June 17th, 2009 by Bunk · Doodles
In 1929, a psychologist named Wolfgang Köhler conducted the following experiment: He presented two shapes, one with curves and rounded edges, and one with straight lines and sharp edges, and then asked participants to name them either “maluma” or “takete.” If you would tend to name the round and voluptuous shape maluma, and the thorny edgy fellow takete, then you are like most people. We can associate a picture with just about any word. For example, I recently dialed a number on Long Island, and I got a recording thanking me for my “cawl.” CAWL! What would a cawl look like, if it weren’t a regional pronunciation of call? Here it is:
[Figure 1. A diagram of a geehoo (sketched in blue) is shown. The cawl is indicated with an arrow.]
As illustrated (Fig. 1), the cawl is part of the anatomy of the geehoo, which is related to the wild boar and subsists on a diet of grubs and tender roots. The geehoo uses the cawl to dig up tasty morsels under oak trees in the chaparral of California.
How do you see your words?
Tags: animals·Long Island·science
I’ll get to what conferior means in a bit, but first this preface.
I had a math teacher in high school whose lifelong dream was to have his made up word make it to the dictionary. I felt sorry for him, partly because that was his lifelong dream, but also because his word—schnibble—was so unnecessary. A schnibble was the small piece of paper created from ripping out looseleaf or notebook paper from its binding. As a mild form of detention, we would have to report to his classroom after school and pick up schnibbles that accumulated on his floor. We would go around looking for these stupid pieces of paper, and he would follow us around while telling us how proud he was of the word schnibble. I always wondered why he didn’t say, “Come back after school and pick up the shit off my floor.” The shit was more apt because other nasty shit got attached to those little pieces of paper.
Alas, sometimes I like to come up with words of my own, I think because of Mr. Whatever-his-name-was-and-I-don’t-care-to-remember.
That brings me to conferior.
con•fe•ri•or
1. adjective: lower in quality, inferior, but outweighed by its remarkable convenience. I’m only drinking Pete’s coffee because it’s conferior, and I don’t feel like walking another 2 blocks for better coffee. I hear they hired her because she was conferior to going through an expensive recruiter to fill the position.
2. noun: a person inferior to another or others, but remarkably convenient. Yes, I know Pete is a conferior, but I’d rather date him than deal with my crippling low self-esteem.
I came up with this word for this awful gym I only go to because it’s just a block away from home. I think I’m such a lazy fuck that many times I settle for conferior. So at least now I have a word for it, and so do you. Enjoy!
[Photo credit: Flickr user caseywest]
Tags: choices·coffee·convenience·gyms·options·settling·vocabulary
June 9th, 2009 by John · Chat Wisdom
Quoting excerpts from online chats should be an art form in itself.
For instance, this jewel revealed itself in my Gmail chat window five minutes ago.
me: who the hell wanted to go to [there]?
Gonzo: no one
that’s how compromises work, right?
me: right, no one is happy.
[Photo credit: Flickr user foxypar4]
Tags: art·compromise·gmail·insight·truth
June 9th, 2009 by John · Wise Words
David Grossman profiled Polish author Bruno Shulz in the June 8 & 15 2009 edition of the New Yorker, introducing me to another name to add to my Must-Read list.
Grossman describes the yearning for an Age of Genius in Shulz’s work:
The Age of Genuis was for Shulz an age driven by the faith that life could be created over and over again through the power of imagination and passion and love, the faith that despair had not yet overruled any of these forces, that we had not yet been eaten away by our own cynicism and nihilism. The Age of Genius was for Shulz a period of perfect childhood, feral and filled with light, which even if it lasted for only a brief moment in a person’s life would be missed for the rest of his years.
These are beautiful words that describe the idea I have for Macaw Daily.
I believe there is a wealth of creative talent in every person, and if we all could just let go of our own insecurities or attachment to what others may think of our work, we would never have a bored moment in life. We would be engaged, constantly inspired, and perhaps even nicer to each other because we’re always making something that will make at least one other life richer.
Perhaps these are stupid and lofty ideas I’m tossing out, but they’re my deepest convictions.
