Hibernation

Enough. Like my friend below, this blogger is hibernating for the rest of the winter. Perhaps the spring will bring an awakening. Perhaps not....

Football Follies

It's playoff season and the announcers seem worse than ever. A few of their semantic indelicacies have been around for a while, though. For example:
After further review - no, you stupid jerk. It was the first review. The referee who used this term is a lawyer. You, the broadcaster, have attended Quinnipiac and should know better.
Patrick Chung struggled out there - no, he didn't struggle. If he had struggled, perhaps he might have made a play or two. What you mean is that Patrick Chung sucks. Or was that Connie Chung out there?
It Is What It Is - but what IS it, anyway? This magnificent piece of obfuscation comes, I believe, from a Bill Belichick press conference. It means "I' m not going to comment on that." However, for broadcasters, the phrase is apparently significant. But of what?

Last winter post (maybe)

A Poem for Cold Weather

The Poobah of Aruba

When it's seven below
And the wind whips the snow
And icicles crack from the cold,
I think of him.
Caftan flowing, arms akimbo,
He scrutinizes the sea,
Eyeing the dancing dolphins and the deep horizon
For any sign of sail or spout.
Silently he stands and stares.
The sand warms his toes,
The sun is a sheen on his luxuriant hair.
Call to me, Poobah!
I will come!

The Wonder of Winter

There's something so special about winter, don't you think? The crunch of snow underfoot, the cheerful WHUUMP as the foot slips and you fall hard on your ass; the sense of communion with the earth that you feel when your back tells you DON'T STRAIGHTEN UP after shoveling mountains of snow; the delight when those mountains turn to slush and freeze; the wondrous obscurity that overcomes the car as it sweeps up generous helpings of salt and sand;  the cheerful CRAACK as you touch something metal; the colorful flutter of lights before the electricity dies altogether. Ah, winter in Arrowsic!