Try to occupy *this*

Most mainstream news media (and current perversions thereof... but dear me, I digress...) can't seem to wrap their collective consciousness around Occupy Wall Street and its offshoots.

As OWS went globally local this past weekend, they're finally trying to get to it — but news TV's hair and teeth types continue to deride and whinge over what they see as Occupy's deal breaker: no focused definition, agenda, leader or spokesperson.

Thing is, media and other big-organization complaints are more about fossilized reporting conventions than Occupy's relevance.

See, sometime mid-late last century, many media honchos and theorist types actually fretted about balancing news coverage (so quaint!) in the screaming dive toward daily deadlines. The only way they saw to do that real fast was to pigeonhole every story into a prefab template. One US network news president famously wanted to stereotype every item as a black hat/white hat Old West shootout. Somewhat more thoughtful types — well, okay, media theorists* — felt you might run to maybe a half-dozen prefabs. Still amounts to fillin' blanks with dates, names, a few telling details. Voila! News story! Like any sausage machine, it works adequately as long as you don't get all hung up on finesse.

But to get names and telling details in nanoseconds, which is all anybody on a 24 hour news cycle budgets for anymore, ya gotta have easily-contacted traditional organizations with official spokesthingies, cued to bark out bullet-point "positions" in predigested clips.

It's why many news items are tiny, dumb cartoons. It's also why many are spun to hell by the groups that can pour money into blendering up self-serving bullet points like so much liquid pig shit tasty frozen martinis and firehosing 'em at reporters.

So, the major objectors to Occupy Wall Street's style: people in news who want fast chicken nuggets to slot into a standard story; and people and groups holding some traditional form of power, who seek potshot targets with which to neutralize — or better yet, blacken and bury — a movement and retake what they see as the agenda. To occupy Occupy, as it were.

I'm pretty sure that OWS' amorphous squishiness is as frustrating to old media as its very tangible if unfocused discontent is to business-as-usual forms of power. This rabble ain't so easily cartooned or contained, when you can't find rabble-rousers or messages to pinpoint bomb. Could explain why Occupiers are covering their own revolution rather well in diffuse outlets like Flickr, Twitter, Facebook anonanon. Unhindered by convention, they get it. Anti-antisocial media at its best!

Coyote News, though we sometimes fly with the turkey vultures, is cool with it. Because it really, really pisses off political types desperately seeking some easy in, to either smear or co-opt the whole thing. And our embarrassing, illegitimate cousins at Fox and Sun, ummm, News. Did we mention them? Kinda flailing at the whole discrediting thing. Snicker...

* You, my doggybloggy reader, are of course so interested in this stuff that you will read further, maybe something like Making News (Gaye Tuchman); Deciding What's News (Theodore Gans), or Discovering the News (Michael Schudson). Because you're not the type to take your entire daily news/info/bloggossity hit on a smartphone in that two-minute lineup for your latte. You're better than the mere latte-rati...

Lug nuts and the census

So, even when faced with near-universal opposition, and even when the Chief Statistician quits in protest, the government has no problem trashing the mandatory census long form: "It's intrusive!!!! We're pandering to our loony fringe base, dammit!!!!"

So we coyotes will try to explain the issue in terms that make sense to the would-be defenders of this move, WHO ALWAYS SEEM TO FULL-CAP THEIR (OFTEN FURIOUSLY UNGRAMMATIC AND ANONYMOUS) FORUM COMMENTS: the lug nuts on that cherished Chevrolet half ton you use to earn your living.

Suppose your neighbourhood garage guys - call 'em Steve and Tony - say outta the blue that they want to replace all your lug nuts with Dodge lugs, because they think Chevy is arbitrary and intrusive for insisting on Chev lug nuts. Hell (they reason), Dodge lugs look pretty much the same, so no problem, right? Oh, and? Steve and Tony can pump gas, but neither's ever worked as a mechanic.

Would ya buy that, Durango? Nope. Because you, lug nut connoisseur that you are, know that Chev and Dodge lugs have different diameters, thread pitches and chamfers. Assuming they even sorta fit, those babies are gonna strip out, or leave wheel slop. Your wheels will come off, someplace inconvenient and possibly fatal.

There are a bunch of trucky things you could customize that, arguably, wouldn't wreck the ol' Silverado's utility: running boards, exhaust stacks, a big pair of them fine-looking chrome bull balls hanging off the trailer hitch. Dodge lug nuts, not so much.

Now, assume your pickup is a census. (It's a metaphor, Durango. Work with it.) See, reliable census information is Canada's business edge. Lotsa smart people rely on it to make sure the country as a whole can earn its living more efficiently. As every civilized country in the world aspires to.

A mandatory long form is intrusive, but a small price to pay for citizenship in this country you claim to love so much. Much like obeying stop signs at intersections. We work co-operatively toward common goals, unlike, say, those anarchists you hated so much at the G20. To do anything else is to court rump of skunk, and madness.

