of seats. This puts us right at the same level as the ice, while everyone sitting behind us is on a rising platform. When I'm seated, my shoulders hit the same level as the knees of the person behind me.

The game got exciting during the second period when both teams were tied. I was wearing a ponytail, which I usually keep tucked into my jacket, but it must have fallen loose without me noticing. Suddenly my team scores! I jump to stand up...and my head is violently jerked back. I can barely move my head and it takes me a while realize what's going on.

Turns out that the girl standing behind me had quicker reflexes and had already jumped up to her feet. My hair had somehow gotten stuck between this girl's legs when she stood up. My ponytail was just locked between her knees. No matter how hard I pulled, I couldn't get my hair free. So after laughing at me for a little while, my boyfriend finally got the girl's attention and helped me free my head.

I don't know who was more embarrassed, me or her. I just know that I'll be more careful about tucking my hair in when I'm in such close quarters again.


( Pictures! )

I recently bought some homespun yarn to make a scarf. 3 different colors, one skein of each. The first two colors (two shades of purple) worked up lovely. It's the third color I'm having issues with.

The beige (rococo I think it's called), for some reason, keeps bunching up on the string as I work it. The thicker strand becomes bunched on the tiny strand. I've tried loosening my grip, changing how I hold the yarn strand, and even cutting the yarn from my work and then unbunching it then re-attatching it to my work. But nothing helps. The other two colors didn't have this issue, and I worked with the strand as I do any other yarn.

Just wondering if I stumbled upon an uncooperative skein of homespun, or if this is a very common thing with Homespun yarn. If it is, is there anyway to sort of way to "fix" it, seeing as I paid full price for the thing and wouldn't want to throw it out...

I was going through some past readings during my revision and I noticed that in Core Syntax by Adger, the causal category vP was motivated by ditransitive verbs and constituency tests that provide insight into their structure. However, I wonder to myself if all ditransitive verbs can be semantically and structurally decomposed into causative + VP constructions:

1) Nathan cause+see Benjamin <to see> himself.
2) Nathan shows Benjamin himself.

Can anyone think of any ditransitives that cannot be semantically decomposed?

Current Mood: curious

So... there's been mention on here of organizations that use hair to clean oil spills. I have long hair and alot of it, so if there's something useful that can be done with the hair from my brush, I'd appreciate a link to information on it (I'm not cutting it, so they'd have to be ok with hair retrieved from a brush) and possibly a review if you've done this.

Thanks ^_^

Hello,

I was looking for cable patterns.Most of them are for knitting. Does anyone know know how i can turn them into crochet cables?
I know how to make cables and as i finished this scarf ( www.naturallycaron.com/projects/aqua_blue/aqua_blue_1.html_) i am ready to do another one.
Tomorrow I will post the pictures.
PS: Does anyone of you crochet this cardigan: www.crochettoday.com/crochet-patterns/capelet-swing-cardi ?
I finished the capelet but i have problems with the body.

hello all! i just joined this community because i have a few questions. a friend of mine is graduating this week, and we're having a party for him. i wanted to bake chocolate chip cookies (which are his favorite) and petit fours (which i just wanted to try and make since it's kind of a fancy-ish cocktail party).

1.) awhile ago, and i'm not sure how, i would bake chocolate chip cookies and they would come out nice and puffy, almost cake-like. i would be following the exact recipe on the nestle chocolate chip package EXCEPT i would use baking powder instead of baking soda. the last time i made them, they came out flat, not puffy, and i still used baking powder. any idea what could be going on there and what i can try to make them puffy again? i seem to remember reducing the salt when i used to make them...would that affect it?

2.) i enjoy baking a lot, but i am by no means a pro. am i going to be in way over my head if i attempt to make petit fours? i mean, i realize it will be time-consuming, but other than that, can your average everyday person who enjoys baking make these? or is it just a pipe dream that i should not even attempt?

thanks a lot!!! :)

Hello everyone,

I stumbled across these slippers on ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/french-press-felted-slippers

I absolutely LOVE them! Does anyone know of a felted crochet slipper that's as cute as this?
I hardly have any knowledge on knitting.

