BEAUTIFUL BONES

Posted on October 12, 2021October 12, 2021 by vlaw759

*A bone doctor is called an orthopedist, but I think this might be a different type of “bone doctor.”*

We’ve all got bones. The average adult has 206 of them. Babies are born with 300 bones, but with age, tiny bones fuse together to form the larger bones of the skeletal system. So, when we think bones, we often think skeletons.

But Wait! There’s More!

Humans have had multiple uses for skeletal remains since prehistoric times.

Imagine sitting down to a meal of ground-up bone, served on a plate made of burned bones, while two musicians—one rattling two sawed-off ribs together and the other ominously shaking part of a horse’s skull—provide grim ambience in the dim candlelight. Off in the corner, an oracle shoves some bones into a fire in an effort to predict whether the crops you just fertilized with shattered bones will yield a hearty harvest.

Here, in one handy list, are several uses for bones besides propping up a body (not always human).

Bone arrowheads
Fish hooks
Jewelry
Drinking vessels
Musical instruments
- (“Bones” themselves [pairs of rib bones] but also parts of guitars, whistles, drums, harps, pianos, etc.)

Making Music

*The Bone Player* by William Sidney Mount

As an instrument, the bones have their roots in traditional Irish and Scottish music, and immigrants from those countries brought them to America, where they found a home in bluegrass and other folk genres. They’re similar to other clacking percussion instruments like the spoons, the Chinese paiban, and castanets.

The jawbone, meanwhile, is originally an African instrument that made its way to the Americas as a result of the slave trade. It’s usually the jawbone of a horse or another equine (like a donkey or zebra), that’s been stripped of all flesh and dried. Once it’s dry, the teeth become so loose they rattle around in their sockets.

Sensing the Supernatural

But it’s more than a simple rattle—fortune telling: scapulimancy and plastromancy. Relatives of augery, these involve writing questions on bones, heating them up until they crack, and then interpreting the cracks.

This form of divination was called scapulimancy when it was performed with the shoulder bone of an ox (the scapula). When the practitioner sought divine inspiration on the inside of a turtle shell (a plastron), it was called plastromancy.

Most commonly, inhabitants of Europe, western Asia, and North Africa most commonly inspected the bone after all flesh was scraped away – apyromantic. Practitioners who lived in North America and other parts of Asia more often used fire – pyromantic.

Bone China

Unlike true porcelain, which contains only minerals, the ceramic material known as bone china includes bone ash. It originated in England in the 1700s and for a long time, most, if not all, bone china was made there. The addition of bone ash makes the finished product stronger.

Fertilizer

Bone meal, as ground-up bones are called, has found its calling as plant fertilizer. It contains phosphorous and calcium, nutrients often leeched from the soil by common crops.

Gelatin and Glue

Most gelatin is made from the byproducts of the meat and leather industries, usually bones and skin. In its purest form, it’s 98 to 99 percent protein and is nearly tasteless and odorless. Its use dates back to the medieval era.

Gelatin ends up in obvious foods like gummies, but can also be used in a wide variety of ways to stabilize, thicken, and add texture to the things we eat. It’s also used to make modern film. Gelatin and animal glue are closely related, though use of the latter has largely disappeared, essentially eliminated by the invention of synthetic adhesives.

Bony Bits

Types of Bones

The dense, hard bone is called cortical bone. Cortical bones are primarily the “structure” bones.

The second type, trabecular bone, is soft and spongy. It’s often found inside large bones and in the pelvis, ribs, and skull. Though less dense than cortical bone, it’s quite hard and protective.

Inside the Bones

Bone marrow is a spongy substance found inside large bones like hips, pelvis, and femur. Bone marrow houses stem cells. Stem cells produce many of the body’s most important cells, including blood, brain, heart, and bone cells.

Bony Trivia

*Skeleton keys are not actually made of bone. Usually.*

There are 26 bones in the human foot.
The human hand, including the wrist, contains 54 bones.
The femur, or thighbone, is the longest and strongest bone of the human skeleton.
The stapes, in the middle ear, is the smallest and lightest bone of the human skeleton.
Arms are among the most commonly broken bones, accounting for almost half of all adults’ broken bones.
- The collarbone is the most commonly broken bone among children.

*Children definitely have more fun fixing broken bones*!

Bones heal themselves. When you fracture a bone, your body will go to work producing new bone cells and helping heal the break. A cast or brace just ensures the bone heals straight so you don’t have more problems in the future.

*Riding a skeleton horse is not at all comfortable.*

Bones are made up of calcium, phosphorus, sodium, and other minerals, as well as the protein collagen.
Bones stop growing in length during puberty.
- Bone density and strength will change over the course of life, however.
The only bone in the human body not connected to another is the hyoid, a V-shaped bone located at the base of the tongue.
Bones are strong but teeth are stronger. The enamel on your teeth, which are considered part of your skeletal system, is actually stronger than bones. Enamel protects the delicate nerves and tissue inside your teeth. Inch for inch, your teeth can take more wear and tear than any of your other bones.

*Skeletal diagram by Leonardo da Vinci* *(extra points if you can read his labels!)*

Some people have 13 ribs. A 13th rib is rare — only 1 percent of people are born with it. In most people, this extra rib, called a cervical rib, can cause medical issues like neck pain. For that reason, people born with this extra rib often have it removed.
Humans are part of a group of creatures called vertebrates. That means our bones are covered by a system of tissue and skin. Only 10 percent of the world’s animals (humans included) are vertebrates.
It is possible for your muscles to contract so hard that they break your own bones. Tetanus cramps can cause the bone to snap under the pressure. More common are avulsion fractures, in which the muscle contracts so hard and so quickly that the tendon rips away and takes a chunk of bone with it.

Skeletal Forensics

*Was the victim male or female or centaur? Check wear on the hooves to determine age.*

We’ve all seen movies or TV shows in which a skeleton is used to tell whether the dead person was male or female. Here’s how.

*A skeleton’s ability to draw anatomical diagrams is a good indicator of fine motor control.*

A female’s skeleton is usually much smoother and less knobby than a male’s. A male’s skeleton is usually thicker, rougher, and appears more bumpy. This is simply because males have larger muscles and therefore their skeletons require stronger attachment sites.

Differences in bone mass and geometry give males greater skeletal integrity, which may contribute to the lower incidence of stress and thin-bone (osteoporotic) fractures in males.
A male’s skull is usually bigger and bumpier than a female’s. There are specific anatomical differences in frontal brow, eye orbits, lower jaw, and shape of chin.

*This skeleton would like to know why you’re staring so rudely at its pelvis.*

Examination of the pelvis is the easiest method to determine the sex of a skeleton. The female pelvis has a wider subpubic angle by 8-40 degrees, is rectangular (vs. triangular), and oval (vs. heart-shaped). The sacrum for females is shorter, broader and curved outward (vs. inward). All of this is to make childbirth easier. Women who have borne children have scars on the surface of their pelvis.

Bending the Bones

Don’t forget the joints! What would bones do without them? Not much.

*This skeleton is using its ellipsoidal joints to threaten its enemies*.

