All right, it's confusing. You don't think it applies to you, but it does. If you haven't heard it's the "Stop Online Piracy Act" that's currently floating around the US Congress. The trick here is that it's bad. I understand piracy is a problem. Now, before you get all "it's stealing!" about it consider this:
I enter your home and take your cat. That's stealing.
I enter your home and clone your cat, take it and leave the original where I found it no worse for wear. There are now two cats. That's piracy.
Now the big thing here is basically for anyone who uses the internet for....anything remotely multimedia like.
It changes the ball game. This guy is really eager and wordy and a bit of a nerd; but being the internet that we know and love he can be all these things and still be right. Also, the internet gives me the right to say that. Freedom of speech and whatnot.
Check it:
K. Got it? SOPA = BAD.
The bill is set to go first thing once Senate opens on the 24th. You want to know how I know that? The internet. You know what would change? My ability to know things like that.
Steve Niles (a comic book guy) said this: "SOPA does more than go after so-called 'piracy' websites...SOPA takes away all due process, shuts down any site it deems to be against the law without trial, without notification, without due process...Nobody seems to give a shit, or either they’re scared. Either way, very disappointing. I guess when it affects them they’ll get mad… I know folks are scared to speak out because a lot of us work for these companies, but we have to fight. Too much is at stake."
Also got that from wikipedia. It's like a font of knowledge up in here.
I recommend you go and read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_Act
Then go back and read it again.
Get it in that head of yours.
Now go find your soapbox.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Making English Less....Bad-like
Just in time for another entry! Today the copy of “The Elements of Style” by Strunk and White came in. If you don’t know what this is, you are entirely normal. You may (or may not) have taken an English class in high school. It’s a reference book, and it’s pretty bad at that. Sure it’s accurate; it’s glaringly accurate. Some of the acclaim on the back makes bold statements like “Buy it, study it, enjoy it. It’s as timeless as a book can be in our age of volubility.” (NY Times)
Author’s Note: I had to google ‘volubility’ too. Let’s go with ‘fluency’
Here’s the problem; it’s really hard to enjoy this kind of book. Rather it was hard to enjoy this kind of book. Along with “The Elements of Style” I also managed to purchase “The Elements of Fucking Style” by Chris Baker and Jacob Hansen; it’s basically a clone of the first one. Except it’s better. Headings include “A dash is more useful than a fucking Swiss Army Knife,” “Paragraphs make you look smart,” and “Symmetry is the tits.”
The bonus here is that I’m not only super-paranoid that someone is going to call me on how awful my blogrammar is but it also makes me want to correct it. Neat huh? I’m pretty sure they should use this version when they’re explaining shit in school. Nobody cares about the following:
“The best way to see the country, unless you are pressed for time, is to travel on foot.”
Sure it’s an easy rule to remember, parenthetic expressions being what they are, it’s sort of how they roll.
Everyone is going to remember this rule with this exemplar:
“The best way to deflower a virgin, unless you’re a sadist, is to bite down on her ear as you slide it in.”
See? You can’t un-remember that. This is why it should be the new standard. Sure it’s funny, sure it’s offensive, but you know what? It’s still accurate. It accomplishes exactly what the real book does with more whimsy, and examples that are going to stick with you.
It’s $10 and 86 pages of unmitigated awesome. Go get you some grammar, son.
Peace out.
Author’s Note: I had to google ‘volubility’ too. Let’s go with ‘fluency’
Here’s the problem; it’s really hard to enjoy this kind of book. Rather it was hard to enjoy this kind of book. Along with “The Elements of Style” I also managed to purchase “The Elements of Fucking Style” by Chris Baker and Jacob Hansen; it’s basically a clone of the first one. Except it’s better. Headings include “A dash is more useful than a fucking Swiss Army Knife,” “Paragraphs make you look smart,” and “Symmetry is the tits.”
The bonus here is that I’m not only super-paranoid that someone is going to call me on how awful my blogrammar is but it also makes me want to correct it. Neat huh? I’m pretty sure they should use this version when they’re explaining shit in school. Nobody cares about the following:
“The best way to see the country, unless you are pressed for time, is to travel on foot.”
Sure it’s an easy rule to remember, parenthetic expressions being what they are, it’s sort of how they roll.
Everyone is going to remember this rule with this exemplar:
“The best way to deflower a virgin, unless you’re a sadist, is to bite down on her ear as you slide it in.”
See? You can’t un-remember that. This is why it should be the new standard. Sure it’s funny, sure it’s offensive, but you know what? It’s still accurate. It accomplishes exactly what the real book does with more whimsy, and examples that are going to stick with you.
It’s $10 and 86 pages of unmitigated awesome. Go get you some grammar, son.
Peace out.
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