Oscar Levant, A Brilliant but Troubled Man

Many years ago I remember my parents, especially my mother, talking about Oscar Levant. As I got a little older, I remember seeing Levant on some television talk shows. The thing was, Oscar Levant was a brilliant musician and pianist, known for his friendship with George Gershwin and for composing various pieces of music himself, but he was severely plagued by the demons of mental illness. He was in several movies,* some of which I've seen on television over the years, he also did concert tours, he authored a couple of books and he had his own television show for a while, but most of this was before his mental problems became so overwhelming to him. Oscar Levant was also known for his sarcastic humor, and this intrigued people to watch his television show or interviews with him, because no one ever knew what he might say (in the 1950s, much of television was done live). ** When I remember seeing him, he frequently poked fun at himself and his condition, both physical and mental. 

When I remember seeing him, he was a mess, to be quite blunt about it. He lit one cigarette after the other, his eyes were rolling and blinking, his face distorted and at times his whole body seemed to be squirming. I just forget who said it, but someone on television made something of a remark that he always looked like the men in white coats were about the put a straight jacket on him. He had become good friends with television personality Jack Paar, who was the host of NBC's "Tonight Show," before Johnny Carson, and Levant appeared on the show and talked openly about his mental illness. In those times, this was shocking to the public, but quite courageous. Oscar suffered with serious depression and anxiety which brought on a number of imaginary illnesses and hypochondria, which prompted him to take prescription medication, which led to dependency, which led to treatments, including stays in mental hospitals and shock treatment. His depression made him wallow in negatives, and he once quipped something about not liking alcohol, because it made him feel good.

Folks, if you or someone close to you suffers with emotional/mental problems, get help! Don't wait for the condition to overtake you or them. Oscar Levant is an example of a brilliant man who struggled with his demons, but he spoke out about his condition at a time when mental illness was seldom mentioned in open society. Another courageous celebrity was Vivian Vance, best known for her role as Ethel Mertz on "I Love Lucy," in the 1950s. She made her own mental issues a cause to help others suffering with mental problems by speaking out around the country and on television in the 1970s. There's NO SHAME in getting help! The only shame is not getting help.    

* His movies included when he appeared as himself in the 1945 film, "Rhapsody in Blue," about his (then) deceased friend, musician and composer George Gershwin.  

** Various brands of beer usually sponsored the sports segment of the news back then, and, because the commercials were done live, we liked to bet whether the beer would foam over the top of the glass when they poured it from a bottle, and it often did.  

Photo is from the front cover of, "A Talent For Genius" (The Life And Times Of Oscar Levant), by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger, published by Villard Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, 1994

WORD HISTORY:
Piano-This word is the shortened form of "pianoforte," from Italian, with the Italian compound meaning, "soft-loud," from the idea of the varied volume of this particular musical instrument with a keyboard. The word "piano," which is related to a number of words of Latin derivation that have been borrowed into English, including: "plan," "plane" and "plain," goes back to Indo European "pleh," which had the notion of "flat, spread out." This gave its Latin offspring "planus," which meant "flat surface, smooth." This gave Italian "piano," which meant, "plane, plan," but also the adjectival, "soft" (thus also musical "pianissimo," meaning, "very soft(ly)"),^ and this was later applied, coupled with "forte," to the musical keyboard instrument, which then was simply shortened to "piano."

^ "Apparently" from the main meaning of "flat, smooth," to "not rough;" that is, "soft;" thus also later, "soft in sound."

No Political Correctness Among Friends

First, if you love political correctness, this won't be for you, although maybe you really need to read or hear things like this. Please don't limit yourself on humor and having some fun poked at you, "fight back" by humor. You're missing some fun and you'll feel far better about yourself than trying to always figure out how offended you are. We have to be able to take some kidding, but also some actual guff. If you can't do that, I don't know how you'll get through life when things really get serious. Now, please don't take this to mean that I'm saying we should all go around calling others names, as you'll read below. There is common sense in play at all times in our lives. I guess I would have to say, this is the most difficult article I have written here, because it is not easy to show how so many things happened, without using the actual .... ah, "language" that was used. That made the decision hard. That "language" is pretty tough, but that's just the point of this article, and please think in terms of this: if reading or hearing some "expletives" is the worst things you have happen to you in your life, DAMN ... I mean, DARN, you'll have had a HELL of ... I mean, a HECK of a good life. There are most certainly some valid points to particular aspects of "political correctness," but a lot of what has happened over the last few decades is not political correctness, but rather neurotic behavior used by some to flex a certain control over others. As I have written here before, none of us is really "sane," whatever the hell that actually means, but some folks have climbed onto the political correctness pony and ridden it to the point of absurdity, as they feel "offended" by all sorts of silly shit, to put it bluntly. The more they are catered to, the more they need to feel offended to keep getting the lift they need to feel control over others. As I've also written here before, if this silly shit continues, none of us will be able to speak to one another, for fear of uttering what the other person may feel is an offensive word or thought. If you have watched the CBS comedy "The Big Bang Theory," there is much "anti-political correctness" in the show, and while occasionally the characters get their feathers ruffled by one of the other characters, usually by Sheldon (played by Jim Parsons), they all end up understanding and getting along. They DO NOT see each other as "the enemy;" at least, not for long, and they see how none of the real or perceived insults will end the world any time soon. Do you think there's a lesson for society here?

