The StupidFilter Project is building a filter that will remove stupidity from online content in the same way that spam filters deal with email. Apparently it’s going to use the excellently-named CRM114 Discriminator. Hat tip to Bad Language.
Old Man
At first I thought this essay on lying language would be the usual stuff — war deaths called “collateral damage”, that sort of thing. It does start off that way, but takes a delicious turn mid-way.
Script Challenge still unsolved
It’s 4.5 months since I posted my Script Challenge, and not a single person has had a go.
New Innovation!
Spotted in Sydney the other day: an advertising poster bearing the slogan “new innovation”. As opposed to the other kind, I assume.
“Officially” is the new “literally”
“Labor, the party of the working class, has officially become the party of choice for intellectuals,” claimed The Australian last Thursday. Sorry, which “official” said this?
No, it wasn’t a Labor party official announcing a change in their funding source. Nor some mythical official spokesperson for “intellectuals” — could there ever be such a central organisation? No, the “official” is just the journalist who wrote the story, or his sub-editor.
In one way this is like that common mis-use of the word “literally”. As in: “Kevin Rudd was literally torn apart in Parliament this afternoon.” But there’s also some lovely propaganda at work — either because the journo thought it’d make it more dramatic, or because (heaven forbid!) The Australian is continuing its pro-Coalition stance.
“Clever”, but too late?
The government’s Climate Clever campaign is, apart from a wonderful subject for satire, apparently a nice attempt to re-associate the word “clever”.
As Possums Pollytics explains, it’s trying to re-frame the word away from “John Howard is clever” as in “tricky” to “clever policies on climate”.
Word association is a powerful propaganda weapon. Think Beazley and ticker, Keating and elitist, Latham and learner, and now Howard and clever. If the Libs could disassociate the word clever from Howard and re-associate it with climate change policies, not only would they neutralise the ALP attack, but would reduce the power of any residual word association with Howard.
A shame it’s probably way too late to make a difference. Possums also reports on the latest AC Nielsen polls with a simple “Business as usual. Nothing to see here folks, please move on.”
Mr Howard, please just call the bloody election. The longer you leave it now, the more you’re going to piss off the very people you’re trying to impress.