Thoughts on two random images found in cyberspace…

Two random Images

One with a baby,

 the very personification of innocence;

compare that with

Madison Avenue 

advertising claims

 Then

Look at this paint

portrait that looks like it was randomly

splashed on the wall

with a miraculous

result: perfection and serenity! 

Up to 100,000 fish found dead along Arkansas River

Okay…what the hell is going on in Arkansas? First it’s birds dropping out of the sky (SEE POST BELOW) and now it’s fish dying for unknown reasons!

Notice how in both cases authorities are quick to deny the problem is because of pollutants.

 Officials suspect disease, not pollutants, as cause of death

“State officials on Monday were investigating why 80,000 to 100,000 fish washed up dead on the shores of the Arkansas River last week.

"The fish deaths will take about a month" to determine a cause, Keith Stephens, a spokesman for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, told msnbc.com.”

Mystery in Arkansas: Why did 2,000 dead birds fall from sky?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

'I've been to Iraq and back and not seen nothing like this,' resident of Ark. town says

This is a troubling story. I can’t imagine what is killing those birds.

Did some biological agent escape from a lab? Is that why the birds are falling out of the sky?

I wonder if we’ll ever know the reason?

What Me Worry? Hail to the age of the spell/grammar checker

Editor’s Note: Someone at the Times-Standard dropped the ball on New Year’s and didn’t run my column (below). Not the greatest way to start the New Year. I can only hope it’ll get better. 

                       By Dave Stancliff
Who needs to worry about spelling and grammar any more?
In the age of Twitter and cell-phone texting neither matters. Fractured spelling is necessary to save space. Besides, who judges your grammar when using them? There’s a good chance your English teacher does the same thing.

We live in the Age of the Spell-Checker and the Grammar-Checker. They’re available to us when we use our computers and our smart, internet connected, cell phones.

When was the last time you picked up a dictionary or thesaurus? Did you know the world in which printed encyclopedias were produced and consulted has vanished? How many of these books are in your house? So why spend needless hours in school learning how to spell or to recognize a dangling modifier? 
Did you know that a dangling modifier is a phrase or clause, which says something different from what is meant because words are left out? The meaning of the sentence, therefore, is left "dangling."

If you’re a novice at translating Twitter tweets and text talk then you’re may be left dangling and wondering what has been written. Perhaps we ought to see if there’s a way to codify the fractured ramblings of millions of cyber communicators?
Upon second thought, any attempt to put structure to the tortured sentences that keep evolving among the tweeters and texters would probably be a failure. It would be rejected as quickly as our traditional methods of spelling and grammar. And why not?

Everyone is in a hurry. There’s just not enough time to learn all the rules of the English language. It’s rapidly becoming an unnecessary burden. There are new ways of thinking in the 21st Century that encourage shortcuts and speed.
Nowhere is poor spelling more evident than in protest rallies by the political Left and  Right. You know the ones I’m talking about. It’s common to see people proudly holding up misspelled signs and waving flags while trying to deliver scrambled messages of dissatisfaction.
  I seldom see news about Scripps National Spelling Bee contests anymore. Maybe I’m not paying attention. Spelling Bee competitions are reportedly making a comeback (see http://educationnext.org/competition-makes-a-comeback/). Be that as it may, I wonder how many of these phenomenal spellers bother to use their talents while texting or tweeting?

I’ve talked with students of all ages who tell me they have to bring “clickers” to class. A multiple choice exam is projected via computer and students click their answers. There’s less emphasis on written tests in all levels of education, from what I see.
  Computer technology in the class room has been hailed as a great teaching aid. Kids from kindergarten level up are comfortably pounding away at key boards and effortlessly navigating web sites. I wonder what would happen if parents sat their children down and asked them to hand write a short essay about their day? Could they write complete sentences with no spelling errors? How would their grammar level compare to yours when you where a kid? Are they able to write in legible cursive?

Should we blame all the funding cutbacks in our schools for our children’s inability to correctly use our written language? Perhaps we ought to take a look at the SAT Reasoning Test (formerly Scholastic Aptitude Test and Scholastic Assessment Test)? 

 This standardized test for college admissions in the United States has a Writing section that includes multiple choice questions and a brief essay. The essay contributes about 28% towards the total writing score, while the multiple choice questions contribute 72%. You see my point. 
  Plenty of statistics show the national decline in writing and spelling skills. It’s a trend. Like all trends, it’ll play itself out one day, but the aftermath spells illiteracy for another generation.

