Accents

A lot of people speak English. Obviously, the English language started in England. Through conquest and colonization, English spread. It's now the "native" language for people all over the world. Plus, it's the chief international language. Still, even though it's a single language, people from different places speak English differently.

Naturally, people from the same country should speak more like each other; and people from different countries would have more different accents. English has grown so diverse that there are different words and expressions for things in different areas. Plus, the accents make them sound so different from each other. You might even need an interpreter when you're talking to somebody from a different English-speaking country (not to mention when people are speaking English as a foreign language)!

But sometimes, even people from the same country have quite different accents; for example, the United States. People from Alabama speak differently than people in New York, and they both speak differently than people from Wisconsin. And some of them have accents so strong you can barely understand them! Of course, it doesn't seem that way to them. But how does that happen - why are there even different accents? Alabama isn't all that far away from New York - why are people from New York and Alabama speaking differently from each other? New York City and Boston aren't that far away - but those people sound different from each other. Even people from New York City and upstate New York sound different - and that's the same state!

Then, there's the so-called "neutral" English accent. Is the "neutral" accent in one country the same as in another country? And, what does that mean? In the U.S., we seem to think that this is a "mid-Western" accent. Sometimes it's called a "TV accent." Most national TV news anchors and reporters don't seem to have a regional accent - they seem to have the "neutral" accent, right? Even people who star in shows that take place in spots where there are strong accents don't necessarily have that accent. And, how does one particular accent get to be the "neutral" one? I guess because we all understand them, and we can't tell where they're from.

Some people think that television is actually going to kill-off regional accents. These neutral people are beemed (or cabled) into our homes. Everyone listens to the same neutral voices, and adjusts to them. Soon, everyone will talk the same. This is a good thing: We'll all be able to communicate easily, right? Or, is it worthwhile to have accents?

The Madness of St. Patrick's Month

Maybe St. Patrick's Day has gotten a little out of hand.

March has become St. Patrick's month now. Bars have St. Patrck's celebrations every weekend leading up to March 17. Celebrations are no longer just one day, or a single weekend (the closest one to St. Patrick's Day). It's now every Thursday, Friday and Saturday for several weekends in a row. In the weeks before St. Patrick's, there are lines forming outside of Irish Pubs just to get in ... at 2:00pm! And of course, there's the big celebrations on the actual day itself (this year even bigger because it was actually on a Saturday). Irish Pubs move out their furniture just to squeeze in more people!

Of course, another big bar-themed event takes place in March: March Madness (not to mention the conference tournaments right before). People gather together and watch games in bars, and the NCAA tournament games tend to be on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays (weekends, plus their neighbors, Thursday and Friday). Sometimes, you'll drink more in celebration, or to drown your sorrows.

So, St. Patrick's celebrations are covering every weekend in March, and college basketball is on the same weekends. St. Patrick's Day and March Madness are coming to be synonymous in bar culture, and March is becoming a great big slosh-fest.

I'll drink to that. Cheers!

Elbows

Have you ever pinched or squeezed the skin on your elbow? Do you notice that it doesn't hurt? Squeeze your elbow skin as hard as you can. It just won't hurt.

Why is that?

Excessive Partying

People like to have parties. They like parties so much that "party" has become a verb. People like to party. And these parties are getting more and more extravagant.

It seems like not so long ago, children's birthday parties were quite simple and low-key. Nothing more than some other kids, a couple of party games, and some cake. Now people are renting out banquet halls and country clubs for this - especially for events like "Sweet Sixteen" parties. Why is a 16th birthday so important for a girl? Nothing big happens at 16. Most states allow someone to get a driver's license, but boys don't have "sweet 16" birthdays. And isn't getting the license itself enough of a celebration of that momentous event? Years ago, 16 may have been a more important turning point in a young woman's life. Nowadays, turning 16 no longer signals that she is of marrying age. Maybe a big sixteenth birthday party actually sends the wrong signal, and suggests that her parents think she's "an adult" or "fair game."


What about other parties? Haven't they gotten out of control? Bar and Bat Mitzvahs that parents save up for for years - and this is a 13 year old kid! Or, remember the First Communion party for young Anthony Corleone in The Godfather: Part II, that was on a lake in Nevada and the Corleones invited a U.S. Senator they'd never met?! Of course, that party involved other elements....


Plus, there are the "wedding spectaculars." [The Godfather had a pretty big wedding at the beginning of that film.] Surely, everyone wants to have a nice wedding, but the pre-wedding parties seem to be getting out of hand. Bachelor/-ette parties are getting more and more elaborate. Instead of just an evening out in the hometown, people are taking trips to Vegas or Atlantic City or Montreal. And these parties don't just last one night, but a full weekend, a long weekend, or maybe even most of a week. And then there's the Engagement party, some sort of pre-wedding fête that has come to mirror the wedding reception in extravagence, and where the protocol/etiquette about gift-giving seems to be still evolving.

