Brooch soundoff

Okay. Two people now have asked me to update this site. If you read the caption, it tells you what I'm about.. which means if ya'll don't inspire me, I got nuthin to write about.

That said, I'm still curious how you found out that I even have it. Yes, some people see me checking it in class and have very good eyesight, some have more sinister means of discerning the URL . So, that said, to all my many readers, please let me know you're reading, so I know that I should update more often. Please refer to yourself either by name or by pseudonym, as I'll make sure to gear my posts more directly towards the interests of my readers.

For example, some people are interested in the sex lives of celebrities.

Some people are more legally inclined.

And then of course some people are only interested in flowers and love notes

So please! Sound off with name or pseudonym and which Fred you are (lusty, litigious, or lovey).

My favorite latin phrase...

... is "Sic Semper Tyrannis" For those who don't know, it is the state motto of Virginia.



At some point, after I'd learned a decent amount of latin, I stumbled across the seal of Virginia, and decided to translate what I saw.

The first word: "sic" means thus in classical latin, but by medieval times had come to mean "yes", hence "si" in italian or latin. So, assuming that this was the meaning, I moved on to the second word.

"Semper". That one was easy. Always.

"Tyrannis". Well. That one is a little complicated. In greek, tyrranos only meant king, but by the time the romans used it, it meant pretty much what it does today - tyrant. It's a dative, which means it's "to tyrants" or "for tyrants".

Then I strung it all together -- "Yes" "Always" "To Tyrants". Now that seems like an authentic Virginian sentiment!

Soon after my laughter subsided, I realized that the correct translation was: "It is always thus for tyrants"

The rabbit died!

As a child, I remember learning that a rabbit could be used as an early version of a pregnancy test.

Today I learned that not everyone knew this.

And then i thought to myself, that's ridiculous! People never did that, it's not possible! It's right up there with Santa Claus and Social Security in terms of childhood fictions.

Snopes to the rescue!

Turns out that in the 1920's, when we discovered that women have hormones, we injected them into female rabbits. If the rabbit's ovaries became enlarged, the woman was pregnant. Of course, to find that out, the rabbit had to be killed and its ovaries removed. In that sense, the 'rabbit always died'.