LJ posts are a kind of ping. "Anybody out there paying attention?" But whereas ping is trying to determine whether a host/server is out there and reachable -- whether the Other exists and can be accessed -- LJ posts often seem to be a way to determine whether the Self exists. If somebody responds to me, I must be here. This gets to be addictive. If ( Read more... )

Bromance.

I kind of just don't like the cutesiness of the word itself, but it's probably the concept that bugs me even more. It's two dudes, and they, like, love each other. Whoa! Kinda cute, and kinda awkward.

I dunno. It seems smug and narcissistic adolescent to me. Am I just getting old and cranky? I really don't like those ear stretchers that ( Read more... )

Saw graffiti on a sign at a bus stop: "Buck the Oops". Two of the letters appeared to have been modified. Still, sounds like a good philosophy, whatever it might mean.

"soviet disco band"

Every time I hear someone utter the euphemism "enhanced interrogation techniques," I feel their soul die a little. I am forced to scream obscenities to protect my own soul ( Read more... )

Seen in a discussion of the wingnut obsession with socialism at Balloon Juice: 'Update: Please put a space between “c” and “ialis” in your comments so as not to trigger the spam filter.'

Overheard in a cellphone conversation on the sidewalk just now: "Shu-hut u-hup! Dude?!"

Is this some kind of We-hest Co-hoast thi-hing? Maybe Ca-ha-li-hi? Double your consonants, and double the emphasis! Or whuh-hut?

Seeing a reference to a new Washington Post blog called whorunsgov.com, I initially read it as whoresongov.com. So I googled "shakespeare whoreson" to double-check where I'd seen this word before, and I came to this in King Lear: "Thou whoreson zed! thou unnecessary letter!" Sounds like something that should go in the colophon of the Corflu Zed ( Read more... )

'Tis the season to be reminded that mish was the Salish word for river. Thus Stillaguamish, Snohomish, Skykomish, Sammamish, Duwamish. Although that doesn't exhaust the great river names around here: Nooksack, Snoqualmie, Puyallup, Nisqually, Dosewallips, Pysht, Quillayute, Quinault, Skookumchuck, and the ever popular Humptulips ( Read more... )

My boss just told me that he'd been at a Vietnamese restaurant standing in the pho queue.