Gotta love 'em. They just make for great stories.
Man Accused Of Stealing From 2-Year-Old's Piggy Bank
My favorite line from the story,
"He needs to stop bleeding at crime scenes if he thinks he's going to get away with it," Sheboygan County District Attorney Joe DeCecco said.
A fun little list of overused words.
***This year, in a gesture of humanitarian relief, the committee restores "truthiness," banned on last year's list, to formal use. This comes after comedians and late-night hosts were thrown under the bus and rendered speechless by a nationwide professional writers' strike. The silence is deafening.***
PERFECT STORM – "Overused by the pundits on evening TV shows to mean just about any coincidence." – Lynn Allen, Warren, Michigan.
"I read that 'Ontario is a perfect storm,' in reference to a report on pollution levels in the Great Lakes. Ontario is the name of one of the lakes and a Canadian province. This guy would have me believe it's a hurricane. It's time for 'perfect storm' to get rained out." – Bob Smith, DeWitt, Michigan.
"Hands off book titles as cheap descriptors!" – David Hollis, Hamilton, New York.
WEBINAR – A seminar on the web about any number of topics.
"Ouch! It hurts my brain. It should be crushed immediately before it spreads." – Carol, Lams, Michigan.
"Yet another non-word trying to worm its way into the English language due to the Internet. It belongs in the same school of non-thought that brought us e-anything and i-anything." – Scott Lassiter, Houston, Texas.
WATERBOARDING – "Let's banish 'waterboarding' to the beach, where it belongs with boogie boards and surfboards." – Patrick K. Egan, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
ORGANIC – Overused and misused to describe not only food, but computer products or human behavior, and often used when describing something as "natural," says Crystal Giordano of Brooklyn, New York. Another advertising gimmick to make things sound better than they really are, according to Rick DeVan of Willoughby, Ohio, who said he has heard claims such as "My business is organic," and computers having "organic software."
"Things have gone too far when they begin marketing T-shirts as organic." – Michelle Fitzpatrick, St. Petersburg, Florida.
"'Organic' is used to describe everything, from shampoo to meat. Banishment! Improperly used!" – Susan Clark, Bristol, Maine.
"The possibility of a food item being inorganic, i.e., not being composed of carbon atoms, is nil." – John Gomila, New Orleans, Louisiana.
"You see the word 'organic' written on everything from cereal to dog food." – Michael, Sacramento, California.
"I'm tired of health food stores selling products that they say are organic. All the food we eat is organic!" – Chad Jacobson, Park Falls, Wisconsin.
WORDSMITH/WORDSMITHING – "I've never read anything created by a wordsmith - or via wordsmithing - that was pleasant to read." – Emily Kissane, St. Paul, Minnesota.
AUTHOR/AUTHORED – "In one of former TV commentator Edwin Newman's books, he wonders if it would be correct to say that someone 'paintered' a picture?" – Dorothy Betzweiser, Cincinnati, Ohio.
POST 9/11 – "'Our post-9/11 world,' is used now, and probably used more, than AD, BC, or Y2K, time references. You'd think the United States didn't have jet fighters, nuclear bombs, and secret agents, let alone electricity, 'pre-9/11.'" – Chazz Miner, Midland, Michigan.
SURGE – "'Surge' has become a reference to a military build-up. Give me the old days, when it referenced storms and electrical power." – Michael F. Raczko, Swanton, Ohio.
"Do I even have to say it? I can't be the first one to nominate it…put me in line. From Iraq to Wall Street to the weather forecast – 'surge' really ought to recede." – Mike Lara, Colorado.
"This word came out in the context of increasing the number of troops in Iraq. Can be used to explain the expansion of many things (I have a surge in my waist) and it's use will grow out of control…The new Chevy Surge, just experience the roominess!" – Eric McMillan, Mentor, Ohio.
GIVE BACK – "This oleaginous phrase is an emergency submission to the 2008 list. The notion has arisen that as one's life progresses, one accumulates a sort of deficit balance with society which must be neutralized by charitable works or financial outlays. Are one's daily transactions throughout life a form of theft?" – Richard Ong, Carthage, Missouri.
"Various media have been featuring a large number of people who 'just want to give back.' Give back to whom? For what?" – Curtis Cooper, Hazel Park, Michigan.
'BLANK' is the new 'BLANK' or 'X' is the new 'Y' – In spite of statements to the contrary, 'Cold is (NOT) the new hot,' nor is '70 the new 50.' The idea behind such comparisons was originally good, but we've all watched them spiral out of reasonable uses into ludicrous ones and it's now time to banish them from use. Or, to phrase it another way, 'Originally clever advertising is now the new absurdity!'" – Lawrence Mickel, Coventry, Connecticut.
"Believed to have come into use in the 1960s, but it is getting tired. The comparisons have become absurd." – Geoff Steinhart, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
"'Orange is the new black.' '50 is the new 30.' 'Chocolate is the new sex.' 'Sex is the new chocolate.' 'Fallacy is the new truth.' – Patrick Dillon, East Lansing, Michigan.