Anyway, more than 25 years ago, there were three of us who hung out together constantly; like, I mean, EVERY DAY! Besides myself, there were Toomie Bill* and Eileen, aka, "The Eye In The Sky." ** Oh, there was also "Rocky," the dog, aka "Rock." Unfortunately, Eileen died about 2 years ago, and I still really haven't dealt with that fact in my mind, if you know what I mean. She was a big woman, and she had endured a lot of snide comments about her size, but she dealt with the comments, and she was very capable of firing right back. Now, I can't tell you what was in her mind, and I'm sure the comments hurt at times, but she also accepted who she was and she could turn her weight into a punch line. She and Bill were always arguing, and one time, I don't remember what it was about (it didn't take much), but she said, in reference of how to shut him up, "I'll sit on him!" I'm going to tell you folks, I laughed so hard, I thought I was going to pop a blood vessel! All I could imagine was, Eileen sitting on Bill and his eyes bulging out of their sockets! Bill would call Eileen, "F---in' b--ch." She didn't get all down and out about it or whiny, she retaliated! He called her that ALL THE TIME! The arguments between the two of them went on every day... like 20 times a day! I'm serious. Bill's temperament lent itself to teasing him, and me and my one liners could skewer him quickly. He could get a little whiny and he'd say, "He shouldn't be sayin' that about me," which would bring Eileen to quickly say, "Oh geez! What a puss!" He would just bristle, followed by, "Shut the f--k up, ya f---in' b--ch!" Eileen just totally loved it when I'd piss off Bill, and we would double team him, at times. He would cuss us and call us all sorts of names, and the madder he got and the more he cussed us, the more she loved it! Sometimes, if he stopped for gas, we'd have him so riled up, he would be talking to himself on the way to pay for the gas, and he'd turn back to us and shout some obscenity! She would laugh hysterically. I'd get a good one liner in on Bill and he'd say, "He thinks he's f---in' funny!" So Eileen would say, "He made me laugh!" He'd just burn up! We would be watching television and Eileen would sit on the couch and Rock would bring his tennis ball to her, which she then would hold down with her foot. Rock would bark and bark, causing Bill to yell, "Give him his f---in' ball, ya f---in' b--ch! I can't hear the TV!" Bill is a "telephone person," he LOVES the phone, so if you cut him off of that, LOOK OUT! One time the three of us were supposed to go somewhere and he called Eileen, who lived just a few houses up the street. He came storming out into the kitchen and shouted, "That f---in' b--ch took the phone off the hook!" I couldn't stop laughing. Another time, I don't remember what I said, but he shouted at me, "SHUT THE F--K UP!" I acted very subdued and asked, "You mean that's gettin' on your nerves?" And Bill screamed, "F---IN' YES!" So I looked skyward, folded my hands and said, "Lord, there IS justice in the world!" Eileen loved it! Years later, after Bill had moved away (which deserved another, "Lord, there IS justice in the world!"), he was in the hospital for quite some period of time. He improved, but he temporarily lost his voice, which when I told Eileen, prompted her to ask, "What will happen to the phone company?" (because of his love of the phone) Then Bill's partner, Toomie Bob (hey, that's the way the names go), emailed and said the doctor was going to do something to restore Bill's voice. All I could think was, "Bob.... can't you pay that doctor NOT to give Bill his voice back?" (Hm, I wonder if Bob had actually thought about that too?) Also after Bill had left town (did I say that deserved another, "Lord, there IS justice in the world!"), he called me three times one night, but I wasn't home. The third time, after some choice words for me on my answering machine, he left a phone number. When I got home, the answering machine was blushing and had its fingers in its ears, so I said to myself, "Oh boy, Bill called again!" So anyway, I called the number he had left. He had a call blocking service for unidentified numbers, and I had an unlisted number, so the call could not go through. This was so long ago, I had WEB TV, which was internet service and equipment that could be hooked up to your television. Your TV screen displayed the web pages. So I wrote an email to him, which I knew would get under his skin. "All three times you called, I was not home, so I figure, there must be a God. Then I tried to call the number you left and it said the call couldn't be completed. Now, I KNOW there's a God!" The next morning, 6 a.m. the phone rang (I was an early riser, so I was awake). When I answered, Bill didn't say, "Hello," or "Good morning," he said, "You're a real f---in' comedian!" Hahahahaha! I laughed so much, I later called Eileen at her job and she LOVED IT!  

Time has reduced my recollection of most of the specific things that went on or were said, but if you'd heard them by chance, you'd have thought the three of us hated one another, but in the end, it wasn't that way AT ALL! You could NOT have been around us for more than 20 or 30 minutes without leaving with a headache from laughing. I don't care how serious you took life. I kid you not. The awful thing was, we didn't film all of this. But back then, there would not have been a way to get it onto television, as far as I know, because such language would NEVER have been allowed, for one thing. It's a shame, because it would have been a big hit! 

* On the border between the states of Ohio and Pennsylvania is a man made reservoir, called Pymatuning Lake. The lake is part of state parks for both states. On our first trip to Pymatuning, we stopped at a State Trooper office on the way, just to be sure we were not off course. Bill could not say the word, "Pymatuning," which he pronounced as, "Ponatoomie," so when he talked to a State Trooper there, he cautiously asked, "Which way to the lake?" The officer then asked, "Which lake?" (Lake Erie is just north of there.) Now Bill had to say the word, and he said, "Ponatoomie." The officer smiled, but he knew what he meant, and he told us the answer. Well, that started me to calling Bill, "Ponatoomie Bill." He was very temperamental, and that name ticked him off, so I deliberately shortened it to, "Toomie Bill," just to piss him off that much more. Which it did! Hahahahahahaha!

** One of my favorite songs was an Alan Parsons' Project hit from the early 1980s called, "The Eye In The Sky." So, with EI-leen," who many shortened to as if, "Eye," I started calling her, "The Eye In The Sky," which is the name Rocky recognized for her. I'm not kidding.
 
WORD HISTORY:
Correct-The main body of this word, related to a number of words, including "regulate" (a word borrowed by English and of Latin derivation) and "right" (a true English word of Germanic derivation), goes back to Indo European "reg," which meant "to move in a straight line, to guide or to direct." This gave Latin "regere," which meant, "to rule, to lead." The prefix is from Indo European "kom," meaning, "near, with, by," which gave Latin "con-/com-/cor-;" with the variations according to the spelling of the main word, and generally meaning "together," or indicating "completeness." The two parts gave Latin "corrigere," which meant, "to straighten out, to make changes to better something, to make or set right." Its participle form was "correctus" (bettered, improved, proper), and this was borrowed into English in the early 1300s as "correcten" (verb). It wasn't until the mid 1600s that the adjectival form was borrowed from French. By the way, close English relative, German, borrowed the infinitive form "corrigere" directly from Latin in the 1300s, but with the spelling, "korrigieren." As noted above, English borrowed the participle form of that infinitive. 

