Words have meanings.

December 26th, 2013

This is how Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary on Project Gutenberg defines the word “infamous”:

INFAMOUS
In”fa*mous, a. Etym: [Pref. in- not + famous: cf. L. infamis. See
Infamy.]

1. Of very bad report; having a reputation of the worst kind; held in abhorrence; guilty of something that exposes to infamy; base; notoriously vile; detestable; as, an infamous traitor; an infamous perjurer. False errant knight, infamous, and forsworn. Spenser.

2. Causing or producing infamy; deserving detestation; scandalous to the last degree; as, an infamous act; infamous vices; infamous corruption. Macaulay.

3. (Law)

Defn: Branded with infamy by conviction of a crime; as, at common law, an infamous person can not be a witness.

4. Having a bad name as being the place where an odious crime was committed, or as being associated with something detestable; hence, unlucky; perilous; dangerous. “Infamous woods.” P. Fletcher. Infamous hills, and sandy perilous wilds. Milton. The piny shade More infamous by cursed Lycaon made. Dryden.

Syn. — Detestable; odious; scandalous; disgraceful; base; vile; shameful; ignominious.

I quote this here because it is in the public domain. More modern sources, such as the online Merriam-Webster dictionary, agree with the definition, especially the “having a reputation of the worst kind”.

So what?

words

That’s part of the front page of today’s HouChron. The 1993 Houston Oilers had “a reputation of the worst kind”? They were “held in abhorrence”? They were “base; notoriously vile; detestable”? That’s really not how I remember things.

After a 28-3 halftime lead against the Buffalo Bills, the Oilers eventually lost 41-38 in one of the most infamous comebacks in NFL history.

Same thing here. Guys, “inflammable” and “flammable” mean the same thing, yes. But “infamous” and “famous” do not.

They may have been “dysfunctional”. But they went 12-4. I’d be more inclined to refer to the 2013 Houston Texans as “infamous” instead of the 1993 Oilers.

That is, if I was going to use the word to refer to a football team. Which I’m not, because I feel like I have a grasp of what the word means, unlike the HouChron headline writers. (Brian T. Smith, the author of the linked article, avoids using “infamous”. Kudos to him; I’d like to read the piece that’s coming on Sunday, but it looks like it will be behind the paywall.)

Posted in Clippings, NFL, Sports, Wordplay | Comments Closed

You. Don’t. Say.

December 26th, 2013

Gun facts and terminology can be complicated for those not intimately familiar with the topic. But many readers are knowledgeable, and lapses like these hurt our credibility with them.

Posted in Clippings, Guns, Media | Comments Closed

Mao mix.

December 26th, 2013

Mao Mao Mao, Mao Mao Mao, Mao Mao Mao Mao Mao Mao.

(Sorry. But when was I going to get another chance to do this?)

Posted in Clippings, History | Comments Closed

Merry Christmas. (Part II)

December 25th, 2013

reindeer

Blogger, with occasional reindeer.

(Why, yes, that reindeer’s nose is red.)

(Why, yes, as a matter of fact, you might even say it glows.)

Posted in Christmas, Photography | 1 Comment »

Merry Christmas, everybody.

December 25th, 2013

Posted in Christmas, Music | 1 Comment »

Merry Christmas from the Los Angeles Times.

December 24th, 2013

If you’re like me, and just a wee bit tired of Virginia, here’s a Christmas story you might enjoy (reprinted: it originally ran on Christmas Day in 1986).

This is a story that has everything: a dying child, an impossible request, and a gruff but kind hearted hard-drinking city editor. It is almost as if someone took many of the cliches of 1950s journalism and rolled them into a single morality tale.

He listened to the problem and told me to telephone the Secretary of Agriculture and have him clear the peaches when they arrived.
“It’s close to midnight,” I argued. “His office is closed.”
“Take this number down,” Reck said. “It’s his home. Tell him I told you to call.”

Posted in Christmas, Media | Comments Closed

Merry Christmas from Doge.

December 24th, 2013

“Shaming the Pets — Does It Work?“, from Larry Harnisch at The Daily Mirror. Featuring two cute doggies and a sworn enemy of WCD.

Yeah, he was asking for it.

Posted in Christmas | 1 Comment »

Merry Christmas from the Austin American-Statesman.

December 24th, 2013

It is the most celebrated letter to the editor and its reply the most celebrated editorial in American journalism.

Yes, that one.

