This page collects Thoughts (lighter fare) and Mysteries (to me) (below). (Thoughts about grammar and usage appear here and also in Music and Reviews.)

Thoughts (lighter fare):

When you use words, be clear.  An article about the sad passing of former Major League baseball player Jason Giambi noted “Perhaps his most famous moment came when he was thrown out at the plate in Game 3 of the 2001 ALDS by Derek Jeter during the “flip play,” in which Jeter miraculously appeared to relay the ball to home plate after the cutoff man was missed. ” This is ambiguous. Did Jeter only appear to relay the ball and that itself was miraculous or did he miraculously appear and then relay the ball. The latter.  So, when you use words, be clear—at least appear to be clear in using words, such as appear, which have more than one meaning.    https://nypost.com/2022/02/10/jeremy-giambi-cause-of-death-suicide-suspected/ (2/10/22)

When you use numbers, be clear. The sad article reporting that a 70-year old woman was  found dead sitting at here table in her home and, from decomposition  she apparently had died two years earlier. Did she actually die at the age of 70 and was found two years later or that she would have been 70 when she was found, if she had lived until then? https://nypost.com/2022/02/09/italian-woman-found-sitting-at-table-two-years-after-death/ (2/10/22)

Which should you believe: your online weather report for your neighborhood that says it is not currently raining or your eyes that say it is? (9/2/20)

The first Bert and Ernie pair was not in “Sesame Street,” but the policeman and taxi driver in the movie classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.” (8/31/20)

In the days before the COVID-19 situation it was … but now in the days of COVID-19 it is …  (5/24/20 and later)

1. impolite to wipe your nose with your sleeve, but now it is advised
2. illegal to wear a face, covering mask outside, but now it is required.
3. not advised to be a shut-in, but now shelter-in-place is required
4. good form to bring your ill neighbor to an emergency room, but now it might be harmful to you (in some cases)
5. being an alarmist if you raised concerns about preparations for an infectious disease outbreak, but now it is unconscionable not to

Other COVD-19 thoughts  (5/24/20 and later)

1. A good excuse for coming in last in a race is that your were social distancing (which is itself an oxymoron).
2. We re supposed to flatten the curve, the curve I see when looking at my abdomen is not a flattening but a fattening.
3. It is better to be 6 feet apart, than 6 feet below.
4. When you examine the COVID-19 statistics, it is best to examine all relevant statistics and not just those that advance your agenda (to paraphrase Richard Feynman;’s legendary statement concerning examining all the data in research and not only those that advance your hypothesis).
5. The TV character Monk used to be consider an eccentric, comic germaphobe, always washing his hands, but now it is clear he did not go far enough by not wearing a mask and not social distancing.

Typos can be embarrassing. I often sign off emails with “Best, Irving”.  Sometimes it appears as “Beast, Irving” or “Beset, Irving”, both which may still be accurate. (1/2/20)

Today is not the last day of the decade, as many want you to believe. It is the last day of the 2010s. The last day of this decade will be 12/31/2020. (12/31/19)

The only people who speak English with no accent were those born and raised in Brooklyn in the middle of the last century. (12/1/19)

Resign is a weird word. It requires context (and the word that follows any form of it). Am I resigned to resigning and continuing my position or am I resigned to resigning from it? (12/31/19)

It is helpful having a log of thoughts, so I can see that several of my brand new, original thoughts are not brand new, but once were (presuming they were indeed original at the time). (12/31/19)

Football players should learn trigonometry. In the national championship game between Ohio State and Clemson last Saturday night, at times the Ohio State offense played in hurry-up mode, without substituting players, while Clemson substituted several defensive players with others, hoping the former would run off the field before the next play started. If not, and they Clemson did not call a time-out, they would suffer a penalty, which was an Ohio State goal, and one they were able to achieve. When Ohio State did this, several Clemson players ran to the team location on the sidelines rather to the closest point to the sideline (and so normal to it, as is known by trigonometry). This takes longer, and led to penalties. (12/31/19)

