I want to publicly (and privately) apologize to Ken Scott for a post I made here yesterday at this link: http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......7&20

I wrongly accused him of name dropping and showing off. I honestly think I was just in a bad mood from a previous poster who really did come on here just to gloat and show off. I think I started looking at posts the wrong way after that.

I see the post for what it is now, Ken was excited after an awesome meeting and wanted to share that and me(an idiot) rained on that cool thing. ken also acted like a gentleman after I accused him. This make him a really cool person.

I hope my friends here will forgive me and not look at me in a bad light. I am learning to cool off before posting.

Thanks,
aaron


P.S. And to Donald Dunphy too, who has helped me enourmosly. Sorry Donald.

Aaron,

Everyone is entitled to a bad day (I've had more than a few of those myself!). Ever since you've joined the Café, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your posts and the assistance you have provided to fellow magicians. As far as I'm concerned, your friendships and your reputation here at the Café are as strong as ever.

And you're absolutely right. Ken Scott and Donald Dunphy are consumate professionals and true gentlemen.

Kent

Aaron
We all need a place to vent. I beat my wife.
Al Angello

Spoken and offered like the professional you are, Smoke. Well done.

Skip

Al, That's not what I hear..Who beats Who?

We all want to think we are in charge, but that is just fooling ourselves.

Aaron,
I was taken under the wing of a professional in the early, 60's, If you ever get a chance to work with professional, do it. It will boost you up real quickly.

You are not the first nor will you be the last to produce a "foot in the mouth" trick. I do that regularly, and never intentionally. Hmmm.. It this one?

Dennis

S&M no big deal. <BG>

Thanks
ken

Al,

You should get a cat.

Oh, that reminds me. When performing, sometimes we tend to use phrases that seem innocent enough to us, but may inadvertently offend our audience or our client. The other day, a friend enlightened me on a phrase I tend to use once in a while.

"Rule of Thumb"

He told be that the phrase goes back to the days when wives were basically treated the same as any other piece of property owned by a man. At that time, it was actually legal to beat your wife with a stick, so long as the width of the stick did not exceed with width of your thumb. Thus - the Rule of Thumb.

I really don't know if the history to that phrase is true or not but, out of an abundance of caution, I have made an attempt to stop using it in my conversations with others.

I apologize for side tracking this thread, but it was Al's response that got me thinking about it.

Kent

S&M it's all good. After reading that thread, I think you offered some valid points. Nothing to be ashamed about. Your thoughts are most appreciated.

Kent

You are quite correct about the origins of Rule of Thumb but as it only ever applied to the lower classes it was never considered of any great interest. Certainly not by people in my family's social circle. No one in England today would be upset by your use of the term.

However, for behaviour such as S&M has displayed nothing less than a horsewhipping would be in order. Unless of course she went to an English boarding school where boarders frequently grow up with quite a bizarre taste for such diversions.

Consider yourself lucky you're not in England S&M.

Kent and Tony - The origins of 'Rule of thumb' has been one of my favourite bits of trivia for ages. I would agree with Tony that no one in England (or anywhere else) would find it offensive.

I was quite disappointed to learn that the actual origins of the phrase are probably not quite as exciting:

'The whip thing is a bit of modern folklore. It is typical of such back-formed explanations well-known to linguists and folklorists. (The folk etymology of 'asparagus' as 'sparrow-grass' and the plague interpretation of 'Ring Around the Rosie' are two others.)
The real explanation of 'rule-of-thumb' is that is derives from wood workers (or other constructors) who knew their trade so well they rarely or never fell back on the use of such things as rulers. Instead they'd measure things by, for example, the length of their thumb; they measured, not by a rule(r) of wood, but by rule of thumb. The term was already in metaphorical use by the late 17th century.'

-Philip Hiscock


The term "rule of thumb" has been used to mean "rough or approximate measure" for several hundred years. This is amply documented in the Oxford English Dictionary and various other works. On the other hand, there are apparently legal cases in both the United States and Great Britain in which judges established a standard for the maximum diamater of a rod with which a man may beat his wife.
What is clear is that the term "rule of thumb" does not have its origin in rulings regarding violence toward women; it predates any legal opinions on the issue.

So I think you can feel free to use the phrase at will, Kent!

Thank you Kimmo. It's good to be accurate though I've never really been bothered much by the activities of the serving classes.

However, I can assure you that horsewhipping was practised here on our estates until well after the Second World War. Those wery horsewhips now hang on the beams here.

It was an unforgetable short sharp punishment. There's much to be said for bringing back the birch.

On the other hand I'm not adverse to Scold's Bridles and the Ducking Stool.

Perhaps S&M should consider those alternatives.

Kimmo,

Thanks for the insight! You never realize how hard it is to remove a phrase from your vocabulary until you consciously try to do so. Now I can relax without fear of unintentionally offending anyone.

And ... Al can go on beating his wife ... well, maybe not

Kent

I'm a little confused....the insinuation here seems to be wife beating is wrong...next you're going to tell me I have to stop abusing the kids I call up as volunteers...

--J

Al never said what he beat his wife at, I'm betting its not control of the remote...

OK the truth
My wife weighs 90 pounds, and I weigh 200 pounds. When she says jump I say how high dear. When I wake her up in the morning and greet her with her first cup of coffee she always says the same thing "I hate you, you creep" some times she chases me around the house with a wooden spoon, but I don't have a day job, she supports my career, and I really love the little thing.
Al Angello

PS- The most important ingredent to a successful career in magic is a good woman.

Truer words have never been spoken.

Kent

Well done, Aaron.

It takes a true person of character to re-think their point of view, and to apologize if they feel they were wrong. I admire you for it.

- Donald

Al,

I knew the truth would come out. You're a sweet lovable Teddy Bear!

Aaron,
Don't beat yourself up so hard. Many of us got to know your writing style, and from that we know your sincerity and kindness. You'll go places with that personality.

Dennis