your monkey called

"Anthimeria"

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:02:00 -0800

…the use of a word as if it were a member of a different word class (part of speech); typically, the use of a noun as if it were a verb.

The language blog Wishydig whips it out in a discussion of OUP’s word of the year, “unfriend”:

There has been lots of discussion about the verbing of friend for quite a while now. A lot of fear regarding anthimeria. Some people think these functional shifts are a sign of language anarchy. Except of course when Shakespeare does it. Then it’s a sign genius.

Ted Wilson Reviews The World #10: The For Sale Sign Placed in My Yard

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:36:24 -0800

Ted Wilson Reviews The World #10: The For Sale Sign Placed in My Yard:

The Rumpus runs a regular series by Ted Wilson, in which he plans to review everything in the world, item by item. This week:

When I stepped out to get the paper this morning I noticed a ‘for sale’ sign placed near the sidewalk. My first thought was that I’d accidentally slept in the wrong house again, but I looked over my shoulder and it was definitely my house. I could tell because it looks just like it and has the same number on it. Plus, my neighbor lives next to it and she waved to me.

Be sure to read the whole piece.

“Spirit of Pawnee” (Detail) Say what you like about...

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 17:59:09 -0800

“Spirit of Pawnee” (Detail)

Say what you like about Parks and Recreation, but every time they refer to their municipal art collection, it’s gold. Hence my excitement at the most recent episode’s focus on replacing the town’s signature “Spirit of Pawnee” mural.

Boop, Boop Boop Be-Booooooo. This 1977 PBS bumper needs only 11...

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 17:05:44 -0800

Boop, Boop Boop Be-Booooooo.

This 1977 PBS bumper needs only 11 seconds to turn me back into a kindergartner.

“Author Andre Agassi”

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:56:42 -0800

“Author Andre Agassi”

Dennis Lehane and Craig Ferguson Talk About Some Things For 8...

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:15:18 -0800

Dennis Lehane and Craig Ferguson Talk About Some Things For 8 Minutes

Including, but not limited to, Lehane’s work on The Wire, and his role in a certain beloved Wire character’s undignified death.

I’ve been working through a Craig Ferguson crush lately. You would not hear a conversation like this anywhere else on TV.

Grooving the Bag (Dudley Moore, Peter Cook) “‘We are...

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:57:56 -0800

Grooving the Bag (Dudley Moore, Peter Cook)

“‘We are going to groove it, the whole night long, baby.’ Now this presumably is a reference to the fact that the mother, having bought the bag, decides to make some indentations on it, to make some ‘grooves’ on the bag, a sort of decorative pattern.”

From Not Only… But Also

“this is how we do it,” by ckwinny

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:26:37 -0800

“this is how we do it,” by ckwinny

"My son and I are Americans, we prepare for glory by failing until we don’t."

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:02:00 -0800

“My son and I are Americans, we prepare for glory by failing until we don’t.”

- Craig Ferguson, in the preface to his new book American On Purpose. I’m listening to the audiobook; Ferguson’s Scottish accent adds poignance—and subtracts arrogance—from this sentence.

In case you need to run from the airport to my new house,...

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:56:15 -0800

In case you need to run from the airport to my new house, here’s the route.

It’s 3 miles. Should take you about half an hour if you’re in decent shape or being chased by TSA dogs.

Eric Testroete : “Papercraft Self Portrait -...

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:50:37 -0800

Eric Testroete : “Papercraft Self Portrait - 2009”

(via Josh Spear)

The xx: “Islands,” Live at BBC Radio 1 Every time I...

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 10:15:00 -0700

The xx: “Islands,” Live at BBC Radio 1

Every time I listen to this album I love it more. I marvel at how they’re able to create such a rich sound from such sparse instrumentation.

Three more things:

The plunky bass break at 0:11? You better believe that’s a songpart.
Cute girl on the right only gets cuter when you put giant headphones on her. There’s a Radiolab episode in there somewhere.
Watching that guy play drum pads live, I can so easily see him as a kid—not allowed to play the drum kit he so desperately wants—quietly practicing the shit out of a Boss DR-660 in his tiny bedroom.

Wow, one more thing I just learned from Wikipedia:

They produced this album themselves.

And one last thing because my penis always has to have the last word:

Lead singer girl makes underbites sexy.

Sexy Executives alerts you to “severe staff anomalies at...

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:25:00 -0700

Sexy Executives alerts you to “severe staff anomalies at Northrop Grumman,” featuring issues such as NEEDS NEW FRAMES, SKIN TOO TIGHT, and the one pictured above, TOO MUCH FACE FOR HER HEAD.

(via Recovering Lazyholic)

“Accenture: We’re like golfing or something”...

Tue, 29 Sep 2009 23:09:00 -0700

“Accenture: We’re like golfing or something” by Neven

“Welcome to the Millennium Hilton, sir. We’ve got...

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 13:11:28 -0700

“Welcome to the Millennium Hilton, sir. We’ve got you booked for two nights, in a room with a king-sized bed, non-smoking OK? Great. Your view is an eye-scalding reminder of the horror inflicted upon thousands of innocent lives, inescapably visible day and night, the persistent groan of the cranes a kind of mechanized lament. And there’s a continental breakfast. Enjoy!”

I Love Her Name, I Do

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 15:35:00 -0700

This winter, the BBC brings you a gripping new crime drama…AMANPOUR

A fragrance. A dream. Remembered. Forgotten. Ralph Lauren presents…AMANPOUR

In a world where no man is equal until he has proven himself in a sweaty tropical locale, one man rises above the others. Leonardo DiCaprio stars in Baz Luhrmann’s…AMANPOUR

Crème fraîche over strawberries makes the most delicious…AMANPOUR

Book Titles, If They Were Written Today

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 23:41:00 -0700

Then: The Wealth of Nations
Now: Invisible Hands: The Mysterious Market Forces That Control Our Lives and How to Profit from Them

Then: Walden
Now: Camping with Myself: Two Years in American Tuscany

Then: The Theory of the Leisure Class
Now: Buying Out Loud: The Unbelievable Truth About What We Consume and What It Says About Us

Then: The Gospel of Matthew
Now: 40 Days and a Mule: How One Man Quit His Job and Became the Boss

Then: The Prince
Now: The Prince (Foreword by Oprah Winfrey)

1980’s Movie Posters from Ghana There are more....

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:38:53 -0700

1980’s Movie Posters from Ghana

There are more. They’re awesome.

(via Lazyholic)

Going Pear-shaped

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 13:10:19 -0700

One of my favorite Britishisms, probably coined in the 80’s. OED defines it:

colloq. (chiefly Brit., orig. R.A.F. slang). to go ( also turn) pear-shaped: to go (badly) wrong, to go awry.

The origin of the term is the subject of some debate; Wikipedia lists six possible explanations, none of them particularly convincing.

Richard Pryor, Kraft Music Hall special, 1964 “My...

Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:30:00 -0700

Richard Pryor, Kraft Music Hall special, 1964

“My mother’s Puerto Rican, and my father’s Negro, and we live in a real big Jewish tenement building. In an Italian neighborhood. Every time I go outside the kids say ‘Get ‘im, he’s all of ‘em!’”

Also recommended: watch all the way through with the volume muted. His body moves like nobody else.