Tag: english

  • Pompous Pursuits

    Apparently I use too big words in my business emails at the office. I was ‘reprimanded’ today by a very senior member of the organisation regarding my use of ‘big words’ when questioning or explaining issues in email. This is hilarious in a number of ways, most importantly in that the people that generally accuse me of such nonsense are academically superior with one or more university degrees and other nonsensical acronyms embellishing their CV’s and email signatures in their efforts to be taken seriously by those of us that are intimidated by vacuous theory.

    This further cements my view that academic pursuits, unless vocational by nature, are a waste of a good mind. It pumps largely unusable rubbish into the heads of intelligent beings and turns them into zombies trying to unravel mysteries and conform to expectations established by their own pompous pursuits. Academics rarely make a significant contribution to humanity. Only that 1% that are able to practically apply their knowledge to improve their quality of life and the lives of those around them actually enjoy any return on investment, both monetary and otherwise, from their years of self-inflicted torture.

    It reminds me of individuals that I’ve often interviewed as potential candidates in various roles in IT within my team that proudly proclaim their BSc degrees as having been significant achievements in their lives, only to slip back and cringe in their seats when I ask them how much of what they studied is actually still relevant or can be practically applied to their chosen careers. We need a college or university degree to be developed around common sense. Maybe that way it will finally become as common as it needs to be.

  • Word of the day…

    perspicacity

    (noun) The capacity to assess situations or circumstances shrewdly and to draw sound conclusions.

    I just like the meaning of this word and how pompous it would sound to actually use it in normal conversation.

  • Contaminated

    It’s sad that the moral decay of society has resulted in so many wholesome phrases becoming an embarrassing utterance no matter how innocently they may be stated. A few that came to mind this morning include:

    • “Bend over and take it like a man” – this was a common statement by friends and teachers alike when corporal punishment was still allowed in schools in South Africa, and I was due for a ‘6 of the best’ with the teacher’s cane. (Damn, even ‘teacher’s cane’ has taken on a different meaning these days!)
    • “We were so happy and gay” – another phrase that cannot be uttered by anyone that has no desire to want to be assumed a homosexual. We can effectively change the definition of the word ‘gay’ in the English dictionary to one that has explicit sexual connotations since no one in their right mind would use it to describe their happiness any longer.
    • “I’m going to walk the dog” – for those that may not be familiar with this awkward statement, specifically if uttered by a man, consider yourself blessed. 
    • “I gave my wife a pearl necklace as a wedding gift” – such a beautiful sentiment and profession of generosity defiled by the twisted mentality of society. Again, if you’re unfamiliar with this, consider yourself blessed, and I therefore apologise in advance if this post leads you to research the meaning of this. (btw, Urban Dictionary would be a good place to start!)
    • “I’m coming” – by far the most innocently used phrase that has led to far too many embarrassing moments for grown men with modesty, especially if yelled out from another room while a group of people were waiting for him to leave for some place.

    Sad, isn’t it? :-/