Great Left-Handed People

Left-handed Style--How to Refer to Lefthanders

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Mon, 23 May 2016 13:58:00 +0000

When do you you use "left-handed" and when "left handed"? That pesky hyphen!

What do style manuals say about how to punctuate "left handed"? For example, which is correct?

Left-handed compliment
He batted left handed

Answer: They are both correct.

As a compound adjective or adverb:

Left-handed or left-hand, used as an adjective or an adverb, is hyphenated. Examples: Left-handed batter, left-handed compliment, left-handed scissors, left-handed writing. Or, he throws left-handed (I suppose it could be "left-handedly"). Also, left-hand turn, left-hand-drive car, left-hand side of the road.

As a noun it is also hyphenated: left-handedness. "Left handed" by itself is not a noun. "Left-hander" is a noun, but it could also be written "lefthander".

Many compound nouns started out as separate words, then got hyphenated, but now are concatenated. Living-room evolved to livingroom. E-mail is now generally email. So Barak Obama is a lefthander.

If I am holding something in my left hand, I obviously don't need a hyphen. "Left", in this case, is just an adjective describing the hand that is doing the holding. You would never say "I saw a red-sunset" or "I have twin-sons". It is only when you want to use a two-word or three-word adjective that you need to unify it with a hyphen (or hyphens).

But what about an adjective that follows its noun? E.g. Is Barak Obama left handed, or is Barak Obama left-handed? Style guides seem to say that a compound adjective after a noun doesn't need a hyphen.

As an adverb following its noun it would be hyphenated: "She writes left-handed".

Never "lefthanded"? I don't see anything wrong with "lefthanded compliment" or even "lefthanded batter". Style guides would seem to suggest "left-handed compliment", but if you can be clear without cluttering it up with a hyphen, then why not? The "fth" looks kind of awkward though.

There are many ambiguous situations. For example, is it "left-hand turn lane" or "left-hand-turn lane"? An argument could be made either way, and you had best consult the style rules for the publication you are writing for.

Here are links to the hyphenation guidelines of some respectable publications:

The Economist Style Guide on hyphens
The Guardian, Observer and guardian.co.uk style guide H section (scroll down to "hyphens")
The National Geographic Style Manual on hyphens (Select H and then HYPHEN)

The Chicago Manual of Style is a great reference, but it is behind a paywall.

M. C. Escher -- Unsettling Left-Handed Art

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Sat, 30 Apr 2016 20:06:00 +0000

Dutch artist M. C. Escher was left handed.

There are videos of him at work here and here.

His famous 1948 lithograph Drawing Hands shows a left hand drawing a right hand drawing a left hand.

M. C. Escher. Drawing Hands, 1948

Do you think Escher's creativity, and perhaps his obsessions, were related to his left-handedness?

___________________________
[Image from Wikipedia. Subject to fair use. See details here.]

Angelina Jolie: An Heroic Southpaw?

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:26:00 +0000

Angelina Jolie has been in the news lately since announcing that she has undergone a prophylactic double mastectomy. This does not diminish her left-handedness.

Leftie Angelina Jolie

Ms. Jolie carries the BRCA1 gene, which predisposes people to high risks of breast cancer (men, too). She took the difficult decision to undergo major surgery to reduce that high risk. Fortunately she is wealthy, so this option was open to her. (More about this issue at this Harvard Medical School site.)

She remains an acclaimed actor, film director, and screenwriter. Indeed, her decision may have avoided cancer that might have shortened her career. (Her mother died at 56 of ovarian cancer, and Ms. Jolie is already 38.) She also remains a Great Leftie.

(Brad Pitt is right handed. So are Ms. Jolie's previous husbands Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton.)

Photo from http://www.autographstore.com/celebItems.cfm. Thanks.

Few U.S. Governors Are Left Handed

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:34:00 +0000

The votes are in: Just four of the governors of U.S. states are left handed. (This is the same proportion that is female. Just four out of fifty. Eight percent.)

The four left-handed governors are:

Steve Beshear of Kentucky, Democratic Party
Rick Snyder of Michigan, Republican Party
Mark Dayton of Minnesota, Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party
Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Democratic Party

Governor Hassan has the rare distinction of being both left handed and a woman, unique among U.S. state governors.

