Uncle Garabed’s Notebook (April 7, 2012)

Trial by Judge

It is obvious that “obscenity” is not a term capable of exact legal definition; in the practice of the courts, it means “anything that shocks the magistrate.”

… Bertrand Russell

Chinese Proverb

If you suspect a man, don’t employ him;

And if you employ him, don’t suspect him.

From the Trivia File

According to Teutonic legend, the wren gained the title King of the Birds by practicing deceit in a contest. All the birds decided that the one which flew nearest the sun should be proclaimed king. The eagle, quite naturally, reached the highest point, but the wren had hidden itself on the eagle’s back and so was nearer the sun.

From My Persian Dictionary

Gumbaz: dome

Darbán: door-keeper

Kashídan: to draw (pull)

Shalvár: drawers, pantaloons

Two’s Not Company

Before I heard the doctors tell

The dangers of a kiss,

I had considered kissing you

The nearest thing to bliss.

But now I know Biology

And sit and sigh and moan,

Six million mad bacteria—

And I thought we were alone.

What’s in a Name?

Kambourian: Turkish in derivation, identified as a descriptive term, kambour is defined as crooked, hunchback.

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CK Garabed

Weekly Columnist

C.K. Garabed (a.k.a. Charles Kasbarian) has been active in the Armenian Church and Armenian community organizations all his life. As a writer and editor, he has been a keen observer of, and outspoken commentator on, political and social matters affecting Armenian Americans. He has been a regular contributor to the Armenian Reporter and the AGBU Literary Quarterly, “ARARAT.” For the last 30 years, Garabed has been a regular contributor to the Armenian Weekly. He produces a weekly column called “Uncle Garabed's Notebook,” in which he presents an assortment of tales, anecdotes, poems, riddles, and trivia; for the past 10 years, each column has contained a deconstruction of an Armenian surname. He believes his greatest accomplishment in life, and his contribution to the Armenian nation, has been the espousing of Aghavni, and the begetting of Antranig and Lucine.

Latest posts by CK Garabed (see all)

• A Reminiscence: John Najarian - February 19, 2020
• Uncle Garabed’s Notebook (Aug. 5, 2017) - August 7, 2017
• Uncle Garabed’s Notebook (July 22, 2017) - July 22, 2017