Thank you!

Does anyone have any experience of learning multiple languages at once?

I've wanted to try and learn a second language for as long as I can remember, but I've never had the time until now! Unfortunatley, I'm completely torn between Italian and German - Italian is a language I have always loved, and I already have a base knowledge of German as I got a GCSE in it (basically a qualification we take in England when we're 16!) about five years ago.

As I really can't choose between them, I'm contemplating trying to learn them both alongside each other. Is this a terrible idea? As they are completely different and I already have a base knowledge in one I'm hoping I can get away with it ;) I wouldn't really be trying to become completely fluent in either, really just good enough to hold a decent conversation!

And if all else fails - pick the language for me :D Is one of the two easier to pick up for someone who pretty much only speaks English?

My brother's friend is planning a trip and trying to calculate the costs. There's a discount for "children under sixteen years". Her little sister is exactly sixteen and she wants to know whether the sister gets the discount. I'm assuming she won't, but they wanted me to make sure.

Does it mean you have to be fifteen or younger to get the discount?


ETA: Okay, two people have already confirmed my belief that it means fifteen or younger and there have been no one saying otherwise. I think I'll believe them. Although if someone knows of a situation where "under sixteen years" also included 16-year-olds, I would like to hear of it.

Tags: english, numbers

Look! I made useful stuff! I also made that poor child's mittens about twice as big as they needed to be. I'm happy with the set anyway. And, believe it or not, so's the kid. He's just not happy with the photo session.

I'm working on a scarf project right now- right now it's a bunch of squares, but pretty soon i'll be putting them together. They're solid squares, but worked in a circle like granny squares. I want to put them back to back so there's a pretty design on both sides.

I'm wondering if I should sew the pieces back-to-back before putting them into a strip or make one strip and add the others on as i go, or make 2 strips and sew them together...? I want it to be relatively sturdy, and the first choice sounds like it might be sturdy, but I'm curious as to what you guys think.

thanks!

Hi Everyone! I just joined this community and I am hoping you guys could help me :) As introductory posts are, I shall say that my native language is English; I also know french; I have been studying it for 6 years; and I am moderately fluent.

That being said, here comes my problem: I am doing a research study on L2 French and the realization/production of grammatical gender and I don't have very many subjects :( This is where some of you could help! I have a short survey/questionnaire that would give me more data so that my paper won't be terribly inconclusive :D When I am done, I will most definitely inform you guys of the results and perhaps some info from my paper I will be writing!

If you speak french (either as your first or second or whatever language) then please take my survey at: http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dE1BeGlWcDBjVlFRT3pXeEMyaUFxMVE6MA. Oh, and if you have any questions (or corrections to my questions), please do ask!



THANKS!

Hello all! I work for Carnival and this month I am teaching a class for some of my fellow crew members.... for those of you who have taught a class, any recommendations? I am thinking doing a square and a ball.... and maybe a simple Christmas tree..... I don't know how many people will be in the class or even if their native language English....

Hi everyone!
Have one question. I'm reading The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy at the moment. But my English isn't good enough to understand all jokes. So if somebody would explain me why the name "Slartibartfast" is fun, I'd be very grateful.

Tags: english

Thanks to everyone who offered encouragement and advice when I wasn't sure if I could finish my first lace project before Christmas! After quite a bit of frogging on the first few repeats, I did manage to find a groove and get the rest done in good time.

