A Sad Time Of Year

First published 9-30-14 (Note: I am re-posting this on 9-29-19, and this is the last day of the regular season. This year the Cleveland Indians will not be in the playoffs. When I was a kid, there were no playoffs, because there were no divisions, but rather the top National League team and the top American League team simply faced off in the World Series.) 

My major passion as a kid was baseball. I played it, listened to it on radio and watched it on television, although in those times, the late 1950s through the 1960s, televised games were not as common as today, although besides games televised by the teams on local stations, the fans could get special television treats if their favorite team was participating in the "Game of the Week," carried by NBC on Saturday afternoons. I lived and died with the Cleveland Indians ... okay, I died, but there was always next year, so I kept hope alive. I knew every player's uniform number, his batting average and his other stats. The last game of the season was always a sad time for me, as the days to spring seemed to move more slowly than I could eat broccoli or turnips... okay, maybe the days weren't THAT slow; then again, let me think about that. Gradually the leaves emptied from the trees, the north winds brought snow and cold temperatures, but then, just as gradually, the snow began to melt, the winds began to warm, the Indians went to spring training at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, and my spirits soared, as I knew it wouldn't be long before I heard the familiar voice of longtime Indians' broadcaster Jimmy Dudley say, "This is your old friend Jimmy Dudley." And his wonderful Virginia accented voice couldn't have come at a better time, because I had finally finished that damned broccoli.

WORD HISTORY:
Sad-Notice how the meaning of this word, closely related to "sate" (once also spelled "sade"), has changed in English. It goes back to Indo European "sa(h)," with the notion of "satisfaction, having enough." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "sathaz," which indeed meant "sated;" that is, "full, satisfied, enough." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "saed," with essentially the same meaning, but also the extended meaning "weary (of/with)," from the notion of being full. The idea of "weary from being full" then expanded in the 1300s to the primary meaning it has retained ever since, "unhappy." In case you were wondering, both "sad" and "sate" are related to "satisfy," but this word, from the same Indo European source as "sad/sate," came from the Latin branch of Indo European, and it was borrowed by English via French, a heavily Latin-based language. As for "sad," its Germanic relatives are: German "satt" (full, well fed, but also "smug," and the comparative form is "satter," formed just as English "sadder," and the superlative "[am] sattesten,'' similar to English "saddest"), Low German "satt" ("full, not hungry," but notice the comparative form is "sadder" and the superlative is "saddst," very much like English "sadder and saddest,"), West Frisian "sed" (full, sated), Dutch "zat" (sated, but also "drunk;" that is, "full of alcohol"). To be quite honest, modern forms of "sad" or "sate" in the North Germanic languages, Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic and Swedish, at least forms that are used somewhat, seem to be lacking, although Old Norse had a form,"saethr" (actually "saðr" in old style). So it seems North Germanic forms are archaic (for example: Norwegian "sat" and Icelandic "sethja").

Natural Born In The Political or Racial Eye Of The Beholder?

A part of the nasty side of politics has involved race, besides political beliefs or affiliation. This subject has been a part of American politics, both directly and indirectly, since the nation's birth, with periods of red hot intensity, including the lead up to the Civil War, the war itself, and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. In more recent years it has been about a Black American (actually black and white mixed), with a then relatively atypical name, twice running for, and twice winning, the presidency, a feat that has been unacceptable to some insecure Americans. The thing is, politics is often, if not always, driven by emotion and political views, not rational, robot-like consideration of facts, proposals, or plans, not that facts, proposals and plans make no difference. For instance, with Barack Obama's run for the presidency came the charge that he was not born in the United States, a charge which continued long after he had won election to the nation's highest office, and I'm sure a charge which still festers in some minds to this day.* With public documents and public officials attesting to Obama's birth in Hawaii (to an American mother and Kenyan father), coupled with birth announcements in newspapers from there, a large majority of Americans, led by Democrats and independents, accepted the evidence and tried to move on, only to have a minority keep the issue in the news.** I do want to point out, former Republican presidential candidate John McCain was born to American parents in the Panama Canal Zone, then under American control, but not in the U.S. proper. While McCain faced some scrutiny over his birthplace in his runs for the presidency, he never faced the fierce scrutiny given to Obama, although McCain never became president in his attempts for the office. Further, Ted Cruz, a potential Republican presidential candidate, was born in Canada in 1970 to an American mother and a then Cuban father (the father became an American citizen in 2005). It remains to be seen how much, if any, scrutiny Cruz may receive about his birth, but at the moment, the political right "seems" not to care much where Cruz was born. ***