Some More Questions To A Republican

"Hello folks! This is Dan Ratherbe, in Philadelphia. Today I once again have Republican George Owen Pappenstiel here to speak out on the issues confronting the nation and his Republican Party, no holds barred."

DR: "Well Mr. Pappenstiel, it's been a little while since I first interviewed you." *

GOP: "Yeah, that was back when that Bomma guy claimed to be president."

DR: "That's Obama."

GOP: "Yeah right, tryin' to be Irish.... 'O' bomma... haha.... about as Irish as the rest of them people from them places in Africa."

DR: "But he IS part Irish. Don't you remember he visited Ireland?"

GOP: "Visitin' a place don't make ya from that place. I cun visit Massichew... Masseshoe... that place where Boston is, but that don't make me no Democrat, an' that's fer shur."

DR: "So what do you think of Donald Trump's first couple of months in office?"

GOP: "It's a breath o' fresh air! Finally gettin' some truth out, 'cause Ole Donald tells it like it is. That's what's gonna make America great agin, truth tellin.' Just like with that Bomma listnin' in on Ole Donald talkin' on his own private phone in his own private buildin'."

DR: "But there's been absolutely no proof that any such thing ever happened."

GOP: "That's what you librals in the media want folks ta believe. There is proof.... Ole Donald said it, didn't he? That's proof! He the president of the UUUNited States, ain't he?"

DR: "Well I assume you support the wall the president wants to build on the border with Mexico?"

GOP: "Oh now, truer words was never spoke. All them folks south of the Rio Grande is jus' what Ole Donald said 'bout them. They er murderers and rapists. Then they come up here and want US to speak Mexican."

DR: "You mean Spanish."

GOP: "No, I mean Mexican. They ain't from Spain."

DR: "So what do you think of the Republican failure to repeal Obamacare?"

GOP: "That's jus' plain terrible! Don't know what's becomin' o' this country. Wantin' ta give health care to ever'body. An' this law from Bomma helpin' to give care to millions. An' that Bernie Sanders guy... he the worst, even worse than Bomma hisself. He ain't no Christian, that fer shur."

DR: "Ah, Bernie Sanders is from a Jewish family."

GOP: "See, told ya he ain't no Christian. They jus' like those Mooselims... all from over yonder there in the Middle East. All them folks need to jus' stay over there. Ole Donald messed up there, he needs to ban people from all them countries, not jus' a few. All we do is give money to them people over there, includin' Izrel. Never knew any good people from that part of the world, not a one."

DR: "Ah... Jesus Christ."

GOP: "An' don't be takin' the Lord's name in vain, ya hear?"

DR: "Well, our time is up, Mr. Pappenstiel."

GOP: "Ya got that right, if we don't do what Ole Donald wants an' you keep takin' the Lord's name in vain. Jus' ask Pat Robertson!"


* The first "interview" was in May 2013 and this is the link:  http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2013/05/asking-republican-few-questions.html

WORD HISTORY:
Ode-This word "seems" to go back to Indo European "aweid/e-weid," which had the notion, "to make (voice) sound, to speak, to vocalize." This gave Ancient Greek the transliterated "aeido," which meant, "to sing, to give praise in song." This gave Ancient Greek "aoide/oide," a noun, "song, poetic song." Latin borrowed the word from Greek as "oda," then "ode," the form taken by Latin-based French. English borrowed the word from French, likely with reinforcement by Latin, in the late 1500s.

A Trump "Interview"

This was published in August 2016, but it's still relevant!


"Hello, I'm Dan Ratherbe in Philadelphia. I'm here with Donald Trump, the Republican candidate for president. How are you, Mr. Trump?"

DT: "I'm fine, but I already know you'll tell lies about me."
DR: "Why do you say that, Mr. Trump?"
DT: "Because you just said you'd rather be in Philadelphia; you know, the city where those traitorous, good for nothing, criminal Democrats just met, but we're already IN Philadelphia, and I don't need Sarah Palin to tell me that. ........ By the way, Sarah stayed at home during the Republican convention to read some newspapers and magazines. She doesn't want any more trick questions from Katie Couric."
DR: "Well, in that case, what newspapers and magazines do you read?"
DT: "See... there you go! You don't listen well, do you? I said, 'No trick questions!' Geez, you scumbags in the media! When I'm elected, you, Katie, and Megyn Kelly will be locked up along with crooked Hillary Clinton and Lyin' Ted Cruz."
DR: "So Katie and Megyn bother you?"
DT: "No, no! Now you're putting words into my mouth. I didn't say that. I know how to deal with women, especially after I consulted with Roger Ailes; now there's a guy who knows about women! Why do you think I said Megyn had 'blood coming out of her ... whatever?' "
DR: "Sir, Roger Ailes just left Fox News after charges of sexual harassment."
DT: "Didn't I just say he knows about women? Boy, you don't listen. Definitely going to lock you up. Lock him up! Lock him up! Lock him up! Hey, that's got a nice ring to it."
DR: "So you want to lock up the media and your political opponents?"
DT: "I didn't say that! Man you don't listen!"
DR: "What foreign policy experience do you have, Mr. Trump?"
DT: "I know more about foreign policy than anyone. I own a golf course in Scotland, how's that for foreign policy for you? I was just there recently too; heard a British diplomat give a speech there. I didn't understand much of what he said though. Why don't those people learn to pronounce English good; I mean, it's not like they invented the language over there? Maybe I should run for office in the UK. Could put the 'great' back into Great Britain."
DR: "Well Mr. trump, I suppose you are aware that young people favor your opponent by a large margin. They say they don't like the hate and division you and your campaign espouse. What do you have to say about that?"
DT: "Well they're young, they don't know any better. It's up to me and my campaign to teach them, and we're trying our damnedest to do just that."   
DR: What will you do if you lose the election, Mr. Trump?"
DT: "See, there you go. No wonder I'm going to have you locked up. Lock him up! Lock him up! Well, I'm not going to lose the election. BUT, if in the ever so slightest case you media people and crooked Hillary steal the election from me, I have a place to go and rule where they'll really appreciate me."
DR: "Oh? And where is that, Mr. Trump?"
DT: Well I'll give you a hint ... There's a country where the ruler has been a little sick lately. I only know that from my friend Vladimir. He read Kim Jong-un's emails. Boy does Vladimir know a lot about the Democrats too. Whew!"
DR: "So you're talking about going to North Korea?"
DT: "More lies! I never said that! But that country is a mess, and only I can fix it! And in that country, I wouldn't have lies told about me all the time, because they know how to deal with media people and keep them from lying. Oh wow! I can just see troops marching into South Korea, big statues of me on every corner. More and more I like the sound of my slogan, 'Make North Korea great again.' "
DR: "This is Dan Ratherbe in Philadelphia, but I'd rather be anyplace, but here."

