Just a little note… About shampoo sachets.
While I’m glad and thankful some hotels provide shampoos and conditioners isn’t there a better packaging method than the sachet? You know, like the ketchup packets you get at McDonald’s. These things are not the easiest to open at the best of times but when your hands are already wet and slippery they are damn near impossible.
Anyway, there’s your thought for a Sunday morning.
I love this stuff!
25 Words That Are Their Own Opposites | Mental Floss.
These are the kinds of words which make English such a fun language to play with. Interpretation is everything. This is also what makes communication difficult sometimes. I always tell my students that as long as I can understand what they are trying to say, then it doesn’t matter so much about the grammar and spelling… but then if they’re using words like these, I may have no idea what it is they’re trying to say. Continue reading “25 Words That Are Their Own Opposites | Mental Floss”
Margaret Talbot: How the Y.A. Novelist John Green Built an Ardent Army of Fans : The New Yorker.
I think the title doesn’t do justice to this piece but it’s a fascinating read nonetheless. And if you haven’t read The Fault in our Stars yet, click the title and do it before the film comes out. It’s well worth the hype.
And if you want to know what I think of his books, I’ve read and reviewed The Fault in our Stars here and Will Grayson, Will Grayson here. I’ve also read and enjoyed Paper Towns, but evidently I didn’t write a review of it. Bad critic!
Oh… and then there’s this – a John Green Interview on CBS.
This is a great piece on the difference between art, skill and performance. As someone peripherally involved in the world of magic, I can agree with a lot of Jason Fagone is saying here. Continue reading “Dropped”
The Fermi Paradox – Wait But Why.
I find this stuff fascinating! Hopefully you do, too.
You want to know why education is important and why not understanding grammar is a bad thing? Here’s a great example for you. Look at those brackets in the above quote attributed to President Obama. Those mean something. Do you know what? They are not there for emphasis, they are not there to highlight the words within. Continue reading “Why understanding grammar matters…”
15 Retronyms for When You’re Talking Old School | Mental Floss.
These are really interesting. I wonder how the relate, linguistically, with things like “Hamburger Meat” and “Tuna Fish” both of which have the addition of unnecessarily specifying to which group they belong.
It’s also an interesting conversation starter to think about which words are going to need Retronyms in the future. We already specify 3D vs 2D films, but I could see that becoming something we’d need to be even more specific about in the future. It might even become immersive vs. flat. What about books? Are we already moving into Retronym territory by having to specify print book instead of e-book?
In any case, I think it’s a fascinating look at the way we interact with the words around us.
Dropped
Getting the Hang of Thursdays 