I almost forgot one of my favorite places in DC, the National Museum of Health and Medicine at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Don't let the location throw you; this museum is a trove of medical curiosities and grotesqualia that would put most circus sideshows to shame. The stomach-shaped hairball, successfully removed from the innards of a compulsive hair-eating girl, is not to be missed.
The FDR memorial is also lovely at night.
At the bottom of this page there's a nice map (PDF, 632K) to plan your ramblings around the National Mall - it's under the uninspiring title "Local Site Map".
Hit the Simithsonian Museum of Natural History then head over to the sculpture garden and take a spin on the ice rink. Or, to escape the crowds, a few blocks away there's the Pershing Park ice rink - tiny and hidden from the street, it's a lovely spot. There's a nice hotel across the street where you can sink down for a drink afterwards.
I'm told Set is a terribly addictive game. I just know it's cheap and since it's a game, it's a nice "couples gift."
I found the online version (note: applet) quite engaging once you get the hang of it.
That article mentions one possible derivation that makes a lot of sense - the verb "to dig" as in, "you dig?"
In wolof, "dëgg" means to know or to understand. "Dëgg nge?" or "you understand me?" is very common in casual conversation, like punctuating your speech with "you know?" It seems entirely plausible that "Dëgg?" transitioned into English through wolof-speaking slaves.
Funny, I'd never considered that before I read that article.
As it happens, I speak wolof. It strikes me as vanishingly unlikely that "hipi" (which is actually pronounced "khipi" with the gutteral "kh" sound that doesn't exist in English) has anything to do with "hip."
And yes, "wow" means "yes." Often people repeat it for emphasis, so to say yes you'll say "wow wow!" which I never tire of saying. The word for dry is pronounced like "whoa."
Wolof is the best language ever. I could go on and on about it. A couple other interesting things: the word for grandmother is pronounced like "mom" and the word for evergreen trees sounds a lot like "neverdie."
Also, there's a verb for when you plant your crops on the borderline between your field and your neighbor's, so that you get that one extra row at harvest time.
That wouldn't surprise me. Firefighters are an egotistical bunch.
Please, if you're going to tar us all with that brush, use the appropriate term and say "America's Heroes are an egotistical bunch."
Is it possible that having read about it here or somewhere similar, that you are misremembering? I tend to think many deja vu experiences are the result of such unattributed memories. Personally, I thought I'd read it on MeFi and was merely a case of deja blu. Haw haw haw!
Apparently he's been doing this act a while. And (*magic spoiler warning*) since there are multiple reports of the "randomly selected" woman grabbing his butt and him making a joke about the name not being "Cop-a-feel," at least part of the act seems to rest on a confederate.
I thought this info was posted on MeFi but can't seem to find it now.
I'd recommend Anatomy and Physiology for Emergency Care. It's a comprehensive guide, quite detailed and nicely illustrated. Despite the title, it's a good resource for any starting medical professional.
I'm disappointed they used the term "Avarice" instead of the more appropriate term "Greed." While it's easier to imagine Avarice as the sin of penny-pinching misers, Greed is much more widely applicable.
And as the proprietor of deadlysins.com I'm disappointed they didn't ask for my expert advice.
goetter: It was a burn building at a fire training center, and it was a pretty toasty one at that. Some of the research subjects had bailed out the day before when their gear started to fail. I wonder what that must have looked like to the guys sitting out with their bank of computer screens under a tent in the parking lot, monitoring every breath and heartbeat.
Chyren: everything came out OK.
When we swallowed the pills, the guys running the study joked that the package included the address we'd need to send it back to when we were "finished" with it. There was a moment of hesitation in the room.
I swallowed a radio transitter pill that monitored my core body temperature, got wired into a high-tech vest with all sorts of sensors, then put on firefighting gear and fought fire all day, so some researchers could examine the physiological stresses and changes those activities cause in the human body.
It was a big pill.
Yes, for even I now find myself even in this position, and desperately require - O hubris' nemesis! - the humble convenience of the water closet!
I laughed so hard, I think I may have needed a bathroom break?
I am apparently unaffected by pepper spray. I have a strange and secret method of getting someone to desire me that has yet to fail.
posted by itstheclamsname 18 years ago
In "Curious George: Going to Washington D.C.!"
