Author Archives: Tin Man

Cranberry

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[from the OED’s word of the day]

cranberry

SECOND EDITION 1989
(krænbr) Also 8 craneberry. [A name of comparatively recent appearance in English; entirely unknown to the herbalists of 16-17th c., who knew the plant and fruit as marsh-whorts, fen-whorts, fen-berries, marsh-berries, moss-berries. Several varieties of the name occur in continental languages, as G. kranichbeere, kranbeere, LG. krônbere, krones- or kronsbere, krônsbär, kranebere (all meaning crane-berry); cf. also Sw. tranbär, Da. tranebær, f. trana, trane, crane. As to its introduction into England, see sense 1.]

1. The fruit of a dwarf shrub, Vaccinium Oxycoccos, a native of Britain, Northern Europe, Siberia, and N. America, growing in turfy bogs: a small, roundish, dark red, very acid berry. Also the similar but larger fruit of V. macrocarpon, a native of N. America (large or American cranberry). Both are used for tarts, preserves, etc. The name is also given to the shrubs themselves.
The name appears to have been adopted by the North American colonists from some LG. source, and brought to England with the American cranberries (V. macrocarpon), imported already in 1686, when Ray (Hist. Pl. 685) says of them ‘hujus baccas a Nova Anglia usque missas Londini vidimus et gustavimus. Scriblitis seu ortis (Tarts nostrates vocant) eas inferciunt’. Thence it began to be applied in the 18th c. to the British species (V. Oxycoccos). In some parts, where the latter is unknown, the name is erroneously given to the cowberry (V. Vitis Idæa).

UNiTE to End Violence Against Women

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This morning I got to shake hands with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon. That was kind of cool.

My chorus, the Empire City Men’s Chorus, was invited to sing at an event at the United Nations honoring the Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign. The piece we sang was called “You Shall Not Go Down,” written by Dorothy Hindman, using text from Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass. Our piece led off the morning’s events. It’s not every day you get to sing for an audience that includes the UN Secretary-General.

After we sang, we took our seats, and then there was a series of speeches hosted by Good Morning America’s Juju Chang. the Secretary-General spoke, followed by the representative from Barbados, Joseph Goddard; former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet; and Debi Nova, a Costa Rican singer-songwriter.

After the speeches, the Secretary-General had to leave for another event, so he walked down the center aisle of the room toward the exit. I happened to be sitting on the aisle, so I got to shake his hand as he walked past.

Our chorus has also been invited to become part of the Network of Men Leaders, which means that we will officially support the efforts to end violence against women worldwide. Violence against women won’t end unless men commit to ending it.

It was an interesting event and I’m glad we were able to take part.

If you’d like to hear our chorus sing in person, please come to one of our two concerts next month, on Friday, December 10 or Tuesday, December 14. We’ll be singing a slew of gospel and spiritual songs. It should be fun.