And the world's IQ just took a nosedive...

Wow, when people can't even say they know who this guy is, it's a pretty sad time we live in. Give me a break.

Something the 99% can relate to

I found this nice little tidbit on Gawker today. Joining the exceedingly large population of undergrads/post-college students, unemployed persons and those just looking to get a new job, I thought this quite nicely put into perspective the importance of a good cover letter.

I know I'm not the greatest cover letter writer in the world, but even I know that you can't brag about yourself to excess--you just come off looking like an egotistical fool. (Can I just say that maybe if this guy took  an English class along with all those programming and AP 2.0 classes, there wouldn't be so many punctuation and spelling mistakes in his letter. Just saying. Don't get me wrong, it's still hilarious.)

This is probably what Mark has
to do when he's walking around.
Photo courtesy of dreamer07.

Some of my favorite bits from the letter include his mention of his "terrifying efficiency" at routine office functions and the casual slip about bench pressing twice his body weight while doing 35 pull ups. (That part actually made me laugh.) Thanks for putting us all to shame. I have the feeling that even if Superman were out looking for a job, he wouldn't put down under his qualifications that he can fly and save the world. There's a fine line between confidently stating your abilities and knowing when you need to suck up to your potential boss (and then your actual boss, once you're hired for the job) so they can feel better about being in control of you.

Also, a couple amusing comments from the various bank investors:

 "please enjoy. someone find him on facebook (although at this point, he probably deleted it).  be sure to scroll through the list of companies that this has been through in 5 days. this kid is never getting a job." 

"Drinks on me for the first analyst to concisely summarize everything that is wrong with this." 

This has even made the rounds at the poor student's school, NYU. 

Fantastic. But at least he's being a good sport about the whole thing, realizing he aimed a bit too high  in listing his achievements.

With all the people who are looking to get jobs or internships, it's important to make your resume or cover letter stand out. But let this be a lesson to all those who are looking for a job or will be soon enough. Have a touch of humility when writing your accomplishments and what you hope to bring to a company.

In the doldrums: Phrase origin lesson of the day

Where exactly did the phrase "In the doldrums" come from? I ask this because, well, I'm in the blog doldrums as it were. I haven't posted in a few days and I'm not sure what to write about. Oh sure, I could post some latest news article or talk more about the still-far-away election, but those are boring topics to me. But word origins are always interesting, at least to a linguistics nerd like me.

Haven't ever heard of the phrase or know what it means? Well, prepare to be educated! Being "in the doldrums" refers to someone who is depressed or in low spirits. And according to phrases.org.uk (Yaay British for knowing the meaning of seldom-used phrases), being "in the doldrums" came about in the early 19th century. "Doldrum" used to mean someone who was dull or slow, (slow as in slothful, not slow as in stupid) and it's most likely that "doldrum" originated from "dol," which means dull. Contrary to popular belief (including mine), the phrase did not originate from the region of listless winds that was often the woe of ships trying to get to destinations in a timely manner. Apparently, the region was named after the phrase. "The Doldrums" wasn't named until the mid-19th century.

Good stuff, right? And while I meant my context of being in the blog doldrums to be one of feeling listless rather than depressed, I can now say I have learned something about A, the proper use of the phrase and B, where it came from. And now you can too. Now go find someone else to educate!

Thank you for being a murder detective

My newest favorite show has become Murder, She Wrote. Why?

Photo from thestudiotour.com

Why not??

It's a mystery show, and those are usually pretty enjoyable. Besides, I've gotten on a murder mystery kick by watching the BBC's latest hit "Sherlock." (Which, by the way, stars a man with the best name on the planet: Benedict Cumberbatch. See Eddie Izzard's standup routine about Engelbert Humperdinck to see how the naming process came about.)

Seriously, watch this. It's hilarious.

I didn't use to like the show when I was younger. It was a regular favorite of my mum's, but at the time I wasn't into mysteries very much, and I didn't find the show comedic enough for my tastes. But now that I'm a snarky, cynical adult? Let the fun begin!

There's another reason why I like the show: To date, I have found 11 characters who have also made an appearance on Golden Girls. WIN. What's the name of the game? Six Degrees of Golden Girls! Of the main characters, only Blanche and Stan have been on Murder, She Wrote. (Stan--or Herb Edelman-- has a recurring role as a policeman in New York.) The other characters were only minor--Blanche's sisters, or various boyfriends of the girls. Still, it makes for exciting stuff, at least for old-lady me.

And have I mentioned the snarkiness? If you're looking for a snobby character everyone loves, look no further than Jessica Fletcher. Her nosiness into the lives of locals and non-locals alike, not to mention her constant reminders to the sheriff (played by Tom Bosley) about how to properly do his job are rather amusing.

Also, it's from the 80s. So it's more or less a guarantee that I'll like it or at least watch it.

For those of you lucky enough to have cable (i.e., not me), Murder, She Wrote can be found on the Hallmark channel. For those of you luckier enough to have Netflix, the entire series can now be viewed instantly.

