Tomorrow is July 4th, which is the US is known as the Fourth of July. (Oh, right, it’s also called Independence Day.) It’s a day traditionally marked by fireworks and displays of flags. Lots and lots of flags.
Flags are often used as symbols of national and political identity, but this list isn’t about those. I figure that enough flag-waving of that sort will be going on tomorrow. Instead, I’ve lined up a few other types flags to wave around for this week’s ThThTh list.
capture the flag: an informal game or sport, typically played outside. Two competing teams try to steal each other’s flags.
flag someone down: an expression meaning to gets someone’s attention who is moving in order to get them to stop. Generally signalled by waving, though not necessarily by waving a flag.
raise a red flag: an expression describing a situation when a person perceives that some action or event should be taken as a warning. As in “When the man showed up at the interview without pants, it raised a red flag as to the applicant’s suitability as a funeral director.”
white flag: a symbol of truce or surrender. Wave the white flag (or raise the white flag) is also used metaphorically for signalling surrender or defeat.
Black Flag: a punk band. For a quick sample, check out a video of their song “Wasted,” which clocks in under a minute long.
Black Flag: a line of bug-killing products, the most famous of which is the Roach Motel.
International Marine Signal Flags: flags representing letters and numbers that can be strung together and displayed on a ship to spell out messages.
semaphore: a system of long-distance communication that commonly uses flags.
Okay, I admit. This whole list is just a premise to share with you one of my all-time favorite acts of flag-waving: Monty Python’s brilliant production of Wuthering Heights in semaphore.
Okay, okay. I’m terribly slow to get around to things. Last week I put up a post wherein I announced that I would randomly select a commenter to receive a box of Brazilian chocolate in the mail. The deadline to enter this drawing was almost a freakin’ week ago, and I still haven’t announced a winner. But here’s the problem: once I announce the winner, I’ll feel compelled to act upon that announcement, and get my lazy ass over to the post office.
Oh, no, wait. She is the winner. (Ding ding ding!)
And as soon I get her snail mail address, you can bet that I’ll be heading right over the post office. Within the fortnight. (I also have a return gift for the lovely Dragonfly, who got the chocolate ball rolling.)
As a consolation prize for those of you not soon to receive chocolate in the mail, I offer you this scene, in honor of the meow-ness of the winner’s name. Meow! (It’s from the movie Super Troopers.)
Update:
Because Flutterasked about it (”um where is the chocolate?”), I will share some more details on the chocolate in question. It is currently on my kitchen counter, all boxed up and addressed and everything. It almost made it to the post office, but I ran out of time. I managed to get a couple of photos before I closed up the boxes.
Mme. Meow gets this batch: a box of various Garoto brand filled chocolates, a couple of small candy bars, and a whopping big bar of Lacta’s Diamante Negro (”black diamond”), which is milk chocolate with some sort of crunchy cashew bits.
Dragonfly, who has expressed a desire to visit South America, gets the slightly more tropical Garoto mix, which includes some banana and coconut chocolates, as well as two candy bars and a roll of guava cookies (which are not chocolate, but looked good).
Here we are, moving from Spring towards Summer up here in the Northern Hemisphere. The days are getting longer, the trees are getting leafier, and the bugs are coming out in force. Excitingly for many small people, this includes large numbers of caterpillars. Around here, we get lots of Eastern tent caterpillars, fairly big brown hairy things with patterns of black stripes and blue dots. It is not uncommon to hear a gleeful cry of “I found a cater-pidder!” from Ms. Phoebe.
This army of furry future moths¹ has inspired this week’s mothThThTh list.²
Gypsy Moth, a moth character from A Bug’s Life voiced by Madeline Kahn
Luna Moth, a fictional comic book character from The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, by Michael Chabon. That is to say, the fictional characters in the novel created a comic book character named Luna Moth, a mothy superhero. (I just saw that there is going to be a movie based on the book. It was a really good book by the way. You should read it.)
