May as well try an excercise to pull off a bit of a mental thread of meaning from my teeming head
As people die we wax lyrical on blogs but do we even try to stop the killing?
People are DYING and all we do is wax lyrical
lyrics so spherical you cant find an edge to grasp a bit of meaning
why write about things when you writing about it is not going to stop it
why not just ignore the deranged war of blood and flesh flying around faster than shrapnel
for writing about it devoids you of reason and accuses you of treason
woe be tide anyone who is against it
the dead are piling and no one who is on either side can stop it
we are in a place where people dying is a natural phenomenon of the ending of a conflict
they are bombed and they are ripped to shreds as propaganda attempts to weakly restore order
we over here are so eager for peace we don't really give a shit, if there is some 'mild' blood loss and disorder
The UN screams but they dont really seem to want to step in, lest they bury the sovereignity of this island
the EELAMIST bastards they just want a ceasefire to regroup, rethink and restore their battling order
the GOVERNMENT of tricksters, they are money twisters and yes im a critic
the morality we lived by is dead and in this carnage we are losing our soul to the devil, the devil, the devil.
the devil.
Nobody cares about the dead
not us not them not the UN, not really.
they are shelled and lost and struck a terrible revenge
for being at the wrong where, during the wrong when
Nobody really cares about stopping the dying
we are all utopians looking for a future of peace and loving
lets cast a grimace upon our healthy face
so that we can eventually have a hope of peace
Lets all go blogging and lets all write about politicking
the paining the gaining of winning
lets all take the topic and lets grind it and and wind it
now i dont mean to be a cynic but in this blood covered landscape, can we find it?
can we find it in a widow's dream?
can we find it in a mothers scream?
can we find it in the eyes of an orphan boy?
can we find it in the mournful songs of the days gone by?
where can we find it?
how can we find it?
what is peace?
where is it?
*yeah a little angst there.. call it a part of that license you're supposed to have when you write, and no offence to anyone writing about the war btw, writing about it is important, you should keep it up. This is mainly about the desperation of the IDPs. When it comes down to it, the situation right now is such that most parties/interest groups involved want it all to somehow finish. The plight of the dying seems to be a secondary concern. These are my sentiments, and i admit to feeling the same myself, which is sort of despicable isnt it?
Showing posts with label Kottu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kottu. Show all posts
Friday, May 15, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Trollonomics
Kottu has seen an increase in 'trolls' of late. At least, iv not seen as many trolls as we seem to have around right now. And by trolls i mean those whose main activity is to take the piss out of other people. First there was the Maharajah, then the tweets of YourBlogSucks and now apparently the self-proclaimed 'infamous' Padashow seems to have made a reappearance.
Style wise they differ. The Maharajah is more laid back and tries to project an air of bored indifference, probably hard to keep up and has something to do with the low volume of his output. YourBlogSucks and Padashow follow a similar pattern of direct insults and mass writings trashing things left right and center. YBS is on twitter exclusively, while Padashow seems to have revived his trolldom on twitter and re-embraced his old blog on wordpress. Even the Maharajah seems to have diversified his portfolio and is tweeting away, albeit at a rather slower pace. Also worth a mention is Podipada, probably a groupie off-shoot of Padashow trying to capitalize on the brand. Or maybe Padashow is also diversifying.
Some bloggers just blog for the fuck of it, others just want to get their views across to whoever might be interested, but trolls are specifically in it for the buzz. They need the thrill of controversy, they revel in being the centre of attention and will continue trolling until attention wanes and people drift away or until a conscience materializes and they feels sorry for thieir sins so to speak, given the unlikely prospect of the latter though, we can safely conclude that the chief motivator of a troll is 'attention' and that attention will figure higher on a trolls list of motivators than it will on other bloggers'. It doesn't have to be 'good' attention. 'Good' and 'bad' are merely subjective terms and no one knows this better than a troll who revels in unscrupulousness.
Therefore we can conclude that there is a reason for the existence of trolls in the 'lankanosphere' (term again coined by RD I think) and that is attention. There must be a 'need' for their existence, and that 'need' is the need of the rest of the blogsphere for whatever services a troll may offer, which are highly speculative, but interesting to mull over.
Disclaimer - deductions arrived solely based on reasoning based on observation and the general principle of supply and demand.
Style wise they differ. The Maharajah is more laid back and tries to project an air of bored indifference, probably hard to keep up and has something to do with the low volume of his output. YourBlogSucks and Padashow follow a similar pattern of direct insults and mass writings trashing things left right and center. YBS is on twitter exclusively, while Padashow seems to have revived his trolldom on twitter and re-embraced his old blog on wordpress. Even the Maharajah seems to have diversified his portfolio and is tweeting away, albeit at a rather slower pace. Also worth a mention is Podipada, probably a groupie off-shoot of Padashow trying to capitalize on the brand. Or maybe Padashow is also diversifying.
