by Liz Bureman |
I watched a video the other day about the portrayal of women in media in 2013, and it started out by celebrating some fantastic victories. The second Hunger Games film was one of the highest-grossing opening weekends of all time, and the main character is an independent female. The Netflix series Orange is the New Black, about life in a women’s prison, was a colossal hit.
But then it was quickly followed by a reality check of how women were objectified in print ads, commercials, and Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” video. The segment on the degradation of women was depressingly more than three times more extensive than the segment on positive portrayal. With that as inspiration, I’d like to introduce you to the Bechdel Test.
by Liz Bureman |
I’ve recently discovered that whenever I think something is great or fantastic, and it’s worth commenting on how great or fantastic it is, I default to the exact same word in every conversation. It’s “awesome”. Everything is awesome.
If it’s funny, it’s awesome. If it’s pretty, it’s awesome. If it makes you think, it’s awesome. If it’s a weird random fact, it’s awesome. It’s funny because most of the time, I speak in SAT words.
by Liz Bureman |
I was talking to a friend the other night, and somewhere in the conversation we started making guesses about where the rest of our crew was at that point in the night. I started to say, “I assume…” but then I stopped myself and had a second guess moment. “Assume? Presume? Which one is it?” Obviously since we live in the age of smartphones and instant Google, I looked it up. Believe it or not, there is a slight difference, and I’m sharing it with you today.
by Liz Bureman |
Over the weekend, Joe sent me a link to a blog that talks about how students are apparently saying “all of the sudden” instead of “all of a sudden”. Is that a thing? It was actually the first time I’d heard of the words in idioms being switched around. In case there was any confusion, “all of the sudden” is incorrect, “all of a sudden” is correct, and whoever created the idiom made it a completely arbitrary decision.
by Liz Bureman |
I did it. After months of anticipation, it finally happened. This past Sunday night, I watched Sharknado.
Most of you are probably familiar with Sharknado, but if you’re not, get out from under that rock and go look it up on Wikipedia. It’s a SyFy original movie, and the only really important thing you need to know is that a guy chainsaws a shark in half. From the inside. It’s amazing. It’s probably the greatest made-for-TV movie that I’ve ever seen in my life, and I’m not using that much hyperbole.
What’s hyperbole, you ask? Great question.