BLACK FRIDAY – "The day after Thanksgiving that retailers use to keep themselves out of the 'red' for the year. (And then followed by "Cyber-Monday.") This is counter to the start of the Great Depression's use of the term 'Black Tuesday,' which signaled the crash of the stock market that sent the economy into a tailspin. – Carl Marschner, Melvindale, Michigan.
BACK IN THE DAY – "Back in the day, we used 'back-in-the-day' to mean something really historical. Now you hear ridiculous statements such as 'Back in the day, people used Blackberries without Blue Tooth.'" – Liz Jameson, Tallahassee, Florida.
"This one might've already made the list back in the day, which was a Wednesday, I think." – Tim Bradley, Los Angeles, California.
RANDOM – Popular with teenagers in many places.
"Over-used and usually out of context, i.e. 'You are so random!' Really? Random is supposed to mean 'by chance.' So what I said was by chance, and not by choice?" – Gabriel Brandel, Farmington Hills, Michigan.
"Outrageous mis- and overuse, mostly by teenagers, i.e. 'This random guy, singing this random song…It was so random.' Grrrrr." – Leigh, Duncan, Galway, Ireland.
"Overuse on a massive scale by my fellow youth. Every event, activity and person can be 'sooo random' as of late. Banish it before I go vigilante." – Ben Martin, Adelaide, South Australia.
"How can a person be random?" – Emma Halpin, Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom.
SWEET – "Too many sweets will make you sick. It became popular with the advent of the television show 'South Park' and by rights should have died of natural causes, but the term continues to cling to life. It is annoying when young children use it and have no idea why, but it really sounds stupid coming from the mouths of adults. Please kill this particular use of an otherwise fine word." – Wayne Braver, Manistique, Michigan
"Youth lingo overuse, similar to 'awesome.' I became sick of this one immediately." – Gordon Johnson, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
DECIMATE – Word-watchers have been calling for the annihilation of this one for several years.
"Used today in reference to widespread destruction or devastation. If you will not banish this word, I ask that its use be 'decimated' (reduced by one-tenth)." – Allan Dregseth, Fargo, North Dakota.
"I nominate 'decimate' as it applies to Man's and Nature's destructive fury and the outcome of sporting contests. Decimate simply means a 10% reduction – no more, no less. It may have derived notoriety because the ancient Romans used decimation as a technique for prisoner of war population reduction or an incentive for under-performing battle units. A group of 10 would be assembled and lots drawn. The nine losers would win and the winner would die at the hands of the losers – a variation on the instant lottery game. Perhaps 'creamed' or 'emulsified' should be substituted. – Mark Dobias, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
"The word is so overused and misused, people use it when they should be saying 'annihilate.' It's so bad that now there are two definitions, the real one and the one that has taken over like a weed. – Dane, Flowery Branch, Georgia.
"'Decimate' has been turned upside down. It means 'to destroy one tenth,' but people are using it to mean 'to destroy nine tenths.' – David Welch, Venice, Florida.
EMOTIONAL – "Reporters, short on vocabulary, often describe a scene as 'emotional.' Well sure, but which emotion? For a radio reporter to gravely announce, 'There was an emotional send off to Joe Blow' tells me nothing, other than the reporter perceived that the participants acted in an emotional way. For instance: I had an emotional day today. I started out feeling tired and a bit grumpy until I had my coffee. I was distraught over a cat killing a bird on the other side of the street. I was bemused by my reaction to the way nature works. I was intrigued this evening to add a word or two to your suggestions. I was happy to see the words that others had posted. Gosh, this has been an emotional day for me." – Brendan Kennedy, Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada.
POP – "On every single one of the 45,000 decorating shows on cable TV (of which I watch many) there is at LEAST one obligatory use of a phrase such as ... 'the addition of the red really makes it POP.' You know when it's coming ... you mouth it along with the decorator. There must be some other way of describing the addition of an interesting detail." – Barbara, Arlington, Texas.
IT IS WHAT IT IS – "This pointless phrase, uttered initially by athletes on the losing side of a contest, is making its way into general use. It accomplishes the dual feat of adding nothing to the conversation while also being phonetically and thematically redundant." – Jeffrey Skrenes, St. Paul, Minnesota.
"It means absolutely nothing and is mostly a cop out or a way to avoid answering a question in a way that might require genuine thought or insight. Listen to an interview with some coach or athlete in big-time sports and you'll inevitably hear it." – Doug Compo, Brimley, Michigan.
"It seems to be everywhere and pervade every section of any newspaper I read. It reminds me of 'Who is John Galt?' from 'Atlas Shrugged.' It implies an acceptance of the status quo regardless of the circumstances. But it is what it is." – Erik Pauna, Mondovi, Wisconsin.
"Only Yogi Berra should be allowed to utter such a circumlocution." – Jerry Holloway, Belcamp, Maryland.