( Photo here! )

Tags: finished object, pattern - scarf
Current Mood: accomplished

I went up to to the "somewhat local" yarn store yesterday to check out the new interchangeables from Hiya Hiya and ended up bringing them home. (along with a few balls of yarn including the Dream in Color Starry in Lipstick Lava-- yum) Anyway, I quickly replaced the US 5's I was using on a scarf (in the round on 24") and set to work. They didn't seem as slick as the Addi Turbo but the yarn quickly buffed them up. I also replaced the 8's on another project (flat)and gave it a try.
They work just fine. Very smooth joins. I didn't have an issue with unscrewing. The swivel might be the reason. The cable is very small and fine but not limp like the Kollage. The needle itself is very lightweight which I like but only 4" long. That takes some getting used to for me. Apparently I hold the needle so that it rests against the meaty part of my palm between the pinky and the wrist and I miss that extra inch.
I had issues with the size 2. I just happened to have a pair of toe up socks on size 2 Addis and being 3/4 of the way up the plain stockinette leg I changed those also. Uh oh! One of the needles has a problem with the threads and didn't want to screw in all of the way. I e-mailed Hiya Hiya right away but haven't heard back from them yet. My husband was able to get it on well enough for me to try out. I tried but just couldn't adapt to the 4" needles. My hands were fatigued rather quickly and the second sock kept falling to the end of my loop. On my Addis they both stay up side by side on the needle and I like it that way. We all hold our work differently so that's just me. When I held them for Continental the needle length didn't seem so troublesome. There's a plus if I ever really start knitting that way. ;)
I don't know how the fine cable will hold up under the weight of say, a sweater. Time will tell.
The person at the yarn store didn't know if extra cables were available but it appears from the Hiya website that both needle tips and cables are sold separately although the supply is currently limited. I think I also saw that 5" will be available in 2010 but don't hold me to that. I would love that though.

I paid about $65.00 (or so) US for the set. The little fabric case is nice and has an extra pocket for stitch markers and a pair of small snippers. I like the joins better than my Harmony's. I can use both sets.
Overall I like them just fine but will stick with Addi Lace for my socks.

In my perfect world there would be Rosewood 5" needles with awesome cables! I would pay dearly for those! Does anyone know if they exist?

ETA in case you missed the other post this is the small set, US 2 through 8. I got 1 of 3 sets available at Knitters Palette in Lakeville, MN. (They have on line ordering also). They told me that this was their 3rd batch and they seem to sell quickly.

Tags: needles

This just popped up through one of my feeds & it was too funny not to share!

Hi everyone! I am writing our family's Christmas letter (with news about the year, to be enclosed in Christmas cards), and my mom and I have a disagreement about some prepositions. I'm writing it very informally, as if I were speaking, so I claim my use of prepositions is fine. She claims it's wrong, and wants me to change them. We're both native American English speakers, she's 58 and originally from the Midwest and I'm 24 and from the East Coast. I am interested to see which version other English-speakers would say and/or write.

Sentence 1
My version: The highlight of our vacation was a whale-watching expedition in the Bay of Fundy.
Her version: The highlight of our vacation was a whale-watching expedition on the Bay of Fundy.
(We were in a boat, not swimming in the water, so she claims you have to use "on". I didn't think about it too hard, but my instincts said "in.")

Sentence 2
My version: [My brother] graduated college in May.
Her version: [My brother] graduated from college in May.
(I agree if this were more formal writing I should use a preposition, but I always use "graduate" transitively like this in speech! She says she never does. Do you?)

Especially regarding the second sentence, I am wondering if this is a generational thing. I'd be interested to know your age with your response, if you don't mind sharing!

hi all,

A few recent projects, and pics of my Sonata wheel! (Got this at the end of October but only just got round to taking photographs...)

( pics under the cut )

hi all,

I've finished a few more seasonal gifts!
( gloves and socks under cut )

Howdy, helpful knitters,

I remember reading on here that a wash in Eucalan can soften up some of the Noro 1x1 scarves. I also have a pair of fingerless mitts I'd like to wash. What do you recommend for washing? Hand? Machine on gentle-cold? I don't want to felt, but I sure would like to soften the Noro a bit, if it's possible.

