The City of Seattle’s Film Office has a really nice (large pdf) brochure with details on Seattle and Washington locations used in films.

If there’s one thing Canadians love, it’s making fun of Canadians: loyal reader John points us to the TV show An American in Canada. Which I won’t link to, since the CBC web page is already talking about the season finale. But it’s on my local PBS station on Saturdays at 9:30pm. Then I’ll watch some SCTV and read How to Be a Canadian.

In the "things nobody asked about" department, Dr Alan Cohen, "a part-time tutor at Cardiff University," has revealed why this Monday will be the most depressing day of the year. I think he misunderstood the chorus of that Boomtown Rats song; I, at least, didn’t really want to know why I don’t like Mondays.
Then again, since the collective does not embrace the new year’s resolution, it’s mostly the weather and those fiendish "General motivational levels" we have to worry about.

From vol. 2 of the previously-mentioned book by Henry Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor, a section on the River Beer Sellers or Purl-Men:
“It appears to have been the practice at some time or other in this country to infuse wormwood into beer or ale previous to drinking it, either to make it sufficiently bitter, or for some medicinal purpose. This mixture was called purl–why I know not, but Bailey, the philologist of the seventeenth century, so designates it. The drink originally sold on the river was purl, or this mixture, whence the title, purl-man. Now, however, the wormwood is unknown; and what is sold under the name of purl is beer warmed nearly to boiling heat, and flavoured with gin, sugar, and ginger. The river-sellers, however, still retain the name, of purl-men, though there is not one of them with whom I have conversed that has the remotest idea of the meaning of it.”

And from the Oxford English Dictionary:
“a. Formerly, A liquor made by infusing wormwood or other bitter herbs in ale or beer. purl-royal, a similar infusion of wormwood in wine. b. Later, A mixture of hot beer with gin (also called dog’s nose), sometimes also with ginger and sugar: in repute as a morning draught.”

From CocktailDB, a slightly more modern dog’s nose.

Tufts U. seems to have a pretty nifty collection of digitized texts on historic London. BoingBoing readers highly recommend Punch’s Henry Mayhew’s account of the livelyhoods of London’s poor.

Earlier, I mentioned finding evidence that the horrible Broadway re-write of Chess was the only version authorized for production in the States. A more recent search has turned up this page, which indicates to the contrary. It looks to be a good broad summary of the history of many productions, and includes the tidbit that "Someone Else’s Story" was inserted at Broadway, and in later versions is given to Svetlana (the Russian’s wife) to sing, rather than Florence.

Thrift! Cookery! Albums! That’s Swank-ola!

Paul Brians has taken those annoying errors of usage into his own hands with a website and book. This site just helped me answer a question, and reminded me that most of the grammar questions I am asked are based on usage and not on wanting to know and apply the basic rules. I liked the list of errors enough I’m going to(make my employer) purchase the book!

and the films.

The Simpsons commentary tracks reminded me how much I appreciate Matt Groening’s good taste. The movie list clinches it.

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