The “M” word

Did you realize the word “midget” is considered derogatory?

Neither did NewMexiKen. And neither did Roger Ebert. I encourage you to read this fascinating exchange between Ebert and Danny Woodburn, familiar to many of you from Seinfeld.

The use of the word midget is, for Little People, equated with any other hate word someone might use to describe a minority group.

Now pitching, Nolan Ryan

From Science Daily, Slow Balls Take The Swing Out Of Young Ball Players:

Exasperated parents practicing throw-and-connect skills with their young children will be relieved to know that their child’s inability to hit a slow-moving ball has a scientific explanation: Children cannot hit slow balls because their brains are not wired to handle slow motion.

“When you throw something slowly to a child, you think you’re doing them a favour by trying to be helpful,” said Terri Lewis, professor of psychology at McMaster University. “Slow balls actually appear stationary to a child.”

This explains why a young child holding a bat or a catcher’s mitt will often not react to a ball thrown toward her, prompting flummoxed parents to continue throwing the ball even slower. By adding a little speed to the pitch, Lewis and her team found that children were able to judge speed more accurately. There are several reasons for the phenomenon.

As for NewMexiKen, slower is better.

Morale builder

Those who didn’t care much for Pete Nanos still seethed over the comment he made about some lab employees being “cowboys and butt-heads” during an all-hands meeting of Los Alamos National Laboratory employees last year.

From an article in The Albuquerque Tribune.

Not a good choice of words for a staff meeting, but I’ve got to admit that every place NewMexiKen ever worked had its share of “cowboys and buttheads.”

Best line of the day, so far

“As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there’s a twilight where everything remains seemingly unchanged, and it is in such twilight that we must be aware of change in the air, however slight, lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness.”

William O. Douglas, quoted at A Voice in the Wilderness.

Kentucky Derby

Every penny NewMexiKen bet was on Giacomo, how about you?

And I had a mint julep, too. My first I think. Usually I prefer to keep my salads and my drinks separate, or did I just get a poorly made Albuquerque mint julep?

Hey, the jockey is from New Mexico. Viva!

Indians Tribe ???

Apparently William and Mary is being asked to reconsider its team name. Once upon a time it was the William and Mary Indians. In an appropriate gesture to sensitivities they changed the name to the William and Mary Tribe. Now the NCAA is questioning Tribe (along with other colleges with even more potentially offensive mascots).

Blogger Herb Ely suggests the William and Mary Ethnics, which he says might offend no one or at least offend everyone. Better yet, he suggests an appropriate new fight song in response to all this. It ends:

From Rick Nelson’s Garden Party, of course.

Indeed, while NewMexiKen finds some mascot names offensive — Redskins in particular — Tribe seems pretty reasonable to me. Of course, I am using a mousepad with that very William and Mary logo on it right now.

Much improved

NewMexiKen feels so much better about life now that I’ve learned you can toss the liquid Tide dispenser cup into the load of wash and then it won’t be sitting around all yukky and sticky all the time.

Me gotta go now

The Detroit Free Press tells us that Benton Harbor lifts “Louie Louie’ ban for middle school band.

“Louie Louie,” written by Richard Berry in 1956, is one of the most recorded songs in history. The best-known, low-fidelity version was a hit in 1963 for the Kingsmen. For decades, stories have circulated that the song contained obscenities.

In a letter sent home with McCord students, Dawning had said that “Louie Louie” was not appropriate for Benton Harbor students to play while representing the district — even though the marching band was not going to sing it.

But she reversed herself Thursday after consulting with parents.

It seems it was too late for the kids to learn a new song for today’s parade.

Key quote: “The FBI spent two years investigating the lyrics on the Kingsmen’s recording before declaring they not only were not obscene but also were ‘unintelligible at any speed.’”

Grandpa and Grammar

1. Shouldn’t it be Jesus comma Christ (that is: Jesus, Christ), rather than Jesus Christ (no punctuation). Christ is a title right, not technically part of his name?

2. Why is “frigging” acceptable and “f***ing” not? Aren’t words just symbols? So in this case isn’t frigging just a symbol for f***king?

3. There’s a sign I’ve seen a couple of times this week:

SLOW
MY DADDY
AND MOMMY
WORKS HERE

Now, understand I mean no disparagement to highway construction workers. That people drive recklessly through construction zones and endanger workers is an obscenity. And the sign is cute with its attempt to copy a young child’s lettering.

But this particular sign is just wrong. “My Daddy and Mommy Works Here.” Plural noun, singular verb. (Gasp!) Furthermore, do you suppose some kid actually has both his/her dad and mom working on the site? Daddies and mommies might both work there, but “My Daddy and Mommy”? Are we into nepotism in road construction? Doubtful.

Here’s what NewMexiKen suggests:

JESUS, CHRIST
SLOW DOWN
YOU FRIGGING ASSHOLE
PARENTS WORK HERE