Kill me now

Bentley sleeps with his eyes open

Much as I love cats, there is something primitive, almost reptilian about their eyes. When Bentley is at a certain stage of sleep, his eyes are slits with the pupils rolled down (not up), with a glazed look. Sometimes his eyes are wide open like that. It's disturbing. I think predators have to be ready every second for the next kill, and thus don't even have to open their eyes to wake up.

I found a big mistake!

We all love Rocky and Bullwinkle, right? No? Okay. That was just a rhetorical question. I have no idea if you like them or not, or even know who they are. But I found something interesting on a YouTube video featuring the running gag which appeared on the show every week: "Hey, Rocky! Watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat!" In every case, Bullwinkle the magician pulls the head of a wild animal out of the hat and responds with some quip like, "No doubt about it. I'd better get another hat." (A different wild animal each time.) Then Rocky says, "And now for something we hope you'll really like!" This gif is the full non-audio version of the segment, about ten seconds long.

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But if you keep watching it, it becomes apparent that at about the six-second mark, something very strange happens. Hint: keep your eye on the lower left-hand corner.

One of the main characters. . . disappears. Rocky vanishes. He just isn't there any more.

Slowing this down, it looks even more bizarre. What were the animators thinking? 

Then witness Bullwinkle making his usual smart remark to an empty stage! There's a great big wall of nothing where Rocky should be. He's looking down and talking to nobody.

This is followed by Rocky's cheery announcement, "And now here's something we hope you'll really like!" It's likely this little bit of animation was reused in all these segments to save money.

But notice that it bears little or no resemblance to the original set. The colours are more saturated, the curtains look strange - sort of gathered into folds - and there's a big black "something" above Rocky's head. There was some sort of emblem or crest on the curtains behind Bullwinkle's head that appeared to have a B on it. This, whatever it is, looks nothing like that. It looks like they got some three-year-old to draw their backgrounds for them with a black crayon. This was some sort of cut-rate animation sweat shop. We didn't see just how amateurish and ugly all this was, because we all loved Rocky and Bullwinkle so much.

Well, I did.

Oopsy. I was wrong! This is the Rocky announcement at the end of one of the other magician bits, and it's totally different. The curtains are green, blocky, no gathers, and have some sort of thing on them like an upside-down hot water bottle (if you know what THAT is). But pay attention to Rocky, and you'll see they have repeated the animation from the first one verbatim, except for little details like the tail. In the first one, it looks like an animated slug with no features on it at all. But the second one - pay attention to his feet, how they lurch back and forth in a way that is horribly cheap and unnatural. In fact, I can almost see the bottom line of the curtains showing through his little feet. 

Disney it ain't. Not even Rankin-Bass. And yet, these guys were wildly popular in their day, in the style of early '60s animation. We were much less critical as kids.

Puncheon, truncheon, take your nuncheon

I've been wanting to write about this for a long time now, but I have no idea how to start or if it even qualifies as a post or a fragment of one.

It's this thing about lunch. If we have lunch with other people, it's not called "lunch" any more. It's a "luncheon".

Think of it. The last three letters mean absolutely nothing, unless this hallows the meal somehow, gives it a greater significance than just cramming calories into your cake hole.

Adding "eon" to a normal meal, not even a very exciting meal, a meal that often consists of a bologna sandwich and an apple, somehow renders it significant, or at least more formal. You have to be somebody to attend a luncheon, which is not the same thing as sitting there on a steel beam 50 stories up taking white bread sandwiches out of your lunch pail. No. This is a white gloves occasion.

Do we have "breakfasteon"?  The very word is preposterous. We have "brunch", the elision of two words/food universes into one entity/experience, which is (strangely enough) also attached to social functions. You "go to" a brunch; you don't just sit there eating it alone in the kitchen. Standing up. 

If you go to a dinner, it's the same. We don't eat "a" dinner at night, do we? We eat DINNER. Though at our house, it's still supper and always will be. (And you don't "go to a" supper either.)

The whole  point of this post is to try to create an entryway into those strange words that end in EON. It's an odd-looking suffix, kind of archaic, and as I look at more and more words that end in it (and at first I could only think of two), I see no consistency in them at all. I had hoped "eon" meant something, something impressive or at least coherent, but now I am not so sure.

