I enjoy trolling through the Internet to find sites that keep me up to date on cultural news and fads. So, when I came across Urban Hustler, I was anxious to give it a whirl.
I quickly realized that, while it may be a visually attractive site, it is in dire need of someone who knows a little something about the English language.
I’m not talking about slang, but just basic grammar and punctuation. A few examples:
• “Grammy Award-winning producer and artist, Dr. Dre’s cognac and vodka brands is set to hit liquor stores in the next 60 days … .”
Cognac and vodka brands “is”? Plurals, as we learned in first grade, require “are.” And, by the way, you don’t begin a sentence with a dependent clause.
• Headline: “Is Your Savings Protected?”
Yes, they be.
• Headline: “Oprah Winfrey Get’s Richer”
So rich, I assume, she has extra apostrophes to throw around carelessly.
• “Oprah Winfrey, Americas richest black person … “
Apparently we are two nations as some politicians say. By the way, the Urban Hustler editors could take the unnecessary apostrophe from the headline and put it between the “a” and the “s” in “Americas” and have two correct items at no cost.
• “Bill Gates has regain his position as the world richest person from pal Warren Buffet.”
“Has regain”? “World richest person”? This is pathetic.
I could go on. believe me. These examples are just from the home page. Another bit of support for the argument that, while everyone can be her/his own publisher these days, not everyone offers quality. The people who run Urban Hustler should be thoroughly embarassed.
Considering this cliché sort of stunt does nothing to inform viewers, and serves only to create some extra level of phony drama to weather that stands on its own for importance, I got a chuckle out of this situation.
SHANKSVILLE, Pa. – Recalling the nation’s unity in a time of peril seven years ago, presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama placed their partisan contest on hold Thursday and spoke as one in honoring of the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Obama and McCain were making ground zero in New York their common ground, joining in homage to the dead from the fallen Twin Towers and the hijacked planes flown into them.
What a shame. Not that they claimed respect for the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but that the so-called “attack ads” have been halted for a moment.
Why? Because such ads tell me, a voter, as much about the character and aims of the candidates who approve them as do position papers written for them by a gazillion aides.
When did the rough-and-tumble American political process become so politically correct that it became a no-no to say nasty things about the opposition? It has been part of our national tradition as long as we have been a nation. Don’t mess with a good thing.
While I admire its aspiration to be the lead dog in the pack of magazines telling men how to dress, eat, drink and behave, I have difficulty with GQ because it insists we all should be untucked, unshaven, uncombed and generally unimpressive looking in a world in which women are expected to be sleek, stylish and perfectly coiffed.
GQ’s idea of what a man should look like is precisely what many of us laughed at when we were in our 20s.
That aside, any magazine that goes to the trouble of coming up with an illustrated guide to the 20 “best” cocktails currently being served in America has to be given its props.
Lest you think all such drinks are pricey, one that particularly caught my eye was The Margaveza (seen here) from a Brooklyn, NY, spot called Daddy’s. It’s described as “a rock ’n’ roll bar tucked into an obscure block of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, that’s staffed and patronized by obscure Brooklyn musicians.”
The Margaveza was invented by Eric Copeland, of the band Black Dice when he was a bartender there. Says GQ’s Will Welch, “It’s wildly simple: a 12-ounce bottle of Sol poured into a pint glass, topped with four ounces of frozen margarita, and garnished with a lime. All for five bucks. Why didn’t anyone think of this before?”
So there I was, reading the major local daily newspaper when I noticed a line under a particularly fluffy story and poor quality photo: “Story provided to the XXXXXXX.”
“Story provided” is, heaven help us, news-speak for a particularly insidious development in the shaky world of newspapering. That is, cutting staff to save money, then replacing the stories they used to write with self-promoting free material sent in by local organizations or individuals.
I remember when that idea was floated a decade ago when I still was a newspaper editor. Virtually everyone in the room except the business-side non-journalist who supported it held our noses and promised never to let such a thing happen. We wanted to stick to quality, professional journalism as a way of serving the community and maintaining a solid business model.
