Kevin's Watch

Yes, they are. Did you watch the video? It's cute.

MsMary wrote:Yes, they are. Did you watch the video? It's cute.

yes it was.

Ringo Starr and why he wrote Octopus' Garden ...


The idea for the song came about when Starr was on a boat belonging to comedian Peter Sellers in Sardinia in 1968. He ordered fish and chips for lunch, but instead of fish he got squid (it was the first time he'd eaten squid, and he said, "It was OK. A bit rubbery. Tasted like chicken.") The boat's captain then told Starr about how octopuses travel along the sea bed picking up stones and shiny objects with which to build gardens. Starr's songwriting was further inspired by his desire to escape mounting hostility between the Beatles; he would later admit that he had "just wanted to be under the sea, too." Uncredited assistance in developing the song's chord changes was provided by Harrison, who can be seen helping Starr work the song out on piano in the Let It Be documentary.

The song, which contains the lyrics "Oh what joy for every girl and boy/Knowing they're happy and they're safe," is sometimes thought of as being a song for children, like "Yellow Submarine" or "All Together Now". It has also been performed by the Muppets several times in various episodes of their shows.

Interesting, sarge.

sgt.null wrote:
msmary - when I worked with the octopi at the zoo, we would place their food in a plastic jar with a screw on top. the would take the jar and open it. they also loved to work with blocks and such like things as well. very smart creatures.

I've heard stories of octopi in captivity actually leaving their own tanks and wandering about before returning. I can't find the article and can't recall how reputable the source was, but apparently the aquarium or whatever set up a camera to figure out why fish were disappearing from neighboring tanks. It's pretty impressive that the octopus was able to figure out all the logistics and somehow knew that a trip out of water wouldn't be harmful. Though I have also seen video of them wandering about on land, so I guess it was just the cephalopod equivalent of running to the store for a packet of crisps. (I'm going to assume that all octopi are British.)

sorus - it is true. with our octopi we had to put something heavy on top of their tank to keep the cover closed, or the could have gotten out and wandered over to the tropical fish exhibit.

Came across this website today, Visual Language Lab, thought it might be of interest to visual communication and comics lovers!

u.

Well, sounds like an interesting subject matter. But that website makes my eyes cross.

I liked his how to use quotation marks flow chart:

www.arrantpedantry.com/2015/11/30/how-t ... ion-marks/

MsMary wrote:I liked his how to use quotation marks flow chart:

www.arrantpedantry.com/2015/11/30/how-t ... ion-marks/

There's a restaurant I walk by every day on my way to and from work. They have a sandwich board proclaiming:

"We"
Now
"Serve"
"Breakfast"


...one of these days I may have to buy a box of chalk. Or maybe just an eraser.

Oh, geez. That's just the type of error that drives one crazy to look at.

"Breakfast" in particular is a bit on the ominous side. I don't think I'd touch it with a ten-foot pole. I don't think one could say it aloud without making sarcastic quotation marks with their fingers.

Yes, makes you wonder what they think "breakfast" is.

It's probably a perfectly safe and normal breakfast, and they're just treating punctuation like a game of pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey (as Terry Pratchett would have said) - but it does ring a bit ominous.

I suspect the Watch contains a higher than average proportion of Grammar Nazis.

--A

I prefer Grammar Tyrant. Especially when I'm deliberately botching things.

Hmmm...pretty good. Botching or not, it's less cumbersome too.

--A

I stole (borrowed?) it from Syl.

Dislike of using the word Nazi online?

--A

Yeah, I've seen some folks get up-in-arms about the Nazi thing. Didn't someone here at the Watch once propose "Grammar Police"? I think I settled on "grammar nerd," myself...

Also, Sorus, that sign made me want to break out the fish.