What leapt into my head was "pantheon", an impressive word for sure, meaning - what the hell IS a pantheon, anyway? 

1 : a temple dedicated to all the gods
The emperor Marcus Agrippa had a pantheon built in Rome.

2 : a building serving as the burial place of or containing memorials to the famous dead of a nation
Many eminent French citizens have been interred in a pantheon in Paris.

3 : the gods of a people; especially : the officially recognized gods

4 : a group of illustrious or notable persons or things
He occupies a place in the pantheon of great American writers.

And that is the last time I will talk about it.

After squeezing my brain a few times, "odeon" came to me, followed by "nickelodeon". I know what they are, theatres or antique arcades, public spaces, so there might be some faint connection to "luncheon" and "pantheon" and the rest. But at this point I thought: if I'm going to write about this, I'm going to have to totally cheat and google "words that end in "-eon". 

There were 246. I decided to be selective and just include the more  obscure ones that I knew a little something about:

puncheon

A puncheon is, I think, a sort of barrel. I only remember it because of Robert Browning's famous poem about the Pied Piper,  in which the rats invaded the Hamelin cellars. I think the term was "sugar-puncheon." 

And it seemed as if a voice 

(Sweeter far than by harp or by psaltery 
Is breathed) called out, ‘Oh rats, rejoice! 
The world is grown to one vast dry-saltery! 
So munch on, crunch on, take your nuncheon, 
Breakfast, supper, dinner, luncheon!' 
And just as a bulky sugar-puncheon, 
All ready staved, like a great sun shone 
Glorious scarce an inch before me,
Just as methought it said ‘Come bore me!' 
-- I found the Weser rolling o’er me.”

And all that. I don't want to probe further into "nuncheon", because I don't think it's even a word.

I didn't think of including pigeon, because there cannot be any connection between puncheon and pantheon and pigeon. But then follows wigeon, also the name of a bird - one I've seen, in fact, swimming in the lake.

Words like surgeon and chameleon and sturgeon and galleon are just too common, but what about escutcheon? "He is a blot on the family escutcheon," goes the saying, when the favored son has knocked up the housemaid or whatever. I assume - again, I'll have to look it up - an escutcheon is a sort of family crest or coat of arms, upon which the wayward son is a blot. I've never heard it used any other way, but maybe Poe included it in a story or two, as it's a Poe-ish sort of word.

Truncheon is only mildly interesting. You beat someone over the head with it. Burgeon, dungeon, dudgeon - now there is one. "In high dudgeon," goes the phrase, but what the hell does it mean? It's like "bridled" - she "bridled at the thought" - or "left in a huff". "High dudgeon" is sort of like "deign", in that we don't know exactly what it means, but that never stops us from using it whenever it seems effective.

The list I consulted started with 13-letter words ending in "eon", then 12-letter words ending in "eon", then. . . on and on, the countdown taking us to neon, peon. . .and finally ending with the simple word eon.  It's an Einsteinian sort of word, suggesting incomprehensible measures of space and time. If we could trace these things back to whenever language began, we might have some dim understanding of how such a universe of meaning could be crammed into a simple three-letter word.

SUFFIX. On a blog called Grammarphobia, I found the following explanation for nuncheon:

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “nuncheon” as “a drink taken in the afternoon; a light refreshment between meals; a snack.”

While it seems to have meant a drink early on, in later citations it clearly meant a snack, taken in mid-morning or mid-afternoon.

The dictionary’s earliest example is from a medieval account book of the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds. A Latin entry, dated circa 1260-75, includes the Middle English “noonschench.”

For centuries, as OED citations show, it was spelled many different ways: “nonesenches,” “nunseynches,” “nunchions,” “noonshun,” “noonchin,” “nunchun,” and others. The spelling with the “-eon” ending was likely influenced by the old words “puncheon” and “truncheon,” Oxford says.

So there's a connection.

Postscript. In looking on Google for images to decorate this rather dull post, I (as usual) found a bunch of my own. I already wrote about this topic, seven years ago! Seven. I've had, oh, maybe seventeen views since then. But I keep on going, just to avoid saying I never write any more. If *I* can't remember I wrote about this topic seven years ago, will anyone else? 

