Sometimes, little things make me chuckle.
I'm not a huge slapstick fan, so I never get too giddy about those home video shows that show someone getting hit in the groin by a wiffle bat at a picnic, or an old lady slipping and falling on ice in the winter. I don't like insta-humor, so I don't think it's automatically funny anytime someone says "crack." I also don't laugh every time someone says, "My wife says I'm not too bright, but she keeps me around because I can lift heavy things."
But I'm very into words, observations, puns, etc. That's why I love George Carlin and Chris Rock so much. That's also why I laugh really hard at situations where someone thinks they are just oozing cultural sensitivity, but is missing the body language symbols that say, "We're just waiting for you to finish, gringo."
One thing that has amused me almost since the day I started b-school is the way the term *space* has been appropriated by consultants, wantrapreneurs, and other slang-slingers to refer to any sector, industry, or interest area -- sometimes redundantly and sometimes just uselessly.
I wrote about it last fall here on the site, and insisted I would always associate space with astronauts.
I've had a slow start to my week (it's a post-drill Monday, so bear with me) but this helped get me going:
I'm not a huge slapstick fan, so I never get too giddy about those home video shows that show someone getting hit in the groin by a wiffle bat at a picnic, or an old lady slipping and falling on ice in the winter. I don't like insta-humor, so I don't think it's automatically funny anytime someone says "crack." I also don't laugh every time someone says, "My wife says I'm not too bright, but she keeps me around because I can lift heavy things."
But I'm very into words, observations, puns, etc. That's why I love George Carlin and Chris Rock so much. That's also why I laugh really hard at situations where someone thinks they are just oozing cultural sensitivity, but is missing the body language symbols that say, "We're just waiting for you to finish, gringo."
One thing that has amused me almost since the day I started b-school is the way the term *space* has been appropriated by consultants, wantrapreneurs, and other slang-slingers to refer to any sector, industry, or interest area -- sometimes redundantly and sometimes just uselessly.
I wrote about it last fall here on the site, and insisted I would always associate space with astronauts.
I've had a slow start to my week (it's a post-drill Monday, so bear with me) but this helped get me going:
"Seeking advisors to a new STEM-themed media project in the space sector."
It came from a LinkedIn group, and it really concerns a start-up that is dealing with the *space* that exists beyond our big blue planet.
I'll never know whether the guy who posted it would've otherwise said 'space' rather than 'sector,' but it's little mysteries like that that keep life interesting. But if he had said the 'space space' I admit I would've come around a bit and thought, "Now that's a pretty nice usage."
Is this related to that "Space Grant" school you attend?
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of space, I cruised past your place of business Monday and found no parking space. I was going to drop off a "traveling" copy of the "must read" book, The Other Path, by Economist Hernando de Soto.
Regards — Cliff