Speak It With An Accent, Scientific Breakthrough, and More

First, let's take a moment to remember the losses of six years ago. I still have a journal in which I wrote my thoughts from that day; I've written nothing else in that book and I might not ever again. We should also especially honor the sacrifice of those aboard United 93. After hearing of the other planes in their brief contacts with family and friends, the passengers and crew learned what was really at stake and fought back against the evil we all were confronted with on that day. Their spirit, their attitude, and their ultimate sacrifice must be remembered and honored always, and we should all take the lessons learned from their efforts to heart, because we're still fighting the war they started on that day.


Think about how accents change your perception and factor in to your attitude on many things. You hear an accent and immediately certain traits pop into your head. Radio stations take advantage of this by using DJs who speak with certain accents or with certain tones and inflections; think about how a "smooth jazz" DJ sounds differently than a DJ on a hard rock station, or a hip-hop DJ sounds different than a new-wave DJ. Let's take a quick look at a few accents and the characteristics they evoke, at least for me:

• British: This is a a complex one for Americans. Explorers (think "Dr. Livingstone, I presume" or "Land Rovers on an African safari", motor-heads (every Formula 1 race I've seen has a guy with a British accent...couple this with Jaguar, Land Rover, Aston Martin, Mini, MG, and Triumph as examples of the UK's prolific love of automobiles), golfers (just watch a golf telecast some time, then turn it off when you hear the British accent...you shouldn't be watching for more than five minutes), snobby patricians, friendly foreigners (this comes from the generally-positive attitude most Brits seem to hold and maintain toward us...think about it)
• French: This one, on the other hand, isn't complex at all. Pretentious, artsy-fartsy losers, gourmet chefs, or America-haters
• Southern/Western: I don't see things this way, but for most folks, a Southern or Western accent automatically puts you into the "uneducated bumpkin" category.
  
• New York: Streetwise smart aleck or Mafioso (see "The Sopranos" and Simpsons' Fat Tony)
• Boston: The Kennedys, wealthy Harvard elites
• Ebonics: hip-hop and rap, gangstas and guns
  
• German: for me, this is a cool one because I am part German and I took German for four years in school. But lots of folks still make the old "ve haff vays of makink you talk" jokes, or Mike Myers' old "Now is de time on Shprockets vhen ve dance" shtick.
  

What do accents do for you? We all talk about stereotyping, especially with what we see; let's move that into what we hear as well.


Salt-water that burns? Check out the story here. Salt-water is the most abundant resource on the planet. If this is true, and not a hoax (see Cold Fusion), this could be an incredible turning point in human history. Obviously with RF generators (think "microwave oven"), safety is an issue that must be worked out. Just imagine, though, using this technology in place of coal for turning steam-powered generators...in place of natural gas for heating homes and businesses...in ironworks and steelworks to melt the metal. And dare we dream?? In place of gasoline in, powering everything from cars to heavy earthmovers to factory machinery? Consider even the social implications, with adequate energy for everyone, inexpensively. Need some more fuel? Just walk on down to the shore with a couple of buckets.

And think of all the time and money we've wasted on desalinization plants!


Tron II??? I am SOOOOOOOO there!


Has MTV lost its appeal? What an asinine question to ask today, over 15 years since MTV moved away from being "MUSIC Television" to being "Politically Correct Television". Starting with the ridiculous "Rock The Vote" nonsense in 1992, and continuing with "The Real World," then moving into becoming just "Reality Television" with such incredible content as Punk'd, Jackass, and The Hills, MTV has done nothing to prove it's worth viewers' time. Even Justin Timberlake spoke out on this point during the recent MTV Music Awards, urging MTV to play videos again. MTV has no one to blame but its own programmers; it's been meaningless and irrelevant for years.


We have passed balls vs. wild pitches in baseball, why not the same kind of thing for football interceptions? See the "Random thought with no heading" point from today's Quick Outs at CFN. I have to ask again, why not? Why blame the quarterback when a perfect pass hits a receiver in the hands, then passes through them only to be snagged by the defensive back lurking behind? Sure, there will be judgment calls, but baseball differentiates between the catcher's mistake and the pitcher's mistake. I say let's have football make the same sort of differentiation, especially since interceptions are much more common than passed balls and wild pitches.


The Sooners are doing well and getting some poll love, but it still looks a lot like 2000 to me. That year, OU snuck up on the world, with the pundits focusing on Nebraska, FSU, and Miami, until OU had their amazing October run against Texas, Kansas State, and Nebraska. This year, it's primarily USC and LSU, with a little West Virginia and Florida thrown in. OU's moved to 3rd in the AP and 5th in the Coaches' Poll, so they're gaining ground, but I'm wondering what they'll have to do this year to really boost their standing past either USC or LSU (or both). The Crimson and Cream Machine has a good plan, and I can't say I disagree. I'm thinking they'll have to go undefeated and win every game by at least 4 touchdowns to make that leap. If they can maintain the high level of play we've seen the first two weeks (and with Utah State, Tulsa, and Colorado as the next three warm-up games before Texas, I don't see that as an issue), they can make that last push and end up with a January 7th date in New Orleans.

Thanks for reading along.