Joints are the place where two bones meet or connect.
Ligaments are short bands of tough fibrous connective tissue that function to connect one bone to another, forming the joint.
Tendons are made of elastic tissue and also play a key role in the functioning of joints. They connect muscle to bone.
A coating of another fibrous tissue called cartilage covers the bone surface and keeps the bones from rubbing directly against each other.

*Lucy, one of the oldest humanoid skeleton fossils*

Some joints move and some don’t. Joints in the skull don’t move. Synovial joints are movable joints. They make up most of the joints in the body and are located mostly in the limbs, where mobility is critical. They contain synovial fluid, which helps them to move freely.
Ball and socket joints, such as hip and shoulder joints, are the most mobile type of joint. They allow you to move your arms and legs in many different directions.
Ellipsoidal joints, such as the one at the base of the index finger, allow bending and extending.
Gliding joints are found between flat bones that are held together by ligaments. Some bones in the wrists and ankles move by gliding against each other.
Hinge joints are those in the knee and elbow. They enable movement similar to the way a hinged door moves.

Bone Problems

*Feathers and glitter are not problems at all!*

*I’m not sure what disease this is, but it looks painful.*

Bones provide the structure for our bodies. Each bone plays a role in the mechanics of body function, so if a bone is broken, none of the bones around it can function properly. Bones get little attention unless injured or diseased.

Bone diseases can make bones easy to break. Different kinds of bone problems:

Low bone density and osteoporosis, which make your bones weak and more likely to break
Osteogenesis imperfecta makes your bones brittle
Paget’s disease of bone makes them weak
Bones can also develop cancer and infections
Other bone diseases, which are caused by poor nutrition (e.g., rickets) genetics, or problems with the rate of bone growth or rebuilding
Hip dysplasia

*Extreme magnification of bone marrow looks like a fabulously abstract painting.*

The importance of bone health is highlighted in National Osteoporosis Month, which is annually in May.

*Raccoon skeletons are just as troublesome as fleshy raccoons.*

I, for one, think October should be National Bone Month. After all, it’s the month when we most often see and (for most often us) think about bones.

IT’S GOOD TO KNOW STUFF

Posted on October 5, 2021October 5, 2021 by vlaw759

*Except this. It’s never good to know what this is.*

Everything from scintillating cocktail conversation to realistic writing to acing tests depends on it!

Minerals

Quartz can scratch glass—easily. It’s one of the few minerals that can. But gem stones topaz and corundum (mainly ruby and sapphire) can mark glass, too, being between the hardness of quartz (7) and diamond (10, the hardest of all).

Of course, diamonds can cut glass, and can scratch virtually anything. Is there anyone out there who didn’t know that? I’ve often heard that in years gone by, women would authenticate their engagement ring stone by scratching a name or other inscription into window glass. Little did they know it might be quartz! Or zircon!

Zircon is the oldest mineral found on earth, and it’s the only natural gemstone that can imitate diamond (hardness up to 7.5). It can mark glass, too.

Out of Breath

The human body can function without air longer than you think. The current record for voluntarily going without oxygen is 11 minutes, 35 seconds for men and 8 minutes, 23 seconds for women.

As a point of comparison, the average person can hold his/her breath for 30-90 seconds. FYI, Japanese pearl divers don’t have super lungs; they hold their breath for about two minutes per dive. And, yes, people can train themselves for longer breathlessness.

Weather: It’s Everywhere!

*Russians never let snow get in their way.*

Chicago has more sports events cancelled because of weather than any other U.S. city—but I couldn’t confirm that just now.

Consider how weather could add tension to any sport that is played outdoors. Communities in regions prone to rain, snow, etc., residents tend to be more willing to play soccer in the rain or huddle around fire pits to watch an outdoor hockey game. Don’t forget heat and drought. And consider the implications of climate change.

Similar considerations apply for outdoor concerts, plays, and lectures. Some instruments (brass, certain woodwinds, a few percussion types, and [shockingly] harps) can be played in the rain or cold if they are properly prepared and cared for after. The heavy stage makeup actors wear to withstand sweat and theatrical weeping will also stand up to rain.

Death Valley is the hottest location in the U.S. (Marathoners have to bring extra shoes to replace all the pairs that will melt on the asphalt during the course of the race!)
Phoenix, AZ, is the hottest city in the U.S.
Fairbanks, Alaska is the coldest city in the whole country, but Grand Forks, ND, is the coldest in the continental U.S.
The Yukon is the coldest region in the U.S. (Most items have to be shipped in refrigerated trucks to prevent them freezing in transit!)

*It’s tough to get around when the snow is up to your belly.*

Mount Rainier has the most snowfall.
Syracuse, NY is the snowiest city in the continental U.S.

Mobile, AL, is the rainiest city in the continental U.S.
All 10 of the rainiest cities are along the southernmost border.

For all that Chicago is known as “The Windy City,” the windiest is actually Dodge City, Kansas. Indeed, Chicago doesn’t even make the top 10!

The difference between a hurricane and a typhoon is a matter of geography.
- In the North Atlantic, central North Pacific, and eastern North Pacific, it’s a hurricane.
- In the Northwest Pacific, it’s a typhoon.
- In the South Pacific, it’s called a tropical cyclone. In fact, all are tropical cyclones.
- The weakest of these are tropical depressions; the next level up are tropical storms.

$ and € and £ and ¥

The Value of a Dollar is actually the name of a great reference book.
- It gives the cost of goods and services as well as typical salaries/wages by year, starting in 1860 and still updated.

Gas in Bath County, Virginia, cost ten cents per gallon in 1935. Ham was ten cents a pound as well.

Over the last 20 years, U.S. annual inflation rate has varied between 0.1% (2015) and 3.8% (2008). The highest inflation rates, some in the thousands of percent, occur in third world and developing countries, including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Lebanon, and Argentina. Those who know these things blame the lack of a central bank, which allows for easier currency manipulation.

In 2020, Wichita Falls, TX was the city with the lowest cost of living. The four lowest cost-of-living cities were all in Texas. However, the lowest cost of living state is Mississippi.

Gender and Orientation

120 males are conceived for every 100 females, but only 105 males are born for every 100 females. Sometimes called “male fragility”, the fact is that at every age and stage, males are more likely to die than females, as well as having more behavioral and developmental disorders.

Physiologically, a newborn girl is 6 weeks ahead of a newborn boy. Females tolerate heat, cold, famine, and disease better than males. Speed and strength favor men, but endurance favors women.

In 1/1500 to 1/2000 births, the newborn’s genitalia are so noticeably atypical that a sexual differentiation expert must be called in. What used to be called hermaphroditic is now part of a larger category termed intersex: 1 in 100 newborns have bodies that are not standard male or female.

In the U.S., 58% of reported COVID deaths are male (per the CDC as of May 6). In England, Wales, and France, that figure is 60%. In Malaysia, it’s 78%.

Research lags sexual identification, but I was able to find that similar numbers of men and women in the U.S. identify as LGB (3.5%). (8.2% report having actually engaged in same-sex sexual behavior.)

