Saturday, April 25, 2009

My Doubleminusbad Newspeak Grammar

What is the opposite of "Doubleplusgood" (and should doubleplus have a hyphen)? I have been using "Doubleminusbad", since bad is the opposite of good and minus is the opposite of plus. However, in correct "Newspeak" the opposite meanings of words are removed as redundant, so "bad" became "ungood".  And I have been using minus and doubleminus in the same way grades and credit ratings do. For example,  F- is worse than F+.  However, in correct Newspeak, plus and doubleplus are intensifiers (very good is plusgood and excellent would be doubleplusgood). So the correct opposite of "Doubleplusgood" should be "Doubleplusungood". But, I think I'll keep using "Doubleminusbad" just to honk off the Thought Police (Bureau of Grammar Crime Division).

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Missed it by That Much


Turns out that the Four Corners marker for Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah is off by a couple of miles.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Dutch Angle

When I was six I had a hard time figuring out the geometry of building interiors for villain hideouts on Batman.  The idea that the tilt was an artistic camera effect was a bit beyond me - obviously crooks lived in crooked buildings. Sometimes they would tilt to the right and at other times to the left, even when the camera was facing the same wall. Eventually I figured it out - The Joker, Riddler, Catwoman and all of the other arch-villains constructed their headquarters on seesaws. 

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

How to End a Series



In memory of Skylab and Mir.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Moving Again

Moving again. I'll be back to blogging in a few days when the computers are unpacked and running.  Meanwhile, everybody try to look busy...  Big Brother is Watching!