Clearly a person's political views, and at times, a person's racial views, define their acceptance or rejection of certain evidence and what constitutes a legal definition for certain issues.

* Those believing Barack Obama to be foreign born are often dubbed "Birthers."

** There have been lots of public opinion polls (see Politico, the National Journal, Gallup, Harris Poll) on Obama's birthplace status, but in polls from  2009 to early 2011 "generally" about a quarter of Republicans said they believed him to be foreign-born, with about a similar number of Republicans saying they weren't sure of his birthplace.  

*** To be clear, or maybe "unclear," the issue of what the Constitution means about the requirement for a president to be a "natural born citizen" has never been clarified by the U.S. Supreme Court, so questions of interpretation remain. It is worth remembering, some early American presidents were not born in the United States, but rather in what were then British colonies. The late Barry Goldwater, a former Republican nominee for president in 1964, was born in Arizona, before it became a state. George Romney, the father of Mitt Romney, was born to two American parents in Mexico, and George Romney ran in Republican primaries for president in the 1960s.

WORD HISTORY:
Nature-This word goes back to Indo European "gen/gn," which had the notion "create, produce, give birth." This gave Latin "nasci," which meant "to come from, to be born," which then produced Latin "natus," meaning "born." This then gave Latin "natura," with the meanings "origin, characteristic(s) given by birth," then passed on to Old French, a heavily Latin-based language, as "nature." English borrowed the word from French in the 1200s. The "origin and characteristics" meaning broadened to include the meaning "the universe, the world, creative force." Usages include, "That guy is an athlete by nature;" that is, "he was born that way." Also, "It's just her nature to be skeptical," a meaning "assuming" she was born that way, which may or may not be true, but we most certainly say things like that. And also, "It was awful to see the lions kill the zebra, but that's just nature," using "nature" as the "creative force" bestowing the characteristic on the lions.

Some More Songs, One More Time

These are some more of my favorite songs. This list goes together with three other lists I did in early 2008 and a fourth list I just recently did. The links to these lists are further below. The songs on this list are in no particular order:

"Fool In The Rain,"by Led Zeppelin (from England), from their album "In Through The Out Door," 1979.

"You're My Best Friend," by Queen (from England), from their album "A Night At The Opera," 1975.

"Think," by Aretha Franklin (American), from her album "Aretha Now," 1968.

"Heart Hotels," by Dan Fogelberg (American), from his album "Phoenix," 1979.

"Longer," by Dan Fogelberg (American), from his album "Phoenix," 1979.

"Silver, Blue & Gold" by Bad Company (from England), from their album "Run With The Pack," 1976.

"Losing My Religion," by R.E.M. (American), from their album "Out Of Time," 1991.

"Never Gonna Fall In Love Again," by Eric Carmen (from Cleveland, Ohio), from his album "Eric Carmen," 1975.

"Mame," by the Tijuana Brass (American), from their album "Our Day Will come," 1966. (The song was taken from the musical of the same name, with music by Jerry Herman.).

"Turn The Beat Around," by Vicki Sue Robinson (American), from her album "Never Gonna Let You Go," 1976.

"Where Do You Go," by No Mercy (formed in Germany, by Americans), from their album "No Mercy" (released under the title "My Promise" in Germany), 1996.

"Another Night," by Real McCoy (from Germany), from their album by the same name, 1994 (single release), 1995 album release.

"Beautiful Life," by Ace Of Base (from Sweden), from their album "The Bridge," 1995.

