Dr. Metablog

Dr. Metablog is the nom de blague of Vivian de St. Vrain, the pen name of a resident of the mountain west who writes about language, books, politics, or whatever else comes to mind. Under the name Otto Onions (Oh NIGH uns), Vivian de St. Vrain is the author of “The Big Book of False Etymologies” (Oxford, 1978) and, writing as Amber Feldhammer, is editor of the classic anthology of confessional poetry, “My Underwear” (Virago, 1997).

February 2017

  • My ensemble: plaid wool shirt by Woolrich; trousers by Lee (regular cut — "smoky quartz" color); socks by Costco; shoes by New Balance (with orthopedic inserts by Dr. Scholl); leather belt by Target; foundational undergarments by Fruit of the Loom. Accessories: eyeglasses by Flexon; hearing aids by Phonak. Hair by Joe. I'd like to thank…

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  •   It's a paraceratherium. Because it was extinct before humans came on the scene and perhaps because it's not cute or disneyesque, it doesn't have a common name but I think "really big rhinoceros" fills the bill. You can see from the illustration that it was enormous, much larger than any of our surviving megafauna.…

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  • According to his biographer (Peter Ackroyd), Alfred Hitchcock "feared and hated the body." When he was a student at St. Ignatius in London, whenever he used the lavatory, he scrubbed it "so that it seemed as though no one had been there." At maturity, Hitchcock stood 5' 5" and weighed approximately 300 pounds. His marriage…

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