At a restaurant last week, I overheard a Loud Talker telling his tablemates about some conquest or other, and he used “like” repeatedly. How many “likes” does it take to make a sentence? Like, literally, dozens!

Literally is another overused word. Literally.

One of our neighbors was recently talking about her new Infusion stove. Ummm, Induction?

When our neighborhood has a function involving food, the signs and flyers sometimes say “BYOB Your Own Beverage.”

A woman I used to work with said she went to “Evolution Church.” I think she meant “Elevation Church” and I don’t think they discuss Evolution there.

I worked with a woman who did marketing for a bank, and she talked about their “Veritable Rate Loans.”

A boss of mine would email me to find out what I was working on, asking “What’s in your que?”

When we’re getting ready to go on a cruise, we check out various forums and message boards to get information about the ship, the cruise line or some of the policies. People often ask questions about the “Dinning Room.” They sometimes ask about “Making Whoppie” (but hopefully not in the dinning room) but I wouldn’t know about that. 😉

Our grandson Edison visited recently, and one of the books he was reading described two characters on skateboards crashing into each other as a real “Kodak moment.” Edison looked up at Kathy and said “I don’t even know what that means!” Another idiom bites the dust!

The Grammarist describes a Kodak moment:

“A Kodak moment is a moment in time that is so precious because of its sentimental value or its beauty, one wishes to preserve it on film. For instance, a baby’s first steps may be considered a Kodak moment.”

And further:

“The expression Kodak moment came from a popular advertising campaign for the American Kodak cameras in the latter half of the twentieth century, produced by Eastman Kodak. Kodak cameras such as the Brownie and Instamatic cameras were reasonably priced and easy to use, so even the most inexperienced or busy people could operate them.”

This New York Times article has been shared on a number of forums already, but I thought I would add it here for anyone who might have missed it. Further discussion of the pros and cons of our “selfie society” is pointless and tiresome, but as photographers the history, as well as the ideas, in this story have special meaning. If we take the time and spend the money to go to a special place, let’s be sure to look at and take pictures of that place, and not just take pictures of ourselves!

“I keep thinking of what it might be like if we all took the time to photograph such commonplace miracles. What it would be like if all the people with cameras in their pockets transformed themselves into documentary photographers — like Dorothea Lange, like Baldwin Lee — to make a collective record of a truth about the world that most people haven’t yet troubled themselves to see?”

NYT: You’re Pointing Your Camera The Wrong Way

We had dinner with neighbors last night, and during our conversation we talked about the past year. My comment was that “my weight went up, my investments went down. Let’s hope that trend reverses in 2023.

Best wishes, good health and safe travels to all. Happy New Year!

“Knowing your latitude and longitude is not the same as knowing where you are.” From The Candy House by Jennifer Egan

I loved this statement as a stand-alone quote, but it is also interesting in the context in which it appears.

I just finished reading this fascinating book by Jennifer Egan. It is the second of hers I’ve read, the first being “A Visit From The Goon Squad.” As “alternative world/dystopian future/reality-fantasy” (my definition, strange as it is) it is outside my usual crime fiction subject matter but something I’ve been exploring more lately. It’s a lot better to me than non-fiction gloom and doom stories about failed and/or corrupt politicians, end of the world climate change or crappy economic news!

The premise of the book is a society where a huge social media corporation run by a super tech demi-god whose name everyone knows (sound familiar?) has developed a technology, “Own Your Unconscious”—that allows you access to every memory you’ve ever had, and to share every memory in exchange for access to the memories of others. Think about that. Of course not everyone chooses to participate, and whole companies are formed, both to promote and profit from and also avoid this (over)sharing of information.

Egan’s writing style can be a little hard for me to follow, as she changes characters, points of view and subject matter seemingly at random. I found it to be a good exercise of my reading and comprehension skills, as its important to pay attention to the story lines as they bob and weave.

Fun stuff, for anyone interested in this kind of writing!