Some bloggers just blog for the fuck of it, others just want to get their views across to whoever might be interested, but trolls are specifically in it for the buzz. They need the thrill of controversy, they revel in being the centre of attention and will continue trolling until attention wanes and people drift away or until a conscience materializes and they feels sorry for thieir sins so to speak, given the unlikely prospect of the latter though, we can safely conclude that the chief motivator of a troll is 'attention' and that attention will figure higher on a trolls list of motivators than it will on other bloggers'. It doesn't have to be 'good' attention. 'Good' and 'bad' are merely subjective terms and no one knows this better than a troll who revels in unscrupulousness.
Therefore we can conclude that there is a reason for the existence of trolls in the 'lankanosphere' (term again coined by RD I think) and that is attention. There must be a 'need' for their existence, and that 'need' is the need of the rest of the blogsphere for whatever services a troll may offer, which are highly speculative, but interesting to mull over.
Disclaimer - deductions arrived solely based on reasoning based on observation and the general principle of supply and demand.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Freedom, Hypocrisy & Kottu
What is freedom of speech and how does society temper it? On the one hand you have laws and regulations on the other you have ethics, values and beliefs. The current prevailing ethos of 'freedom of speech', indeed, the very idea of freedom of speech, is utter bullshit.
First about the rules and regulations bit. I hate to harp about something so wasted already but take Nibras Bawa for instance, he was thrown out of kottu because he broke the rules and revealed personal details about a blogger, thus breaking codes of basic ethics expected of bloggers in Kottu right? That is all good and well, but what about the outing of Nibras Bawa's himself afterwards by other bloggers? why weren't they kicked out of kottu for going against the rules? or looked down upon with scorn or disdain. Effectively, what they were doing was taking the 'law' into their own hands, thieving from the thieves or murdering the murderers. This may seem justified in the light of the former's actions, but hardly seems right given the 'code of ethics' we adhere to.
I'd hate to see this place turn into some biased hell hole. Where there is a status quo controlled by the 'elite' bloggers whom everyone in turn feels like following and emulating. This destroys original thought and restricts the airing of diverse opinions and will turn kottu into just another pseudo intellectual frog in the well social group the like of which i was under the impression i was escaping through blogging. And lately, events have been giving me a slight feeling of distaste on the edge of my tongue.
First about the rules and regulations bit. I hate to harp about something so wasted already but take Nibras Bawa for instance, he was thrown out of kottu because he broke the rules and revealed personal details about a blogger, thus breaking codes of basic ethics expected of bloggers in Kottu right? That is all good and well, but what about the outing of Nibras Bawa's himself afterwards by other bloggers? why weren't they kicked out of kottu for going against the rules? or looked down upon with scorn or disdain. Effectively, what they were doing was taking the 'law' into their own hands, thieving from the thieves or murdering the murderers. This may seem justified in the light of the former's actions, but hardly seems right given the 'code of ethics' we adhere to.
I'd hate to see this place turn into some biased hell hole. Where there is a status quo controlled by the 'elite' bloggers whom everyone in turn feels like following and emulating. This destroys original thought and restricts the airing of diverse opinions and will turn kottu into just another pseudo intellectual frog in the well social group the like of which i was under the impression i was escaping through blogging. And lately, events have been giving me a slight feeling of distaste on the edge of my tongue.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Should Nibras Bawa be burnt at the stake?
I’m sitting here and cannot start off my day without releasing some verbal nonsensicalities. And im thinking what to write. There are several things circulating in the background like birds flying round and round a forest clearing but i can’t seem to pick off just one of them to kill and eat. (Oh im sorry, were you expecting me to let it sit on my shoulder and sing?).
Judging by the general trends of posts on the blogosphere, there is a lot of animosity towards a certain Mr. Nibras Bawa. Who from day one, built his brand like a Hindi movie builds up the brand of Amir Khan, or Rajni Kanth or whoever its main male lead is. Showing off his power, wealth, education etc etc etc. But so what? different strokes get different people's rocks off. And if he wasnt lying then good for him. If he was then what did i care? there were probably hundreds of liars in the blogosphere.
Then he went and pulled a fast one. A fast Juan. Slap bang revealing a few details about Mr. RD in his blog. But I have my doubts as to how he got the data. Im thinking he first got his name through flickr/facebook etc. Then just Googled it to find his company and website. You can do it yourself if you wanted to. Getting someone's IP and server is just a matter of being a little crafty with your Google analytics account, its even easier of you've got word press. Not exactly MI6 spy shit if you ask me.
All his information on Deecee was probably taken from careful study of her blog posts. Anyone who reads her blog would have told you the same. And according to DQ, he got it wrong about who wrote that comment as well.
But what of this whole scandal? Should Mr. Bawa be burned at the ceremonial stake? But why should he? I think he mirrored some of the hypocrisy and fear in the blogosphere in general. And i cant help looking at the guy with some form of scientific awe because he seems quite so open about it. Doesn't give a shit about niceties and doesn't care if his opinions are greeted by looks down the nose at his writing style.
And I also think that stunts like what he pulled are regular happenings in the real world. I hardly think it's illegal. And hardly something for Mr. RD to worry about, which im gald to see he's not. Kottu and its little sub-social groups of isolated bloggers are sheltered environments. Other blogospheres in the rest of the world are crazy ass places. And how can you expect shit like Nibras Bawa's to compare against major fraud and cyber crimes in a place and time where blogging is almost a professional thing with millions of readers and almost the same amount of blogs? Its a jungle out there and i’ve not explored it much although i’m sufficiently aware of it to realize what idyllic environs we seem to be enjoying here at kottu.
