Posted by: Fred on: October 20, 2009
The time has come to defend corduroy from charges of elitism. A while back, some folks got the notion that corduroy was a French fabric originally worn by royalty.
This theory hinges on the premise that the word corduroy is an English corruption of the French phrase “corde de roi” which some people will tell you [...]
Posted by: Fred on: October 16, 2009
Certain weather historians are convinced that Old Man Winter will be striking the Northeast section of the country rather hard in the next few months.
Their projections have nothing to do with the jet stream, sunspot activity, El Nino, woolly caterpillars, or persimmon seeds. If you find yourself battling blizzards, scraping thick layers of ice, and [...]
Posted by: Fred on: October 9, 2009
At one point or another, we’ve all had a teacher recite the following lines: “in 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue.” In my case, it happened several times.
Even after all these years, I still remember sitting in a stuffy classroom hearing about the voyage of the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria. I also remember staring [...]
Posted by: Fred on: September 9, 2009
Welcome to the ninth day of the ninth month of 2009. In some cultures the number nine is a lucky number. In other cultures, nine is greeted with a little less enthusiasm.
The ancient Chinese were very fond of nines. In several Chinese dialects the word for nine sounds similar to the word for long-lasting. The [...]
Posted by: queensboro on: August 28, 2009
Today, I’m writing about a new product, the name of which presents a rather unique problem. The name confuses some people. Most folks are OK with the first four words. The fifth one, though, can often cause some problems.
Anorak is not a word that comes up very often in casual conversation.
Tell certain friends that you’re [...]
Posted by: Fred on: August 26, 2009
. . . T-Shirt
Cameron Crowe spent three and a half years working on the script for Jerry Maguire. As he slowly created the personality of the title character, he became more and more certain that he knew the ideal actor for the role.
The only question was whether Tom Hanks would accept the part.
I suspect a [...]
Posted by: Fred on: August 24, 2009
Happy Last day of August!
Have you read any good persimmon seeds lately? If not, you might be missing out on some valuable clues regarding Old Man Winter’s future intentions.
With persimmon seeds, the shape of the kernel tells the story.
Of course, first you have to acquire a persimmon. Then, you have to choose a seed. Now, [...]
Posted by: Fred on: August 3, 2009
Today is Monday, August 3, 2009. This date means different things to different people. For some historians, for instance, today is the 517th anniversary of the start of the first Atlantic voyage of Christopher Columbus.
In Wilmington, NC, August can mean that we get a visit from a Hurricane or two.
Basketball fans might note that it [...]
Posted by: Kate on: May 11, 2009
Queensboro staff are a pretty creative bunch. In order to have a little bit of fun, and harness the group creativity, we’ve been writing some of our own Queensboro Mad Libs. This one is (loosely) formatted as an email that a Queensboro customer might receive after placing an order with us. Below, [...]
Posted by: Fred on: February 16, 2009
Welcome to Presidents’ Day. Several members of the Queensboro crew thought it would be appropriate to honor this day with a sale on an item made right here in the United States. I agree. If you want to pick up the USA Made Pocket Polo with Striped Trim at a special price, [...]
