The Perils of Mastication

Excellent headline from the Guardian. I try to work the word “mastication” into conversation frequently. The topic here is the sound of someone else eating. Crisps, barley sugars and the sound of someone eating an apple:

When I started quizzing other people on this topic I was surprised to find that everyone I spoke to admitted to some kind of food related noise intolerance. Most were initially quite shamefaced about this – that is, until they started to warm to their theme and recount horrors in gleeful disgust.

• A flock of flies entered our house last night when we had the front door open and the porch windows ajar. A slaughter ensued, but there were a couple that buzzed endlessly around the dining room where I was working. At one point one landed in my hair and I slapped. It flew off, but when I looked down I saw one fly leg on the F key of my computer keyboard.

• Here’s how it’s done: Louisiana senator David Vitter, who overcame prostitution problems to rejoin the U.S. Senate, ran a town hall meeting without any angry mobs. He employed the technique used frequently in the last election cycle:

The Louisiana Republican spoke at what was billed as a town hall meeting at Louisiana College’s Guinn Auditorium. It was a friendly audience but there was little chance for disagreement to be expressed.

The panel of speakers all joined Vitter in opposing the reform package being debated in Congress. Questions from audience members were screened and selected in advance of the event.

• The weird animal of the week: the yellow-lipped sea krait. Go here for a photo and story. Two heads are better than one:

The yellow-lipped sea krait, which is a native of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, has evolved a clever way to ward off predators while foraging. The coloration of its tail end is strikingly similar to its head, and when the snake sticks its real head into nooks and crannies to look for food, the tail moves around like a head to enhance the illusion.

Posted in It's life.