Petroglyphs

One message David [Salo] got the other day from a high school student said that hearing the languages in [The Fellowship of the Ring] spurred an interest in linguistics, and could David recommend any colleges with good linguistics programs?

Now that is just cool. Wizard cool, if I may say so. The kid may well change his mind–but I doubt he’ll ever regret his interest.

Dorothea Salo, Influence

That kid reminds me of… well, me, although I was more taken by Jabberwocky. (Friends may find this heretical, but I only read The Lord of the Rings in university.) Perhaps because both parents are language teachers (between them they speak French, German, Spanish, and Slovak), or perhaps just because I have a predilection towards the trivial and the transmundane, I enjoy discovering versions of familiar works–music, poetry, books, etc.–in different languages, even those I don’t understand.

Which is why I was glad today to find a version of Jabberwocky that I’d never seen: a translation into French by Frank L. Warrin. (The page also includes Robert Scott’s German version, which I’ve loved for years: Es brillig war. Die schlicten Toven / Wirrten und wimmelten in Waben….) I’d love to hear Stephanie’s rendition of either… bien sûr avec son accent vaudois.

What is M-Dot? A producer of hot formed titanium parts and aircraft tailpipes? The state of Michigan’s Department of Transportation? Minnesota’s? An artist who uses Adobe Illustrator? The international symbol for the Ironman Triathlon (which can be worn as a badge of honor only by those who complete one of these races)?

None of the above (although the last is close). Ahem. The last one is exactly it. Silly me. Croptop has started a weblog.

(Yes, I’m aware that this is a lot longer announcement than the one for Mike’s, but he’s also posted two-thirds as many entries as Mike in only four days.)

I don’t have anything to say about Dorothea Salo’s post about phonaesthetics, I just need to record it so I can read further. She writes about invented languages, in fantasy, science fiction, and elsewhere: I’m curious to see how languages like Loglan and Esperanto stack up, and to try to apply her Law of Velar Villainy to a pre-pub fantasy novel I’m reading.

Also need to follow up on personality theories, both online and with my two psych friends (she’s got her doctorate, he’s a few months away).

I gave the matter some grave thought, and realized that after last night’s martini party there was nothing in my icebox except a bit of baking soda, a scrap of blueberry jam and a twig of burdock root.

Miss Lenni Jabour, The Story of The Third Floor (December 2002 edition)

I remember playing with burrs (the flowers of the burdock plant) as a kid on walks through the woodlots near my parents’ place, but hadn’t thought much further about them until seeing the text quoted above in Lenni’s story today. The things you’ll learn from reading (with a dash of Google):

• After experimenting for eight years with plastic models that he designed to mimic burrs, George de Mestral created Velcro.
• Only buy your burdock root from a reliable supplier; at least one has been known to substitute belladonna.
• The burdock root has many medicinal uses, such as using it as a treatment for scurvy.
• Burdock root is known in Japan as Gobo (not to be confused with Gobo Fraggle). It is considered an intensely yang vegetable.
• The most common burdock dish in Japan (and hence the world) is kimpira gobo (sauteed burdock), a slightly spicy carrot and burdock stir-fry.

I think I’ve found a project for when I go home at Christmas. It’s been a while since I was back in those woods….

The Boneyard Radio Hour (né The Adventures of the Boneyard Man) is well into its fourth year, an amazing feat for any continuing live theatre production, but even more so in a city with a tiny audience for local theatre. (Or local arts of any sort, for that matter.)

The show, described by creator/writer/star Jayson McDonald as radio noir on stage, is an homage to and parody of the 1940s radio serial The Shadow. The five cast members (Jeff Culbert, Rachel Holden-Jones, Jayson McDonald, Virginia Pratten, and Jeff Werkmeister) perform a multiplicity of roles per episode, with locally-ubiquitous Dean Harrison providing live music.

I thus present Jayson McDonald’s announcement for The Boneyard Man Holiday Spectacular:

Seasoned Greetings!

Well, it’s that time once again…that special time of year when we look forward to gathering with friends and family to celebrate the very idea of life on Earth.

Mom’s got the turkey loaf cooking in the oven…dad’s drilling holes in the side of the house for some unknown reason…Billy’s converted his bicycle into a “skicycle” and is about to test it out on Dead Man’s Hill…and The Natural Broadcasting Company is putting the final touches on its second bi-annual Boneyard Radio Hour Holiday Spectacular!

Join us FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13 and SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14 at 8PM in The MCMANUS STUDIO at The Grand Theatre for a fun-filled evening of fun and frivolity and murder and what not. Here’s what you get:

TWO BRAND NEW ADVENTURES OF THE BONEYARD MAN!

Episode 72: “A Serpent In Santa Town”

A trip to old historic Santa Town is a bit of a let-down for Margery because Santa has been murdered. It’s a real fun afternoon for LePage however, because he gets to solve the crime! He’s like that.

Episode 73: “Jack Frost”

Everybody’s looking for an elusive secret agent skulking about the side streets of Manhattan because either A) he has a top secret government blueprint, or B) he’s planning on poisoning the water supply, or C) he’s got a briefcase full of stolen diamonds, or D) all of the above. Who will find him first? My money’s on The Boneyard Man!

PLUS! Extra special free bonus complimentary mini-featurette:

Tracy Clue, Girl Detective in “All I Nicked For Christmas”

Tracy and the gang must find a heartless petty thief who has stolen the gifts from under the Dispriveledged Gift Tree!

PLUS! Extra extra special free bonus complimentary mini-mini-featurette:

Q TROOP in “Christmas Back Home”

The boys in Q Troop reminisce about the holidays they knew before this great big crazy war happened.

PLUS! A message from the president of The Natural Broadcasting Company, Arthur C. Holdeburton; a bedtime story from our Uncle Willy; and live coverage of Santa Day!

You get all this cockle-warming brouhaha for an inconsequential ten dollars! Wowee, with prices like that, it MUST be Christmas! Bring the whole family! No reservations required, just pay at the door! How’s THAT for convenience (for us)?

We’re looking forward to comparing our ideas about the holidays with your ideas about the holidays. Perhaps they’ll gel! Perhaps not! In any event…no refunds!

Until Christmas is officially renamed “Givingsmas,” I remain ever your elf,
Jayson “Chestnuts Roasting On A Forest Fire” McDonald
artistic “director,” three black ring

It all makes sense to me now! (inspired by Edwawd W. Fewten)

I discovered while browsing my dictionary many years ago that the full name of the Welsh village of Llanfair—​Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, and yes, there are 4 ls in a row there—is 58 letters long and is reputed to be the longest place name in Great Britain. Googling past the domain squatters, I found an interesting article about the town, including a guide to Welsh pronunciation. If you want to hear it pronounced, an Australian group called Cotters Bequest uses it in the lyrics to an eponymous song, although I can’t follow it even with the pronunciation guide. And here’s a clip of the name as interpreted by the lovely Naomi Watts on Inside the Actors Studio.

Amazingly, this came up in random conversation with kc, my writer friend (who I’m hoping I’ll be able to link to in the near- to middle-future).