The whole Newt thing: I read things like this, and I have to wonder: Setting aside political affiliation, can any American, especially one who theorectically understands the principles this country is founded on, can he or she really say things like "no free speech" or "limited free speech" and believe that's being American, regardless of the reason? Is someone who says that really that nakedly obsessed with power? Or do they really, truly not understand what they are saying? I'm on the wrong end of the vote in this country more often than not--politically, religion-wise, and socially--and yet I know that banning thoughts and ideas I disagree with is very dangerous. Again, do they believe this? Do they not see the parallels to say, Iran or Russia? Or are they really so stupid as to believe they will always be in power? And if so, have they no knowledge of history?
I know Fox News's "impartiality" gets pointed out here often, but did anyone happen to watch ABC News the day after the election? Charlie Gibson intro'd the Dem wins and then called Bush "contrite" as he announced Rummy's resignation. Cut to the "thumpin'" speech, and my jaw dropped. Angry, annoyed and arrogant is how I would characterize that announcement. He looked like a twelve-year-old told to go to his room that can't resist saying he'll go but he's still right. Contrite? Not hardly.
New topic: trademark usage
My publisher doesn't want me use the word 'dumpster' without a capital because, as it turns out, it's actually trademarked. I?m not averse to following the rules, but I think this particular trademark has been diluted. Every time I saw it in my ms. with a capital D, I stopped dead and thought it?s a typo and I think readers will too.
I?ve tried searching, but while I find lots of references to it being trademarked (usually writer?s sites discussing the rules), I don?t really see that in conjunction with their enforcement as opposed to the way Xerox defends their mark. It?s also hard to tell when a mark is considered diluted?all the references are to old trademarks like escalator or aspirin. My American Heritage Dictionary says the mark is often used lowercase, if that means anything.
So.
Does anyone know 1) is it in fact ?illegal? not to capitalize and, if so, what are the possible ramifications? 2) is dumpster diluted? and 3) I really hate it---do you all think I?m being stubborn for no good reason?
Just some follow up on the AN Wilson particle. The Guardian confirms Hillier was the culprit and reveals the acrostic as "AN Wilson is a shit." I love fetid swamps.
re: #175
Dan..I like it. Here's another about my mom:
When the DC snipers were loose, my mom was watching the news and they showed a woman pumping gas in the area where the snipers had been active. My mom said: "That woman's crazy. She should make her husband pump the gas."
Kinda tell you something about my parents!
I know nothing about Splenda, but thought I'd share an amusing work story.
A co-worker had breast cancer (give it a sec, that's not the funny part). She went through chemo fine and returned to work. For weeks, she ranted on and on about the fact that during gestational diabetes, she switched to Splenda and insisted that the Splenda gave her cancer. She was relentless.
One morning, I came into work and there's a bag filled with boxes of Jello w/Splenda in our coffee room. It was from this woman and the note said "Free! I'm not using Splenda anymore. Enjoy!"
Hmm...what is the common thread among the sff community:
Asperger's?
psychotropic drugs?
College degrees in obscure subjects?
Asthma?
OCBs?
A huge pile of books next to the bed they will get to Someday?
Umm...no, wait!...process geeks!
I suggest toothpicks vs. forks. People make sure they've toothpicked something. They assume a fork will work and it don't always. Bonus: at some point, someone will use the toothpicks with different color cheese chunks to prove a point about chemical composition.
Two hours soaking time? With stuff? Should I be dead? I don't think a clam ever lived that long in the house I grew up in.
Whatever clams are labeled, my family ate 'em raw. If mom was planning on cooking them, she had to start right away or they'd be slurped.
Our normal preparation: 1) Buy 2) Leave in sack in the backyard with some ice 3) Take turns opening them, which meant you got to eat as many as you wanted first before passing them out.
So much of our attitudes about money are tangled in our perception of what makes a good standard of living. And that perception gets manipulated--by advertising, by government and by our social groups. I was commenting to a coworker recently about how successful career-wise my former work "subordinates" were. They are all at least the level I was when I was their boss, if not higher and they are definitely making more. My new co-worker said "Waitaminute..what the hell are you doing here?" and I said "Because at 5 o'clock, my life is my own and I am happy." I literally could be making twice what I make now--and I make a very good living--but it would take too much sacrificing the things I enjoy: time to read, to paint, to write, to travel, to take naps. Making more money for me would just be about the money. But oddly enough, the things I enjoy the most, don't really cost me that much. So I made an active decision to move away from that treadmill. Don't get me wrong--I'm not poor and don't think I am. But that's my point, too, I've hit a satisfaction point. Could I spent $15K a month? Sure, we all could. But if anyone believes they need that much to be happy, they probably don't understand what makes them happy.
