Of all things...

It's always kind of weird when something has been in front of you for ages, and you never really *saw* it. Thus is it for me with the word 'vicar'. I'd always accepted it as a kind of obscure Anglican religious office, a sort of caretaker - not a terribly powerful position. Then, earlier tonight, I was reading of Innocent IV's claim to be "Christ's vicar on earth", a phrase I've read numerous times before, and it struck me plainly (and for the first time) that 'vicar' comes from the same root as 'vicarious'. The word instantly acquires a whole new layer of meaning, one that has always been there, but that I'd overlooked for a half century. "Christ's caretaker on earth" becomes "Christ's vicarious presence on earth", something of a leap in power and majesty. Innocent IV's rather humble (to my limited understanding) declaration of himself as the guy who watches out for Jesus' stuff suddenly becomes a bold declaration of unlimited authority. The effect on medieval politics is much more comprehensible.


I wonder how many other things there are that most people know about, but I've just failed to see?

The Machines that We Built

I've got one of these! I always kind of figured it must be a press/PR handout, but it's interesting to see its provenance narrowed down to a single day like that. At one time there were thousands of these things, all packed neatly together in boxes, and then they scattered on infinitely complex trajectories, with the few survivors ending up here and there as framed curiosities, or forgotten in long-unopened drawers.

I like how they show the astronaut with his hands on the controls, like he's actually flying the thing.

I wonder what else happened on Oct 24th, 1959? Wikipedia knows! You people who've grown up with the internet can never fully grasp how marvelous it is to idly wonder something and then have the answer 15 seconds later. We used to take actual classes in library theory and organization, so we could answer questions like that without using half a day. A home bookcase always had an encyclopedia, a dictionary, almanacs and reference works, because you just had to have those things. I still consider bookcases major furnishings, but I think I'm old-fashioned in that regard.

*****

That crook Rangel is finally going to get his comeuppance. This is going to be entertaining! His defense seems to be "I didn't do it, and even if I did, it was inadvertent, and even if it wasn't, everyone else does it, and even if they don't, you're all racists!" We'll see how well that plays to middle America in the campaign season.

*****

Oy vey! I could get into the Stoat Fair *free* tomorrow, but I have to show up between 5am and 7am. My natural cheapness wars with my natural laziness. I'll prolly skip it, since I've still got an unused competitors' entry voucher left.

I got whupped on in the Christmas Tree contest, as I'd suspected I would, but it was exciting actually being a part of the Fair anyway. I'll do better in coming years, I suspect. I was frazzled by the time it started, since I wasn't sure where I was supposed to unload my stuff, what I was supposed to do with my paperwork, etc. Next year I'll be more focussed. This year was about being part of it. If I set out systematically to win a ribbon, I know I can.