Readers!! Look over there…do you see that? It’s December! Who put that there?
Doesn’t it seem like only yesterday we were talking about October being…only yesterday?
See how profound I am? I have discovered that time passes.
Somebody tell those MacArthur people.
Well…I’m totally cheating to finish on time. Is anyone surprised?
I am surprised, pleasantly, that I’m not cramming half the alphabet into November 30′s post. Three feels manageable.
So here’s how this is going down:
Nothing starts with “X.” Don’t talk to me, Xylophone. You are already featured on a flashcard set in every preschool classroom in America. (And don’t give me grief about X-Box or Xerox or any of the many dozens of words that do, okay fine, begin with X. I’ll have none of it.) I’m X-ing out “X.”
Exhibit X
(But, seriously, thanx for marking the spot.)
I can handle Y & Z.
See, I felt I would be remiss if I didn’t find a way to wrap up with a music video. And since it turns out that both “Y” and “Z” are in Boyz II Men, I feel totally comfortable with this selection.
I mean it, too. We belong together, readers.
It’s been a fun little experiment. (Damn you, X! there you are again!)
Thanks for playing, and you can alpha-bet we’ll try another group challenge sometime soon. (Oh, I made that joke.)
*Bonus Feature*
(aren’t you glad you stuck around until the end?!)
For December, I’m giving myself a twitter challenge to post a favorite Decemberists lyric every day. #DecemberistsDecember takes me down 21 characters…but that’s the idea for now anyway. Tune in.
Today I received a blog assignment via text message. What a treat! Feel free to do likewise, readers. Turns out I respond well to assignments, and I guess I always have…at least as a student. In “The Office” terms, school-me was part Angela, part Jim…a little up-tight, a lot cat-loving, but a smirky, in-on-the-joke likable guy underneath it all. (Girl. You know what I mean.)
Idea for a blog post from you and your wonderfully English and grammar-minded brain: overuse of the phrase “don’t get me wrong” why is its use so prevalent? Does it come from lack of confidence in one’s writing abilities?? etc… I expect you to use your clever wit while exploring this, if you so choose to explore it. :)
Well, tell a girl she’s got clever wit and she’ll choose to explore anything you want.*
Off the topsies, this phrase makes me think of ^ that 80s Pretenders song ^ featured as background music in Bridget Jones’ Diary — when Bridge is being all office-sexy with vile Daniel Cleaver, “suggest management sick, not skirt.” Ugh! So good.
But I have a feeling my friend finds no qualms with pop culture references and instead has problems with the everyday conversational usage of “Don’t Get Me Wrong.”
I have to admit, I don’t think this phrase is so overused in my social circle, or if it is, I just don’t notice it. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve heard it before. (JK! LOL!)
He speculates it has something to do with lack of confidence…and I think he’s onto something. I wonder if this phrase is used more often by men or women…
If it has something to do with a motivation to avoid conflict or foster community, my guess would be women. Because in general we ladies use conversation to connect, and we also tend to have less confidence re: our opinions. In general.
(In general.)
Hold on, though, for a tangent that will hopefully make itself relevant:
During my drive home from Chicago, I listened to Conan O’Brien on Marc Maron’s “WTF” podcast, which stands for what you think it stands for, and gives cool insight into the lives & minds of working comedians. (Celebrities! They’re just like us!!)
Conan talked a bit — as he did on his final NBC show — about the popular tendency toward cynicism, especially on social media. There’s a whole lot of self-protection against sincerity, it seems, in my generation. We protect ourselves from the risk of caring about something by either LOVING or HATING it. Not truly loving, even, “obsessing” maybe? Everything is the BEST or the WORST, but rarely a little of both, or a little “maybe I’m not sure about that yet.”
I’ve seen some pleas for ambiguity or nuance on Facebook in the wake of Sunday night’s news…it’s like 140-character conversations force us into black-and-white, when we all know the world is much more colorful than that.
So, to get back to the original question, I guess “DGMW” doesn’t bother me all that much, because I don’t mind the humility it implies. A little “no, after you.” A little “I may not be entirely sure how I feel about this, and I don’t want you to feel excluded when I say it.”
Now, say it too much and, don’t get me wrong, I’ll slap a bitch. People who use phrases too much are the WORST and I HATE them.**
