“The Wife” makes one look misogynistic. I think it also makes you look stupid. But what really grates on me is when adults refer to their parent to others ( except their siblings or their other parent) as “Mom” or “ “Dad” ( as opposed to referring to them as “MY mom/Dad”…. As in ‘ We are taking Mom out to dinner tonight”. I can’t explain exactly why this makes me nuts. Part of it is the it suggests that this is the parents name rather than what you the speaker call them. My husband did this. And eventually my kids were like “ Do you mean YOUR mom?” That always made me proud! My kids know NEVER to do that with regards to me.
Did you know that many millenials/GenZ seem to embrace "wifey"? It's bizarre to me! Search"wifey" on Google shopping or on Etsy and prepare to be shocked.
I find those who use the "unattributed mom" (great description) as often being clueless that this is weird. My then 10 year old had to explain to my husband that it's an odd thing to do.
I tried to tell people before the election what Brandon Johnson was going to be. Non-answers to most questions was bad enough. But now he is the aggravated and oppressed black man victim? Look, Brandon, we have had black mayors before. You just replaced one, remember? We have had black men as mayor before. Have you considered that some simply don't like the way you are performing as mayor? When do we get over the "you can't criticize the performance of a black man man because he is black" phase?
I do hope you mocked your son mercilessly, and lovingly of course, for those Burning Man comments. “They burned the man then set off fireworks”!? While I’m not exactly in that gathering’s age demographic, I’d roast my adult kids forever for being a part of such a ridiculous frolic for the wealthy.
People in Britain are mystified by the Burning Man story. Their biggest music festival is Glastonbury--an event for which wellington boots are de rigeur and people are disappointed if they do not come back with stories of being drenched and caked in mud as the water runs out and the lavatories cease to work.
Scrolling Comments... 1. My reply to Tweet "Mary’s “Virgin” Explanation Made Joseph Suspect Upstairs Neighbor — @xkcd’s mnemonic for remembering the order of planets." I say "Phooey!" #PlanetPluto4Ever. 2. "Sangwich" and "Sammich" are both acceptable terms for publication. 3. Whistleblowers. MCE worse - but you make a good counterpoint for Lightfoot. 4. If only we could get rid of the need for any combination of the terms "Deluded hypocritical persecuted politicians." 5. Lightfoot/Harvard: I think there was a misspelling. Did you mean "Panic"? (Refund) 6. Poor form Mayor Johnson, Didn't Lightfoot show that a strong reactive defense is best left to our NFL Team? PS What is being done about our migrant issue? I'll hold my breathe for a response. 7. You'd think the phrase 'Racking up money for rat related _____" would be more commonly used.
I am no Parrothead, but I love Jimmy Buffett songs. "Volcano" is ok, but "Survive" from that album is much better. Last weekend, for Jimmy, we "sipped champagne 'til we [broke] into smiles."
I have always loathed “the wife”. It makes it sound like you’re talking about a prop or an object. I don’t think that the people that use it are being denigrating, I just think they’re trying to be glib, and they don’t realize that they sound like jackasses. Like people that refer to a sales commission as “the commish”.
The continuing revelation of fraud (theft) by CPS, City, County, and others who stole from the federal Paycheck Protection Program makes my blood boil. That some are allowed to just resign (when we know they can waltz into another government gig), as if that's adequate punishment, is infuriating. I want them all publicly named and shamed, fully prosecuted, and forced to pay back every single cent.
I spent many, many, frustrating hours during trying to access PPP or EIDL loan funds for my nonprofit which, like many others, was shuttered due to the pandemic. As a small organization we kept hitting walls of misinformation, banks that wouldn't deal with us or anyone not already a client, and so we fell through the cracks and got no funds. Apparently, my mistake was being honest. Despite efforts to revive our programming since things "re-opened," the two years of lost revenue and the long-tail of pandemic declines means we may have to close. So hearing about highly-paid workers with sweet pensions stealing thousands of dollars and seemingly getting away with it is painful. I hope reporters keep paying attention and I hope that prosecutors pursue every single one of them.
Sorry to hear your non-profit was unable to get PPP funds and had to shutter. There were other non-profits who did quite well during the pandemic and still took PPP funds that were never repaid. Not as honest as you. A terribly monitored program.
