The phrase "cry poor mouth"

I never heard this phrase before this morning. I encountered it on a CNN Money page. Here's how it was used:

Family courts are rife with tales where men with off-the-books jobs cry poor mouth to the judge, only to drive away in a Mercedes. 

I looked it up and found this page, where among the responses, someone from NYC said they heard this all the time, and yet another city resident said they'd never heard it. Well, I'm a phrase freak and I've lived my whole life in NY, mostly in NYC -- and I've never heard this phrase before.

To cry poor mouth is defined in various web dictionaries as meaning "to complain, especially habitually, about a lack of money". Some sites add the notion that one cries poor mouth while secretly having not only money, but quite a bit of it.

Are you familiar with this phrase?

Visions make it all seem so cruel

That's the title of Pepe Escobar's latest column in the Asia Times online. I love this guy. He's part psychedelic, part blogger, part newsman from long ago. Gritty and real, that's Pepe Escobar. He has a regular column at the paper. It's called "The Roving Eye". If you haven't checked him out, here's your chance. It's a far-roving article about the Hopi, Navajo, American exceptionalism, Bob Dylan, spirituality and, of course, Mitt and Barack. Makes great Sunday reading.

Game-show religion

Egypt's ancient Coptic Christian church chose a new pope in an elaborate Sunday ceremony meant to invoke the will of God, in which a blindfolded boy drew the name of the next patriarch from a crystal chalice.

They wanted Vanna White to do it, but she was busy.

Rudy Giuliani solidifies nitwit image

The former mayor, who also ran for president in 2008, pivoted to Romney's business experience, saying it should be considered a strength and blasted Democrats for making it a target on the campaign trail. 

"They tried to humiliate him because of that. You know something, if Governor Romney can have the success for America that he had for Bain Capital, Thank God! Our people would be working again," Giuliani said, referencing Romney's former private equity firm. 

This guy is such a twisted character. When I worked in NYC government, my boss once told me to rush to City Hall to join a meeting with Rudy. I said, "Absolutely not. Fire me if that's what you have to do but I will not be in the same room with that man." I skipped the meeting and wasn't fired. To think of breathing the same air as Rudy Giuliani! Ugh.

Great NYT story about child prodigies

This issue is dear to my heart. What could be more fascinating than brilliant children? Here's my favorite excerpt:

On his way to kindergarten one day, Drew asked his mother, “Can I just stay home so I can learn something?” Sue was at a loss. “He was reading textbooks this big, and they’re in class holding up a blowup M,” she said.

Is that great, or what? Go read the whole thing. On the other hand, it's a rather long article (7 pages). If you're not willing to spend that much time reading, here's one more excerpt:

After the English lawyer Daines Barrington examined the 8-year-old Mozart in 1764, he wrote: “He had a thorough knowledge of the fundamental principles of composition. He was also a great master of modulation, and his transitions from one key to another were excessively natural and judicious.” Yet, Mozart was also clearly a child. “Whilst he was playing to me, a favorite cat came in, upon which he immediately left his harpsichord, nor could we bring him back for a considerable time. He would also sometimes run about the room with a stick between his legs by way of horse.” 

Isn't that a marvelous image of Mozart? The article concerns itself with raising such a child. If this interests you, dig in at the above link. I loved it.

Xmas Carol is available everywhere

It took a while but Xmas Carol is now available pretty much everywhere. Even Barnes & Noble has it. (They were late to the party.) So if you've got an ereader, you can go to your favorite bookstore and pick up a copy of Xmas Carol for a mere $2.99. You can't beat the price, and the book is a ton of fun. G'wan. You won't be sorry.

BTW, I've come to realize that the best way to read the book on an iPad or iPhone is to install the Kindle Reader app, and buy the Kindle version. It looks better on-screen and shows more text. Just saying.

The Russian church-state nightmare

Chills went up my spine as I read this NYT article about the collapsing line between church and state in Russia. That something like this can happen in the year 2012 is shocking. But humanity's nonsensical craving for an authoritarian god will always come to this -- unless rational people guard against it (ahem) religiously.

Alas, in Russia it seems two megalomaniacs have come together in a most unholy way: Putin and his "spiritual father". Seriously, read this and worry. It can happen anywhere, even here in the U.S. In fact, we have GOP loons aiming for this very thing: a communion between government and religion. Shudder.