by Kevin Burton
Come and get it kids, quibble and bits, short takes, follow-ups from recent posts, bits of news…..
A day or two after I wrote about the letter Z and its two pronunciations (zed and zee), Meriam-Webster made “zeitgeist” its word of the day.
The dictionary says zeitgeist is “the general intellectual, moral, and cultural climate of an era.” If zeitgeist sounds German to you, it is.
In its Did you know section, Merriam-Webster writes. “Scholars have long maintained that each era has a unique spirit, a nature or climate that sets it apart from all others. In German, such a spirit is known as Zeitgeist, from the German words Zeit, meaning ‘time,’ and Geist, meaning ‘spirit’ or ‘ghost.’”
Zeitgeist is kind of a mouthful, but I once (and only once) dropped it in casual conversation. As I wasn’t talking with George F. Will, my reference brought on an awkward silence. So use zeitgeist at your own risk…..
Long-suffering Page 7 readers know about my fantasy football successes and failures this year. What I have not revealed until now is that I have a fantasy hockey team too.
This is quite by accident though.
I do most of my fantasy managing on the PC, but some on my smartphone. I was a late and reluctant convert to the I-phone and I am far from mastering it.
So one day while dealing with my six football teams a message about fantasy hockey came on the screen. I must have hit it accidentally.
The next thing I know, I see a message “Stay in this draft” or “leave this draft.” I hit leave this draft but I was either too late with it or my fat fingers sent the wrong message.
Ever since then the app has been sending me things about my team. I have not responded or so much as looked at the team.
There was a time when I was a big St. Louis Blues, then a Columbus Blue Jackets fan. But now there are maybe a dozen or so hockey players that I have even heard of.
The computer picked my fantasy hockey team and it must have picked a good one because I keep getting messages that I have won my game for the week.
If I somehow win an accidental hockey championship, I will be quick to claim it!……
.This, from pressrundown.com:
“Mexico is taking proactive steps to assist its citizens in the U.S. who may face deportation under the incoming administration of President-elect Trump. The Mexican government is developing an app called “Alert Button” that will allow migrants to notify their family members and local consulates if they are facing detention by U.S. authorities.”
“With an estimated 11.5 million Mexican migrants residing legally in the U.S. and 4.8 million without legal residency, concerns are mounting over potential mass deportations. The app was being tested late last year, to be available this month and will provide a way for migrants to quickly alert their loved ones and consulates in case of imminent detention.”
“Mexico’s Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Juan Ramón de la Fuente, described the app as a “panic button” and emphasized the government’s commitment to ensuring due process for Mexican citizens facing deportation. The Mexican government has also increased consular staff and legal aid to assist migrants in navigating the deportation process.”…
Another note on the letter Z. It was once chopped from the alphabet according to dictionary.com.
“Around 300 BC, the Roman Censor Appius Claudius Caecus removed Z from the alphabet. His justification was that Z had become archaic: the pronunciation of /z/ had become /r/ by a process called rhotacism, rendering the letter Z useless.”
“At the same time, S was also removed, and G was added … but that’s another story.”
“How did Z get added back?”
“Two hundred years after Appius Claudius Caecus was giving the letter the boot, Z was reintroduced to the Latin alphabet. At the time, it was used only in words taken from Greek.”….
Finally an uplifting note, quoted from Yahoo Sports:
“49ers rookie Ricky Pearsall was shot in the chest in San Francisco this summer, causing him to miss six games. On Monday he was asked to reflect on the attempted robbery that upended his rookie season and nearly cost him his life.
His response: “Forgiveness wins.”
“I don’t know where (the kid who shot him) came from, what environment he grew up in, how he grew up. So I can’t judge him as a man just based off one action that he made, as violent as it was.”
“God forbid him doing that to somebody else. I don’t ever want that to happen. But for me…I have to be able to forgive him…”
“At some point I do want to talk to the kid (and) if I can create an impact on him in any way, I think that would be really big. I’d definitely be open to doing that.”
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