This from the front page of today's New York Times:

"..Mr. Bush played to this sentiment in a major address on national defense in September 1999 by underscoring the need to counter the Chinese missile treat."

the Chinese missile treat

Sounds like what we call a lolly scramble.

Surely a treat for the Star Wars defense contractors.

inselpeter, you made an odd post, indeed. Merci.

Psst--do you reckon Pres. Bush edited that?

"There is too much unregulated behavior in this city." -- Rudolf Giulliani

A painted sign, forgotten on the wall of a small Swiss railway station, abstracts the German imperative and admonishes simply, "VERBOTEN"

An ongoing construction at the Bedford Street building site, just north of and below the Williamsburg Bridge: a large plain traffic sign warns "SIDEWALK CLOSED" and points a thick arrow at its neighbor, "USE SIDEWALK"

On the Massachusetts Interstate (the transposition is a matter of Yankee pride), a sign crosses three lanes and with two words. The top one gives the direction of the two left lanes, the bottom, the name of a nearby town. The sign reads "SOUTH WESTERLY".

What of all of these charges of "alleged murder," "alleged theft," or "alleged election fraud," to name a few?

I can sympathise with your 'verboten' comment. Sometimes the signs made to prevent something undesirable, are in themselves so ugly; one of those dogs defecating on the grass with a line through it springs to mind.

btw congrats on your newbiedom, oiter!

From the front page of today's New York Times:

"[T]he captain of the submarine that sank a Japanese fishing trawler…last month took full responsibility today for the fatal accident but also suggested that some of his officers had set in motion the disaster.."

A painted sign, forgotten on the wall of a small Swiss railway station, abstracts the German imperative and admonishes simply, "VERBOTEN"

In Spanish, the word hay means "there is/are" as in No hay huevos (there are no eggs, or we don't have any eggs) or no hay bananas (Yes, we have no bananas). A sign on a store in Ortega era Nicaragua read simply NO HAY

VERBOTEN - Since nothing was specified, remember Was nicht verboten ist, ist erlaubt. So everything was allowed.

alleged
This is an example of journalese gone mad. Since any person apprehended and/or charged in the commission of a crime is presumed innocent until duly convicted in a court of law, the TV people especially, print mavens to a lesser degree, refer to the "alleged" perpetrators in order to avoid a libel suit, or to avoid having the criminal's lawyers claim at trial that the media unduly influenced the community and hence the juror pool so that the defendant can't get a fair trial. Well and good, but they insist on referring to "alleged burglars", "alleged shooters" etc. even if the perpetrator was caught red-handed, there are 40 eyewitnesses and the whole thing was caught on tape.

caught on tape

Bob, just repeat after me: "OJ is innocent; OJ is innocent..."

RE: OJ-- Lizzie Borden was acquitted too, in spite of pretty strong evidence-- she had a habit of shoplifting, and recently stolen a ax, she was the only persons home at the time, "she heard nothing", etc.) but the she sat there in soft white dresses, looking demure. None of the jurors (middle class white men) could believe this middle class women could commit such a heinous crime.

She was of course found guilty by the public...
Lizzie Borden took an ax, gave her father 40 whacks
When she saw what she had done, gave her mother 41!

"None of the jurors (middle class white men) could believe this middle class women could commit such a heinous crime."

Neither could the presiding Judges, who practically instructed the jury to acquit. I read the jury instructions to a group of lawyers, who all identified what I'd read as the closing argument for the defense. Of course, that the Judges included a couple who were appointed to the bench by one of the defense lawyers (while in his former position as Governor) had nothing to do with it.

And in the middle of a Yorkshire moor, miles from anywhere, a post holding a board that states:
"It is forbidden to throw stones at this notice!"

Rod Ward

I had a laugh when I was in London in 1998. In a street opposite Westminster Cathedral (can't remember which street), there was a big hole in the ground with a six-foot mesh fence around it. On it was a sign which read "Men's Toilets Closed Temporarily". I thought it was a masterpiece of understatement and went to pieces laughing at the statement. Maybe it's just me!

