Newsletter 1000
Best of the Moment
On The Origin Of “Shyster”
Allan Metcalf | Tablet | 6th May 2013
Profile of "master etymologist" Gerald Cohen, whose Comments on Etymology, still published only on paper, has documented, among many other things, the origins of "shyster", "hot dog", "the Big Apple", "jazz", and "dude". His latest draft monograph on the origins of "jazz" runs to 167 pages. In his day job at the University of Missouri he teaches general linguistics, Russian, French, German, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew
Controlled By Guns
Tim Maly | Medium | 7th May 2013
Texas hackers produce a well-functioning home-made gun from a 3-D printer. A technical triumph; a moral and political conundrum. You might expect the National Rifle Association to applaud; but the NRA relies for funding on the small-arms industry, which will be horrified. The Maker movement should be thrilled too — but how many of its members are gun enthusiasts? From Congress, expect a flurry of laws that don't work
Israel’s Airstrikes In Syria
Kenneth Pollack | Brookings | 7th May 2013
Expert discussion of Israel's interests and interventions in the Syrian conflict. Assad regime is unlikely to react against Israel's airstrikes while in the midst of its own civil war — so long as it thinks it can beat the rebels at home. But if the regime fears that it's losing to the rebels, then the incentive structure flips, and its best hope of survival will come with attacking Israel and trying to provoke an Arab-Israeli war
The History Of Baseball Stadium Nachos
K. Annabelle Smith | Food & Think | 7th May 2013
Tortilla-based canapés popularised in 1943 by Mexican maitre d' Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya. Hence the name. Concessionaire Frank Liberto first sold them in a baseball stadium at Arlington, Texas, in 1976; and two years later at the Dallas Cowboys stadium, where commentator Howard Cosell praised them on national radio. Recipe for sauce (serves 75): 107 ounces of condensed cheese, 32 ounces water, 20 ounces pepper juice
Chris Christie’s Lap-Band Surgery
Marc Ambinder | The Atlantic | 7th May 2013
New Jersey governor undergoes weight-loss surgery, probably as preparation for presidential campaign. Ambinder, who had a more drastic operation — a gastric bypass — to slim down from 235 to 145 pounds, offers advice and reflections. "Rapid weight loss changes mood, temper, and skin elasticity, will produce hair loss, may create vitamin imbalances, and even exacerbates other substance-abuse problems. It takes years to learn how to live as a skinny person"
Video of the day: What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains
Thought for the day:
"Riches should come as the reward for hard work, preferably by one's forebears"— Steven Runciman