  
 As It Stands, thnk U 4 redng this n lol!

Nostalgia sells: these old brands are poised for a 2011 comeback

Nostalgia will help sell to consumers who aren't happy with the present

“Will 2011 produce a new Old Spice? The incredible success of the “Old Spice Guy” ad campaign this year shows the potential of heritage brands — in this case, a 71-year-old deodorant line —to revive themselves and reconnect with younger generations.”

PHOTO - Planters Peanuts, owned by Kraft Foods, hopes to revitalize the brand with a makeover of its mascot Mr. Peanut. In animated commercials and online videos, the formerly two-dimensional peanut character is now living and talking with the voice of popular actor Robert Downey Jr.

What shaky economy? Tourists here for the Rose Bowl game are splurging

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Some Pasadena merchants estimate that sales of food and souvenirs are up 5% to 10% over a year ago.

“Andrew Schwingle high-fives other fans of the Badgers at the Rosemont Pavilion across the street from the Rose Bowl. (Mark Boster, Los Angeles Times / December 30, 2010)”

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As It Stands wishes it’s readers a Happy New Year!

Here we are. The last day of 2010 is fading away with every hour. Some people feel the urge to make new year resolutions that are usually broken before January ends.

Not me. I gave that practice up a long time ago. It was basically a recipe for failure.

I want to thank all of my readers for stopping by here and visiting my cyber home. You’re the reason I enjoy blogging. It gives me an opportunity to communicate with you and to share ideas and opinions.

As a Vietnam veteran with PTSD, I have little desire to go out in public. Crowds bother me. Being too close to people in public makes me nervous. I’m always watching my back. This blog has given me a viable alternative to communicating. It allows me to feel safe, yet to reach out to others and share my thoughts. Having access to the web, the biggest library in the world, has helped me expand my horizons and to do research that once took a lot of footwork and one-on-one meetings. I’m very thankful for this opportunity to be in touch with the world, without feeling any stress. I hope you keep coming back…

Here’s my message to you for 2011: Take each day like it’s your last, and don’t sweat the small stuff! 

 

New list released: word warriors vanquish 'viral,' eradicate 'epic'

“It's official: Viral went viral, and now it's been virtually vaporized.

Michigan's Lake Superior State University features the term linked to popular online video clips in its annual List of Words to Be Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.

The 2011 list, compiled by the university from nominations submitted from across North America throughout the year, was released Friday.”

Sand Sculptures From Australia’s Creepy Crawlies Exhibition

Creepy Crawlies, the newest theme for Sandstorm Events’ annual Sand Sculpting Australia exhibition in Frankston, will once again see the best sculptors from around the world – from the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland and the UK, to Singapore, Canada and the USA. Go here to see more great sculptures.

 
From beetles, bugs and butterflies, to spiders, slugs and scorpions, the tiny creatures that inhabit our lives will be magnified and amplified in giant sand sculptures. Delicate dragonflies and enchanting ladybirds will mingle with bed bugs, fleas and other things that make you itch and your skin crawl!

 

Geraldine Doyle, inspiration for 'Rosie the Riveter,' dies at 86

“With a red and white bandana in her hair and factory worker uniform sleeves rolled up to reveal her bulging biceps, Rosie the Riveter was painted on a World War II recruitment poster in 1942.

But for four decades, the real Rosie the Riveter had no idea she was the woman who inspired it.

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Read story here

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Perhaps it was because Geraldine Doyle left her factory job after two weeks – or because she didn’t actually have bulging biceps – that Doyle, who died at 86 years old on Sunday in Lansing, Mich., didn’t know for so long that she was the model for what would became a symbol of women’s empowerment.”

One day, a United Press International photographer came to the steelworks factory and took a picture of Doyle leaning over machinery (right), a red and white polka-dot bandana covering her hair.

Child's play leads artist to find a whole new way of working

 At first glance these pictures look like nothing more than pixelated photographs but closer inspection reveals the images are actually created using thousands of wax crayons.

Bored with paint and pencils, inventive artist, Christian Faur, turned to the childhood favorite for inspiration after seeing his young daughter using them.

Christian, from Granville, USA, starts each piece by scanning a photograph and breaking the image down into colored blocks.

He then places thousands of crayons into a grid - like colored pixels on a television screen - before packing the finished piece into a wooden frame. See more here.