Three of the four left-handed governors are from the Democratic side of the political spectrum. Just 19 of the 50 governors are from the parties of the left (38%--and one is an independent). If Republicans are disproportionately right handed that might account for the low count of lefthanders among governors over all.

(Alejandro García Padilla, Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States, is right handed. Vincent C. Gray, Mayor of the District of Columbia, a Democrat, is also right handed.)

Future President?

Is one of these leaders destined to be President of the United States? On past form, left handedness seems to be common in the Oval Office. And many of our presidents have been former governors. Another problem for the Republican Party?

Mark Dayton of Minnesota: A great leftie?

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Wed, 15 May 2013 14:52:00 +0000

Governor Mark Dayton of Minnesota is a prominent left-hander. Here he is signing into law the state's same-sex marriage act:

Governor Dayton is a member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party, a party of the left.

How many U.S. governors are left handed? Let me know if your governor is a southpaw. I'll try to research this for a future post.

Photo from KSTP news. Thanks.

Why Are So Many Top Politicians Left Handed?

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 14:47:00 +0000

Top politicians are much more likely to be left handed than the general population.

Barak Obama (and five out of the last seven U.S. Presidents) (But not Mitt Romney)
UK Prime Minister David Cameron (but not Deputy PM Nick Clegg)
Many Latin American leaders (though Mexico will move from the left-handed to right-handed column when the new president takes office)
In the Middle East, both Benjamin Netenyahu and Mahmoud Abbas

In the general population about 10% of us are left handed. So what causes left handers to rise to the top in politics?

Here are some suggestions, for which there is little or no evidence:

Lefthanders are just smarter, more ambitious, better networkers, harder working, more popular, or something
Lefthanders have experience overcoming adversity, dealing with a difficult and sometimes hostile world
Or maybe this is just a random happenstance, and over the long term only an average number of top politicians will be left handed.

The success of left-handed politicians may be a new phenomenon, reflecting the greater acceptance of lefthandedness in recent generations. In earlier times many people who might have been naturally left handed were forced to use their right hands due to prejudice. Ronald Reagan may be an example. This is reflected in the record of British Prime Ministers: of the 52 who have held that office there are only two left-handed Prime Ministers on record: Churchill and Cameron (source: BBC story).

Is this true in other fields? Are there a disproportionate fraction of left handers among business CEOs, flag and general officers, Nobel prize winners or other highly successful groups, where lefthanders might rise to the top? If you have information or opinions, add your comment below.

Looper: Time Travel Meets Left Handedness

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 16:34:00 +0000

[Spoilers--but nothing you wouldn't learn from the trailer]

When you mix time travel, assassins, and Bruce Willis (a great leftie), you get a tangled tale of murderous switch hitting--You get Looper. I have no evidence that writer/director Rian Johnson is left handed, but he has to manage both time travel and hand preference, two potentially confusing threads, in this new film.

The plot involves both younger (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and older (played by Bruce Willis) versions of hitperson Joseph Simmons. Since Gordon-Levitt is right handed, some acting and perhaps camera tricks were involved.

Willis as leftie older Joe

Gordon-Levitt as "leftie"(?) younger Joe

In the trailer 1 (here) younger Joe sometimes appears to be left handed, sometimes right handed.

Hand preference issues can lead to continuity problems, as in the shot where Joe reaches into his lap for his pistol, which might have been shot by a second unit. The shot had to be reversed to make it appear he is reaching with his left hand. (See IMFDb.) In the rest of the shots from this diner scene in trailer 2 (here), young Joe handles his weapon right handed. (He also seems to switch from an automatic to a revolver in this clip.) We'll have to wait for the finished film to see if they have gotten all this straightened out.

[Update 2 May 2013--I guess writer/director Rian Johnson didn't try to make anything out of Joe's hand preference. In the film Bruce Willis is mostly left handed, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt is mostly right handed. There is no explanation of the apparent change in handedness that happens over the intervening 30 years from Young Joe to Old Joe. And no clever plot elements depend on hand preference. Opportunity wasted? Did Mr. Johnson think we just wouldn't notice? What do you think?]

Older Joe and younger Joe images are from Internet Movie Firearms Database, extracted from trailers for the film.

Bruce Willis's hand preference is revealed in previous posts here and here.

Left Handers in the U.S. Cabinet

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 17:56:00 +0000

You don't have to be left handed to be a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and in fact it doesn't seem to help you get appointed to a Cabinet-level position.