It's the most wonderful advertising time of the year

This weekend, as everyone knows, is Superbowl Sunday. Which means of course, that it's time to get together with a few friends, sit back, drink a lot and enjoy the best part of the game--the ads! Some this year have already been leaked, including a very funny one of Matthew Broderick for Honda:

The Superbowl is like the Olympics for advertisers--it's a chance for them to show their brightest and best stuff and win the equivalent of medals (i.e., large numbers of consumers flocking to their products, along with lots of Youtube views and bragging rights to the best ad.) I don't watch the Superbowl because I don't give two craps about pro football, so sadly I've missed out on quite a few good ads.

But that's what the Internet is for, right? Here are a couple of my favorite ads from Superbowls past:

#1: Betty White Snickers commercial (2010)

Seriously, you can NEVER, EVER go wrong with Betty White. And Snickers are good, too.

#2: Darth Vader Passat (2011)

How adorable is this little kid? And it's Star Wars! Yaaaaay Star Wars!

#3: Jerry Seinfeld and the Acura NSX (2009) 

I've always enjoyed Jerry Seinfeld's standup comedy, so this was a nice little treat when I found it.

I'm hoping that the majority of this year's ads will be good. Chances are I'll have to watch most of them online, unless the Superbowl starts at 7 instead of 8 like I'm thinking. (See? This is how little I know about it, I can't even say what time it starts.)

As for halftime, who cares?

Dante's Inferno: You aren't in Hell when you're reading it

I'll start right off the bat: John Ciardi's translation of Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy is an outstanding one. As a sucker for classic literature, I first picked this up in high school, though sadly it was not this edition. The depth of information in the introduction and notes can be overwhelming, but don't be discouraged. If you've never read Dante but have always wanted to, (or even if you've never thought about reading Dante or never wanted to) this is the edition for you.

The Divine Comedy is literally a guided tour of Hell, Purgatory and
Heaven. Ooooh, look at the feet sticking out of the ground!

This was the edition I had first--not bad for a first-time read,
but it could've  used more explanation. I enjoyed the drawings,
though. (Image from Google Books)

It's mostly the poetry and  side comments, but helpful maps like these are also found to give a visual description of what the scene is about. These are few and far between, so don't rely on them as a source of information; rather, use them as a guide along with your imagination.


For those of you who have no idea what the Divine Comedy is all about, (i.e., those of you who live under a rock--but it's ok! We're moving on, we're moving on.) it tells the story of the spiritual awakening of Dante as a middle-aged man who has lost his way in the corruptions of man. His three books cover his journey through Hell, Purgatory and Paradise (each place is covered in one book). His guide, Virgil, shows him the way through Hell and Purgatory where he is then replaced by Beatrice, Dante's long-time love. (One of those poetic loves medieval guys like Plutarch used to write about, you know, the ones who have radiant eyes like the sun and pure white skin and who never say one word to the tortured poet.)

So far, I've found that the Inferno is my favorite of the trilogy. I've read it probably five or six times, and it has never gotten old for me. The brilliant description and ingenious methods of torture Dante uses to inflict on the sinners of his choice make for a rather exciting read. And you're talking to someone who doesn't usually enjoy reading poetry. I also rather enjoy his criticisms of the Catholic Church and its corrupt ways, but that's probably some bias about Catholics kicking in. Plus I like judging people, and that is EXACTLY what Dante is doing in his first book.

In all fairness, there is a lot about Dante's structure and ideas that makes sense to me. As someone who is obsessed with structure and putting things in their proper place, Dante speaks (literally) volumes to me. He kind of takes it to an OCD level, but he had a lot to write about in the 1300s so, I can forgive him for it.

John Ciardi, the translator, has taken great pains to ensure the reader can follow Dante and his every step on his journey. Introductions, reinforcements and explanations of symbols and themes, notes, maps and afterwords all help contribute to a sense of totality about this book.

An extremely helpful map that that gives you an idea of what Dante had in
mind for Hell's structure. Yaaay pits of despair!

A nice little summary of what to expect in the canto, along
with brief explanations of important symbols. More detail
is given after the canto concludes.

I hope this encourages some of you to try Dante, either for the first time, or as a second (or third, or fourth) effort. I firmly believe having the right edition makes a huge difference, and Ciardi's translation does the trick. It's a dense read and will take a while to get through, but coming out with an understanding of the total structure of Dante's universe and the way he sees things is definitely worth it.

Coming soon: As of right now, I'm about a quarter way through Purgatorio (for the second time). When I'm finished, I'll review it and post it on here. 

Birth control recall--is your brand one of them?

According to NPR and Time, Pfizer is recalling 1 million packages of birth control bills due to a packaging error. The affected packages contain the wrong doses of hormones, which could cause women to become pregnant rather than preventing it. (Nice going.)

I've never seen pills this colorful before, but what do you expect when you're getting photos for free?

This is the second recall in the last six months. Back in September, another massive recall went out due to a similar packaging error. What's up with the lack of inspections?

Affected pills include 14 lots of Lo/Ovral-28 tablets and 14 lots of generic Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol tablets. (That took me a while to understand, but it's supposed to be 14 packaged lots, not " 14, lots of Lo/Ovral" because that'd just be stupid.) Remember, these are packaged by Pfizer, so if your brand has a different laboratory name on it then you're not to worry, even if you take generic Norgestrel and Ethinyl Estradiol tablets or Lo/Ovral-28.