WORD HISTORY:
Satire-This word, related to "sate" and "sad," goes back to Indo European "sah," with the notion of "satisfaction, having enough." This gave Latin "satur," which meant "sated, having enough." This became the basis of the Latin term "lanx satura," with the meaning "a full serving of mixed types of fruit." This meaning then expanded from "full serving" ("collection") to, "collection of poetry," then to "poem or poems that emphasized a person's characteristics; thus, the modern meaning of, "story that pokes fun or ridicule at a person's habits, personality, foolish ways, often with a more serious underlying intent." Latin "satur" gave Latin "satira," meaning "satiric poetry or drama." This gave Old French, a Latin-based language, "satire," with the same meaning. English borrowed the word in the latter part of the 1300s, "probably" from French, but with likely reinforcement by Latin, a language still common in those times among well educated people, which naturally included writers.  

How Marriage Equality Changed Americans' Lives

Before marriage equality Americans:

woke up, checked their email, Facebook and Twitter
drank coffee or tea while they checked their email, Facebook and Twitter
went to work
before starting work, checked their email, Facebook and Twitter
during work, checked their email, Facebook and Twitter
ate lunch and checked their email, Facebook and Twitter
went back to work
checked their email, Facebook and Twitter
finished work
checked their email, Facebook and Twitter
headed home or stopped for an after work drink
checked their email, Facebook and Twitter
ate dinner
checked their email, Facebook and Twitter
watched television while they checked their email, Facebook and Twitter
got interrupted during sex by a private message on Facebook
got interrupted during sex again by a text message from a friend
went to sleep, dreamed about checking their email, Facebook and Twitter

After marriage equality Americans:

woke up ...... oh the hell with listing all of that again, they did everything they did before marriage equality! Hey, I've got to check my email, Facebook and Twitter, excuse me!

WORD HISTORY:
Equal-The ultimate origin of this word is unknown. It goes back to Latin "aequus," which meant "even, level;" thus also, "impartial." This then gave Latin "aequalis," meaning "the same, like, without variation, on the same level." English borrowed the word as "equal" in the second half of the 1300s, likely reinforced by French "egal," which was the French form of Latin "aequalis." English is the only Germanic language to use a form of the Latin as a primary word, although German borrowed the French form, "egal," but it is not their primary word with that meaning, as they use their own word "gleich," which is really the same word as English "like," which was once spelled "gelic." In German it is part of a fairly common expression, "Es ist mir egal," which literally means, "to me it is equal," but the real meaning of which is, "it is all the same to me," or, "it doesn't matter to me."

Not Sure These Are Words Of Wisdom, But ...

I bought these in Germany, in Frankfurt and Wiesbaden, back in the mid 1980s.

 "If you drink to forget, you should pay in advance."

 "When I gave up smoking, drinking and sex, that was the longest half hour of my life."

 "Work fascinates me! (I) could sit there and watch it for hours."

 "You don't have to be crazy to work here, but it helps!"

 Do you think you could pick up my check? This was in Marks back then, which looks to be in the year 1988. It would have depended upon the exchange rate, but likely around $20 to $22.

WORD HISTORY:
When-This word goes back to Indo European interrogative root "kwo/quo," which formed the base of several words: who, what, where. This gave Old Germanic "hwanneh," meaning "when." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "hwonne" and "hwanne," which later became "whenne" and "whanne," before settling on just modern "when" (having more than one form was not uncommon in the Germanic languages; see related words, next). The other Germanic languages have: German "wann" (when) and "wenn" (if, when, whenever), Low German Saxon "wannehr" (when) and "wenn" (if, when) and "wann" (when), West Frisian "wannear" (when), Dutch "wanneer" (when, if), Icelandic "hvenear" (when). I did not find any forms in Danish, Norwegian, or Swedish.

A Little Lightness

This was first published March 11, 2007. "Word History" added December 1, 2014.

I've always wondered about those "deer crossing" signs along the roads. How do the deer know where to cross? Do they have crossing guards with antlers? If they come out in front of you, do you give them the horn, or do they give you the horns?

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You have to know something about previous foreign leaders to get the point of this one...

When former Soviet leader Leonid Breshnev died, his punishment for having led a less than exemplary life was to walk arm-in-arm through eternity with Golda Meir. (Not known for her good looks.) One day as they walked along, he looked over and saw former German Communist leader Walther Olbricht walking arm-in-arm with Gina Lolabrigitta. Breshnev called across the street to Olbricht, "Hey, Comrade Olbricht, what kind of punishment is this for you; you and Gina Lolabrigitta together?" Olbricht replied, "It's not MY punishment, it's hers."