So being the cargo cult we are, you and me get our testicles magnetized to our anuses and block our intestines to release a shitstorm at the first indication of some chap entering our village with a gun. And we can't call it unfair simply cos we choose to fight with catapults can we? Ethics after all are subjective things, bent by all of us now and then (like when we use annonymous comments, insulting or otherwise) but whenever anyone steps out of the norm and tries to be too cocky there is a monsoon of negativity directed against them.
I’m liking all this though, call me an arsehole if you like. Rock on people.
Judging by the general trends of posts on the blogosphere, there is a lot of animosity towards a certain Mr. Nibras Bawa. Who from day one, built his brand like a Hindi movie builds up the brand of Amir Khan, or Rajni Kanth or whoever its main male lead is. Showing off his power, wealth, education etc etc etc. But so what? different strokes get different people's rocks off. And if he wasnt lying then good for him. If he was then what did i care? there were probably hundreds of liars in the blogosphere.
Then he went and pulled a fast one. A fast Juan. Slap bang revealing a few details about Mr. RD in his blog. But I have my doubts as to how he got the data. Im thinking he first got his name through flickr/facebook etc. Then just Googled it to find his company and website. You can do it yourself if you wanted to. Getting someone's IP and server is just a matter of being a little crafty with your Google analytics account, its even easier of you've got word press. Not exactly MI6 spy shit if you ask me.
All his information on Deecee was probably taken from careful study of her blog posts. Anyone who reads her blog would have told you the same. And according to DQ, he got it wrong about who wrote that comment as well.
But what of this whole scandal? Should Mr. Bawa be burned at the ceremonial stake? But why should he? I think he mirrored some of the hypocrisy and fear in the blogosphere in general. And i cant help looking at the guy with some form of scientific awe because he seems quite so open about it. Doesn't give a shit about niceties and doesn't care if his opinions are greeted by looks down the nose at his writing style.
And I also think that stunts like what he pulled are regular happenings in the real world. I hardly think it's illegal. And hardly something for Mr. RD to worry about, which im gald to see he's not. Kottu and its little sub-social groups of isolated bloggers are sheltered environments. Other blogospheres in the rest of the world are crazy ass places. And how can you expect shit like Nibras Bawa's to compare against major fraud and cyber crimes in a place and time where blogging is almost a professional thing with millions of readers and almost the same amount of blogs? Its a jungle out there and i’ve not explored it much although i’m sufficiently aware of it to realize what idyllic environs we seem to be enjoying here at kottu.
So being the cargo cult we are, you and me get our testicles magnetized to our anuses and block our intestines to release a shitstorm at the first indication of some chap entering our village with a gun. And we can't call it unfair simply cos we choose to fight with catapults can we? Ethics after all are subjective things, bent by all of us now and then (like when we use annonymous comments, insulting or otherwise) but whenever anyone steps out of the norm and tries to be too cocky there is a monsoon of negativity directed against them.
I’m liking all this though, call me an arsehole if you like. Rock on people.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Interesting ThingsTM
When the blue mountains of hope, clouded over in the dark mist that blurred, did they not wonder why they were not resilient to that change?
Have human beings adopted change like a fish adopts water? Through its lungs and back to the sea outside. Are we deluding ourselves for that which we so gleefully absorb is not just pure water but black smoke that leaves an oily residue that slowly slows us down and straight cripples us eventually and kills us like dogs dying by the galactic alley mouth in the great race of species and life?
The Missing Sandwich writes about the old game of sexual pursuit, and mating rituals that should be arcane practices but human beings are of course, not capable of ridding ourselves of complicated bullshit. So unfortunately the Sandwich is stuck and so are all men who are on her side.
The Spider has a narcissistic streak that materializes every morning in the form of loving conversations with herself in front of the mirror. She attributes it to possible coffee overdoses but then fails to understand a blahbarian narcissist who puts her the posh parts in an interview and dishes him the super dirt in a post published on her blog and not in the real write up which she attributes to the honesty of today's Press.
Noorie is back with a bang I missed you crazy woman where have you been and why are you contemplating suicide involving lock picking dogs and nonexistent neighbors while dragging down innocent gold fish down into graves with you?
Realskullzero makes a valiant attempt to revive his blog of yore and legend and writes a post explaining that very fact through a haze of lazy smoke and switches off again to resurface when? Soon, hopefully.
The Passionate ladybird writes about jerking off and wanking and touching oneself and sparks off a lot of interest in the topic as if people needed her to point out the fact that such a phenomenon exists and inspires new forms of mystic poetry.
The Stoned Age is a blog I recently started reading and boy is it full of random yet brilliant philosophical musings and meanderings on the topic of drug use whilst under the influence. The writer has my two cents of encouragement to continue and keep going and keep going strong and long, strong and long as long as you feel you are in control says my guilty conscience afraid that I may help push him overboard if I may be as brash as to assume my influence has the power to do so.
