Esmeraldas Woodstar

More, but not much more, information here.

Paykan

A modest, unassuming little veh-i-cule. More information here.

Persian Handstands

Go to this page. You won't regret it.

You want nightmares?

Siméon-Eugène Thivier (1845-1920)

Le Cauchemar (1894). More information (not much more, but enough to make me want to go to Toulouse one day) here.

Bruisyard Hall

September is Etymology Month (22)

НОСОРОГ [nosoróg] 'rhinoceros'. A calque of Gk. rinókeros, id. (rís, gen. rinós 'nose', kéras 'horn') cf. Ger. Nashorn, id., lit. 'nose-horn', also calqued from Gk.

September is Etymology Month (7)

МАМОНТ [mámont] 'mammoth'. 17th century (for some time in the 19th century also мамут, cf. Pol./Cz. mamut, id.), possibly from a Jakut or Tungus word meaning 'living in the ground' (the mammoth was thought to be a burrowing animal, cf. Tatar mama 'earth' and early accounts of a 'sea elephant' that lived underground). Alternatively, from the Gr. mammoúth, with phonetic shape affected, perhaps, by the OR name Мамонтъ, cf. absence of -n- in Eng., and in Fr. mammouth, id., Ger. Mammut, id., explained, perhaps, by a misreading of -on- as -ou-, or by derivation from an earlier form. Finally, the name could have been transferred from some other exotic animal, based on the мамоны (nocturnal predators said to live in hills or rocks) described in travellers' tales from India, perhaps wild cats or lynxes, or, perhaps most logically in view of the burrowing legends, mole-like creatures (cf., however, OR мамоны 'monkeys').

September is Etymology Month (1)

БОБР [bobr] 'beaver' (cf. бобёр 'beaver fur') From CSl. *bobrъ/*bebrъ, IE *bhebros 'red-brown, beaver' (cf. Lith. bebras 'beaver'), the animal thus being named for the colour of its fur.

[All etymologies this month taken from Terence Wade's useful Russian Etymological Dictionary (London, Bristol Classical Press 1996)]

Àngels Santos Toroella (1911- )

Un mundo (1929). More information here.

Valery Slavuk (1947- )

More information (in Russian) here.

Óscar Domínguez (1906-1957)

El gato y el canario (1937)

More information here.

Franz Theobald Horny (1798-1924)

Frauen am Brunnen von Olevano (c. 1822). More information (in German) here.

Just Because...

Nobody Laughs At Mr. Fish!

Truer words were never spoken, I suppose.

Great Supervillains of Times Gone By

Animal-Vegetable-Mineral Man. No, seriously... More information here. I particularly like the detail that he gained his powers after 'falling into a vat of amino acids'.

Maria Moravsky (1889-1947)

Great captions, Batman! More information here.

Dan Hillier (19??- )

More information, as always, here.

Coonhound

More information here.

A visitor

I was on the metro home when the phonecall came. The connection was bad and I couldn't work out what Marian was saying. The word I heard was ortiga (stinging nettle). But why would having nettles in the house be such an issue? Anyway, I hurried back.

Ah, lagartija. A little lizard. The old magazine and tumbler trick worked to catch her, and I then liberated her into a vacant lot down our street. I wish her well.