Dotcommie at the by invitation only Stellar Parthenon BBS, is on a listserve for people who have been involved in internet advertising for at over 10 years, and got the following ad.
What he had heard was that the ad copy was outsourced to a copywriter who spoke English as a 2nd language (ESL).
In any case, it does appear to be just a bit, how to put this, inartful.
CCR edition
I was working with Charlie on his spelling homework, and he has similar words to work with.
One of the pairs was Stationary/Stationery, with the former meaning not moving, and the latter referring to a sheet of paper.
I’ve been spelling both of them -ary my entire life.
It turns out that “Going Rogue” is British slang for unprotected anal sex.
Well, that explains a lot.
The House Dems are now trying to call the public option Medicare Part E, as in “Medicare for Everyone”.
They should have done it months ago, and they won’t be able to make it stick, but it’s worth a try.
I loathed his politics, but he thought a lot better than any of the conservative who have been on the New York Times OP/ED page for the past few years, as well as having a lot more journalistic integrity, and I always enjoyed his writing on language.
Something you have to understand. When Pelosi warns of eliminationist and extremist rhetoric, and the normally stern lady almost tears up, and her staff clarifies that she is referring to what happened to Harvey Milk, she is being serious. This is not a pose.
There are no politicians who came of age in that cauldron who ever invoke him, because they find it truly alarming event in their life, and Pelosi is a San Francisco politician, even if she is Baltimore born and bred.
She is truly worried that the nut jobs are talking to even bigger nut jobs in their audience, and that this crap has to end, and she is right in those concerns.
All that evil has to do to succeed is to ensure that good does nothing.
Best…blooper…ever
The shrill one, Paul Krugman, noted on Stephanopoulos’ show, that, “We’ve got a problem with terminology because we usually say either the economy is in recession or the economy is recovering. Either you’re in hell or you’re in heaven. And the trouble is we’re actually in purgatory.”
You can see it on the video at about -7:20. (it counts down, not up, and there is a 15 second ad)
This is a term which should stick. “Jobless recovery,” like the last 2-3 recoveries, sounds so benign.
I was just on the phone with a recruiter for an agency, a very nice guy, and in the course of our phone conversation, I related my background:
In response, he said, “Jeepers.”
He said it, and he said it without any intent of irony.
Woah. I guess it must be a Midwest thing.
Paul Krugman is looking for a word that describes a person who, “considers his mild discomfort the equivalent of torture, crippling injury, or death for other people.”
He was referring to Alberto Gonzalez’s suggestion that he’s a “one of the many casualties of the war on terror.”
The first word that popped into my mind is the title.
I’m sure that the Germans have a word for it though, since they invented the word Schadenfreude.
One commenter on Krugman’s post references Hannah Arendt’s, “Banality of Evil,” though.
That is the name for Porsche’s new electronic automatic transmission on its 911.
You gotta love the German language.
There have always been tensions between the Flemish (Dutch speaking) and Walloon Belgians, and this article implies that the cultural and linguistic difference may push Belgium to a breakup.
This, and the repeated attempts by the Quebecois to secede, are very good examples of how a multilingual society is a dysfunctional society.
Without the language issue, both nations would be among the most tolerant and unified societies on earth.
Details here.
Well, I thought it was a funny turn of phrase.
It appears that the Ramesh Ponnuru, senior editor for National Review, has taken offense at a a blog post I made about 8 days ago regarding rumors that Time Magazine wanted him to write regular OP/EDs for them.
The title was and is over the top and offensive, which will surprise my friends no one bit, and you can go to the post and see my apology in the comment.
However, I take exception (not offense, exception) to one thing that he posted in The Corner:
That’s one “progressive” blogger’s reaction to the possibility that I will become a regular columnist for Time.
(emphasis mine)
I am not a progressive. I am a liberal.
A progressive is what wimps call themselves if they favor forward looking programs, but have capitulated to the linguistic efforts to equate the term “liberal” with “N***er Lover” in the 1970s by various reactionaries.
I’d like to think that I have a bit more intestinal fortitude.
To quote John F. Kennedy:
But if by a “Liberal” they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a “Liberal,” then I’m proud to say I’m a “Liberal.”
You can also refer to the late Steve’s Gilliard’s post on the subject. He was alway rather insistent on his use of the term “liberal”, rather than “progressive”.
I highly recommend the Register, but sometimes I feel that I need a translator. Case in point: Chav-hunting toffs cop some flack | The Register.
I was listening to a sales pitch for a robot.
The salesman was pitching the ease of programming the device, and the ease of porting programs between different models.
He then said that if needed, a “webinar” could be arranged to train our people for training.
Webinar???? What the hell is a Webinar????
He clear meant a teleconference with a shared desktop (Webex®), but why do people have to do this to the English language