A sandwich board (of the Depression Era sort) at 42nd and Madison announces:

"RESUMAVEN CAREER COUNSELING"

Oh, my dear! It ain't just you, me too! lol'd

Not just you. I wonder who "did it".

jimthedog

From this weeks Economist:

"Inside the rabbit hole of high-energy physics, objects disappear in bursts of energy, but leave traces hanging around like the suspended grins of Cheshire Cats."*

*note plural

From the front page of todays New York Times

"Some in Congress want America to choose between these goals, to think of the moment and not the future."
~president bush
(emphasis added)

The night before last, shots were fired in the auditorium of a Bronx movie theater. The police responded by locking the doors so no one could escape.

***

This from today's New York Times:

It's a minor miracle that Peter G. Verniero remembered to show up yesterday to testify about all that he had forgotten about his role in New Jersey's racial profiling debacle.

..Mr. Verniero exhibited signs of Post-Profiling Stress Syndrome, an affliction of New Jersey politicians that hampers the ability to confront the issue.

An informal survey conducted by Democratic legislative aides counted 158 "I don't recalls," 21 "I don't remembers" and 38 "don't knows." And those were the totals at the 5 p.m. break.

My mom heard a report, probably NPR, related as true. A young man held up a bank teller at gunpoint. After she'd given him all the cash in the drawer he noticed a bottle of bourbon behind somewhere behind the counter [a self-evident etymology, there?] and demanded it. The teller told him she couldn't do that. When he insisted, she said she didn't think he was drinking age and asked for identification---which he provided…

This is Binky, wishing you a pleasant from the rings of Saturn, signing off.

The islander offers: A young man held up a bank teller at gunpoint...noticed a bottle of bourbon

It was a convenience store. He had finished robbing the register and then the story is pretty much as inselpeter related. There was a companion story about the bank robber was trying to rob the BankAmerica. He had filled out the note on a BankAmerica deposit slip but the lines were too long so he went across the street to the Well Fargo Bank and tried to rob them. He handed the note to the Wells Fargo teller. She read it and deduced from the large number of misspellings that he was about a half dozen cans short of a six-pack so she told him she couldn't honor the note because it was written on a BankAmerica deposit slip; he would either have to redo the note on a Wells Fargo deposit slip or take the note he had given her across the street to the BankAmerica and rob them. He took the note back and, on his way out of the BankAmerica with the loot was stopped by the police that the Wells Fargo teller had called up after he left her bank.

<<It was a convenience store.>>

You're right, of course, faldage. My mom couldn't answer when I asked her what a bottle of bourbon was doing in a bank.

Which puts me in mind of a Yiddish expression = a "bubbamaisa" is an old wives' tale; from bubba--grandmother and maisa--a story, I guess. You also say "l'maisa" when you're saying something's true; "Halacha l'maisa" means "practical law," more or less; and a "maisa" can also be a deed or act. thea, if you're out there...

"puts me in mind of" puts me in mind of wondering about the funny construction "puts me in mind of." Can anyone explain?

"Bernardo had give the [heirloom lace] to me, extolling its worth, which began to exasperate me, for no matter how much the lace was worth, my intended should believe that I deserved more."

-- "Torn Lace and Other Stories," Emilia Pardo Bazan.

<large number of misspellings … so she told him she couldn't honor the note>

Seems to me that somebody has been watching Woody Allen's first film (as director) "Take the money and run" (1969) where Woody tries to rob a bank by handing the teller a note which the teller reads as "I have a gub". It's a wonderfully funny sequence.

Yes, paulb, that scene is hilarious! Thanks for the rebinder.

I see Dubya's coming out of his closet - he's managed to get most of the world mad at him over greenhouse emissions. I'm not an eco-freak, but this stance does seem rather odd.

I see Dubya's coming out of his closet - he's managed to get most of the world mad at him over greenhouse emissions. I'm not an eco-freak, but this stance does seem rather odd.

