Judy Holtzer (Knopf)

Dear Ann - You are an amazing person. I was so pleased to hear of Angel's Paws, a most fitting venue for your talent and passion for pets. It is a wonderful idea. Could I write to you privately sometime?

Dale Gieringer

Steve -   My family all sent DNA samples to 23andMe.   We didn't learn much about our family origins - I already knew I'm German/British Northern European, though it was interesting to learn that I had a touch of ancient Neanderthal.  Neither did we discover any genetic predispositions to one horrible disease or another, thank goodness.  However, I did make contact with a number of DNA relatives, including some second and third cousins whom I'd forgotten about or was unaware of.   Great fun for genealogy buffs like myself.  Also, my wife discovered that she had a half-cousin  through  a previously unknown  illegitimate liaison involving  her grandfather or great-uncle.   An intriguing family mystery to explore. 

David Buchholz

I sent in my DNA and discovered pretty much what I already suspected—that my ancestors were mostly from Western Europe.  My American born Chinese wife discovered that she was Chinese, (duh) 98% Han Chinese in fact, but was surprised 26 years ago when we stepped off our plane in Beijing that by looking at her face the customs inspector told her exactly what part of China she had come from.  Two more episodes of people sending in their DNA.  Vanity Fair recounted a story of a woman who discovered that the surprises in her DNA led her to investigate further, discovering in her research that her grandfather and another person had been switched as babies in a maternity ward.  These services do warn you that you might find a surprise or two.  The second episode is closer to home.  My wife's cousin and his wife are both forensic scientists.  Mary Hong, the cousin's wife, put two and two together last year and discovered through one of the DNA databases that the DNA of Joseph DeAngelo, who is better known in California as the "Golden State Killer", a 73 year old man accused of more than thirteen murders and fifty rapes, was living peacefully in Sacramento, having given up his life of crime many years ago.  The DNA had been saved from the thirteen murders and was one and the same.  When DeAngelo was identified detectives picked out a cup from his garbage and matched it to the DNA from the murders.  Perfect match.  They returned and took something else from his garbage.  Again, a perfect match.  When they arrested him last year he told the arresting officers, "There's a roast in the oven."  Love that.  And as a footnote, my son is a Sacramento Public Defender.  His supervisor is DeAngelo's attorney.

Paul Simons

I don't have any DNA info but I do have a gripe about current arbitrary, unnecessary contortions forced onto our language. When did "Ask" become a noun? I hear politicians saying things like "This is a one-time ask and it will be used to promote peace, love, and nutritous breakfasts for our brave First Responders". And why did ask get replaced by axe in a large swath of our population as in "I didn't axe him why he committed the axe murder but if you can meet my axe of $20.00 I will axe him in the next debate"? What the heck is going on?

Philip Spiess

You axe me no questions, I'll fell you no lies (and an axe of $20 for an axe is -- the world, by the way, turns on an axe is -- no doubt, cut-rate).

Paul Simons

Paul Simons

David Buchholz

To echo Paul and add my own...let's get rid of "epic", "viral", "awesome", and all wait staff should be dismissed if they respond "Perfect!" when I order my burger medium-rare.

Steven Levinson

And don't forget, Paul, the current vogue regarding the nominalization of "ask," as in "My ask to you is . . . ."

Paul Simons

Steve - I did get that one - it's a few posts back. Just scroll up - it's with the George Booth "New Yorker" cartoon.

Dave - OMG!! Excellent choices, bro!

Ann Shepard (Rueve)

I just heard the phrase, by an announcer on NPR no less, "It sounds CLICHÉ".  

David Buchholz

My wife hates to be called a "guy", which seems to be the nom-de-jour by many waiters and waitresses.  "Hi guys, what can I get you to drink?"  After enduring that one more time we received our check from a restaurant with a pen and a place to make remarks.  My wife described her annoyance at being referred tp as a "guy".  We paid and left the restaurant and began walking across the parking lot.  Just as we reached the car our waiter appeared at the door and yelled to us, "Goodnight Folks!"  We loved it,

Philip Spiess

I will say to all of you WHHS "folks," keep going on these language critiques, whether or not they reap any real results (which is to say, results in the real world).  (Although I have enjoyed the term "awesome!" in some contexts, such as young visitors to my Hallowe'en display years ago -- "Awesome!' -- or my Middle School students -- "You are an awesome teacher!" -- I fully believe that the term has been, and is, way too much overused.)

But now I want to return, for one last time, to the saga of George Remus (Post #3780), in order to correct some points or to present some new ones (i.e., new inquiries).  Although Remus's secret distillery was at his "Death Valley Farm" on Queen City Avenue, his actual home was on Price Hill, at 825 Hermosa Avenue, between West 8th Street and St. Lawrence Avenue.  The Price Hill Historical Society displays Remus's dining table, and the current 50 West Distilleries (local, I presume, to Cincinnati) produces "Remus Bourbon."  Last -- but certainly not least -- Bruce Fette inquires about a College Hill property in the forest at the end of his street, at 1430 North Bend Avenue, a drive with a "No Trespassing" sign posted, and the tradition of a bootlegger in residence and the kids warned "Never go there."  Then (according to Bruce) there was also a rumor about the death of a young boy and illicit whiskey.  Anyone know anything about these College Hill stories?

Jerry Ochs

Yet more kvetching about language abuse. 

Boil a frog slowly and yada yada yada.  As an ex-pat I have noticed what you may have not: the loss of the second word in many idioms.  Y'all have gone from chill out to chill, from cave in to cave, from pass away to pass.

In an unrelated rant, I am being told that during the abominable partial government shutdown, federal employees are calling OUT sick.  What? 