Among LGB identifiers, a slight majority identify as bisexual, and the majority of those are women.

0.3% identify as transgender. Research in these areas is fraught with hurdles and problems.

Love and/or Marriage

*Divorce cakes seem to be growing in popularity. Maybe it’s just because everyone wants an excuse to eat cake!*

Predictions are that 40-50% of all marriages end in divorce. That number goes up to 60% of second marriages and 65% of third and fourth marriages.

About 6% of couples who married and divorced later remarried each other. 72% of those remarried couples stayed together.

*Henry VIII looks almost tame next to Glynn Wolfe.*

Glynn Wolfe (1908-1997) was a Baptist minister who seems to hold the record for the most monogamous marriages (29). The shortest lasted 19 days, the longest 11 years.

Britney Spears and Jason A. Alexander were married 55 hours. Long-time friends, they married on the spur of the moment in Las Vegas and agreed to an annulment just over two days later.

But wait! That’s still 1100 times longer than the record (which still holds, as best I could determine). In 2019, a couple in Kuwait probably set the bar for the shortest marriage on record: 3 minutes. Leaving the courthouse, the bride tripped and fell. Her new husband called her ‘stupid.” She returned to the judge who had just married them and demanded a divorce.

*Is there a different term for having multiple vampire wives?*

Vocabulary:
- A bigamist marries a second (third, etc.) spouse while still married to someone else.
- Polygamy is the culturally/legally accepted practice of one man having several wives.
- Polyandry is the same, only it’s one woman with multiple husbands.

Bones

The human skeleton renews approximately every 3 months.

Human infants are born with 6 cranial bones and 2 holes in their heads (called fontanelles). The fontanelles usually close up within the first two months.

In total, human infants are born with more than 300 bones. They fuse with age, resulting in adult bodies with only 206.

The hardest bone in the body is the mandible/jawbone.

Children develop both sets of teeth at the same time. Their baby teeth fall out as their permanent teeth grow downward.

The hands and feet have over half of all the bones in the human body: 27 per hand and 26 per foot.

The hyoid bone is the only bone in the human body not connected to another bone.

Ancient Egyptians (about 3000 years ago) developed the first functional prosthetic bone, a big toe.

Humans and other animals with internal bony skeletons are in the minority—only about 2% of animal species are endoskeletal.

*Some people have three or four or more skeletons in their bodies.*

The average number of skeletons in the human body is technically more than one. (Pregnant women skew the numbers ever so slightly.)

The femur is the longest bone in the human body, and one of the most researched in both human anatomy and forensic medicine.

Bottom Line: One of my greatest rewards for writing is learning new things. I want my facts to be right. Therefore, I do a lot of research—and therein lies the joy of coming across the unexpected. I recommend it!

Very Important Note: Be mindful of what you’re researching, where you’re researching, and what that research might look like to a stranger. Some topics will throw up a red flag in search engines or on monitorwd networks. You don’t want the FBI knocking on your door just because the explosion scene in your novel is chemically accurate!

HAPPY COFFEE DAY!

Posted on September 28, 2021July 16, 2023 by vlaw759

September 28th is National Coffee Day! It may be a fairly new holiday (started in 2015), but it’s becoming one of my favorites.

Whenever I find a big hole in my knowledge stash, I immediately try to fill it. Thus, when my husband and I were lingering over our breakfast coffee—Kenyan, one of our favorites—and, for no identifiable reason, I said, “Does coffee grow in the United States?”

Bingo! Something to find out about!

Being my husband of many years, he immediately knew that I meant the continental U.S., not Puerto Rico or Hawaii, but he didn’t know. The answer is “yes.” Coffee is grown in California now, though it is a newcomer to coffee production.

As it turns out, I found researching coffee fascinating. Although coffee is now grown worldwide, its roots trace back centuries to ancient coffee forests on the Ethiopian plateau.

According to legend, the goat herder Kaldi first discovered the potential of these beloved beans when he noticed that after eating them, his goats became energized and didn’t want to sleep. (I don’t know how anyone could tell the difference.) He took the beans to a monastery where the head monk made a drink from them, felt the energizing effects, and shared the drink with other monks. And then the word began to spread.

By the 15th century, coffee was being grown in the Yemeni district of Arabia.

By the 16th century it was known in Persia, Egypt, Syria, and Turkey.

By the 17th century, coffee had made its way to Europe and was becoming popular across the continent—which raises the question of how the British came to be/stay tea drinkers, but that’s another story.

The common breakfast drinks of the time—beer and wine—quickly lost ground. Though people probably didn’t realize it, boiling the water in coffee generally made it much safer to drink than water. Coffee-drinking workers were alert and energized, and the quality of their work was greatly improved. (The National Coffee Association suggests that this was a precursor to the modern office coffee service.)

Coffee was brought to New Amsterdam, later called New York, by the mid-1600s. However, the American preference for coffee didn’t come until after the famous/infamous Boston Tea Party, when the colonists revolted against the high tax imposed on tea by George III. A fuller history of coffee and lots more coffee info can be had at ncausa.com.

Suffice it to say, lots of wise and not-so-wise people have commented on coffee.

Louisa May Alcott, Little Women: “I’d rather take coffee than compliments just now.”

Thomas Jefferson: “Coffee – the favorite drink of the civilized world.”

Ronald Reagan: “I never drink coffee at lunch. I find it keeps me awake for the afternoon.”

T.S. Eliot: “I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.”

Anthony Trollope, The Warden: “What on earth could be more luxurious than a sofa, a book, and a cup of coffee?”

Vincent Van Gogh: “To do good work one must eat well, be well housed, have one’s fling from time to time, smoke one’s pipe, and drink one’s coffee in peace.”

Abraham Lincoln: “If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee.”

Johann Sebastian Bach: “Without my morning coffee, I’m just like a dried-up piece of goat.” (FYI, he wrote a coffee cantata.)

Clark Gable: “I never laugh until I’ve had my coffee.”

Dave Barry: “It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity.”

One measure of coffee’s ubiquity is the sheer number of quotes available! If you search coffee quotes on line, you will find lists ranging from 30 to 117. Even discounting repetitions, that’s saying a lot about coffee.

I’m not a coffee addict, though there are such—people who get headaches if they don’t have their caffeine fix. In truth, other sources of caffeine can be just as addictive (think soda, tea, or chocolate) but coffee is the one most often acknowledged/recognized.

I typically drink only one cup of coffee a day, which some consider heretical, but even so, I have my preferences: start with roasted beans, grind, brew using a drip coffee maker. I drink it black, and prefer Kenyan or Tanzanian, sometimes Mocha or a darker roast.

In the U.S., coffee drinking is practically a cultural requirement, and as such, it’s everywhere, in many forms. Black, cream, sugar, foam, no foam, full caf, half-caf, decaf, soy latte, instant (ugh!)—people love their coffee a certain way and often will not budge on change it. I, on the other hand, like to change it up.