The Sesame Street characters Bert and Ernie were not the first so-named duo. The cop and cabbie were so named in the (wonderful) 1946 film It’s a Wonderful Life. (12/31/19)

You can argue that people born on August 18 (8/18) and October 18 (10/18) were born on the same day because August is currently the eight month of the (current  Gregorian and previous Julian calendar) year and October (“Oct”) used to be the eight month of the year (in the calendar of Romulus c. 750 BC, which started with the spring month of March). (12/31/19)

Someone born on August 18, 2018, which is 8/18/18, was born on a numerical palindrome. (12/31/19)

People are a lot like rechargeable batteries. After they are drained, you can recharge batteries many times, but after a while you can no longer recharge them completely and you can recharge them to less and less of their initial maximum with more and more cycles of life. (12/17/19)

Adding a space can make all the difference, such as that between no and much activity: as in “inaction” and “in action.” (12/17/19)

Several months ago, we saw the Lincoln Center production of My Fair Lady, which was billed as Lerner and Lowe’s My Fair Lady. It was not! I was disappointed. Their musical and movie had one ending (protagonists coming together), but this version was, unfortunately, more akin to that in George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion (in which they did not come together at the end-and which was then changed by the producers, despite his protests-so the audience would like it, and this change made him and others a lot of money). (12/17/19)

During the baseball playoff season my mind wanders to my version of the Meatloaf song Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad, in which he sings: “I want you, I need you, But-there ain’t no way I’m ever gonna love you, Now don’t be sad, ‘Cause two out of three ain’t bad.” I feel that one out of two ain’t bad, the two being the Yankees winning the World Series and the Red Sox not winning it in a given year. The Red Sox will not win the World Series this year. Perhaps the Yankees will not win, but I won’t be sad because one out of two ain’t bad (though two out of two is much better). (10/12/17)

As fate would have it, I examined the thermodynamics of chemical reactions in class today, and in particular a model reaction in which “a” molecules of A react with “b” molecules of B to form “c” molecules of C and “d” molecules of D, which is summarized as aA +bB going to cC + dD.  After the fantastic performance of Yankees shortstop Didi Gregorius last night in the Yankees victory that clinched the American League Divisional Series over Cleveland (2 home runs, 3 RBIs), I was quite proud to say dD (Didi) as part of my lecture. As a bright student noticed, the starting Yankees pitcher last night was CC (“cC”) Sabathia. (10/12/17) Of course AA has an entirely different and quite serious meaning, and bB could refer to Bibi Netanyahu. (12/30/19)

Recently, sanctions were applied to a country, and some in the press reported that the country had been sanctioned. The country’s actions that led to that action and that country itself had not been sanctioned-just the opposite. You cannot make a verb out of every noun. (9/19/17)

Each new younger generation defines itself by rejecting the existing social styles and adopting their own. Some remarkable changes in recent decades, aside from changes directly due new technologies and interpersonal relationships have been:

1. Tatoos are now common. They were once worn by sailors, prisoners, and sadly,  those in some death (concentration) camps, and indicated you were in one of those groups.
2. Wearing jeans with holes in the leg once meant you were poor; now they indicate you are being stylish.
3. Men now wear facial jewelry.
4. People thought to be talking to themselves were thought to be crazy; now they are (usually) talking on cellphones.
5. People looked ahead when they walked on sidewalks and crossed streets with or against traffic lights, but now they are often oblivious to the potential collisions they are creating.
6. People realized they were supposed to pay attention while they were driving, sometimes listening to the radio to help them stay alert. Now many cause accidents by purposely not paying attention, by driving-while-texting and the like.
7. Friendships are determined by the loosest of connections online.
8. The view of the concept of reality has changed, especially on TV. (12/26/16)
9. Not too long ago, people were on call when they checked mail once a day or were at home or work to answer the land-line phone. Now with cellphones they are in contact with the world all the time, which has many good aspects, but also it means we are all on-call 24 hours of every day to respond to new inquiries and receive the results of earlier queries. This technology-induced change in fundamental lifestyle is one of many in a continuation of such changes described by Alvin Toffler in the insightful and prescient “Future Shock” in 1970. (updated 12/27/16)
10. Years ago we were inundated with TV commercials hawking cigarettes and alcohol, which, thankfully, are no longer allowed. Instead we are now inundated with ads pushing pharmaceuticals and law suits (updated 1/11/17)
11. Watching TV reruns was thought to be lower class and boring, but now it is what we usually do. (5/24/20)
12. In the 1960s and 1970s, after each World Series game,  the Daily News called the player who “made” his team lose the “goat,” Now GOAT is being used as the “greatest of all time.” (5/24/20)