A voluntary long form is pretty much like Dodge lug nuts on your Chevy - doesn't match. Reading statistical trends properly makes tracking changes accurately over time really important. Even if you label the data you collect by the same name, changing the method you use to collect it means that you can't reasonably compare it with, well, anything that came before. The wheels come off. Just like that Chevy.

Now, I'm only a dumb coyote, so here are my questions: why would you trust an ill-fitting lug nut named Steve to change that? Why does Steve think some lug nuts are more equal than others? And why, if Steve keeps saying his opponents are unpatriotic and unCanadian, is it always him that seems hell-bent on changing this country, lug nut by lug nut, into something unrecognizable...?

Just askin'...

Word Cop - Just go with "For example"

Case and Point?

ZeroMeansZero - Case and point the ongoing saga of the sewage into our river... [1 additional demerit for missing comma after "point". 3 additional demerits for gratuitous cheap shots throughout blog].

Beholding and Becoming - “When the Kings Come Marching In” is case and point.

Aggravated Cases - Use in Blog Title:

Case and point - http://spencercaselog.blogspot.com/ I am Spencer Case, currently known as Specialist Case among my battle buddies in the 207th MPAD [2 additional demerits because when your name is Case and you are in the military, "Case in point" would have been a way better name for your blog. However, sentence is suspended due to the mitigating factor that you blogged in Iraq and your last post in 2006 says you should be going home soon and then nothing... ]

Case and Point - Case for and point of living. Maybe. Big stuff. Small stuff. All good stuff. [1 additional demerit for not using other possible definitions of "case and point", for example, "surreptitiously search a building and identify valuable items"]

CASE AND POINT - MY POINTS I THINK THAT MAY BE OF INTREST TO MOST PEOPLE. AND sell race cars and parts [Penalty: HTTP 404. Use in Title combined with use of upper case that switches to lower case for no apparent reason and mispelling of "interest", with no mitigating factors

Too many other examples to cite here.

Further research is suggested to verify the hypothesis that those who use "case and point" have more extreme and less tolerant opinions than those who use "case in point", but that both groups are less strident than those who instead use "for example", "such as", or "like".

Alerts for Deputized Word Cops from Language Log:

1. "Wile away" may actually be acceptable.
2. Keep your eyes open for overzealous censoring software that produces text with words like "clbuttic", "conbreastution" and "Buttociated Press"
   

Word Cop - You probably mean "Taut"

These examples tempt me to reproach their authors "in a sarcastic, insulting, or jeering manner" for failing to express that the subject of their adjective was tight, strained or tense.

random drabble Asher/Schuldig 14 Apr 2008 by dark_avalon
Under that impossible pale skin the muscle was taunt and waiting. Schuldig continued his exploration of his lover's body. Glancing coyly up, Schuldig moved his hand lower and ran fingers over sensitive flesh. From root to tip with only

[lymphland] helping hands in the news 7 Feb 2008 by Andromeda
"The skin on his arm was taunt and there was no mobility." Through therapy, Warren Swenson has been able to regain enough mobility to do things for himself, and he has been trying to do things he used to do. ...

the on you're trying to save 5 Apr 2008 by you don't need a licence to drive a sandwich
His back is taunt muscle, pale and sinew, his spine a knobbed line, curves into and under the edge of his draws. Watch, he slowly pulls over his shirt. It’s really easy to forget, sometimes, that he’s only fifteen. ...

Kyou Kara Maou Fanfiction 14 Apr 2008 by schnickledoogr2
Waltorana, himself seemed taunt, however there was an air of superiority as he took a seat, as if he had gained the upper hand in some hidden matter. The meal that evening consisted of silence except the dinging noises of silverware on ...

On The Key to Rebecca 3 Mar 2008 by NL
Follett’s style is taunt and crisp, the action tense, but the novel is weighed down by a weak love story and the incompetence of the two main characters. Simply put, the spy and counter spy are just dumb. ...

So Dead My Lovely by Day Keene 20 Feb 2008 by Absinthe
But no matter this slim novel is taunt and tight and suspenseful and will hold the reader until the last page. Even though I had figured it out and put the pieces in the puzzle before the unveiling it is still a wonderful ...

Re: Patio awning adjustment 24 Feb 2008
When it is going out it is taunt but at the end of the stroke it goes from tight to loose at full extension. The upper arms have measurements on them and they are not even ( front one is 42 the rear reads 44, inches??). ...

There’s One in Every Crowd 13 Mar 2008 by theo
Take care to notice how the net is taunt at the beginning of the scene, but is significantly dipping at the end to account for all of the 5′7″ that is Tom Cruise and allow him to spike over the net. : ...

