Gerald Berg has posted 413 annotations/comments since 4 March 2013.
4 Jan 2021, 3:54 p.m. - Gerald Berg
And with severe gout to boot! Apparently he could not walk unassisted.
2 Jan 2021, 6:29 p.m. - Gerald Berg
Averaged over time luck doesn't exist. So said the only professional gambler I know. Craps is the only casino game with odds evened out against the house but only "behind the line odds". This works much like a 'put' in the stock market:
Don't pass odds
If a player is playing don't pass instead of pass, they may also lay odds by placing chips behind the don't pass line. If a 7 comes before the point is rolled, the odds pay at true odds of 1-to-2 if 4 or 10 is the point, 2-to-3 if 5 or 9 is the point, or 5-to-6 if 6 or 8 is the point.
26 Dec 2020, 9:33 p.m. - Gerald Berg
RE: Ghosts
Apparently Kubrick when trying to sell Nicholson on The Shining told him it was sort of a good news story.
Happy New Year everyone -- may your new year be less isolating!
24 Dec 2020, 2:50 p.m. - Gerald Berg
I knew a Newfoundland woman who dropped whole cloves into her cavitied molars to relieve the pain. This was in the late 70's. Back in Pepys time I imagine cloves to be too expensive.
So did barber-surgeons ply their trade with pliers?
My my L.H. (terrific nom de plum) can be grumpy.
24 Dec 2020, 2:32 p.m. - Gerald Berg
Zealot to old fashioned for the times?
15 Dec 2020, 3:44 p.m. - Gerald Berg
It has been awhile since Sam gloated over how much money he has saved. Maybe since the Medway bury my gold panic and its various comedic outcomes? Anyways, upward of 5000£ I believe was the tally. 200£ seems small change for keeping a family of aristocrats happy. How about a tithe to ailing Liz while at it?
2 Dec 2020, 3:48 p.m. - Gerald Berg
With such nice gilding -- cuckold in Scotland. I suppose the detail makes it easier to believe.
30 Nov 2020, 4:30 p.m. - Gerald Berg
Amazing to think that Don Quixote has already entered the European (or was it only the British) imagination as modelling for the ridiculous. Even more amazing that it remains so today!
23 Nov 2020, 3:28 p.m. - Gerald Berg
Spiders do fly on gossammer wings.
7 Nov 2020, 3:20 p.m. - Gerald Berg
Yes SDS the preferred way to not hear from anybody again is to have them owe you money. Works mostly, I can attest. The reverse? Never.
29 Oct 2020, 4:54 p.m. - Gerald Berg
"as they come into my mind now, I shall set down without order"
So in the never ending discussion on the reasons Pepy's keeps his diary; himself or public. Does this phrase indicate a record setting event for others to read?
25 Oct 2020, 3:52 p.m. - Gerald Berg
Maybe compass is range but I feel more likely to do with pitch. Brass instruments of the time could only play one harmonic series (key) at any one time. To change keys required changing crooks. Not so with string instruments. Hence compass. Brass will always have a limited range compared to strings. Then as now.
24 Oct 2020, 4:47 p.m. - Gerald Berg
Mighty merry for 15 minutes! Me, hilarious.
18 Oct 2020, 5:32 p.m. - Gerald Berg
chops!
Origin
Late Middle English variant of chap.
30 Sep 2020, 2:30 p.m. - Gerald Berg
A wink is good as a nod to a blind bat. The domestic bliss is more like the quiet before a storm.
After fantasizing about 17 yo Deb Willet for 2 days Pepys is sated from anticipation. Deb is the staked goat and two different predators are stalking two different sorts of meals.
28 Sep 2020, 4:43 p.m. - Gerald Berg
Liz's game? Suspicions needing confirmation IMHO. Look out Deb, both of them are using you.
14 Sep 2020, 11:31 p.m. - Gerald Berg
Does Mrs. Lowther’s bloodied nose have a play in this affair? Pepys is made uncomfortable:
“which made me I could not look upon her with any pleasure”
That the coachman cursed implies brotherly collusion with the boss. ie habitual.
As for the cauldrons- how much money we talking? Didn’t sound like much to me.
