word for the day...

Manure: In the 16th and 17th centuries, everything had to be transported by ship and it was also before commercial fertilizer's invention, so large shipments of manure were common..

It was shipped dry, because in dry form it weighed a lot less than when wet, but once water (at sea) hit it, it not only became heavier, but the process of fermentation began again, of which a by product is methane gas. As the stuff was stored below decks in bundles you can see what could (and did) happen.

Methane began to build up below decks and the first time someone came below at night with a lantern, BOOOOM!

Several ships were destroyed in this manner before it was determined just what was happening.

After that, the bundles of manure were always stamped with the term "Ship High In Transit" on them, which meant for the sailors to stow it high enough off the lower decks so that any water that came into the hold would not touch this volatile cargo and start the production of methane.

Thus evolved the term "S.H.I.T", (Ship High In Transport) which has come down through the centuries and is in use to this very day.

You probably did not know the true history of this word.

Neither did I. I had always thought it was a golf term.

learning English...

i've been learning Spanish over the last couple of months in anticipation of going to Honduras in February to work with the schools through HEDAC, the charitable organization of which i'm secretary. unfortunately, the doctors have put the kabosh on my going since my back is all screwed up again.

i speak French fairly well; i spoke and understood an Italian/Albanian dialect for most of my younger years; and i took two years of Russian in College. learning Spanish has brought me a lot of new understanding about language. having taught elementary school and being a elementary school administrator for many years, i understand the concepts behind learning and teaching.

each language has a lot of idiomatic and structural challenges, but they are nothing like in English. when you are a native English speaker you take a lot for granted. people learning English have a worse time than with any other language. English is probably the hardest one to learn.

here is just one little sampling of why it is so difficult:

Lovers of the English language might enjoy this. It is yet another example of why people learning English have trouble with the language. Learning the nuances of English makes it a difficult language. (But then, that's probably true of many languages.)


There is a two-letter word in English that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word is 'UP.'

It is listed in the dictionary as being used as an [adv], [prep], [adj], [n] or [v].

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP?

At a meeting, why does a topic come UP ?

Why do we speak UP, and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?

We call UP our friends and we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver.

We warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen.

We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car.

At other times the little word has a real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.

To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.


it's no wonder some people get all f***** UP when they talk and start screaming "UP yours..."

commercial time: a group of the others is still going in February to Honduras; we are in the midst of our annual fundraising drive right now. if you would, please click on the HEDAC link in the sidebar and help us help the kids.

all money goes directly to services, supplies and school rehab for the kids, less operating expenses for things like mailings. each person who goes on our trips pays the way for him/herself.

the link allows credit card donations or you can send a check to HEDAC, 111 E. Chestnut #50G, Chicago, IL 60611. please notate my name [Mike] on the donation as we need it for accounting purposes being a 501(c)(3) with all donations being tax-deductable.

we thank you for your help...

m/

definiton - "rot gut" whisky...

During the 1800's using actual human bodies for training doctors in anatomy classes was illegal and against the current ethical and religious standards.

Medical schools hid that they were actually using human cadavers and the only way they could obtain them was through grave robbers who followed funerals to the cemetery to know where to dig.

However, they really didn't dig up an entire casket. What they did was dig a hole above the tombstone down to the coffin, broke off the end, and pulled the body out.

To transport the body to the medical school, they often placed it in barrels of whisky that would not only preserve the body but look like they were transporting alcohol.

After delivering the body, the grave robbers would then sell the whisky to the medical students, some of whom were actually engaged in grave robbing themselves....

So you can see that though this is really disgusting, it is etymologically possible that is where the term rot gut came from.

Of course another possible way the term came about is what whisky can do to your innards.

that's why i drink gin...

it only rots your brain.

unfortunate by reason of...

similarity?

Judge Rules in 'That's So Gay' Case

A judge ruled Tuesday that a high school student who sued after being disciplined and then mercilessly teased for using the phrase "That's so gay" is not entitled to monetary damages.

Sonoma County Superior Court Judge Elaine Rushing said she sympathized with 18-year-old Rebekah Rice for the ridicule she experienced at Maria Carrillo High School. But, the judge said, Rice's lawyers failed to prove that school administrators had violated any state laws or singled the girl out for punishment.