Fisher-Bot 31 Mar 2008 by Deth-B0y
If the line is taunt, i cannot set the hook (it would increase the line tension). If the line is slack, i can set the hook. So, a simple rule might be: "If the line tension is moderate or less (ie, 3 or less) and hook is not set above ...

Broken Sky [12] 7 Jan 2008 by your offering pleases tubby
Yang's chiseled face looked taunt with worry, and his brows were furrowed, and his face bathed in the soft glow of the candles. There was long moment before the other spoke, the flickering light casting dancing shadows on his face. ...

Return Of The Demon Chap. Three 12 Jan 2008 by hellz_happyface
Her small mouth was taunt and drawn in a hard line, her old bones becoming weaker. Her white, brittle hair was pinned high on her head, growing finer every day. But she carried herself with grace, with pride, giving anyone she met a ...

Word Cop - rejected with disdain?

or goaded, urged or incited?

Tabula Rasa 24 Feb 2008 by Brett A. Bumgarner
I've completely forgotten all the horrors of Carrboro that spurned me to move here.* I've completely forgotten everything! Believe me, those horrors still exist. I'm still extraordinarily angered, hurt and pained by some people and ...

The American Gangster 17 Feb 2008 by Marc
The story starts briefly with the arrival of millions of immigrants to the United States by way of Ellis Island and the harsh working conditions that spurned children to grow up and be more than their parents were, ...

Ramblings... 24 Feb 2008 by Gina
It certainly didn't seem to in Paul's case; his troubles spurned him to further Christ likeness. But I am thankful for "friends who stick closer than a brother" that the Lord has brought into my life. He knows my weaknesses and that I ...

"The Constant" 28 Feb 2008 by Wes Raine
I think that the announcement of the end of LOST in three more seasons has given the producers a focus that they have been lacking and has spurned them to reinvigorate the series in a way that I could never have imagined. ...

New Website Releases a Directory of Jeweler Locations 23 Feb 2008 by Jewelry News
A week before Valentine's day, the webmaster of JewelerLocations.com saw the void in the jewelry industry that has spurned him to creating an online directory of jewelers. For those interested in buying and/or selling jewelry, ...

[Physics] Black holes, gravity, and pecan pies 28 Feb 2008 by epicclean
This forum topic at wulfram forums spurned me to look around at black hole gravitational stretching of space-time.

Review: the Light my Fire Spork 12 Feb 2008 by karmatir
My previous mention of my purchase of a “silverware” set spurned me to post this.

February 14, 2008 14 Feb 2008 by Jak
But my recent awareness of the sexualization of youth has awakened my moral conscience. And the death of a recent hero has spurned me to take action and live because of what was killed. I am a grown up. I am a married woman. ...

Cryptic Word Cop: A chewy fruit cookie?

Or did you mean Pure Milk Chocolate Covered Mint Oreo?

* Baylinkbot is a Fig Newton of my imagination.

* No longer a fig-newton of my imagination, Our Lady of Weight Loss: Miraculous and Motivational Musings from the Patron Saint of Permanent Fat Removal - is HERE!

* No doubt a Saxon stronghold in the 10th century, the Normans built the substantial keep in the 11th century. ... In the late 20th century the castle emerged as a fig-newton of my imagination.

* Please explain or better yet show me that coydogs and lynx cats can not exist. I have ridden a mule, was that a fig-newton of my imagination? Give us just one fact Carico, just one.

* I’m sure you wish it were so, good nurse, but alas: Lanny is merely a fig newton of my imagination.

Word Cop: have need of or desire for?

Or, did you mean WONT?

*I looked him up on the internets as I am want to do, and found out he was later in a well respected hardcore band and was even a Versace model at one point.

*After driving Dave nuts for a few weeks he created my blog then as I am want to do, I did nothing with it for another few weeks.

*I was sitting at work, muttering to myself as I am want to do, nibbling on a pistachio nut and avoiding the interminable data entry part of my job

*I'm still combining poorly, but I am taking it slow, so as not to become militant, as I am want to do with eating choices, making it difficult to stick with it.

*She was so personable and kept talking to me about all sorts of things, her piercings and experiences, and I kept babbling as I am want to do in these kinds of situations, and after a few minutes I felt completely at ease – as if it was normal for me to be lying half-naked on a table with a woman cleaning my inner labia.

Sarah Boxer on Blogs

The latest New York Review of Books (Feb. 14, 2008) contains an article by Sarah Boxer on blogs, books on blogs, and the trouble with writing books on blogs. In her article, she asks the following questions about blogs: "Are they a new literary genre?Do they have their own conceits, forms and rules? Do they have an essence?"

She says some pretty interesting things about bloggers and blog writing:

Of course I can't prove it, but I'm pretty sure that bloggers have fouler mouths, tougher hides, and cooler thesauruses than most of the people I've read in print.