The giant luna moth from Dr. Dolittle. Carries Dr. Dolittle back to England at the end of the movie. (I’m not sure if the moth is in any of the books.)
Silence of the Lambs (1991). The serial killer in the movie raises imported Death’s-head hawk moths, which are noteworthy for the skull-like pattern that appears on their back. The moths shown in the movie were apparently actually another type of moth, in costume.
silk A fabric. The fibers come from silk worms, which are actually caterpillars of a moth that is now completely domesticated. The cocoons are boiled to unravel the long, continuous strand of silk produced by the catepillar. The boiling must happen before the moth emerges, as the moth would otherwise make a hole, making the fibers too short.
Boiled silkworms are eaten in some places in the world. In Korea, it’s called beondegi.³
Bedtime for Frances, by Russell Hoban and illustrated by Garth Williams. A picturebook about a little badger who has trouble going to sleep, and imagines all sorts of possible dangers and adventures. It ends with her deciding that a moth going “bump and thump” against her bedroom window is not a real threat, so she goes to sleep.
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¹ Can I mention that I have a bit of a moth phobia? Maybe I’ll share it later.
² I was going to include butterflies, too, but the list was getting out of hand, and I do need to get some work done tonight. Also sleep. So perhaps butterflies will flutter back this way next week or so.
³ A friend of mine from college was somewhat scarred by having tried them as a child when visiting Korea. There was a certain kind of carob-flavored soymilk I got which she couldn’t stomach, as the flavor reminded her of beondegi.
Here’s something else I wanted to share that I came across in Brazil: this package of little snack cakes. Not so much the snack cakes, but the packaging:
A package of Bauducco Gulosos, Bolinhos Sabor Morango (Strawberry-flavored little cakes)
Recognize the the cartoon characters? Bubbles, is that you?
In case you are not familiar with the Powerpuff Girls, a animated TV series from Cartoon Network, this is what they usually look like. The Powerpuff Girls looking more like sweet-looking little girls. (image source)
However, it would seem that in Brazil, the little kindergarteners are not quite sexy enough to sell snack cakes. So they have been tarted up a bit.¹
This is, of course, not the first time the little superheroines have been given a more grown-up makeover. In Japan, they were transformed into leggy anime teenagers:
The girls from Powerpuff Girls Z: not in kindergarten anymore. (image source)
Anyhow, my package of snack cakes unabashedly displays both the Cartoon Network and Powerpuff Girls logos. The transformation of the characters is somewhat mysterious to me, and is possibly only snack-cake-related. I haven’t been able to find any other similar images of them. Even on the Bauducco website itself, the same product is shown this way:
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¹Anyone else reminded of Xuxa, the scandalous sexpot hostess of a kids’ show?
(By the way, this post title is in part inspired by a recent post I read involving a whole hell of a lot of Sweetarts.)
Tomorrow I will eat a chocolate bar for breakfast.
It’s the day I’m going to get to have my glucose test at the doctor’s office. This is the test to screen for gestational diabetes. Usually, one is made to drink a seriously syrupy “drink” that is reminiscent of soda syrup without the addition of carbonated water. Then an hour later, they draw some blood to check blood sugar levels.¹ I was quite pleased to learn that, at this medical group, I can opt to eat a Hershey’s bar instead of drinking the nasty syrup. So around 9:00 tomorrow morning, I’ll break my fast with chocolate. Sweet. (I must bring my own chocolate, though.)
I must confess that chocolate in the morning is not an entirely novel experience for me. You see, if there is chocolate in the house, I will be nibbling at it no matter what time of day or night. And recently there has been quite a lot of chocolate in the house.
About a month and a half ago, Dragonfly (who is living in Germany) offered to send a bundle of German chocolate to a randomly selected commenter on her 100th post. And I was that lucky commenter. Here is some of the bounty I received a couple weeks later:
This is the photo that she posted on her blog. There was actually quite a bit more, too. I meant to take a picture of it, but mysteriously most of it…um…disappeared. (Did I mention that it was weeks ago?) And it was some pretty wonderful chocolatey goodness.
