It's A Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad World

But We Knew That Already
Actually the title is a riff on a film that the younger whippersnappers amongst you are probably totally ignorant of, so I shall have scotch my joke by explaining it, shan't I?
     "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" features just about every South Canadian comic actor going in the early Sixties, plus a few proper character ones, too.  Art?

They even have a Brit in there.  See if you can spot him.

     This mismatched gang of odious pikers and dubious hikers are all after Smiler Grogan's treasure, and I'll leave you at that, because it's not what today's post is about.
     No, for today we are talking about "Bad".  Not in the street argot sense of Bad Meaning Good, for Conrad is loath to pander to such scurrilous traffic-boosting persiflage - unless it brings in an awful lot of new visitors, which, to be honest, is unlikely.  I cannot see the youth of today casting aside their mobile phones in favour of a blog that delights in using words straight out of Compton Dickens, that obsesses unhealthily over nuclear bang-making equipment, and which never stops promoting either weasels or The Comsat Angels.
     But what do I know.
     "Okay, that's what it's NOT.  What IS it?  This "Bad" of which you speak, o elderly yet still handsome scribe," I hear you quoth.
    Pausing only to admit that flattery does indeed work wonders, I shall explicate.
     German place names, is what I refer to.  As in "Bad Neustadt".  Art?

Not bad.  Of course it is Bad, except - o you know what I mean.

     Now, as with the Teuton surname "Blech", what is unamusingly prosaic in German becomes incredibly hilarious in English.  
     The explanation is quite simple: a German town name prefaced by "Bad" means it is a spa town and officially recognised as such.  Bad derives from the German for "Bath" and we here in the Pond of Eden acknowledge this with the town of Leamington Spa.
     One for all you balneomaniacs out there.

Bad Meaning Dire
Although that ought to come with the warning "Your Mileage May Vary" for, truly, one man's meat is another man's poison, and what is a movie to you might be a reason for me to poke that other fellow's eyes out with glowing coals rather than torment him with it.
     What am I venting about here?  Films that the Flophouse Facebook contingent have stated where others have detested them.  None of these leprous celluloid offspring were known to your humble scribe.  "Jupiter Ascending"?  "Wet Hot American Summer"?  "Smokin' Aces"?

Wet Hot American Summer

     Well, you know how it is, the Curse of Perverse.  Bad, eh?  Deemed loathsome by the rest of the world?  Critically dismissed?  Conrad will just have to inspect them in the interests of skeptical analysis.

Jupiter Ascending

Anaglyphs
To which the rejoinder, if spoken aloud, has to be "Oh, she does, does she?"  Well if it's Anna that's alright.  The corollary to this would be "That's okay then," to which might be added the reprise "But the rest of you - you I'm watching closely.  CLOSELY!"

Anna, glyphing.
Possibly.

     To return to the sensible (however briefly) there are two types of anaglyph.  One is type of raised decoration, usually of a small and portable design, familiar to the Greeks of Victor Davis Hanson as either prized property or purloined plunder.
     That name?  From the Greek, of course:  "Gluphein" which means "Carve" and "Ana" which means "Up" and thus to "Anagluphe" and "Anaglyph".
     Or, if you want to be bang up to date, the modern anaglyph is a picture that generates a 3D effect, produced by presenting two different pictures, each with a slightly different perspective, one picture in green, the other in red.

Edna, sniffing

On This Day
Well, never one to refrain from gloasting, three years ago the daily traffic on BOOJUM! for the 29th of January had been a whole 3 people.  You may judge how things have changed round here with yesterday's total being 524, or over x170 the 2014 total.
     That's not the only significant change here, as the creature I was wont to call "The Small Domesticated Wolf" also arrived at The Mansion on this day three years ago.  Art?

Sweet and petite

     She has settled down considerably since then, and now exudes a casual air of "You Humans Are Here To Entertain ME", which - well, which is pretty close to truth.