Has anyone else received MicroSoft's most recent Windows "update"? It's a little program that does an ID check on registered computer software before it will allow you the pleasure of Windows patches. On the one hand, I kind of understand Microsoft wanting to force unregistered users or pirates to raise their hands. On the other, given the ubiquity of Windows, just how many illegal copies can they possibly be worried about (at least in the US) that I have to show my papers for them to fix their software? I feel like I shouldn't be annoyed about this, but at the same time it feels like the ol' "If you've done nothing wrong, what's yer problem."
I haven't installed it yet, but I know I will be forced to when terrorists try to steal my Spacewrecked Adam-and-Steve-Are-Happy-In-Eden-As-Immortals-Cause-There-Ain't-No-Chicks-Stealing-Apples story.
If you allow homosexuality they'll all be doing it...
Oh, no, not me, man. I'd stop.
I found Perdido Station horribly depressing at the end, but what a ride. I rarely interpret my emotional reactions as expected or "cheated". I tend to let the author have his/her effect on me and see where I end up. The only time I feel cheated is with contrived or bad plotting. Depress the hell of me, as long as it makes sense! Having said that, I made the mistake of reading The Scar immediately afterward and was so exhausted I can't think of reading any more Mieville for a while.
And is it me, or does Bas-Lag feel like Boston? Kinda sprawling architectural mish-mash, pocket neighborhoods that treat outsiders as aliens, and it takes forever to go short distances. And every once and a while someone (usually a local pol) sucks your brains and gives you nightmares.
I have to say I was rather startled to read the Wolfe essay. I don't know Mr. Wolfe at all, but I can't imagine he is unintelligent. Yet, it seems to me that he is obliviously taking Tolkien’s romanticized Middle Age society as a true reflection of reality. How else to explain a statement like: “The king might rule badly, but everyone agreed as to what good rule was.” Um. Really.
Having said that, I loved “The Knight”---precisely for its romance. But I have no desire to jump in a time machine because of it.
My problem with diligently saving the unused part of an egg is that I never seem to get around to using it. It stays in its perfect little pyrex dish until it becomes something Not Egg. Then it becomes a traffic accident in my fridge and I can't throw it away because I want to see if it will evolve. Unfortunately, my partner does not understand this fascination and throws the nascent lifeform (is that some kind o pun?) away before it has a chance to escape on its own.
...whoa. I just realized how our different religious viewpoints subtly come out in our daily behavior...
"How could you secure an indictment?" FEMA investigator Kirk Beauchamp asked. "It would be a conflict."
Wait! What? I'm having a <geek> Star Trek Nomad moment</geek>. Isn't this a circular argument that's so lame it makes your head shoot sparks, then explode?
Greg: Wow. Just went to couragevow and I just to have to say sorry if my previous post sounded flip. No, take that back, it IS flip. But I meant it to be, to bring a little levity in. It's not meant to sound like a sarcastic rejoinder to anything you've said or are trying to do.
When people get really serious, my fingers sometimes get a little nervous laughter thing going.
Interesting discussion. I thought I'd jump in, but then realized several people made some of my points better than I would.
Some random thoughts:
I'm a 24 fan. It's utterly ridiculous, but that's why I enjoy it. I never really thought about how it might make people comfortable with torture, but I can see that extrapolation. Having said that, did you know John McCain did a cameo? I did a huge double-take, precisely because the man was tortured and he was a fan of the show.
terrorist/anarchist/saboteur/potato: I really think terrorist was fine until, unsurprisingly, it became co-opted politically. Terrorist--it's the new Nazi. I think anarchist is too hard to fit in given it's historical context. As far as saboteur, it's so....French. Hey! Wait! That's it! Kill two birds with one stone: label the bad guys with a whiff of brie!
Personally, I like barbarian. Just think how it would sound if a newcaster intoned: "The barbarians tried to storm the gates of the White House." The historical entendre would be rich.
Adam,
Go check out the Quatrains in American History thread. Funny and/or political/history poetry. I bet you couldn't find a bus with stuff nearly as good.
Welcome, Adam Blickstein. I hope you at least to lurk if you decide not to join in. Here, it is almost always civil, multi-topic and definitely intelligent (or, at the very least, smart, tart, and amusing) but it is not an uncritical bunch.
Threads get long. Things extrapolate. But you will definitely learn stuff.
If you cross the line, you will be disemvoweled (sic., stick around you’ll know what it means). And if you really cross it, you might be sternly upbraided, in grammatically correct Middle English, to the delight of many. But the occasional sins are usually forgiven.
I was going to say we’re publishing people, but we’re not. We are Word People, which is much more dangerous.
Kudos for the mea culpa. I never think twice before hitting the post button here. It’s usually thrice.
| Year | Number of comments posted |
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| 2006 | 59 |
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