These are the links to the previous song list posts, in order:

http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2008/01/some-favorite-songs.html

http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2008/01/a-little-more-music.html

http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2008/01/a-bit-more-music.html

http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2014/09/more-more-favorite-songs.html

WORD HISTORY:
Eleven-This word for the numerical value between ten and twelve is really a Germanic compound, "ainlif" (ain-lif), which literally means, "one left:'' that is, "one left over from ten." The "ain" part goes back to Indo European "oino/oynos," which meant "one, one of a kind, single," and it is the ancestor of English "one." The "lif" part goes back to Indo European "leip/laib," which meant "to stick, to adhere," which then gave Old Germanic "laibjana," a verb form meaning "to have stay or remain," with the "stick/adhere" notion producing the meaning "stay/remain" (if you're stuck, you have to stay). The Old Germanic compound "ainlif" gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "eandleofan." This then became "elleovene/elleven/enleven," depending upon dialect and time frame, before the modern version. The other Germanic languages have: German and Dutch "elf," Low German "elven," West Frisian "alve," North Frisian "alwen," Danish and Norwegian "elleve,'' Swedish "elva," and Icelandic "ellefu."

Corn Chowder

A filling chowder, excellent for fall and clear through to the chilly early days of spring. This is my adaptation of a recipe from one of those recipe card collections called, "My Great Recipes." The card is dated 1984, but I got it in about 1987 from someone who was getting rid of a lot of things. They were going to toss these recipe cards and I looked through them and took about ten or twelve before they hit the trash. Who the "my" is from the title, I have no idea, nor do I know if the company is even still in business. Again, this is my adaptation, so it is not quite exactly the recipe from the card. You can make this as thick or thin as you like by increasing or decreasing the roux, or omitting it all together. When I was a kid, my father liked everything VERY watered down. My mother made stews and chili pretty much like soup to suit him. I'm the exact opposite, as I like stews or chili very thick (gravy too). Of course when my father was growing up, the family didn't have a lot of money, and it was common for people to try to stretch such dishes by adding more water, a practice that even came in handy for those unaccustomed to such "stretching" during the Great Depression.

2 medium potatoes, diced, then cooked in boiling water with 1/2 teaspoon salt until tender
1 small onion, chopped, then sauteed in some butter until tender
1 10-12 oz. bag of frozen corn
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
1 3/4 cups milk
3/4 cup half and half
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste
 

Cook the diced potatoes in boiling salted water until they are just done (you don't want them mushy). In a skillet, melt some butter and saute the chopped onion until tender. Now melt the 2 tablespoons of  butter over low to medium heat in the pan you will use for the chowder, then gradually whisk in the flour until it forms a kind of paste (roux). Whisk and cook for about two minutes, to remove the raw flour taste, but the mixture (roux) should not become dark. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly, and add more milk as it all thickens. Add both the cooked potatoes and onion and combine both with all of the other ingredients, including the half and half. Simmer until totally heated through, making sure the corn kernels are no longer frozen. Sprinkle a little paprika on the top of each serving.

WORD HISTORY:
Grade/Graduate-Both of these words can be used as verbs as well as nouns. "Grade" goes back to Indo European "ghredh," which had the notion "to go, to step, to walk." This gave Latin the noun "gradus," with the meaning "step," and by extension "step," in the sense, "rank or position of someone or something;" thus also, "a means of measurement." This gave French, a Latin-based language, "grade," which was then borrowed into English in the early 1500s. "Graduate" has the same history, except that Latin "gradus" also produced the verb "graduare," meaning "to take or receive a degree," which then produced the noun "graduatus," meaning, "a recipient of a degree, a holder of a degree." Both the verb and noun were borrowed into English in the early 1400s.

A Big Cheer For CVS

In a nation that has become absorbed by outrageous greed, it's not often we hear about anyone, let alone corporations with millionaire and billionaire investors wondering where their next million or billion will come from, giving up income, but that's just what we recently heard from the nation's second largest drugstore chain, "CVS." The company made the decision to stop selling tobacco products. Amazing! When corporations make decisions like this, they should be commended, and we should be happy to do so. I salute you, CVS!