In the summer of 1897, 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon sent a letter to The New York Sun asking if Santa Claus was real. An editorial writer named Frank Church was assigned the task of answering Virginia’s letter. Church’s response, published anonymously Sept. 21, is a Christmas classic.

Please, good sirs, do go on.

This story continues on our new premium website for subscribers, MyStatesman.com.

Oh.

Or you could read it on the Newseum website. On on the New York Daily News website. Or any number of other places where they don’t charge you to read something that (I strongly suspect, but you never know with US copyright law) is in the public domain.

Posted in Christmas, Clippings, Media | Comments Closed

Behold!

December 24th, 2013

The awesome power of cheese!

“You want to use provolone or mozzarella,” said Jeffrey A. Tews, the fleet operations manager for the public works department, which has thrice spread the cheesy substance in Bay View, a neighborhood on Milwaukee’s south side. “Those have the best salt content. You have to do practically nothing to it.”

Posted in Clippings, Food | Comments Closed

Obit watch: special oh Mikhail you’re so fine edition.

December 24th, 2013

Mikhail Kalashnikov: NYT. LAT.

Posted in Clippings, Guns, Obits | Comments Closed

Nobody knows…

December 23rd, 2013

You don’t often see $300 items at the supermarket. Especially in the produce section, as opposed to behind a locked cabinet in the wine department. (I’m not sure, but I don’t think even the highest-end champagne HEB stocks hits the $300 mark.)

truffles

Posted in Food, Photography | Comments Closed

The story you are about to hear is true.

December 23rd, 2013

The names have not been changed to protect the innocent.

One night in 1962, a young police officer was working Vice out of Wilshire Division.

We were trying to bust after-hours drinking spots engaging in illegal alcohol sales, prostitution and drug activity. I had been the undercover operator on a recent takedown, and on this particular night our sergeant and one vice team were trying the same tactic on a second persistent offender, this time in a residential area. My partner and I, along with another vice team, were providing backup, out of sight but on the tactical radio frequency.

The vice cops pulled over a cab that had two men in it.

One of the men was Lenny Bruce. The other man was a then unknown actor named Peter O’Toole. And the vice cop was Joseph Wambaugh. Click through for the whole story.

Posted in Clippings, Cops, Law | Comments Closed

I have a new (second) favorite Christmas song.

December 21st, 2013

Second because it is hard to replace “Fairytale of New York” in my affections. Hattip to LawDog for this:

This is not suitable for children, or adults who have no sense of humor. And I would buy this in a heartbeat if it was available on iTunes or Amazon.

Posted in Christmas, Music | Comments Closed

Random notes: December 21, 2013.

December 21st, 2013

I’d never heard of Ned Vizzini until yesterday; this isn’t a shot at him, I just don’t read a lot of YA fiction. But this is just sad and awful.

The number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255 (TALK).

The WP reviews “Chris Burden: Extreme Measures”, a retrospective of his work. I believe Mr. Burden and his work have come up here before, but for those who don’t remember…

In 1971, in a bare gallery space in Santa Ana, Calif., artist Chris Burden filmed himself being shot with a rifle. The bullet went through his left arm, causing more damage than expected. The moment after he was shot, the boyish young man with short-cropped hair staggered forward a few steps as if stunned by pain or shock, and was photographed later with blood dripping from the wound. In the previous few years, tens of thousands of men his age died in Vietnam, and the performance, titled simply “Shoot,” obviously had something to do with the political climate since 1968.

Unmentioned because it isn’t really relevant, but: Burden’s performance inspired one of Laurie Anderson’s early works, “It’s Not the Bullet That Kills You (It’s the Hole)”.

Posted in Art, Books, Clippings, Guns, Obits | Comments Closed

Better Red than…

December 19th, 2013

Darden Restaurants Inc. said it would separate itself from its Red Lobster business while halting expansion at Olive Garden and stopping acquisitions “for the foreseeable future.”

More:

Darden said the Red Lobster move may take the form of a tax-free spinoff to shareholders or an outright sale.

The last time I went to Red Lobster, it was kind of a disappointment. And the last two times I’ve gone to Olive Garden, I’ve walked out before even getting a drink. Maybe this is what Red Lobster needs.

Obligatory: the all-you-can-eat crab legs story.

Obligatory 2: make your own cheddar biscuits at home.

Posted in Bread, Clippings, Food | 3 Comments »

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