bijou

bijou \BEE-zhoo\ , adjective;
1. Something small, delicate, and exquisitely wrought.

Origin: Bijou comes from the French Breton bizou, "ring."

---

I was unfamilar with this word, but when I saw it was today's Word of the Day, it reminded me of a Japanese word - benjou - that was in a Vietnamese War POW's book about his experiences in the Hanoi Hilton. Benjou is a vulgar term for a toilet, something like "crapper" would be in our Western society. It's not a horrible description, just one that wouldn't be used in polite company.

The name of the book escapes me, but the thing I remember the most is the good humor exhibited by the prisoners who were forced to live in the foulest of conditions. One of their punishments was to take away the "honey bucket", the container they had to use for a toilet. The POWs made up a song about it, sung to the old gospel tune of "Brighten Up the Corner Where You Are". (even a heathen like me knows that one)

"If you need to benjou, and the benjou is too far.
Just benjou in the corner where you are!"

WARNING! Disturbing Image!

Disturbing to me, anyway.

Just got this post in my reader from Simply Recipes, one of my favorite feeds:

Root Beer Float



Doesn't that look scrumptious? I look at that, and my mouth starts watering and I can TASTE it. (that's what's disturbing) I haven't had a float in a long time, and I'm past due...but I know I shouldn't. Maybe I should go get some sugar-free ice cream and one of those great A&W ^TM Diet Root Beers and fix me up one of 'em. I dunno, it just wouldn't be the same.

Several years ago my friend elle from England came to see me and we were in a pharmacy downtown and I asked her if she wanted a Coke ^TM float and she allowed she had never had one. After finishing, she then allowed that they were delicious and she'd have to turn her kids on to them when she got home.

It's always best to put the soda pop of your choice in the freezer for a while before making a float; the double whammy cold freezes part of the liquid, making lovely flavored ice crystals that melt on your tongue. I also like to use my straw to suck up the foam that floats atop the drink - the foam from using root beer tastes the best, although I sometimes would make a float with orange soda, also very nice. Cream-flavored sodas make the tastiest floats and while I always have liked Dr. Pepper ^TM, it didn't make for a great float. Just my opinion, and bound to tick someone off if they read that last. I can't recall ever having one with grape soda, but it doesn't sound bad, just not as good as a root beer float.

P.T. Barnum Born Today

P. T. Barnum

According to Wiki, P.T. Barnum did not say "There's a sucker born every minute.".

That said, whoever said it spake the truth, at least for the minute I was born.

My Upside-Down Frown

You Have a Sweet Smile

You smile because you are a truly happy person. There is nothing contrived about your smile. You find life and other people to be delightful. You're often grinning without even knowing it. You are an extremely honest and open person. It's easy to read your face to know what you're thinking. Luckily, you're usually thinking upbeat and positive thoughts - so you really don't have anything to hide!

What Kind Of Smile Do You Have?

Blogthings: We'll Tell You The Truth... Someone Has To!

America the Beautiful - Ray Charles

On the Dick Cavett Show Sept. 18, 1972

All-American Salute

From NASA's Image of the Day Gallery



Astronaut John W. Young, commander of the Apollo 16 lunar landing mission, leaps from the lunar surface as he salutes the United States flag at the Descartes landing site during the first Apollo 16 extravehicular activity. Astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr., lunar module pilot, took this picture. The Lunar Module "Orion" is on the left. The Lunar Roving Vehicle is parked beside Orion and the object behind Young (in the shadow of the Lunar Module) is the Far Ultraviolet Camera/Spectrograph. Stone Mountain dominates the background of this lunar scene.

Image Credit: NASA

Stars And Stripes Forever - Chet Atkins