'Language' Category
Carlin killed by Lohan and Spade
That’s what KOIN-TV was reporting.
Right there, under the story about George Carlin’s heart attack, it says:
“Related stories: David Spade Ticketed
Lindsay & Sam Love Shopping“
In case they change the links, here is the screen capture:I think the pressure of trying to compete with such earth-shattering news from other celebrities did him in.
Now, to mark the occasion of [...]Premium Problem
I recently saw a billboard for a local State Farm agent. It had a tag line:
“Premium Service without Premium Price”Does that mean the insurance is free?
Can I get the service without paying any premiums at all?
Did someone in the marketing department just have a pun backfire?Technorati Tags: Ike Pigott, Occam’s RazR, insurance, [...]
Language and Mashups
(Note: the audio below complements, but does not replicate the content of this entry)
Freakonomics.
If you’re an American and you look at best-seller lists, you know what it is.
If you’re an American and you don’t read, you still have a chance to glean the meaning, because we do rely quite a bit on a linguistic creature [...]Ugly and Rough
“Ugly” and “rough” - at least in the English language - sound sort of like they are. They certainly don’t roll off the tongue like “pretty” and “smooth.” There’s a whole chicken-and-egg argument that we could make about whether ugly-sounding words describe ugly things, or if we associate the ugliness of a word [...]
Good Writing
Recently, I’ve focused on the creative craft of language and communication. Knowing what to say is important, but knowing how to say it and what not to say is also crucial. It can be the difference between informing and inspiring. Along this kick, I’ve mentioned writing at multiple levels and sources of [...]




