Antoinette Powell

Author: Antoinette Powell

How About “Gone With the Wind?”

This morning National (that’s NATIONAL) Public Radio was poking fun at Wisconsin’s new theme: “Live Like You Mean It.” It was pointed out that this slogan is already in use by several companies and organizations. A quick search of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office reveals five “live” usages of this trademarked phrase.

Ironically, the state’s brand, created last year, is “Originality Rules.” Some may call Wisconsin’s move unoriginal. We call it responsible recycling. Our favorite alternate slogan put forth by NPR: “Wisconsin: The ‘Snow Me’ State.”

For a fascinating look at advertising in the past (1911-1955,) check out Duke University’s digital database Ad*Access.

I’ll Have a…Refreshing Carbonated Beverage, Please.

Pop vs. soda. The Battle of the Ages. As a public service we offer our readers a handy map of “Generic Names for Soft Drinks by County” as compiled by Matthew T. Campbell at the Spatial Graphics and Analysis Lab, Dept. of Cartography and Geography at East Central University in Oklahoma. Talking like a native, always good.

And now for something completely different, soda in literature.

But It’s So WARM!

A word for you non-natives: beware the feelings of euphoria that will descend upon you this next week. It is predicted that temperatures will soar well into the “not freezing” portion of the spectrum. This is a tease. Here is a snapshot of what April (in this case, 2007) can look like in Appleton. Winter has a long way to go. Keep that long underwear at the ready.

In the meantime, get over your cabin fever by checking out a CD featuring the tune “Cabin fever” as performed by Michael Brecker, Pat Metheny, Jack DeJohnette, Dave Holland and Joey Calderazzo.

We’re Doing Our Part

Wisconsin’s participation in this year’s Super Bowl will be relegated to textile manufacturing, but this textile couldn’t be more important to the success of one of the contenders.

A local company is again charged with keeping the country fully supplied with Terrible Towels. One can only hope some of those towels remain in the state for those who are from Pittsburgh, lived in Pittsburgh, or always worshiped the Steelers from afar.

Read about the history of the Terrible Towel by its creator, Myron Cope.

And if you’d like to see a real TT in person, please visit the Mudd.

(P.S. Pictured are three Pittsburgh icons seen greeting visitors at Pittsburgh International: Franco, H.J. and George.)

Ok. If I Have To. I Guess.

Bloggers sometimes get a bad rap (‘But what do you DO?”) Finally an opportunity has come along which may get people off your back.

Tourism Queensland is looking to hire a caretaker for the Great Barrier Reef , a six-month job that pays US$100,000. But there’s a catch. You have to be “willing to walk white sandy beaches, sit under palm trees and swim with turtles as they soak up the sun.” You also must “keep a blog and photo diary in exchange for six months rent-free … in a three-bedroom home on Hamilton Island complete with plunge pool, views of the Whitsunday Islands and golf buggy.” Oh, and you get return airfares and travel insurance.

If you “have a communication that is arresting and interesting” and feel able to “go through a genuine recruitment process,” this reef’s for you. But first, read all about The Great Barrier Reef in the Mudd. You never know what kind of a hell-hole it may be.

Snow, snow, snow! (snow, snow, snow, snow, etc.)

mudd snow bank

It’s fall in Appleton and you know what that means. Cool crisp days, rustling leaves, vibrant colors. Not so fast, grasshopper. Mother Nature is quite the trickster. The Wisconsin State Climatology Office reports that so far this autumn, Green Bay’s (close enough) cumulative snowfall is 2 feet. That’s two FEET, as in 12-inch increments, as in knee or thigh-depth, depending on your vertical orientation. Of course, this graph has not been update since Dec. 14, well before the dumping that occurred this morning. We can’t wait until winter!!

Che Bella!

We’re cutting. We’re on the edge. We’re on the cutting edge. Sunday’s New York Times featured an article by Anthony Tommasini about bel canto: What is it really? Who does it? Why do we care?

Here at the Mudd we just happen to have a CD mentioned in this article as being one of the best in bel canto, whatever it is:

Maria Callas and Giuseppe di Stefano in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor (M1500.D683 L8 1989,) a reissue of the 1953 recording. Tommasini calls this “a milestone in the discography of opera.”

We call it beautiful singing.

Da Symphony.

bear conductorOrdinarily we would not be all that excited about breathing the same air as Chicago. But our big sister to the south has been mightily honored. The highly respected magazine out of Great Britain, Gramophone, conducted a poll of classical music critics to determine the best orchestras in the world. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra ranked at the top of U.S. orchestras.

We applaud the Second City’s recognition, particularly after the embarrassment of a recent unfortunate sporting-related incident.

Read all about it on NPR.

And, needless to say, the Mudd has boatloads of CSO recordings.

Why? Because We Like You!

turkey tree

You may have noticed that the Mudd Same-As-Last-Year, Never-Will-Die, perma-green Christmas tree made its appearance yesterday. Since we will not have the pleasure of your company for too long after Thanksgiving, we decided to hurry up the season and festive-up the place. We hope you will accept this pre-pre-holiday offering and enjoy. And remember, we are not trying to sell you anything.

The Toes Is the Toes

In 1991, John Phillips (presumably not THE John Phillips who, a hundred thousand years ago, along with his wife Michelle teamed up with Cass Elliot and Denny Doherty) suggested in The New England Journal of Medicine that the toes be named. In his letter (1991, vol. 324, no. 7, p. 497) he proposed that the pedal digits be called

  • porcellus fori
  • porcellus domi
  • porcellus carnivorus
  • porcellus non voratus
  • porcellus plorans domum

Anyone who had Sister Monica for Latin in high school will immediately recognize the root porcus or pig, and should be able to translate:

  • little pig at market
  • little pig at home
  • little meat-eating pig
  • little pig having not eaten
  • little pig crying homeward