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.
Millihelen
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- Grand Panjandrum
- Posts: 1476
- Joined: Wed Apr 12, 2006 1:58 pm
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Millihelen
Stop! Murder us not, tonsured rumpots! Knife no one, fink!
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:
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?
(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?
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- Grand Panjandrum
- Posts: 1476
- Joined: Wed Apr 12, 2006 1:58 pm
- Location: Carolinia Agrestícia: The Forest Primeval
Why, Bill Watterson is the philosopher/creator of the wonderful Calvin & Hobbes cartoon, which is sadly retired but timeless (recent AlphAg sample here)Bill Watterson? (This I had to search hard for. I don't even know who the guy is)
edit: and glory be to the internets, a comprehensive archive is here. Huzzah!
Stop! Murder us not, tonsured rumpots! Knife no one, fink!
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- Grand Panjandrum
- Posts: 1476
- Joined: Wed Apr 12, 2006 1:58 pm
- Location: Carolinia Agrestícia: The Forest Primeval
Thangyew-- but perhaps more obscure in his choice of musical puns?Sluggo shows good taste in his choice of beer!... Sluggo sips a cold Porter and waits...
@ 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.
Stop! Murder us not, tonsured rumpots! Knife no one, fink!
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
- Posts: 2578
- Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 3:56 pm
- Location: Crownsville, MD
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.Thangyew-- but perhaps more obscure in his choice of musical puns?Sluggo shows good taste in his choice of beer!... Sluggo sips a cold Porter and waits...
...
Regards//Larry
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee
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- Grand Panjandrum
- Posts: 1476
- Joined: Wed Apr 12, 2006 1:58 pm
- Location: Carolinia Agrestícia: The Forest Primeval
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'.
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'.
Stop! Murder us not, tonsured rumpots! Knife no one, fink!
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- Great Grand Panjandrum
- Posts: 2578
- Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2005 3:56 pm
- Location: Crownsville, MD
Certainly not Mary Prankster's Rational Bohemian (One of the few of her songs suitable for airplay!):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.
... 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
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.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
Burp.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'.
Regards//Larry
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee
"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee
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