I have to say, getting a package of chocolate in the mail is a real treat. And I would like to pass along the experience. I mentioned that I managed to stop by a grocery store to load up on chocolate during the last few hours of my Brazil trip. And you, yes you, could get some of this bounty. I plan on selecting a random commenter to be the recipient of a stash of assorted Brazilian chocolates. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post by midnight on Thursday, June 5th, and I will enter you in the drawing. To make things a bit more interesting, leave the name of a chocolate bar (or other chocolate treat) in your comment.
Oh, that reminds me. Speaking of chocolate and comments. My chocolate-themed list has been getting some attention from a horde of bored 12-year-olds (judging from the content of the comments). Or perhaps mostly from the same 12-year-old, judging from the IP addresses. What did I do to deserve such attentions?
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¹ I actually failed my first glucose test when I was pregnant with Phoebe. It was very annoying. I have a rant about it that I buried away when I realized that the footnote was getting as long as the rest of the post. But a quick word of advice or anyone faced with an upcoming glucose test: don’t load up on carbohydrates right before the appointment.
What with all the travelling I’ve been doing, it’s been a while since I managed to put together a ThThTh list. But this week, inspired by our recent visit to the zoo, I’ve managed to round up some zoo-themed items. You are welcome to feed the list, but please keep your fingers outside the cages.
A Zoo List
the zoo in metaphors: The term zoo is used idiomatically to evoke chaos, wildness and other general craziness in places or situations. Cf: “This place looks like a zoo!” or “It was like feeding time at the zoo.” (Of course, I have to say that the zoos I’ve been to are not so much like the crazy situations that are likened to them: they tend to be well-organized and orderly. At least the animals. The people buying snacks and such can get out of hand.)
animal crackers: Cookies shaped like animals. Though often packaged/marketed in ways evocative of circuses, the animals featured are much more zoo-like than circus-like overall. (See, for example, a picture of animal cookies from the Barnum’s Animal Crackers. Have you seen a giraffe or a rhinoceros at the circus? I rest my case.)
zoo keeper: a computer/arcade game where you need to line up animals in rows. You can play a flash version online.
A Zed & Two Noughts (1985) A movie directed by Peter Greenaway. I’m not quite sure what to say about it. A zoo (or the animals from the zoo)(or some rotting carcasses of animals from the zoo) is involved. And also referenced in the title.
12 Monkeys (1995) One of my favorite movies, directed by Terry Gilliam. Zoo animals appear at various times during the film, and a zoo is featured in a significant scene at the end.
Madagascar (2005) A Dreamworks animated feature about animals escaping from a zoo.
Creature Comforts (1989) Nick Park’s brilliant claymation short with interviews of zoo animals. The soundtrack was taken from interviews with real people, describing their own living situations, and attributed to animated zoo animals. (I also discovered that there was later a related TV series that was supposed to be pretty good.
Zoos are a pretty popular setting for children’s stories, such as If I Ran the Zoo, Dr. Seuss, Good Night, Gorilla, by Peggy Rathman and Animal Strike at the Zoo. It’s True!, by Karma Wilson and illustrated by Margaret Spengler, and a gazillion others.
“At the Zoo” poem by A. A. Milne. Here’s a bit:
There are lions and roaring tigers,
and enormous camels and things,
There are biffalo-buffalo-bisons,
and a great big bear with wings.
There’s a sort of a tiny potamus,
and a tiny nosserus too -
But I gave buns to the elephant
when I went down to the Zoo!
Zebras are reactionaries,
Antelopes are missionaries,
Pigeons plot in secrecy,
And hamsters turn on frequently.
What a gas! you gotta come and see
At the zoo.
“Christmas at the Zoo,” by the Flaming Lips. A song about letting animals out at the zoo on Christmas Eve. The animals show no interest in escaping.¹
¹I was rather disturbingly reminded of this song this past Christmas when hearing the news of a tiger escaped from a San Francisco zoo on Christmas day, killing one zoo visitor and injuring 2 others.