The merits of the case appear pretty straightforward. The law the idiot attorney chose to use for defense of the suit didn't apply in this specific incident, according to the judge.

Sadly, the student's use of the phrase "That's so gay!" is as offensive as what happened to her from fellow students bullying her because of her personal conservative beliefs. It's also sad because, as she said, she didn't use the phrase as derogatory towards a specific group.

The case filed by Rice and her parents in 2003 brought widespread attention to a three-word phrase that some teenagers use to mean "stupid" or "uncool," but has come under attack as an insensitive insult to gay people.

I worked with kids for many years. The phrase has been used frequently over the last decade or so by middle & high school students, and they really don't mean it as being bigoted towards the LGBT community. It has become slang for "stupid" and "uncool." It's how the language evolves. Everyday usage, fads and momentary meanings change the dictionary everyday.

[The Oxford English Dictionary cannot add, delete or revises entries fast enough because changes are happening so quickly with the easy acquisition of knowledge, news and gossip due to the media and the internet.]

Besides, the younger generations have been shown to be more accepting and inclusive of the LGBT community than any other in their everyday actions and thoughts.

I don't think that the importance of the article about the lawsuit is in the use of the phrase as much as the indictment of the attorney for incompetence. The media makes it into a sensational bigotry issue. I don't particularly like the use of phrases like this. I realize that some people do find it personally offensive, and that is their right. I also think that what was done to the young lady fits into the same kind of offensiveness.

What it really smells like to me is adults getting into kid stuff that would have blown over very quickly. Kids don't realize what they're doing while they're doing it. Let alone remember what they said or did ten seconds ago!

i feel sorry for everybody in this matter...

etymological lesson...

preaching to the choir:

"Preaching to the choir", "preaching to the chorus", and "preaching to the converted" all mean the same thing, that the people you are trying to convince already believe in what you are saying. Example: "I agree with you entirely; you are preaching to the choir." You are "preaching to the choir" when you talk (preach) to people to convince them of something they already believe. Example: "Don't just stand there preaching to the choir; get out and find new members!" The members of the "choir" play the music, while those in the "chorus" sing along, as the preacher preaches to change (convert) the non-believers into believers ("the converted"). People tell you that you are "preaching to the converted" to let you know they support your idea; they also might be saying you don't need so spend so much energy to make them believe what they already believe. Example: "You don't need to tell me this project is important; you're preaching to the converted."
GoEnglish.com Idioms

Both the radical right christianists and the progressive left are guilty of the same thing. They continually preach to the choir when they think that they are trying to gather new supporters or change people's minds toward their ways of thought.

I'm not sure it really works that way. The people who are really committed to one side or the other are going to be committed no matter what. The two sides are preaching to the choir because the majority, those who fall someplace between the two, are actually listening to a different tune. Or, maybe the choir isn't listening to the correct tune.

think about it...

etymological lesson...

ar-ro-gate
/arrəgayt/
• verb: take or claim for oneself without justification
ORIGIN: mid-16th cent.: from Latin arrogat- 'claimed for oneself,' from the verb arrogare

ab·ro·gate
/abrgāyt/
• verb: formal repeal or do away with (a law or agreement)
ORIGIN: early 16th cent.: from Latin abrogat- 'repealed,' from the verb abrogare, from ab- 'away, from' + rogare 'propose a law.'

USAGE: The verbs abrogate and arrogate are quite different in meaning. While abrogate means 'repeal (a law),' arrogate means 'take or claim (something) for oneself without justification,' often in the structure: arrogate something to oneself; as in The committee arrogated to itself whatever powers it chose.

ar-ro-gant
(ăərōgənt)
• adjective: having an exaggerated sense of one’s own importance or abilities.
ORIGIN: late middle English: via Old French from Latin arrogat- 'claiming for oneself,' from the verb arrogare (see abrogate)

*signing statements, USA firings, the surge, unamerican liberals, bush?

just asking...

*see post below for other examples and a good laugh...

from multiple dictionary sources: Cambridge Dictionaries Online, The American Heritage Dictionary, Oxford American Dictionary