Coffee and coffee shops are a huge part of our social culture. Teenagers often start drinking it to keep up with late night homework and early morning bus schedules. Many people hang out in coffee shops to use the wifi or meet friends. Sending coworkers to fetch coffee or jumping the line at a kiosk is frequently a method of establishing or reinforcing workplace hierarchy. I know several parents who have special “coffee time” with their young children. (In every case I’ve heard of, the child drinks milk with maybe a teaspoon of coffee added.)

Believe it or not, some people are allergic to coffee or just really dislike it. In a country with (seemingly) coffee shops on every corner, what social implications might this have?

*With whiskey and cream, pretending to be Irish?*

And what about equipment? Grinder for freshly ground beans? Keurig for easy portioning? Where/when is it drunk? Made at home or purchased in a cafe? Milk or whipped cream or fancy syrup? SO many opportunities!

What’s your coffee habit? And how about your characters?

SEPTEMBER FOCUS

Posted on September 7, 2021September 7, 2021 by vlaw759

Every day of every month marks something remarkable, something to celebrate, something to be aware of. I’m not up to tracking daily events; instead, I like to look at whole months.

Of course, International Talk Like a Pirate Day on September 19th is worthy of being studied and celebrated all month long!

So here, for your information, entertainment, and possibly seasonal scenes in your fiction, is the September summary.

Books/Education

Be Kind to Editors and Writers Month
Library Card Sign-Up Month
Sea Cadet Month
- (The Sea Cadet program is similar to the ROTC, run by the Navy and Coast Guard.)
International Strategic Thinking Month

Food

Eat Chicken Month
Great American Low-Cholesterol, Low-Fat Pizza Bake
Hunger Action Month
National Honey Month
National Mushroom Month
National Rice Month
National [Milk]Shake Month
Whole Grains Month

Health and Safety

(Make sure the baby is wearing a helmet before she rappels off the roof.)

Atrial Fibrillation Awareness Month
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Month
Baby Safety Month
Childhood Cancer Awareness Month
Gynecologic Awareness Month
International Speak Out Month
- (For those who suffer from a fear of public speaking)
Mold Awareness Month

National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month
National DNA, Genomics, & Stem Cell Education and Awareness Month
National Head Lice Prevention Month
National Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month
National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month
National Recovery Month
- (To support recovery from substance abuse, addiction, and mental illness)
National Skin Care Awareness Month
Healthy Aging Month
Sports Eye Safety Month

Pets/Animals

AKC Responsible Dog Ownership Month
Happy Cat Month
National Service Dog Month

Relationships

Intergeneration Connection Month
International Women’s Friendship Month
One-On-One Meetings Month
- (In the workplace)
Pleasure Your Mate Month
Subliminal Communications Month

And Then There Is…

Fall Hat Month
National Coupon Month
National Wilderness Month
Shameless [Self] Promotion Month
- (Speaking of which, have you checked out my ThisOrThat interview on Heather Weidner’s blog?)

Bottom line: September has something for almost everyone! But if none of these are for you, look forward to next month (or back to last month).

BETTER KNOW YOUR CHARACTER: GRIEF

Posted on July 27, 2021July 27, 2021 by vlaw759

Funeral for a victim of the Siege of Sarajevo
photo by Mikhail Estafiev

Grief, deep sorrow at the loss of someone/something important, comes to everyone in one form or another, at some time or another. According to healthline.com, grief is personal, not necessarily linear, and doesn’t follow timelines or schedules. Everyone grieves in his or her own way.

People usually recognize when someone is grieving the death of a loved one. But other deaths—other losses—any change that alters life as one knows it—can cause grief. What might cause your character(s) to grieve? Loss of . . .

Job/career
Marriage
A love relationship
A child
Loss of child custody
A pet (or pet custody)
A close friend
One’s home
Reputation
Faith
Physical ability
One’s youth
Treasured object
…and others?

How Would Your Character(s) Grieve?

In 1969, Elizabeth Kübler-Ross published On Death and Dying, based on her years of work with terminally ill people. Subsequently, it was applied to other losses as well. Because grief is so complex and personal, various numbers of stages—from two to seven—have been posited. The original model had five stages:

*Robert Plutchik’s **Wheel of Emotions** is another model of possible progressions of grief.*

Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance

Models with seven stages include the following three after depression:

Upward turn
Reconstruction and working through
Acceptance and hope

Important to note: Stages can vary in order, can overlap, or can be skipped altogether. The duration of any given stage can vary widely, from days to months to years.

What Would Your Character(s) Grief Cycle Look Like?

Straight line?
Bowl of spaghetti?
Immediate start?
Delayed?

Expressions of Grief Reflect One’s Personality

For example, people who express anger physically will continue to do so while grieving, very different from those who express anger verbally. Grieving can be self-destructive, triggering harmful eating, drinking, or risk-taking behaviors. Some might grieve by intellectualizing (finding out everything possible about the causes, prognosis, etc.) or compartmentalizing (confining conscious grieving to certain times or places).

Mass expressions of grief, such as at public funerals, can turn into a feedback loop among the crowd bordering on hysteria. This is particularly true when the person mourned was the subject of a “Cult of Personality,” such as Joseph Stalin or Kim Jong-Il.

BOTTOM LINE: What causes feelings of loss and how your character(s) respond are rich sources of adding depth and feeling to your plot.

TATTOOS: CONVICTS AND STREET GANGS

Posted on June 29, 2021June 29, 2021 by vlaw759

If you aren’t in a prison or a gang, who cares? More people than you might imagine! Think self-preservation and decision making—not to mention writing realistically.

Prison employees
Parole officers
Social workers
Police officers
Medical providers
Those new to the neighborhood/prison
Border patrol
Anyone living or travelling in Eastern Europe or Russia

Indeed, an extensive list of tattoos, with pictures and meanings, has been produced for the Canadian Border Patrol. It’s available online at publicintelligence.net (search tattoos and their meanings).

Another good source is corrections1.com.

There is an abundance of on-line information about the meaning of prison tattoos, and it’s generally consistent. But keep in mind, there are varied meanings, and context is important. One example here would be playing cards, typically found on the knuckles. In Russian prisons, the suit chosen have meanings. In other settings, this type of tattoo may indicate someone who likes to gamble, or who sees life as a gamble. (See below.)

The Nature of Prison Tattoos

Overall, prison tattoos tend to look dark and crude. Inmates tattoo each other using whatever equipment they can gather, such as staples, ballpoint pens, paper-clips, improvised needles, molten rubber, styrofoam, etc.

Sometimes the “artist” will draw a picture on a wooden plank, place needles along the lines of the design, cover the needles with ink and stamp the whole tableau on the prisoner’s body. Another method is to slice the image onto the skin with a razor and daub the cut with indelible ink. When prisoners manage to get an electric shaver and a syringe with a needle, they can jury-rig a tattooing machine.

*One of the least horrific photos I could find of an infected tattoo*

Ink is hard to come by, so for dye, they can use pen ink. Also, they can burn the heel of a shoe, and mix the ash with the prisoner’s urine – a practice superstitiously believed to reduce the chance of infection. Research has revealed a connection between tattoos and high rates of hepatitis C among prisoners.