Hey, now be nice to Dubya. There's a very good reason for his decision. How can a guy who would struggle to find Canada on a map of Nth America be expected to remember all those dinky little islands like Nauru, Niue, The Maldives, The Seychelles? Increasing CO2 emissions is all part of his much-vaunted education policy. The goal is to make Geography easier by ensuring that there are fewer places above water to have to remember. Plus, once he's drowned all those little island nations, think how much stronger NZ's rugby player base will be!

Since a large part of his support came from business people who stand to lose money from legislation calling for rapid reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, it should be no surprise that Bush will move slowly on such legislation.

I see Dubya's coming out of his closet - he's managed to get most of the world mad at him over greenhouse emissions. I'm not an eco-freak, but this stance does seem rather odd.

Oh, come on, there's a lot of good news coming out of Washington these days. For instance, did you know arsenic isn't poisonous?

It should be no surprise that Bush will move slowly on such legislation.
Sorry, Bill, can't agree with you there. ~president bush is moving this legislation full speed ahead.

The goal is to make Geography easier by ensuring that there are fewer places above water to have to remember [entire post]

Max, you are a card! Incidentally, the Yankees new ball park will be built on pontoons. That way, even if the rest of the city goes under we can, as Mr. Steinbrenner puts it, still line up to give him money.

, it should be no surprise that Bush will move slowly on such legislation.

Oooh, I didn't say I was surprised. No, sirree! In fact, I expected nothing less. I just thought his "advisers" might have been, uh, more advised in the advice they gave him.

He could well regard the Orion downed on ?Hainan as a causus belli and start the new month off with a real bang!

This from the front page of today's New York Times:

The midair crash occurred about 50 miles southeast of China's Hainan Island, in what Americans described as international waters.

puts me in mind of
I don't know that I can tell you where this comes from, or how, but I can note that it's a bit archaic. It was an expression used by my grandparents and it puts me in mind of one of my grandfather's delightful, and now archaic, expressions, "to make [someone or something] out", meaning "to understand". Echoing every married man since Adam, at the culminating point of an argument with my grandmother, he would cry, "Jennie, I can't make you out!."

don't know that I can tell you where this comes from, or how, but I can note that it's a bit archaic. It was an expression used by my grandparents and it puts me in mind of one of my grandfather's delightful, and now archaic, expressions, "to make [someone or something] out", meaning "to understand". Echoing every married man since Adam, at the culminating point of an argument with my grandmother, he would cry, "Jennie, I can't make you out!."

I like that expression--and use it (but never speaking with my wife when I can't understand her).
I also like "puts me in mind" which I saw in passing.

This might help explain it:
http://www.satirewire.com/news/0103/usfirst.shtml

Thanks for the link, Max. Painfully funny and true.

In defense of us US'ns, I must point out that We the People (the majority voting) did not elect that guy. Call him King George the Usurper.

<<I must point out that We the People (the majority voting) did not elect that guy.>>

neither did the minority

From the headlines of The NY Post online

CHINA SHOWING LACK OF COMMUNICATION WITH US

... and therein (unintended pun or no) lies the problem. One unreasonable set of politicians versus a reasonable set, fine. Two unreasonable sets ... oops, I am beginning to have recurring nightmares of false dawns.

<<I am beginning to have recurring nightmares of false dawns>>

Cap,

Welcome to the half-wit's half light. There are so many inanities in the NYT today (Front Page, Powell Response, etc.) it would kill the server. It would be funny if it weren't so...

IP

Just before I go to bed, this my contribution to the thread.
"Those who think that they can say, '"Were only going to have a stimulus package, but let's forget tax relief,' misunderestimate me.

..projecting an image of an engaged leader
says the New York Times

chronist

http://www.miami.com/herald/

Which ever way your sentiments weigh, this is interesting set of stories on the Florida vote ... including much new info. I mentioned this, too, in the Non-Word thread.
Happy reading.
wow

This from the front page of today's New York Times:

The midair crash occurred about 50 miles southeast of China's Hainan Island, in what Americans described as international waters.

