From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
Say what, again?
Being a fan of wurdz, I always spend my Novembers waiting by the window for my messenger seagull to deliver my copy of the Global Language Monitor's Top Words of the Year. The annual list is "based upon actual word usage throughout the English-speaking world, which now numbers more than 1.83 billion people. To qualify for these lists, the words, names, and phrases must be found globally, have a minimum of 25,000 citations. and the requisite ‘depth’ and ‘breadth’ of usage."
I'm happy to report that the results are in, and the #1 word of 2013 is…a number:
Curses upon thee, 404.
404 The near-universal numeric code for failure on the global Internet, augmenting its original use as ‘page not found.’ "404 has gained enormous attention the world over this year as systems in place since World War II, which many see as the beginning of the contemporary era, are in distress or even failure." said Paul JJ Payack, President and Chief Word Analyst of the Global Language Monitor.
Other letter-based vittles include:
Fail Often used as a complete sentence (Fail!) to signify failure of an effort, project, or endeavor.
Aahhhhh! It's
FrankenFranken!!!
Franken____ Top trending prefix on the list. Expanded in meaning to include any human-instigated activity that inadvertently spins out of control.
Sequestration Middle English sequestren, from Old French, from Latin sequestrare, to hide away or isolate or to give up for safekeeping.
The Cloud Where your data lands after you press "Enter" (not to be mistaken for a play by Aristophanes).
Emancipate Grows in importance as worldwide more women and children are enslaved in various forms of involuntary servitude.
Meanwhile, the top phrase of the year is no surprise:
Toxic Politics American-style scorch-and-burn political campaigns becoming the norm for democracies worldwide.
Yeah. Thanks a lot, GOP. You poisoned the world.
We salute all the winners and hope they enjoy their lifetime supply of alphabet soup.
Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Wednesday, November 13, 2013
Note: Today is Wednesday the 13th. Stay alert---it might be a Friday in disguise.
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16 days!!!
By the Numbers:
Days 'til Start Your Own Country Day (a tea party national holiday):
9
Days 'til the
Festival of Lights in Rockland, Maine:
16
Estimated increased likelihood that a meteor will strike Earth now than before that meteor crash-landed in Russia last February:
4-5x
(Source: Studies published in
Science and
Nature via AP)
Rank of "Jobs" among "the most important ways for the federal government to improve the economy":
#1
(Source: Gallup)
Percent chance that Sarah Palin knows what the word "racist" means:
0%
(Source:
Think Progress)
Height of the Sears Tower ("Willis?" Never!) in Chicago with and without its mast:
1,451 ft., 1,729 ft.
Height of One World Trade Center in New York with and without its mast:
1,368 ft., 1,776 ft.
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Mid-week Rapture Index: 184 (including 3 Satanisms and 1 First Lady inviting demons into the White House). Soul Protection Factor 30 lotion is recommended if you’ll be walking amongst the heathen today.
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Puppy Pic of the Day: On 11/12/13 at 14:15:16 this happened all around the world. Has the mother doggieship landed yet?
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Steamroller of the pacific.
CHEERS to getting things sorted out. Start with the premise that when a major natural disaster---like, big enough for Pat Robertson to blame on the gays, feminists and pagans---strikes, everything goes to shit in the aftermath and the only commodity you have in unlimited quantities is misery. But then come the stories of heroism and survival, the world briefly unites in its urge to help, and sometimes there's even
a welcome downward revision:
The president of the typhoon-ravaged Philippines said Tuesday that the death toll will probably be 2,000 to 2,500---far lower than an earlier estimate of 10,000, a figure that he said might have been influenced by “emotional drama.”
The official death toll stood at 1,798, including almost 1,300 in the province of Leyte. At least 244 people were killed in devastated Tacloban City, Leyte’s provincial capital.