WORD HISTORY:
Antler-The origin of this word, meaning "annually grown and shed branch-like set of horns on the heads of deer and some related species," is uncertain, but it is "perhaps" an Old French invention, with the first part of the word likely derived from Latin "ante," which meant "before, in front of," from Indo European "hanti," which had the notion "opposite, before, in front of, against." This Indo European term also gave Old Germanic "andi," which then gave English the prefix "and-," the original first part of the contracted word "along," which was spelled "andlong" (its German cousin is still spelled similarly, "entlang"). Anyway, Old French had "antoillier" (horn, antler), which then was borrowed by English in the latter part of the 1300s as "auntelere," before the modern version. Prior to borrowing "antler," English used the older form of the word "horn(s)." Modern "horn(s)" is still used by some as a synonym, but horns are generally considered to be permanent, as opposed to antlers being grown and shed annually. The other Germanic languages use forms of horn, while some also have others words for "antler-like horns."         

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.

Dental Work and Chinese Food

This is a true story from a good many years ago. The guy was very nice, but a little ... well, let me just say, this story tells how he was, and such things were not uncommon for him. He was quite a talker and once he started, you were not likely to get away easily. Sadly he has since passed away, but I still can't help but laugh every time I think of this story.

I was on the elevator when it stopped and this guy got on. He proceeded to tell me that he'd had some kind of dental work done and that his gums were very sore, he couldn't chew properly and that he felt awful. He then said that he was going to the lobby to wait for a food delivery, since he didn't feel like fixing anything for himself. That prompted me to ask, "What are you getting?" He answered, "Chinese." So I said, "Well, that's always good. What are you getting?" He answered, "Cashew Chicken." How I ever kept from bursting out laughing is a mystery to me to this day, but when I got away from him, I let loose and I couldn't stop. I told others who knew him and they laughed just as hard, and all agreed it was just something like what you'd expect him to say. (NOTE: Because I have a number of non-native English speakers who read this blog, I'll explain this further. The man said how sore his gums were, yet he ordered cashew chicken ... cashews aren't the easiest thing to chew; in fact, they are like one of the opposite foods you'd order if you had difficulty chewing.)

WORD HISTORY:
Food-This word, closely related to "fodder," goes back to the Indo European root "pa/pi," which had the notion of "to tend to, to watch over," providing the further idea from these of "to feed." This gave its Old Germanic offspring the noun "fodo," which meant "food." This then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "foda," which then became "fode," before the modern version. The other Germanic languages have: German has "Futter," which is actually the same word as English "fodder," and indeed, the German word means "food/feed  for animals," and German uses other words for "food;" Low German Saxon has "Födels" (nourishment, food); Dutch has "voedsel" (food, nourishment); West Frisian "fiedsel" (food/feed); Danish "føde" (food/feed); Icelandic has "faeða" (the "ð" basically equals "th", word means "food/feed); Norwegian has "føde" (nourishment); Swedish has "föda" (food, nourishment).   

Asking A Democrat A Few Questions

Hi folks! This is Dan Ratherbe in Philadelphia, as promised, with a Democrat who will answer all questions today with no holds barred. My guest is John Wussywuss.

DR: Welcome Mr. Wussywuss.

JW: I'm glad to be here, I think. I'm a little nervous. Don't make those questions too tough now.

DR: First, is it true if a Republican shouts "boo," that many Democrats jump into bed and pull the covers over their heads?

JW: No, that's not entirely true, because I bury my head under the pillow, but I actually prefer to use two pillows. Besides, those mean old Republicans don't always scare me, I sleep with the light on. 

DR: Is it true that President Obama has said he believes the Indians made a good deal with the Dutch in trading a few trinkets for Manhattan?

JW: Well, I believe what he said was that he felt the Indians bargained too hard with the Dutch and that they should have scaled back their offer before hitting the Dutch with such demands. After all, the Dutch offered some good trinkets. You couldn't find trinkets like that just anywhere, since that was before the five and dime stores were founded.

DR: Some have said President Obama negotiates with himself. How does he tell who wins? 

JW: I believe Harry Reid tells him. You know, Harry was once a boxer, but not any more. 

DR: I'm sure you remember that Governor Deval of Massachusetts said at last year's Democratic Convention that Democrats need to grow a spine. Do you agree?

JW: We have a spine, and besides, that guy's going to get us into trouble saying things like that. Going to get the Republicans mad, then where will we be? Just like those people who wanted the "public option" in the health care law. Geez, if we'd have pushed for that, the Republicans would have thrown everything into stopping the law from passing.

DR: You mean they didn't throw everything into trying to stop health care from passing? After all Mr. Wussywuss, Republicans and their allies far outspent supporters of the health care law.

JW: I think I've said enough on this subject. You're aiming to get me into trouble with the Republicans too. Next they won't even sit with me in the lunch room.

DR: You mean some Republicans actually sit with you?

JW: No, but is that any way to get them to start?

DR: Okay, last question. How many Democrats believe the jellyfish should be be the symbol of the party?

JW: Oh I really can't say at the moment. At last count the jellyfish was neck and neck with a one day old fawn. I kind of favor the fawn, they're cute.

DR: Thank you Mr. John Wussywuss. You've just heard Mr. Wussywuss talk about the Democratic Party, President Obama and the public option on health care.

JW: Shhhh! Hush! There you go with that public option stuff again. I'm tellin' you. You're going to get the Republicans all stirred up and they'll be shouting "boo" at me before I even get home and I don't have any pillows with me. You don't care, leaving a poor guy defenseless. What's that?

DR: It's just your shadow Mr. Wussywuss.

JW: Are you sure it's not Mitch McConnell or Eric Cantor?       

