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We Lost Another Great Author
Category: In The News
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I Have To Pay My Last Respects…
…to a man I admire very much. We lost a great advocate, crusader, defender, and smut peddler yesterday – Larry Flint.
“Anybody can be a playboy, but it takes a man to be a hustler.”
I had a post full of innuendo and light humor planned, thinking that he would have appreciated it, but that just doesn’t feel right.
I did not personally know the man, I’m not trying to act like I know much behind the headlines, and I’m not here to educate you on who he was, or the things he’s accomplished. I’m here because I just wanted to say… Damn. This really sucks.
I love how he was still fighting for everything he believed worth fighting for.
I appreciate that in some small way he’s one of the reasons I can have a blog like this today.
His [still trendsetting] magazine is pretty awesome, too.
UNSEEMLY MAN: My Life As A Pornographer, Pundit, and Social Outcast by Larry Flint
Merriam-Webster recognizing ‘irregardless’ as a word
The following article was written by Jisha Joseph, October 22, 2020, and posted on Upworthy. See original post HERE.
We’ve all been or known one of those people who take grammar very seriously. When the question is about the integrity of the English language, they wouldn’t stop themselves from correcting even Shakespeare himself. While they can sometimes come across as rather annoying with their grammar policing, we must admit, they do play an important part in ensuring that the sanctity of the language is maintained to some degree and that matters such as punctuation don’t go completely forgotten. Especially now, when it appears as though even the gatekeepers of the English language seem inlined to welcome some new — and some would argue, undeserving — comers into the dictionary.
“We do not make the English language, we merely record it.”
Merriam-Webster
One such newcomer, or rather its inclusion in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, came as quite the upsetting news for actress Jamie Lee Curtis who turned to Twitter to express her disappointment. “In case you thought 2020 couldn’t get any worse, Merriam-Webster just officially recognized ‘irregardless’ as a word,” the star tweeted and her grammar fanatic fans nearly lost it. “I don’t want to live on this planet anymore,” replied @PinkysPortal while Twitter user Anna Jagielo wrote: “Ugh! It cannot be. It goes against literally everything. A double negative- hate mob mentality.”
“Next they’ll just say that ‘their, they’re, and there’ are all interchangeable, along with ‘your and you’re.’ Most people believe that to be true already when you see how they post on social media/memes,” warned Nick Carter. Actress Suzanne Cryer shared Lee Curtis’ dismay as she wrote: “Nooooooooooooooooo. Your right. A suspicious action! It’s literally insane! I wish there were less hipsters working at Merriam-Webster. They had better make this 2020 dictionary inflammable or I might burn it.” Meanwhile, Twitter user @OneMoreBrian was plagued by another thought. “Christ… after 30 years of being told it’s not a word, I now have to reset my language?” they asked.
While grammar Twitter lamented the supposed decline of the language, some social media users asked the fact-checking website Snopes to verify whether Merriam-Webster dictionary had in fact newly recognized “irregardless” as a word in the English language. As it turns out, “irregardless” — which long been stigmatized as a non-word that has the opposite meaning of its intended use — is indeed included in Merriam-Webster. However, despite gaining new notoriety online, it isn’t a new addition. Speaking to NPR on the matter, a Merriam-Webster spokesperson revealed that “irregardless” has appeared in the pages of its Unabridged dictionary edition since 1934.
Moreover, other dictionaries of the likes of Webster’’ New World College Dictionary, The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, and the Cambridge Dictionary, also recognize “irregardless” as a word. Following the sudden online outrage earlier this year, Merriam-Webster grabbed the opportunity to tease the internet over its disapproval of the term in its July 3 Words of the Week post. “From time to time, it is drawn to our attention that certain parties find it objectionable that we have included irregardless in our dictionary. The outrage presumably springs from our allowing this callow arriviste to rub elbows with other, nobler, words; the very presence of irregardless besmirches such entries as asshead, ninnyhammer, and schnook,” the post reads.
“Irregardless is included in our dictionary because it has been in widespread and near-constant use since 1795. We must warn you, gentle readers, that there are some other words which appear for the first time this very same year that we define in our dictionary. Yes! We have allowed entry to such Johnnies-come-lately as bewhiskered, citizenry, and terrorism, all of which have their earliest written evidence the same year as irregardless,” it continues. “We do not make the English language, we merely record it. If people use a word with consistent meaning, over a broad geographic range, and for an extended period of time chances are very high that it will go into our dictionary.” Well, there you have it, folks. “Irregardless” is here to stay.
Merriam-Webster’s response to this being big news again is hilarious. Samuel Johnson couldn’t have penned a better response!
You gotta love a dictionary with a sense of humor! I didn’t realize, or never thought about the fact that ‘irregardless’ has been in the dictionary all along! I feel much more relaxed than I was when I first saw the headline. English is a living language, continuously changing, evolving, and adapting. Frankly I’m shocked that these lexicographers are as on top of things as they are!
Speaking of words…
Top Logophile Websites
If you’re still reading then you’re obviously another logophile! so check out some of my favorite ‘word’ sites to kill time on:
Wordnik: A social network site for word lovers who list, discuss, share, and keep track of our favorite words. You can Adopt A Word here, too! 🧡
Dictionary.com is so much more than just their WotD! For example, today’s Quiz Yourself is on SERIOUSLY SPOOKY CREATURE NAMES! If you breeze through everything there, head over to the sister site – Thesaurus.com.