That well-known lefthander Barak Obama appointed experienced southpaw Lisa P. Jackson to be Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in December 2008.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and
EPA Administrator Jackson sign an agreement

Ms. Jackson also shares with President Obama her African-American heritage.

The other left-handed member of President Obama's cabinet is his Secretary of Education. A good sign?

Secretary of Educaton Arne Duncan

The hand preference of some Cabinet-level officers was hard to determine. Maybe the following could get in touch and let us know:

White House Chief of Staff Jacob Lew?
Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget Jeffrey Zients?
Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Alan Krueger?

But in any event out of the 23 Cabinet members and Cabinet-level officers only two are clearly left handed. Not more than expected from the general population.

Photo credits:
Lisa Jackson: Public domain NASA photo from Wikimedia Commons
Arne Duncan: Public domain Department of Education photo

The Bourne Lefthandedly

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 18:09:00 +0000

The new film "The Bourne Legacy" features a left-handed character named Aaron Cross, played by southpaw Jeremy Renner. It is good to see so many left-handed heroes. (See previous post on the high proportion of left handers among The Avengers.)

Our lone hero Mr. Cross seems to have everyone against him. That includes the designers of some of his tools, as illustrated below. He is taking aim with a sniping rifle with its bolt handle nestled awkwardly under his chin, a common problem for left-handed snipers. I hope he can do it in one shot, since it might take him longer than a right hander to cycle his weapon for a second try.

Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) takes aim,
with his chin over the bolt handle?

Appearing in a smaller role in "The Bourne Legacy" is leftie Scott Glenn, as CIA Director Ezra Kramer.

Scott Glenn in "Silverado"

Joan Allen, who plays CIA Deputy Director Pamela Landy in the Bourne films, is left handed too. What is it about these left-handed CIA executives? Does being left-handed give you an advantage in this fictional CIA bureaucracy?

Joan Allen (from this site)

Directory/Co-writer Tony Gilroy, who also wrote the first three Bourne films, is not, as far as I know, left handed.

The images of Jeremy Renner and Scott Glenn are from the Internet Movie Firearms Database here and here.

International Left Handers Day 2012

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 02:56:00 +0000

August 13 is International Left Handers Day! Celebrate your special day if you are left handed. If you are not, maybe this is a good time to honor the left handers among you.

The past year has seen several developments in the world of lefthandedness:

The left-handed President of Mexico (Felipe Calderón) will be replaced by right hander Enrique Peña Nieto.
About 13 million new left handers were born (assuming about 10% of those born are left handed).
James Cameron has been writing Avatar 2, Avatar 3 (and maybe Avatar 4?). Filming could start later in 1012. More left-handed Navi on the screen in 2014?
I discovered "left-handed toons (by right-handed people)". I don't know if they really draw these left handed. Are they just making fun of us?

The Left-Handers Club issued a press release for Left Handers Day. The club is using the 2012 event to push for better teacher training on how to help left-handed children.
The film "The Avengers", written (left handed) and directed by southpaw Joss Whedon, featured left-handed Avengers Black Widow and Hawkeye, from a comic book by lefty Stan Lee. (One-third of Avengers are left handed at this stage.)

So let's look leftward to a peaceful, prosperous and interesting year to come for all left-handers, and their right-handed friends and relations.

Image by RRZEicons used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license, from Wikimedia Commons.

The Avengers: Made By and With Lefties

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 01:16:00 +0000

The 2012 film "The Avengers" features at least two left-handed Avengers. Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff is played left handed by leftie Scarlett Johansson. Hawkeye/Clint Barton is played left handed by southpaw Jeremy Renner.

And of course the film was written and directed by well-known left-handed genius Joss Whedon.

Even more sinister, The Avengers were co-created in 1963 by left-handed Stan Lee (and right-handed Jack Kirby).

Black Widow and Hawkeye handle their Weapons leftie

Scarlett Johansen and fans

Jeremy Renner and fans

Southpaw Joss Whedon

Stan Lee. 'Nuff said!

Photo credits:

Black Widow and Hawkeye in "The Avengers" from Internet Movie Firearms Database.

Scarlett Johansen signing: Matt Sayles / Associated Press, from this site.

Jeremy Renner signing: Associated Press, from this site.