Tattooing is typically slow and nearly always painful. Conditions are inevitably far from sterile, so infections and complications are common. Suffice it to say that what prison tattoos convey is important to the wearer.

Not All Tattoos are Voluntary

The most famous instance would be during the Holocaust when concentration camp inmates were tattooed with an identification number. Also see the section on gender below. Any tattoo that stigmatizes a prisoner, or invites abuse by other inmates, is likely to have been applied involuntarily.

White Supremacist Gang Tattoos

KKK
Neo-Nazism
Arian Brotherhood (AB)
Family Affiliated Irish Mafia (FAIM)
Sacramaniac
Number tattoos
General white supremacist symbols
- For example 1488 (or 14 or 88) found anywhere on the body identifies white supremacists/Nazi inmates. There are a variety of tattoos associated with the Arian Brotherhood, important to identify, for they make up 1% of the prison population but commit 20% of inmate murders.
FAIM members sometimes wear a shamrock as well, signifying affiliation with the AB—but this is only allowed with permission of the AB

Russian Prison Tattoos

In the Soviet Union, particularly during Joseph Stalin’s time, non-political prisoners (thieves, murderers, arsonists, etc.) in the Gulag system were often given preferential treatment by prison guards. Tattoos told the guards as well as other prisoners how to treat a prisoner, including what labor assignments they got and whether to assign prisoners as enforcers. Eventually, non-political prisoners gained so much power within the Gulags that the Vor v Zakony (Thieves in Law) essentially ran many of the prison camps. Today, the Vory is one of the most powerful mafia organizations in the world. In many areas within the former Soviet Union, anyone with visible tattoos is assumed to be affiliated with the Vory or pretending to be.

Star
Manacles
Epaulette
Birds on horizon
Barbed wire
Symbol of the cross
Crowns and rings
Scarab beetle
Playing cards
Cat

A cat tattoo represents a thief.
- One cat = the prisoner worked alone
- Multiple cats = the prisoner was part of a gang of thieves
- A cat tattoo (think stealthy as a cat) is considered good luck for a thief
- If worn on the chest, it also signals a dangerous criminal who hates law enforcement

Playing card suits carry specific meanings: spade represents a thief; clubs symbolize criminals in general, diamonds label stoolpigeons and informants – and was probably applied by force—and hearts imply that someone is looking for a romantic partner in the prison, which may also be forcibly applied.

The knife through the neck tattoo, in Russian prisons, means the bearer is a murderer—and proud of it. Much has been written about Russian prison tattoos. If interested, you can find information specific to Japan, Australia, France, Italy, etc.

Street/Prison Gang Tattoos

Mara Salvatrucha 13
Black Guerrilla Family
Red Blood Dragon
Gangster Discipes
Santana
Mexican Mafia
Mexikanemi
Texas Syndicate
Almighty Latin King Nations
18th Street Gang
Sureños

Norteños
Texas Chicano Brotherhood
Border Brothers
Hells Angels
Bloods
Crips
Indian Warrior
Laotian Boyz (LB)

Common Symbols

Tiger
Spider web
Tear drop
Three dots
Five dots
Angel of death
Clown faces/masks
Vida loca
Barbed wire

A spiderweb, typically representing a lengthy incarceration, is commonly found on the elbow or neck.

Teardrops can mean a lengthy prison sentence, that the wearer has committed murder, or that one of the inmate’s friends was murdered and the tattooed one is seeking revenge.

According to corrections1.com, “One of the most widely recognized prison tattoos, the teardrop’s meaning varies geographically. In some places, the tattoo can mean a lengthy prison sentence, while in others it signifies that the wearer has committed murder. If the teardrop is just an outline, it can symbolize an attempted murder. It can also mean that one of the inmate’s friends was murdered and that they are seeking revenge. The teardrop has been popularized recently by rappers and other celebrities, but still remains a staple in prisons. Those who are newbies behind bars with a teardrop tattoo will make a lot of enemies, fast.”

Alternatively, Mental Floss says, “There are many stories about why a prisoner would have this tattoo, but the most common is that an unfilled teardrop might symbolize the death of a loved one, while an opaque one might show that the death has been avenged.

Three dots representing “my crazy life” (vida loca) refers to the gang lifestyle, but no particular gang; typically applied at the corner of the eye or between the thumb and index finger. Sometimes three dots, like three crosses, represents the holy trinity of Christianity.

Five dots between the thumb and forefinger represents time done in prison. It’s found internationally. Located elsewhere on the body, this design may mean association with the People Nation gang.

A clock with no hands represents doing time and a lot of it. Ditto watch without hands or an hourglass.

Barbed wire tattoos are fairly common and many have no specific meaning. Sometimes each barb represents a year served in prison. On the forehead, such tattoos typically mean serving a life sentence.

Laughing and crying clown faces/masks often means “Laugh now, cry later” attitude of the gang lifestyle.

Gender As a Factor in Prison/Gang Tattoos

Although there is much online discussion of convict tattoos in general, most of the images shown feature men. From this, with an overlay of gender stereotypes, one might conclude that tattoos among female inmates are rare. But I found one research paper to the contrary.

“This study confirmed that there is a high frequency of tattoos among female offenders, but disproved the hypothesis that the frequency would be higher and more aggressive among violent offenders in comparison to non-violent offenders. Based on these findings, non-violent female offenders were more likely than violent female offenders to have a tattoo or tattoos, to have multiple tattoos, and to have aggressive or masculine tattoos. However, offenders convicted of violent crimes like robbery and assault or battery had the most visible tattoos, primarily located on the hands, face, fingers, and wrists.”
(Sullivan, Megan, “Crimes Committed By Tattooed Female Offenders and the Significance of Body Art Content and Location” (2011). All Regis University Theses. 48 (.https://epublications.regis.edu/theses/483)

I found no indication that the images and/or their meanings differ by gender.

And according to Wikipedia, “Forced and enslaved prostitutes are often tattooed or branded with a mark of their owners. Women and girls being forced into prostitution against their will may have their boss’ name or gang symbol inked or branded with a hot iron on their skin. In some organizations involved with the trafficking of women and girls, like the mafias, nearly all prostitutes are marked. Some pimps and organizations use their name or well-known logo, while others use secret signs. Some years ago, the branding mark was usually small, only recognized by other pimps, and sometimes hidden between the labia minora, but today some “owners” write their names in big letters all upon the body of the victim.”

Bottom line: Tattoos can carry a lot of meaning. When deciphering that meaning, tread carefully.

TATTOO!

Posted on June 22, 2021June 22, 2021 by vlaw759

Quick: what’s the first thing that came to mind?

*Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra in the 1963 film of the same name*

*Vladimir Franz, a candidate for the Czech Presidency in 2013*

Last week, a woman said to me (approximately), “People think permanent make-up is a new thing, but Cleopatra’s famous eyes were tattooed on. Soot was applied with knives.” I’d never heard such a thing, and I’ve actually been to Egypt. I always assumed her face was painted. As with anything that pricks my curiosity, I googled it. Lo and behold, it’s a much more complicated topic than I ever considered.