I doubt it. It has been eons.

Ostrich chicks: down the highway!

                               
                                      Fuzzy chicks run and fall down!

Puffer Fish releasing water

I'm not sure if this is an actual puffer fish, or just a fish full of water, but it's gratifying to watch.

Peony in bloom

I wish they were mine

Dangerous Waterfall and Road in NEPAL

You might call this video a sequel to one of my favorites, the crazy blokes on a bus in the Himalayas. But these people aren't even scared! They act as if it is the most natural thing in the world for their vehicle to ride the waterfall as if they were going over Niagara Falls in a barrel.

Reporter Miscalculates Building Demolition News Blooper

                                           "Five minutes, huh?"

How Science Comes Into All Our Lives (vintage infographic)

Haters, trolls, and poached chicken breasts

Every once in a while I see a comments section that is so bizarre, I have to try to convey the essence of it here (with no names or dates or other identifying marks, so if someone comes after me, I will plead ignorance). I was sitting there half-asleep, late at night as usual,  watching one of those wholesome down-home cooking channels on YouTube, when I saw a rather incredible exchange of comments between viewers and the "tuber" (with her comments in italics). Obviously, some comments which the cooking person thought were offensive had already been deleted, so the conversation started here: 

I was not cutting you down, just thought it could of gone a little faster. Sorry.

cutting me down isn't possible, you wanted me to read and respond or you would not have left the comment -It's ok though, I don't strive to please people I don't know. I merely am trying to create memories for my family and I'm sharing some recipes. take care

WOW, guess you can't take it right. Everyone has an opinion you better get use to it. Sorry you feel that way. Lets stop this please. Didn't mean to hurt your feelings that was just my opinion.

You didn't hurt my feelings, that is not possible as I don't know you. I don't have to get use to rude folks, but its always amazing that when I respond to their rude comments, they find me rude. LOL - Mirrors are ugly sometimes. Opinions are great when they are solicited. At no point in the vid did I ask for your opinion. Leaving a comment is NOT an opinion when you go out of your way to be negative. Take care, when you stop leaving comments, I will stop . There is a chance, I'm not the channel for you and I'll just delete and block you, sad but it would not appear that you are not a supporter, but the opposite.

  

If your going to stay in this business you better be a little stronger. It was not a cut down just an opinion. Sorry.

Business?? surely your kidding. You DON'T know me so I'm not sure how you know my strength, and AGAIN, i didn't ask for your opinion. :)

(Whewsy! I couldn't believe the overkill here, the extreme sensitivity and snippyness towards someone who had probably said something like, "This video ran a little too slow". Several others echoed the same sentiment, but this time it brought about an actual attack. "You didn't hurt my feelings, that is not possible as I don't know you" is pretty cold. What is really weird, to me, is the fact that the woman says "if I want your opinion I'll ask for it!" Her implication is that a comments section should not include any opinions. What's it for, then? Anyway, as usual a lot of clucking biddies came to her defense:)

I loved the stainless steel sounds. Better than using teflon pans that scrap off and cause health issues. Chicken breast can be a little bland but adding spices and herbs solves that problem. Any good cook knows that. Someone said lighting was not so good. If not it didn't matter, I didn't miss a thing !! These are on my menu for tomorrow night. Hubby and I love chicken pot pies.

Bless your sweet heart!! Thanks for watching, Sissie!!

("Sissie"? I assume this woman is Southern. Maybe it's just that anyone who praises her is obviously her sister.)

I truly liked the idea & recipe but honey, don't even reply to these negative ppl. I can't believe their rudeness!! Some needs their tongues boiled because that's so unnessacery & hurtful!! I believe alot of jealousy because they didn't make the vlog!! U have explained that it was a spur of the moment idea & ur son started videoing!! Don't respond to those kind of ppl cause it puts u on their level. Not coming bk at all is better!! I liked it & no video is perfect! I live alone and these r ideal for singles too because I can fix ahead & freeze. Thank u for ur time & idea!! Ppl need to lighten up & if u can't say something positive then move on!! Again, thanks & God Bless!!