If Donald Trump is elected president, he may continue to name places after himself, as has been his style for his buildings. The U.S.A. may become U. T. S. A., for the United Trump States of America (not to be confused with the U. S. T. A., the United States Tennis Association, which may be renamed, the U. T. S. T. A.). The Pledge of Allegiance may become: “I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United Trump States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under Trump, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” The 50 states may be renamed: Trumpabama, Trumplaska, Trumpizona, Trumpansas, Trumpifornia, Trumplorado, Trumpecticut, Trumplaware, Trumporida, Trumporgia, Trumpawaii, Trumpaho, Trumpinois, Trumpiana, Trumpowa, Trumpsas, Trumptucky, Trumpisiana, Trumpaine, Trumpyland, Trumpachusetts, Trumpigan, Trumpesota, Trumpissippi, Trumpouri, Trumptana, Trumpraska, Trumpvada, New Trumpshire, New Trumpsey, New Trumpxico, New Trumpyork, North Trumpolina, North Trumpkota, Trumpio, Trumpahoma, Trumpregon, Trumpsylvania, Trump Island, South Trumpolina, South Trumpkota, Trumpessee, Trumpexas, Trumptah, Trumpmont, Trumpginia, Trumpington, West Trumpginia, Trumpconsin, and Trumpoming… and the new capital would be Trumpington, D. T. (District of Trumplumbia). (3/10/16)

The four funeral-one wedding plot of Hugh Grant’s “Four Weddings and a Funeral” (1994) runs through other British productions he and his co-stars have been in. He was in “Sense and Sensibility” (1995) which had this same plot structure. The movie (and the Jane Austen 1811 novel) starts with Mr. Dashwood’s funeral. Marianne Dashwood’s love, Willougby, marries someone else. Elinor Dashwood thinks that her love Edward Ferrars has gotten married, but it was his younger brother Robert who actually got married. The movie concludes with Elinor marrying Edward and Marianne marrying Colonel Brandon. Hugh Bonneville, a supporting actor in Grant’s “Notting Hill” (1999), concluded the six-year run of “Downton Abbey” last night, a run in which his three daughters had a total of four weddings and a funeral. Lady Mary had two weddings-the second in the pentultimate episode. Lady Sybil had a wedding and a funeral. And Lady Edith finally had her wedding in yesterday’s final episode. (3/7/16, updated 3/10/16)

Aspirin has long been  called the wonder drug. Now Peanut M&Ms can be called the wonder food. They are a treat that is low glycemic and are now used to alleviate the peanut allergies of children. (2/16/16)

Remember that a wit is three fourths of the way to becoming a twit.  (And twit is four sevenths of the way to twitter.)

And remember to mind your punctuation:  “Lock up Irving.” requests an outcome different than “Lock up, Irving.”

He’s all thumbs used to mean he was clumsy.  Now it means that he can text quickly.

There was a time when you would be arrested if you took off your belt and shoes at the airport.  Now, you get arrested if you don’t.

