Sure, it's a typo, and should have read as "conservation" or maybe "conversion." But as it is, the answer would be either "Talk dirty to me," or "A down-to-earth talk." (via reddit)
Saturday, May 24, 2025
Nonsensical Corporate Jargon
"Jargon" refers to language that only means something to a specific group of people, such as a workplace. When it has something to do with that work, it functions perfectly well and rarely escapes into family or social life. Still, some phrases that turned out to be particularly useful get adopted into the greater world. Then there's corporate jargon, which has evolved into a whole dictionary of phrases that mean pretty much nothing, but it does pad the conversation out. We are inundated with corporate jargon that is designed to be vague and noncommittal, often as a way to give plausible deniability or else cover the fact that your supervisor just doesn't know what he's talking about.
Linguist Dr. Erica Brozovsky explains how this language evolved from regular workplace talk, and why it is so frustrating, whether you understand it or not. (via Geeks are Sexy)
There's No Time to Explain!
In the movies, we hear "No time to explain!" a lot, because the audience already knows the story, and there's no reason to waste time telling the tale again to a character that was out of the loop. But what if the audience were also out of the loop?
This poor guy is suddenly caught up in an adventure he doesn't understand, involving tinfoil hats, a time machine, aliens, and murder. We don't understand it, either. The two protagonists immediately encounter a paradox when they travel backward in time and encounter themselves. But there's no time to explain!
The operative idea here is when they go back in time ten minutes, and the clueless partner says, "Why didn't you set it to 15 minutes back so we'd have five minutes to talk?" Yeah, that would have required an explanation that made sense, so no. Oh, there may be more of the story to come, or maybe not. (via Digg)
Friday, May 23, 2025
Graduating Students Answer Questions They Asked Themselves
A few students from the McCallie School in Chattanooga revisited a project from six years ago when they were in sixth grade. They had recorded questions for themselves as graduating seniors. This is adorable. Sure, it's an ad for the school, but it's impressive. (via Neatorama)
Kitten and Baby: Double Squee!
Long ago, people said that cats should never be allowed near babies because they would snatch the baby's breath away. Later on, I heard that cats who appear to be doing that are just investigating a baby's mouth because they smell like milk. Now, after a lot of experience with cats and babies, I realize that cats know what human babies are, and find them attractive the same way people find infants of all species adorable.
Amanda got a tuxedo kitten and named him Sushi. Sushi likes Amanda, but absolutely loves baby Xiomora. They spend so much time together that Sushi knew immediately when Xiomora became ill. And even afterward, Amanda knows when Xiomora's diaper needs to be changed, because that's the only time Sushi leaves her side.
The Story of Medusa
We are all familiar with Medusa, the mythological Gorgon with snakes for hair and the ability to turn men to stone just by making eye contact. But how much do you know about her backstory? In ancient Greek mythology, she was a straightforward monster that needed to be killed. But in a later retelling by the Roman poet Ovid, Medusa started out as a perfectly normal young woman who was raped and then blamed for it. Her punishment turned her into a monster in more ways than one. Ovid's story is tragic, but much richer with the themes of trauma and injustice. In this TED-Ed lesson from historian and archaeologist Laura Aitken-Burt, we get an animated version of Ovid's tale. (via Geeks Are Sexy)
Miss Cellania's Links
What The Hell Are People Doing uses estimated statistics from a number of sources to calculate global activities currently going on. (via Metafilter)
Capuchin Monkeys Caught on Camera ‘Abducting’ Baby Howler Monkeys in a Strange Tradition Seen for the First Time.
Kyphosis Bicyclistarum. The bane of 19th century bicycle riders.
Believe it or not, there was a time when the US government built beautiful homes for working-class Americans to deal with a housing crisis. (via Damn Interesting)
The World’s First Mass-Produced Flying Car Is Here and It Costs $1 Million. (via Real Clear Science)
What the Comfort Class Doesn’t Get. People with generational wealth control a society that they don’t understand. (via kottke)
Water voles are almost extinct - could glitter save them? (via Metafilter)
The New Sneetches. The latest from Tom the Dancing Bug.
Things Cats Don't Like
When a cat has a poor opinion of something, they will let you know, clearly, in their own way. In this compilation video from the Pet Collective, you'll see cats hating on modern technology, toys, family members, and everyday objects. To be honest, some of these clips aren't so much dislike for objects, but more of a cat wanting to see how much destruction and chaos they can cause. Yet we still love them.
Thursday, May 22, 2025
Monkeys Are Communist!
Could a monkey do your job? Whether you are a house painter or a surgeon, the threat is real. Monkeys may be taking over your profession right now! In this parody of a 1950s educational film, one thing leads to another and next thing you know, we are all in the clutches of communism. As an aside, watching this video is the first time I have been truly aware of the stereo separation on my desktop computer. (via Everlasting Blort)
The Mean Kitty Song
It's been 17 years since Cory adopted a kitten and named him Sparta. He was so enamored of the little bundle of energy. that he wrote this song, and now it has 92 million views on YouTube. The internet was a lot of fun in those days.
Every Norm Entrance on Cheers
Actor George Wendt died Tuesday at age 76. Wendt was best known for his role as Norm Peterson on the sitcom Cheers, which ran from 1982 to 1993. Norm was the bar's most loyal customer, and Wendt earned six consecutive Emmy nominations for the role. He appeared in all 275 episodes of the show. Norm's nightly entrance into the bar was a running gag on the show. He enters on the left and is greeted by all. Someone asks how he's doing as he makes his way to the far end of the bar, and is rewarded with a one-liner. This video is a compilation of every one of those scenes in chronological order. It's 18 minutes long, since it covers eleven years, but you can come back to it later if you want to see them all. The plot remains the same throughout. (via Laughing Squid)
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