I guess everyone just likes to party ... in style.

Valentine's Day

Today is Valentine's Day. According to one source, the modern tradition of St. Valentine's day began in medieval England and France, with people noticing that birds began to pair-up in mid-February.

Nowadays, people celebrate their love for each other on this day. Strangely, people seem to need to have greeting card and gift companies prompt them to do something nice for a loved one. If you really love somebody, should you have to be reminded to do something nice and make her/him feel special?

Moreover, is it necessary to concentrate all your good feelings into a single day? Shouldn't we be showing our love on the other 364 (or 365) days of the year? Plus, Valentine's Day is a random selection. For most people, it has nothing to do with their personal relationship, other than it's an artificially-imposed day of romance.

So, keep on lovin' tomorrow....

Airfares

In the news today, there was a story about airfares. It said that prices would go up because the fervor over the airline mergers was dying down (US Airways' bid for Delta was definitively rejected). The story suggested that airfares would go up because the airlines would lose out on synergies that could be utilized through company combinations.

That's weird, because just a few weeks ago, news sources were saying that airline mergers would cause airfares to go up, because the mergers would cause there to be fewer airlines in the industry. Less competition would lead airlines to raise fares.

So, which is it? Airline mergers lead to higher fares. And, the lack of mergers will lead to higher fares. Apparently, it doesn't matter what happens in the industry, airfares will increase. And there's nothing that anyone can do about it ....

The Weather (at Airports)

Cold temperatures have set in over much of the country.

The current temperature in Atlanta is 30 degrees, and it's sunny; in Chicago it's 18 degrees and snowing; in New York it's partly sunny and 28 degrees; and in San Francisco it's a balmy 50 degrees and partly cloudy.

The temperatures in local weather reports usually originate from that city's airport. The question is: why does anyone care what the temperature is at the airport? The weather should be reported from downtown (where people work), or in some suburb (where people live).

Nobody cares what the temperature is at Hartsfield, O'Hare, or Kennedy. If you're going to the airport, you probably won't be there very long. And you likely will drive, or take some other kind of covered/protected transport to get there. The only people who will be there for any significant length of time are the employees. And there aren't enough of them to warrant making the weather reports give information from airports.

Maybe the thermometers at airports are just more accurate....

Pill Taking

There are commercials on TV that tell people how difficult it is to remember to take pills. But, honestly, how hard is it?

First example: a new birth-control product called NuvaRing [http://www.nuvaring.com/]. The commercial tells us that birth control pills are great, but that having to take the pill every day just ties women down! Is daily pill-taking that much of a chore?

Second example: Sally Field appears on a commercial for Boniva [http://www.boniva.com/], a medication for post-menopausal osteoporosis. She tells viewers that some people she knows have to "set aside time" once a week to take their osteoporosis medicine. Apparently, you do have to take osteoporosis medicines under certain conditions; but still, it does seem funny to think that taking a pill once a week is too much of an imposition.

Obviously, these must be new medical advances, but the marketing rests on the idea that swallowing once a day is too much work, or taking a pill once a week is too difficult. Americans are just far too busy for all this pill-taking....

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association

On Monday night, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association gave out their awards for film and television work, the Golden Globes. But who are the Hollywood Foreign Press - and why do people care about who the HFPA thinks made the best movies and TV shows?

According to their website [http://www.hfpa.org/], the Association is made up of Los Angeles-based journalists from foriegn (i.e., non-United States) publications. Basically, it's a club. Maybe sixty-five years ago, a bunch of these foreign journalists were hanging around in some Los Angeles lounge or hotel bar smoking cigars and having drinks. After a few cognacs or whiskeys, or whatever, they think, "hmmm, let's give out movie awards. what a great idea!" Now, these journalists get together and throw a huge party once a year where they give out awards, and tell *the Academy* who should get the Oscars.

Doesn't this seem strange? The HFPA attracts so much attention and wields so much influence. But, it's just a journalists club. What makes them experts? They're not giving out journalism awards; and they're not necessarily entertainment reporters. It would be as if the staff of the Des Moines Register decided to give out the Golden Corn Ears.

Maybe a group of American journalists abroad should form a club and give out awards right before the Cannes Film Festival. There could be an American Expatriate Press Association that would give out Golden Apples (as in New York City being the Big Apple, and many American news sources are based in NYC).

Soccer in the U.S.