Thanks for any guidance!

This pattern goes very, very quickly, and it makes a triangular shawl that -- for some reason I cannot explain -- is incredibly warm. I highly recommend it.


Magic Granny Shawl Pattern


Materials

Worsted weight yarn in a color of your choice [I use Red Heart acrylic]
F hook


Instructions

Row 1. Chain 5; in 5th chain from hook work 3 double crochet, ch 1, 1 dc. Chain 1, turn.

Row 2. Slip stitch in first ch-1 space, chain 4; in same space, work 3 dc, ch1; in next ch-1 space work 3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc [to make the corner point]; in last ch-1 space work 3 dc, ch 1, 1 dc. Ch 1, turn.

Row 3. In the first ch-1 space, work a slip stitch, ch 4, 3 dc, ch 1. In each ch-1 space to the corner point, work 3 dc, ch 1. In the ch-2 space at the corner point, work 3 dc, ch 2, 3 dc, ch 1. In every ch-1 space after the corner point, work 3 dc, ch 1. Between the final group of 3 dc and the chain-1 space at the very end of the row, work 3 dc, ch 1, 1 dc. Then ch 1, turn.

Row 4. Repeat row 3 until the shawl is as large a triangle as you want it to be.


Finishing

Work one row of single crochet all the way around the shawl; then work one row of slip stitch in each sc. End off.

Put on the shawl to find out where you want to have it buttoned. Sew on a button of your choice; then attach yarn on the other side of the shawl and chain a loop to go over the button. Weave in the yarn ends; end off.

I should have posted this set a couple of months back (you will find out why when you read about the first bird). But, better late than never I suppose.

( A close relative, a native and a well known feral )

http://feeds.reference.com/click.phdo?i=ffabdf01de455649d2a561ecad9c9bef

http://www.dictionary.com/wordoftheday/archive/2009/12/06.html

bonhomie: a pleasant and easy manner.

http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=ffabdf01de455649d2a561ecad9c9bef&p=4

Does anyone here know where the Devil's alias "Old Nick" comes from? Any chance that it's connected to St Nicholas? Here is Austria the good children get presents from the Nikolo tonight, while the bad ones are (or used to be) (threatened to be) whipped by his inseparable sidekick, the diabolic Krampus.



Or could it really be from Niccolò Machiavelli, that arch-villain e.g. in Marlowe's "Jew of Malta"? "Nicker" is also a variant to "Nixe" (nixie) in German (that's how Alberich calls the Rheintöchter in "The Rhinegold"), so maybe there's a connection to water demons and seducers like the Loreley, or impish tricksters like Puck? (The German word for teasing and vexing is "necken". I think it's connected to "nag", but it's more mischievous.) Or how about "nihil" (nothing)? After all the insubordinate Devil ("non serviam") is the great Negator, "der Geist, der stets verneint". Finally, James Joyce in "Finnegans Wake" juxtaposes Nick to Mick (archangel Michael, who overthrew the Devil).

Any other guesses? EDIT: There's another one from "Iniquity".

Also, am I using the word "inseparable" right? Can one person be inseparable from another or does inseparable need a noun in the plural? If so, what is the word I am looking for? I mean something like "attached" but much much stronger. EDIT: Solved. It appears to be fine. I may be wrong, but I don't think we could say: "Der Krampus ist der unzertrennliche Begleiter des Nikolo" in German.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap091205.html

Himalayan Skyscape

There will be a little delay in notifications/emails being sent out due to a backup in a processing queue, which should clear up in the next couple of hours. Otherwise, the site is operating just fine and there are no other outages or problems to report.

I cracked open my skull, and all this oozed out....

• 00:44 Masquerade. Woo. Friday night. Yeah buddy. #
• 02:48 Is so far beyond done. #
• 03:03 Go to hell. Both of you. #
• 23:31 I am just broken. #

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