WORD HISTORY:
Cheer-This word goes back to Indo European "ker/kher," which meant "head." This gave Greek "kara," with the same meaning, and this then was borrowed by Latin as "cara,"  but with the more specific meaning "face." This gave Old French, a heavily Latin-based language, "chiere" ("face"), which was carried to England by the Normans, where it altered to "chere." This was borrowed into English as "cheer" in the late 1100s or early 1200s, but with the added meaning "mood, state of mind as determined by facial expression," which was not specific to being either good or bad, but by the 15th Century it had come to mean a positive mood. This then produced the verb form, "to cheer." The meaning, "a shout of approval or encouragement" (or the verb "to shout" such) didn't take place until around the first quarter of the 1700s.      

O' Ye Of Little Or No Humor

Some people are full of themselves, where everything in life is just so serious. There are most certainly serious issues that need to be dealt with, but some issues are just more in individuals' minds, and some people are so insecure, their heightened sensitivities take offense at anything and everything. Others seem to look for issues to make themselves feel important; at least, I guess that's the reason. They wake up each day and seem to say to themselves, "Let's see, what can I be offended by today? I'll find something," and they then proceed to do just that, no matter how much of a stretch to find an issue or how silly the subject. The totally no shame conservative slant of Fox News and then the decision by MSNBC to become the no shame liberal "anti-Fox News," shows some of the silliness of political issues scrounged up, just to have something to bash the other side with, and to keep their respective "faithful" watching. I watch neither.

I suppose all of us have had our days where we get testy or peeved, or hurt over some fun directed our way; fun never meant to do us harm. Illness, a personal or family crisis, or some other issue may make us hyper sensitive at times, but we're all entitled to our bad days. Then there are those who seem to make a profession out of being offended. They are offended so often, they really seem to have forgotten the object of trying to persuade others to their side of any given issue, since they seem to get a "lift" from being offended, not from winning an argument. No, their whole purpose in life seems to center around being offended and some have the practice down to an art form. I have acquaintances who are VERY serious about everything. To the one, life is very serious. To the other, he tends to see racism and bigotry in everything. He's so obsessed with racism, he fails to realize how some of his accusations against others are downright racist. It seems to me, he's stuck in the 1960s and 1970s, still clinging to the bitterness of those times, and refusing to acknowledge any of the progress since those days. He's virtually humorless. Tell him just about ANY joke or story, and he's apt to find some racist intention in it. He's even offended by shows or articles meant to point out racism and bigotry. I just can't imagine living life like that.

We all have varying degrees of sensitivity, but we really need to be able to laugh at ourselves on occasion. Comedy makes fun of all sorts of things, but mainly people, because we ARE funny in some of our actions and statements. If people whose feathers are easily ruffled get their way, comedy will be suffocated. Jokers, including myself, do cross the line at times, but I'd say most of it is unintended. Jackie Mason and Joan Rivers got into lots of trouble over the years with some of their jabbing humor, but comedy pushes the envelope and expands freedom, it doesn't contract it, like some seem to want to do.* To my overly sensitive friends, take a deep breath and think of something funny about yourself. Don't be afraid to let out a laugh, even if other people give you serious looks. Let them be the serious ones. Relax and laugh. Besides, who gives a damn what they think? Ha! Ha! Ha!

* Generally speaking, these are not always "freedom of speech" issues, a concept lost on many Americans. "Freedom of Speech" only concerns government restrictions on speech; that is, government at any level, not just federal. If you work for company "XYZ," run by Mr. SOB, if you call him "Mr. SOB" or "the SOB," he can fire you and it's all very legal, as you are not protected by the constitutional right to free speech in this case.