Meanwhile, here comes the cavalry: President Obama is sending an aircraft carrier, two cruisers, a destroyer, and at least 7,000 sailors and Marines to the Philippines ASAP. As far as this tiny corner of the blogosphere is concerned, C&J is encouraging
donations to ShelterBox via TexMex's diaries---they're on the ground providing instant emergency shelter via their trademark green plastic bins packed with essentials. What else can you say? Big horrible terrible mess. Nature is very good until it's very bad.
CHEERS to the "Ohana!!!" heard 'round the world. The Hawaii Senate voted yesterday on the House bill that would make same-sex marriage legal there. It was the final hurdle before going to Governor Neil Abercrombie's desk for his signature. I bet you want to know if it passed or not. Don't ya, huh? Huh huh huh??? Take a look:
That's 19-4. A landslide.
Abercrombie will sign it and Hawaii will become the 15th marriage-equality state. And here's a fun bit of trivia: when Illinois's's's' marriage bill gets signed a week from today, gay marriage will be a fact of life in states representing
187 electoral votes. I predict 270 by this time next year, upon which I will officially endorse gay marriage for president. In the meantime, now that we gay-occupy Pearl Harbor, I suggest we immediately send an armada to gay-conquer Alaska. To the bridge!
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Gong! Gong!! BuddaBuddaBudda… GONG!!!
This is another edition of The One Word Answer Man. Media Matters for America asks a question with a depressingly simple answer: Will media let '60 Minutes' off the hook after hollow "correction?"
Yeah.
Now back to Cheers and Jeers.
Gong! Gong!! BuddaBuddaBudda… GONG!!!
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JEERS to stupid damn wars. On this date in 1982, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial---a vee shape which points at the State Department---was dedicated. Our suggestion for the shape of the future Iraq War Memorial: a "W" on a spindle that points in the direction of wherever Chimpy McFlightsuit is at any given moment.
CHEERS to Virginia. What the hell is going on with the Attorney General's race down there? I'm glad you asked! (It makes me feel important.) I don’t know a thing about what's going on in that race except this:
The best candidate won.
Mark Herring, the Democratic nominee for attorney general, declared victory late Tuesday night, but Republican Mark Obenshain did not concede and the razor-thin contest could be headed for a recount. … Herring released his statement after the tally of provisional votes in Fairfax County added a net gain of 57 votes for the Democrat, which would give him a lead of 163 votes out of 2.2 million cast.
If Herring prevails, come January Democrats will hold all five of Virginia's statewide offices---two U.S. Senate seats, governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general---for the first time since 1969.
The voters' 2013 message to Virginia Republicans: "Here, guys---take your transvaginal ultrasound wand and shove it." And y'all have a nice day now, hear?
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Five years ago in C&J: November 13, 2008
RUH ROH to close encounters of the evil kind. If you believe in the power of prayer beads, keep 'em in your grasp until you hear the outcome of this: Joe Biden and his wife will---[gulp!]---visit the Vice President's residence today. I'm not sure what they'll accomplish, since the sound of all the document shredders will prevent them from hearing each other.
CHEERS to going solo. President-elect Barack Obama's career as a Senator officially comes to an end Sunday. Reason: he says he wants to spend more time with his family. All 310 million of us.
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And just one more…
Happy #13, TPM!
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CHEERS to the Gandalf the Grey of Bloggerland. Happy anniversary to Josh Marshall's
Talking Points Memo, which turns 13 years old today. You can re-live the birth of this progressive supernova in
his early posts during the 2000 Florida recount...although it might cause your blood pressure to spike. Josh and his now-supersized crew provide no-frills original reporting with just enough analysis and snark to help us make sense of politics, and nothing the righty blogs offer comes close to TPM's objectivity, accuracy and speed. During election seasons TPM is a daily must-click destination, and it's been great seeing 'em take off over the course of the past baker's dozen trips around the sun. Of course, they're no Great Orange Satan...but no one's perfect.
Oh, and on this date in 1789 Ben Franklin wrote, "In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes." As if to underscore his point, he died five months later---two days after April 15th. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
'GQ' man of the year Bill in Portland Maine: 'Listen, I'm not cool'
---Entertainment Weekly
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