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[B L McAllister]

I have always thought of being smitten as a good thing. 

I am having way too much fun with this!

In "The African Queen," the guy who is cracking up asks God to smit the Amalekites, and I'm sure he didn't intend it to be a good thing.  At the moment I forget who the Amalekites were, but that's okay, I forget who played the part, too.  (It darned sure wasn't Humphrey Bogart nor Katherine Hepburn.)  Maybe it's a little like saying somebody is "real bad" meaning he or she is good? Language is sort of funny, especially since we're all perfectly free to deviate from the norm, and then we all have to live with whatever results.  If anything. Certainly "smitten" is used as a nice way to say "greatly affected by," and takes fewer syllables at that. (Can't afford to waste syllables: they're an endangered species.)
 Byron

[JIM DOHERTY]

Byron,

Re your message below:

In "The African Queen," the guy who is cracking up asks God to smite the Amalekites, and I'm sure he didn't intend it to be a good thing.  At the moment I forget who the Amalekites were, but that's okay, I forget who played the part, too. 

The actor who played Kate's big brother, the missionary clergyman who goes nuts after the German attack, is Robert Morley.  The basic plot was reused in Rooster Cogburn, the sequel to True Grit in which Kate co-starred with Duke Wayne.

It's actually quite appropriate that you can't recall who the Amalekites were because God promised Moses in Exodus that He'd wipe their memory from history, although since they're mentioned several times in the Old Testament, their memory has tended to persist.

Basically, they were a tribe of nomadic predators who, according to Exodus, attacked the Israelites without provocation during their 40-year walkabout in the desert.  They continued to skirmish with the Israelites during the time of the Judges and up through the reigns of Saul and David.

[Bob Mueller]

Jim, in what areas aren't you an expert or at least very well read? 

[Ingrid]

Yes.  He terrifies me. 

Ingrid

[JIM DOHERTY]

My blushes, Watson!

But, really, c'mon, guys.  After twelve years of Catholic education, is it really that surprising that I've got a passing familiarity with Scripture?  I've occasionally lectored at Mass, too.

[Bob Mueller]

It's one thing to know/recall that the Amalekites were a nation that was constantly in conflict with the Israelites. It's another thing entirely to know as much as you do about them. I never knew they were nomadic.

And the "African Queen" reference? Please tell me you know the movie forwards and back, or pulled it off IMDB?
 

[JIM DOHERTY]

Bob,

Who wasn't nomadic on the desert, outside of the Egyptians?  And The African Queen was on TCM recently, while Rooster Cogburn is on tonight, so that sparked the connection.  Plus I've seen both movies several times.

[penny]

If "smiting" has anything to do with Amalek (the forefather of the Amelikites) - I would truly suggest using it sparingly. They were nomads in the first place, but were, and still are, the archetype of THE ENEMY of the Jewish nation, and are cursed.
They cost King Saul his crown, when he didn't wipe them out according to the prophet Samuel's instructions. Haman, whom some of you may have heard of from the story of Queen Esther is traditionally considered to be a descendant of Amalek, as is Hitler (don't ask me how this works out genetically).

Of course, nowadays nobody knows who the original Amelikites really are.

Penny

[Brenda B.]

Back to the Karma thing. You can only applaud someone once an hour. I tried to raise Kathi's Karma by clicking it several times, but no go.

[Ingrid]

re Amalek: we usually use Cain in that context.

Ingrid