Nervous ticks attack us all and the Desease's superhero that is me looks like some sort of deranged psychologist absorbed in creating illuminous hypnotics by the wiggling about of these strange gadgets that I possess in my hands. Yes I think I will be a villain. It is more fun. But I won’t kill people; no I am a thinker not a fighter.
For those of you who did not make it to the last open mic you do not know what you missed and if you want to find out what you missed please go to Indi’s blog and watch this video or type wagon park on youtube and check their stuff out. Simply brilliant and if I may say so I think this is another truly original Sri Lankan rock artiste that we are witnessing here folks a very very rare breed.
I did an interview on pakspectator as requested by them and also promised to publish a link to it but I’d have done it anyway ‘cos I’m a bit of a narcissistic blahbarian they took my Word document and copy pasted it without any edits at all much to my chagrin. But my usual tpyos were missing thanks to it being typed on MS word and its auto correct facility or whatever saved me and all Sri Lankans from eternal embarrassment of not being apparently able to spell simple words.
I will conclude with this video that Ravana posts. Go to youtube and check the rest of Aunty Netta’s stuff out it would be wrong to say I died laughing because I am typing this post telling you about my near death experiences laughing.
Have human beings adopted change like a fish adopts water? Through its lungs and back to the sea outside. Are we deluding ourselves for that which we so gleefully absorb is not just pure water but black smoke that leaves an oily residue that slowly slows us down and straight cripples us eventually and kills us like dogs dying by the galactic alley mouth in the great race of species and life?
The Missing Sandwich writes about the old game of sexual pursuit, and mating rituals that should be arcane practices but human beings are of course, not capable of ridding ourselves of complicated bullshit. So unfortunately the Sandwich is stuck and so are all men who are on her side.
The Spider has a narcissistic streak that materializes every morning in the form of loving conversations with herself in front of the mirror. She attributes it to possible coffee overdoses but then fails to understand a blahbarian narcissist who puts her the posh parts in an interview and dishes him the super dirt in a post published on her blog and not in the real write up which she attributes to the honesty of today's Press.
Noorie is back with a bang I missed you crazy woman where have you been and why are you contemplating suicide involving lock picking dogs and nonexistent neighbors while dragging down innocent gold fish down into graves with you?
Realskullzero makes a valiant attempt to revive his blog of yore and legend and writes a post explaining that very fact through a haze of lazy smoke and switches off again to resurface when? Soon, hopefully.
The Passionate ladybird writes about jerking off and wanking and touching oneself and sparks off a lot of interest in the topic as if people needed her to point out the fact that such a phenomenon exists and inspires new forms of mystic poetry.
The Stoned Age is a blog I recently started reading and boy is it full of random yet brilliant philosophical musings and meanderings on the topic of drug use whilst under the influence. The writer has my two cents of encouragement to continue and keep going and keep going strong and long, strong and long as long as you feel you are in control says my guilty conscience afraid that I may help push him overboard if I may be as brash as to assume my influence has the power to do so.
Nervous ticks attack us all and the Desease's superhero that is me looks like some sort of deranged psychologist absorbed in creating illuminous hypnotics by the wiggling about of these strange gadgets that I possess in my hands. Yes I think I will be a villain. It is more fun. But I won’t kill people; no I am a thinker not a fighter.
For those of you who did not make it to the last open mic you do not know what you missed and if you want to find out what you missed please go to Indi’s blog and watch this video or type wagon park on youtube and check their stuff out. Simply brilliant and if I may say so I think this is another truly original Sri Lankan rock artiste that we are witnessing here folks a very very rare breed.
I did an interview on pakspectator as requested by them and also promised to publish a link to it but I’d have done it anyway ‘cos I’m a bit of a narcissistic blahbarian they took my Word document and copy pasted it without any edits at all much to my chagrin. But my usual tpyos were missing thanks to it being typed on MS word and its auto correct facility or whatever saved me and all Sri Lankans from eternal embarrassment of not being apparently able to spell simple words.
I will conclude with this video that Ravana posts. Go to youtube and check the rest of Aunty Netta’s stuff out it would be wrong to say I died laughing because I am typing this post telling you about my near death experiences laughing.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Top 10 Most Commonly Used Words
According to askmen.com.
I have shamelessly reprinted it here without permission.
Languages are some of human being's greatest creations. These sophisticated systems of communications that were developed over thousands of years in thousands of different communities around the world are a testament to the ability of the Homo sapiens' brain. So why, with all of our linguistic prowess and vocabulary variety, do we have to use words far more than they were intended? The English language is full of these, and much to our chagrin they’re prevalent and not going anywhere.
So, here is a list of today’s 10 most overused words that make your ears burn every time you hear them.
No.10 - Love/Hate
Is there a garden around? Because these words have been watered down to the point of no return. And it’s all because people have been slowly accepting them as reasonable alternatives to describe fondness (or lack thereof). Love and hate both involved descriptions of serious passion or emotion at one time; now they’re just used as slang-fodder for anything to make a poetic statement. Let’s restore the prestige of these once-great expressions and lay off their usage, say, 95% of the time. That ought to help.
