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ventaWell, everyone who was heartily sick of me grumbling about the somewhat uninteresting dilemmas with which last year's desk calendar presented me will be delighted to hear that this year we have... the Forgotten English calendar. Every day I get an outdated word, and some random trivia.
Today's is slightly disappointing - apparently a monkey spoon is a spoon bearing the figure of a monkey. However, yesterday's trivia pleased me muchly.
Tuesday 6th, 1734 marked the death of John Dennis, English playwright and critic. In 1709, he "devised a method of simulating thunder onstage with a large mustard bowl for his dramatic work Appius Virginia."
The play flopped, but he later heard his thunderclaps being used in a production of Macbeth, and apparently exclaimed "See how the rascals use me. They will not let my play run, yet they steal my thunder!"
A quick google suggests that a mustard bowl is... well, a small bowl, to put mustard in. So presumably even a large mustard bowl wouldn't be huge. So how does one make a thunderclap with such a thing ? I guess dropping a metal bowl might suffice, but I'm assuming it was something more complicated than that, or it would hardly have needed someone to "devise" it...
Today's is slightly disappointing - apparently a monkey spoon is a spoon bearing the figure of a monkey. However, yesterday's trivia pleased me muchly.
Tuesday 6th, 1734 marked the death of John Dennis, English playwright and critic. In 1709, he "devised a method of simulating thunder onstage with a large mustard bowl for his dramatic work Appius Virginia."
The play flopped, but he later heard his thunderclaps being used in a production of Macbeth, and apparently exclaimed "See how the rascals use me. They will not let my play run, yet they steal my thunder!"
A quick google suggests that a mustard bowl is... well, a small bowl, to put mustard in. So presumably even a large mustard bowl wouldn't be huge. So how does one make a thunderclap with such a thing ? I guess dropping a metal bowl might suffice, but I'm assuming it was something more complicated than that, or it would hardly have needed someone to "devise" it...
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no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 01:48 am (UTC)Rumbling thunder rather than thunder claps, I would assume.
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Date: 2004-01-07 01:51 am (UTC)Does that make sense?
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Date: 2004-01-07 01:53 am (UTC)I'm impressed, though, I've never knowingly seen a mustard bowl. The images google turned up appeared to be unlidded, but I didn't search extensively.
I shall no doubt feel remarkably inferior next time I mix up mustard in an eggcup :)
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Date: 2004-01-07 01:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 02:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 02:10 am (UTC)Which is better than last year, where my calendar struggled in in April.
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Date: 2004-01-07 03:00 am (UTC)I have a Stena Line one in my desk drawer. It says "It's Wednesday. Get on the ferry." (Or words to that effect).
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Date: 2004-01-07 03:14 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 03:52 am (UTC)The thing about the monkey spoon (if I remember correctly - it's at home) is that it is a spoon with a monkey on the handle given to the coffin bearers at large funerals... which struck me as somewhat random.
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Date: 2004-01-07 03:57 am (UTC)We thought so too, so had a bit of a google, and apparently the tradition also exists in Holland, where the spoons are dished out at weddings/christenings too.
Worse, a special Dutch delicacy served in a moneky spoon - a tot of rum, with a pinch of salt in it. An ideal way to start the morning.
Mind you, according to Brewer:
"Among the Dutch, drinking is called “sucking the monkey” (zuiging de monky), and one fond of drink was called “a monkey sucker.” "
Now that just sounds like something from South Park :)
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Date: 2004-01-07 05:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 05:10 am (UTC)"You're a monkey-sucker I must say",
"You sucked your monkey yesterday!"
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Date: 2004-01-07 05:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 06:20 am (UTC)We had to buy one, and the only respectable alternative to the "firemen in bare-chested glory" or the "unbelievably cutsey kitten selecation" was a Muppet Show calendar. OK, not all bad, and it will give
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Date: 2004-01-07 06:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 06:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 06:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 06:45 am (UTC)(you mean you don't spend the first two days of the year reading all the way through to find out what happens next?)
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Date: 2004-01-07 06:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 07:16 am (UTC)Could be worse - our admin person came through with a wall calendar for us today, except we worked out that we actually don't have any wall to put it on.
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Date: 2004-01-07 07:20 am (UTC)No! NO! Nononono.
That is very wrong indeed. Looking ahead in calendars is utterly dreaful, besides removing the most enjoyable thing I meet at my desk most mornings (reading the day's entry while my pc wakes up).
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Date: 2004-01-07 07:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 07:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 08:18 am (UTC)Not that I'm planning on having a large funeral. Just family and a few close friends y'know ;-)
(I nearly died this morning, so I'm making tasteless jokes today)
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Date: 2004-01-07 08:24 am (UTC)You did ? What happened ? Accident or ill-health, and are you OK now ?
I'm with you
Date: 2004-01-07 08:50 am (UTC)That's about the only time I can think when I'm more "in it's proper place" then "want it now".
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Date: 2004-01-07 09:04 am (UTC)Very scary since I was cycling defensively, correctly, visibly etc. Well, it was very scary *anyway*, but YKWIM ;-)
Possibly scarier was the reason why he didn't see* me: apparently it was because his windows were misted over.
*He certainly heard me screaming (which saved me)
no subject
Date: 2004-01-07 03:54 pm (UTC)*hugs*