Where Words Come From

A few years ago, I interviewed one of the editors at Webster - one of the guys who decides which new words get into the dictionary. It was the year that “doofus” made it in as an official word.

Yeah, there are a ton of funny lines to go with that… but that’s another blog.

I don’t know exactly where THAT word came from, but I just saw something that could be the origin of a new one. 

Remember early this year when the USAir flight landed safely in the Hudson? Capt. Sullenberger, Sully, the name was on every newscast and talk show. I heard him on NPR just a few days ago, and he’s written a book about the whole experience. Not a shill, either, but a moment by moment account of what was going thru his head during that two minutes it took from bird strike to water.

And how calm he remained. Calm in the face of terror. Sully.

That’s the way that the Plugged In blog described a host on Home Shopping Network. I saw the post on Yahoo. t was the HSN host doing a Wii demo, and threw the “tennis racket” controller through the set. The blog goes on to say that the host remained in front of the smashed appliance the rest of his time. “Calm in the face of TV tragedy, he’s a regular Sully”

Captain, as I listened to you the other day on NPR, I heard you talk about how surreal the sudden flush of fame is, and how you had gotten past it. Now, a term like that may have a quick rise and never be heard from again. 

Or, maybe with enough usage, you’ll not only be in the history books, but the dictionary as well.

We could look up the word, and see your picture next to it.

Not a bad place to be.

 -Thanks for reading.

The End Of The MP3 ?

I have most of the Mannheim Steamroller's early albums on vinyl.  Even though they were also on CD, I was told by an audiophile friend that the clarity on vinyl was amazing.  He was right. Everyone is well aware of the difference between CD and Vinyl. 

Not so many are aware of the difference in clarity between CD and MP3.  MP3's while digital, are highly compressed.  They lack the depth and warmth of a live performance, or a vinyl performance for that matter.  But they're bought more than vinyl ever was.  We can conclude that the masses are not quality driven when it comes to entertainment.

(Yes, I know that last sentence can be taken different ways - but that's another blog post)

Anyway, now, Apple is reportedly in talks to buy internet startup Lala.com, who has threatened the end of the MP3 with their quick streaming app. It's even less fidelity-wise than MP3s.  So are we going downhill?

Are the music artists still screaming because they're not getting the royalties they think they should? Has anybody told them what is happening to their music?  Hmmmm.

--Thanks for reading.