|
Shaggy Dog Story
In its original sense, a shaggy-dog story or yarn is an extremely long-winded anecdote characterized by extensive narration of typically irrelevant incidents and terminated by an anticlimax. In other words, it is a long story that is intended to be amusing and that has an intentionally silly or meaningless ending. Shaggy-dog stories play upon the audience's preconceptions of joke-telling. The audience listens to the story with certain expectations, which are either simply not met or met in some entirely unexpected manner. A lengthy shaggy-dog story derives its humour from the fact that the joke-teller held the attention of the listeners for a long time (such jokes can take five minutes or more to tell) for no reason at all, as the long-awaited resolution is essentially meaningless, with the joke as a whole playing upon people's search for meaning. The nature of their delivery is reflected in the English idiom '' spin a yarn'', by way of analogy with the production of yarn. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anecdote
An anecdote is "a story with a point", such as to communicate an abstract idea about a person, place, or thing through the concrete details of a short narrative or to characterize by delineating a specific quirk or trait. Anecdotes may be real or fictional; the anecdotal digression is a common feature of literary works and even oral anecdotes typically involve subtle exaggeration and dramatic shape designed to entertain the listener. An anecdote is always presented as the recounting of a real incident involving actual people and usually in an identifiable place. In the words of Jürgen Hein, they exhibit "a special realism" and "a claimed historical dimension". Etymology and usage The word ''anecdote'' (in Greek: ἀνέκδοτον "unpublished", literally "not given out") comes from Procopius of Caesarea, the biographer of Emperor Justinian I (). Procopius produced a work entitled (''Anekdota'', variously translated as ''Unpublished Memoirs'' or as ''Secret History'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arlo Guthrie
Arlo Davy Guthrie (born July 10, 1947) is an American folk music, folk singer-songwriter. He is known for singing protest song, songs of protest against social injustice, and storytelling while performing songs, following the tradition of his father, Woody Guthrie. Guthrie's best-known work is his debut piece, "Alice's Restaurant, Alice's Restaurant Massacree", a satirical talking blues song of about 18 minutes that has since become a Thanksgiving anthem. His only top-40 hit is a cover of Steve Goodman's "City of New Orleans (song), City of New Orleans". His song "Massachusetts (Arlo Guthrie song), Massachusetts" was named the official folk song of the state, in which he has lived most of his adult life. Guthrie has also made several acting appearances. He is the father of four children, who have also had careers as musicians. Early life and education Guthrie was born in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn, the son of the folk singer and composer Woody Guthrie and dancer Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
George Chapman
George Chapman ( – 12 May 1634) was an English dramatist, translator and poet. He was a classical scholar whose work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman is seen as an anticipator of the metaphysical poets of the 17th century. He is best remembered for his translations of Homer's ''Iliad'' and '' Odyssey'', and the Homeric '' Batrachomyomachia''. Shakespeare was a contemporary of Chapman, and there is evidence that he knew some of Chapman's work. William Minto proposed Chapman as a candidate for being the " Rival Poet" mentioned in Shakespeare's sonnets. Life and work Chapman was born at Hitchin in Hertfordshire. His father appears to have been reasonably well off, but George was the younger son, and would need to earn his living. From his literary work it is evident that he acquired a good command of Latin and Greek (although he drew on the work of earlier scholars in his Greek translations). There is conjecture that he attended the University of Oxford without t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Keats
John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, along with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculosis at the age of 25. They were indifferently received in his lifetime, but his fame grew rapidly after his death. By the end of the century, he was placed in the canon of English literature, strongly influencing many writers of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood; the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' of 1888 described his "Ode to a Nightingale" as "one of the final masterpieces". Keats had a style "heavily loaded with sensualities", notably in the series of odes. Typically of the Romantics, he accentuated extreme emotion through natural imagery. Today his poems and letters remain among the most popular and analysed in English literature – in particular "Ode to a Nightingale", " Ode on a Grecian Urn", " Sleep and Poetry" and the sonnet " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading newspaper. It is considered a newspaper of record for Ireland. Though formed as a Protestant Irish nationalist paper, within two decades and under new owners, it became a supporter of unionism in Ireland. In the 21st century, it presents itself politically as "liberal and progressive", as well as being centre-right on economic issues. The editorship of the newspaper from 1859 until 1986 was controlled by the Anglo-Irish Protestant minority, only gaining its first nominal Irish Catholic editor 127 years into its existence. The paper's notable columnists have included writer and arts commentator Fintan O'Toole and satirist Miriam Lord. The late Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald was once a columnist. Michael O'Regan was the Leinster Ho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flann O'Brien