WORD HISTORY:
Humo(u)r-The modern meaning of this word may seem strange, seeing that it goes back to Indo European "wegw/ugw," which had the notion of "wet, moist." This gave Italic/Latin "umere," which meant ''to be wet." This then produced Latin "umor," which meant "fluid, body fluid, moisture." This gave Old French, a heavily Latin based language, "humor" (later "humour"). The idea of "body liquids'' was used by science of long ago as a gauge of a person's "disposition, state of mind," and this meaning became attached to the word too, and it was with this meaning that it was borrowed into English during the 1300s, with the "bodily fluid' meaning being pretty much confined to science and not widespread among the general public. The idea of ''state of mind" altered in the late 1600s to the more specific "something that amuses one, makes something seem funny,'' a meaning retained into the present. English speakers must say "sense of humor" to convey the meaning of a person's ability to see things as funny. Its close relative, "humid," still retains the strong tie to the "moisture" meaning. "Humor" is the American spelling, "humour" the British spelling.

More, More Favorite Songs

These songs are some of my favorites and they go together with songs from three other articles I did in early 2008. The links to those articles:

" 'Some' Favorite Songs:"  http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2008/01/some-favorite-songs.html

"A Little More Music:" http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2008/01/a-little-more-music.html

"A Bit More Music:"  http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2008/01/a-bit-more-music.html

So the list for this article, in no particular order:

"I'm Yours" -by Jason Mraz, American, from his album "We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things," 2008.

"Someday" -by Glass Tiger, Canadian, from their album, "The Thin Red Line," 1986.

"Everyday People" -by Sly and the Family Stone, American, released as a (then) non-album single in late 1968, but then included on their 1969 album "Stand."

"Shattered" (known to some as "Shattered, Turn The Car Around") -by O.A.R., American group, from their album "All Sides," 2008.

"Viva La Vida" -by Coldplay, England, from their album of the same name, 2008.

"Long Train Runnin' "-The Doobie Brothers, American, from their album "The Captain And Me," 1973.

"What A Fool Believes"-The Doobie Brothers, American, from their album "Minute By Minute," released in late 1978.

"Share The Land" -The Guess Who, Canadian, from their album of the same name, 1970.

"Magic," -Pilot, from Scotland, from their album, "From The Album Of The Same Name," 1974.

"While You See A Chance" -Steve Winwood, from England, from his album "Arc Of A Diver, released late 1980.

"Right Back Where We Started From," -Maxine Nightingale, from England, from the album of the same name, 1976 (U.S. release).

More coming soon ....

WORD HISTORY:
Ten-This word for the numerical value between nine and eleven goes back to Indo European "dekm," which meant "ten." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "tekhan," which then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "tien/tene" (depending upon dialect). This then became ten, where it has remained for centuries. The other Germanic languages have: German "zehn," ^ Low German "taihn," West Frisian "tsien," Dutch "tien," Danish and Norwegian "ti," Icelandic "tiu," and Swedish "tio."

^ The German "z" is pronounced like the "ts" at the end of "hits."

Hearty Cabbage Soup

This is an absolutely great soup, which is not at all complicated to make. I've tried using ground turkey, but it's just not the same. You can always drain off much of the grease from the ground beef to cut down on fat, cholesterol and calories, and I know ground beef is expensive right now, but I have to admit, the ground beef gives it the best flavor. You can shred your own cabbage, or you can just use the bagged Cole Slaw mix from the produce section of your market. This is my adaptation of a recipe from one of those recipe card collections called, "My Great Recipes." The card is dated 1984, but I got it in about 1987 from someone who was moving and was getting rid of a lot of things. They were going to toss these recipe cards and I looked through them and took about ten or twelve before they hit the trash. Who the "my" is from the title, I have no idea, nor do I know if the company is even still in business.

1 pound ground beef
1 tablespoon oil (vegetable, canola, regular olive oil are all good choices)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 sm to med head of cabbage, or 1 lb bag cole slaw mix
1 med. carrot, sliced or diced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper or to taste
1 bay leaf
2 1/2 cups of beef broth (homemade/canned/carton)
1 to 1 1/2 cup(s) water
2 tbsp soy sauce
fresh or dried parsley (optional)

In a soup pan, brown the ground beef with the oil (you can then drain of any fat), then add the onion and garlic, cook until the onion and garlic are softened. Add the cabbage, carrot, salt, seasoned salt, pepper, bay leaf (don't forget to remove this later), beef broth and water. Simmer until cabbage and carrot are tender. Stir in the soy sauce and parsley and serve. Leftovers taste just a good, or maybe even better.

