Monday, December 12, 2005
Confessions of a potty lover
I'm loving the comments. Truly. I can see how this might come across as sarcastic. That is not my intention.
My use of naughty words has drawn quite a bit of attention, not least from my mother. Here's where I stand....
Sometimes, a well-placed "fuck" is an extraordinarily powerful thing. I guess I've been going a little crazy with'm, diluting the effect, perhaps. And I think that most sentences can do without them if you apply the thought necessary to deliver the blow by other means. But I'm trying to think less in this blog. Freewheel.
I don't agree that profanity is only for those with limited vocabulary. In fact, isn't choosing to *avoid* those words limiting your vocabulary?
As a matter of interest, if you're interested, interesting reader, outside the blog, I rarely say "fuck" and use it sparingly in prose. Not sure why.
George Carlin is one of my all time favourite stand-up comics. In his famous routine, "The Seven Dirty Words", he says:
"There are some people that aren't into all the words. There are some people who would have you not use certain words. Yeah, there are 400,000 words in the English language, and there are seven of them that you can't say on television. What a ratio that is. 399,993 to seven. They must really be bad. They'd have to be outrageous, to be separated from a group that large. All of you over here, you seven. Bad words. That's what they told us they were, remember? 'That's a bad word.' 'Awwww.' There are no bad words. Bad thoughts. Bad Intentions."
There are no bad words. I agree.
(Read the George Carlin transcript here: http://www.erenkrantz.com/Humor/SevenDirtyWords.shtml)
My use of naughty words has drawn quite a bit of attention, not least from my mother. Here's where I stand....
Sometimes, a well-placed "fuck" is an extraordinarily powerful thing. I guess I've been going a little crazy with'm, diluting the effect, perhaps. And I think that most sentences can do without them if you apply the thought necessary to deliver the blow by other means. But I'm trying to think less in this blog. Freewheel.
I don't agree that profanity is only for those with limited vocabulary. In fact, isn't choosing to *avoid* those words limiting your vocabulary?
As a matter of interest, if you're interested, interesting reader, outside the blog, I rarely say "fuck" and use it sparingly in prose. Not sure why.
George Carlin is one of my all time favourite stand-up comics. In his famous routine, "The Seven Dirty Words", he says:
"There are some people that aren't into all the words. There are some people who would have you not use certain words. Yeah, there are 400,000 words in the English language, and there are seven of them that you can't say on television. What a ratio that is. 399,993 to seven. They must really be bad. They'd have to be outrageous, to be separated from a group that large. All of you over here, you seven. Bad words. That's what they told us they were, remember? 'That's a bad word.' 'Awwww.' There are no bad words. Bad thoughts. Bad Intentions."
There are no bad words. I agree.
(Read the George Carlin transcript here: http://www.erenkrantz.com/Humor/SevenDirtyWords.shtml)
Sunday, December 11, 2005
It's the thought that counts.
"Anonymous" posts in response to my rant about the SA media dropping the ball at the Christina Aguilera press conference:
"Could it be that the SA news media isn't accustomed to having celebs of that magnitude?"
Good question. Am I being too tough on the mainstream media, as represented at the conference? Hmm....
Of course they're not accustomed to names as big as Christina Aguilera. Most journalists, anywhere, including the USA and UK, are completely unaccustomed to names this big. But these guys are paid to do a job, not to get their jollies by gigglin'n'gaggin' like desperate little fankids. Quite simply, I don't think they know their job well enough, and the mainstream media in South Africa has started to celebrate a the kind of sub-mediocrity that turns the stomach. This shit just ain't good enough.
What annoys me is that there are people on the fringe who could do a much better job if given the opportunity. Which isn't to say that it isn't the fringe's responsibility to create those opportunities -- there's a lot of newness happening out of the mainstream, but a lot of sittingonmyarseness as well.
Walk up to the big house and demand to be let in! And if they don't let you in, kick the fucking door in.
Sorry to be so harsh on this one, but you've caught me in a bad mood. I've just been reading Friday's Daily News. The Daily News is a product of Independent Newspapers and is the dominant English-language daily newspaper in KZN. Here's what's on Friday's front page --
"ANC election shock" (which I can deal with)
"Teen dies in train tragedy" (not un-newsworthy)
...but here's the shocker:
"R1.45 million car for Dad's Christmas stocking"
Oooooooooooh-kay. What makes this front page news? Some rich guy in Hermanus buys his rich dad a car? Why the hell should I care? Whenever I'm trying to assess how much a story deserves to be on the front page, I simply flip over to see what's been pushed to page 2. Let's have a look:
"Chemical leak accident affects 36 employees"
"Consultants cost government billions"
And on page 3
"Many may not be able to vote"
"Housing allocation racist: DA"
So, does the R1.45 million Christmas present sell papers? Perhaps. Okay, almost certainly. Should the media be holding itself to a higher standard? I think so.
But then, I don't give a shit about cars. And I'd rather Christmas presents were kept secret until Christmas morning.
I'd love to fight this out with whomever's interested. I'm loving all the anonymous posts, but I'd love even more to be able to know who you guys are -- you're smart, and funny, and sweet-smelling. Let's have a playdate.
Oh! And have I mentioned that I met this girl....
But that's another post, perhaps.
"Could it be that the SA news media isn't accustomed to having celebs of that magnitude?"
Good question. Am I being too tough on the mainstream media, as represented at the conference? Hmm....
Of course they're not accustomed to names as big as Christina Aguilera. Most journalists, anywhere, including the USA and UK, are completely unaccustomed to names this big. But these guys are paid to do a job, not to get their jollies by gigglin'n'gaggin' like desperate little fankids. Quite simply, I don't think they know their job well enough, and the mainstream media in South Africa has started to celebrate a the kind of sub-mediocrity that turns the stomach. This shit just ain't good enough.
What annoys me is that there are people on the fringe who could do a much better job if given the opportunity. Which isn't to say that it isn't the fringe's responsibility to create those opportunities -- there's a lot of newness happening out of the mainstream, but a lot of sittingonmyarseness as well.
Walk up to the big house and demand to be let in! And if they don't let you in, kick the fucking door in.
Sorry to be so harsh on this one, but you've caught me in a bad mood. I've just been reading Friday's Daily News. The Daily News is a product of Independent Newspapers and is the dominant English-language daily newspaper in KZN. Here's what's on Friday's front page --
"ANC election shock" (which I can deal with)
"Teen dies in train tragedy" (not un-newsworthy)
...but here's the shocker:
"R1.45 million car for Dad's Christmas stocking"
Oooooooooooh-kay. What makes this front page news? Some rich guy in Hermanus buys his rich dad a car? Why the hell should I care? Whenever I'm trying to assess how much a story deserves to be on the front page, I simply flip over to see what's been pushed to page 2. Let's have a look:
"Chemical leak accident affects 36 employees"
"Consultants cost government billions"
And on page 3
"Many may not be able to vote"
"Housing allocation racist: DA"
So, does the R1.45 million Christmas present sell papers? Perhaps. Okay, almost certainly. Should the media be holding itself to a higher standard? I think so.
But then, I don't give a shit about cars. And I'd rather Christmas presents were kept secret until Christmas morning.
I'd love to fight this out with whomever's interested. I'm loving all the anonymous posts, but I'd love even more to be able to know who you guys are -- you're smart, and funny, and sweet-smelling. Let's have a playdate.
Oh! And have I mentioned that I met this girl....
But that's another post, perhaps.
