The Bimbo and the Tomato – A story Using Slang Phrases From The 1920s

http://thoughtcatalog.com/nico-lang/2013/09/59-quick-slang-phrases-from-the-1920s-we-should-start-using-again/

Click through to the article to translate.

Once upon a time, a bimbo (also known to be something of a cake-eater) asked out a tomato who some thought to be a cancelled stamp or a Mrs. Grundy, but was actually a choice bit of calico and hotsy-totsy with nice bubs. His egg friend warned him, “don’t take any wooden nickels,” but he just replied, “phonus balonus!”

At first he thought he’d take her to a rub but changed his mind and invited her to a petting pantry instead. She accepted and they went out the following night.

After the movie, they hit up a bar where he ordered some panther piss and she got giggle water. As a result, he got spifflicated and she, zozzled. In this state he told her he had to iron his shoelaces but in reality, he had to pull a Daniel Boone. Even in her ossified state, she knew what he was up to and said, “bushwa!”

Realizing that she was a bearcat, he really started to fall for this sheba, and being quite the Oliver Twist, he asked her to dance. Once on the dance floor, they started making whoopee but the cheaters wearing bouncer, who was a wurp and a bluenose, yelled, “bank’s closed!”

At this point, the four-flusher of a man, realized he didn’t have enough mazuma so he told her, “let’s blouse!” She knew her onions and took one last jorum of skee before hearing the bouncer yell, “go chase yourself!” The man gave her a quick cash just as they made a quick exit and drove away in his darb hayburner.

The end.

Click here to see the full list: http://thoughtcatalog.com/nico-lang/2013/09/59-quick-slang-phrases-from-the-1920s-we-should-start-using-again/

God, Gender, and Discomfort

Discomfort Part 1: Gender and Other Discomforting Topics

http://sebailey.wordpress.com/2013/10/08/discomfort-part-1-gender-and-other-discomforting-topics/

And, since I never want to make anyone uncomfortable, I know that it’s better to just stay silent.

Except that it isn’t. What’s better is to say something that isn’t quite right and then talk about the ways in which it is wrong. I hate the discomfort of being wrong, but the fact of the matter is that language can never get it fully right and so to think and explore necessitates risking some measure of wrong-ness. But just because it is some wrong doesn’t mean it isn’t also some right. To challenge the status quo and to create a new imagination I must risk the discomfort of wrong in order to also experience the joy and renewal of right.

Image source and article: http://sebailey.wordpress.com/2013/10/08/discomfort-part-1-gender-and-other-discomforting-topics/

Vulnerability and Christianese

http://rachelheldevans.com/blog/christianese-vulnerability

It can be scary to put a bold idea out there to be digested and dissected by co-workers or the public, so sometimes we try to protect our ideas by claiming they are not merely our own, but God’s. The problem is this keeps us from being honest with one another and it drags God’s name into ideas and plans that may not be perfect and that may in fact benefit from the input of other wise people who are happy to respectfully engage a person’s ideas but are wary of “crossing” God by offering a new perspective.

Image source and article: http://rachelheldevans.com/blog/christianese-vulnerability

A Visual Glossary Of 11 Words With No English Equivalent

http://www.fastcodesign.com/3017813/a-visual-glossary-of-11-words-with-no-english-equivalent

The meaning of the words themselves, she tells Co.Design, “often shed light on and provoke questions around the subtleties and nuances of a people or a country.” She further cites Guy Deutscher’s book, Through the Language Glass, as the inspiration behind the project; in it, Deutscher “explores whether language directly reflects the culture of a society,” she explains. “[So] we decided it would be interesting to create an illustrated list of words that don’t have a direct translation into the English language.”

Click through for article and more images: http://www.fastcodesign.com/3017813/a-visual-glossary-of-11-words-with-no-english-equivalent

The World’s Smartest Dog

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-07/i-met-worlds-smartest-dog

To teach Chaser the names of objects, rather than commands, Pilley first tried a technique called “match to sample.” It requires two of a certain object. Pilley would place, say, a frisbee and a piece of rope on the ground. Then he’d hold up another, similar frisbee, and say “Chaser: fetch frisbee.” Chaser would recognize the visual similarity between the two objects, and begin to make the connection between the word and the object.

Image source and article: http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-07/i-met-worlds-smartest-dog