Basically, any time an indelible design is created by inserting pigment under the epidermis, the result is a tattoo. Tattooing has been practiced in various cultures over centuries.

How Many Centuries?

As for bodily evidence of tattoos, for a long time the oldest known examples were Egyptian mummies, dated about 2000 BCE. However, Ötzi the Iceman, found on the Italian-Australian border in 1991, pushed that back. His mummified skin has at least 60 tattoos and was carbon dated a thousand years earlier, making him 5,200 years old.

*This pre-Cucuteni figurine was made sometime between 4900 and 4750 BCE, with what look like evidence of cultural tattoos.*

If one considers non-body evidence such as figurines and and paintings, then tattooing was practiced in Egypt in the Predynastic period, around 3100 BCE.

Tattooing Was Everywhere

*Moana was also the first Disney film to feature characters with tattoos!*

**Tätowierung Inuitfrau**, an Inuit woman painted by Jens Peder Hart Hansen, circa 1654

The word tattoo started as the Polynesian word ta, meaning to strike. It evolved into the Tahitian word tatatau, meaning to mark something. As seen in the animated film Moana, these traditional tattoos were applied by means of rapidly striking a bamboo rod to drive an inked thorn into the skin.

*A marriageable girl of the Koita people of Papua New Guinea, who had new tattoos added every year since she was five years old*

In nearly every ancient culture, such as those in Greece and Rome to Native Americans, Japanese, sub-Saharan African, Australian Aboriginal, and Innuit, evidence has shown that tattooing was and most modern cultures tattoos were and are everywhere.

But Why Tattoo?

*Preserved skin of a British military deserter, tattooed with a D*

A cultic symbol dedicating the wearer to a specific god or belief
- For example, Amunet was a priestess of the goddess Hathor.
As a brand signifying servitude/slavery/shame
- For example adulterers marked with an A, T for thief, etc.
As a professional identification (e.g., prostitute, priestess)
As a permanent amulet seeking protection
- Sailors having anchor tattoos or miners with lamps tattooed on their foreheads were trying to bring good luck.
- The patterns of tattoos on Egyptian women’s abdomens and thighs seem to have been for fertility and for protection during pregnancy and childbirth.

*Japanese prostitute of the Kansei Era (circa 1888) painted by Tsukiok Yoshitoshi*

Tattoos may have been a therapeutic tool, similar to acupuncture.
- The Ice Man had tattoos on his hands, lower back, and feet in areas that showed signs of stress damage.
As a declaration of group membership (think Marines, college fraternities, or Nazis)
As a visible means of intimidating the enemy (think Maori warriors) or showing bravery or success in battle
As a personal symbol of a meaningful event (e.g., birth of a child) or belief (sayings of Jesus or Buddha), or tribute to a beloved person
And, of course, as pure body art/decoration
Tattoos used by gang members and prisoners are often extraordinarily complex and will be covered in a separate blog post of their own.
- The tattoos used by the Nazis in concentration camps were a form of branding, not in the same class as voluntary markings prisoners have chosen to put on their bodies for various reasons.

Tattoos to repair or restore
- Today, plastic surgeons often work with tattoo artists to cover scars, burns, the effects of alopecia or vitiligo.
- Many women get tattoos on their breasts after cancer surgery.
  - Along with her other artistic work, Amy Black (Pink Ink Fund) is a tattoo artist well known in the Richmond, VA area, for creating realistic-looking nipples or other art for women who have had cancer surgery.

Permanent Make-Up, the Daughter of General Tattooing

The goal is to look natural, or like externally applied makeup, enhancing colors on the face, lips, eyebrows, and eyelids. This type of tattooing (also known as cosmetic tattooing, dermapigmentation, micropigmentation) is also older than one might think.

The first documented permanent makeup artist was Sutherland MacDonald, in the U.K. in 1902! His specialty was “all-year-round delicate pink complexion”—i.e., rouged cheeks. By the 1920s, it was popular in the U.S. The tattooist George Burchett wrote about beauty salons that tattooed women using vegetable dyes without their knowledge under the rise of “complexion treatment.” (Personally, I can only imagine that those women were willfully ignorant, given that tattooing is generally an uncomfortable procedure with visible aftereffects, such as temporary scabbing.)

As with all matters of fashion, popularity varies over time. During the 1960s and 1970s, the popularity of tattoos took a sharp uptick. According to one article (the guardian.com) in 2016, a US poll revealed that 29% of people had a tattoo, up from 21% four years earlier. Of people born between 1982 and 2004, 47% have at least one.

General Considerations

*Whang-od Oggay is the last Mambabatok (master practitioner of the traditional Kalinga tattoo method) of the Butbut people of the Philippines.*

Do multiple tattoos create a different impression from a single one? And if so, in what way? What difference does the reason for the tattoo make? What about the nature/content of the tattoo?

But Back to Cleopatra

**Retrato Femenino:** Fresco of a woman believed to be Cleopatra from a villa in Roman Herculaneum, circa 1st Century CE

According to accepted academic evidence, in Egypt—unlike most cultures—only women were tattooed. The tattoos most often seemed related to fertility and childbirth, or identifying the woman as high ranking. However, I found nothing specific to Cleopatra’s face. Bummer.

Bottom Line

Permanent body decoration serves psychological and/or practical purposes for the tattooed one. In addition, body decorations send out a range of social signals—intentional or not. Think about it.

The opposite might be temporary tattoos. Several companies, including SafetyTat, Child Safety Store, TempToo, Pimp My Diabetes, and independent creators on Etsy, offer safety designs with children’s allergy information, medical conditions, or guardians’ contact information. Childcare and law enforcement experts have encouraged caregivers to use these tattoos for crowded events, children with life-threatening illnesses or allergies, and children unable to speak or memorize phone numbers.

WHAT MODE OF TRANSPORTATION SAYS TO OTHER PEOPLE

Posted on June 1, 2021June 1, 2021 by vlaw759

Like other accouterments of our lives—housing, clothing, pets—how we get from Point A to Point B communicates to those around us—and not everyone draws the same conclusions! The following observations are some of the most common (or loudest) I’ve come across; different countries and time periods have had varied observations about modes of transportation. Like most stereotypes and public perceptions, the following are of varying degrees of truth.

As general background: when users have to decide which mode of transport to use (private car, public transport, cycling, walking, etc.) gender is often a more robust determinant than age or income!

Shank’s Mare (A.K.A. walking): the Oldest Mode

**If only we could see what was on the other side!**

Seldom chosen as the primary or only way to get around
People on long pilgrimages (Hajj to Mecca, walking cross country to raise awareness for a cause, Gandhi’s march to the Sea)
Depending on other info, may indicate poverty or health awareness

Bicycle: Impressions Depend on Model, Condition, Etc.

**Many cities in China have more bicycles than cars.**

Bicycles, mopeds, scooters, and motorcycles are almost always two-wheeled vehicles driven and steered by one rider. The distinctions are, like almost everything else, varied around the world and prone to blurring. A bicycle is powered entirely by the rider pedaling; a moped has a small motor attached to assist with pedaling in especially difficult environments. Bicycles are relatively easily modified for people with physical limitations, compared to cars and motorcycles.