Brian O'Nolan (; 5 October 19111 April 1966), his pen name being Flann O'Brien, was an Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland, Irish civil service official, novelist, playwright and satirist, who is now considered a major figure in twentieth-century Irish literature. Born in Strabane, County Tyrone, he is regarded as a key figure in modernist and postmodern literature. His English language novels, such as ''At Swim-Two-Birds'' and ''The Third Policeman'', were written under the O'Brien pen name. His many satirical columns in ''The Irish Times'' and an Irish-language novel, ''An Béal Bocht'', were written under the name Myles na gCopaleen. O'Brien's novels have attracted a wide following both for their unconventional humour and as prominent examples of modernist metafiction. As a novelist, O'Brien was influenced by James Joyce. He was nonetheless sceptical of the "cult" of Joyce, saying "I declare to God if I hear that name Joyce one more time I will surely froth at the gob." ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anchovies As Food
Anchovies are small, common saltwater forage fish in the family Engraulidae that are used as human food and fish bait. There are 144 species in 17 genera found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans. Anchovies are usually classified as oily fish. They are small, green fish with blue reflections due to a silver longitudinal stripe that runs from the base of the caudal fin. They range from to in adult length, and the body shape is variable, with more slender fish in northern populations. A traditional method of processing and preserving anchovies is to gut and salt them in brine, allow them to cure, and then pack them in oil or salt. This results in the characteristic strong flavor associated with anchovies, and their flesh turns deep grey. Anchovies pickled in vinegar, as with Spanish '' boquerones en vinagre'', are milder, and the flesh retains a white color. For domestic use, anchovy fillets are sometimes packed in oil or salt in small tins or jars, sometimes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Love Stinks (album)
''Love Stinks'' is the ninth studio album by American rock band the J. Geils Band. The album was released on January 28, 1980, by EMI Records. The title song, " Love Stinks", is a rant against unrequited love. It has been covered by industrial metal band Bile, by Andru Branch in the film '' Love Stinks'', Joan Jett in the film '' Mr. Wrong'' and Adam Sandler in the film ''The Wedding Singer''. Critical reception ''Cash Box'' said that the single "Just Can't Wait" has "earthy old wave rock guitar riffing, with a souped up synthesized farfisa organ sound." ''Record World'' called it "certified boogie music with a hook that will grab summer listeners." ''Classic Rock History'' critic Brian Kachejian named "Just Can't Wait" as the band's 7th best song, stating that "The song’s Farfisa organ lick was very symbolic of the sound of the early 1980s, when all styles of music were merging into a new wave-type sound." Track listing All songs written by Peter Wolf and Seth Justman, exce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The J
J, or j, is the tenth letter of the English alphabet. J may also refer to: * Palatal approximant in the International Phonetic Alphabet * J, Je (Cyrillic), Cyrillic letter Je Astronomy * J, a provisional designation in astronomy, provisional designation prefix for some objects discovered between May 1 and 15 of a year Computing * J (programming language), successor to APL * J Sharp, J# programming language for the Microsoft .NET Framework * J operator, a programming construct * J (operating system), an operating system for ICL's System 4 series of computers Genetics and medicine * Haplogroup J (mtDNA) * Haplogroup J (Y-DNA) * ATC code J ''Antiinfectives for systemic use'', a section of the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical Classification System Mathematics * J, symbol used to denote the Bessel function * ''j'', used as the symbol for the imaginary unit (\sqrt) in fields where ''i'' is used for a different purpose (such as electric current) * ''j'' and ''j2'' (or \bar) a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sauerkraut
Sauerkraut (; , ) is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferment the sugars in the cabbage leaves. Overview and history Fermented foods have a long history in many cultures. The Roman writers Cato (in his '' De agri cultura'') and Columella (in his '' De re Rustica'') mentioned preserving cabbages and turnips with salt. According to Wilhelm Holzapfel et al, Plinius the Elder, writing in the first century A.D., is reputed to have been the first writer to describe the making of sauerkraut by preserving what the Romans called ''salt cabbage'' in earthen vessels. Popular folklore has imagined that sauerkraut was introduced to Europe by the trade networks formed across Eurasia by the Golden Horde. However, according to Mack and Surina (2005), there is no evidence to support this theory, nor any evidence that f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Running With Scissors ("Weird Al" Yankovic Album)
''Running with Scissors'' is the tenth studio album by the American parody musician "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on June 29, 1999. It was the fourth studio album self-produced by Yankovic, and his first album for Volcano Records after its acquisition of Scotti Brothers. The musical styles on the album are built around parodies and pastiches of pop and rock music of the late 1990s, largely targeting alternative rock and hip-hop. The album's lead single, " The Saga Begins", however, was a parody of the 1971 single " American Pie" by Don McLean, and it recounts the plot of the film '' Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'', which was released around the same time. None of the album's singles charted domestically, although " Pretty Fly for a Rabbi", a parody of " Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" by the Offspring, charted at number 67 in Australia. The album featured five parodies. Aside from the aforementioned "The Saga Begins" and "Pretty Fly for a Rabbi", the album also contai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
