End of ADS-L Digest - 15 Aug 1997 to 16 Aug 1997 ************************************************ Subject: ADS-L Digest - 16 Aug 1997 to 17 Aug 1997 There are 2 messages totalling 162 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. BUZZWORDS: L.A. FRESHSPEAK review 2. Full Monty ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 17 Aug 1997 04:37:59 -0400 From: "Barry A. Popik" Subject: BUZZWORDS: L.A. FRESHSPEAK review Book Review: BUZZWORDS: L.A. FRESHSPEAK by Anna Scotti & Paul Young 144 pages, $9.95 St. Martin's Press, May 1997 Two quick confessions--I've never lived in Los Angeles, and I don't read the magazine BUZZ. BUZZ has celebrity stories, which are not rare in this world. Any magazine or newspaper can run a story about Julia Roberts or Jennifer Aniston. I briefly visited Los Angeles ten years ago and saw no reason to move from New York City. People in LA, I was told, don't even know they have a library. That's it for disclaimers. There are eight chapters of words about the film industry, sex, cars, neighborhood names, everyday life, youth slang, fashion, health, sports, work, drugs, and crime. The book starts with an introduction by Merrill Markoe. Right away you think, Merrill Markoe? THE Merrill Markoe? Couldn't get H. L. Mencken, eh? True, she was once a writer for David Letterman, and the two were once an item. But why her? Her introduction is all of about a page, and it adds nothing. Like all books on words that seem to be coming out now, there is no bibliography. No other books or articles on words are mentioned--not even the OED. The words aren't given even such simple information as "verb" or "noun." The words are not treated historically, and few citations are given. Couldn't they say, for example, that "going postal" was from the movie CLUELESS? That "NOT!" was from WAYNE'S WORLD? Guess not. There's no index! Four words are on the cover--where are they? What chapter? Help! The book reads like you already half-understand the words. If you don't, then you're in trouble. On page 84, for example, "UVs: sunshine. Also, _rays_." Any proper dictionary would state that this comes from Ultra-Violet. An entry on page 76, for example, is "ramboid: excessively excited." You have to figure out for yourself that it's from the movie RAMBO. The book is loaded with such poor entries. Some words are so standard you wonder why they're in the book. On page 112 is "hoops: the game of basketball." Then comes "hoopster: a basketball player" and "(to) play hoops: to play basketball. Also, _shoot hoops_." Why is this in a book on LOS ANGELES language? The terms are nationally used and probably didn't originate in Los Angeles. The illustrations are sparse, and the one illustration you expect to see is not here! A MAP OF LOS ANGELES!! The map would say South Central, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Culver City, et al., with the neighborhood nicknames included and the neighborhoods described. Where do rich people live? Where do poor people live? WHERE IS THAT MAP???? Entire chapters are missing, also. Don't people eat? I can write an entire chapter on Taco Bell alone! Where's the California smoothie? Where's the "wrap" sandwich? WHERE IS THAT CHAPTER ON FOOD WORDS?? (There's always, uh, LADYFINGERS...) Where is OJ? Where is LAX? Where are the Dodgers? Where are the Lakers? Any slang from UCLA and USC (Trojan jokes, for example)? Where's that chapter on earthquakes? Wasn't there a movie about an L.A. earthquake? The Coast Is Toast? WHERE ARE THOSE EARTHQUAKE WORDS?? WHY ARE THESE CHAPTERS NOT HERE???? Let's go by section and start with the film industry. A film critic named Gary Franklin--obviously not one to offend--grades movies from 10 to 10+. "Ten-plus" is his word and genuine L. A. talk. Where is that? In the "Destinations" section, "L. A." and "Los Angeles" are included. Where is "the Big Orange"? Why isn't David Letterman's pronunciation "Los Angle-lease" here? Paul Dickson's LABELS FOR LOCALS has Angelino and Angeleno, plus Hollywoodize, Hollywoodish, Hollywoodery, Hollywoodese, Hollywooden, Hollywoodite, Hollywoodian, and Hollywooder. Couldn't the authors have included that stuff and taken out, for example, the computer terms and the stuff on hoops? Maybe the book didn't aspire to be a Los Angeles counterpart to Irving Lewis Allen's CITY IN SLANG (on New York City), but what exactly did it aspire to be? An uncredited ripoff of books such as Branwyn's JARGONWATCH and Dalzell's FLAPPERS 2 RAPPERS and articles on surfer slang? Again, I've never lived in Los Angeles and I haven't even been there in ten years, but still, if I know these things.... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------- LONELY PLANET AND "THE BIG APPLE" In June 1997, Lonely Planet added a new title to its many travel guides--New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. On page 146 is a story about "the Big Apple" and a pathetic Parking Violations Bureau judge named Barry Popik. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------- SUPERMODELS (again) The Schomburg Library said it would get my materials by Wednesday, but I had to meet with an accountant on Wednesday, the collection is closed on Thursday, and I had to meet with a broker in Washington, DC on Friday afternoon. I called Saturday (today) when they opened. "We were going to send it back," I was told. SEND IT BACK? When I arrived, THERE WAS NO ONE ELSE IN THE ENTIRE ROOM! IN TWO HOURS, ONE OTHER RESEARCHER CAME IN! Obviously, it was an unusual request to keep the two boxes on reserve for an entire week! The NYPL would be doing me a great favor!! Anyway.... SUPERFLY came out in 1972 and should possibly be considered as an influence on the June 1972 Vogue "SUPER MODEL" article on Naomi Sims. An advertisement sheet for "GENESIS 1974" on 20 September 1973 in Chicago has a picture of Naomi Sims and "SUPER MODEL" under it. A brochure for the program states that GENESIS 1974 "EXTENDS A HEARTY WELCOME TO MS. NAOMI SIMS and MS. BARBARA JACKSON, America's SUPER MODELS." In MULLINERY & WIG RESEARCH for 26 March 1975, page 1, cols. 1-2, under her photo is "Naomi Sims: A Super-Profile. Naomi Sims has earned a reputation far beyond that of a super-model to M&WR's interview of the author, wig designer, researcher, and businesswoman in her N.Y.C. home, turn to pgs. 4-5." The article there is titled "Naomi Sims: From Super-Model To Super-Businesswoman." Sims got her big break in 1967, when she appeared on the cover of Fashions of the (NY) Times. She then went to Ford Models, but Eileen Ford wouldn't even speak with her. An assistant suggested that Sims lose ten pounds (she was already slim), and that Ford "had too many models of her type." In 1967, Ford had no black models at all.