Thank you I love the ladies that wear "capes" :) you are my hero today ! Perfection is not something I achieve, but I strive everyday. I'm NOT a cooking show so I have no idea why they complain or think I'm interested in their critique - but whatever LOL - its for the women like you and me that I make videos along with my family which they love them no matter who doesn't.

(Tongues boiled? For saying the video went on too long or the lighting was poor? The overreactions and wrong assumptions in comments sections never cease to amaze me. By the way, this video was posted on an actual cooking/lifestyle channel, one that she had maintained for several years already, and was hardly "spur-of-the-moment". Comments weren't disabled, so didn't that mean people could comment, or did it all have to be sticky-gooey praise?)

As a Therapist it crossed my mind here, that what we give attention to...we get more of: ignore or delete the rude ones. Keep on Pioneering, you have plenty of folks interested in what you offer! Bon Appetite.

Great point, and I appreciate your point. However, ignoring can also suppress emotions that are not healthy nor truthful , but you are correct, and I do delete and block some and will continue to monitor MY channel :) I'm always amazed what folks wills say behind the computer screen they would never say to your face. LOL

(Right. A Therapist chimes in! Get ready for world-problem-solving pronouncements. What she is saying, in essence, is that if we give attention to poaching our chicken breasts, what we will get is . . . more poached chicken breasts. Profound! But finally, someone gets fed up with all this ass-licking bullshit and says what she thinks:)

Wtf is wrong with you? .....There is a comment section here for a reason......It does not say complements only......People are going to tell you what they think when you put your sht out there..... And you do need some criticism..... It doesn't mean we want you to read and respond, frankly, I don't care if you read this OR respond. I am commenting on that video, because you were going to take my time to watch it. .... Like I said, have you ever watched a cooking video?.....A cooking show?..... They do not spend all their time walking back-and-forth to get sht.....It is there and ready......And you get defensive when ppl point out flaws..... Why don't you just take it as a learning opportunity, vs saying you didn't ask for anyone's opinion. You DID ASK when you allow comments on your video..... This is a public forum. Not just for compliments, not just for your fans, but for everyone. If you don't like it, disable the damn comments!

(Oddly enough, there is no response. Did the tuber go storming off, or what?)

This crow is completely CRAZY!

The crow I recently encountered on Lafarge Lake was acting very strangely. It was standing on the banks rattling its beak menacingly, and raucously cawing its head off. Periodically he (she? I can't really tell them apart) would charge at one of the mallards which was peacefully sitting at the lakeside. I've never seen behaviour like that before. If it were nest-guarding, which crows are notorious for doing, I think it would have been dive-bombing me and all the other (many) passersby in the park. But he just stood there, sometimes strutting back and forth, making the loudest, ugliest crow sounds I have ever heard.

The ducks, strangely enough, stood their ground. One was scared into the water, but after that, they stood or sat stodgily, as if to say, we won't tolerate this interloper. Ducks are placid, but they also have a certain gravitas. They are not easily perturbed. Any goose would have made short work of this crow, lowering its neck, hissing and charging at him, but the ducks just had a sort of "we shall not be moved" attitude.

But why try to scare off ducks? How could a duck ever reach a crow's nest, and what sort of interest would it have even if it could? There are plenty of ground-dwelling predators capable of climbing trees and picking off tender crow fledglings. Raccoons, skunks, weasels and ferrets, even squirrels have been known to raid nests. And let's not start on the eagles, hawks and falcons, and even the owls which could easily swoop down and snatch a whole nest.

But this crow was attacking ducks. Placid mallards which didn't want their afternoon snooze disturbed. Ducks who were just waiting for the next handout, the inevitable, forbidden tourist-feed. 

I had a passing thought that the crow was injured, but he seemed so able-bodied, so muscular and glossy (thus my use of "he", though I could be wrong) that it didn't make sense. He did not stir from the banks in all the time we spent at the lake, photographing Bosley and Belinda, our favorite duck couple. When we left, he was still cawing raucously and walking back and forth. Strutting, rather, aggressively. My only conclusion is that he saw birds, and birds meant threat, so he was going to get rid of them forthwith.