Joss Whedon signing Avengers poster from Huffington Post

Stan Lee signing from this site.

Latin American Leaders

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 15:10:00 +0000

Many of today's national leaders in Latin America are left handed. (This is no surprise, as many leaders world wide are left handed--see previous posts.)

Hugo Chávez, President of Venezuela, and Juan Manuel Santos, President of Colombia, are both left handed.

Santos, left, and Chávez, right

President Felipe Calderón of Mexico is left handed.

Two North American lefties

Laura Chinchilla, President of Costa Rica, is also left handed.

Presidenta zurda

And the President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, is left handed too.

President Piñera

A Chilean site on left-handedness: http://www.zurdos.cl/index.php

Photo credits:

Santos and Chávez: http://www.cnn.com/2011/12/03/world/americas/venezuela-colombia/index.html

Calderón and Obama: http://www.acclaimimages.com/_gallery/_image_pages/0519-1010-0717-0102.html

Chinchilla: http://www.amcostarica.com/071610.htm

Piñera: http://www.minsegpres.gob.cl/2011/04/presidente-pinera-firma-proyecto-de-ley-sobre-probidad-publica/

A Clear Choice

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 23:46:00 +0000

Although in 2008 the candidates of both of the major parties (John McCain and Barak Obama) were both left handed, this year will be different. Although we do not yet know the Republican Party's nominee, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich and even Michelle Bachman are all right handed. U.S. voters will have a clear choice in 2012 between left-handed and right-handed nominees.

The Republicans, although seen as the party of the right, have more often than not put forth left-handed nominees for the office of President of the United States in recent decades. (See previous post.) Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, George H. W. Bush and John McCain were left handed. Bob Dole, although raised right handed, was rendered left handed by his war wounds. Only George W. Bush, of the recent Republican nominees, was right handed. He won, but only against other right-handed nominees. (See Wikipedia article.)

The Democratic Party has not leaned to the left in its recent nominees, but it has been more successful when it has. Jimmy Carter, Walter Mondale, and Michael Dukakis are right handed. Carter beat left-handed Gerald Ford, but lost to left-handed (or at least ambidextrous--he was forced to learn to use his right in childhood) Ronald Reagan. Mondale and Dukakis lost, both to left handers. The Democrats learned their lesson, and Bill Clinton won. But then they tried right handers Al Gore and John Kerry. They returned to winning form with left-handed Barak Obama.

Why do left-handers seem to have the edge in winning the U.S. presidency? If you think you know please comment.

Abbas and Netanyahu Both Lefties

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 04:39:00 +0000

Both the President Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Mahmoud Abbas, and the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, are left handed. At least they can agree on one thing: those ink smears sure are a mess! As you can see from the photos below, they have adopted different pen-holding strategies to try to minimize the problem.

Abbas signs in

Netanyahu uses loop-over grip

This situation creates what may be a unique opportunity: They could simultaneously sign an agreement and shake hands on it at the same time. Maybe President Obama and Prime Minister Cameron could join in (both also lefties).

Happy International Lefthanders' Day

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 20:05:00 +0000

Yes, it's that day again--International Leftanders' Day! Today is the 35th such special day for left handers (although some might say that every day is special if you are left handed!)

I don't know why this day, the 13th of August, was selected. It is the birthday of Fidel Castro, but that is probably just a coincidence. Some sources say Fidel is left handed--for example he is on the University of Indiana Famous Left-Handers list. But images on the web show him batting and writing rightie. He may be a leftist, but not with respect to laterality.

Of the many other mildly famous and obscure people born on this day (Don Ho? Lucy Stone? Ben Hogan?) none is a Great Left Handed Person, as far as I can tell.

August 13th is the anniversary of the great Arica earthquake in 1868. Possibly caused by a left hander?

On August 13th, 1918, Opha Mae Johnson became the first woman to enlist in the United States Marine Corps. As far as I know she was not left handed.

The closing of the border and start of construction of what was to become the Berlin Wall was on 13 August 1961. The Leftist German Democratic Republic wanted to keep both left handed and right handed East Germans from moving to Rightist West Berlin. Not really a great day for left handers or anyone else.

So I guess International Lefthanders' Day was established on 13th August mainly because it seemed like a good idea and no other major holidays or festivals already occupied the spot. As good a day as any!

