Tag Archives: linguistics

Bloganoia (vol.2)

I will be shamelessly self-promoting my new photo blog, leaving the zip code, here from now on. You won’t be disappointed, I promise. Let’s see if some of you will take the ‘submit’ challenge.

I have written about this phenomenon before but the topic keeps coming up.

Now that I have been posting for a while, my readership is growing (or perhaps I am delusional and just think that it is). Certainly here in the zip code.

Twice in the last 24 hours people have said something and then asked, “oh no, are you going to blog about this?”

So, to reduce any fears about being outed here in bloganoialand, let me assure you that if I am going to use your name I will ask you first. (oh, except for Dr. Jimmy but he loved it and moving forward he will be my best commenter).

Most often, if I blog something about you I will not mention who you are. Or give your distinguishing characteristics like, “that certain someone with the ______ (fill in the blank with your most defining characteristic).

My kids, on the other hand, seem to be blogobitionists, as they get a kick out of it when I write about them. I ask first and try not to embarrass. (Frightening that Danny was actually proud of the great dryer incident).

In closing, you can feel free to be absolutely absurd in front of me, just like you have always been. And I promise to try to contain myself.

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Yesternight

I will be shamelessly self-promoting my new photo blog, leaving the zip code, here from now on. You won’t be disappointed, I promise. Let’s see if some of you will take the ‘submit’ challenge.

I have always felt that there were words that should be in the english language but were not. Early in my blogging days (way back 3 or 4 months ago) I did a post called Bloganoia. I think that one needs to be revisited, so go vistit. Or re(visit). It is kind of a cool post. 

Anyway, we have always had an ongoing list of words in this family that should have been in the dictionary. One of our favorites was yesternight. The little boy across the street (who is now 13!) said it and we loved it. I believe he is also the author of whobody. (very Suessian). I think that one was in the context of “Whobody farted?”

Tonight, I was battling all sorts of technology (more on that tomorrow) when Jana IM’d me and told me she was going to send me a picture message on my phone. Hmmm, when I was in college calling my parents only once a week – if that – I don’t remember picture messages and IMing being on the menu.

I digress. Imagine my delight when that picture came through. There in the text of good ole’ Frankenstein (a light read) is the word yesternight.

Not gonna lie, I feel kind of sad that it is no longer just ‘our word’.

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Rebranding Menopause


Let’s face it, there is nothing cool, glamorous or fun about menopause. Pre, peri, post… all of it rings of insane women aging not-so-gracefully.

This idea of rebranding started when speaking to a dear (male) friend that I have known for many years. We were at a big party and it seemed more than one woman asked to have the AC turned up. Which turns to the obvious conversation about menopause. My friend said he thought that the name was the problem. Bad branding if you will. Let us dissect it for a moment. Men (bad start) O (extraneous letter) Pause… hmmm what does that MEAN?

Being the wiseass that I am, I asked “What should we call it then? Irrational bitches that sweat too much?” His answer was charming, “A better name would be – I will see you next Tuesday.” Cute right?

What name would better describe menopause with more dignity?

Let’s think about it this. Is the problem really in the branding? Or is the assumption that, not unlike when women are younger and everything is blamed on ‘she’s on the rag’, that a woman of ‘a certain age’ is always in the hot seat (no pun) when her behavior is erratic because she is doing ‘The Menopause Thang!’ (was this a James Brown song?)

Back to the rebranding idea. I once worked on a pitch for an erectile disfunction drug. A pharma co. spent a million dollars on a focus group exploring the idea of renaming erectile disfunction. What these geniuses came up with was that it was not, in fact, the name that was the probem, but more the condition itself. DUH! 

So, my friends, I think it is safe to say that renaming anything that basically sucks does not change it’s level of suckage. 

Now I need to go and turn the AC to the temp of a meat locker so I can sleep tonight.

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Bloganoia


an interesting little twist to my new world of blogging. over the past few weeks when something happens people will ask, “oh no, are you going to put me in your blog”. it’s kind of funny. i mean, seriously, it is not like i am writing a column in the NYT. so i guess that replaces the ever famous “this should be a chapter” comment, the difference being that these are seeing the (cyber)light of day. don’t worry my friends, i will be kind. 

i thought i had made up this word until i googled it and found that it is out there and already has many definitions.

i, for one, have always been a big fan of the made up word. yesternight. cyberexlover. transplendent. (any woody allen fans out there?) blogging seems to be a natural for this. being of ‘a certain age’ – to borrow an extremely annoying label from the ridiculous chipped nail article , i am considered tech-savvy amongst my peers. this is no great feat as the bar is set pretty low, but hey, i will take it where i can get it.

so here goes – the first (of many) blog vocab lists. now don’t try stealing these, they are all in a sealed envelope on the way to a copyright attorney as we speak ; ). actually, when i googled them, some already exist as blog names or websites. guess i am not the only one who gets a charge out of making up words. there must be others stuck in the basement, banging the keyboard trying to amuse themselves.

i highly encourage commenting on this sucker. maybe i will run a contest for the best word…

bloganoia: fear of being blogged about

blogalicious: hot & juicy blog; my blogshake brings all the boys to the yard (urban dictionary has a lamer definition)

blogomania: frenzy surrounding the need to blog 

blogophobic: (a no brainer) fear of blogging

blogagoric: fear of blogging outside?

blogcentric: believing yours is the only blog worth reading

pseudoblog: a blog written on paper and scanned in

preblogastoric: mom, tell us about the days before blogging when you had to use a pen and paper

bloggertensive: high blood pressure from reading infuriating blog posts

blognostic: a person who claims neither faith nor disbelief in blogs

give me more…

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