Today is the first day of May, or May Day. Since I haven’t found an opportunity to dance around a maypole, I’ll present this flower-themed ThThTh to you as a sort of virtual May basket.
a bunch of flowers
“April showers bring May flowers.” An expression that makes reference to the frequency of rain in the month of April (in the Northern hemisphere, at least), and the Spring flowers that benefit from the watering. It has the meaning “Some unpleasant occurrences bring about better things.”
Flower children: a term for hippies, based on their tendencies to wear flowers as symbols of peace and love.
Victorian Language of Flowers. A means of sending messages during the Victorian era. Specific flowers or colors of flowers had specific meanings attached for the recipient to decode. For example, a lobelia meant “malevolence” and a morning glory meant “love in vain.”
(s)he loves me, (s)he loves me not: a tradition of plucking the petals off a flower to determine whether one is loved. For each petal, the plucker alternates saying, eg. “he loves me” and “he loves me not.” The final petal, and which of the two phrases is slated to be spoken as it is plucked, establishes or refutes the love being questioned.
“Roses are Red.” A short poem (with many variants), sometimes used in Valentine’s Day cards. For example:
Roses are red, violets are blue
Honey is sweet, and so are you.
I like this one better:
Roses are red, violets are blue
Some poems rhyme
But this one doesn’t
American Beauty (1999) A movie with Kevin Spacey, which features rose gardening. It also has the famous dream scene with Mena Suvari in a pile of rose petals. (Why did I think it was Heather Graham? I guess it’s been a while.) American Beauty is also the name of a variety of roses¹
“Edelweiss” A song about the small white Alpine flower that is widely believed to be a traditional folksong, but was actually written by Rodgers and Hammerstein for the musical “The Sound of Music.”
Edelweiss, Edelweiss
Every morning you greet me
Small and white, clean and bright
You look happy to meet me
El Seed from the animated Tick series. A megavillain who is an anthropomorphic sunflower. (The name is a play on El Cid.)
Certain poppies are used to produce opiates (opium and heroine). Poppies also have a drugging effect in the field of poppies from the Wizard of Oz. Dorothy and her companions (at least those that are mammals) are drugged to sleep when they enter a field of poppies. (Here’s the corresponding book chapter.)
The Orchid Thief: A non-fiction book by Susan Orlean about a man who illegally collects rare wild orchids. The movie Adaptation (2002) is in part about this story, and in part about the process of adapting a book into a screenplay.
Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister. Gregory Maguire’s second novel for adults². This reinterpretation of the Cinderella fairytale is set in 17th century Holland during the peak (and then crash) of the tulip craze.
Carnation: In the Avengers series, Steed would typically wear a carnation in his buttonhole. Characters in various fictional stories, especially spy stories, will wear a red carnation in order that they may be identified by someone who doesn’t otherwise know their appearance.
“Dennis Moore,” the Monty Python episode where a bumbling Robin Hood-type character steals lupins from the rich to give to the poor. “Your lupins or your life!”
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¹ There are so many rose-related things out there, including several fairy tale rose references, that I could easily do a list just of roses. I probably will at some point down the line. Consider this a token rose for now.)
² He had written several young adult/kids’ novels before writing Wicked.)
Okay, I was all set to whine again. I came down with the flu a few days ago, and spent many of the last 24 hours feverish and miserable. But it got me thinking about fevers. Now, suddenly, I’m feeling much better. My fever is all gone. But I still have this fever list I came down with, or came up with for ThThTh.
