Ever since my vertebrate zoology practicum yesterday, I've been harried by latinate phrases. Names, to be specific -- of reptiles, fish, and amphibians. I feel possessed. The Crew (tm) went out to breakfast this morning after O-chem, and about every 5 minutes I'd get hit with Pituophis Catenifer, or Diadophis punctatus. I know I'm supposed to value this information, and in days, even minutes, I will. But for now, all I can muster on this little sleep is "THIS IS NO LONGER RELEVANT -- it's just an effing GOPHER SNAKE SHUT UP!"
I felt the same way after I took the (absolutely fantastic) Breitenbush Mushroom Conference a few years ago. There was a PhD for every 4-6 people in the class, and the Latin was a-flowin. I distinctly remember saying at the end of the 3 days that if I heard one more Latinate phrase I may throw up.
I feel the same way today.
One fun thing my mind does is little mashups with what little other scientific Latin I know. Like, when I'm not paying attention, it matches up Lampetra Tridentata with Artemesia tridentata. Take a BREAK already... geez.
As for Groove Salad, it's one of the channels of SomaFM online. Listener supported online radio from San Fran. I'm listening to it right now as I type, and it just kicks butt. Their other channels are pretty catchy as well, Secret Agent and Beat Blender are two of my other favorites.
Enjoy your random harmless annoyances,
Bp
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8 comments:
Wow, you've really got a crank on today, BP!
As a flyfisher, where would you be if you coundn't argue Ephemerella Infrequens versus Ephemerella Inermis? Doesn't Pteronarcys Californica do a better job of conveying the essence of the humongous salmonfly than does that common name?
I have to say that I prefer 'Mother's Day Caddis' to Brachycentrus, even though it confuses everyone in Western Oregon when we return from fishing the Mother's Day Caddis hatch on the McKenzie in early April.
'Blue Winged Olive' has a nice, traditional ring to it, evoking beats on the Itchen and the Test -- which is the whole problem. 'To paraphrase Monty Python: "Blue winged olive, American or British?". Callem them Baetis obviates any possible continetal drift.
What's my point? I have none, other than to lift your mood with a bit of babble.
"What's my point? I have none, other than to lift your mood with a bit of babble."
And a dandy point that is sir.
Something about Pteronarcys does, to me, convey the ugly, stickery, armored look of that bug somehow. It's an ugly word for an ugly ginormous bug.
But we do love them bugs don't we.
What trout love, I love.
...
I feel a macro-photography class coming on...
Sounds like you just need a little Pithecanthus Erectus.
Whoops - make that "Pithecanthropus" Erectus.
Us, Ah, Um!!!
I KNOW you got that off the Mingus album. Don't deny it Rev, I've got your number.
Bugs are to Katye as Kryptonite is to Superman.
I'm a HUGE Mingus fan. As a composer I put him up there with Ellington and as an arranger with Gil Evans. His time at Columbia was not his best period, IMO. His recordings with Eric Dolphy are phenominal (it is interesting that you can say that many jazz musicians did their best work with Eric Dolphy-- Coltrane did, for example). I also like the last recording he did for Atlantic (and the last of his career, I think) "Changes Two".
Favorite Mingus chart? Probably "Haitian Fight Song".
PS BPaul there is a goodly amount of Mingus on vinyl in boxes with your name on them out in my barn. All transcribed to both high-fidelity and lo-fi (e.g., MP4) audio files and safely backed up 40 ways to Sunday)
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