Paul Simons

Jerry - Federal employees who are forced to work without pay, or else lose their jobs permanently, are at times calling out sick. I can't blame them. As this is written, the Federal government is in the longest intentional shutdown in its history. We do have a mechanism carefully designed by the founders of the country to solve disagreements and reach a compromise, but that pre-supposes that all sides want reach a compromise. The founders created the mechanism in reaction to having been the subjects of a monarchy, where the King Of England ruled by imperial decree. Some might say that technology has replaced the imperial decree with the imperial tweet, but some would disagree. In any case the country has been conflicted from the start - most of the founders referenced above talked a lot about freedom and equality but also owned slaves. Even today, there are still those, evidently many, who are disappointed with the outcome of the Civil War. Progress has been one step up, two steps back in many cases. It's still a work in progress.

Gail Weintraub (Stern)

Jerry and Paul, while working and when I was ill, I would call IN sick. 

Mary Vore (Iwamoto)

Some proper nouns, now used as verbs, that seem to have gained general acceptance - or at least, I use them (I may not have spent enough time at WHHS):

Google; Xerox; Vortex (a simple biology lab instrument used to dissolve or mix materials in liquids thoroughly by generating a vortex). 

Jerry Ochs

Product placement fail(ure): On an episode of Hawaii Five-O, somebody said they would Bing a suspect's name. The online derision was widespread and prolonged.

In the UK, people hoover the carpet.  

Shall we move on to our inability to replace rolling up the car window and dialing the telephone?

Philip Spiess

Jerry, Paul, and Gail:  You can't call IN(to) the office if the office is closed because it's a government office; there will be nobody there (not even the janitor) to answer the phones.  So your only alternative is to call OUT -- to your boss at his home, to the newspapers to complain, or just to CALL OUT FOR HELP!

Jerry:  It's interesting that the Brits picked up on the brand-name of the Hoover Vacuum Cleaner Company (a native business of Ohio), whereas the Americans didn't.  Maybe that is because many of them equated the product with Herbert Hoover, i.e., as President they thought he really sucked.  [N.B.:  I used to drive my Middle School students really crazy by asking them "What English word has a 'W' in it that doesn't have a 'W' in it?"  The answer, of course, is "vacuum."]  

Mary:  Although Google and Xerox are now regularly used as verbs, they follow in the grand tradition of Victrola, Kleenex, and Scotch Tape becoming household objects and words that transcended their original brand name in general usage.  The Cincinnati firm of Formica was also once one such, but Formica, as a product and a company, has now gone the way of, say, Rookwood Pottery. 

David Buchholz

Some years ago the Santa Rosa City Council held a special meeting to expunge the word "prioritize" from their minutes, as someone on national TV had embarrassed them by calling attention to the "ize" that had begun to appear.  Now it's unavoidable.
 

Thomas Lounds Jr.

Phillip, I would love to help you about George Remus, but my thinking about historical crime in Cincinnati extends only to my observances as a child (well before WHHS) living with my grandparents on the third floor of a tenement on Court Street (now a curve in I-75) in the ghetto of Cincinnati.  Actually, I had a couple of uncles, perhaps black versions of Remus.  One, known everywhere as "Cholly" who was a kingpin of gambling and prostitution on/of 6th Street.  The other, nicknamed " Cat-tail" actually blocked traffic on one of the bridges from Newport to Cincinnati as he fought the police over bringing liquor into Cincinnati.  Both tough dudes but to keep the record straight, both uncles were very good to me. Next to where we lived ,but on the first floor, was a bar, which we all called the " Bucket of Blood" where the late night entertainment from our third floor slit Windows --because of the slanted roofs--was always the arrival of the black Mariahs  loaded with police wielding their heavy nightsticks as they beat--excuse me-"arrested" those considered offenders.  Have I seen it?  You bet! 

Anne, I am sure your discovery was offsetting.  Recently, my daughter-in-law , whose mother was murdered, just discovered triplet brothers that were left behind at one of her fathers military stations.

Jerry Ochs.  More kvetching about language abuse.  Just read an Associated Press article about introducing some new model cars at the Detroit Auto Show.  Several "unveils" were made. 

Ann Shepard (Rueve)

I shared with Judy that my description on my Facebook profile is: “Volunteer, outgoing introvert. Love family & friends.  Passionate about dogs. Was a dog in a former life.”

Here’s one of the accompanying pictures.  

Philip Spiess

Mr. Lounds:  Important material for the historical record; these are the anecdotes that fill in the gaps.  But, although I can guess your approximate age, I'm not certain, nor do I want to be precipitate or inquisitive.  Can you give me a general idea of what years you're talking about?  (Love the bridge story! -- of course, cheap beer was still being brought into Cincinnati from Kentucky in my youth, I suppose perhaps illicitly -- by my grandfather, among others -- why else would he bother to go there?)  As to the nightstick beatings, well, we're all (i.e., I'm speaking of "whites") still learning about that "buried" history, and we're all of us still seeing worse on the nightly news today -- history not only repeats itself, but sometimes never changes.

Ann:  You're such a dog!

Bruce Fette

Ann,

I love that picture. What charming friends.

Stephen Collett

Thanks to Tom Lounds for weighing in with the actuality of those times. Wow, there is a movie in that.

Alert friends, the shingles. I have just had a very tough five weeks and am still knocked out. I got it in the head -it always just does half the piece of the body. torso or legs or whatever. The thing is to start taking the anti-viral tabs wihin three days. But of course, one doesn´t know what one has before a week has gone. Grusome, in the eye and mouth and ear on the one side.

Stephen