So much for that promise. But, let’s be honest about it. The true definition of “user-generated” is “quality-deprived.”
By the way, if you want to catch up on the manic things that have been going on in the journalism world (unfortunately, they’re predominantly negative), you can visit a Topix.com section I edit on a regular basis. Just go here.
It’s bad enough that unimaginative advertising agencies keep dredging up dead celebrities and old pop songs to help peddle their clients’ goods. But when “The Star-Spangled Banner” becomes the theme music to sell us an overhyped soft drink, that’s going too far. Really, it is.
If by some magic, or lack of paying your cable bill, you haven’t seen this abomination, here it is. (Note: I don’t have any trouble with the Jimi Hendrix version of the song; it’s the whole idea that appalls me.)
TROY — A Florida fugitive wanted for attempted murder was apprehended on Sheridan Avenue Wednesday after nearly a year on the lamb thanks to a joint effort between local authorities and the Albany office of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, police said.
Are you as confused as I am about what happened last night on ‘Battlestar Galactica’?
It was the mid-season finale, an episode that looked as if some parts had been sloppily cut out, causing some odd transitions, and it included an ending that was as dissatisfying as the finale of “The Sopranos.”
I exchanged befuddled glances with The Woman To Whom I Am Related By Marriage, then immediately began speaking badly about one of our favorite shows. It will resume its final season sometime after the Christmas holiday season, but will we still care?
Well, of course we will, but not nearly as much as we might have if BSG’s creators hadn’t diddled with our loyalties and enthusiasm. Sometimes TV show bosses can’t help but get so “creative” about wrapping up a project that their egos overtake their common sense.
By the way, the photo above — which I have named “Biker Chic(ks)” — is of two BSG characters you may never have seen out of costume. Tricia Helfer (left), who plays Cylon No. 6, and Katee Sackhoff, who plays fighter pilot Starbuck, both enjoy riding motorcycles in their spare time. Really. (Go here to see Ms. Helfer all dressed up in character.)
Anyway, to catch up on the action, or lack thereof, just click here to go to the Gawker site where Ian Spiegelman provides his usual hilarious weekly summary of the show.
If Hillary Rodham Clinton makes it to the White House, we know one thing that will be on the daily agenda: The return of the cocktail hour.
The current top resident of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue doesn’t drink anymore, and there have been other teetotalers in the White House. But many of our presidents were known for their cocktail preferences. George Washington ran his own distillery. John Adams started his day with hard cider. Thomas Jefferson even introduced the presidential cocktail party.
In later years, Franklin D. Roosevelt quickly mixed up a martini — the real kind, with gin — to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition. John F. Kennedy regularly served daiquiris aboard the presidential yacht. Dwight Eisenhower and Richard Nixon both enjoyed drinking Scotch.
Now we have Senators Barack Obama and John McCain, the likely contenders for the office in November, each of whom has the occasional drink. But Clinton makes no bones about enjoying her drinks more than they do, and likes them neat, as this photo — one of a series taken aboard her plane by the Associated Press and made available here in slideshow format — shows after a campaign stop in South Dakota this week.
Clinton also made news a few weeks ago when she had a shot of whiskey and a beer with some members of the public during a campaign stop in Indiana, but this is the first time she let her hair down with reporters. This time, she showed the good sense to avoid the Canadian whiskey she had in Indiana and enjoyed a shot of Maker’s Mark bourbon from Kentucky, US of A.
Earlier today, I shared a note of complaint I sent to one of my editors about some lousy copy editing that introduced an error into one of my stories.
I also lamented the lack of respect for the English language that I see all around me. That, however, was before I stumbled upon a very serious Web site called “Hot for Words” that just may have found a way to make people pay attention to the meanings of words.
It’s the intellectual — and entertainment — property of a 27-year-old philologist (look it up) named Marina. That’s her over there.
I’m just an old-fashioned guy. One who likes black-and-white photos, classic cars, 12-year-old whiskey and picky editors like the guy over there, whoever he is/was.
When it comes to the latter, I also am a stickler for guarding the health of the English language. More than 40 years in journalism hammered that home to me, even in the face of a deterioration of the language that I ascribe more to the rising popularity of non-print media and permissive schools than anything else.