WORD HISTORY:
Harvest-This word is distantly related to "excerpt" (both verb and noun), a word borrowed by English from Latin. "Harvest" goes back to Indo European "kerp/karp," which had the notion "to gather, to pluck." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "harbistaz" (West Germanic branch) and "harbustaz" (North Germanic branch), which meant "time of harvest, time of gathering in." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "haerfest," meaning 'harvest time," and by extension "autumn" or "fall." This later became "hervest/harvest," with "harvest" becoming the standard. "Harvest" was the English word for "autumn/fall" until both of those forms began to overtake its use in the 1500s. The other Germanic languages have various forms, most still meaning "autumn/fall," unless noted: German "Herbst," Low German "Harvst," West Frisian "hjerst," Dutch "herfst," Danish "høst" (meaning "harvest"), Norwegian "høst," Icelandic "haust," and Swedish "höst."

Joan Rivers

The death of Joan Rivers leaves something of a void in the world of comedy and humor. Joan was certainly not everyone's cup of tea, especially anyone with the least bit of insecurity or humorlessness, as she played rough, including with her jokes about herself, but also often with jokes about other people sharing the "celebrity" status. The name of her book from a couple of years ago, "I Hate Everyone ... Starting With Me," sort of sums up her sarcastic, hard hitting view of humor, a type of humor which drew criticism from some who failed to garner an apology from Joan, or achieve a bow to "political correctness" from her. Her request for a "showbiz" funeral was just something you would have expected from her, and I'm so glad that is what she got ... a big send off, complete with an irreverent eulogy by Howard Stern and a prolonged standing ovation for her. The details of Stern's eulogy are still sketchy, but some reports say he said something to the effect, "I hope she's now chasing Johnnie Carson around with a baseball bat," in reference to the feud between the two stars, dating to the mid 1980s.

So I stand and applaud you Joan Rivers. You pushed the envelope for comedy with sarcasm and personal references, but never meant with hate ... ah, you didn't mean any of those things in hate, right?

WORD HISTORY:
Chutzpah-This Yiddish word, borrowed into American English in the late 1800s, goes back to Aramaic, an Afro-Asiatic language, from the Semitic branch, along with Arabic, Amharic, and Hebrew, for example. Aramaic "huspa," meant "to be disrespectfully unashamed, insolent." This gave Hebrew "khutspa," and the word was later taken up by Yiddish.^ While usually meant in a negative way, depending upon context, the American version can also be complimentary, meaning "daring, self confident."

^  Yiddish developed about 1000 A.D. among German Jews living in the Rhineland area from some High German dialects back then. It also used Hebrew, and, over time, spread throughout Europe's Jewish communities, incorporating some vocabulary from several Slavic languages/dialects in eastern Europe. It is written in the Hebrew alphabet, but it is classified as one of the Germanic languages, thus making it a close relative of English.

How Much Is Too Much Money?

Way back in the 1960s, Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart issued a statement about a case involving alleged pornography by saying that he couldn't define "hard core pornography," but, "I know it when I see it." To me it's similar about money and wealth, I can't say exactly how much is too much, but I know it when I see ... certain things, like: individuals or families spending millions, even tens or hundreds of millions, on political campaigns to get candidates or issues favorable to their point of view, which seems often to have to do with them making ... more money. These aren't people who are happy to be wealthy, these are people with sick egos. Then there is Ken Langone, the founder of Home Depot and a Catholic, who is worth at least two billion (obviously the poor guy is hurting), who criticized Pope Francis for his outspoken remarks about capitalism, great wealth and income disparity. Langone said Pope Francis doesn't comprehend the rich and that he is aware of one wealthy donor to Catholic causes who is so angry with the pope, he may not go forward with a large donation to help renovate St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City (this was as of late 2013, and I do not know the end result of the blackmail ... ah, I mean the donation). I'd say it is Langone and his friends who really don't comprehend the issue, not Pope Francis. I'd advise the pope to PUBLICLY take on Langone and Company. Who do you think will win? We would then find out how people who call themselves Catholics really come down on this issue, since Christianity is NOT about giving money to rich people, or seeing to it that they get more, but it is really about helping ALL people, when they need it.