No.9 - Literally
Literally is another word that has been misconstrued into a bastardized form. When the exact reason to use the word is to express a non-exaggeration or a realistic degree of accuracy, why do people do the exact opposite? Literally is now used as a general intensive, and its very meaning has become lost and meaningless. Literally is meant to only be used when describing something verbatim, or for a correct technical explanation. It is not a synonym for figuratively or virtually. Let’s keep it as such.
No.8 - Ridiculous
The only thing ridiculous about this overused word is the number of times it’s used in everyday speak. Ridiculous means laughable, deserving of ridicule or something just downright preposterous. Now, while people tend to get the meaning (vaguely) correct for this one, four-syllable words like this are best saved for situations where things truly are absurd -- if your dog ate your homework, that’s ridiculous because it’s almost worthy of a laugh. There are better words to use than this tongue twister and no, “ri-donk-ulous” is not one of them
No.7 - Awesome
Are we stuck in the '80s? Can someone please explain why this expression is so commonly used as slang rather than as a proper adjective? Awesome can be lumped into the same cheese club with other un-cool terms such as radical, cowabunga and gnarly.
Awesome is supposed to be used to express a show of force or majesty. When your friend comes back with a six-pack of beer, responding with this reprehensible utterance just doesn’t match up to the awe of a powerful tornado or when viewing one of the top 10 American landmarks. Nice try, though.
No.6 - Whatever
Here’s the problem with the word whatever -- depending on the tone you use, it’s used by a variety of hipsters looking to disagree. Guys use it to downplay a video game defeat or a sports loss. Girlfriends use it angrily to stone their boyfriend’s opinion. And, when combined with a preamble such as like (which is also on this list of most overused words), it’s used by pink-purse-toting glamour girls to display surprise or enjoyment. Whatever the context (and that’s a proper use of the term), it is overused and ruining otherwise meaningful conversation.
No.5 - Bitch
It was only a matter of time before one of English’s finest derogatory terms became banter for the common man. And all it took was a few malicious hijackings to make this one of the most overused words out there. Normally used to describe a female canine, it’s evolved as an insult to women in contempt, an anchor lyric in hip-hop culture or as ubiquitous slang for those lower in the prison pecking order. This is in addition to other uses such as bitch slap, son of a bitch, bitching, and riding bitch. Our evolution as a species continues at a draw-dropping pace.
No.4 - Seriously
Another word that is used for more emphasis than most things deserve is the almost-a-question-but-more-of-a-statement seriously. It’s usually used in the manner of disbelief with a sarcastic tone when used as a question, or as an emphasis for a thought or future action. Either way, the word has become overused by the average conversationalist, and now verges on overkill as teenager or hipster jargon. And, when combined with other language fillers (such as dude or like), any actual seriousness this word used to offer is completely thrown out the window.
No.3 - Gay
Gay lost its meaning a long time ago in mainstream conversation, right around when the Village People began thrusting suggestively in colorful unison. Of course, that’s just one of many examples, but the word gay was originally meant to be jovial or in good spirits and, as we all know, now refers to homosexuality and its associated culture. All was good for a time, but the word was kidnapped, hog-tied and beaten down by pop culture to make reference to anything that was stupid, unfortunate or even an attempt to buff up one’s own masculinity (or hide insecurities -- you decide). Gay has lost its way.
No.2 - Nice
Here’s another bit of verbal overkill that has unfortunately lost its purpose. This once-friendly word has now been turned into a fallback excuse to tell people you’re not interested in their conversation. A lot of people who can’t listen, or refuse to listen, will drop this after someone tells a story, gives an anecdote or makes a comment. “Nice” they’ll respond, as in “OK, I have nothing to say to that.” The worst part is when the listener uses it as a means to end the conversation or to indirectly suggest an end to the current conversation. For this reason, it’s become a form of excuse, and has now fallen into the realm of overused words -- and is a compliment no more.
No.1 - Like
How this word is still used as a standard in the English language is astounding. People have been using the word like so liberally for the last 15 years that it’s become so commonplace no one even knows when they actually say it. It’s a sixth sense for scores of slang-tongued hipsters.
Originally used as an adjective to describe comparison, its slow and painful conversion to an interjection is now dominating conversations for any Gen X- or Y-er that grew up with two-star-rated (or less) dumb blonde movies. The only saving grace for this word is that when someone uses it too much, people will have no problem calling you out on it and exposing the below-average nature of this verbal ear sore.
Honorable mention - LOL
“Laughing out loud” or “lots of laughs” is probably the most popular acronym used by web-savvy keyboard warriors when instant messaging or chatting with friends online. Unfortunately, much like other viral software code, this short-form description has spiraled out of control as l33t speak on the internet (the actual term for internet “talk”). Now you can’t browse a web page or a blog without LOL being used somewhere, and thus aggravating proponents of proper e-English worldwide.
Lol! Thats literally the nicest list i've seen of the most awesomest words that you can seriously think of as the most commonly used ever! Any other words that you'd love to have seen? go ahead and mention em. Its ok if you hate em or think they're ridiculous. In fact, thats why you would mention em in the first place bitch!(i couldn't resist puting that one in) Like what-ever! Sorry for that really gay sentence by the way.
