Today I Skimmed Schmaltz, and was Rawked at by a Raven.

Raven with Sausages by quinet

The schmaltz came from a mess of chicken soup I made. A thick layer of chicken fat rose to the top overnight and was skimmed off and used to season the cat’s breakfast.

Chicken soup for the soul by tsheko

The raven is a Common Raven, who was hanging out in one of the San Francisco parks that I walk through on my way to work. Common Ravens are more common out here than they are back east.

They are about the size of a small dog, and live shoulder to shoulder with their smaller corvid friends the Crow and the Western Scrub Jay. All three species enjoy Rawking, poking at things with their substantial bills, and Making Trouble.

What alliterative things happened to YOU today?

My mother, the real librarian (not a digital muckety muck thingamajig like me), will be visiting me here in San Francisco next week. Since she will be hanging around with non-Midwesterners, I thought it would be good to provide her with an introduction to west coast language. I know, right?

• I know, right?

  Rumored origin: L.A.
  Literal meaning: “Can you believe this thing we are talking about? It goes without saying, and yet we are saying it.”
  Connotation: “We are all in agreement here. Also, I have never read Beowulf.”

• Hella

  Rumored origin: NoCal.
  Literal meaning: Intensifier. “Their pie is hella good.”
  Connotation: “I am twelve.”

• Yeah yeah yeah

  Rumored origin: Coffee-fueled Berkeley undergraduates
  Literal meaning: “I agree so strongly that it can be quickly dismissed with a rapid exclamation.”
  Connotation: “We are getting things DONE in this conversation.”

• Chill

  Rumored origin: The 1960s.
  Literal meaning: “Good. Calm. Without trouble. Easy.”
  Connotation:”I have had lots of therapy and/or drugs.”

Got more? Send ‘em in!

My friend Maysan Haydar has always been cool. She introduced me to Bratmobile and Swing dancing back when such things were hip. She got a tongue ring before everyone else. She was the first person I knew to dye her hair purple.

She escaped from Flint, majored in Linguistics and moved to NYC to write for The Nation. Now she’s a social worker. Oh. And she wears the hijab. Here’s an excerpt from an article she wrote for the book Body Outlaws about why she wears the veil, and what it’s been like.