People are in the best mood when riding bicycles
Can be inexpensive or very expensive, depending on type of bicycle and riding gear
Environmentally friendly
Difficult to park securely in many places
Primarily for physical fitness
- In fact, the vast majority of regular bicyclists in the US ride for transportation as they cannot afford a car and do not have access to public transit
Limited passenger capacity
- Not as limited as most in the U.S. assume.
- In Copenhagen, “’Cargo-bike moms’ are gentrifying the Netherlands.”

Scooter Impressions

Scooters are powered entirely by an engine, with a foot well for the seated rider’s legs. Unlike a car, all engine controls are in the handles.

***Ambulance scooter with a sidecar for patients***

Easy to drive
Cheaper and slower than a motorcycle
No safer than motorcycles
Popular on very rural country rides for teenagers
More popular abroad than in the U.S.
Easier to maneuver and store in crowded areas
Driving permit requirements are often different from those of a car or motorcycle
- Many areas don’t require permits at all
- Iran and Saudi Arabia (among others) are questioning whether scooters fall under the same laws forbidding women to drive

Motorcycle Rider Stereotypes

Motorcycles and scooters are very similar, but a motorcyclist sits astride the seat. The engine of a motorcycle is generally more powerful than that of a scooter.

**Bessie Stringfield rode her motorcycle from one end of America to the other, and as a dispatch rider in World War II.**

Violent
Gang members
Harley riders are elitist and only care about brand; Other riders are effeminate
Reckless behavior
- Stunt hooligans on the road
- Prone to road-rage
- Have a death wish
  - Emergency Response personnel sometimes refer to motorcycle riders as “Organ Donors,” but that is more because of the lack of safety gear than specific behavior patterns
Car haters
Uneducated rednecks
All young riders prefer sports bikes

**“Dykes on Bikes” motorcycle club at a Pride rally**

Physically tough appearance
- Men have long, unkempt beards
- Tattoos are common
- Women dress provocatively
- Lots of black leather, chains, spikes, gang markings, etc.
- Gear is chosen to look tough rather than for practicality
Many of these perceptions are based on Hell’s Angels and other “outlaw motorcycle clubs”

Multi-Passenger Public Transportation

Public transport is much safer than automobiles (the above photo is an exception). For example, bus and rail travelers are 20 times less likely to die en route than drivers. Even if self-driving and safety technology could reduce car by 90%, fatalities per passenger mile would still be twice as high in private automobiles.

World-wide, the largest share of public transportation users are women
Bus and train riders experience the most negative emotions
- Bus: poor people who cannot afford a vehicle/gas;
  - homeless/mentally ill people seeking temporary shelter from the elements.
- Subway: city-dweller
- Train: long-distance commuters;
  - More common in Europe and Asia, where train systems are much more comprehensive
- Plane: long-distance (business or pleasure) travelers of means

Individual Cars

**Private automobiles are especially dangerous if they don’t obey the laws of gravity.**

**So happy! He knows he’s going to the park.**

The second happiest people are car passengers, followed by car drivers
Carpoolers: cut down air pollution
- Lessen expenses of gas/parking
Private chauffeur
- Renting a limousine or similar
Driver alone: not sociality responsible
- Selfish or ego-centric
Taxi/Lyft/Uber: short distance trips for those valuing convenience
- People who cannot drive for whatever reason (inebriation, tourist, moving larger than normal cargo, etc.)
- Consider the possible conflicts between traditional taxi services and Lyft or Uber style companies, or even the conflict between drivers and management within those companies
Car drivers are so common that to dig into assumptions, it’s necessary to get into make and model

Other

Other methods of transportation are more common outside the US. Extreme climates, different resources, and distance have made what we might see as extraordinary into the everyday.

**Ferries are common in highly populated areas on the water.**

Dog sled, snow mobile, cross-country skiing
Bush plane
Tuktuk, marsrhutka, or any other kind of informal minibus system run by individual drivers
Horseback or horse-drawn vehicle (or donkey, mule, camel, etc.)
Canoe or kayak
Hitch-hiking
Rickshaw

BOTTOM LINE for writers: consider your choice and the reason for it!

**Having a personal porter is one of the most convenient methods of transportation when available.**

BETTER KNOW YOUR CHARACTER: MONEY

Posted on May 25, 2021May 27, 2021 by vlaw759

*I have to work very hard not to spend all my money (and time) one books.*

Money, money, money! It touches nearly every aspect of a person’s/character’s life—and deserves conscious decision making.

*Does owning an entire city count as filthy rich?*

How much money? These are not scientific or economic terms, rather, the sorts of terms people use to describe themselves and/or others. The actual dollar amounts associated with the descriptors may vary. What would you/your character say? Point of information: people tend to make finer distinctions closest to where they peg themselves, lumping the extremes into bigger chunks.

*Being penniless isn’t so bad when there are open barrels of food everywhere.*

Penniless
Poverty stricken
Poor
Lower middle class
Middle class
Upper middle class
Well off
Rich
Filthy rich

*I’ve also seen income level defined by preferred fast food options. The scale ranges from Going to AA Meetings for Coffee, through Taco Bell and Chipotle, all the way up to Whatever the Private Chef Makes.

*Social attitudes toward shopkeepers often depends on the quality of merchandise.*

Source(s) of income: Note that respect for various sources of income varies widely. This often translates into treating people differently.

*Musicians playing in a bar are often treated differently from musicians playing in a symphony hall, though their incomes are often almost identical.*

Begging or panhandling
Gambling
Theft of various sorts, with or without another source
Illegal activities
SSI disability
Medicare/Medicaid
Hourly wage
Entertainment, anything from a classical pianist to an exotic dancer
By the job/ piecework
Having multiple jobs
Salary
Salary plus bonuses
Stocks/bonds, dividends/interest
Trust funds
Family loans/gifts

Stability/predictability/security of income: Obviously, stability has implications for mental health and life stress. Money can’t buy happiness, but it certainly makes achieving stability somewhat easier.

*Some people value experience and travel more than money, making a living on the road, feeling the wind in their fur… er… hair.*

*Assassins are generally exempt from income and property taxes, though sales tax may still apply.*

Thoughts on taxes: This could be the modern IRS, but the same questions could just as easily be applied to citizens providing magic spells or Zygloxans giving helium globules to the Grand Tyrant on Planet YT-3H81.

Taking fewer payroll deductions than allowed in order to assure a tax refund vs. planning to owe and have the use of the money in the meantime
Being willing to pay taxes or looking for ways to avoid paying them
Finding quasi-legal or outright illegal methods to get out of paying taxes
Carefully accounting for every expenditure or estimating
Moral objections to the use of taxes (such as Thoreau)

Attitude toward money: Not necessarily related to amount of income.

*Making everything at home is a way to save money and ensure quality*.

Always more where that came from
Easy come, easy go
Best to save for a rainy day/unexpected expense
Sacrifice now for a secure retirement/college tuition/whatever
Always live below your means
Clips coupons and shops sales
Shop resale/garage sales/etc.
Buy quality, not quantity
Budget every penny and then figure out which bills will have to remain unpaid

Money by comparison: Source(s), level, etc., of income, especially compared to family and friends.