I almost forgot one of my favorite places in DC, the National Museum of Health and Medicine at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Don't let the location throw you; this museum is a trove of medical curiosities and grotesqualia that would put most circus sideshows to shame. The stomach-shaped hairball, successfully removed from the innards of a compulsive hair-eating girl, is not to be missed.
posted by itstheclamsname 18 years ago
The FDR memorial is also lovely at night. At the bottom of this page there's a nice map (PDF, 632K) to plan your ramblings around the National Mall - it's under the uninspiring title "Local Site Map".
posted by itstheclamsname 18 years ago
Hit the Simithsonian Museum of Natural History then head over to the sculpture garden and take a spin on the ice rink. Or, to escape the crowds, a few blocks away there's the Pershing Park ice rink - tiny and hidden from the street, it's a lovely spot. There's a nice hotel across the street where you can sink down for a drink afterwards.
posted by itstheclamsname 18 years ago
In "Curious George: Christmas Shopping"
I'm told Set is a terribly addictive game. I just know it's cheap and since it's a game, it's a nice "couples gift." I found the online version (note: applet) quite engaging once you get the hang of it.
posted by itstheclamsname 18 years ago
In "Crying Wolof"
That article mentions one possible derivation that makes a lot of sense - the verb "to dig" as in, "you dig?" In wolof, "dëgg" means to know or to understand. "Dëgg nge?" or "you understand me?" is very common in casual conversation, like punctuating your speech with "you know?" It seems entirely plausible that "Dëgg?" transitioned into English through wolof-speaking slaves. Funny, I'd never considered that before I read that article.
posted by itstheclamsname 18 years ago
As it happens, I speak wolof. It strikes me as vanishingly unlikely that "hipi" (which is actually pronounced "khipi" with the gutteral "kh" sound that doesn't exist in English) has anything to do with "hip." And yes, "wow" means "yes." Often people repeat it for emphasis, so to say yes you'll say "wow wow!" which I never tire of saying. The word for dry is pronounced like "whoa." Wolof is the best language ever. I could go on and on about it. A couple other interesting things: the word for grandmother is pronounced like "mom" and the word for evergreen trees sounds a lot like "neverdie." Also, there's a verb for when you plant your crops on the borderline between your field and your neighbor's, so that you get that one extra row at harvest time.
posted by itstheclamsname 18 years ago
In "Seven firemen fired for having sex while on duty."
That wouldn't surprise me. Firefighters are an egotistical bunch. Please, if you're going to tar us all with that brush, use the appropriate term and say "America's Heroes are an egotistical bunch."
posted by itstheclamsname 18 years ago
In "Curious, George: Déjà Vu"
Is it possible that having read about it here or somewhere similar, that you are misremembering? I tend to think many deja vu experiences are the result of such unattributed memories. Personally, I thought I'd read it on MeFi and was merely a case of deja blu. Haw haw haw!
posted by itstheclamsname 18 years ago
In "David Copperfield to impregnate a woman on stage."
Apparently he's been doing this act a while. And (*magic spoiler warning*) since there are multiple reports of the "randomly selected" woman grabbing his butt and him making a joke about the name not being "Cop-a-feel," at least part of the act seems to rest on a confederate. I thought this info was posted on MeFi but can't seem to find it now.
posted by itstheclamsname 18 years ago
In "Curious George: Medical monkey!"
I'd recommend Anatomy and Physiology for Emergency Care. It's a comprehensive guide, quite detailed and nicely illustrated. Despite the title, it's a good resource for any starting medical professional.
posted by itstheclamsname 18 years ago
In "The 7 deadly since, from a modern perspective."
I'm disappointed they used the term "Avarice" instead of the more appropriate term "Greed." While it's easier to imagine Avarice as the sin of penny-pinching misers, Greed is much more widely applicable. And as the proprietor of deadlysins.com I'm disappointed they didn't ask for my expert advice.
posted by itstheclamsname 18 years ago
In "Saturday Flash Fun"
This almost makes up for that commercial with the lamp. The depressed me for days.
posted by itstheclamsname 18 years ago
In "Self-postFilter:"
goetter: It was a burn building at a fire training center, and it was a pretty toasty one at that. Some of the research subjects had bailed out the day before when their gear started to fail. I wonder what that must have looked like to the guys sitting out with their bank of computer screens under a tent in the parking lot, monitoring every breath and heartbeat.
posted by itstheclamsname 18 years ago
Chyren: everything came out OK. When we swallowed the pills, the guys running the study joked that the package included the address we'd need to send it back to when we were "finished" with it. There was a moment of hesitation in the room.
posted by itstheclamsname 18 years ago
In "Curious George: Where should I propose in Chicago?"
The control room of the captured U-505 at the Museum of Science and Industry!
posted by itstheclamsname 18 years ago
In "Self-postFilter:"
I swallowed a radio transitter pill that monitored my core body temperature, got wired into a high-tech vest with all sorts of sensors, then put on firefighting gear and fought fire all day, so some researchers could examine the physiological stresses and changes those activities cause in the human body. It was a big pill.
posted by itstheclamsname 18 years ago
In "POTUS asks Condi for a POTTY break"
Yes, for even I now find myself even in this position, and desperately require - O hubris' nemesis! - the humble convenience of the water closet! I laughed so hard, I think I may have needed a bathroom break?
posted by itstheclamsname 18 years ago
In "Plea for help from all you cine-philes out there"
hey, nanga def? Ana waa ker ge?
posted by itstheclamsname 18 years ago
In "Read between the lines..."
I don't deserve it.
posted by itstheclamsname 18 years ago
(limited to the most recent 20 comments)