Fox Tossing - a mental earworm

You know when you get a song stuck in your head – that all-consuming earworm – and the only way to get rid of it is to share it with someone else? Well, I have a mental earworm to share with you. Bitter Young Guy from work sent me a link about fox tossing.

Maggie Koerth-Baker says:

Is there a German word for "the feeling you get when something is so ridiculous that you want to laugh, yet is simultaneously jaw-droppingly horrible"? Can we make one up?


I ask, because I recently discovered Fox-Tossing, a 17th/18th century European pastime that is exactly what it sounds like. People would go out in a field and set up a little fenced-in court. Then high-society types would stand, in pairs, holding slack ropes. Then a bunch of foxes would be released into the court. When the foxes ran over the ropes, the players pulled the ropes tight, launching the foxes up into the air. Repeat until all foxes are dead.

My first thought was what’s wrong, can’t they afford horses to chase them like the English? But my ancestors who spoke German were from Lichtenstein, so I guess I don’t have the right DNA to grok German culture.

But to back up a little, yes. You read that right. Fox. Tossing.
“The tossing of foxes and other animals was not without risk to the participants, as it was not uncommon for the terrified animals to turn on the tossers. Wildcats were particularly troublesome; as one writer remarked, they ‘do not give a pleasing kind of sport, for if they cannot bury their claws and teeth in the faces or legs of the tossers, they cling to the tossing-slings for dear life, and it is next to impossible to give one of these animals a skilful toss’.”

Ya THINK?

And the 17th and 18th century Germans didn't have violent TV/video games/movies to blame it on.

So, please allow me to share this mental earworm so I can rid myself of it and get on with my life.

Thank you.

Things to work on before school starts

Sweet Daughter is currently watching “Donald in Mathmagic Land” for the second time tonight. Yes, the one from 1959. She’s throwing out the names for shapes. Triangle? Check. Square? Check. Rectangle? Check. Pexagon? Close. But we’re really going to have to work on that 6-sided shape. I can’t expect a teacher to not say something when SD starts talking about sexagons.

Revolution Wear

When I was at Battersea earlier this month, I ran across a wonderful new vendor. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love Life, Liberty, etc., and wear their embroidered Molon Labe shirt. I’ve bought t-shirts and hats from them to give as gifts, but I’m just not much of a t-shirt wearer. I like my shirts with a collar, what can I say?

So when I met Ron of Revolution Wear and saw his tables of merchandise, I, um, went a little overboard. I bought 2 polo shirts, a hat and a printed t-shirt just for myself.

The body of all the shirts I bought is made from a tube of fabric – no side seams to rub. His polo shirts are 100% cotton pique and beautifully made. And the embroidery is very detailed.

And look … the left sleeve also has something embroidered on it! Even the embroidered T-shirts have this.

And the hats! No plastic anywhere, just breathable cotton with an adjustable band. It fits both my 4-year-old and Shorter Half who takes at least an XL in most hats, if not an XXL.

Cool embroidery on the back above the strap!

Remember how I said I don’t like t-shirts much? That was until I saw this one.

I couldn’t pass it up. I figure if you know what it means, you’ll understand why I’m wearing it.

  

The Proprietor, Ron, has attached a label with a handy little summary/history lesson for those who’d like a refresher.

The shirts washed up beautifully with very little shrinkage. The size large polo shirts started out at 47 ½ " around, and after being washed in warm water and run through the drier, ended up at 45” in circumference. The size large t-shirt, also run through the washer and dried went from 43 1/2” to 43”.

Ron also has bumper stickers, and his leather goods were top-notch. AND he has some really cool desktop wallpaper to download for free.

So if you’re in the market for something to wear to Charlotte next month or just need a new bumper sticker, give Ron’s site a visit and poke around a little bit. I’d even contact him and ask what he’s got available if you’re looking for a special color shirt. He had a lot more options on the table than I saw on his web site.


*And no, FCC spies. I didn't get a darn thing for this review, not even a volume discount when I bought the stuff.