*Relationships can get really complicated if your friends sell you off for scientific experiments.*

Similar
Comparable
Much above
Much below
Changed over your/your character’s lifetime
Income disparity causing conflict

Where the money goes:

Religious tithes
Charitable contributions
Necessities only
Whatever strikes one’s fancy
Luxuries, with or without guilt
Whatever is most visible to elicit praise, admiration, or envy from others
Hobbies (what?)
Supporting family or friends who need a hand
Pets
Back into a business
Stocks/bonds
Sponsoring people on social media as indirect advertisement

*Partying with demons is surprisingly expensive.*

How money is handled:

*If these characters offer a loan, running away is probably the best response.*

Cash only
Charge everything possible
Pay by debit card whenever possible
Pay bills as soon as one arrives
Have bills paid by bank debit
Pay at the last minute, sometimes incurring late fees
Tip lavishly or stingily?
Bank account
Checking account
Savings account
Needing to take payday or title loans
If having to choose food, rent/mortgage, utilities, gas/transportation, which?

Bottom Line: What other ways is money a lynchpin in the life of you / your character?

*No matter how carefully one budgets and saves, it can all be taken away at any time when a horde of dragons comes by.*

WORDS FROM WAR

Posted on May 18, 2021May 27, 2021 by vlaw759

In last week’s blog, I discussed nom de guerre, literally war name, that in current French usage has come to mean any pseudonym. Like any other in-group, soldiers develop their own jargon—which often lingers in subsequent slang, often with a morphed meaning.

This blog will showcase just a few such words/phrases.

*US Army poster from WWI (Gordon Grant)*

A.W.O.L. (Absent Without Leave) Even before the Civil War, this meant a soldier who has gone off without permission. Now business executives, teenagers, spouses—virtually anyone—can be AWOL, pronounced A-wall. The unexplained or unexcused absence is often trivial.

S.N.A.F.U. (Status Normal: All F*cked Up) The Marines are usually credited with this particular acronym, which originated during World War II. There is some evidence that radio operators came up with the phrase to give humorous meaning to a commonly used set of letters from coded messages. In modern usage, this acronym has essentially the same meaning, lacking only the cynical mocking of commanding officers. (S.U.S.F.U. [Situation Unchained: Still F*cked Up] was coined as a follow-up, but it has largely fallen out of use.

F.U.B.A.R. had several variations of meaning, though “F*cked Up Beyond All Repair” pretty much covers it. Occasionally, it was defined as “F*cked Up By A**holes in the Rear” to express frustration with military command issuing orders from the comfort and safety of their offices well out of harm’s way. Like SNAFU, it originated as military slang during World War II, and it has retained its original meaning in modern slang.

Ambulance Dogs in WWI were sent with medical supplies to find wounded soldiers who could not be otherwise reached. They were also called Mercy Dogs because, very often, all they could do was comfort the dying.

Basket case is used in a fairly lighthearted way today (often describing someone who repeatedly makes stupid mistakes, or who crumbles under pressure), but it has a strange history. Shortly after World War I, rumors circulated of multitudes of soldiers who had been so badly injured that they had to be carried from the battlefield in a barrow or basket, usually having lost all four of their limbs. This belief was so strong that it persists in the public imagination today despite direct evidence to the contrary. In 1919, the Surgeon General of the Army made a public statement that this was not the case, and only one quadruple amputee from the war is known to have survived. Ethelbert Christian lost all four limbs at the Battle of Vimy Ridge in 1917, but he learned how to walk on prosthetics and lived what appears to have been a full and happy life.

Blue-footed booby
In Spanish, “bobo” is a clown or a fool.

Booby-trap has been in use since the mid-19th century for a fairly harmless prank or practical joke. A “booby” was used in English slang to mean a stupid or gullible person as early as the late 17th century. But in WWI, it morphed into meaning an explosive device deliberately disguised as a harmless object. The English journalist Sir Philip Gibbs (1877-1962) said, “the enemy left … slow-working fuses and ‘booby-traps’ to blow a man to bits or blind him for life if he touched a harmless looking stick or opened the lid of a box, or stumbled over an old boot.”

As a nickname for body lice or head lice, cooties first appeared in trenches slang in 1915. It was presumably derived from the coot, a species of waterfowl known for being infested with lice and other parasites. Today it’s a children’s term for an imaginary germ or a repugnant quality transmitted by obnoxious or slovenly people.

In the 19th century, dingbat was used like thingamajig or whatchamacallit as a placeholder for something or someone whose real name the speaker couldn’t come up with at the moment. It came to be used for a clumsy or foolish person during the First World War, before morphing to mean shell-shocked, nervous, or mad. Now it’s used for a stupid or eccentric person.

In British English, “to be in a flap,” meaning “to be worried,” dates from 1916. It was originally a naval expression derived from the restless flapping of birds, but quickly spread into everyday English during the First World War. The adjective unflappable, meaning unflustered or imperturbable, calm in the face of crisis, appeared in the 1950s as a reference to the British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan.

Son of a Gun is generally held to originate as a euphemism for the child of a military father away on a lengthy deployment (and thus somewhat suspicious paternity). In current usage, it is an epithet similar to “son of a bitch,” with positive or negative meanings depending on the speaker.

Brainwashing is a literal translation of the Chinese phrase xi nao, to wash the brain. During the Korean War, military reports estimated that 30% of American prisoners of war collaborated with their Korean and Chinese captors. To explain how this was possible, the media created the term brainwashing: systematic, intensive interrogation techniques and indoctrination procedures used by hostile forces to change allegiances of prisoners of war. The term gradually came to be used to label any change of opinion or allegiance—though it still implies unsavory, unfair, or unethical methods!

Skedaddle, meaning to run away or desert from military service, became popular during the American Civil War. Now it means to leave quickly or hurriedly, to run away. In true American fashion, the etymological origins of this word are a mix of many possible languages or perhaps none at all.

OMG (Oh My God!) is very often used as an abbreviation in electronic communication. The first appearance of OMG was in a sarcastic letter Lord Fisher, a retired Naval Admiral, sent to Winston Churchill in 1917, complaining about the number of knighthoods being bestowed upon Naval officers. It has become so common that people sometimes use it as an acronym when speaking aloud: “ohemgee!”

*At the testing site on Bikini Atoll*, *1945*

Kilroy or Kilroy Was Here might be considered a bit of visual military jargon that has made its way into common use. James Kilroy wrote his name on sections of Navy ships under construction to certify that he’d personally checked the welding. Because his name seemed to be everywhere, British and American service members took to writing it on every surface imaginable in Europe and Asia, most likely as good-luck totem. (The origins of the accompanying long-nosed, bald man are unknown, but it may have started as a British cartoon.) Kilroy is still one of the most commonly graffitied images in the world today, with or without his name.

Bottom line: Word meanings are fluid, so be aware of timeline and context in order to truly understand what the speaker is trying to communicate.