Opinions, art, debate
A promo sheet for a very expensive house nearby states that it has a backyard that “has recently been landscaped with.” The phrase is probably a hybrid of “landscaped” and “messed with.”
And these are the people who keep turning their noses at my accent in English.
Here is another new expression that makes me stop reading or listening: “a biological woman / man.” Given that “man” and “woman” are biological categories, the expression makes as much sense as “buttery butter.”
I’m all for word creation but it has be meaningful and not stupid.
I have realized that I need to stop reading mystery novels because I don’t enjoy them any longer. Maybe I grew out of the genre or something. It’s so sad because I’ve been a great fan of mystery for 26 years, since I read Agatha Christie’s phenomenal The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
Am I doomed to only reading serious literature now? Nothing trashy? That is so sad.
And now Russians are all like, “And how will a poor country like Ukraine be able to afford to host Eurovision, huh?”
Of course, if they truly believed that Ukraine’s Eurovision win was organized by the CIA, it stands to reason that the CIA will find a way to pay for it.
What are the phrases which allow you to stop reading, safe in the knowledge that you won’t learn anything? My classic examples are “bankster” and “feminazi,” which were great when they were current because they normally appeared so quickly in any given argument. But they’re both a little dated now, so while they’re still accurate, their base rates are too low to be really useful.
Yes, for me ‘banksters’ and ‘feminazi’ are also clues to stop reading. Other clues are, of course, ‘privilege,’ ‘social justice warriors,’ ‘basic income,’ ‘unborn babies,’ ‘CIA-sponsored coup’, ‘fat shaming,’ ‘sex workers,’ and ‘she voted for the Iraq war.’ These expressions indicate that the author is not a bright person and there’s no need to waste my time on whatever silliness s/he produced.
In more general terms, I quit reading after the third passive voice construction in a single paragraph because the probability that the author will name the source of all these actions drops to statistically negligent. Overwrought, apocalyptic tone, as well as infantile affectations and clichés (“this is why we can’t have nice things” or “just give people free money”) are a clue to stop reading and move on.
What are your cues that you need to quit reading a piece and go do something more rewarding with your life?
A very important post about abuse. I wish as many people as possible read it and gave themselves permission to grieve the abuse they experienced.
The Nordic gender equality paradox.
Top ten reasons not to vote for Trump. For me, number 10 is enough but the rest are good, too.
The obscenely wealthy descend on Cuba because it’s currently trending as a delicious slumming spot.
It’s not manufacturing Americans miss, it’s unions.
I’d love a Kindle Oasis but that’s too crazy an indulgence.
My Klara seems absolutely fascinated by books and newspapers. If I hold a page in front of her, she can stare at it in fascination for as long as my arm holds out. And these are not children’s books, mind you. These are my books. They have no pictures or colorful fonts, just words.
I so hope she becomes a reader like me. Many people are readers but few are readers like me. I read like other people breathe. When I can’t read, I need at least to touch books or to have them around me.
I don’t know anybody who is this kind of reader, and it would be so great to share this with Klara. Obviously, I won’t try to make her get into it if it’s not her thing. But it will be cool if it is.
Russians, of course, have immediately announced that Ukraine’s Eurovision win was organized by the CIA with the specific purpose of hurting Russia. This is actually being discussed in the Russian parliament because there is nothing at all pathetic about fixating on a pop music contest in a country in the grip of a major economic crisis.
The sense of grievance that can be derived from Ukraine’s win will sustain Russians for months. It’s been a while since they had a chance to flaunt their supposed persecution by the CIA.
Yes, it sounds ridiculous that anybody would believe that the CIA will rig singing contests to spite Russia. But it was just as ridiculous to say that the CIA organized the Revolution of Dignity in Ukraine. And yet, there was not a major publication and barely a person in the US who failed to buy this lie. For over a year, literally everybody I met eagerly rolled out the “CIA-sponsored coup in Ukraine”, seemingly unaware that the expression had been invented in the Kremlin.
It is always, always important to take a moment and ask oneself, “What if this is not about me?” whenever one hears of events happening in other countries. Or one will continue to be easily manipulated into seeing CIA coups in everything.
The Dutch have gone completely nuts. They have started killing rape victims because it’s such a drag to have to treat them. A woman in her 20s was given a lethal injection in the Netherlands because it was decided that there was no way to help her overcome the trauma of childhood sexual abuse and it was easier to kill her off.
It’s curious that Netherlands is adamantly opposed to capital punishment for anybody, including rapists, but gladly execute rapists’ victims. With the erosion of the European welfare state, it will become increasingly convenient to get rid of people requiring mental health care by gently guiding them towards death. This is also a convenient way of unburdening the system of public medical care.
I support euthanasia for people in the very last stages of terminal illnesses who will die within the next couple of weeks. But killing off healthy 20-year-olds is beyond immoral.
Suck on this, Russians!
It’s very important to Ukrainians that they won with a song by an artist who represents the Muslim Tatar minority and whose sing commemorated the Soviet genocide of the Tatars. It’s so cool that the win went to the people who really need it.
Let’s celebrate!
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