WORD HISTORY:
Rear (rere)-English has a couple of words "rear," and this is the archaic and dialectal one that formed the first part of "rearmouse" (once also spelled "reremouse"), which was long the main English word for "bat" (the animal), a word that remained in use dialectically after "bat" replaced it. It goes back to Indo European "khere/khera," which had the meaning of "mix, stir," but with the underlying notion being "motion or movement used to mix something." This gave its Old Germanic offspring a form something like "hrerazjana," which had the same meanings. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "hreran," which meant "to shake, to agitate, to move," and this then became "reren." As other words replaced the meanings of "reren," it seems to have been confined to the above mentioned forms of the first part of a compound that meant "bat," with the movement/agitation idea combined with "mouse," to give "fluttering mouse, mouse that stirs/agitates the air." Some of the Germanic relatives of "rear/rere" are still around, as German still has "rühren" (whose older form was spelled "hruoren"), which still means, among other things, "to stir/mix ingredients, move ones limbs or fingers;" Low German Saxon has "röhren;" Dutch has "roeren," which means "to stir, to beat/whip (sauce or batter), to shake;" West Frisian has "oanroere" (a compound which means "touch," once also a secondary meaning in English, and still used in German along with the similar to Frisian "anrühren"); Danish and Norwegian have "røre," meaning "to stir;" Icelandic has "hraera," meaning "stir;" Swedish has "röra," which means "stir, move, touch." Notice that Icelandic is the only Germanic language to retain the initial "h" from long ago. Also, the "touch" meaning can be in the sense "affect," as in, "Their gift touched me deeply." 

Asking A Republican A Few Questions

This was first published in May 2013

"Hello folks! This is Dan Ratherbe, in Philadelphia. Today I have a Republican here who promises to speak out on the issues confronting the nation and his Republican Party, no holds barred. His name is George Owen Pappenstiel* and he's a strong supporter of the Tea Party. Welcome Mr. Pappenstiel.

GOP-Thank you Mr. Couldbe, or is it Mr. Shouldbe?

DR-It's Ratherbe, but my name isn't important here, you are. So here's the first question, and remember, no holds barred. Is The Republican Party still the "party of Lincoln?"

GOP-Oh no, that was just temporary insanity on the part o' people who weren't no real Republicans. Ol' John Wilkes Booth was just too late gettin' at that guy. See, that's why Americuns need guns, to stop this stuff. 'Sides, I'm not sure Lincoln could ever convince Donald Trump that he wuz a 'gitimate president with a valid birth certificate to prove it. Just like that Bomma guy, a Mooslim if ever there was one. From over there in one of them Africa places nobody knows the name of.

DR- Kenya?

GOP- Cun I what?

DR- The President's name is Obama, not Bomma.

GOP- See, can't even say his name right, 'cuz it ain't no Americun name.

DR-Who is your favorite president?

GOP-Jeff Davis!

DR- Sir, Jefferson Davis was not president of the United States.

GOP- Shows jist how dumb you liberals are. Ya never had a proper edjeecation. Jeff Davis is my answer and that's final. I'll bet Donald Trump wouldn't have no trouble with ol' Jeff. He wuz a real Americun like Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin. They don't go 'round hatin America like that Bomma guy. They don't see no bad things 'bout this great ol' country and they only tell people the plain and simple facts and the communists and socialists don't like the truth or facts, so theyz agin them.  Michele and Sarah, they just plain and simple, that's what they are.

DR- Okay, who besides Jefferson Davis?

GOP- You sure ere trying to make this tough. Let's see ... ah ... Strom Thurmond? Oh wait, he only ran and he didn't win; got cheated I believe. George Wallace almost made it, but they cheated him too. Well, I guess Ronald Reagan.

DR-Do you believe Ebenezer Scrooge gets a bum rap?

GOP-You better believe it. The liberal media has done made him a scapegoat and felt sorry for that lazy moocher who worked for him. I can't remember his name, but he had that good for nothing son who sang like a woman and had the long hair to go with it. Played a banjo or some such thing too. Maybe a ukelele.  What was his name? Hm ... Tiny Tim or some such crap. Used a crutch to make people feel sorry for him. Not me, I don't fall for that stuff; I don't feel sorry for nobody, exceptin' maybe ol' Ebenezer. He was just a honest business guy tryin' to make a livin'. He was a job creator too. That moochin' worker of his wouldn't o' had a job if'n it weren't for ol' Ebenezer.

DR-Do you think some Republicans secretly celebrate Hitler's and Mussolini's birthdays?

GOP-Oh that Muss-ah-lini was such a wimp, nobody'd be celebratin' his birthday. I dunno 'bout Hitler tho.

DR-You mean you don't know of anyone in your party who celebrates Hitler's birthday on April 12th?

GOP-No, no, not April 12th, 'cause his birthday is April 20th. A cuzin o' mine has an old armband, give to him by his pa from the war time in Germany. He likes to wear it 'round the house sometimes, but I'm not sure it's just on Hitler's birthday. 'Sides, he got a nice white sheet he like to wear too sometimes. Keeps it good 'n clean and has a good Christian cross with it.     

DR-What do you think of the growing Hispanic population in the U.S.

GOP- I think we should use the Army to secure the border and shoot first an' ask questions later, like that there guy done there in Florida. What's his name, Zimmerman? We gotta stop this stuff or soon we'll all be eatin' tacos and refried beans fer breakfast, lunch and dinner. They can't even speak good English like you an' me duz. An' those Pertoo Ricans, why you'd think they wuz real Americuns, the ways they act.

DR- Puerto Ricans are American citizens, sir.

GOP- Now quit joshin' me. Ain't no real Americuns if'n they don't look like you an' me. An' don't fergit my cuzin neither. Then too, real Americuns don't got names like Peedro or Jose. That Jose name only any good fer the national anthem, you know, 'Jose ... can you see, by the dawn's early light?' Jist thought I'd be throwin' in a little humor, but you ain't laughin'. Guess you don't git it.
 
DR- Do you think the Tea Party is at least partially in response to political correctness? If so, do you think they're really racist, or that they just think segregation wasn't a bad thing at all, and that in fact, slavery helped take care of slaves?

 GOP- Now ya got that last part right, an' no truer words was ever spoke. Let me tell ya, a little slavery never hurt nobody, at least not no white person, or Egyptian. Just think, no slavery, no pyramids. No slavery, no cotton industry. No child slavery, no Walmart. Hey, this ain't tough to figur out.

