Bad Names for Products

Recent products I've actually seen: Retardex and Negroid.

I am sure there are good reasons for these names; I just can't figure out what they are!

--Curly

Mom Always Said, Don't Play Ball in the [Apartment] House!

Here I sit, typing away, working on various projects. I know my friend Curly is probably wondering what's happened to me. Am I living a peeve-free existence? Worry not, Curly and companion readers! Here is a peeve posted in real time.

Here I sit, typing away, seated at my desk in my little apartment. Outside, in the hallway, my neighbor is playing ball with his son. Again. Smack. Thwack. Bump. Sounds like kickball to me, despite the fact that there's no room in the hallway for such a diversion.

Don't they recall Carol Brady's admonition not to play ball in the house? Don't they realize that just because they leave their own apartment they are still in a house? An apartment house? Where other people live (and work)?

It's noisy, and it's rude, and it peeves me.

(Yes, I've opened my apartment door and kindly asked them to quiet down--once. But all that seemed to accomplish is having them turn the corner to the other part of the hall. I still hear you, guys!)

--Prunella

Matters of Address

If you don’t know what gender a person is, why do most people assume male? I constantly get emails addresses to Dear Mr. or Dear Sir. Why not Dear Sir/Madam? Or Dear M. Surname (to create that French je ne sais quoi in an email)? Or even Dear First name Surname (though I must admit I dislike this one)?

And while I’m on the topic, what’s with referring to women as Miss? To my eyes, that seems like something for young women, while Ms. should be used once a female is no longer a teen. It feels offensive to called women Miss, especially as there is no equivalent term for younger males.

--Curly

Remove Me From Your List

We all know how annoying spam is. But what I also find annoying is when people add you to their personal mailing lists and then regularly send out advertisements or mass messages. For example, sometimes I have met people at academic conferences and exchanged business cards with them. Then without asking me, they automatically add me to their lists and I start getting newsletters from them or publicity information about their latest books or, even worse, updates on their private lives. My irritation increases when such people don’t even have the courtesy to use blind carbon-copy (BCC). That means that they show all the email addresses they send their messages to and that in turn means that recipients can use those mass emails to phish for more addresses to send their own emails too. In other words, suddenly you can find yourself on a bunch of lists that you never wanted to join.

--Curly

Double Ewww

I was interested to see this article, which combines my two Ewww posts (see here and here), while also mentioning another icky news story, about incest.

--Curly

Testing Your Alertness

I was at the pharmacy and I noticed an expensive product that lets you test whether your alcoholic drink has had a drug added to it. I couldn’t help finding this product quite odd. For one thing, if you are alert (read: sober) enough to think that perhaps you should test your drink, then wouldn’t you have been able to pay attention to see if someone was doing something to your glass that s/he shouldn’t have been? And secondly, this product was so expensive that for a quarter of the price, you could just buy a fresh drink. Granted, adding “rape drugs” to drinks is a serious problem, but if you are concerned enough to buy this test, couldn’t you just make an effort to watch what’s going on?

--Curly

Another Ewww...

This is another simply icky article. Muslim women who are expected to be virgins when they marry are getting surgery to repair their hymens. Sometimes, as with that article on Christian purity balls, I just don’t understand what is with religious people.

--Curly

The Peeved Elitists

I liked this article and I have a suspicion my peeved pal Pru will, too. It’s anti-anti-elitism and the point is that in some respects, there is nothing wrong with being elite or have elite goals. Here is a quoted section from the article, by Susan Jacoby:

“It is past time to retire the sliming of elite knowledge and education from public discourse. Do we want mediocre schools or the best education for our children? If we need an operation, do we want an ordinary surgeon or the best, most elite surgeon available?

America was never imagined as a democracy of dumbness. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were written by an elite group of leaders, and although their dream was limited to white men, it held the seeds of a future in which anyone might aspire to the highest — let us say it out loud, elite — level of achievement.”

But this issue doesn’t apply only the U.S. Anti-elitism is spreading and it’s time we do something about it. If it isn’t too elite of me to say that!

--Curly

If You'll Be Late, You Should Update

Here's another post directed to literary editors and publishers. Time and again, I've entered writing contests with the understanding that the contest results should be made public by such-and-such date. Then, such-and-such date rolls around, and no information is available. The entrants haven't been notified, and when they check the contest Web site, all they see is the same outdated information. If results will be delayed--ESPECIALLY for a fee-charging contest--the least the administrators can do is update the Web site with that information, and a new target date for notification. Bonus for said administrators: avoiding those e-mails from time-sensitive entrants like me.

Similarly, for weeks verging on months I've been awaiting a May 31 publication date for an online publication's new issue release. That's because some of my work is included in that issue. Well, May 31 has come and gone, and there's nothing new on the site. There's certainly no news about the delay.

And that peeves me.

--Prunella

Start the Show Already

I rarely go to the movies, but not long ago, I went to see a show. First, however, I had to sit through thirty minutes – yes, thirty minutes – of advertisements. Then there were previews for an additional fifteen minutes. I don’t mind the previews; they’re like mini-movies and they also show me what other films I might want to see. But the ads were ridiculous, selling everything from cars (no fewer than four different brands were advertised within half an hour) to cellular phones, from food to DVD-rental services. Is this necessary? Am I paying all this money – and movies are overpriced, in my opinion – to watch commercials?

--Curly