The death of the English language?

When I was growing up, I loved to look up words in the Oxford English Dictionary, which we happened to have a copy of (as my mother was a college English teacher, specializing in Victorian literature). Indeed, at one point I seriously considered studying linguistics and semantics, as I love language and words.

But, after being sent an article about some of the latest words to be included in the Oxford English Dictionary (or OED) -- hat tip, which happens to be one of the new phrases, to friend of the blog D. -- I have to say, this is not my mother's dictionary. And I am not happy.

Vajazzle? Really? How many people (outside those who watch the British reality TV show The Only Way Is Essex) actually use or know that word? And how many people will still be using this word five or 50 years from now? Which douche (yet another new word) thought it would be brilliant to include that gem? And can we vote him off the island?

Granted, not all the new words seem ridic (like ridic). Inbox, ripped, and video chat all make sense to me. But do you really need a special entry for date night? And is mwahahaha even a word? And lolz? (Please note, I am not laughing.) But whatevs (which was added last month).

Do these words really belong in the Oxford English Dictionary? (The Urban Dictionary, definitely, but the OED? Not so much, IMHO.)

I don't know about all of you, fellow lovers of the English language, but I could use a group hug about now.

Note: You can find a list of all the words the OED added this August here.

You might be a Republican if...

You might be a Republican if... you get your news from Fox.

You might be a Republican if... you think facts were invented by liberals.

You might be a Republican if... you don't believe in global warning (or climate change), or that it has nothing to do with people. (See "You might be a Republican if... you think facts were invented by liberals" and "you get your news from Fox.")

You might be a Republican if... you think evolution is just another liberal theory.

You might be a Republican if... you don't what Liberalism actually means -- and don't care.

You might be a Republican if... you are against people receiving government entitlements (Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, farm subsidies, corporate tax breaks, student loans, government loans), except if it's you, your family, or your business receiving them.

You might be a Republican if... you complain about taxes in one breath and complain about the poor quality of your schools, police force, roads, and bridges in the next.

You might be a Republican if... you are "pro life," except for those who can't pay their medical bills and pregnant women.

You might be a Republican if... you think women, blacks, and/or Hispanics should "know their place" (that is, at home taking care of the kids and having your supper and a drink ready when you get home from work; helping your sports team win a championship or else in jail; taking care of your lawn for minimum wage, respectively).

You might be a Republican if... you think cheating is wrong, unless your wife has her period or you're out of town on business.

You might be a Republican if... you believe government shouldn't interfere in people's private lives, unless they are a woman. 

Getting schooled

I can't believe my baby's starting... high school. How did that happen? It seems like just yesterday she was heading off to kindergarten (in a very similar outfit) -- and I was in high school. Sigh.

Here's hoping the teenager's first day of high school doesn't suck (like this poor guy's).



On a lighter note, my good friend, A., sent me this excerpt from a book titled F in Exams: The Very Best Totally Wrong Test Answers, which made me laugh out loud (and then silently weep, because it is so true):

There are 300 students in the 10th grade.
Mary and Mark want to find out the 10th grade's favorite color.
Mary asks 30 people. Mark asks 150 people.
Mark says, "My conclusions are more likely to be reliable than Mary's."
Why does Mark think he's right?

Answer: Because Mark is a man.

Here's to a good school year!

He's gone to that big bat belfry in the sky

I was saddened to learn that Jerry Nelson, the man behind (technically under) Sesame Street's Count von Count just died at 78. (You can read a short obit here.)

While it's been a while since I watched Sesame Street, I can't count the number of times we listened to "Ninety-Nine Bats (In My Car Today)" on car trips with our daughter when she was younger. Even today, every time I see that Delta Faucet "Hands" commercial, I immediately think of the Count (Jerry Nelson).



And who could forget doing "The Batty Bat"?



RIP Jerry Nelson. Tonight when I count the number of stars I can see out my window, I'll think of you, up in that big bat belfry in the sky.

Do you know Prepster Pineapple?

Welcome to another Shameless Plug edition of J-TWO-O!

Today's shameless plug: my new online retail business, Prepster Pineapple.

So what is Prepster Pineapple? Prepster Pineapple is that cool, preppy-looking pineapple guy over there on the left, the product of my teenage daughter's imagination. Pretty sweet.

And Prepster Pineapple Clothing is our (as in the teenager and my) line of preppy, hip clothing. Think Tommy Bahama with a more Hawaiian, preppy bent, designed for teens, tweens, and prepsters of all ages.

Right now, we are just selling Prepster Pineapple t-shirts (pictured below, which are made from super soft 100% combed cotton) for men and women, boys and girls...


and Prepster Pineapple polo shirts (made out of 100% pique knit cotton and way cooler than those overpriced preppy alligator, polo player, and palm-tree shirts), which are available in Men's, Women's, and Youth sizes (sample shown in white, below) — and are perfect for all you golfers, boaters, and weekend athletes.

And if you use the code PP-FS-SOCIAL-0812 at checkout between now and August 31, you'll receive free shipping* on your order! (That's a $6 savings!)

Not interested in buying a shirt right now? No problem. But if you could take a few seconds to "Like" the Prepster Pineapple Facebook page, or get your kid, too — and spread the word — I'd appreciate it.

Also we want your feedback! We are currently working on new items for the spring. So if there's a color t-shirt or polo shirt you'd like to see (we're going to be adding pink), or you have a suggestion for a clothing item (keep it clean people), let me know via email or a blog comment.

Mahalo!

*Right now we are only shipping to addresses in the United States.

LMFAO + NASA = Latest YouTube hit

Houston, we have a video.

Presenting "We're NASA and we know it" -- or what happens when a bunch of Mars happy geeks do a parody of LMFAO's "I'm sexy and I know it," featuring the Mars Curiosity rover and video of Mars.



Crane lower that rover.

Cat physics

Great flipping cats! This video explaining how and why cats always land on their feet is awesome -- and educational.



Note: No cats were hurt in the making of this flipping cat video. (As for the humans, they are lucky those cats didn't rake them.)