- WAZZOCK
Wazzock was a particularly prevalent—and particularly loutish—insult in the 1990s. At the time, “lad culture” ran throughout British music and television, and wazzock, a North-England accented contraction of the sarcastic wiseacre (a know-it-all) became a powerful tool to shoot people down in an argument.- LUMMOX
Though the etymology of lummox is heavily disputed, one thing is for certain: It came from East Anglia, the coastal outcrop of Britain above London. There, around 1825, someone threw out the word as an insult, and it stuck, becoming a typically British go-to term. Some linguists believe it comes from the verb lummock, which typified a lummox: it means a clumsy oaf.- SKIVER
Skivers and shirkers are one and the same. Someone who manages to duck under any responsibility and loaf around, doing very little, is a skiver. The origins of this particular insult are contested: some think it’s from an Old Norse word—skifa—meaning “slice,” whereby the worker slices off as much work as possible.- MINGER
Often hurled at the opposite sex, to call someone a minger is to say they are objectively unattractive. Though etymologists struggle to agree where the word came from, it seems likely that it stems from the Old Scots word meng, meaning “sh**.” We didn’t say it was pretty.- NINCOMPOOP
For such a colloquial word, nincompoop actually has a very learned past. Samuel Johnson, the compiler of England’s first proper dictionary, claims the word comes from the Latin phrase non compos mentis (“not of right mind”), and was originally a legal term.- PILLOCK
As words are used more regularly, the laziness of pronunciation can often warp them slightly. So it was with pillock. Originally pillicock (a Norwegian slang word for penis), the word has since been condensed to plain old pillock—though its meaning remains.- CLOD HOPPER
According to the brilliant Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, dating back to 1811 and compiled by Captain Francis Grose, a clod hopper refers to a country farmer or ploughman—with the implication nowadays that you’re slow witted and bumbling.- DUNAKER
Grose’s Dictionary of vulgarities is a rich seam of overlooked insults. In the 200 years since it was published, there have been several terms that have fallen out of favor. One of them is dunaker, a common thief of cows and calves.- GIT
By calling someone a git, you’re invoking the old Scots word get, which means “bastard.” When it came down south of the border, it lost its harsh vowel sound and became something softer, albeit with the required spikiness in.Also see this handbook of literary insults and how famous words originated.
Janette Sadik-Khan and Citi Bike.
Janette Sadik-Khan is the Transportation Commissioner for New York City. Under her leadership, the DOT has implemented a vision for New York streets that prioritizes people before automobiles. This has meant new pedestrian plazas (remember Times Square a few years ago?), traffic calming projects, and hundreds of miles of new bike lanes. The net result has been a more human, livable New York City.
None of these changes have been without controversy or push-back. Any kind of change is always hard, and any change to our streets is immediately visible and elicits immediate reactions - both positive and negative. But for every sneering tabloid op-ed, there are hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who feel their daily lives made safer and more enjoyable by improvements to our shared public space.
As bike commuting in NYC has exploded over the last few years, there has been one glaring void - the lack of a bike share program. We have watched London, Paris, Montreal, etc. implement their successful bike share systems while getting nothing here at home. This is about to change with the arrival (finally!) of Citi Bike, due to launch on May 27. These clunky blue bikes, designed for short trips from one docking station to another, will benefit New Yorkers of all stripes - even many of my skeptical cycling friends who don’t see the point and dread the introduction of less experienced riders to the streets.
Not only will bike share be a convenient, cheap, enjoyable way to make short trips around the city, I believe it will go a long way toward legitimizing cycling in the minds of many New Yorkers who still see it as a fringe activity. This is because the bike share stations are literally becoming a part of New York’s infrastructure. Within a few months they will go from curious novelty to old news - just another part of the city’s transportation network. Subway, bus, taxi, bike. You won’t have to own a bike to ride a bike, and you won’t have to be “one of those bike people” to reap the benefits of our truly bikeable city. This is my hope, anyway, and I’m personally grateful to JSK and her department for their work in getting us this far.
Bike share. Because “crosstown bus”…what is this mythical crosstown bus you speak of?
I am crossing every digit that the program is a success, because I can’t even begin to list the amount of times per week I’d like to be able to bike somewhere without having to worry about locking up, or riding home late at night. And if the fleet of bright blue bikes helps solidify bikes’ presence on NYC’s streets, all the better!
(Source: that80skidofyor, via nocontxt)
I love you, The Onion.
HEE.
Is it bad that I can’t help but nitpick that in a thing about fonts one really ought to get “minuscule” right?
(via iliketype)
If grandmothers around the world had a rallying cry, it would probably sound something like “You need to eat!”
Photographer Gabriele Galimberti’s grandmother said something similar to him before one of his many globetrotting work trips. To ensure he had at least one good meal, she prepared for him a dish of ravioli before he departed on one of his adventures.
“In that occasion I said to my grandma ‘You know, Grandma, there are many other grandmas around the world and most of them are really good cooks,” Galimberti wrote via email. “I’m going to meet them and ask them to cook for me so I can show you that you don’t have to be worried for me and the food that I will eat!’ This is the way my project was born!”
The project, “Delicatessen With Love”, took Galimberti to 58 countries where he photographed grandmothers with both the ingredients and finished signature dishes.
He acted as photographer and stylist during each shoot with the grandmothers, taking a portrait of both the women and the food they made for him.
From top to bottom:
Inara Runtule, 68, Kekava, Latvia. Silke (herring with potatoes and cottage cheese).
Grace Estibero, 82, Mumbai, India. Chicken vindaloo.Susann Soresen, 81, Homer, Alaska. Moose steak.
Serette Charles, 63, Saint-Jean du Sud, Haiti. Lambi in creole sauce.
The photographer’s grandmother Marisa Batini, 80, Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy. Swiss chard and ricotta Ravioli with meat sauce.
Normita Sambu Arap, 65, Oltepessi (Masaai Mara), Kenya. Mboga and orgali (white corn polenta with vegetables and goat).
Julia Enaigua, 71, La Paz, Bolivia. Queso Humacha (vegetables and fresh cheese soup).
Fifi Makhmer, 62, Cairo, Egypt. Kuoshry (pasta, rice and legumes pie).
Isolina Perez De Vargas, 83, Mendoza, Argentina. Asado criollo (mixed meats barbecue).
Bisrat Melake, 60, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Enjera with curry and vegetables.
this is a beautiful series- kendra
Know your tome – anatomy of the book. Pair with how a book is made, from antiquity to the Middle Ages to today.
Dear Diary,
It is three in the morning. The authorities have closed the door to the bedroom; I can only assume they have forgotten about me and have left me here to die. As a last resort, I will stand post for the rest of the night and sing the song of my people, in hopes that they rescue me.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Ze Frank’s Sad Cat Diary.
The Brain of a Designer
Based on this excellent set of diagrams on Houzz.com (click through for their additional diagrams which are also cute). Though certain principles and personality traits are true of all designers, I felt there needed to be a graphic designer specific version.
