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).

August 2020

  • Despite its marvelously odd sound, there was no word more familiar to me as an infant than "umpire." "Umpire!!"  Say it, savor it, roll it about in your mouth. It's a downright peculiar word. Am I exaggerating when I say that "umpire" came into my ken right along with the initial acquisition of language? And…

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  •   I bought these water glasses (sometimes called tumblers) about 35 years at a long defunct antique shop in Lafayette, Colorado. They fall into the large category known as Depression Glass in the trade and they were probably manufactured in the 1940's or 50's — but that's just an unsupported speculation on my part. I…

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  • I Kathy Ferguson, played by reliable Barbara Stanwyck, starts out as a tough, no nonsense witty newspaper woman not scared to go toe-to-toe with her male superiors. She's a 1930s kind of liberated movie gal who wants a lot more out of life than a husband and kids and an avocado-colored refrigerator. She's on her…

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