What is the origin of the term “French kissing?” This article talks about the use of the word “French” in a variety of slang phrases. French letter, for instance, is a condom. The first use of the term French kissing appeared in the early 1920s, according to the article. That seems awfully late to me. Around that time other slang using the word “French” also appeared, because the French were seen as risque. Anyway, the article is from the ever-reliable Good Vibrations website. This summer tidbit is brought to you by the letter K.

It’s PEACH SEASON. A long time ago (1982 to be precise), I saw The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball,” which had a hysterical standup comic doing a spiel on “1001 things to do with cling peaches.” I remember laughing so hard that I spewed my coke. We’ve been bringing home peaches and nectarines and they are wonderful. July is the peak harvesting season for peaches and nectarines. What’s the difference between peaches and nectarines? The obvious difference is the skin: peaches are fuzzy and nectarines are smooth. Then there’s the size: peaches are smaller. Somewhere in my crazy life I heard that nectarines were peaches bred with tangerines toRead More →

Tonite I am going to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse. When I lived in Austin as an undergrad, my roommate (coincidentally, her name was Ruth) told me that she heard Ruth’s Chris steakhouse, which was a Texas-based chain, was named after Ruth’s husband (or maybe her son…) who ran the steakhouse and then died, so Ruth kept the name in honor of him. Once, I mentioned this to another friend, who pshawed at me, and told me Ruth was from New Orleans. So I looked it up today, and found out that not only was my Louisiana friend right, but Ruth would NEVER name a restaurant afterRead More →

Gareth Kemerling’s Philosophy Page has a link to Donna Haraway. The Philosophy Page is an excellent resource. It is a dictionary of terms and philosophers plus a timeline of the development philosophical ideas. It is rich in both content and links. And it has pictures of a lot of the philosophers. Weird pictures. One of Althusser whose face is sagging like a Dali clock. And B.F. Skinner‘s hair! He looks like he’s on a roller coaster. Friedrich Schleiermacher is the scariest of all! I would not want to meet him in a dark alley. And Arthur Schopenhauer — Mein Gott! Either Kemerling has a bizarreRead More →