A Few Feverish Bits
feed a cold, starve a fever (or is it feed a fever, starve a cold?) an expression about folk remedies. Said to be based in part on an idea written in 1574: “Fasting is a great remedie of feuer.” Of course, they probably would have set leeches on you then, too.
the brainfever bird, a nickname for the common hawk-cuckoo inspired by its repetive song, which sounds to some like the bird is saying “brain fever.”
the origins of the fahrenheit scale. I remember a story my high school chemistry teacher told about how Fahrenheit made his temperature scale. According to this story, Fahrenheit wanted 100 degrees to be human body temperature. So he took his wife’s temperature to use. It turned out she had a lowgrade fever. (This tale is likely apocryphal, as people have offered up various otherstories.)
Fever is used quite a bit metaphorically to mean “high levels” of some thing: eg. fever of activity, fever of enthusiasm, fever of interest, fever of work. (Mind you, Google showed me no hits for either “fever of pants” nor “fever of bananas.”)
cabin fever: an expression describing the feeling that one has been stuck inside for too long. Also the title of a movie
jungle fever: A slang term for interracial relationships. Also a movie directed by Spike Lee
fever pitch: intense levels of excitement or other emotions, often said in reference to crowds or other masses of people. Also the title of a book by Nick Hornby, and a movie based on the same.
Saturday Night Fever (1977). John Travolta’s famous disco dancing movie. I don’t believe he actually had a fever in that movie.
But speaking of fevers and dancing movies, did you ever hear that Gene Kelly had a high fever (103° f) during the famous scene where he dances (and sings) in the rain in the movie Singin’ in the Rain?
Fever, or the metaphorical hotness it invokes, has also been the inspiration for lots of songs, such as Suzanne Vega’s “99.9 F°“, a lowgrade fever, and also the album title. (Video on YouTube.) And here are a few more from our iTunes library: Fever Few, Throwing Muses Fever Moon, Mission of Burma Fevered, The Stills Stray Cats Fever and Electric Beach Fever, Puffy AmiYumi
Of course, any feverish list couldn’t be complete without Fever, the song made famous by Peggy Lee, and which has been stuck in my head much of the day:
There’s also this version performed by Rita Moreno, as accompanied by Animal. Because many things are improved with the addition of muppets.
Okay, I admit it. I’m feeling a tad burned out. What with the trip for the conference, the conference itself, the prep for the conference, the hard drive failure, and the various illnesses of the past couple of weeks, I feel like I’m due for a break. But sadly, I’ve got to get cranking on the next poster for the conference in Brazil, which is now (most startlingly) less than 3 weeks away.
And not that you wanted to know this, but I am now plagued by heartburn. I had this problem when I was pregnant before, especially as I got huge. I thought things might be better this time around, but either the timing was coincidental, or the stomach bug I got pushed me out of the comfort zone, and into the fire.
Hello zantac, my old friend,
I’ve come to look to you again,
Because the acids softly creeping,
Left my stomach while I was sleeping,
And the fire that was planted in my throat
Really blows
Giving the burn of reflux.
Anyhow, I owe a ThThTh list, but I’m not feeling sufficiently fired up to do a thorough job. But here are a burning bits to toast your marshmallows. (Please feel free to fuel the fire, too.)
Phoenix, a mythical bird who burns and is reborn out of the ashes
Quest for Fire, a 1981 movie base on a 1911 French novel. About prehistoric people. Who, um, want fire or something like that.
Out of the the frying pan and into the fire, an idiom meaning “leave a bad situation for a worse one.”
Firestarter. A 1984 movie starrying Drew Barrymore as a pyrokinetic kid. Based on a Stephen King novel.
The Human Torch, a comic book character. Who gets all fiery.
Flame war or flaming: “the hostile and insulting interaction between Internet users”
And here, how about a whole bunch of songs I like with a fiery theme.
Burning down the house, Talking Heads Beds are Burning, Midnight Oil Fire on Babylon, Sinead O’Connor London’s Burning, The Clash Firestarter, Prodigy Light My Fire, The Doors Ring of Fire, Johnny Cash (also Social Distortion) Who by Fire, Leonard Cohen Dig for Fire, Pixies It’s a Fire, Portishead Into the Fire, Sarah MacLachlan Keeper of the Flame, Nina Simone
