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“Ye shall know them by their fruits.
Do men gather grapes of thorns,
or figs of thistles?”

Matthew 7:16, the Bible (King James Version)

callipygous (aka callipygian)

For many years I have collected dictionaries—in printed book form, and also online. I take great delight in discovering new words, and in understanding their roots and etymology. “Callipygous” crossed my desktop recently, and I couldn’t help but ‘share’ this lovely, voluptuous word that means: “of, pertaining to, or having beautiful buttocks,” 1800, from Gk. kallipygos, name of a statue of Aphrodite at Syracuse, from kalli-, combining form of kallos “beauty” + pyge “rump, buttocks.” Sir Thomas Browne (1646) refers to “Callipygæ and women largely composed behinde.”

Gluteous maximus triumvirate image from unknown sources: Cooper Black (typeface) seemed to fit just right… (with a nod to Matt Warburton).

Pink Floyd may have got it right, methinks… time flies.

Overcast Manitoba

Weather was not on our side, so we missed quite the sight in the wee hours of this morning. The total lunar eclipse that began a few hours ago took on a bloody red hue at its peak. Since the moon aligned with the Milky Way’s stars this time around, an enhanced ambience (apparently) made it particularly spectacular. This total lunar eclipse is the first one to occur on the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere in 372 years…

Drat! Missed it, due to persistent cloud-cover… well, maybe next time around. :-| The photo sequence above was taken in Manassas, Virginia, showing the moon in different stages of today’s total lunar eclipse. Source: NPR.

50° Fahrenheit (10° C)

New Yorkers try to turn on the heat.

Canadians plant gardens.

40° Fahrenheit (4.4° C)

Californians shiver uncontrollably.

Canadians sunbathe.

35° Fahrenheit (1.6° C)

Italian cars won’t start.

Canadians drive with the windows down.

32° Fahrenheit (0° C)

Distilled water freezes.

Canadian water get thicker.

0° Fahrenheit (-17.9° C)

New York City landlords finally turn on the heat.

Canadians have the last cookout of the season.

-40° Fahrenheit (-40° C)

Hollywood disintegrates.

Canadians rent some videos.

-60° Fahrenheit (-51° C)

Mt. St. Helens freezes.

Canadian Girl Guides sell cookies door-to-door.

-100° Fahrenheit (-73° C)

Santa Claus abandons the North Pole.

Canadians pull down their ear flaps.

-173° Fahrenheit (-114° C)

Ethyl alcohol Freezes.

Canadians get frustrated when they can’t thaw the keg.

-460° Fahrenheit (-273° C)

Absolute zero; all atomic motion stops.

Canadians start saying “cold, eh?”

-500° Fahrenheit (-295° C)

Hell freezes over.

The Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup.

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“It’s better to help people than garden gnomes.”

—Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain (2001) 

Klimcentrum Bjoeks, Groningen, the Netherlands

For a flatland nation with no natural outdoor climbing opportunities, the “Excalibur,” a 37-meter-high climbing wall (121 feet for my non-metric US friends—almost a rope-length, with an 11-meter overhang) makes an impressive vertical offer. I’ve designed (and built) several climbing walls and structures in my time… but very puny in comparison to this. (More, better pics taken from a kite, here).

Climb on…

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“She batted them pretty little eyes at you, and you fell for it
like an egg from a tall chicken!” —Charade, 1963 

The mountains of Piemonte, Italy

“The ibex of Northern Italy don’t need to worry about equipment malfunctions, difficult-to-obtain life insurance, or their peers calling them foolhardy. They just do what they do, without ropes or inhibitions…” (from a link in today’s Alpine Club of Canada e-letter).

I’ve long marveled at the genetically hard-wired abilities of sheep and goats when it comes to rock climbing (and I’ve posted on this before, e.g. here and here). Don’t underestimate the sure-footedness, balance, and sheer gumption of the mystical Ibex either (stambecco in Italian, Steinbock in German). These pictures speak for themselves (yes, the tiny specs in the lower photo are what you think)…