General

You are currently browsing the archive for the General category.

Green World? Or Just Mondegreen?

December 15, 2009 in General, Humor, Internet, Music by faltarego | 2 comments

I've been thinking a lot about mondegreens lately. It happens every few months or so. I get a few of them stuck in my head, and then I go off to Google to search for more.

Don't know what a mondegreen is? Well, friend, let me fill you in:

A mondegreen is a lyric or phrase that has been misheard. Misheard lyrics are the most prevalent examples, but I often derive great pleasure from realizing that I misheard something that someone said. It usually only takes a fraction of a second for my brain to correct the error, but in that fraction of a second… tremendous potential for hilarity. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Peace for Christmas? … Maybe?

December 11, 2009 in General, Mind, Technology by faltarego | No comments

Okay, so I'm really into Christmas this year. Like, crazily, goofily, wackily into it. I put the tree up before November was over (yes, it's artificial) and put lighted garlands around a couple of the doorways probably a week later. The ornaments have been finding their way onto the tree (and other parts of the abode) in dribs and drabs over the last couple of weeks.

I've even got a lot of my shopping done. This is uncharacteristic of me.

And oh, yeah. I, um, also decorated the blog. Like I said, goofy, wacky…

As the song says, "We need a little Christmas…"

2009 has been, not to put too fine a point on it, The International Year of Crap. Stress, disease, death, and bad news have appeared at every turn. Yes, I exaggerate. Yes, I do it on purpose because… hello… that's what it felt like.

So, Christmas is incredibly important to me this year. I'm going to make the most of the season and basically enjoy the hell out of it. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , ,

Even if Cats Could Speak…

September 9, 2009 in General by faltarego | 3 comments

Last week I went off on a bit of a rant about language and its decay. This turned out to be a good choice, actually, because I got some great comments on that post. This week, I'd like to slide over to the edge of that issue, and focus on one particular annoyance:

The linguistic infestation known as LOLcats.

Yes, they're cute. Yes, they're funny. But for the love of God, people, does the language of the stupid, funny, cute cat have to invade your everyday communication?

I've seen many examples of the LOLcat, and I've found most of them quite entertaining. Some of them are even out-and-out hilarious. But I've also noticed some of the LOLcatchphrases appearing in people's Facebook status updates and Twitter tweets.

This is not endearing. As a matter of fact, it's bloody annoying. It's bad enough that most people abbreviate everything they say in emails, text messages, and online chats; Now they're intentionally adding misspellings and bad grammar to the mix. Read the rest of this entry »

The Blog and the Anti-Blog

August 13, 2009 in Blogging, General by faltarego | 1 comment

Let me just clarify one thing before I go any further.

This is not a blog post.

What you’re reading right now on this here site, this bit o’ text that’s appearing on your screen… It’s not a blog post.

It’s an anti-post.

I’m serious. It’s an anti-post. It’s the opposite of a blog post. I feel like crap today, and I don’t feel like writing a blog post.

So I’m writing this instead. It’s a non-blog-post. An anti-post.

And nothing you say is going to convince me otherwise.

So there. Read the rest of this entry »

Changing Your Life for a Blog

August 9, 2009 in Blogging, General, Writing by faltarego | 3 comments

I just want you to know that this hasn't been easy for me so far. I've found this first week of blogging to be quite a challenge at times. I've enjoyed it, and I'm pleased with the results, but it hasn't been without its bumps in the road.

I'm basically changing my life for this blog. I've been getting up early (for me, really early) every day in order to post something before other bits of life get hold of me, and I've been trying not to stay up late at night in order to better enable the early rising. I'm basically trying to establish a routine.

Sticking to things is not my forté. I'm easily distracted and easily lured into the intrigue and shininess of the new. So the preparations for this blog— choosing a web host, installing WordPress, picking a theme, tweaking and customizing it, creating and massaging the graphics, applying the colors—have all been really enjoyable, and my motivation was supported by the fact that I'd given myself a deadline—my birthday—for the actual launch of the site. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , ,

Gearing Up for a New Adventure

August 2, 2009 in General by faltarego | 2 comments

The prep-work is nearly done. The design is in place. The tweaking is near an end. The "About" pages are written. The category and link lists are populated.

All that’s left is to start putting in content.

Tomorrow, August 3rd, 2009, is the official launch date for this blog. I’ve chosen that date partly because I want to start the blog on a Monday, but also because it’s my 49th birthday, and this is one of the biggest birthday presents I could ever give myself.

The gift of expression.

Today, however, I’m putting in a "pre-launch" post, just to prime the pumps and get my juices flowing. I’ve been itching to put some real content here ever since I set up the site, and quite frankly, the two placeholder posts that were sitting here for the last couple of weeks were starting to look really lame. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: , , , ,