Monthly Archives: February 2017

Anniversary of the final episode of M*A*S*H

M*A*S*H

The series premiered on September 17, 1972, and ended on February 28, 1983, with the finale becoming the most-watched television episode in U.S. television history at the time.

“Goodbye, Farewell and Amen” was the final episode of M*A*S*H. Special television sets were placed in PX parking lots, auditoriums, and dayrooms of the US Army in Korea so that military personnel could watch that episode; this in spite of 14 hours’ time zone difference with the east coast of the US. The episode aired on February 28, 1983, and was 2½ hours long.

Wikipedia Link

Trump’s Wall

A Helpful Venn Diagram

RIP Bill Paxton (Game over, Man… GAME OVER!)

William Bill Paxton (May 17, 1955 – February 25, 2017) was an American actor and director. He appeared in a number of films, including The Terminator (1984), Weird Science (1985), Aliens (1986), Predator 2 (1990), True Lies (1994), Apollo 13 (1995), Twister (1996), and Titanic (1997). He also starred in the HBO series Big Love (2006–2011) and was nominated for an Emmy Award for the miniseries Hatfields & McCoys. Paxton died on February 25, 2017, due to complications of surgery.

Paxton is also one of only two actors to have been killed onscreen by an Alien, a Predator, and a Terminator, an honor he shares with Lance Henriksen.

 

Whiskey vs. Whisky: What’s the Difference?

Now that the days are getting shorter and chillier, it’s the perfect time to curl up with a good book and a nice warming glass of whisky – or should that be whiskey? Same thing, just different spelling, right? Well, that depends…

Before we get going, let’s define the liquor in general:
No matter how you spell it, whisky/ey is an umbrella term for a type of spirit distilled from a mash of fermented grains.

Now let’s look at some different types: 
Within the broad category of whisky/ey are many sub-categories, including bourbon, rye, Tennessee, Scotch, Irish, and Canadian style whiskies. The manufacture of each of these types of whisky/ey is guided and regulated by the government of the spirit’s country of origin. As a result, Canadian whisky, for example, is a whole different animal from Scotch whisky, Irish whiskey, and American-style whiskeys such as Tennessee, bourbon, and straight rye.

(Okay, so far, so good. Maybe at this point, you’d be happy to enjoy a glass of the stuff no matter how it’s spelled. But if you’ve ever wondered why the word often appears different ways in different contexts, read on…)

 

Now things start to get tricky:
American and Irish liquor producers (and copy editors) tend to favor the spelling WHISKEY, while Canadian, Scottish, and Japanese producers (and copy editors) tend to favor (or should I say, favour) WHISKY.

The controversy:
So we have two things going on here: copy editing style and actual liquor style. The big question is: Are WHISKEY and WHISKY just two different spellings of the same word, or are they two slightly different words describing two separate groups of spirits? What do you do if you’re a resident of Scotland writing about Irish whiskey or an American writing about Canadian whisky?

A solution:
Up until quite recently, The New York Times tackled the problem by spelling everything the American way (with an E), regardless of the spirit’s country of origin. From Kentucky bourbon to Islay malts, everything was “whiskey” to The NYTimes. But then, last February, the venerable newspaper made a decisive change.

After receiving a raft of complaints from some serious Scotch whisky drinkers, the paper re-tooled its approach to follow that of many specialized spirits publications, spelling each type of spirit according to the way favored by its country of origin. So, while American-produced varieties such as bourbon, rye, and Tennessee – as well as the Irish stuff – kept their previous NYTimes-styled “whiskey” spelling, the stuff from Scotland, Canada, and Japan now would be referred to as “whisky.” Makes a lot of sense, I think.

Whiskey/whisky nmemonics:
Here’s a quick way to remember how some of the world’s biggest producers spell their products:

  • Countries that have E’s in their names (UnitEd StatEs and IrEland) tend to spell it whiskEy (plural whiskeys)
  • Countries without E’s in their names (Canada, Scotland, and Japan) spell it whisky (plural whiskies)

Whew! Time for a drink.

sin/cos=tan

Triplets

I’m part of a set of triplets… my twin brother is a schizophrenic.

Groucho Marx

“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.”

Rebel Base

Dietetic Idiomatic Schematic

Noble

I DO drink water

Happy Valentine’s Day

Happy Valentines Day

Apple Windows?

Fountain

Search in Progress

IT Hell

Never seen the ocean

A fun day

RIP Captain Apollo (Richard Hatch)

Richard Lawrence Hatch (May 21, 1945 – February 7, 2017) was an American actor, writer, and producer best known for his role as Captain Apollo in the original Battlestar Galactica television series, and also as Tom Zarek in the 2003 remake of Battlestar Galactica.  He starred as Jan Berry in Deadman’s Curve as well.