Grande Galerie des Glaces

Under the cut because of size (it's really *big*):
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I thought that some of you might be interested in this.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090322/ap_on_re_us/regional_dictionary

On to Z! Quirky regional dictionary nears finish
By RYAN J. FOLEY, Associated Press Writer Ryan J. Foley, Associated Press Writer Sun Mar 22, 5:18 pm ET

MADISON, Wis. – If you don't know a stone toter from Adam's off ox, or aren't sure what a grinder shop sells, the Dictionary of American Regional English is for you.

The collection of regional words and phrases is beloved by linguists and authors and used as a reference in professions as diverse as acting and police work. And now, after five decades of wide-ranging research that sometimes got word-gatherers run out of suspicious small towns, the job is almost finished.
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I changed channels just in time to catch part of this, so my apolgies if it's a bit terse. Julia Ruth Stevens and her son talking about a Wrigley Field celebration that is coming up, along with some other Babe Ruth commemerations. She was talking about the famous "called shot" and how she was in school and didn't hear anything about it until later, after school. Even then, it didn't make much of an impression. "Daddy was always hitting home runs." She didn't realise how special it was until the papers started coming out in the next few days. There was also some talk about Bonds closing in on the record but I don't remember what they said accurately enough to repeat it here. They were very diplomatic, which (yes, I know) is hardly any surprise. They did say that Ruth said "All records are made to be broken" and "Everyone remembers the first one to set the record but not always the second." True enough, perhaps if it isn't so long between records in the first place. I think it was 39 years between Ruth and Aaron, and 35 years between Aaron and Bonds. And then you have someone like Gretzky who not only breaks the records but sets the mark so high it's hard to imagine when it will ever be broken. Plus once he broke a record, he often equalled or surpassed it the next year. I mean, Gretz has something like, nearly 800 points beyond the next record holder in overall points and that's just one example. He set--or equalled--61 records in his career. It would have been interesting indeed to see what would have happened with his if Mario had played healthy for a full season. Now that would have been something to watch! I know, I know--it was something to watch anyway. But I think you know what I mean even if I can't explain myself properly. ::scratches head:: I wish I knew how to put that in baseball terms so I could try and explain it to the non-hockey people I know. Ooops, I got kinda sidetracked from talking about Ruth. Sorry about that. Anyhoo, back later.