September 19, 2015

"It's all about the arena," said Meade, reading the news this morning.

"What?" I said. And I had misheard him. He's muttering in the next room. It's not like I'm Emily Litella.

"It's all about Fiorina," he repeated.

"Fiorina.. the arena..."

"You could write a poem."

ADDED: arena (n.)
1620s, "place of combat," from Latin harena "place of combat," originally "sand, sandy place," perhaps from Etruscan. The central stages of Roman amphitheaters were strewn with sand to soak up the blood. 
To soak up the blood that comes out of the eyes and the wherever.

IN THE COMMENTS: Sebastian said: "'You could write a poem.' The kind of poem that people who don't like poetry would like." Oh, yeah? Them's fighting words! I want to leave blood in the sand now.
Carly Fiorina
In the arena
Eating farina
With Angelina
Jolie, that ballerina
With a concertina
In comes a hyena
Quick, get a subpoena!

24 comments:

Stephanie Carnes said...

The woman in the arena...who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if [s]he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.

Will Cate said...

It's all about the subpoena.

Laslo Spatula said...

The obligatory Dylan references:

"In God’s truth tell me what you want and you’ll have it of course / Just step into the arena"

"Who killed Davey Moore / Why an’ what’s the reason for?
“Not us,” says the angry crowd / Whose screams filled the arena loud"

You know why.

I am Laslo.

Sebastian said...

"You could write a poem."

The kind of poem that people who don't like poetry would like.

Roy Lofquist said...

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."

Theodore Roosevelt

MayBee said...

The left is in a really odd meltdown over what Carly said about the planned parenthood videos and abortion.

rhhardin said...

The democrats and republican insiders settled on Fiorina, according to Rush.

You'll hear about her until it doesn't work.

Michael K said...

I think Arena is also Latin for sand.

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

MayBee,

The left is in a really odd meltdown over what Carly said about the planned parenthood videos and abortion.

You're right about that. I have seen the one in question (it's the seventh), and it's pretty much as she says.

Phil 314 said...

I gotta say rhhardin, you are not about the women candidates (or maybe just women in general?)

pm317 said...

Fiorina? Can she fill an arena?

{like Trump does, I suppose}.

Ann Althouse said...

"I think Arena is also Latin for sand."

That information is in the original post.

LordSomber said...

She's just a girl - she's a bomb

Tyrone Slothrop said...

The Spanish word for "flour" is harina-- must be a cognate. On the other hand, the Spanish word for "sand" is arena.

Etienne said...

Well, anyway, I still see the Republicans struggling. They have control of the House and Senate, and couldn't get a Bill through to save their ass.

I don't see how a Republican President can change things, as they are sure to lose big time in Congress, as people get tired of the promises lost.

Fernandinande said...

Carly Fiorina

Every time I see her name I think of cereal - "Fiorina stays crispy in milk!" - and the Little Rascals.

Heartless Aztec said...

Throw in a few more "fill out phrases" and a few chords (G, C, Em Am, Bm, D - what have you) and ya' got yer' self a Bob tune.

cubanbob said...

pm317 said...

Fiorina? Can she fill an arena?"

Too soon to tell. Can Hillary fill an arena that isn't the size of a shoe box?

Nichevo said...

Sorry I thought you said litter box. I'm sure she could fill one of those.

Writ Small said...

Bob Dylan's Angelina wants those rhymes back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfawFf4Zl-o

wildswan said...

Fiorina
is the most meana
in the arena.
Like Sixth Fleet gettin up steama,
She make da Trump screama
"No mas, Meana Fiorina"
you most beuatiful, this I meana
sincerely,
bella Fiorina."

Henry said...

Skeltonics for the masses!

chickelit said...

There's a town in Wisconsin called Arena. I remember passing through it countless times as a kid growing up there. The town is on Highway 14 which was built along an old Indian trail. I knew the area surrounding the town was sandy from camping there as a kid, but I never put two and two together regarding the name until much later when I was studying Italian and came across the word. Thinking that maybe there had once been some sort of "arena" there, I figured it must be named after the surrounding sand. I've never been able to confirm that hunch.

Nichevo said...

This A.E. Housman quote could not be more apt: “Nature not content with denying [her] the ability to think, has endowed [her] with the ability to write.”


--http://agitprop.typepad.com/agitprop/2008/10/bad-law-profess.html