I can live with “Republican cultists”, “conspiracy crazed pundits” and “deluded hypocrites”. But you have to come up with a better adjective for Hunter than “troubled” son. “Greedy” at the very least…"deplorable" maybe? 😉
Eric, what is the rest of the story? What did your son and girlfriend do all week? Did they pay money to attend? Why did they leave just as the burning man?? was going up in flames and the fireworks were going off?
Wasn’t that suppose to be the high point of this “happening” (please excuse boomer term).
I will now date myself…is this like Woodstock except no music or at least no big name bands?
And I am very glad to hear they made it out okay…were they ever concerned for their safety?
Devon sent this message to me and I'll post it here: >>>Hi! “The girlfriend” here - most of the week was lovely and went as planned! We did purchase tickets just like everyone else there, as well as buying lots of camping gear!
We left before the Man burned because it was pushed to Monday from Saturday due to the rain and we had to catch a flight home. Our plan all along was to leave Monday. We were very disappointed to have to miss it!
It’s not like Woodstock for a lot of reasons. I’m going to sound like a jerk because I am now a Person Who Has Been to Burning Man, but it’s hard to explain unless you’re there. It’s not a music festival (although there is music), it’s more like a carnival on the moon. The provide gravity and mostly breathable air and the attendees provide every single thing else. It sounds super hard and pointless because it IS, but it’s still fun!
Thankfully, we were never concerned for our safety - the biggest worry I had was that they wouldn’t be able to service the porta potties and we’d all be using buckets as toilets.>>>
The New York Times headline critique is interesting. I generally like their formal tone, and I wouldn't fault them for, say, not using the word "lies" in the headline, "Ramaswamy Shows Penchant for Dispensing with Facts." That's obvious Timesian understated gentlemanly talk for "Ramaswamay Is a Damn Liar," which is what that prominent story was all about.
The economy headlines are different, and that's really about substance as opposed to mere headlines as such. The media tends to cover good economic news with a lot of buts and qualifications and "fears linger" and so on.
It's tempting to see this as media malpractice. At the same time, I think it's fair for coverage to express skepticism of a soft landing (inflation reduction without recession) when that skepticism aligns with expert opinion. I wouldn't expect Times headlines on climate change to do an immediate 180 on the issue if we started to see signs that effects are not turning out to be as bad as predicted. (To be clear, I don't expect that. Outcomes are turning out to be less bad than once predicted as a worst case, but that's because of the efforts that we've been making. The climate science has actually been on the money.) My point is that, with so much expert opinion behind not-so-good expectations, it's natural to treat contrary evidence provisionally. Fears would linger, and rightly and reasonably so.
Anyway, I have a theory about Biden and the media, which is that it all turned south with the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan. Mr. Calm Competent Trump Antidote, in the eyes of the mainstream press, all of a sudden came across as a shocking bungler. It was just then that his approval rating started to tank, no doubt owing not to the view that we should have stayed in Afghanistan (though I think we should have) but to the view that he botched the exit in dramatic fashion, which was the big story.
And then the later rounds of Covid relief spending, as many experts predicted, using simple back of the envelope calculations about the amount of money being pumped into the economy, contributed to a scary spike in inflation, the effects of which we are still feeling and dealing with in terms of still high prices in some areas and much higher interest rates.
I tend to see Biden favorably, all things considered. He's a normal, decent sort of person who has good priorities and has gotten a lot done that's pretty good. But I think the media turned against him early on because of, well, a couple of big bad things for which he really did bear responsibility, and it's been hard for him to dig himself out, especially insofar as he is not an effective communicator.
I like that headlines have a neutral tone, even in editorials,. In this case, I think it is more powerful to focus on public health risks than Republicans. Anyone with serious interest in the topic would be interested in public health, and they should appeal to as diverse a group of readers as possible. Slamming Republicans may be accurate and gratifying to liberals, but it also makes it it tempting for moderate or Republican readers to dismiss the article without reading it.
"The wife" is indeed insensitive to people of polygamist cultures. Good for you EZ and thank you for raising awareness.
How does one apply this to the TV show "The Good Wife?"