Pardon the two-day delay in responding, but exactly how does a midair crash occur in international (or any other kind of) waters? [tongue-in-cheek e]

Pardon the two-day delay in responding, but exactly how does a midair crash occur in international (or any other kind of) waters? [tongue-in-cheek e]

Easy, Nancy. The Orion is typically a submarine hunter (although this particular one wasn't, of course, they just wanted to listen to local Chinese FM radio stations). And the Chinese air force is usually out of its depth when dealing with Americans. Ergo, in international waters!

The Orion is typically a submarine hunter (although this particular one wasn't, of course, they just wanted to listen to local Chinese FM radio stations). And the Chinese air force is usually out of its depth when dealing with Americans. Ergo, in international waters!

Thanks, CK. To paraphrase Paul Harvey, "So THAT is the REST of the story!" I knew someone out there would be able to explain it.

Gooood DAY!

From this month's "Car and Travel"

"If you've already lived through any of the automotive crises described below, congratulations. You've proved your cool. If you haven't, count your blessings.."

"If you've already lived through any of the automotive crises described below, congratulations. You've proved your cool. If you haven't, count your blessings.."

Meaning, apparently, count your blessings if you're dead...

Meaning, apparently, count your blessings if you're dead...

Or, in the local vernacular, "Count your blessings if you work in Mid-town Manhattan."

From the ninth circle [xx oo emoticon]

This one conjures up () several images

On a sign outside the Elks lodge:

Welcome, Moose bowlers

Welcome, Moose bowlers

Sparteye, do they shove the ball down the lane with
their antlers?

I'd like to meet the guy big enough to hurl a moose the length of a bowling alley. Paul Bunyan perhaps?
wow

Welcome, Moose bowlers

Visions of hats with no moose under them.

From the front page of today's New York Times (italicized portions are direct quotes)

According to Secretary of State Colin Powell, "[t]he whole environment is at risk right now." The non-sequitor was issued in response to a question concerning the situtation in China.

In a related development, ~President bush added muscle to the US diplomatic effort, saying each day the crew is held would "increase the potential that our relations with China could be damaged." -- Brick production is believed to have reached record levels in the karsis of The Forbidden City.

Old Texas saying :
"He's all hat and no cattle."
wow

Old Texas saying : "He's all hat and no cattle."

All bull and no balls's more like it.

(tell truth, though, this apology business is the biggest non-issue since Clinton's)

A masterly mixed metaphor in a news announcement concerning the impending closure of the Cammel Laird shipbuilding yard:

“They’ve kept soldiering on through choppy waters, but now they have reached the end of the road.”
(Still, at least he didn’t say much about their insolvency…)
Steve Evans, BBC Radio 4, Wednesday 11th April 01


A picture editor for one of the wire services, talking about training a young Vietnamese man:

“We put him in the darkroom, where he developed into a photographer…”
Horst Vass, BBC Radio 4, Wednesday 11th April 01

"We put him in the darkroom, where he developed into a photographer…"

LOL!

"They've kept soldiering on through choppy waters, but now they have reached the end of the road."

Timely, considering it's Passover.

Old Texas saying : "He's all hat and no cattle."

All bull and no balls's more like it.

Pretty good translation. Ever live in Texas?
wow

Conserving Bandwidth: The Vatican broadcasts two signals at once.

See photo at

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/04/12/world/12ITAL.html?searchpv=nytToday (you'll have to register)

In a show on oceanic wave patterns on the Discovery Channel, I learned that the meteor strike which killed the dinosaurs created a tsunami which caused "a global devastation of epic proportions." Too bad for the dinosaurs that they couldn't have endured global devastation of less-than-epic proportions.

Of course, the same show told me that the area of the Atlantic which is covered with Sargasso seaweed is called the Sargasso Sea, after the seaweed found there, Sargasso. Man, I hope I can keep that straight.

Sargasso. Man, I hope I can keep that straight.

Sargasso Man noun, an extinct hominid believed to write copy for lay science programs