David Beckham is coming to the United States. He'll be playing for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Obviously, he's being brought to the U.S. to try to generate some interest in professional soccer. How many people have heard of the Los Angeles Galaxy? How many people can name one American professional soccer team?
Why has soccer not caught on in the United States? Americans do like their professional team sports. There's baseball, basketball, football. And hockey has caught on so well that American cities keep stealing teams from Canadian cities. Baseball, basketball and football were all invented in the U.S.. It seems that Americans like sports that they create. Conversely, American sports aren't so popular in other parts of the world. Baseball, baseketball, and soccer have not caught on so well around the rest of the world as soccer.

So, why has soccer lagged behind in popularity here? We like sports on fields, and that use a ball. Plus, soccer is one of the most popular sports for kids. Tons of children play soccer every year! There doesn't seem to be a reason why soccer would not draw crowds. Maybe it's market forces: there's only room for 4 major spectator-team sports in the U.S..

Penguins

Sometimes, trends come along in popular culture. It could be clothes, pass-times, foods, or almost anything. When they arrive, they seem to appear everywhere. In stores, movie-theaters, and fast-food restaurants! There have been Pet Rocks, bell-bottoms, and fins on cars. Sometimes we have to wonder what causes these phenomena, and how long can they last?

Interestingly enough, a strange group is now riding the crest of a popularity-wave. They're penguins! Penguins starred in a 2005 film, "March of the Penguins." This movie even won the Academy Award for Best Documentary. Plus, the penguins raked in more money at the box office than Best Picture winner, "Crash."

Also in 2005, a group of four innovative penguins had an important, if not-quite-starring, role in "Madagascar." In a film that was a comedy, the penguins provided further comic relief. ["The penguins are psychotic!!"]

Once again, penguins were in a starring role in 2006. "Happy Feet" opened at theaters at the end of last year, and has an all-star group of voices for the penguins. (Yes, the penguins had to have humans do their voices for them.)

It seems that penguins are everywhere these days. Obviously, they've landed starring roles in movies. These movies have product tie-ins and other commercial ventures. There are penguin toys, penguins websites, and of course a professional hockey team (although this was long before 2005).

What explains this penguin-mania?! Is there a powerful Antarctic presence lobbying hard in Hollywood or Madison Avenue? Obviously, mighty forces have stepped-in and put these penguins in the spotlight. Until recently, penguins did not seem to be a group that craved attention or power. Will 2007 reveal yet another penguin film? Will they get their own TV show? Perhaps a penguin will get a elected to Congress in 2008. (It's possible - they're popular, and seem awfully savvy.)

How long can it last? Eventually, the zeal for penguins may lead to their demise. Or, will they meet a seal?

Bowl Games - Toilet Bowl? Cereal Bowl?

Today is New Year's Day. One great American New Year's tradition is the Bowl Game. College football teams get together to play in a post-season game. A reward for a great regular-season.

At first, bowl games seem to be named for agricultural products grown in the area. For example, there's the Orange Bowl, Sugar Bowl, Cotton Bowl, Citrus Bowl, Peach Bowl, and of course, the Rose Bowl. There were also bowls that seemed to stand for random things associated with their geography, like the Fiesta Bowl, the Gator Bowl, or the Sun Bowl. Some had random names, like the Hall of Fame Bowl, in Tampa, Florida. Where on earth did that name come from? There is no Hall of Fame in Tampa!

Oftentimes, the stadium where the bowl game was played actually shared a name with the bowl game itself (like the Rose Bowl, Orange Bowl, Gator Bowl). But some of these bowl games have moved out of the stadium that shares their name.

Like everything else, these grand old institutions have gone commercial, and traditions have broken down. Many of the major bowl games are not even played on New Year's Day anymore. In addition, the bowls now have corporate sponsorships, which are included in their names: for example, the Allstate Sugar Bowl, the FedEx Orange Bowl, the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, the AT&T Cotton Bowl, and the Toyota Gator Bowl. Some of the bowls have completely lost their original name to the corporate sponsor, like the Chik-Fil-A Bowl (formerly Peach Bowl) or the Champs Sports Bowl and Capital One Bowl (formerly Citrus Bowl), or the Outback Bowl (formerly Hall of Fame Bowl). Other bowl games simply started their bowl-life with a corporate-sponsorship name.

But does this really matter? What is in a name (for a bowl) after all? It seems like a stupid name for a game - a "bowl". Is this based solely on a stadium's shape? If that's the case, why aren't all games in the stadium bowl games.

I can understand a name like "sugar bowl." Most homes have sugar bowl in the cupboard. Maybe there are places with orange bowls, too. But a fiesta bowl? And, a gator bowl seems like it's just asking for trouble....

So, maybe there should be more bowl games with normal sounding names. I suggest the Toilet Bowl, and the Cereal Bowl. These are actual "bowls" found in every home. Plus, there are obvious corporate-naming opportunities. For example, the American Standard Toilet Bowl, or the Kellogg's Cereal Bowl. Yeah, that sounds good!