The Ugly Truth about Cloud Computing
We used to just call it 'online'.
Cliché de Jour
Posted in Submitted by Leo Klein on Wed, 10/21/2009 - 11:54pm.
Annals in the Mis-use of the Word 'Conversation'
What he said:
"I did have a conversation with an airline employee, but it was certainly not like this silly gossip column made it out to be."
What really happened,
"[Sen. David Vitter] ... joined what we've dubbed the 'Mile-Low Club' by going ballistic on an airline worker after missing a flight from Washington’s Dulles airport to New Orleans."
-- Brought to you by the Fake Empathy Liberation Front.
Posted in Submitted by Leo Klein on Wed, 03/11/2009 - 1:32pm.
MLA Issues New Handbook, Still Insists 'Website' is Two Words
The seventh edition of the MLA Handbook has just come out. The Chronicle of Higher Education points to the considerable effort the publishers have made to give this "bible of the undergraduate paper-writing process" a substantial web component. They have a password-protected website that contains the full text of the manual along with a whole ton of support material.
Good for them! It's great they're making such an effort. But what I want to know is why they still refuse to acknowledge that 'website' consists of only one word. Doing so would be a sign of true progress.
Posted in Submitted by Leo Klein on Tue, 03/10/2009 - 4:00pm.
'Conversation' Fails Hillary
Not to be too political here (I really try not to be) but I was reminded by a segment on NPR's Weekend Edition, that the original opening line of Hillary Clinton's campaign was the almost unbearable cliche:
"Let the Conversation Begin"
It's interesting to read in most analyses of her loss to Sen. Obama (here's one), that it was specifically a lack of imagination, flexibility, and attention to detail that proved her undoing.
Perhaps the two are related...
Posted in Submitted by Leo Klein on Sat, 06/07/2008 - 9:07am.
Kill-the-Conversation Unity League: We're Fired Up & Growing!
Max Kalehoff has joined the League. Jake McKee is still on the fence.
Posted in Submitted by Leo Klein on Tue, 10/09/2007 - 1:51pm.
Let the Conversation about the Word 'Conversation' Begin
First, Hillary Clinton begins her campaign for the presidency with the incredibly vapid statement:
Then, the Washington Post counters in defense of a completely silly column on her anatomy:
Now Sam Boyd from Tapped has had enough. He writes:
My suggestion is, maybe we can stop the Conversation long enough to actually say something. I mean, is there anyone who can still use this word with a straight face?
Posted in Submitted by Leo Klein on Mon, 07/30/2007 - 7:32am.
'Disruptive Innovation' About to Edge Out 'Conversation' in Platitude Sweepstakes
It had to happen. The long-reigning champ of "Uber Platitude" may be about to cede its title to a brawney new upstart.
Long a favorite on the Sincerity Circuit, the "Conversation Schtick" received a blow to its mid-drifts after trend-setting The Onion declared: "Let the conversation end."
This set the stage for a possible upset in the "Platitude Sweepstakes" with new-comer "Disruptive innovation" (child of plain old Innovation) about to gain the upper-hand.
Its use among geek commentators to indicate innovation that changes everything (as opposed to innovation that leaves everything exactly the same), is growing so disruptively that it looks set to overtake rival "Conversation" in no time.
Posted in Submitted by Leo Klein on Sat, 04/21/2007 - 11:09pm.
On the Misuse of the Word, 'Conversation'
Is it me or does the use of the word, 'conversation' for just about any communication between human beings cause others to cringe as well?
First, the guy on our local NPR Station talked of having some politician in for a "conversation" back in March; then Hillary Clinton runs on a platform called "Let the Conversation Begin". Now, a report just out on social networks in libraries is called, "Participatory Networks: The Library as Conversation". It concludes (not surprisingly): "...[T]here is now a need to broaden both the scope and scale of the conversation."
Is there no end to this? It's like using 'luxury' to describe condo units. The word begins to lose all meaning -- or even worse begins to take on the opposite of what's intended -- simply because it's used so much.
When I hear 'conversation', increasingly I think: 'insincere attempt to get my attention for trivial, banal or commercial purposes'. Sorry, but I'm just conversation'ed out.
