The Written Words

So I was told this week in the comments of a blog post that I tend to “throw around terms”.  Now I will freely admit that I do use some words more frequently than others.  They have over time integrated themselves into my vocabulary both vocally and in my writing through increasing frequency, and they tend to lose their definitive quality with each use.

The terms that I supposedly “throw around” so recklessly were: Amway Pusher.

So now honestly ask yourself how many times you have read that term in my writing.  I can think of 3 times over the past 4 years that I have used it, and not all of them were in blogging.  I think that can hardly be qualified as being terms I “throw around”.

However I decided to provide you a list of words that in my opinion are the Top 10 English Words Thrown Around More Than Rey Mysterio:

• 10) Fresh - We’re not even living during the height of popularity for Fresh Prince Of Bel Air, but still this word is being used left and right.  Fresh design, fresh content, fresh faces, blah blah blah.  Fresh is finally stale.

• 9) Organic - People talk about “organic” in everything from food to search engine results.  The thing is… EVERYTHING is “organic”.  Even the things that are synthesized are based on “organic” matter. 

• 8) Gay - This is a word that started out as meaning “happy” in the 12th Century, evolved into a description of bright and flamboyant objects by the 17th Century, and eventually became the “proper” label for homosexuality in the 20th Century.  That’s over 800 years of this word being adopted, altered, and thrown around like one of those super bouncy balls you got for a quarter at the supermarket.

• 7) Nice - Hell, I throw this word around WAY more than Rey Mysterio.  I use it positively (Yeah, that’s pretty nice.), negatively (Oh he stabbed you?  Nice.), and sarcastically (So you’re suing me because you ran me over with the beer cart?  That’s nice.)

• 6) Bad - This word has been thrown around hard and put away wet more times than “gay”.  Everything from sleek cars to leather clothing to rock stars at one time or another has been considered “bad”.  Michael Jackson even admitted to being “bad”, but no one realized he literally meant “bad” as in equating to evil!

• 5) Twat - This used to be a cutting word.  It was kinda cute when people started by referring to Twitter messages as “twats” instead of “tweets”.  Then time carried on and it moved quick from cute and funny to ugly and annoying.  Now that word has totally lost its edge and been thrown around more than Rey Mysterio.  Those who continue to use it are at least putting the Twit in Twitter.

• 4) Nigga - You don’t think this word gets thrown around?  Well you must be a country bumpkin because allow me to assure you that it is as overused as it gets.  This word gets used by black people, white people, brown people, yellow people, and even those damn Purple People Eaters.  Sure there is this theory that replacing the “er” with the “a” changes the meaning of the word and makes it more of a loving word.  Yet I see the use of “brotha” (instead of “brother”) and “sista” (instead of “sister”) as terms of endearment and not changing in their meaning from the root word… so why should “nigga” suddenly transform itself from bad to good?  Well it has by getting thrown around more than Rey Mysterio.

• 3) Cool - I blame James Dean and Charles Schulz for this one.  Back during the time that James Dean was up and coming apparently he did not have a core body temperature of 98.6.  Add in the leather jacket, the sunglasses, and the stogie then you suddenly became “cool”.  It could have all ended up on Dead Man’s Curve… but instead Schulz transformed his beloved Snoopy as a cartoon memorial to Dean and rebranded him as Joe Cool.  Needless to say, “cool” has been through the wash, the dry cleaners, the dog house, and a couple brothels while getting thrown around more than Rey Mysterio.

• 2) Awesome - What was once a word to describe a once in a life time event has in 4 little decades become a word to describe finding a quarter in the couch cushions.  I blame California for the use and abuse of this word.  Like, totally.

• 1) Hot - I blame Paris Hilton for this.  One night I was at MSG a few years ago in the elevator with a pack of VIPs, and the operator said, “Hey Dawg check out my new Nokia phone.  Ain’t it cool?” I looked and told him, “Nah bra, that’s hot!” Then we got to the floor, I got out, and behind me I heard someone say, “Hey it’s Paris Hilton, she’s so cool!” and then I heard her say, “No darling… I’m hot!” That bitch took my word and threw it around more than Rey Mysterio.

So what words do you think get thrown around more than Rey Mysterio?

