I just found some original footage from Star Wars. It’s in black and white, and the sound quality is cruddy, but it’s worth it to see Han’s girlfriend (or whomever she is) and to hear Greedo chatting with Han in an English accent. And yes, Han did shoot first.
Category Archives: Fun
now you can use they, and they can use you too
I was just listening to A Way With Words, and I heard something that caught me completely off guard. I’ve been complaining about gender-neutral singular pronouns for years, hoping that something like ‘ve’ would replace the awkward ‘he or she’ or the patently evil ‘s/he’. Greg Egan aside, nothing ever took off. It turns out that the verbivores have already solved this one to my satisfaction with an obvious (but previously maligned) choice: they.
To quote from Sex and the Singular Pronoun:
Gentle reader (and listener), please open your ears and eyes. Listen and look for statements that contain an indefinite pronoun or a singular noun and hear and see what pronoun follows. In almost every case that pronoun will be a form of they. We do that because the device is historically tested. We do that because it is more graceful than “he or she.” And we do that because it avoids making a minority of us the linguistic norm and a majority of us a linguistic afterthought.
That settles it as far as I’m concerned. I’m going to start using the singular they with impunity, and I’ll let anyone I meet know that they’re welcome to do so as well. ˇViva la evolución!
Demand Jon Stewart in San Diego
In San Diego?
Like Jon Stewart?
Want to see Jon Stewart in San Diego?
You know you want to 
Ev’rybody say: It’s KK’s day today!
Happy birthday, Karen!
Let’s all put on birthday cake hats! And eat some of this fine birthday cake quilt!
what kind of freak are you?
I’m working on a set of t-shirts for the Global Spin community (plus a secret project I’ll unveil later this month). I have a couple designs mocked up already and a decent place to make and sell them, and I’ve run into a bit of a snag.
There are too many kinds of freaks.
That’s ordinarily not a problem for us. We protect our freaks, no matter what kind. But I’m having trouble thinking of a complete list, let alone designs for them all, so I need your help. Where should I start? What kind of freak are you?
- Transit Freak
- Neat Freak
- Sci-Fi Freak
- Space Freak
- Plant Freak
- Super-Freak
- Geek Freak
- just plain Freak
- other (specify)
- some kinda freak, i’m not sure what
- I’m not a freak, freak!
And remember, this is for posterity so be honest. Include as many categories as you think apply. For instance, I’m a Transit Freak, a Sci-Fi Freak, a Space Freak, a Science Freak, and a Geek Freak. Like they say: I’m not just the founder, I’m a client.
So let your freakness shine. What kind of freak are you, anyway?
UPDATE: Just to be clear, I’m looking for your complete list, not just the freakishness that isn’t on the list yet. Be complete!