bye bye cnn
Stupid media. The headline of this article, "Big apple produces almost 1 percent of U.S. greenhouse gases" gives the exact opposite impression as the actual facts: New York contains 2.7% of the U.S. population and its residents produce one third as much of the greenhouse emissions as average Americans. At least, it gives this impression to anyone who doesn't know that the population of NYC is >1% of the U.S. population, which I would guess is... most of the U.S. population :P The worst part of this is that a lot of people (like me) browse headlines and only read the article if they're interested. And if they didn't decide to read this article they'd take away from the headline a completely wrong idea, and likely spread it.
Then there's this article on a professional gamer. I'll withhold comments on the way they treat this as surprising, or the kind of quaint tone they take, or their diction choice (phrases like "blasting virtual baddies"). No, what got me even more pissed off was the spelling. Guess what? GAMMING != GAMING. The author uses them interchangeably in the article, but this is not at all the case. Gamming is the act of participating in a gam, which is "a social meeting, visit, or the like, as between whaling vessels at sea". Gaming is the act of participating in a game, which is "a competitive activity involving skill, chance, or endurance on the part of two or more persons who play according to a set of rules, usually for their own amusement or for that of spectators" (source for both is Dictionary.com). I really do believe that the latter definition is what you intend. Please use it exclusively. Especially if you're going write an article about it. You can at least make some attempt to LOOK like you know what you're writing about. This is not the first time that I've found egregious spelling and grammar mistakes on CNN.com, but this time it got to me more than most.
Conclusion: CNN loses. I used to get my news there daily--it wasn't great, but at least it's more balanced than some. But now I find myself obligated to switch elsewhere. Suggestions? I like a variety of news, I like it to be balanced, and while I'm willing to check multiple sites I don't want to spend all day.
Oh, I also had a dream last night that I signed up for del.icio.us and suddenly it was integrated into every website I went to and was really helpful. I know this is not what it does at all, and the reason I haven't signed up is because I don't think I'd have a lot to offer. But I found it interesting that my dreams seem to think I should :P
Then there's this article on a professional gamer. I'll withhold comments on the way they treat this as surprising, or the kind of quaint tone they take, or their diction choice (phrases like "blasting virtual baddies"). No, what got me even more pissed off was the spelling. Guess what? GAMMING != GAMING. The author uses them interchangeably in the article, but this is not at all the case. Gamming is the act of participating in a gam, which is "a social meeting, visit, or the like, as between whaling vessels at sea". Gaming is the act of participating in a game, which is "a competitive activity involving skill, chance, or endurance on the part of two or more persons who play according to a set of rules, usually for their own amusement or for that of spectators" (source for both is Dictionary.com). I really do believe that the latter definition is what you intend. Please use it exclusively. Especially if you're going write an article about it. You can at least make some attempt to LOOK like you know what you're writing about. This is not the first time that I've found egregious spelling and grammar mistakes on CNN.com, but this time it got to me more than most.
Conclusion: CNN loses. I used to get my news there daily--it wasn't great, but at least it's more balanced than some. But now I find myself obligated to switch elsewhere. Suggestions? I like a variety of news, I like it to be balanced, and while I'm willing to check multiple sites I don't want to spend all day.
Oh, I also had a dream last night that I signed up for del.icio.us and suddenly it was integrated into every website I went to and was really helpful. I know this is not what it does at all, and the reason I haven't signed up is because I don't think I'd have a lot to offer. But I found it interesting that my dreams seem to think I should :P