"This is migrating from primetime 'reality television' and embedding itself into otherwise articulate persons' vocabularies. Of course it is what it is...Otherwise, it wouldn't be what it would have been!" – Steve Olsen, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada.
UNDER THE BUS Р"For overuse. I frequently hear this in the clich̩-filled sports world, where it's used to describe misplaced blame Рi.e. 'After Sunday's loss, the fans threw T.O. under the bus." РMark R. Hinkston, Racine, Wisconsin.
"Please, just 'blame' them." – Mike Lekan, Kettering, Ohio.
"Just wondering when someone saying something negative became the same as a mob hit. Since every sportscaster in the US uses it, is a call for the media to start issuing a thesaurus to everyone in front of a camera." – Mark Bockhaus, Appleton, Wisconsin.
I haven't paid much attention to the cigarette tax that's coming up, mostly because I don't smoke. I don't agree with it because it's just another stupid tax to take money away from people who want to make bad decisions in life. As I was reading an article on wisn.com today though, this particular line caught my eye.
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids predicts the higher tax will stop nearly 66,000 Wisconsin children from starting smoking. And it will make 33,300 smokers quit.
Amazing what you can do with your life in 99 years. Alice Cochran Conard, 99 years of age, passed away Friday, December 21, 2007, at the Woodhaven Care Center in Ellinwood, KS. She was born May 2, 1908 at Goodwin, Oklahoma, the daughter of Alva W. and Verna May Hadley Cochran. The family moved to Rice, Kansas, when Alice was six months old. She was baptized September 18, 1921, at the Rice, KS Methodist Episcopal Church.Alice Cochran Conard
Alice was a teacher and a minister's wife. She was a graduate of Concordia High School and Kansas State Teachers College (later Emporia State University). She taught in the Cloud County rural schools and in Esbon, Hill City, and Norton before going to Great Bend in 1944.
She was married to the Rev. Arlyn E. Conard on November 22, 1962, in Great Bend, KS. He died November 21, 1980. She was also preceded in death by her parents; a brother, Hal; a sister, Dorothy Claycamp and her husband, Glenn; and by a niece, Shirley Holechek.
She was a member of First United Methodist Church in Great Bend, the United Methodist Women, NRTA division of AARP, EHU units, and Utopian Club. She had life memberships in the American Association of University Women, Delta Kappa Gamma, Kansas Retired School Personnel Association, and ESU Alumni Association. At one time or another, she served as president for most of these organizations.
Her interests and hobbies included reading, crafts, and travel. Her travels included Canada, Mexico, the South Sea Islands, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Greece, Panama, many European counties, and most of the states in the United States.
She is survived by a step-son, Mark Conard, and his wife, Joyce, of Hutchinson, KS; a foster daughter, Edna Sipp, and her husband, Cliff, of Pleasanton, NE; three grandchildren: Jonathan Conard and his wife, Melissa, of Junction City, KS; Andrew Conard and his wife, Nicole, of Overland Park, KS; and Kristin Conard of Edison, NJ; a great granddaughter, Katie Aspen Conard, of Junction City, KS; a sister-in-law, Eldora Conard, of Timken, KS; a nephew, Kenneth Claycamp, and his wife, Joleen, of Cuba, KS; three nieces: Lois Boettcher and her husband, Norm, of Solomon, KS; Loretta Cudney and her husband, Dave, of Riverside, CA; and Verla Hill and her husband, Dan, of Scottsbluff, NE; and by many great nieces and great nephews.
I'm sorry, but Mary, riding on a donkey, right before she gave birth, I don't think I could have managed that. I can barely sit on a chair, let alone a donkey. But, I suppose when you're carrying the Savior in your womb, you're bound to try to do things you wouldn't normally do, right? Still, that had to hurt.
My great Aunt Alice (actually great great, I think) died last night. She was 99 years old. She would have been 100 in May. I knew she wouldn't last much longer, but it's still a bit of a shock. I have so many memories of visiting her house and her showing off all the interesting things she'd picked up on her travels. I remember even just 10 or 15 years ago she was still going on African safaris and the like. She was always such a strong woman.
In May of 1908, here are some of the major events from Wiki:
* May 10 - Mother's Day is observed for the first time (Andrew's Methodist Church in Grafton, West Virginia).
* May 13 - Young Turks start revolution in the Ottoman Empire, and force sultan Abdul Hamid II to adhere to the constitution of 1876.
* May 24 - Empire Day is accepted as the traditional formation date of the 1st Arundel (Earl of Arundel's) Own Scout Group, although Scouting was probably active in Arundel prior to this date.
* May 26 - At Masjid-al-Salaman in southwest Persia, the first major commercial oil strike in the Middle East is made. The rights to the resource are quickly acquired by the United Kingdom.
Other things that happened that year:
* British suffragettes begin a campaign for female suffrage.
* Bureau of Investigation, forerunner of the FBI, is founded.
* Change of Emperor of Qing Dynasty from Guangxu Emperor of China (1875-1908) to Henry Puyi (1909-1911).