I found the following over here while stumbling through the ‘net.  I thought it was SO good… I figured I’d offer you the full version even though the person I wish would read it doesn’t read me…

Ode to the Nice Guys

This rant was written for the Wharton Undergraduate Journal

This is a tribute to the nice guys. The nice guys that finish last, that never become more than friends, that endure hours of whining and bitching about what assholes guys are, while disproving the very point. This is dedicated to those guys who always provide a shoulder to lean on but restrain themselves to tentative hugs, those guys who hold open doors and give reassuring pats on the back and sit patiently outside the changing room at department stores. This is in honor of the guys that obligingly reiterate how cute/beautiful/smart/funny/sexy their female friends are at the appropriate moment, because they know most girls need that litany of support. This is in honor of the guys with open minds, with laid-back attitudes, with honest concern. This is in honor of the guys who respect a girl’s every facet, from her privacy to her theology to her clothing style.

This is for the guys who escort their drunk, bewildered female friends back from parties and never take advantage once they’re at her door, for the guys who accompany girls to bars as buffers against the rest of the creepy male population, for the guys who know a girl is fishing for compliments but give them out anyway, for the guys who always play by the rules in a game where the rules favor cheaters, for the guys who are accredited as boyfriend material but somehow don’t end up being boyfriends, for all the nice guys who are overlooked, underestimated, and unappreciated, for all the nice guys who are manipulated, misled, and unjustly abandoned, this is for you.

This is for that time she left 40 urgent messages on your cell phone, and when you called her back, she spent three hours painstakingly dissecting two sentences her boyfriend said to her over dinner. And even though you thought her boyfriend was a chump and a jerk, you assured her that it was all ok and she shouldn’t worry about it. This is for that time she interrupted the best killing spree you’d ever orchestrated in GTA3 to rant about a rumor that romantically linked her and the guy she thinks is the most repulsive person in the world. And even though you thought it was immature and you had nothing against the guy, you paused the game for two hours and helped her concoct a counter-rumor to spread around the floor. This is also for that time she didn’t have a date, so after numerous vows that there was nothing “serious” between the two of you, she dragged you to a party where you knew nobody, the beer was awful, and she flirted shamelessly with you, justifying each fit of reckless teasing by announcing to everyone: “oh, but we’re just friends!” And even though you were invited purely as a symbolic warm body for her ego, you went anyways. Because you’re nice like that.

The nice guys don’t often get credit where credit is due. And perhaps more disturbing, the nice guys don’t seem to get laid as often as they should. And I wish I could logically explain this trend, but I can’t. From what I have observed on campus and what I have learned from talking to friends at other schools and in the workplace, the only conclusion I can form is that many girls are just illogical, manipulative bitches. Many of them claim they just want to date a nice guy, but when presented with such a specimen, they say irrational, confusing things such as “oh, he’s too nice to date” or “he would be a good boyfriend but he’s not for me” or “he already puts up with so much from me, I couldn’t possibly ask him out!” or the most frustrating of all: “no, it would ruin our friendship.” Yet, they continue to lament the lack of datable men in the world, and they expect their too-nice-to-date male friends to sympathize and apologize for the men that are jerks. Sorry, guys, girls like that are beyond my ability to fathom. I can’t figure out why the connection breaks down between what they say (I want a nice guy!) and what they do (I’m going to sleep with this complete ass now!). But one thing I can do, is say that the nice-guy-finishes-last phenomenon doesn’t last forever. There are definitely many girls who grow out of that train of thought and realize they should be dating the nice guys, not taking them for granted. The tricky part is finding those girls, and even trickier, finding the ones that are single.

So, until those girls are found, I propose a toast to all the nice guys. You know who you are, and I know you’re sick of hearing yourself described as ubiquitously nice. But the truth of the matter is, the world needs your patience in the department store, your holding open of doors, your party escorting services, your propensity to be a sucker for a pretty smile. For all the crazy, inane, absurd things you tolerate, for all the situations where you are the faceless, nameless hero, my accolades, my acknowledgement, and my gratitude go out to you. You do have credibility in this society, and your well deserved vindication is coming.

Fu-zu Jen, SEAS/WH, 2003

So… since she wrote this in 2003… where praytell is our vindication???

Yeah… I thought so.