Grossman continues:
Did the Age of Genius ever occur? Shulz wonders. And, if it did, would we recognize it, answer its secret call? Would we dare to relinquish the elaborate defense mechanisms that we have constructed against the antediluvian wildness and volcanic abundance of such an age, defenses that have, bit by bit, become our prison?
I’ll certainly be answering the call, and I hope others will join me.
[Photo credit: Flickr user torres21]
Tags: creativity·happiness·inspiration·reading
One friend suggested calling such a production “The Boston Teabagging Party.”
Look how much fun these Colonial Williamsburg people are having, and they’re not even in drag. Well, the guy in the front is looking like he’s trying to figure out WTF is going on. But give him a bonnet and a petticoat, and he’d be tearing up that cobble road.
This needs to happen people!
[Photo credit: Flickr user wdwbarber]
Tags: culture·drag queens·history·ideas·inspiration·theater
June 7th, 2009 by John · Nostalgia
Do you remember the good old days of 2006 when so many of us had jobs? Little did we know how much we would miss having a job to hate.
To remind us of those better days, here is a haiku written by future Macaw Daily contributor, Gonzo.
“I want my bonus.
I want my damn bonus NOW.”
I have a new job.
[Photo credit: Flickr user: somerslea]
Tags: economy·fond memories·haiku·money·poetry
June 5th, 2009 by John · Debate
Call me a frigid ice queen (go ahead, everyone does), but I’m not into kinky stuff in the bedroom. Some people are laughing heartily at this—I’ll just say sex is one of those topics I don’t talk about without booze in my system, so moving on.
According to the AP, David Carradine’s death sounds like auto-erotic asphyxiation:
The body of American actor David Carradine, best known for the 1970s TV series “Kung Fu,” was found in a hotel room closet with a rope tied to his neck and genitals, and his death may have been caused by accidental suffocation, Thai police said Friday.
If Carradine were in his 20’s or 30’s, I could see this as being embarassing. But the guy was 72. By 72, you’ve done everything. I’m happy his libido was still running. I’m just sorry it may have killed him.
Am I alone in thinking this wasn’t the worst way to go out at 72?
Tags: kink·sex
All this talk about the recession coming to an end makes me say: My fucking ass it is! (Pardon the blue nature of the language you’ll find here on Macaw Daily, but that’s how we roll here.)
Rant and aside over, I consulted with some friends to come up with a few ways to numb the economic woes many of us are enduring. Here’s our collective wisdom.
1. Whiskey and Water
[Photo credit: Flickr user Jesper Egelund]
Southerners introduced me to a way of making bottles of sweet wonderful whiskey last longer. Ice, water, and some whiskey for flavor. Personally, I prefer it to whiskey neat. [Read more →]
Tags: advice·booze·collective wisdom·ideas·reader input
June 3rd, 2009 by John · Critique
The LSD-chugging fanatic who came up with the ad campaign for the 3rd Generation Toyota Prius managed to disturb me more the episode of “Wipeout” I was enjoying this evening with beer in hand. It’s a commercial I’ve seen numerous times but only now just noticed its creepy details.
Exhibit A:
That jaunty little Prius sprouting life everywhere it goes is actually awakening fields of pod children. [Read more →]
Tags: ads·cults·enviro nazis
Is your job (or lack of it in this economy) murdering your soul? Feeling profoundly bored and hopeless?
Well, make something!
Macaw Daily is here to publish your creativity. The type of work doesn’t matter—all that matters is that it’s good and will entertain the Macaw Daily community.
Macaw Daily is a blog for frustrated creative-types like yourself who want to make stuff, aren’t sure what to make, but know they have a talent that is way underutilized. We’ll publish anything from writing, to photography, art, video, music, craft, humor…the list goes on. See our submit page for more details.
There’s no reason for stage fright. We’ve got a comment policy that promises no one will attack your work. In fact, we’re here to encourage you and make your work better.
Check back here in a couple of days to see the kinds of stuff that will trickle in. You’ll see that our open philosophy to creativity will result in a fun and inspiring atmosphere.
Spread the word, and in the meantime, submit your works to john@macawdaily.com.
Cheers!
-John Ploot, Pseudonym of Macaw Daily founder
[Photo credit: Flickr user sillypucci.]
Tags: intro·news
