Sean Hartigan, husband of Holy Empress of the Universe Haidi, has some great writing on his site, Ulro Jr. So I was extremely pleased when he mentioned “words mean things” on it. (thanks to Haidi for alerting me to this) Sean says John Locke maintained that words don’t mean things. Well, we’re all entitled to our opinions – even 17th century English empiricist philosophers.
Category: words mean things (Page 163 of 223)
Everyone, from the President on down, says we are at war.
We are not at war.
War is something nations do. As far as I know, a nation didn’t do this thing. “War” is a dangerous and inflammatory word, and we should think twice before throwing it like we have been. This is not a war.
Hendrik Hertzberg wrote in The New Yorker:
“The metaphor of war – and it is more metaphor than description – ascribes to the perpetrators a dignity they do not merit, a status they cannot claim, and a strength they do not possess. Worse, it points toward a set of responses that could prove futile or counterproductive….How do you take “massive military action” against the infrastructure of a stateless, compartmentalized “army” of fifty, or ten times fifty, whose weapons are rental cars, credit cards, and airline tickets?….A more useful metaphor than war is crime. The terrorists of September 11th are outlaws within a global polity.”
The priority is, find out who did this and where they are. But making war against nations that may have helped this group is not the issue. Think about it this way – if this was done by a group of American fanatics trying to avenge Waco or Ruby Ridge, would we be saying we were “at war” with them? Words mean things.
I sort of like Oreos better when they’re just a little stale and soft. In case you were wondering.
Inspired by Xkot, I took the “Which ‘Friend’ Are You?” quiz on eMode, and, well, it was no surprise:
Could you be any more like Chandler? The most lovable wiseguy around, you’ve got more than a little Bing inside you, don’t ‘cha? Front and center in your Chandler-ness is that unstoppable wit, keeping everyone in stitches (or at least deflecting uncomfortable situations). And like the Chan-Chan man, you’d never leave your pals out in the cold. But your generosity is so inconspicuous that people often don’t even notice it.
Romantically, a soft, sweet, heart and charming, insecurity rule. You might, however, be held back from love by that nagging little fear of, well, growing up. Ya think? But, like the adorable Mr. Bing himself, it’s just because you care so much and don’t want to let anyone down.
Sometimes the web can be oddly compelling.
When’s the last time you watched a TV show for the first time and thought, “Wow.”? That happened to me last night watching ‘Alias.’ Sort of a cross between ‘La Femme Nikita’ and ‘Felicity’ with a little ‘Run Lola Run’ thrown in, it was fast, exciting, stylish, and most of all, just fun. Jennifer Garner is fantastic as coed/double agent Sydney Bristow. It’s no surprise that ‘Felicity’ comes to mind, since J.J. Abrams created both shows, and Garner even appeared on the curly-haired college series. What a pleasant surprise in this current TV wasteland of new shows like ‘Bob Patterson’ and ‘According to Jim.’ I can’t wait for the next episode.
Oh no! Unauthorized people are trying to take pictures of the World Trade Center! This has gotta stop. Scary stuff, when you think about it. (via evhead)
At the top of the Hancock Building in Chicago is a bank of lights, just below the two giant radio towers. I saw when I was in Chicago this weekend that the lights now glow red, white and blue in three wide bands. I’ve found most of the flag displays over the last two weeks a little excessive, but for some reason I thought the Hancock lights were cool.
I think the American flag is great, and it means a lot to a lot of people. But the thing I fear is a sort of numbing effect. If every time you turn around, you see a flag in some form, doesn’t it begin to lose its meaning, its impact? That’s the effect I don’t want to see happen.
Sign at Four Star Video in Madison:
We are a straight-friendly establishment.
We totally support the right of people to pursue alternative straight lifestyles.
Great sign.
Well, Kevin has already scooped me with a post on the highlights of the Edward Tufte seminar we both attended in Chicago on Friday. But the ideas are so important that I’m willing to risk being called a copycat. Tufte (pron. TUFF-tee) is a genius when it comes to information design, and a wonderfully funny and engaging speaker. His web site is full of good stuff, and his books are classics. What struck me most in listening to him was that what he had to say was such clear common sense, that it only pointed up how little common sense there is in the world these days. The lessons to be learned from his ideas would be useful to anyone dealing with information (which, these days, is everyone).
So, I hereby present my quotes gallery from the day’s presentation:
On design
“Don’t be original – get it right.”
“Good design is clear thinking in action.”
“Great design is endlessly self-effacing.”
On business as usual
“Agencies, departments and programs don’t do things. People do things.”
“Yes, it is warmer in July than it is in December. That’s called the ‘executive summary.’ “
On presentations
“Why would anyone want to give a presentation that left no trace?”
“The biggest thing you can do to improve your presentation is to get better content.”
“Samuel Johnson said about ‘Paradise Lost,’ ‘None ever wished it longer.’ If that’s what he thought about ‘Paradise Lost,’ then what about your presentation?”
On computer and web interfaces
“No matter how good you think your interface is, it would be better if there were less of it.” (by way of Alan Cooper)
“It’s one damn thing after another – also known as a computer interface.”
“On the computer, all data has to pass through Bill Gates….which is the right metaphor.”