Mysteries (to me):

It is a mystery to me why an answer to the question “Then you not married”? of “no” apparently means to many that you are not married. If you are not married, the answer to that question should be “yes,” as in “Yes, I am not married”.  (I note this after seeing this interchange (with the reply of “no”) between the Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant characters, in the very sensible 1995 movie Sense and Sensibility). (12/30/19)

The 1959-1963 TV show “The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis” chronicled Dobie’s continual and unsuccessful quest of to find a girlfriend. I never understood the theme song. “Dobie, wants a gal who’s dreamy; Dobie, wants a gal who’s creamy; Dobie, wants a gal to call his own; Is she blond, is she tall, is she dark, is she small; Is she any kind of dreamboat at all; No matter, he’s hers and hers alone; ‘Cause Dobie has to have a girl to call his own.”  If he wants a girl to call his own, shouldn’t it be “she’s his and his alone” and not “he’s hers and hers alone” (which speaks to his being devoted only to her, which, given Dobie, is a given)?  After four decades, I still don’t understand this.  The song’s authors, Lionel Newman and Max Shulman, cannot be contacted; they have passed away. This may remain a mystery forever.

In 1960 Brian Hyland sang “Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini” about a young woman afraid to come out of the locker because everyone would see her in her bikini.  Being bashful when wearing bikinis is no longer a hot topic, but the issue of what a polka dot bikini is remains a mystery.  Is it a bikini with polka dots that are yellow on a background of unspecified color or one that has polka dots of unspecified color on a background that is yellow?  That is, does the yellow modify polka dot or bikini?  I have always thought the former, but I have met several people who believe the latter.  (We all agree that itsy bitsy teeny weeny refers to the bikini and not the polka dots.)  The artwork for the 1990 cover of the song shows black dots on a yellow background and Wikipedia’s entry on polka dots notes “In 1965, Bob Dylan wore a large print green polka dot shirt in the photo on the cover of his EP Just like tom thumb’s blues”. and the shirt indeed has white dots on a green background.  I remain unconvinced.  A green dot shirt should have green dots on an unspecified background and a green polka dot shirt should have green polka dots on an unspecified background.

Some mysteries do get solved.  How could we know that the horse of a different color in the “Wizard of Oz” was indeed as claimed when the movie is in black and white? When you live in a world of black and white TV sets, this naturally led to confusion and a mystery.  This was solved when I viewed it on a color TV set, and learned that the movie was filmed in color, aside from the very beginning and end.

During the scene in the 1958 movie “Gigi” when Maurice Chevalier and Hermione Gingold sing I Remember It Well, the camera moves back and forth between them as they each sing.  I never understood why they did not film them together.  Again TV is to blame for this mystery, or more precisely how widescreen filmed movies were adapted to the now archaic 4×3 dimension (1.33 aspect ratio) screens of cathode ray tube TVs.  This movie was filmed with a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, with both actors in the image at the same time, but it was adapted to TV using the pan and scan method (selectively choosing parts of the image with a 4×3 aspect ratio) instead of by letterboxing (proportionately decreasing all dimensions, lead to smaller images with black bars on the top and bottom). With how this scene was filmed, both could not fit at the same time and so they scanned back and forth from one to another.  Mystery solved (albeit after a few decades).

I was very confused when while in elementary school I read a biography of Winston Churchill.  It included discussions between young Winston and his mother, presented as quotes!  A biography is factual, so quotes could not be fabricated and someone had to have recorded his and his mother’s exact words, but why? Who knew he would become so prominent as to warrant a biography later?  I solved this mystery decades later when I realized that biographies written for younger people are fabrications (in ways that differ from the fabrications of biographies written for older people).  I was no longer mystified, but became disillusioned.

And then there were some confusions that were plain old misunderstandings.  When I heard Petula Clark sing “Don’t Sleep in the Subway” in 1967 it made no sense to me for four decades.  Who would want to sleep in a NYC subway?  When I realized that she meant the underground passage subway in London (it took some time for the neurons to make the connection), it made a lot more sense. When Hootie and the Blowfish sang “Only Wanna Be With You” in 1995, didn’t you hear them sing: “I’m such a baby yeah, dolphins make me cry,” which makes no sense.  I was less confused when almost two decades later I learned the lyrics were “… The Dolphins make me cry,” with the intent being that that football team made him cry.  Though that makes more sense, they are still silly lyrics and confusing since the Dolphins have made Jet fans cry many times.