Via “Best of Tumblr” fb page:
Is your favorite thing really that
the word “pulp” “doesn’t exist”? Wouldn’t it be more accurate to say your “favorite
thing” is that in this case, they use “bits” instead of pulp? The assertion
that the word pulp doesn’t exist in England is easily refuted by <10 seconds
of googling or using the dictionary. In fact, we get “pulp” from Middle English
(and that from the latin pulpa, fleshy
parts of the body). But googling wouldn’t fit in with the sensationalist
strategy of getting all excited and posting the first thing that comes into one’s
head. The statement “doesn’t exist” is much more totalizing and therefore exciting
than saying “isn’t used on Tropicana packaging although it is in North America;”
or more generally, “my favorite thing is . . . the subtle language differences
which appear in otherwise identical packaging,” etc. Further, just speculating,
perhaps if the poster had googled “pulp” and thought about the definition, they
might consider the different connotations of “pulp” vs “bits,” perhaps for e.g.
that pulp is too bodily, possibly unappealing, for the British, whereas for
some reason “bits” comes off as more enticing, and why this difference exists between
the US and the UK. I’m not going to think about this more right now, because it’s
not my “favorite.”
When the dog bites, when the bee
stings, and I’m feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things, and then I don’t
feel so bad
-Sound of Music
-Sound of Music
If I’m feeling bored and I see
something, I simply post about it, calling it my FAVORITE thing, and then I don’t
feel so bad; thanks to an online platform and community which gives me the
illusion of participation and production, I’ve relieved my anxiety of having to
think and observe; my most basic, vapid observations about the world have been reinforced,
requiring no further thought or care on my end.
-Sensationalist
I feel like there is a danger inherent to this type of linguistic sensationalism and the ways of thinking it engenders (or the thinking it doesn't permit), but I just spent 40 minutes at a Starbucks writing an angry blog post about this, so who's really basic now?
