What I Learned Today… neologism

Sara 3 Comments

Neologism is a newly coined word or phrase. Often a neologism is in the process of entering common use, but has not yet been accepted into mainstream language.**

After a few exchanges via Twitter with Grant Barrett from A Way With Words and Voice of San Diego about the origin of the word “porkfest,” I came across the word “neologism.”

I was actually trying to find examples of news media created words similar to the aforementioned “porkfest.” But as you know, the internet sucks you into its vortex.  So after stumbling on this very useful word, I forgot about my quest to find examples of other words that media has made up (I know there must be a number of them).

Anyhow, one of my favorite neologisms is “strategery”. Originally coined in an SNL skit mocking George W. Bush in 2000, “strategery” became a Bush catchphrase as he attempted to embrace the satire. Currently the word is used in the roller derby world in game play instead of “strategy”. I like it’s silliness and in the crazy derby community, it seems to fit right in.

On a side note: While Grant deemed “porkfest” a form of “journalese,” I never did find a written definition of the bacon-loving word. Sadly, my first vision related to “porkfest” was the correlation between pork and the police. Although politics seems to be at the forefront of this word, I understand the cops really have no involvement.

**Definition of neologism taken from Wikipedia.

What I Learned Today… yogurt

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Greek yogurt tastes better with fruit (but only a little bit better).

I never tried Greek yogurt until today. It was the Chobani plain non-fat kind. The only things I had heard about the product was that it had lots of protein (a plus) and is kind of like sour cream. I don’t like sour cream at all so I don’t know what possessed me to buy a container of something that tastes like it. After a few bites, I realized there was no way I was going to finish it. So I decided to add some banana to the mix. Better, but I still don’t think Greek yogurt will ever show up in my cart again.

On the other hand, you should really try Trader Joe’s French Vanilla Mint for $0.99. Now that is some good yogurt.

What I Learned Today… font happiness

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I’m feeling in the mood to start back up the What I Learned Today… mini series. Everyday I learn something new either about myself or about the world, but ultimately both, and share my findings. During the previous mini series, I learned serpentine is California’s state rock, emoticons emote hate (at least for me) and Gloria Gaynor’s “I will Survive” was the number one song on the billboard charts when I was born. Let’s see what this next month of my life will unveil. For today I learned…

I tend to use humanist san-sarif fonts.

Many people have a favorite font, or even going so far as loathing others. After reading a post on Everyday Stranger called Font of Knowledge, I thought about my own bias for fonts.

In everything I do, I lean towards using san-sarif (you know, the ones without the little end cappers)… in particular, the humanist san-sarif variety.  These fonts include Calibri (my personal favorite), Johnston, Lucida Grande, Segoe UI, Gill Sans, Myriad, Frutiger, Trebuchet MS (second favorite), Tahoma, Verdana and Optima (a.k.a. Zapf Humanist).  According to Wikipedia (I know, great resource), “these are the most calligraphic of the sans-serif typefaces, with some variation in line width and more legibility than other sans-serif fonts.”

Calibri is my default and not just because Microsoft Office comes set up that way. The font really does represent the image I want to portray. Petite, beautiful and clear. Not overbearing or silly.

Arial, the PC knock off font of Helvetica, is the choice font at work… as it is at many companies. Clear and rounded for anyone to read.  It wasn’t until after I watched the font lover’s documentary, Helvetica, I realized that PC’s have Arial and not Helvetica.  If you love (or hate) fonts and graphic design, you NEED to see this movie… currently streaming instantly on Netflix.

As a special note, Helvetica and Arial both fall under the Neo-grotesque san-sarif classification. New gross. Gotta love it.

Image source: Helvetica robot from Jonathon Yule’s Invdr gallery of robots made from various sans-serif fonts.

2010 Tour de Fat: 10/2/2010

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Last minute weekend plans had me hopping on my bike over to Balboa Park for the second annual (for San Diego) Tour de Fat presented by New Belgium.  Beyond beer and bikes, I really had no idea what to expect.

Since I use my bike to commute back and forth from work this event was also my first time riding with others. Like running, I have always felt bike riding is really a single adventure. Riding and carrying on a conversation I found a bit difficult while navigating traffic and chugging up the Florida Canyon hill. My gear range is small (I have a 10 speed) and my endurance is pretty bad. Excuses aside, I had a great time traveling with my friend in derby spirit, Hurly Curly also known as Liz. Not  a serious cyclist herself, we took things casually arriving just in time for the “parade” of bikes.

Parade  should be used loosely as it really was just a joy ride with other  cyclists on the scale of critical mass. I have to admit, it was the first time I have felt safe riding down University Avenue through Hillcrest. 

The real excitement came afterwards with beer and live performances in the park near 6th and Laurel. The performances varied from a polka style band dressed in yellow robes to silly competitions. Great stuff.  

Hurly and I mainly stood and watched what we dubbed “loony bin.” The loony bin was a caged off area where people rode handcrafted bikes easier described through images than with words. Note the coordination needed to undertake any of these contraptions.

Tour de Fat has a community feel. Everyone attending  was connected through their love of cycling and drinking decent beer. The atmosphere  promoted cartwheels and bare feet… not really, but no one would have bat an eye. The event capacity was not met so amenities were plentiful and there was space to breathe.

One of coolest things about Tour de Fat was any money raised through donations, beer and merch sales went directly towards a local  non-profit whose mission included supporting bicycle advocacy or the environment. San Diego’s chosen charities were San Diego County Bicycle Coalition (SDCBC) & San Diego Mountain Biking Association (SDMBA).

In addition, a Bike-Car Trade ceremony occurred where an individual willingly gave up their car and in exchange for a very cool touring bike – “a New Belgium, fully-loaded, hand-crafted, Fort Collins-built commuter bike.” This individual was chosen ahead of time. 

There was also an opportunity to win a new bike at the event by telling a good 2-minute story about why you deserve a new bike (real or made up). The guy who won, Sean, told a true story how he was shot in the ass with a BB gun by guys chasing him in a pickup truck. The story concluded with the guys being caught by the police since Sean called 911 and the operators had him routed to the nearest squad car.

This event is a must for anyone who has a bike and loves to drink. I hope to see you there next year.

Instant Karma

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Many of you know I skate under the pseudonym, Karma Electra. If not, where have you been? Often I have had discussions with other skaters about “what would your song be?” Say if you did an awesome move, jumped over a fallen skater, landed a monstrous hit on the opposing jammer or just needed a little extra motivation… the DJ would play YOUR song. Kind of like baseball players have. Kind of.

Anyhow, my song would be “Instant Karma” for many obvious reasons. How can you ignore such spot on lyrics as “Instant Karma’s gonna get you/
Gonna knock you off your feet…” It is nothing like “The Eye of the Tiger” or anything. But it is inspirational and fitting. So in honor of John Lennon’s birthday, here is John Lennon with the Plastic Ono Elephants Memory Band singing MY song. If I close my eyes, I can hear the crowd cheering for me as I blast my way out of the pack for my second or third grand slam. “We all shine on…”