So Happy International Lefthanders' Day, all you left handers! Let's march in solidarity in any and all International Lefthanders' Day parades (stepping off with the left foot, as is traditional). If there is not an International Lefthanders' Day parade in your area, maybe you could organize one for August 13th next year.

UK PM David Cameron

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:02:00 +0000

David Cameron, Prime Minister of the UK, is from the party of the right, the Conservative Party. He signs, throws, and volleys leftie but bats righty. The official site of the Prime Minister's Office makes no mention of this crucial fact. But this Economic Times article reveals his hand preference.

PM signs signs the welcome book of the Welsh Assembly

Cameron tosses snowball (not shown)

This article shows that he plays tennis left handed. However, unless this photo has been reversed it looks like he bats right handed. Perhaps when he was at Eton there was a surplus of left-handed batters and he learned to bat rightie to round out the side.

Cameron bats rightie

Joel Hodgson/Joel Robinson

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 03:20:00 +0000

Comedian Joel Hodgson, who created Mystery Science Theater 3000 and played experimental subject Joel Robinson, is left handed. So Joel Robinson is also left handed.

Just a regular (left handed) Joe

Joel repairs Crow

On the Satellite of Love, Joel creates four robot pals. Crow, shown above, is the only one with articulated arms. Gypsy and Cambot have no apparent arms or hands. And Tom Servo has only little springy arms and non-functional ornamental white hands. Crow T. Robot has more prominent arms, but can make little use of them.

According to the series' official episode guide, Crow and Tom have hands that work only intermittently because they are "run by lazy, shiftless puppeteers who just don't care." [Source: Wikipedia.] Whether these puppeteers are right or left handed does not appear.

[Trace Beaulieu, who operated Crow in the early years, is right handed. Later Bill Corbett took over, and was either left or right handed. Tom Servo was mainly operated over the years by Kevin Murphy, right handed I think. Gypsy has no hands.]

Starsky . . . and Hutch!

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 23:50:00 +0000

In the 2004 feature film Starsky & Hutch both David Starsky (Ben Stiller) and Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson (Owen Wilson) were played by left handers.

Hutch (Wilson) on left, Starsky (Stiller) on right

Leftie Ben Stiller

Southpaw Owen Wilson

Back Then

Hutch (David Soul) and Starsky
(Paul Michael Glaser) from the TV series

In the 1975-79 TV series "Starsky and Hutch" that the movie was based on, David Soul (right handed) played Hutch right handed and Paul Michael Glaser (left handed?) played Starsky left handed.

Paul Michael Glaser on the job left handed as Starsky

David Soul is still right handed

Kayser Söze (spoiler alert)

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:59:00 +0000

Kayser Söze seems to be left handed.

Kayser Söze shoots left handed in Verbal Kint's story

In one of the scenes portraying the flashback being related to Agent Kujan by suspect Roger "Verbal" Kint, Kaiser shoots left handed.

Left-handed "Kayser" shoots Keaton on the ship

In another scene, someone whom Dean Keaton addresses as "Kayser", who then shoots Keaton, fires left handed.

Kint himself seems to be right handed, though this may be a result of his apparent disability. He is played as having cerebral palsy affecting one leg and one arm. He holds his Uzi right handed in one scene.

In case you haven't seen the movie, I'll just leave it at that. Except to comment that writer Christopher McQuarrie and director Bryan Singer seem to have thought of everything.

Kevin Spacey, who played Verbal Kint, appears to be right handed.

James Cameron's Left-Handed Na'vi

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 00:58:00 +0000

Movie director James Cameron is left handed. And on the moon Pandora, the setting for the movie Avatar, the native Na'vi are (all?) left handed. So though many great humans are left handed, not all great left-handers are human.

lefty Na'vi (Neytiri?)

The leading Na'vi character Neytiri is played by Zoe Saldana, who is in fact left handed.

lefty Zoe Saldana

Most of the other main Na'vi characters are played by right-handed actors. To the extent hand preference was involved in any of their performances, for instance handling weapons, they had to play left handed.

Right-hander Laz Alonso plays Tsu'tey.
Right-hander Wes Studi plays Eytukan.
Right-hander CCH Pounder plays Moat.

Interestingly the avatars of the human characters, when those characters are inhabiting Na'vi-like bodies, are right handed just as their human "operators" are. All of the actors who play these characters are themselves right handed.