Cause of the 1755 Lisbon Earthquake

According to Ayatollah Kazem Sedighi, the 1755 Libson Earthquake was clearly caused by fashions like this:

I can't say that I've ever felt the earth move while wearing 18th century clothing, but I can tell you that if you're wearing stays laced this tightly and you sneeze, you knock the wind right out of yourself.

Now to put things in perspective, this is Shorter Half dressed cross-dressed for a Pirate Party.

I also have pictures that include cleavage. Your choice - front or back. If that doesn't cause the earth to move, nothing will.

* Note for curious costumers: A friend put the dress together for him. She surmised that two size 22 prom dresses would equal a men's size 44. She wasn't far off.

** Note 2: that  first pictue is about 12 years old. Just sayin'.

My Favorite Magazine

My favorite magazine is Garden & Gun. I saw my first copy at my husband’s barber shop a few years ago (where they still do hot towels, straight razors and a neck massage) and was instantly hooked. The photography is stunning, and the writing top notch.

On the Mint Julep: “A drink this sublime —‘the zenith of man’s pleasure,’ Mr. Smith went on — shouldn’t be relegated to sipping just one day a year, like a fruitcake waiting for Christmas. It does not require, as a garnish, a televised horse race and a bunch of Yankees doing Foghorn Leghorn imitations.”

On Sweet Tea: “To say Southerners drink sweet tea like water is both true and not. True because the beverage is served at every meal, and all times and venues in between—at church and at strip clubs, at preschool and in nursing homes. Not true because unlike water or wine or even Coca-Cola, sweet tea means something. It is a tell, a tradition. Sweet tea isn't a drink, really. It's culture in a glass. Like Guinness in Ireland. Or ouzo in Greece.”
I have to say it makes the best coffee table magazine ever. I even leave a couple of issues sitting around in my office at work. Just to see the reactions.


And no, G&G didn’t compensate me for this in any way, shape, or form, and wouldn’t know me from Adam’s armpit.

Why didn't I think of this?

Caramel corn with bacon and bourbon.

Thanks to confectioner Ginna Haravon, of Salted Caramel, you can now order Bacon Bourbon Caramel Corn by the bag. But perfection wasn’t easy to come by. “It was originally just bacon caramel corn,” says Haravon, “but I kept adding more and more bourbon, which gave the recipe depth and smokiness and kept the whole thing from being too sticky sweet."

Photos from the Weekend

How bad can a day be that starts off like this? Ham, eggs, grapes, scones and butter. Oh, and tea. We portray a British unit that's heavy on Officers. We've got plenty of tea!

Here are the tables with the medical stuff. Dentisty, Surgery and Apothecary. We do it all! Recognize those two hunks of red fabric in the middle with the holes in them?

Here Dr. Mike makes suppositories using an original mold. That's a beeswax base, in case you're interested.

AIT students and another Brit stop by for a visit. The Morturary Services students were especially interested.

These are are Hotch Potch alphabet cards we picked up for Sweet Daughter so she'd have some toys at events. Hotch Potch first appeared on a 1782 print, created by Carrington Bowles in London, as “The Comical Hotch Potch or the Alphabet turn’d Posture-Master” and immediately gained popularity throughout London and colonial America as a way to help boys and girls learn the letters of the alphabet. Sweet Daughter has known her alphabet since she was two, so she decided to see if she could adopt some of the poses on the cards.

This is an "H".

I'm not sure what letter this was -- she may have said "E". I just know I can't sit like that!

But best of all, SD got to ride Webster again this year! She's got a great natural seat, and I can't wait until she goes through a horse phase so I've got an excuse to start riding again. I also got to ride Webster, and it was the highlight of my weekend. Granted, it's been over 15 years since I've been riding on a regular basis and I'm middle-aged, and my knees have never been good, so I needed a good deal of assistance to get into the saddle (I was also in petticoats and a gown, so I'll use that as an excuse as well, thank-you-very-much), but oh! I've missed it. We went for a nice little trot down the field and back only to find about a dozen AIT students waiting for their turn. "Ma'am, do you need help getting down?"

Of course, they were all on my near side. "No thank you" I said. "Just please avert your eyes as I'm in petticoats!" Luckily I vaulted off with no problem, and I don't think I flashed anyone as nobody seemed to lose their eyesight.

It was a good day.