I have shamelessly reprinted it here without permission.
Languages are some of human being's greatest creations. These sophisticated systems of communications that were developed over thousands of years in thousands of different communities around the world are a testament to the ability of the Homo sapiens' brain. So why, with all of our linguistic prowess and vocabulary variety, do we have to use words far more than they were intended? The English language is full of these, and much to our chagrin they’re prevalent and not going anywhere.
So, here is a list of today’s 10 most overused words that make your ears burn every time you hear them.
No.10 - Love/Hate
Is there a garden around? Because these words have been watered down to the point of no return. And it’s all because people have been slowly accepting them as reasonable alternatives to describe fondness (or lack thereof). Love and hate both involved descriptions of serious passion or emotion at one time; now they’re just used as slang-fodder for anything to make a poetic statement. Let’s restore the prestige of these once-great expressions and lay off their usage, say, 95% of the time. That ought to help.
No.9 - Literally
Literally is another word that has been misconstrued into a bastardized form. When the exact reason to use the word is to express a non-exaggeration or a realistic degree of accuracy, why do people do the exact opposite? Literally is now used as a general intensive, and its very meaning has become lost and meaningless. Literally is meant to only be used when describing something verbatim, or for a correct technical explanation. It is not a synonym for figuratively or virtually. Let’s keep it as such.
No.8 - Ridiculous
The only thing ridiculous about this overused word is the number of times it’s used in everyday speak. Ridiculous means laughable, deserving of ridicule or something just downright preposterous. Now, while people tend to get the meaning (vaguely) correct for this one, four-syllable words like this are best saved for situations where things truly are absurd -- if your dog ate your homework, that’s ridiculous because it’s almost worthy of a laugh. There are better words to use than this tongue twister and no, “ri-donk-ulous” is not one of them
No.7 - Awesome
Are we stuck in the '80s? Can someone please explain why this expression is so commonly used as slang rather than as a proper adjective? Awesome can be lumped into the same cheese club with other un-cool terms such as radical, cowabunga and gnarly.
Awesome is supposed to be used to express a show of force or majesty. When your friend comes back with a six-pack of beer, responding with this reprehensible utterance just doesn’t match up to the awe of a powerful tornado or when viewing one of the top 10 American landmarks. Nice try, though.
No.6 - Whatever
Here’s the problem with the word whatever -- depending on the tone you use, it’s used by a variety of hipsters looking to disagree. Guys use it to downplay a video game defeat or a sports loss. Girlfriends use it angrily to stone their boyfriend’s opinion. And, when combined with a preamble such as like (which is also on this list of most overused words), it’s used by pink-purse-toting glamour girls to display surprise or enjoyment. Whatever the context (and that’s a proper use of the term), it is overused and ruining otherwise meaningful conversation.
No.5 - Bitch
It was only a matter of time before one of English’s finest derogatory terms became banter for the common man. And all it took was a few malicious hijackings to make this one of the most overused words out there. Normally used to describe a female canine, it’s evolved as an insult to women in contempt, an anchor lyric in hip-hop culture or as ubiquitous slang for those lower in the prison pecking order. This is in addition to other uses such as bitch slap, son of a bitch, bitching, and riding bitch. Our evolution as a species continues at a draw-dropping pace.
No.4 - Seriously
Another word that is used for more emphasis than most things deserve is the almost-a-question-but-more-of-a-statement seriously. It’s usually used in the manner of disbelief with a sarcastic tone when used as a question, or as an emphasis for a thought or future action. Either way, the word has become overused by the average conversationalist, and now verges on overkill as teenager or hipster jargon. And, when combined with other language fillers (such as dude or like), any actual seriousness this word used to offer is completely thrown out the window.
No.3 - Gay
Gay lost its meaning a long time ago in mainstream conversation, right around when the Village People began thrusting suggestively in colorful unison. Of course, that’s just one of many examples, but the word gay was originally meant to be jovial or in good spirits and, as we all know, now refers to homosexuality and its associated culture. All was good for a time, but the word was kidnapped, hog-tied and beaten down by pop culture to make reference to anything that was stupid, unfortunate or even an attempt to buff up one’s own masculinity (or hide insecurities -- you decide). Gay has lost its way.
No.2 - Nice
Here’s another bit of verbal overkill that has unfortunately lost its purpose. This once-friendly word has now been turned into a fallback excuse to tell people you’re not interested in their conversation. A lot of people who can’t listen, or refuse to listen, will drop this after someone tells a story, gives an anecdote or makes a comment. “Nice” they’ll respond, as in “OK, I have nothing to say to that.” The worst part is when the listener uses it as a means to end the conversation or to indirectly suggest an end to the current conversation. For this reason, it’s become a form of excuse, and has now fallen into the realm of overused words -- and is a compliment no more.
No.1 - Like
How this word is still used as a standard in the English language is astounding. People have been using the word like so liberally for the last 15 years that it’s become so commonplace no one even knows when they actually say it. It’s a sixth sense for scores of slang-tongued hipsters.