DR-  Why do you think many Americans believe the GOP, especially the Tea Party, is bigoted, if not outright racist?

GOP- I got no idea. I never met a Tea Party patriot who didn't believe colored people, or I guess I should say, Negroes, haven't performed a valuable service to this country; as I said, no slavery, no cotton. If people like John Brown and that bunch hadn't been messin' in, we'd still have a thrivin' cotton business and big plantations all over the South. An' see, I said Negroes. You probly thought I didn't know no better.

DR- What do you think of unions?

GOP- Oh that bunch of Commies. They just wanna keep stoppin' American business from growin'; after all, what's good fer business, is good fer America.

DR- So if unions were destroyed, the country AND workers would be better off? How would workers benefit?

GOP- The country's businesses would be better off, no question 'bout it, and they are the nation's job creators. They need more money to 'spand and invest so they can provide more jobs to Americans. We don't need no unions stickin' their Commie noses in to where they ain't wanted ner needed. Let one company outbid the others over workers with pay and any benefits.

DR- What do you think of Medicare?

GOP- Oh that sozialyzed med'cine started by Lyndon Johnson. Called hizself a Texan too. Baloney! He weren't no real Texan like George W. Bush and Rick Perry. Now thems Texans.

DR- Has your family always been Republican?

GOP- Oh no, no. My pappy and my grand pappy and his pappy were all Democrats, but that was 'fore the Democrats started stirrin' up the colored people tellin' 'em they was equal to us white folks. Can you imagine that? Then it all got worse, 'cause they done tole women they was equal too. Now they's sayin' men cun marry men and women cun marry women and that we should let more feruners become citizens. I'm tellin ya, Lady Liberty is ashamed o' this stuff and pretty soon we white, educated, sane people gonna be a minority in our own country.    

DR- Thanks for your time, sir. You've really answered the questions, no holds barred, just like you said you would. Only thing is, I'm feeling a bit sick to my stomach now.

GOP- I done tole you, you liberals don't like hearin' the truth.  

* Pappenstiel is used in the German expression "etwas für einen Pappenstiel kriegen;" that is, "get something cheaply/get something for chicken feed." It is pretty much pronounced like "poppin-steel."

WORD HISTORY:
Thwart-This word goes back to Indo European "twork/terkw," which had the notion of "turn, twist." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "t(h)werkhaz," which seems to have meant "crosswise, crooked," from the original notion of "twist, turn." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "thweorh," which likewise meant "crooked, bent," and from those ideas, also the figurative meaning "perverse" (the basic idea of such is still around today, as we say things like "the criminal had a twisted mind"), and also "angry." Along came Old Norse speakers to England, usually referred to as "Danes" back then, although not all came from what is now Denmark. Old Norse was the North Germanic offshoot of Old Germanic; thus making it a close relative of English. English is classified as West Germanic, along with its closest relatives: Frisian, Low German, Dutch, and standard German," but English has a number of influences from North Germanic, because of these "Danish" settlements in England, which were mainly in the northern and eastern parts of the England. Old Norse brought the word "thwert" to England, which had much the same basic meaning as the its Old English relative "thweorh;" that is, "across, crosswise." This form gradually worked its way into English by the 13th Century, seemingly blending with the original English word. Apparently from the notion of "crosswise sticks or logs" used to block an entrance/exit, came the idea in the mid 1200s of a verb form meaning "block, obstruct, hinder," which is still with us today. Originally both the English and Old Norse forms were adverbs/adjectives. Other forms in the Germanic languages: German has "quer" (originally spelled with a "tw" and a "dw," instead of a "q"), which means "across, crosswise; diagonally," Low German and Dutch "dwars," West Frisian "dwers," Swedish "tvär," Danish "tvaer," Norwegian "tvers," and Icelandic "thwert."

It's About Coalitions Not Purity, Part Fifteen

"Conservatism Consolidates Power-Reagan Runs Again"

As the economy gradually improved, foreign policy challenges remained for the U.S. and the world, including in the ever volatile Middle East. Lebanon was in a state of civil war, and the U.S. sent military personnel, mainly Marines, as part of an international force to guarantee the withdrawal of opposing forces there, including Israeli military units, and to provide security for Lebanon to stabilize.* Not long thereafter, there was a suicide bombing of the American embassy in Beirut which killed more than 60 Americans. This was followed a few months later by another suicide attack on a barracks in Beirut housing American military personnel, primarily Marines, which resulted in the death of nearly 250 Americans, most of them U.S. Marines. A few months later, Reagan authorized the withdrawal of American forces from Lebanon. Also shortly after the barracks bombing came an attack on the U.S. embassy in Kuwait and about a year later came another attack on the U.S. embassy in Beirut, which had been moved to another part of the city after the first bombing.

In a period of about two and one half years, the Soviet Union had FOUR different leaders. Always secretive and insecure, the Soviets were terrified of telling the truth to their people, and when their leaders did not appear in public for a lengthy period, Soviet propaganda, ah, I mean "news," would announce that the particular leader "has a cold." It fooled few in free nations (in fact it became something of a joke), and probably few Soviet citizens, as three leaders died during that time span, finally bringing Mikhail Gorbachev to power. In the midst of these changes in Soviet leaders came news that a Korean passenger plane had been shot down by Soviet aircraft, after straying into Soviet airspace, resulting in more than 200 deaths (most of them South Koreans, but Americans and other nationalities were also killed). Reagan stopped Soviet flights to the U.S. and halted some negotiations with the Soviets in retaliation. The Soviets "claimed" the plane was spying on the Soviet Union,** a story that didn't play well in the international community. The incident only served to play to one of Reagan's strengths, his anti-communism and his ability to lambaste the Soviets, which became increasingly popular in the U.S. and other democratic nations.