Just for some balance, here is a link to one of my other articles: "Not All Wealthy People Are The Same":

http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2013/09/not-all-wealthy-people-are-same.html

WORD HISTORY:
Eight-This word for the numerical value between 7 and 9 goes back to Indo European "okto," which meant "eight." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "akhto," which then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "eahta." This then became "ahte" and "aught," depending upon dialect, before the modern version, although the "gh" was pronounced back then, and the spelling never changed to reflect the change in modern pronunciation.^ The other Germanic languages have: German, Low German, Dutch and West Frisian "acht," Norwegian åtte, Danish "otte," Icelandic átta, and Swedish åtta

^  The Old English form likely had emphasis on the "h," which then produced the later spelling with "gh."

Burger King and Warren Buffett, More Greed At The Nation's Expense

Unless you've been visiting either another planet or a relative who lives under a rock, you have likely heard that "Burger King" recently announced that it is buying the "Tim Hortons" coffee and doughnut chain of Canada and moving its corporate headquarters to Canada, at least partially to save on taxes, although officials of the corporation have tried some fancy language to "dance around the subject," and to claim there won't be much tax savings. The deal is being partially financed by Warren Buffett through his "Berkshire Hathaway'' holding company. If you think any tax savings will be passed on to workers, in the form of higher wages, or to the public, in the form of lower prices, you ARE visiting another planet. The benefits will end up going to stockholders, and who owns most of the stock? VERY WEALTHY investors, including majority owner 3G Capital, a company headquartered in Brazil, led by one of the world's richest men, Jorge Lemann, a banker.

This is the second such deal announced in recent times, as Walgreen's, the drug store giant, had announced it "might" move its headquarters to Switzerland to save on taxes. After a huge American public outcry, Walgreen's announced it would keep its headquarters in the U.S. What will happen with the Burger King deal? Will many Americans choose from a whole bunch of other fast food outlets to punish Burger King, thus turning the deal into a "whopper" of a fiasco? Or will we take it and let them get away with the move? The Walgreen's pullback shows that corporate executives understand and fear lots of public pressure. If we let corporations, including Burger King, get away with these deals without penalty, they're going to keep doing it. This isn't like body management, "no pain, no gain." If they don't feel pain, they'll just do what they want, at anyone's expense. We do have power folks, but we've been lax about using it. That must change, for the good of the country and its citizens. If we go after the Burger King deal, trust me, neither Lemann nor Buffett will have to worry about where they'll get their next meal; after all, there's always a Whopper and fries.

This is all just another blatant example of how sheer greed is driving the world's egomaniacs to no longer pledge allegiance to their own respective country's flag, but to the flag flying the symbol of "$$$." Guess who will have to make up lost tax revenue? For the answer, go look in the mirror. While Warren Buffett has spoken out in favor of higher tax rates on super wealthy Americans, these kinds of Burger King shenanigans just show how extreme wealth disconnects people from the rest of society. Buffett deserves criticism for the deal, as an ''enlightened" money-grubber, is still a money-grubber. He's in his mid 80s, but he can't stop the quest for "mo' money, mo' money, mo' money!" If your child helps an elderly lady across the street, then kicks the dog on the other side, the good deed doesn't offset the bad act. I live just a few hundred feet from a Burger King, a place I'll no longer enter.

WORD HISTORY:
Seven-This word for the numerical value between 6 and 8 goes back to Indo European "septm," which meant "seven" This gave its Old Germanic offspring "sebun/seban," which gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "seofan," which later became "seven," where it has remained for centuries. The other Germanic languages have: German "sieben," Low German "seven" (there are dialectal variations), Dutch "zeven," West Frisian "san" (notice the lost consonant sound), Danish and Norwegian "syv," Swedish "sju," and Icelandic "sjö." Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic and Swedish are all from the North Germanic branch of the Germanic languages and they have all lost the ending with "n," which has been retained by all of the languages from the West Germanic branch, which includes English.