Showing posts with label 2016. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2016. Show all posts

Sunday, January 15, 2017

2016's Word of the Year


The American Dialect Society met last week to vote on 2016's word of the year.

Their decision? The two-word term dumpster fire, defined as "an exceedingly disastrous or chaotic situation."

According to the ADS, "The expression came to be used metaphorically, a rough equivalent of train wreck, chiefly on sports radio, before being circulated in wider use as a highly negative term for such events as the 2016 election season."

Were "safe spaces," "trigger warnings," and "fake news" runners up?

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Death and Our Culture of Celebrity


It's been difficult to comport with the contrasting headlines and images in the news.

A record 762 murders and 4,368 shootings in Chicago in 2016. More than New York City and Los Angeles combined.


Audry Miller, Andrew Holmes

Contrast that with the surfeit of social media keening and Warhol-inspired idolatry for celebrities.

The 2017 Chicago and celebrity death counts have already begun. Chicago's ahead.

Chris Barker
Chris Barker
The New Yorker ~ Emily Flake
Michael Ramirez