The Phrontistery: This is such a huge site, with so much going on, I can’t even begin to list things.
Speed Round! Just go check these out of you love words –
Phrase Finder, Literary Devices, Urban Dictionary, Wordle, Literary Devices, Fun With Words: Glossary of Linguistics and Rhetoric, Word Games – play free online
Until next time… xxoo
P, L & N 💕
sg
I left the house the other day for the first time in IDK how long, and I was primed like this every time I saw a shadow. Social anxiety, who me?
P, L & N💋
~sg
Categories
R.I.P. Stan Lee
“Let’s lay it right on the line. Bigotry and racism are among the deadliest social ills plaguing the world today. But, unlike a team of costumed super-villains, they can’t be halted with a punch in the snoot, or a zap from a ray gun. The only way to destroy them is to expose them — to reveal them for the insidious evils they really are. The bigot is an unreasoning hater — one who hates blindly, fanatically, indiscriminately. If his hang-up is black men, he hates ALL black men. If a redhead onc offended him, he hates ALL redheads. If some foreigner beat him to a job, he’s down on ALL foreigners. He hates people he’s never seen — people he’s never known — with equal intensity — with equal venom.
“Now, we’re not trying to say it’s unreasonable for one human being to bug another. But, although anyone has the right to dislike another individual, it’s totally irrational, patently insane to condemn an entire race — to despise an entire nation — to vilify an entire religion. Sooner or later, we must learn to judge each other on our own merits. Sooner or later, if man is ever to be worthy of his destiny, we must fill out hearts with tolerance. For then, and only then, will we be truly worthy of the concept that man was created in the image of God – a God who calls us ALL — His children.
“Pax et Justitia, Stan.”
Categories
RIP Zombie Boy
Artist & Tattoo Enthusiast Rick Genest
Dead by Suicide at 32
Though horror fans have had Rick Genest aka Zombie Boy on their radars since day one, the artist and tattoo enthusiast achieved worldwide prominence after appearing in Lady Gaga’s video for Born This Way. Indeed, his face is one in a billion; it’s permanently modified to look like a skull, including exposed brains on his cranium. Indeed, the majority of Genest’s skin was inked.
The Montreal native passed away on Wednesday evening at the age of 32. Reports indicate he died by suicide. Thoughts go out to his friends, and family during this difficult period. His bravery and uniqueness were an inspiration for self-described freaks across the world.
If you or someone you know is struggling with depression and need someone to talk to, you can reach the National Suicide Prevention Hotline 24 hours a day at 1-800-273-8255.
Original article by Joshua Millican of HorrorFreakNews.com
R.I.P. Chester Bennington
Categories
I’m Going To Miss My Favorite HBO ‘Mo
View original post on Buzzfeed
Back in 2000, Eminem released “Stan” — a song written about an overly obsessive fan named Stan –
Over the decade and a half since the song dropped, “stan” slowly became a word fanbases used to describe their devotion to a public figure.
And now, it looks like “stan” isn’t going to go ANYWHERE, as Oxford Dictionaries just added the word to its database:
The entry properly sources Eminem as the origin of the word…
Origin
Early 21st century: probably with allusion to the 2000 song “Stan” by the American rapper Eminem, about an obsessed fan.
- ‘I admit I used to stan for Mariah when I was eight.’
- ‘I can’t believe this woman has people stanning for her.’
- ‘I don’t care what anyone says, that performance proves why I have stanned for this man since 1998.’
- ‘He’s the only gay man not stanning for Beyonce.’
- ‘I have stanned for Korean pop groups for the longest time, sadly without much success.’
- ‘I stan for my authors.’ ~ Shadow Girl
Categories
The Times They Are a-Changin’
Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won’t come again
And don’t speak too soon
For the wheel’s still in spin
And there’s no telling who that it’s naming
For the loser now will be later to win
Cause the times they are a-changing
Bob Dylan, the poet laureate of the rock era, has been rewarded with the Nobel Prize in Literature, an honor that elevates him into the company of T. S. Eliot, Gabriel García Márquez, Toni Morrison and Samuel Beckett.
Bob Dylan is the first musician to win the award, and his selection on Thursday is perhaps the most radical choice in a history stretching back to 1901. In choosing a popular musician for the literary world’s highest honor, the Swedish Academy, which awards the prize, dramatically redefined the boundaries of literature, setting off a debate about whether song lyrics have the same artistic value as poetry or novels.
“Dylan has the status of an icon. His influence on contemporary music is profound, and he is the object of a steady stream of secondary literature.”
Literary scholars have long debated whether Mr. Dylan’s lyrics can stand on their own as poetry, and an astonishing volume of academic work has been devoted to parsing his music. The Oxford Book of American Poetry included his song “Desolation Row,” in its 2006 edition, and Cambridge University Press released “The Cambridge Companion to Bob Dylan” in 2009, further cementing his reputation as a brilliant literary stylist.
https://static01.nyt.com/video/players/offsite/index.html?videoId=100000004707425
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