“The Wife” makes one look misogynistic. I think it also makes you look stupid. But what really grates on me is when adults refer to their parent to others ( except their siblings or their other parent) as “Mom” or “ “Dad” ( as opposed to referring to them as “MY mom/Dad”…. As in ‘ We are taking Mom out to dinner tonight”. I can’t explain exactly why this makes me nuts. Part of it is the it suggests that this is the parents name rather than what you the speaker call them. My husband did this. And eventually my kids were like “ Do you mean YOUR mom?” That always made me proud! My kids know NEVER to do that with regards to me.
What about the Pences among us who refer to their wives as "Mother"?
It would be fun if women started referring to "The husband."
I know a woman who goes one worse and refers to “the hubby”. Ugh.
And she is hs wifey? Yuck1
Did you know that many millenials/GenZ seem to embrace "wifey"? It's bizarre to me! Search"wifey" on Google shopping or on Etsy and prepare to be shocked.
Yes to all of these points! 'The wife' is amazingly awful in every dimension. The unattributed Mom runs a close second.
I find those who use the "unattributed mom" (great description) as often being clueless that this is weird. My then 10 year old had to explain to my husband that it's an odd thing to do.
The ‘old lady’ ‘ the better half’ ‘her’ all of these irritate me to no end!
How about “the little woman”?
"old lady" reminds me of the pina colada song.
I tried to tell people before the election what Brandon Johnson was going to be. Non-answers to most questions was bad enough. But now he is the aggravated and oppressed black man victim? Look, Brandon, we have had black mayors before. You just replaced one, remember? We have had black men as mayor before. Have you considered that some simply don't like the way you are performing as mayor? When do we get over the "you can't criticize the performance of a black man man because he is black" phase?
I do hope you mocked your son mercilessly, and lovingly of course, for those Burning Man comments. “They burned the man then set off fireworks”!? While I’m not exactly in that gathering’s age demographic, I’d roast my adult kids forever for being a part of such a ridiculous frolic for the wealthy.
People in Britain are mystified by the Burning Man story. Their biggest music festival is Glastonbury--an event for which wellington boots are de rigeur and people are disappointed if they do not come back with stories of being drenched and caked in mud as the water runs out and the lavatories cease to work.
Scrolling Comments... 1. My reply to Tweet "Mary’s “Virgin” Explanation Made Joseph Suspect Upstairs Neighbor — @xkcd’s mnemonic for remembering the order of planets." I say "Phooey!" #PlanetPluto4Ever. 2. "Sangwich" and "Sammich" are both acceptable terms for publication. 3. Whistleblowers. MCE worse - but you make a good counterpoint for Lightfoot. 4. If only we could get rid of the need for any combination of the terms "Deluded hypocritical persecuted politicians." 5. Lightfoot/Harvard: I think there was a misspelling. Did you mean "Panic"? (Refund) 6. Poor form Mayor Johnson, Didn't Lightfoot show that a strong reactive defense is best left to our NFL Team? PS What is being done about our migrant issue? I'll hold my breathe for a response. 7. You'd think the phrase 'Racking up money for rat related _____" would be more commonly used.
The wife implies a lesser being or an object, like the dog or the stove. It's depreciating.
I am no Parrothead, but I love Jimmy Buffett songs. "Volcano" is ok, but "Survive" from that album is much better. Last weekend, for Jimmy, we "sipped champagne 'til we [broke] into smiles."
I have always loathed “the wife”. It makes it sound like you’re talking about a prop or an object. I don’t think that the people that use it are being denigrating, I just think they’re trying to be glib, and they don’t realize that they sound like jackasses. Like people that refer to a sales commission as “the commish”.
The continuing revelation of fraud (theft) by CPS, City, County, and others who stole from the federal Paycheck Protection Program makes my blood boil. That some are allowed to just resign (when we know they can waltz into another government gig), as if that's adequate punishment, is infuriating. I want them all publicly named and shamed, fully prosecuted, and forced to pay back every single cent.
I spent many, many, frustrating hours during trying to access PPP or EIDL loan funds for my nonprofit which, like many others, was shuttered due to the pandemic. As a small organization we kept hitting walls of misinformation, banks that wouldn't deal with us or anyone not already a client, and so we fell through the cracks and got no funds. Apparently, my mistake was being honest. Despite efforts to revive our programming since things "re-opened," the two years of lost revenue and the long-tail of pandemic declines means we may have to close. So hearing about highly-paid workers with sweet pensions stealing thousands of dollars and seemingly getting away with it is painful. I hope reporters keep paying attention and I hope that prosecutors pursue every single one of them.
