KVARESTO8
Walking Projects
Fairfax Cross County Trail, 41 miles: completed 2 July 2010.
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Category Archives: Fives
Sorry, Doc
Coolest last names of the NHL (polysyllable conference):
- Abdelkader, Justin (Detroit)
- Calaiacovo, Carlo (St. Louis)
- Khabibulin, Nikolai (Edmonton)
- Latendresse, Guillaume (Minnesota)
- Ponikarovsky, Alexei (Carolina)
Winter weeds at Woodend
Five nature fun facts from today’s winter weeds workshop with Stephanie Mason:
- The generic name for the tickseed sunflowers, Bidens (two-toothed), describes the two-barbed achenes that are typical fruit of the various species.
- Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis) is also known as Bead Fern. Look at the spore cases along the fronds in winter to see why.
- The slender seed pod of Dogbane (Apocynum sp.) looks like a mustard’s silique, but it’s actually a follicle that splits open on one side.
- Broom Sedge (Andropogon virginicus) is not a sedge, but a grass, and it rather resembles Little Bluestem.
- A little while ago, I had tumbled to the nomenclatural connection between Cardueline finches and Carduus thistles. But what I didn’t know, as Stephanie explained, is that goldfinches delay breeding into the summer, when thistles are about to set seed. Rather than feeding nestlings insects, as is the norm with songbirds, the parents regurgitate “thistle milk” for their young.
Some lists: 10
Five (and five more) obsolete common names for birds, taken from the index to Richard H. Pough, Audubon Bird Guide: Small Land Birds of Eastern & Central North America from Southern Texas to Central Greenland, 1946 and 1949, and their modern synonyms.
- Lichtenstein’s Oriole
- Altamira Oriole (Icterus gularis). M. Heinrich Lichtenstein (1780-1857) was honored by Johann Wagler by naming the oriole for him.
- Bandit Warbler
- Common Yellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas). The old name has a lot more mojo.
- Batchelder’s Woodpecker
- Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens). Another eponym that perhaps was a casualty of lumping species together, in this case Gairdner’s Woodpecker, Nelson’s, and Willow.
- Cham-chack
- Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus). I’d say, “like it sounds,” but the bird doesn’t sound like that at all.
- Forest Chippy
- Worm-eating Warbler (Helmitheros vermivora). Described in the field guides as having voice like a Chipping Sparrow.
- Grease Bird
- Gray Jay (Perisoreus canadensis). Along with several other equally uncomplimentary names.
- Huckleberry Bird
- Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla). Apparently a preferred nesting substrate.
- John-chew-it
- Black-whiskered Vireo (Vireo altiloquus). This name-sayer name actually works. It’s also known as Whip-Tom-Kelly. Poor Tom.
- Pork and Beans
- Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor). Yet again, supposedly onomatopoetic. I don’t hear it.
- Flame-crest
- Golden-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa). Another case where the old name is short, descriptive, and to the point, while the new one reads like a committee report. Sort of like the difference between the original Metro station names and the hyphenated jawbreakers we have today.
Some lists: 9
Stuff that’s just fun to say:
- rebarbative
- luscious fuchsia
- dilapidated
- Giulio Cesare
- dobro
Thankful
- A ribbon marker sewn into a book binding; a store full of office supplies; a cable channel dedicated to ice hockey.
- Elections happen every two years (plus the off-year Virginia governor’s race), even if I don’t always like the outcome.
- (And this is not always the case:) My onsite consulting job: interesting projects; smart, articulate people to work with; sane project managers; a stimulating location downtown; a (usually) predictable, comfortable commute.
- Art, unlike life, lets you rehearse.
- Indoor plumbing.
What you don’t want to hear at adjudication
- “that Star Trek moment”
- “it seemed to get in your way”
- “baffled”
- “would urge you to reconsider”
- your own voice, explaining
Fortunately, Leta and her team didn’t hear anything like these after their lovely presentation of Clean, by Audrey Cefaly, at ESTA in Newark, Del., but rather a few constructive suggestions (“maybe a puddle of water at the opening”) and lots of compliments like “detailed,” “believable,” and “specific.”
Still looking for Chase at the iTMS
Five genres on my iPod not likely to be found elsewhere, as assigned by me:
- Irish Soul (The Commitments)
- New Swing (Joe Jackson, Swing Out Sister, Meaghan Smith)
- Electrofolk (Beth Orton, Snakefarm, Nels Cline)
- Brass Fusion (Chicago, The Ides of March)
- Alien Pixie (Björk, Laurie Anderson, Radiohead)
Some lists: 6
Nearby cities that I have never visited (expressways and airports don’t count):
- Atlanta
- Detroit
- Nashville
- Memphis
- Montreal
Cultural touchstones I have never seen
And probably never will:
- E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
- Forrest Gump (1994)
- Alien (1979)
- Titanic (1997)
- When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
Some definitions
- EXTIRPATE
- Verb applied only to heresies and corns.
- FACE
- The mirror of the soul. So some people must have very ugly souls.
- INSTRUMENT
- If it has been used to commit a crime, it is always “blunt,” unless it happens to be sharp.
- LIGHT
- Always say: “fiat lux” when a candle is lighted.
- TOYS
- Should always be educational.
—Gustave Flaubert, “The Dictionary of Received Ideas,” ed. and trans. by Robert Baldick and A.J. Krailsheimer
Some lists: 3
Inappropriate Muzak for the food court
- “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,” by Gordon Lightfoot
- “O Fortuna,” the opening song of Carmina Burana, composed by Carl Orff
- “Always True To You (In My Fashion),” by Cole Porter
- (tie) “Synchronicity II”, by The Police; “In the Year 2525 (Exordium and Terminus),” by Zager and Evans
- “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught,” by Rodgers and Hammerstein
Inspired by a lite-jazz something I heard in Chick-Fil-A that sounded for a moment like #3.
