Editorial & Opinion
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[ 3 Comments ]Posted on February 10, 2009 by admin in Editorial & Opinion
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009Why British People Can’t Spell Color
As someone who sometimes worries about the state of the English language, this UK Telegraph piece about how Brits are better at spelling than Americans are caught my eye. However, the piece may be good example of adoxography (skilled writing on an unimportant subject) since, as this article points out, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. Add to that the fact that the British can’t seem to spell words like color, center, theater, etc., and it may all be a moot point (not to be confused with a mute point, a favorite eggcorn of mine). Who was it who said that England and America are two countries separated only by a common language? I think they were on to something. Personally, I’m more curious lately about the secret Facebook program that causes typos in everything I type in my “status” box. By the way, words like “adoxography” are not in my personal vocabulary. More unusual words for you here.
Derail Your Travel Plans With Amtrak
[ Comments Off ]Posted on February 9, 2009 by admin in Editorial & Opinion
Monday, February 9th, 2009Now with added pirate goodness!
We interrupt our regularly scheduled Monday Demotivators (our tips and tricks for avoiding work on Monday) to talk about a potential real-world Monday Demotivator: Amtrak. If you’re traveling from Detroit or Ann Arbor to Chicago (which I will be), a seemingly logical choice would be to take the train. Ironically though, in a country whose history is inextricably entwined with trains and stories about them, one of the most regularly traveled corridors is also notoriously one of the worst. On top of an on-time record of about 28%, and recent delays as long as 13 hours, now we have to be on the lookout for pirates. Yes, you read that right. Arrgh, matey. Until we have the long-dreamed of maglevs criss-crossing the country, train travel in the states remains a bit like it was in the beginning. A great cross-country adventure frought with peril. Say a prayer for me…
Monday Demotivators: The Super Bowl Fever Edition
[ Comments Off ]Posted on February 2, 2009 by admin in Editorial & Opinion
Monday, February 2nd, 2009It’s not super, and it’s not a bowl
Since 1.5 million of you will be calling in sick today, I thought I’d share some excuses to avoid, courtesy of CareerBuilder.com. On the Monday after Super Bowl Sunday, the only one of those that might fly would be “Employee’s wife burned all his clothes and he had nothing to wear to work“. Once you’ve come up with your lame excuse for not working today, come back for this week’s Monday Demotivators. First up: while it loads, Perfect Balance asks “are you ready to master both harmony and inferno?” A little dramatic for a moderately amusing game where you balance objects on the screen. A more reasonable question might be “are you ready to master your disdain for new-agey game soundtracks?” The game also pops up with a mildly annoying FaceBook suggestion in the lower right. After you’re suitably annoyed, you might want to try the simplistic and slightly creepy HitStick, a first person shooter that takes place in a subway. You shoot little round-headed guys in suits for no reason I could immediately ascertain. If your bloodlust isn’t sated by that one, perhaps you need a new twist on your sick interest in shooting things: BUNNIES! Shooting bunnies (even bunnies that have escaped from a research facility and are terrorizing the countryside) sounds pretty cruel until you find out what the bunnies are actually up to. Happy Super Bowl Monday!
Super Bowl Traditions: The Seven Layer Dip
[ 1 Comment ]Posted on February 1, 2009 by admin in Editorial & Opinion
Sunday, February 1st, 2009Super Bowl: It’s Not Super, And It’s Not Bowling
 Another Disturbing Super Bowl Tradition |
This Super Bowl Sunday, I’m engaging in one of my favorite Super Bowl Sunday activities: not watching the Super Bowl. I like football about as much as I like eating Ortolan, so Super Bowl Sunday has always mystified me a bit. The buzz surrounding Super Bowl commercials can be a little amusing, but c’mon. They’re commercials, for cryin’ out loud; media blips that in any other context are the bane of our existence. One Super Bowl tradition that fascinates me though is the seven-layer dip. I personally hadn’t heard of it until a couple of years ago, but apparently it’s one of the more sacred Super Bowl traditions. More intriguingly, it’s an excellent way to separate people into three distinct categories: those who come from an affluent, sophisticated background who honestly have never heard of it; those who are a little less well-monied (and whose favorite recipes always begin with “take one can of”); and those who for some reason know about it and either make it every year as an ironic statement, or just love joking about it. That last category would be me. So I’d love to know. Have YOU heard of seven-layer dip? Got a good recipe?
Tuesday Torture For Young Urban Failures
[ Comments Off ]Posted on January 27, 2009 by admin in Editorial & Opinion
Tuesday, January 27th, 2009See you in the unemployment line?
That image at left, aside from being an interesting abstract grid pattern, is a bunch of cars that haven’t been sold. More interesting shots like it at The Guardian. As a dirty trick, and in honor of the growing ranks of the unemployed, I decided to move our Monday Demotivators to Tuesday. Now, after not looking for a job on Monday like you said you would, you’ll come here Tuesday morning thinking it’s safe, and waste yet another day playing stupid on line Flash games. It’s okay, jobs suck anyway. Although if for some reason you’re hell-bent on having one, the skills you’ll need for Candystand’s Grid might come in handy if you want to work on the country’s new energy grid plans. Moving on: with a name like Boomshine, I was hoping for something a little boomier or shinier, but people seem to love it. Probably because of the cheesy Windham Hill-esque