And why the:
“for I believe we shall be glad to sell them for less“
Sam happy with less?
3 Sep 2020, 10:57 p.m. - Gerald Berg
"...and there I was witness of a horrid rateing."
Hooray for the King's help and their linen recompense!
28 Aug 2020, 9:05 p.m. - Gerald Berg
So said Churchill who looks like a toad but drank like a fish.
28 Aug 2020, 9:01 p.m. - Gerald Berg
Paul C brings up a good point. Writing in plain English may induce circumspection rather than candour. Perhaps shorthand allowed Pepys a little more freedom? A bit like Beckett writing in French.
Speaking of candour, I was always wondering whether Pepys pidgin Latin/French/Spanish liaison tidbits were written in full or, shorthand?
And with severe gout to boot! Apparently he could not walk unassisted.
Averaged over time luck doesn't exist. So said the only professional gambler I know. Craps is the only casino game with odds evened out against the house but only "behind the line odds". This works much like a 'put' in the stock market: Don't pass odds If a player is playing don't pass instead of pass, they may also lay odds by placing chips behind the don't pass line. If a 7 comes before the point is rolled, the odds pay at true odds of 1-to-2 if 4 or 10 is the point, 2-to-3 if 5 or 9 is the point, or 5-to-6 if 6 or 8 is the point.
RE: Ghosts Apparently Kubrick when trying to sell Nicholson on The Shining told him it was sort of a good news story. Happy New Year everyone -- may your new year be less isolating!
I knew a Newfoundland woman who dropped whole cloves into her cavitied molars to relieve the pain. This was in the late 70's. Back in Pepys time I imagine cloves to be too expensive. So did barber-surgeons ply their trade with pliers? My my L.H. (terrific nom de plum) can be grumpy.
Zealot to old fashioned for the times?
It has been awhile since Sam gloated over how much money he has saved. Maybe since the Medway bury my gold panic and its various comedic outcomes? Anyways, upward of 5000£ I believe was the tally. 200£ seems small change for keeping a family of aristocrats happy. How about a tithe to ailing Liz while at it?
With such nice gilding -- cuckold in Scotland. I suppose the detail makes it easier to believe.
Amazing to think that Don Quixote has already entered the European (or was it only the British) imagination as modelling for the ridiculous. Even more amazing that it remains so today!
Spiders do fly on gossammer wings.
Yes SDS the preferred way to not hear from anybody again is to have them owe you money. Works mostly, I can attest. The reverse? Never.
"as they come into my mind now, I shall set down without order" So in the never ending discussion on the reasons Pepy's keeps his diary; himself or public. Does this phrase indicate a record setting event for others to read?
Maybe compass is range but I feel more likely to do with pitch. Brass instruments of the time could only play one harmonic series (key) at any one time. To change keys required changing crooks. Not so with string instruments. Hence compass. Brass will always have a limited range compared to strings. Then as now.
Mighty merry for 15 minutes! Me, hilarious.
chops! Origin Late Middle English variant of chap.
A wink is good as a nod to a blind bat. The domestic bliss is more like the quiet before a storm. After fantasizing about 17 yo Deb Willet for 2 days Pepys is sated from anticipation. Deb is the staked goat and two different predators are stalking two different sorts of meals.
Liz's game? Suspicions needing confirmation IMHO. Look out Deb, both of them are using you.
Does Mrs. Lowther’s bloodied nose have a play in this affair? Pepys is made uncomfortable: “which made me I could not look upon her with any pleasure” That the coachman cursed implies brotherly collusion with the boss. ie habitual. As for the cauldrons- how much money we talking? Didn’t sound like much to me. And why the: “for I believe we shall be glad to sell them for less“ Sam happy with less?
"...and there I was witness of a horrid rateing." Hooray for the King's help and their linen recompense!
So said Churchill who looks like a toad but drank like a fish.
Paul C brings up a good point. Writing in plain English may induce circumspection rather than candour. Perhaps shorthand allowed Pepys a little more freedom? A bit like Beckett writing in French. Speaking of candour, I was always wondering whether Pepys pidgin Latin/French/Spanish liaison tidbits were written in full or, shorthand?