1. Do you know what the followimg individuals had in common?
Mary Ann Evans
Nathan Birnbaum
Eric Arthur Blair
Jacob Gershwin
Prince Albert, Duke of York
Amantine Lucile Aurora Dupin de Francuiel
The answer is that they were all called George. They were George Eliot, George Burns, George Orwell, George Gershwin, George VI, and George Sand. The first and last were women.
Some other Georges were born George. George Gobel, George Jessel, George Hamilton, George Gordon (Lord Byron), George Calvert (Lord Baltimore), and David Lloyd-George come to mind. Even Boy George (a singer) and Gorgeous George (a professional wrestler of a bygone era) were real Georges (George Michael and George Wagner, respectively).
Here's a bonus fun fact: Phyllis George was Miss America of 1971 and later became the wife of the governor of Kentucky.
2. The woke crowd have come up with another new name for something. In addition to telling us to say "egg producer" instead of woman and "sperm producer" instead of man, the self-proclaimed language police and culture influencers now say that the correct way to refer to cow's milk is "bovine mammary secretion".
Moving right along...
3. Our brand-new great-grandson is one month old already. The time is flying. Before we know it he will be finishing his schooling, and I hope I am still around to see it. I read today -- I don't know whether it is true -- that 99% of all the people born in the world between 1930 and 1946 are dead. If you are between the ages of 77 and 93 you are part of "the fortunate 1%" who are still alive. It is a sobering fact to contemplate. I have never been part of such an elite group before. I don't know whether to say "God bless us every one" or "Sic transit gloria mundi". I am suddenly reminded that when a Georgia farm woman in one of Flannery O'Connor's short stories said, "The monks of old slept in their coffins" her hired worker's wife replied, "They wasn't as advanced as we are."
I think that's enough meandering for today.
Meandering takes us down some strange roads. Your comments, as always, are not only welcome but also eagerly awaited.
Some great meandering. I've often wondered what percentage of my generation are still alive.
ReplyDeleteWell, I enjoyed your meanderings. It's always enlightening to see other people's thought processes.
ReplyDeleteWill the self-righteous, humourless woke folk ever wake up and understand how ridiculous they sound and how they are torturing language?
I had a good time reading this. Oh my! You didn't mention George Washington.
ReplyDeleteI saw that statistic, as well and didn't really believe it. They key is in the words "born in the world" because if you're looking at who was in the world from 1930-1946, probably the majority have, indeed, departed. If you're looking at who was born 1930-1946, well there's probably more than 1% left.
ReplyDeletemeander away. I hope you weren't waiting too long for this comment, it's a bit underwhelming.
I have to say, firstly, that I found Kylie's comment far from underwhelming. Her interpretation alters the situation significantly. I have absolutely no idea whether the statement is correct using either interpretation and I doubt that the person who made it can know either. Certainly in many parts of the world life expectancy is very much less than in others so if we are looking at it purely from the point of view of countries with higher life expectancy then it's probably not correct but infant mortality and life expectancy in many wartorn and less fortunate places than ours may well give rise to that figure. I doubt we will ever know.
ReplyDeleteBy the way I had no idea any of the first list had George in their name.
Since Blogger is giving me fits lately, I will not attempt to reply to all of the comments above in this comment:
ReplyDeleteRed -- thanks for dropping by! The jury is still out on whether the "99 % dead, 1% remaining alive" statement is true, but it is interesting to contemplate.
jabblog -- thank you for commenting! It is my opinion that the woke folk are not merely humrless, self-righteous, and ridiculous-sounding (all of which are indeed true) but also dangerous and "giving heed to doctrines of demons", to quote something Saint Paul wrote.
Emma Springfield -- I'm glad you enjoyed the post! How in the world could I have forgotten George Washington? More evidence that I am slipping.
kylie -- You make an interesting distinction that I'm not sure is borne out by the article, but your comments are never underwhelming
Graham Edwards -- The people in the first list did not "have George in their name" (well, except for Prince Albert), they "took" the name as a nom de plume or a stage name. From one 1%-er to another, hanks as always for commenting.
Don't forget George of the Jungle, and Curious George. Also you need to read my recent post (earlier this week) entitled Say What. Our new grandson is one week old today and I was wondering whether I will see him graduate from high school. I don't want to think about what the woke crowd will have done to our wonderful country by then. God help us. xoxo
ReplyDelete