Originally used as an adjective to describe comparison, its slow and painful conversion to an interjection is now dominating conversations for any Gen X- or Y-er that grew up with two-star-rated (or less) dumb blonde movies. The only saving grace for this word is that when someone uses it too much, people will have no problem calling you out on it and exposing the below-average nature of this verbal ear sore.
Honorable mention - LOL
“Laughing out loud” or “lots of laughs” is probably the most popular acronym used by web-savvy keyboard warriors when instant messaging or chatting with friends online. Unfortunately, much like other viral software code, this short-form description has spiraled out of control as l33t speak on the internet (the actual term for internet “talk”). Now you can’t browse a web page or a blog without LOL being used somewhere, and thus aggravating proponents of proper e-English worldwide.
Lol! Thats literally the nicest list i've seen of the most awesomest words that you can seriously think of as the most commonly used ever! Any other words that you'd love to have seen? go ahead and mention em. Its ok if you hate em or think they're ridiculous. In fact, thats why you would mention em in the first place bitch!(i couldn't resist puting that one in) Like what-ever! Sorry for that really gay sentence by the way.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Random weavings through the blogosphere
OK so I was bored. Things have been a bit quiet on the blogosphere. Mostly repeated political and other boring stuff going on. and i think its about time that people stopped talking about porn. the jokes getting a bit too old. I closed my eyes and randomly moved my mouse pointer up and down over the list of blogs on Kottu. Here’s my review on what I found.
LIRNE Asia – some sort of telecom industry blog. “A regional information and communication technology (ICT) policy and regulation capacity-building organization active across the Asia Pacific”. Something like. ICT for peace then. Looks good but im in no mood for this right now.
Day to Day – "Inexperienced blogger. Comments welcomed" it says. Two posts. One titled 'first day'. Other one says that the writer is freaked out about upcoming ALs in no uncertain terms. Also reiterates his doubts in the first post as to whether anyone will read his or her blog. Well I did. All of it. Hope G_MAN (guess its a he) comes online and starts doing his thang again soon. Oh ya and a sort of interesting discourse on the local education system seen firsthand from some who, in his own opinion, seems to have got the somewhat shittier end of the stick : -)
Six & Out - someone called Rosh last blogged about how shifting to a new place is wreaking havoc in their life. A self confessed former addict to facebook, something to which I can relate to. Apparently also an enthusiastic member of fighters club too. Now in my opinion those guys either have waay too much time on their hands or there is something intrinsically wonderful about fighters club that I’ve somehow missed.
Random Rantings - first I have to say that there seem to be quite a few blogs that expound the words ‘random’ and ‘ranting’. Guess those are two words synonymous with blogging. Anyways, tinkerbell here blogs about nothing in particular. A HUGE number of older posts so tinkerbell has been at it for a while. Obviously a veteran. Came across a post on funerals which I thought was pretty great.
Maheshsandaruwan - Another one of those blogodrome curiosities. Kid from rural Sri Lankan village. Blogging about topics such as ‘my grandma’, ‘water’, ‘my school’ etc. what I find interesting is that these kids somehow find the enthusiasm to start up a blog site whilst living in a remote area of a country like ours. Questions pop into my mind; does he own a computer? How did he get exposed to blogging etc. Last post May 11. He’s also got a flikr account. hmmmm
SeeJay.net - Wanna learn GIMP??? The topmost post screams at me. No thanks. Maybe later. Good looking blog though.
That’s when I found something else to do. But it’s crazy the amount of blogs that are there on kottu. Most of my findings were previously nknown to me. Makes me wonder at the furious exchange of thoughts and ideas that would ensue if they were all thoroughly active. But who has the time eh?
LIRNE Asia – some sort of telecom industry blog. “A regional information and communication technology (ICT) policy and regulation capacity-building organization active across the Asia Pacific”. Something like. ICT for peace then. Looks good but im in no mood for this right now.
Day to Day – "Inexperienced blogger. Comments welcomed" it says. Two posts. One titled 'first day'. Other one says that the writer is freaked out about upcoming ALs in no uncertain terms. Also reiterates his doubts in the first post as to whether anyone will read his or her blog. Well I did. All of it. Hope G_MAN (guess its a he) comes online and starts doing his thang again soon. Oh ya and a sort of interesting discourse on the local education system seen firsthand from some who, in his own opinion, seems to have got the somewhat shittier end of the stick : -)
Six & Out - someone called Rosh last blogged about how shifting to a new place is wreaking havoc in their life. A self confessed former addict to facebook, something to which I can relate to. Apparently also an enthusiastic member of fighters club too. Now in my opinion those guys either have waay too much time on their hands or there is something intrinsically wonderful about fighters club that I’ve somehow missed.
Random Rantings - first I have to say that there seem to be quite a few blogs that expound the words ‘random’ and ‘ranting’. Guess those are two words synonymous with blogging. Anyways, tinkerbell here blogs about nothing in particular. A HUGE number of older posts so tinkerbell has been at it for a while. Obviously a veteran. Came across a post on funerals which I thought was pretty great.