Sam Worthington plays Jake Sully, who is right handed, as is his avatar. When his avatar handles firearms he uses them right handed. (I noticed Jake's avatar using a bow leftie in one shot, I think. And he was trained by Neytiri to draw it left handed. In many shots he can be seen to wear a wristguard on his right wrist, as a left-handed bowman would. Maybe the Na'vi just don't make left wristguards. This is the opposite of the problem that southpaws face with scissors in our world.)

Jake Sully's avatar is right handed
Sigourney Weaver is right handed. Her character Dr. Grace Augustine and her avatar are right handed.

Presumably the Na'vi extras and stunt players had to act left handed on the motion capture stage. They can be seen carrying their bows in their right hands (as a left-handed archer would) in the featurette "Performance Capture" at the Avatar site.

Question: In the video game can you play Na'vi characters? If so, do you play the them right handed, or left handed?

James Cameron, Na'vi prototype?

Hellboy's 'Right Hand of Doom' Makes Him Left Handed?

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 02:10:00 +0000

"Hellboy's right hand, referred to as the 'Right Hand of Doom', consists of a large forearm and hand that seems to be made from red stone. The Hand is dexterous enough to catch a fly, but its large size causes Hellboy to prefer his normal-sized left hand to operate weapons and devices." (Source: Wikipedia)

So is Hellboy right handed or left handed?

Hellboy

Ron Perlman as Hellboy, and Samaritan

Actor Ron Perlman, who plays Hellboy in the recent films, is left handed.

Ron Perlman signs an autograph

Mike Mignola, who created Hellboy for Dark Horse Comics, is right handed.

Technorati claim tag G3FMBE7SH3JJ

Sin(ister) City?

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 01:28:00 +0000

Sometimes lefties have to play righties. Many of the shots in Robert Rodriguez's Sin City were modelled directly on panels in Frank Miller's graphic novel. Therefore Detective John Hartigan, played by Bruce Willis, who is left handed, is played right handed.

Hartigan

For example this frame:

Hartigan takes aim at Yellow Bastard

Became this shot:

Hartigan takes aim at Yellow Bastard

Of course Frank Miller, like almost all of his characters, is right handed.

Frank Miller signs a copy of "300"

Jim and Kermit

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 01:49:00 +0000

The left hand of Jim Henson

Jim Henson was left-handed, though he wore Kermit the Frog on his right hand when performing. He used his left hand to manipulate the wires that operate Kermit's hands. Generally Kermit will be seen holding things that have to be manipulated in his left hand.

Kermit is now played by Steve Whitmire, who is right handed, but the pattern set by Jim Henson still makes Kermit mainly left handed.

Kermit holds phone in his left hand

Muppet manipulation

"The Muppeteer or Muppet master always holds the Muppet above his head or in front of his body, with one hand operating the head and mouth and the other manipulating the hands and arms, either with two separate control rods or by "wearing" the hands like gloves. One consequence of this design is that most Muppets are left-handed as the puppeteer uses his right hand to operate the head while operating the arm rod with his left hand." (source: Wikipedia article.)

Live-hand muppets

The Sesame Street character Ernie is an example of a "live-hand" muppet. The muppeteer operates the character's head with his or her right hand, and his or her left hand is in the hand of the character. So all such characters (which include Ernie, Cookie Monster, Fozzie Bear, Rowlf the Dog, Beaker and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew) are left-handed. (See "performing Ernie")

Beaker and Dr. Honeydew, both left handed

However, when a character like Rowlf or The Swedish Chef uses both hands, Jim Henson would operate the head and another mupeteer would do both hands. In the picture below Steve Whitmire helps Rowlf play the piano. So at these times Rowlf would be right handed.

Steve Whitmire does Rowlf's hands

Yippee-ki-yay, right-hander

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 22:43:00 +0000

Bruce Willis is left handed. So is John McCane. Hans Gruber is not.

Recent Presidents

noreply@blogger.com (David) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:58:00 +0000

Every President of the United States since Gerald Ford (Except Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush) was a leftie. Ronald Reagan is said to have been born leftie but wrote and threw rightie. However, it looks like he shot leftie.

Gerald Ford

Ronald Reagan

George H.W. Bush

Bill Clinton

Barack Obama