Neologisms and Portmanteus

Is it just me, or does there seem to be about 20 new neologisms and portmanteaus every time you read something on the internet? I think it's a requirement for snarky gossip blogs to create at least three new ones every day, and that's not counting the new proper-name portmanteaus being created like brangelina, LiLo, etc. ad nauseum.)

It's nearly as bad as seeing the same 10-dollar-words being used in blog entries over and over - schadenfreude anyone?

I often wonder if the internet and other new media will lead to the complete dumbing down of society, or if the rising ranks of self-published proletarian will revolutionize the English language more than we could possibly foresee.

The Agenda: Adele

I love my iPod shuffle most days, but I especially love it this morning. I was just walking to my favorite coffee shop when a song by Adele came on the iPod. I've listened to her album a few times, but I don't think I've ever really listened to it. As the song started to play, I realized it had a haunting piano melody very reminiscent of "Breathe Me" by Sia. Then, I realized I was getting that same choked-up feeling I get when I listen to that song. I could feel the pressure behind my eyes begging to be released in a flood of tears, despite the fact I really didn't feel the need to cry any time soon.

About 10 seconds later, I heard the lines "I like it in the city when the air is so thick and opaque/I love to see everybody in short skirts, shorts and shades" and I was instantly transported back to England. I miss it at times, but I think I miss the urban experience and the freedom more than I actually miss England. I experienced the same thing on my recent trip to Seattle. Maybe it was the rain, or leisurely wandering around downtown, but I felt so alive all the sudden. Idaho can make you feel like dust at times. It wears you down and dries you out, and you wonder if you're even alive under the layers of discarded skin and dead memories.

I've been wondering what to do with my future. Shawn really likes it here now, and I've got a sweet deal with the university. Hell, it will cost me about $150 to take 7 credits this fall semester, so I can't really complain. But honestly, I feel this need to move on. This need to get away from my family and their silly drama and how sick it tends to make me, physically and mentally. The mental seems to always hurt the most. It hurts me, it hurts Shawn. I've got to figure something out.

Anyways, here is Adele's "Hometown Glory" in all of its mp3 glory. Enjoy.

Quote of the Day

Greece persists in being very hot and beautiful. We saw giant turtles being chased like they were starlets without panties.

Such beautiful prose with a pop-culture twist!

Hack/Slash Annual

Reading the Hack/Slash "SuicideGirls" Annual comic while you wait for your Chinese food in a very public area probably isn't the best idea. Who knew you could put so many cartoon titties on a two page spread? The story is interesting, but like Shawn said, it feels like a Lawnmower Man ripoff.

I don't get the appeal of the SuicideGirls. I keep hearing about straight guys who can't get enough of them, though I'm forced to question why. Is it their "individualistic" fashion sense (which is all "individualistically" purchased at Hot Topic,) bad tattoos, bad hair, faux-lesbianism, lack of personal hygiene (come on, you know these girls are a day away from getting Toxic Shock Syndrome) or penchant for taking nude pics of themselves? I just don't understand the fascination.

Just one more probing question, but a rather important one; shouldn't "SuicideGirls" all have to commit suicide at some point, or does that qualify as false advertising?

O.S.C. is G.A.Y.

Shawn found out the other day that Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game was going to get the comic book treatment. Or, maybe it was a movie. Frankly, I couldn't be bothered to keep it all straight. Either way, it reminded me of OSC and my long-lost obsession with him.

I went through a phase in either junior high or high school where I read nearly every Orson Scott Card book I could find. The phase ended when I read the crappy space series that was just the story of Nephi and his family from the Book of Mormon rehashed. If we're going to start writing science fiction based on LDS stories, I'm going to write a masterpiece based on Johnny Lingo in space. Mahana will be a 10 Darlaxx woman now, rather than being purchased in cows. Oh yeah... now she's twice as hot.

One thing that always struck me as a little bizarre was that OSC had a few homoerotic themes running in different books. In Songmaster, the proponent is a castrato singer who ends up taking it up the butt from an older guy. And this wasn't just hinted at, it was drawn out in every gay detail you can imagine, and this was the sort of homoerotic writing that could make Poppy Z. Brite blush. The thing is, this is only one of his novels where homosexuality is not a major theme, but a pretty significant one.

So imagine my surprise today when I discover that he's now a huge homophobe who is championing the LDS Church to fight any form of gay rights. He's written some very interesting opinion pieces lately that try the whole "love the sinner, hate the sin" meme that always equates to a gooey Jesus coating with a hard gay-bashing center. Card maintains that he's not a homophobe, and that he loves gays. Yes. I would agree that he does love gay men. How can you write about gay sex scenes (in more than one book) and not love gay men.

Sadly, I think OSC is your average case of self-loathing gay man who has decided to suppress his orientation to elevate his faith. You see this much too often in the Utah/Idaho area, because of the strong LDS influence here. They're the guys who reek of The Gay but are the first to talk shit about out gay people. They're the ones who howl with some twisted sense of schadenfreude when they see guys like Ted Haggard get busted in gay-sex scandals. They're the guys who think everyone is as deceived as they've deceived themselves about their sexuality, even though if you get close enough, you can almost smell cock on their breath because they're so gay.

I guess I'll just go back to forgetting the existence of OSC for a while. He can get his books turned into comics, or movies, or whatever he's doing, and hopefully in a while, I'll see his profile appear on Bear411 or BearCiti, and we'll have a good chuckle over how deluded he was.

Things Raising My Hackles Today

Reading the sentence "I have to say, I really admire how much Chris Brown and Rihanna are changing the sound of American pop," and realizing there wasn't any hint of sarcasm.

Guys with popped collars. Especially if they're layering collared shirts. Just add a bluetooth headset, and you've officially upgraded to a Douche Bag Deluxe.

People from the department down the hall bringing their crotch fruit to work like it was a state-registered daycare facility.

The downstairs neighbors saying they would rather water the lawn than mow, yet never putting a drop of water on the grass. It will be watered with their blood if they don't get to it soon.

Magazines becoming D-grade blogs in paper form: Newsweek, Entertainment Weekly, and the Advocate instantly jump to mind. You have to learn to compete with the new media, not ape it in a less interesting way.

Speaking of the Advocate, please stop putting (allegedly) *cough* gay people on your cover who refuse to admit that they're gay. Anderson Cooper must be a lesbian's walking wet dream, because he's one of the biggest twats I've ever seen.

The REAL Family Circus

I came across this on KnuckleCrack's blog. Ironically, I just watched the movie "Go" last night, where Timothy Olyphant's character reminds us how much The Family Circus sucks.

The Other Family

Haloscan Back

I finally remembered the original email/password I used to set up my Haloscan comments. I'd forgotten that it was set up under an email and password I haven't used for a really long time.

I even got the colors of the templates to match. Hooray!

Now, if I ever get comments again, I'll see if it was worth all the trouble. ;)

New Template

I was getting really tired of the old layout, so I upgraded to a new template. I forgot that my Haloscan comments would get lost in the process. I'll have to work on getting those back up.

In the meantime, enjoy the new look, and hopefully I'll get something more up soon.

Dr. Horrible

How did I not know about Joss Whedon's new online musical Dr. Horrible? I had to find out about it reading Katie's copy of TV Guide this morning. I want to see the first episode, but the website has been down all morning. *sigh*

Here's to hoping we can see it later.