(no subject)

[slammerkinbabe]

λ: Oh, I'm mad at the allergy fairy. She gave me lots of allergies and I did not want them.
KYLIE: Not many people want them, I think.
λ: But she is not fair. Some people do not get any allergies at all, and some people get lots and lots.
KYLIE: Maybe the allergy fairy is a drunkard. She weaves in the air when she is flying and so lots of allergies fall out of her basket in some places and then none at all in others.
λ: I think that makes lots of sense.
KYLIE AND λ: ::pause::
KYLIE AND λ: ::burst out laughing::*

My poor girl is sick, though, and not just with allergies. We went to a Chinese place in Harvard Square for lunch, and the fried rice tasted amazing and then made both of us very sick. I threw it up and felt better, because I throw up all the time, thanks to medications. But λ doesn't throw up, apparently, and so she is still miserable. I went out to get her Pepto-Bismol and came back with saltines, Diet Coke, chicken soup, white bread for cinnamon toast, and popsicles... and no Pepto-Bismol. I am really not very good at this life thing at all.

Oh well.

Breaking etymologico-grammatical** debate, here: when you say "lots", what kind of lots does that mean? λ said I was writing lots, and I said I wasn't writing that many lots, and she said that only makes sense if you are talking about auctions or property, and I said, well, what kind of lots are they if they aren't those kind of lots? It's a strange word. I want to know more about it.

But maybe I should write fewer lots.

A lot*** has been going on, actually, but it's kind of strange and will take a long time to write about, so I think I'll leave it for tomorrow morning. But... hmm. Life is an interesting thing, sometimes.

I go forth to the land of Nod.****

*Any time you guys want to stop hearing about pointless bits of girlfriend dialogue, you know, feel free to give me a shout.¹
**I like making up words. ::defiantly:: Lots. But if you are really really going to insist, I suppose you can pretend that says etymological/grammatical. I mean, if you are boring and whatnot.
***See? You can have one lot! And it is in the same sense as the lots referenced above! I win.
****That does mean the land of sleep, right? My juvenile literary references get confused when I am tired and still a little bit sick.

¹On my comments page. Even an email'd do it in a pinch.<sup>i

i</sup>I like footnotes.

Comments

Nod = sleepytime?

[archaica.livejournal.com]

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<a href='http://www.gracecathedral.org/enrichment/brush_excerpts/brush_20030702.shtml">Actually, no:</a>

<blockquote> Wherever Nod is -- the name is from the Hebrew for "wandering" -- we are meant to infer that it's a bleak place indeed, and that east is not the best direction out of Eden. English punsters ignored these dire facts, however, when they began using "the land of Nod" as a humorous metaphor for "sleep." (The first to do so was Jonathan Swift.) On the other hand, John Steinbeck's novel of family tragedy, East of Eden, is in the right spirit (and is in fact based on Genesis 4).</blockquote>

Re: Nod = sleepytime?

[lietya.livejournal.com]

I dunno, I think the "English punsters" knew what they were doing. "Sleep" was often used as a synonym for "death" ("to sleep, perchance to dream, but who knows what dreams may come...."), so a punster could reasonably be expected to draw that conclusion *backward* - to start jokingly using "the land of death" to mean "the land of sleep."

(I know you didn't say all those things, but I'm responding to the article.)

(K., more on "lots" tomorrow, when I'm awake and at work.)

(well, at work, anyway.)

(I like parentheses.)

(because making footnotes is harder.)

(((((()))))

Re: Nod = sleepytime?

[spudzilla.livejournal.com]

You rock with the smartness.

I hope you don't mind if I friend you.

Re: Nod = sleepytime?

[lietya.livejournal.com]

Not at all! In fact, I'd had the same temptation about you, but kept forgetting to ask. Thanks, on both counts. :) (You're pretty darned smart yourself, from what I've seen.)

Re: Nod = sleepytime?

[archaica.livejournal.com]

Ah, but since orgasm was referred to as the "little death," does that mean that the connection between orgasm and sleep (at least in the male) is backed up by literary evidence as well?

(OK, this is me being silly)

This parentheses and footnotes madness must end!!

So, Cain was cast forth into the land of death? Your reasoning escapes me. Cain specifically *wasn't* killed, and was protected from harm. The reasoning of those "English punsters" escapes me, especially how it's supposed to be "humorous" in nature. *Shrug*

Re: Nod = sleepytime?

[lietya.livejournal.com]

Huh? All I know is that it's not unreasonable that "death" might be equated with "sleep," and vice versa. *Cain* wasn't killed, but it sure as heck sounded from the description that it was a land of death for most who weren't under a divine geas of miserable survival.

Although, now that I think of it, it's really more plausible that "land of Nod" got equated with "nod (off)," etc. Since "to nod" often meant "to sleep," it's an easy connection to make, particularly when "nod" first appeared in Middle English; the punsters were probably just playfully connecting the new word to the old [translation]. (there's no dates in our free dictionary and I can't access the pay site from home, so I'm unable to concretely identify when "nod" took on that meaning, but I bet if I were to check I'd find out it was close to the time "land of Nod" turned up in Swift.)

And "little death" is an entirely separate concept, as far as I know. (Nor is it limited to males in literary references.) :)

Nod

[jaffijofer.livejournal.com]

Dammit! I was gonna nail the East of Eden reference without even looking it up because my Old Testament skills are just that good, but I guess Google has made my Bible recall obsolete. :(

[summertrouble.livejournal.com]

a comment that has nothing to do with lots, girlfriends, or the land of Nod.

I just recently discovered your journal, which is quite amusing. But more amusing and useful is you fantastic list o' lesbian books that you've compiled. Through that page I've discovered Sylvia Brownrigg, Stacey D'Erasmo, and perhaps one of my new favorite authors, Carol Anshaw. I also hadn't realized that Emma Donoghue had come out with a new book, so I have you to thank for that revelation as well.

Anyway, just wanted to let you know that you have excellent taste and I appreciate that you took the time to provide your advice for others who enjoy lesbianish literature. Thanks again!

[slammerkinbabe.livejournal.com]

eeee! That's so exciting! I haven't updated that webpage in forever, which kind of makes me sad when I stop to think about it. But it's rare that I hear of someone who found it to be really useful or helpful, so this comment made me all squeeish! Thanks. :)

[theniwokesoftly.livejournal.com]

I like the pointless gf bits. They're cute and they keep me amused since I don't have one.

[ultraviolet730.livejournal.com]

I love the idea of the allergy fairy being a drunkard. That could also explain the intelligence fairy... Also, I like the pointless girlfriend bits.

Oh my - that doesn't sound right at all! But you know what I mean, having been gifted by the getting-it fairy. (Hee - yes, I crack myself up.)

And I love to make up words. I have lots* of wordplay games I play with myself (good god, why does everything sound so wrong tonight?) and with my friends.

*Do I get extra points for using the word of the day or something?

[lietya.livejournal.com]

"Lots" is in fact derived from the noun "lot" meaning "a large quantity," so you're not wrong, really. Even in your silliness. :) "Lots" is just the plural of that sense of "lot," being used adverbially (which means it's silly to break it back down to the singular, as adverbs don't do that, but etymologically defensible in a weird way).

(You'd have to have been writing "many large quantities," though, which is, well - a lot!)

[(Anonymous)]

The allergy fairy is a drunkard... hmmm.... that explains a lot!

[loserxjess.livejournal.com]

I think your "pointless bits of girlfriend dialogue" are adorable!

[chavvah.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the allergy fairy had an overnight stay at my house, I think. Bleah.