Sorry to hear your non-profit was unable to get PPP funds and had to shutter. There were other non-profits who did quite well during the pandemic and still took PPP funds that were never repaid. Not as honest as you. A terribly monitored program.
I can live with “Republican cultists”, “conspiracy crazed pundits” and “deluded hypocrites”. But you have to come up with a better adjective for Hunter than “troubled” son. “Greedy” at the very least…"deplorable" maybe? 😉
Eric, what is the rest of the story? What did your son and girlfriend do all week? Did they pay money to attend? Why did they leave just as the burning man?? was going up in flames and the fireworks were going off?
Wasn’t that suppose to be the high point of this “happening” (please excuse boomer term).
I will now date myself…is this like Woodstock except no music or at least no big name bands?
And I am very glad to hear they made it out okay…were they ever concerned for their safety?
Devon sent this message to me and I'll post it here: >>>Hi! “The girlfriend” here - most of the week was lovely and went as planned! We did purchase tickets just like everyone else there, as well as buying lots of camping gear!
We left before the Man burned because it was pushed to Monday from Saturday due to the rain and we had to catch a flight home. Our plan all along was to leave Monday. We were very disappointed to have to miss it!
It’s not like Woodstock for a lot of reasons. I’m going to sound like a jerk because I am now a Person Who Has Been to Burning Man, but it’s hard to explain unless you’re there. It’s not a music festival (although there is music), it’s more like a carnival on the moon. The provide gravity and mostly breathable air and the attendees provide every single thing else. It sounds super hard and pointless because it IS, but it’s still fun!
Thankfully, we were never concerned for our safety - the biggest worry I had was that they wouldn’t be able to service the porta potties and we’d all be using buckets as toilets.>>>
Thanks for the update and further information on the experience.
Glad to hear that safety was not an issue.
I shall now try to wrap my head around what a carnival on the moon would be like.
The New York Times headline critique is interesting. I generally like their formal tone, and I wouldn't fault them for, say, not using the word "lies" in the headline, "Ramaswamy Shows Penchant for Dispensing with Facts." That's obvious Timesian understated gentlemanly talk for "Ramaswamay Is a Damn Liar," which is what that prominent story was all about.
The economy headlines are different, and that's really about substance as opposed to mere headlines as such. The media tends to cover good economic news with a lot of buts and qualifications and "fears linger" and so on.
It's tempting to see this as media malpractice. At the same time, I think it's fair for coverage to express skepticism of a soft landing (inflation reduction without recession) when that skepticism aligns with expert opinion. I wouldn't expect Times headlines on climate change to do an immediate 180 on the issue if we started to see signs that effects are not turning out to be as bad as predicted. (To be clear, I don't expect that. Outcomes are turning out to be less bad than once predicted as a worst case, but that's because of the efforts that we've been making. The climate science has actually been on the money.) My point is that, with so much expert opinion behind not-so-good expectations, it's natural to treat contrary evidence provisionally. Fears would linger, and rightly and reasonably so.
Anyway, I have a theory about Biden and the media, which is that it all turned south with the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan. Mr. Calm Competent Trump Antidote, in the eyes of the mainstream press, all of a sudden came across as a shocking bungler. It was just then that his approval rating started to tank, no doubt owing not to the view that we should have stayed in Afghanistan (though I think we should have) but to the view that he botched the exit in dramatic fashion, which was the big story.
And then the later rounds of Covid relief spending, as many experts predicted, using simple back of the envelope calculations about the amount of money being pumped into the economy, contributed to a scary spike in inflation, the effects of which we are still feeling and dealing with in terms of still high prices in some areas and much higher interest rates.
I tend to see Biden favorably, all things considered. He's a normal, decent sort of person who has good priorities and has gotten a lot done that's pretty good. But I think the media turned against him early on because of, well, a couple of big bad things for which he really did bear responsibility, and it's been hard for him to dig himself out, especially insofar as he is not an effective communicator.
I like that headlines have a neutral tone, even in editorials,. In this case, I think it is more powerful to focus on public health risks than Republicans. Anyone with serious interest in the topic would be interested in public health, and they should appeal to as diverse a group of readers as possible. Slamming Republicans may be accurate and gratifying to liberals, but it also makes it it tempting for moderate or Republican readers to dismiss the article without reading it.