By 1984 Reagan was up for reelection, although he was 73 years old. The age issue remained with him, as it had when he ran in 1980. As noted in an earlier segment, Reagan loved to joke, including about himself, and he even could laugh at jokes by others about him. Just prior to his inauguration, impressionist and comedian Rich Little had perfected Reagan's voice and mannerisms. With Reagan in the audience, Little told a joke, the gist of which, I have never forgotten. The basic joke was that a reporter (imitated by Little) asked Reagan at a news conference what he planned to do about the energy crisis. In response, (imitating Reagan) he said something like, "We are going to go to the sun to tap the energy there. Now I know you may think this is strange, because we'll get burned up before we get there, but we won't, because we're going to go at night." Cameras showed Reagan laughing as hard as the audience. This was one of Reagan's strengths, the ability to laugh, even at his own expense. I can't emphasize enough, Americans generally liked this, and being liked as president is critical in tough times, and it undoubtedly, in my opinion, allowed Reagan to remain in office, even though the public did not necessarily agree with many of his policies. This earned him the title of the "Teflon president," by some; that is, political problems didn't stick to him.

In the first debate in 1984 against Democratic opponent, former Vice President Walter Mondale, Reagan was not in top shape, and this brought renewed concern about his age. More on his toes in the second debate, Reagan cracked that he was not going to exploit Mondale's "youth and inexperience" (he was 17 years younger than Reagan) against him in the campaign. Even Mondale laughed, and the issue of Reagan's age died down. On election day, Reagan won a resounding victory, carrying all but Mondale's home state of Minnesota and the District of Columbia, as well as nearly 59% of the popular vote (Mondale received less than 41%).*** Like him, not like him, agree with him, or not agree with him, Americans took a strong liking to Reagan and felt he was "in charge;" thus they entrusted him with another four years.

* The situation in Lebanon was highly complex and far beyond the boundaries of this article, but it involved religious elements in Lebanon, where there was a mixture of Christians, Sunni Muslims and Shia Muslims, plus elements of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (also known as the "PLO"), and substantial influence by Syria and by Iran, which was a theocracy (a system of rule by those believed to be divinely guided). Israel intervened in Lebanon with military forces about a year before U.S. military involvement.

** This is another complicated story beyond the boundaries of this article, but there have been theories that the plane may have had the additional mission of gathering information (spying) on the Soviets. Since the Soviets withheld much evidence for so long, including items recovered from the aircraft, their credibility for supporting evidence was highly suspect. 

*** The 1984 election saw Walter Mondale choose Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro as his vice presidential running mate. This was the first time a major party had a woman on the ticket, but it didn't help much, as women voted heavily for Reagan, although less so than men.

WORD HISTORY:
Stair(s)-Often used in the plural, this word goes back to Indo European "steygh," which had the notion of "step, stride (which also produced the sense 'march'), and ascend." This gave Old Germanic the noun "staigriz," which placed more emphasis on the "ascend" meaning, as it meant "elevated platform;" thus several "elevated platforms" became "stairs, staircase, stairway." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "staeger," with the meaning "staircase" or just one "step" of such a staircase. This later became "stayer," "steir," or "steyer" (all such forms were used), as the "g" sound transitioned to a "y" or "i" sound, which then produced the modern version. Common in the other Germanic languages: German uses three forms: "Stiege" (pronounced as if "steeg-eh), "staircase," "Steig" (pronounced as if "styke"), "path on a hill or mountain," and "Steige" (pronounced as if "sty-geh"), "steps, stairs;" Low German Saxon has "Stieg" meaning "path;" Dutch has "steiger," "landing platform, pier;" Danish and Norwegian have "sti," meaning "path, trail;" and Swedish has "stig," meaning "path." I did not find forms in modern Frisian or Icelandic, although West Frisian has the verb form "stige," meaning "to climb, to ascend."

Oil and Gas Prices

First published in December 2006


I saw a part of a special on CNN about oil, and a "possible" crisis, which, if I remember correctly, the show dates for 2009. I didn't see the entire show, but one of the things that interested me in particular was when members of Congress were asking oil company executives how oil and gas prices were set (this was in the Fall of 2005, I believe). Essentially, the execs claimed that they had nothing to do with the prices, that the prices were set by world markets. One Republican senator eventually said that he had not heard a satisfactory answer to how prices were set. He's not alone.

I wonder how many shares of stock these execs have in any or all of the oil and gas related companies? How often do they, or their investment people, deal in the oil and gasoline futures' markets?

Speculation has been running high for several years now and I can just imagine....

"This is breaking news on XONN, your 24 hour cable news source. I'm Dan Ratherbe, in Philadelphia.

It has just been reported to us by our local affiliate in Cleveland, Ohio, that a man was adding a quart of oil to his car when the bottle slipped from his hand and fell to the ground, spilling the remaining contents onto his driveway. We'll bring you further updates, as they are available."

Ten minutes later.

"This is breaking news on XONN, your 24 hour cable news source. Hello, I'm Dan Ratherbe.

As reported by XONN a short time ago, a man dropped a quart bottle of motor oil in Cleveland while working on his car. Since that time, oil prices have soared more than a dollar a barrel. We now take you live to our reporter, Wolf Blitzkrieg, at the futures market. Hello Wolf, just what seems to be going on there with this price jump?"

"Hello Dan. Well, traders heard our report from Cleveland, and they said that this incident will contribute greatly to the world oil shortage, especially as OPEC just announced two days ago, that they are cutting production by 10 barrels a day. Another important development has come to our attention. We have gotten numerous reports that gas stations across the country are raising gasoline prices, even as we speak. All and all, a VERY news worthy day. Now, back to Dan Ratherbe, in Philadelphia."

"Thanks for your report, Wolf. Please stayed tuned to XONN for updates on this still developing story."

Does anyone feel that this might well be the way oil and gasoline prices are REALLY set? I think I'll email this to that senator I mentioned above. Hey, my answer is more credible than the answers from the oil execs, so don't laugh, and besides, I had to buy another quart of oil after I dropped that one. And remember the old saying, "Oily to bed, oily to rise."