8 Ways to Sunday

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network is promoting today as the 12th annual Day of Silence. The idea is that you help promote awareness of gay rights by not talking about anything all day… including gay rights.

Considering the centuries that homosexuals have been forced into silence by society, this strikes me as the most ironically ineffectual protest idea ever. They have sincerely good intentions, but I can’t imagine how something like this can produce any good results.

According to ReligiousTolerance.org, for example, a fundamentalist Christian group took advantage of a recent Day of Silence to stage their own “Truth Without Interruption Day.” By remaining silent, supporters of gay rights were unable to make any counterpoints against their opponents. That, of course, was the whole idea behind TWID.

Oscar Wilde — the famed wit imprisoned for homosexuality in 1895 — probably said it best:

A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.

Congratulations, GLSEN, on your fatal overdose of sincerity.

Every December, I get surprised at least once by the fact that it gets dark around 5:30 PM. You’d think I’d have figured it out by now.

the American Chocolate Bass in its natural habitat

It’s not even New Year’s Eve yet, and already the stores are stocking up on Valentine’s Day candy and cards. Holiday creep: it’s not just for Christmas anymore!

I had a nice moment of V-Day absurdity yesterday. Walking down a grocery store isle, I happened to see one of the strangest candy gifts ever: a milk chocolate bass, wrapped in silver-scaled foil and sold in a red box that declares “YOU’RE A KEEPER.” I think the tree-branch-and-flannel motif on the box is an especially nice touch, myself.

In a couple of months I’ll be feeling my usual seething hatred for this holiday, single as I always am this time of year. For now, though, I’m just enjoying the weirdness. You can buy a candy fish for your own special someone right here.

Update: This is too clever/silly not to recommend — scientist valentine cards! My favorite is Charles Darwin. “I select you. Naturally!”

Dictionary company Merriam-Webster has named w00t their 2007 Word of the Year. According to the site, w00t was submitted for consideration way back in 2005 by “Kat from Massachusetts” with the following definition:

w00t

interjection
expressing joy (it could be after a triumph, or for no reason at all); similar in use to the word “yay”

“w00t! I won the contest!”

Visitors to m-w.com finally voted it into the top spot for this year’s competition. You’ve come a long way, w00t.

In other w00t-related news, Grant Barrett — editor of the Double-Tongued Dictionary of fringe English — has written another amusingly formal exploration of the word’s origins. This one is far longer and more detailed than the one I linked to in 2004.

Somewhat surprisingly, Barrett traces the word’s history to hip-hop music instead of online gaming and “leet speak.” I think his argument is weakened, however, by the claim that “whoot and w00t are, for our purposes, variations of the same lexical item.”

As they say on the internets, O RLY?

“Blessed are the couch-jumpers, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.”

When I started this blog, I never expected to be offering continuing coverage of weird Tom Cruise–related shit. When the news gets this strange, however, I just don’t have any choice.

According to British tabloid The Sun, Scientologist leader David Miscavige has described Cruise as having a Christ-like role for the cult:

Like Christ, he’s been criticized for his views. But future generations will realize he was right.

Miscavige can say whatever he wants, but I’m pretty sure Jesus never promised to eat a placenta.

Here’s Keith Olberman with more point-by-point comparisons between Jesus Christ and Tom Christ Cruise:

(Props: SF Gate, LAist)

Updates

• 2/24/2007 — Karin Pouw, Public Affairs Director for the Church of Scientology, has officially denied that Miscavige ever compared Tom Cruise to Jesus Christ. The denial was issued in the form of a letter to the Boston Herald (and probably many other newspapers) that had run the story in their gossip sections. Thanks are due to Greg, who informed me of the denial in one of his comments.

  This denial may or may not mean that the story is bogus. The Sun isn’t exactly the Wall Street Journal, of course. On the other hand, famous people say stupid things — then retract, deny, or apologize for them — all the time. What the official denial tells me is that Miscavige may not have made the Christ comparison, but that if he did he sure wishes he hadn’t.

• 2/24/2007 — I’m happy that the comments up until today have been generally courteous, even when people disagreed with each other. Unfortunately, I just had to delete an obscenity-laden screed from some trolling jerk and another commenter’s angry follow-up (which was less rude, but now totally without context). Read the rules before you comment. This is my blog, and I will delete you with extreme prejudice if you act like an asshole.