Smokin' Aces

Much Tang Dally

Yes, A Song Reference There
"Mustang Sally" being the title, although since that's the only thing I know about it, you shall be spared a long and painful analysis of the syntax, scanning and symbology of same.
     In hopeful contrast to the trend in recent posts, I shall keep the individual items short.  At least in contrast.
     Today, as threatened promised previously, we shall be looking at the word "Tang" because I can dredge up enough relevant words to make an entire article.  I'm not sure if this is creativity or desperation but because it's my blog we shall settle on the former.
     Let the motley commence!

Tang
As related to a craftsman's tool, the "tang" is that part of the implement which secures into the handle.  A picture ought to make this clear.  Art?

There you are

     And for good measure you can have a socket chisel, too, in order to contrast and compare, for we here at BOOJUM! take our educational responsibilities seriously*.

Tang
Another definition that you might well be more familiar with, in relation to gustatory experience - taste.
     A food stuff or drink is described as having a "tang" if there is a sharp flavour associated with it.  Grapefruit juice or passion fruit have a tang, as does tetryldimethyl hydroxyzine, although as it's lethal to Hom. Sap. I don't recommend you try it.

Fuming nitric acid.  Tangy!

Tango
I know what you're thinking, and no, this won't be about the dance, as Conrad has no time for it.  You want a dancing lesson, go watch <thinks> "The Blues Brothers"**.
     No!  This is about the NATO Phonetic Alphabet, or the "International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet" and "Tango", which stands for the letter "T". 

Tango Hotel Echo Romeo Echo Uniform Romeo

     Because this is a rather short item, I shall now indulge in a bit of wordplay in order to pad things out a bit***.  As you know, BOOJUM! remains Safe For Work at all times, and the strongest exclamation we normally use is 'Dog Buns', or "What On Earth" if we really want to make a point.  As an alternative, we might express this as "Whisky Oscar Echo".  Yes, yes, I realise this doesn't include the letter "T", give me a minute.  Another way to put it would be "What The Dickens" or "Whisky Tango Delta", which, if you have only just stumbled across BOOJUM! is what you are probably thinking.

Tango
A carbonated drink.

This

     Fizzy orange juice backed by a lot of advertising.  Nothing special.

Tangram
No!  Not the album by Tangerine Dream. Focus, people, focus. I mean the Chinese game formed by arranging seven shapes to represent real-world equivalents.  Here is the basic set:

ART!

<short pause whilst Art is disciplined with a Tazer and pepper spray>

     Ahem.  Here is the basic set:

A bit garish, I grant you

     The skill lies in re-arranging these shapes to represent things, and here is a "rabbit" as an example:

Hmmmm.

     Personally, Conrad feels it looks more like Chappie.

Tangmere
If you are not a resident of the Allotment of Eden, then you're probably not familiar with this bucolic village out in West Sussex, and indeed, why would you be?
     Because of RAF Tangmere, is why.  To those of us in the know, Tangmere is quite as famous as Biggin Hill or Manston as being one of the front-line fighter squadrons in the Battle of Britain.
     "Oh I heard of that - " STOP RIGHT THERE!  No insults allowed, or I will track you down via your ISP and read the collected works of Shakespeare to you.  Art?

Air Raid Shelter at Tangmere circa 1940

     Now a museum, Tangmere is where the Brylcreem boys would bound into the blue to biff the Boche to bits.

Tangiers
Foreign.  Of interest only because the locals can be called "Tangerines"

Tangerines
Citrus fruit.

There

 - or residents of Tangiers.

More Tangerines

     There you go.  I think today's dally with the Tang has gone on for quite long enough, especially since my brass hand needs a polish.  If you wish to continue further, go check out "Tanganiyka" which used to be an African republic, or "The Battle of Tanga" wherein the mighty British Empire was humiliated by <ahem> bees.  Also some enemy soldiers.


*  Sometimes.
**  Or "La La Land" if you must.
***  High-quality padding, mind.