Things you were shockingly old when you learned

HEY

You are talking about my kindred

We can dig it.

what a 'try guy' is

I'm hoping to never learn

I vaguely knew that Alsatians were a dog breed but I guess I'd never been curious enough to discover that they're just German shepherds utilizing an alias.

of Glen Ballard's involvement in Thriller and Bad, and writing credit on "Man in the Mirror"

After detour through the Glen Ballard Wikipedia links, I learned that Ringo is putting out a record every year of late.

Wow, wonder who is buying them apart from Rob Sheffield?

Calling the breed Alsatian or German Shepard is just another point of contention in the ages old border dispute between France and Germany over the Alsace region.

Disputed Terri(tory)ers

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolley_Kibber
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colley_Cibber

https://fullhouse.fandom.com/wiki/Kimmy_Gibbler

(xp) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0714457/?ref_=tt_ch

Cell-mates Titus Oates and Colly Kibber plan a robbery together whilst they are in prison. However, when they are released, they stage a dramatic fight to give Regan the impression that they have fallen out with each other. Regan trails Kibber, believing that he may have killed Oates, but this is just the diversion the two villains are looking for, leaving Oates to put the criminal plan into place.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeKLydy_nTM

Crinkle-crankle walls use fewer bricks than straight ones which need at least two layers of bricks for strength: here arch support provided by the curves. I like them because they teach that a straight line is not always the best model, true for poetry and us all. pic.twitter.com/o62JUYnKXc

— Ian Duhig (@ianduhig) October 10, 2022

That Suella Braverman actually was named after Sue-Ellen from Dallas.

Was born two weeks after JR was shot! Sue Ellen Ewing was in a really bad state at that point, so that was an interesting choice.

This week I realized “brainstorm” is a play on “rainstorm”

I also recently realized “Van Morrison” isn’t one surname. I always thought the Van was a prefix - I took me realizing Morrison isn’t a Dutch name to consider it. Then I looked it up and saw it’s short for Ivan (also learned Ivan can be Van). Growing up I didn’t really encounter any Vans, and also lumped Van Morrison and Donovan together so kind of just assumed it was a mononym.

never thought about brainstorm/rainstorm

there was a period in the UK when people had decided that the word "brainstorm" was offensive to people with epilepsy but my ex contacted a few campaingning groups who said they thought that was bollocks

i did used to think Van was his middle Dutch name tho :D

i mean fuck it, orangemen

I knew a kid whose middle name was Van.

Looked it up in the SSA's baby name registry and it has never left the top 1000 names! Morrison's birth year, 1945, is pretty close to peak Van though. It topped out the next year at 265.

Oh wait, it dropped out of the top 1000 between 1992 and 2005.

like famous composer Van Gelis

Van Heflin and Van Johnson would both have been popular when Van Morrison was growing up.

Van Cliburn, but that was a nickname

I doubt he was as famous on the streets of Belfast as Van Johnson.

(xp) It was short for his middle name Lavan.

Van Heflin = middle name Evan

Van Johnson = middle name Van Dell

As a kid I too thought Van Morrison must be his last name, but then I thought about it a bit and realized it was extremely unlikely there was any place in Netherlands called "Morrison"

I have a sister named Vanessa (whom we called Van) so it never occurred to that it wasn't his first name, but I also never thought about what it could be a short form of. I guess I thought "Van" was the male form of the name.

His full name is Vanagon.

I think part of the confusion comes from the fact that people often emphasize the "Mor" instead of the "Van" which makes it sound more like a last name.

I think I usually emphasise a person’s surname over their first name. Exception being when I’m having a discussion about different members of the Jackson family or something.

https://i.imgur.com/cz1Dwwp.jpg

when David Lee Roth isn't enough of a pain in the ass...

apparently the Red Hot Chili Peppers have a song called "Sexy Mexican Maid" that was co-written by D.H. Peligro of the Dead Kennedys (RIP)

Yeah, he was a Chi-Pep briefly after Hillel died, but they fired him over drug issues. RIP.

Did he refuse to take drugs?

No, he gave it away, gave it away, gave it away.

According to Anthony's memoir D.H. was drinking heavily, fucking up in live performances, and missing rehearsals. This was also right after Anthony's first stint in rehab, so he admits to being very bossy about his teetotaling.

I remember the story of D.H. being bust by Australian cops for standing on the street with an intact can in his hand. Hadn't really heard any further about him & drink.
Have just read about Kid Congo's various attempts at cleaning himself up and how several failed .

may be more only temporarily cleans himself off then falls heavily off wagon and does have at least some clean interval between which is a bit more positive.

IIRC, D.H. Peligro was responsible for introducing Frusciante to RHCP

(many xps: I went to high school with a Vanessa who always went by "Van")

I'm sure she was very nuys.

So I am a pretty serious Annie Dillard fan and I knew very little about the actual circumstances surrounding the composition of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek.

This piece in The Atlantic covers the topic sensitively - yes, it is a great work of art, but no, it was not conceived in solitude in a remote wilderness.

https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2015/02/the-thoreau-of-the-suburbs/385128/

Upon reflection I don't care. Every word in it still holds up.

Finisterre = finis terre = land's end

(^ Ali Smith, 'Winter')

I knew that, but it only recently occurred to me that as James is Iago in Spanish, Santiago = Saint James

Cool. Did you also get into the James/Jacob thing as well?

He grasps the heel.