the in sound from way out (and words)

like itchie and scratchy always confused by the absence of poochie, some of you taking a gander at Yesterday’s Sald might be wondering “where’s dailysalad?” well, unfortunately the truth is quite lame. rather than engaging in his standard thursday routine of baccarat at the trop, dailysalad’s been stuck in the library writing a paper (in hebrew) on the image of the native american in american hebrew poetry. i really wish that were a joke. still, it’s good practice for the next paper i’m going to try and write in Hebrew: amanut ha-sippur be-“ultimate annie swanson”: nituakh be-ofen Bakhtin (or, “Storytelling in Ultimate Annie Swanson: A Bakhtinian Analysis.” btw, there’s really no point in writing a literature paper if it doesn’t in some way reference Bakhtin.

anyway, before I get to the word of the day, i decided i’d try and keep my readers abreast of what’s in and what’s not in the salad world.

in: arguing over dutch cinema. is “turkish delight” really better than “soldaat van oraanje?” was rutger haur superior in his dutch roles, or in america? the questions are endless.

out: nederlandish proverbs

you heard me, Bruegel.

in: french bands that sing in english. phoenix’s last album was great, and the new remixes are just incredible. besides, who doesn’t tear up at air’s “playground lover”?

out: polish pop music. not even ewa sonnet can restore polish pop to its glory days.

in: tom vilsack, insurgency candidate. when did the democrats ever enter an election with not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 electable, popular candidates? for reference, they are: barry obama, hillary clinton, joe biden, and lieutenant general olver “daddy” warbucks. if there’s one thing democrats hate it’s a front-runner. look for vilsack to clean-up with the deaniacs.

out: john edwards, populist parent of leggy lawyers in waiting. why vote for someone with a full term in the senate when you could vote for someone who wont even have that?

in: the proletariat. making a comeback in ’06!

out: bill simmons. no updates in a week? no mailbag since i sent a letter? i only hope you’ve been busy researching an answer to my question.

in: complaining about pynchon’s hebrew translators. really, rendering the crying of lot 49 as “ha-ze’akah” (the scream)? how can you translate english when you don’t know the language. the “crying” refers to an auction. i mean, it’s in the book.

out: reading pynchon (except on the salad, of course). 1100 pages? uh…

in: homophones. here’s a good grouping: miner, minor, mynah. and if you don’t believe these are homophones, just remember, australian is the only pure form of english. also, since i probably wont write another column tonight (zay mir moykhl!) a mynah is a type of grackle, and a grackle is either a type of bird or the artificial fly used in angling.

and since i can’t stop talking about words…did you know that the OED entry that immediately follows mynah is

“my-ness”:  The fact of being individual; separateness of the self; (esp. in Indian philosophy) personal interest in or attachment to something. Also: the fact or state of possessing something; ownership; possessiveness.” ?

my-ness’ first recorded appearance is from the 17th century, and it was considered rare up until the 20th century. while i’m all for bringing back old words, something tells me that “my-ness” might not have been the battle to pick. why don’t we spend our time trying to bring back “hake, v-2” with its two pretty much contradictory definitions:   1. intr. ‘To go about idly from place to place.’ and 2. intr. To go, advance; ‘to tramp, trudge or wend one’s way: the act implies considerable exertion or endurance’ can one really be walking idly from place to place if one has to exert a lot of effort?

out: synonyms.

in: ascots

out: pocket squares.

and that’s what’s hip in the world. absolutely everything that’s cool was mentioned on this list.