Now that most of my creativity is as a writer rather than an editor, I sometimes find myself on the wrong end of sloppy editing. Here’s the latest missive I sent to an editor when a perfectly proper word in one of my freelance stories for her magazine was changed to something incorrect:
“One small note, to your copy editor: Introducing an error into copy is an egregious thing.
“In my [title hidden to protect the guilty ] story I used the word ‘flak,’ which inexplicably was changed to ‘flack.’
” ‘Flak’ is what anti-aircraft weapons fire into the air, and came into the language during WWII. In modern parlance, it means coming under fire, or criticism, which is the way I used it.
” ‘Flack’ is a pejorative term for a public relations person, which is what it was changed to.
“Embarassing for me since most readers don’t think ‘copy editor’ when they read a story.”
P.S. To her great credit, the editor promptly e-mailed back an apology, falling on her e-sword and taking the blame even though she wasn’t the guilty party.
LEDYARD, CT — As she flipped through the “complimentary” copy of The Providence Journal left at the door of our guest room at the Foxwoods Resort & Casino, my wife shared with me what she considered the hottest story in the newspaper.
“Look at that sticker,” she said, pointing to a square piece of paper attached to the front of the third section. “I thought this paper was supposed to be complimentary for guests.”
The note informed us:
“A copy of the Providence Journal is included with your stay. If you do not wish to receive the newspaper, please contact the front desk for a $.13 refund daily, or a $.50 refund on Sunday.”
Regretably, this is a legitimate gimmick, although a cheesey one. It does nothing to benefit the consumer who is placed in the position of first ascertaining that he or she is being unexpectedly charged for something then having to take action to change the situation or end up footing the bill, small though it is.
Under the industry’s Audit Bureau of Circulations rules, newspapers can sell bulk batches of their product at half-price and still count them as individually full-paid circulation.
What this boils down to, dear traveler, is that this 50-cent newspaper actually went for only a quarter to the Indian casino hotel, and it passed along more than 50% of its discounted price to its guests. Human nature being what it is, they no doubt figured, correctly, that few people would ever ask for their 13 cents back. So, it was a great deal for the newspaper and the resort.
Just a tip for one more thing to keep an eye on during your travels.
One of my (many) guilty pleasures is the Sci-Fi Channel’s “Battlestar Galactica.” Unfortunately, this dark, moody drama ends after this, its fourth, season, no doubt to pop up again in feature film format a la the “Star Trek” franchise. (BSG already has spawned one straight-to-cable flick.)
One of my other guilty pleasures is reading Ian Spiegelman’s weekly updates on the series for the delightfully snarky Gawker.com Web site. This week he focusses largely on the Starbuck character, that lovable flygirl-temporarily-turned-ship-captain.
With a week to go until the Texas and Ohio primaries, stressed Clinton staffers circulated a photo over the weekend of a “dressed” Barack Obama.
The photo, taken in 2006, shows the Democrat frontrunner fitted as a Somali Elder, during his visit to Wajir, a rural area in northeastern Kenya. The senator was on a five-country tour of Africa.
“Wouldn’t we be seeing this on the cover of every magazine if it were HRC?” questioned one campaign staffer, in an e-mail obtained by The Drudge Report.
In December, the campaign asked one of its volunteer county coordinators in Iowa to step down after the person forwarded an e-mail falsely stating that Barack Obama is a Muslim.
Obama campaign manager David Plouffe quickly accused the Clinton campaign Monday of “shameful offensive fear-mongering” for circulating the snap.
Clinton campaign manager Maggie Williams responds: “If Barack Obama’s campaign wants to suggest that a photo of him wearing traditional Somali clothing is divisive, they should be ashamed.”
While I have no positive feelings about either candidate, I do find it interesting that this photo …
would be perceived as something that potential voters could construe as scary any more than I would find the same thing to be true of these photos taken while “going native” on tour.
What I would be afraid of if I were on the Clinton team is if anyone started sending around candid photos of her everyday antics on the campaign trail, say like these.