Maheshsandaruwan - Another one of those blogodrome curiosities. Kid from rural Sri Lankan village. Blogging about topics such as ‘my grandma’, ‘water’, ‘my school’ etc. what I find interesting is that these kids somehow find the enthusiasm to start up a blog site whilst living in a remote area of a country like ours. Questions pop into my mind; does he own a computer? How did he get exposed to blogging etc. Last post May 11. He’s also got a flikr account. hmmmm
SeeJay.net - Wanna learn GIMP??? The topmost post screams at me. No thanks. Maybe later. Good looking blog though.
That’s when I found something else to do. But it’s crazy the amount of blogs that are there on kottu. Most of my findings were previously nknown to me. Makes me wonder at the furious exchange of thoughts and ideas that would ensue if they were all thoroughly active. But who has the time eh?
Friday, June 27, 2008
Neoclassic meanderings
Oh MAN! Can life get any boringer?? Forgive me blogosphere and all its inhabitants, I have been bombarding you with my meaningless psychophantic meanderings over the past month so much that I have surprised even myself at the misty shit that comes outta me. Thank you for all you comments, they have been a wonderful reminder to me that even the most obscure thoughts and ideas will find somebody who sees things in a common light.
Now I do not mean to be rude, but this is my first time actively blogging and I have realized why it has taken such a grip on me. Thank you Lady Divine, yes I think I am addicted. HELP! Lol any support groups out there I should know about when I reach that point on the road where my skin shrivels up and my body can’t live without the taste of Kottu for its survival? I mean has anyone thought of putting up a rehab clinic for reforming blogaholics?
Someone said once; if you want to be a writer, Write goddamn it! Or some such like, and man, have I been writing. I have been writing about anything that poops into my head and I have been sitting down at my PC intending to write something totally refined and important and then suddenly, my mind goes into a swoon and my eyes lose focus and my fingers move of their own accord over the keyboard. The results of which are scattered among the posts in my blog. Including in this one to a certain extent.
I watched a movie, The Sixth Sense. You know the one starring Brucie and that kid who sees ghosties? Well something that struck me clear outta my mind was the concept of free-form writing. That’s right. For those of you who are not familiar with it , it’s a form of writing where one just puts pen to paper or in this case finger to keyboard and just writes the first thing that comes into one’s mind. You just keep going mindlessly writing and writing and writing. Pretty soon, you notice some crazy shit happening, some crazy thoughts you thought u’d never had will pop onto paper. Scary I know, I tried it out and kinda got hooked on it and ever since, I just let myself go when I am writing.
The results are scary, truthful and sometimes unbelievable. But will always help you unlock that part of you that you knew existed but could not access. At least for a brief moment, be it on paper or word document, you will live inside your subconscious and produce exactly what thoughts and ideas you will.
So thank you blogosphere, for the companionship, camaraderie and the enjoyable brain exercise. Thank you Indi, for adding me up on kottu. Thank you all who visited my blog. Thank you all who commented. It has been a hell of a month. I’ve had too much free time on my hands and my mind has been extremely idle after a hell of a long time of heavy activity, and I have immensely enjoyed the sweet release of blogging and getting to know all you terrific people out there.. Keep it real!
Now I do not mean to be rude, but this is my first time actively blogging and I have realized why it has taken such a grip on me. Thank you Lady Divine, yes I think I am addicted. HELP! Lol any support groups out there I should know about when I reach that point on the road where my skin shrivels up and my body can’t live without the taste of Kottu for its survival? I mean has anyone thought of putting up a rehab clinic for reforming blogaholics?
Someone said once; if you want to be a writer, Write goddamn it! Or some such like, and man, have I been writing. I have been writing about anything that poops into my head and I have been sitting down at my PC intending to write something totally refined and important and then suddenly, my mind goes into a swoon and my eyes lose focus and my fingers move of their own accord over the keyboard. The results of which are scattered among the posts in my blog. Including in this one to a certain extent.
I watched a movie, The Sixth Sense. You know the one starring Brucie and that kid who sees ghosties? Well something that struck me clear outta my mind was the concept of free-form writing. That’s right. For those of you who are not familiar with it , it’s a form of writing where one just puts pen to paper or in this case finger to keyboard and just writes the first thing that comes into one’s mind. You just keep going mindlessly writing and writing and writing. Pretty soon, you notice some crazy shit happening, some crazy thoughts you thought u’d never had will pop onto paper. Scary I know, I tried it out and kinda got hooked on it and ever since, I just let myself go when I am writing.
The results are scary, truthful and sometimes unbelievable. But will always help you unlock that part of you that you knew existed but could not access. At least for a brief moment, be it on paper or word document, you will live inside your subconscious and produce exactly what thoughts and ideas you will.
So thank you blogosphere, for the companionship, camaraderie and the enjoyable brain exercise. Thank you Indi, for adding me up on kottu. Thank you all who visited my blog. Thank you all who commented. It has been a hell of a month. I’ve had too much free time on my hands and my mind has been extremely idle after a hell of a long time of heavy activity, and I have immensely enjoyed the sweet release of blogging and getting to know all you terrific people out there.. Keep it real!
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