The very tone of most blogs--reactive, punchy, conversational, knowing, and free-associative--is predicated on linkiness and infused with it.

Blogs are porous to the world of texts and facts and opinions on line.

Bloggers are golden when they're at the bottom of the heap, kicking up. Give them a salary, a book contract, or a press credential, though, and it just isn't the same.

Bloggers at their computers are Supermen in flight. They break the rules. They go into their virtual phone booths, put on their costumes, bring down their personal villains, and save the world.

The law of the blogosphere is Hobbesian: survival of the snarkiest.

Blog writing is id writing--grandiose, dreamy, private, free-associative, infantile, sexy, petty, dirty.

The article contains some good tips for getting famous: "One of the surest ways to hoist your blog to the top of the charts is to bring down a big-time politician or journalist." Sex, doesn't hurt either, apparently, and can "give your blog a lift".

I have prepared a small quiz for all of you (based on the Boxer article) to test your blogging knowledge. Don't cheat. Don't look up anything on Wikipedia. I know, I know -- telling a blogger not to cheat is like telling your cat not to jump on the counter while you're out.

Here's the six-question quiz. No prize this time, because there is no way to prove that you didn't cheat.

1. Define "link whore".
2. What does the Japanese blogging term, ishikoro, refer to?
3. What famous blogger uses the acronym, "SAHM"?
4. Who coined the word "Weblog"?
5. What's a "troll" in blogspeak?
6. What is "astroturfing"?

Word Cop: in a rebellious or bold, resistant manner?

Or did you mean "definitely"?

* There was defiantly no Cheez Whiz sauce here

* This is defiantly one of my favorite climbs on this side of the valley

* i am only 14 and yet i defiantly want to join the British Army should i keep my options open? I am an intelligent person but want to join the army....

* But the setting is defiantly very nice. High ceilings and gold detailing defiantly makes you feel like you’re in someplace important. However, our server was defiantly not on her game that night. I mean the service was fine but it was ...

* Patrons were either 20 or 92 there was not much of a happy medium so we were defiantly in the minority.

* Anyway I'm defiantly falling way off topic and will find myself with my book again.

* So far I have high expectations for Angels & Airwaves future albums and if you have yet to listen to either album I would defiantly suggest you give them a listen.

* Mom got Paul and I a vacuum cleaner cause the only carpet we have is the upstairs bedroom and it defiantly needs to be cleaned.

* Its defiantly a wierd feeling. Friday marks 100 days till graduation. And I am defiantly going to the happy hour friday.

* ... that I had made the Dean’s List for the fall semester. I was so excited and I can defiantly say that this had to be a success in my life. My parents were so proud that I had made this accomplishment in my life. I was defiantly happy.

* In short I had a rather fantastic time, he tells me likewise, I don’t mind being friends with benefits, because, call me shallow, they were bloody good befits, it is agreed by both parties I should defiantly come visit again.

* She will defiantly appreciate this. You want to surprise her with little things when you can. Women love this type of thing even it is something as simple as flowers or candy from time to time. You can also give her a back rub at night ...

Word Cop II

Or, did you mean antidote?

*Pot is a good anecdote to the winter blahs, she thought wistfully.

*I've heard that if your kid accidentally drinks anti-freeze, hard liquor is the anecdote of choice.

*They considered their blog an anecdote to the self-referential wanking so prevalent in the mainstream blogging community.

*What's the anecdote to cyanide poisoning?

*Heparin poisoning is given protamine sulfate as the anecdote.

Word Cop

Or did you mean exacerbated?

* As an adult I believe that the chemical properties of Impramine, while suppressing my ADD, exasperated my propensity towards full-blown TS

* The coarse and vulgar descriptions Mr. Hiaasen utilized exasperated my mild motion sickness to the point where I felt the urge to vomit.

* Her parents exasperated her hunger for the high-life by giving Chantal whatever she wanted; even if it meant they could not afford their basic necessities

* They financed her Military spending sprees and exasperated her severe addiction to oil.

* We have encountered 'problems' as we were both 'newbies'which only exasperated her resistance and reluctance to accept the bit.

* Also since pride was a fundamental part of the Krogen's make up, his race not being able to make decisions autonomously exasperated his offense.

* Teaching fourth grade was already a tiring occupation, and moving to my current home exasperated my situation due to a six-hour round trip commute.

* The direct intervention of Western governments would have further exasperated his humiliation

* My aunt entered noisily, for the cold of the church had exasperated her catarrh, now chronic.

* The scandal of the marriage exasperated his opposition.

* I am CONVINCED that the majority of my extreme health issues have been caused by candida overgrowth which have exagerated and exasperated my ailments

* The death of the Marchioness de Toral, under circumstances so similar, tore open a wound imperfectly skinned over, and so exasperated my affliction,

* I might have personally exasperated my situation by watching a soccer game during the early moments of my sickness