Grammar wars, gay heroes and an encyclopedia of Geekdom
Move over Wikipedia. The bible of the online world has launched Geekipedia.
The problem with the former, proclaims the intro to the latter, is its failure to “distinguish between `need to know’ and `didja know?’ – and it’s lousy for browsing.”
To rectify that situation, the magazine has compiled 149 entries for “people, places, things and trends to help you navigate the wired world.” Among them:
Abrams, J.J.: the horn-rimmed creator of TV’s Lost and “the biggest geek in network television;”
Lolcats: a basic rule of Web comedy: “funny pictures of cats are even funnier with all-uppercase pidgin English captions;”
Zillow: an Internet app that “recalculates your home’s value every week” by accessing (among other things) public records of home sales in your neighbourhood.
BITCH
Fall
Grammar is an unlikely battlefield for the gender wars but, as novelist Colette Phair notes, the fight to replace generic masculine terms such as “mankind” and “his” with gender-neutral pronouns such as “zie” and “zirs” has often been one of indifference, disbelief and insult.
“Those who many not oppose inclusive language on the basis of politics might battle it in the name of aesthetics. Feel how you might about adaptations like `herstory,’ those who dictate modern grammar see much non-sexist language as awkward and ugly, if not actually incorrect.”
Ultimately, Phair concludes, “In a culture that’s added words like `ringtone,’ `ollie’ and `unibrow’ to the dictionary, it’s outrageous that we value inclusivity so little that discussion of GNPs is relegated to tucked-away pockets of the grammar world.”
THE ADVOCATE
40th Anniversary Issue
Who are the 40 “Greatest Gay Heroes” of the past 40 years?
According to the magazine’s readers, the most notable include: Elton John, Rosie O’Donnell, k.d. lang, human-rights activist Elizabeth Birch, and Matthew Shepard, whose 1998 slaying “galvanized an entire nation.”
And the top choice? Talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres, who 10 years ago used her sitcom to out both her character and herself, and “shows millions of straight TV fans that being gay is no big deal.”
She also “exemplifies the classic hero’s journey of mythology – a call to adventure, followed by a road of trials, and then a triumphant return to ordinary life.”
Ordinary, though, is a relative term, as DeGeneres acknowledges.
“I’m sure there were those who weren’t so famous who did a lot of great work.”
ADBUSTERS
No. 74
A nation with lots of millionaires “is a good thing because it means that the economy is functioning,” writes Michael Byers. Having billionaires, on the other hand, “might not be such a good thing because it indicates a certain level of inequality and profiteering.”
“I do believe in a meritocracy,” says Byers, an expert in global politics and international law, “but I believe in a caring and compassionate meritocracy.”
Given our international standing, he says, that philosophy must apply to how we treat both each other and those outside our borders.
To be “complacent and potentially powerful at a time when humanity is facing so many massive problems, it’s worse than complacency, it’s morally irresponsible.”
Source: thestar.com