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Millihelen

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 3:04 am
by sluggo
For April 1st

Millihelen (MIL-e-hel-len) n., measure of beauty

Etymology: Helen of Troy was hailed as the 'face that launched a thousand ships'. A millihelen therefore is that quantity of beauty required to launch 1.0 ships.

A very helpful table of comparison, from the inconceivably formidable terahelen to the near-meaningless attohelen, complete with historical arsonic comparitive discussion, may be found over here.

launched by my old co-worker Ted, still the only person I ever knew to use the word obstreperous in a phone machine message. We both worked for a Helen.

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 2:47 pm
by Perry
You forgot that a millihelen also burns down one house.

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2008 7:26 pm
by gailr
A fitting April 1 post, sluggo. Visual reference for the value of one helen here.
(Not sure why the Nativity Set Angel-on-the-Stable is flying o'er her, though...)


Bonus trivia:
Etymology
The name's etymology is open to speculation. If it has an Indo-European etymology, it is possibly a suffixed form of a root *wel- "to turn, roll"[1] or "to cover, enclose" (compare Varuna, Veles), or of *sel- "to flow, run". The latter possibility would allow comparison to Vedic Saranyū, who is abducted in RV 10.17.2, a parallel suggestive of an Proto-Indo-European abduction myth.

The name is in any case unrelated to Hellenes, as is sometimes claimed ("Hellenes" being from the root *sed- "to sit, settle").
Helen
fem. proper name, from Fr. Hélène, from L. Helena, from Gk. Helene, fem. proper name, probably fem. of helenos "the bright one."
Helen or Helene is probably derived from the Greek word meaning "torch" or "corposant" or might be related to "selene" meaning "moon".

HELEN
With apologies to William Blake

Helen, Helen, burning bright
In the shipyards of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

In what distant towers and skies
Burnt the fire of thine eyes?
To what couch dared he aspire?
Whose the hand dared seize the fire?

With white shoulder and dark art
She captured the young Trojan's heart.
And when his heart began to beat,
He did not think beyond the feat.

Aphrodite forged the chain,
Knew that Paris would not abstain.
A man who ranks a goddess' charms
Will surely hasten his own harms.

When the Greeks threw all their spears,
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did she smile her work to see?
Gods, what fools these mortals be.

Helen, Helen, burning bright
In the shipyards of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 9:47 am
by Perry
Visual reference for the value of one helen here.
Good looking woman, but not a ship in sight.

Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 3:58 pm
by Stargzer
That's because they've all been launched, silly! 8)

Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 5:35 pm
by sluggo
That's because they've all been launched, silly! 8)
- all except for the semi-detached yacht Miss Otis, which regrets she's unable to launch today :roll:

Sluggo sips a cold Porter and waits...

Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 1:40 pm
by Cacasenno
"The surest sign of intelligent life in the universe is that no one has tried to contact us."
Plurali maiestatis or plurali modestiae ? :) :wink:

I don't know who said it, but I like the irony.


Bill Watterson? (This I had to search hard for. I don't even know who the guy is)

Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 2:32 pm
by sluggo
Bill Watterson? (This I had to search hard for. I don't even know who the guy is)
Why, Bill Watterson is the philosopher/creator of the wonderful Calvin & Hobbes cartoon, which is sadly retired but timeless (recent AlphAg sample here)

edit: and glory be to the internets, a comprehensive archive is here. Huzzah!

Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2008 4:07 pm
by Stargzer
... Sluggo sips a cold Porter and waits...
Sluggo shows good taste in his choice of beer!

Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 12:23 pm
by sluggo
... Sluggo sips a cold Porter and waits...
Sluggo shows good taste in his choice of beer!
Thangyew-- but perhaps more obscure in his choice of musical puns? :oops:

@ gzer: last evening's quest-sample was one Flying Dog Gonzo Imperial of Denver. Verdict: Gonzo good, more serious than its label. The living room floor, with which Sluggo inexplicably split the sample, proffered no comment beyond "wet".
On deck: Rogue Mocha of Oregon; McEwen's Ale stands in reserve as chaser.

Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 8:56 pm
by Perry
Not at all. I get a kick out of you.

Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2008 11:13 pm
by Stargzer
... Sluggo sips a cold Porter and waits...
Sluggo shows good taste in his choice of beer!
Thangyew-- but perhaps more obscure in his choice of musical puns? :oops:
...
Oh, I got that one, too. I once had a bottle of Coal Porter (Brewed in Maine, I think; ah, yes!) from a local purveyor of beer and wine. They have a good mix of craft and imported brews: Saison Dupont Belgian Farmhouse Ale, Le Choufe and McChoufe Scottish Style Brown Ale (also from Belgium), and a host of domestic craft brews.

Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 10:26 am
by sluggo
Yike, youse guys are agonizingly close... CP is not the (main) pun but the clue pointing to it.
Sometimes I'm so obscure, I don't even know what I'm talking about.

ah well, yes we have extolled before the virtues of our Mainiac brew discoveries; happily I'm plugged in to gallivant to DC in June whereupon I can leash another generous ration of Bangor's Best Sea Dog Riverdriver --and I see they have a new Brown Ale dubbed Old Gollywobbler. But I must also mine some of the ol' Coal while there and try it before I leave town only to find that, like that other Mainiac, 'you can't get that from heah'. :cry:

Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2008 12:27 pm
by Stargzer
Yike, youse guys are agonizingly close... CP is not the (main) pun but the clue pointing to it.
Sometimes I'm so obscure, I don't even know what I'm talking about.
Certainly not Mary Prankster's Rational Bohemian (One of the few of her songs suitable for airplay!):
... Truth be told, you’re good as gold
Hot patootie — bless my soul
I’ll order up a porter and a quarter
For the jukebox of your mind

ah well, yes we have extolled before the virtues of our Mainiac brew discoveries; happily I'm plugged in to gallivant to DC in June
Coming up to Shriek? If so, where? It's a short drive to DC; not as short as driving me crazy, but not too far, depending on which side of the Potomac you're on.
whereupon I can leash another generous ration of Bangor's Best Sea Dog Riverdriver --and I see they have a new Brown Ale dubbed Old Gollywobbler. But I must also mine some of the ol' Coal while there and try it before I leave town only to find that, like that other Mainiac, 'you can't get that from heah'. :cry:
Burp. 8)