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WhyDid Wisdom: That’s a Fact

By |March 8th, 2012|WhyDid Wisdom|
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reference booksMistakes make me mad.  We all make them and some are totally unavoidable, but when it comes to the ones that are… nothing else (except maybe leggings worn as pants) gets my blood boiling faster.  Alright, alright, that sounds awfully extreme.  The mistakes that are most offensive to me also happen to be the most avoidable.  Those mistakes are the ones that never even had to happen had someone done his or her homework.

It irks me to no end when I’m minding my own business and I hear a news correspondent or “expert”  mispronounce something that they were presumably paid to talk about and educate the general public on.  I get so mad, in fact, I flip off the TV and open up my laptop only to find writers and bloggers misspelling words and/or using the wrong ones.  Doesn’t anyone do their homework anymore?  I think spelling may be the worst of all.  I get that not everyone is a spelling bee champ and even I struggle with certain words from time to time, but you know what I do when I’m not sure?  I look it up.  It’s always so awkwardly embarrassing when I see people get onto their own little soap boxes only to spell everything wrong and negate all that they’ve just said.  The worst part about spelling mistakes?  The little red squiggly line that shows up.  Um, hello??!!  Here’s a good rule of thumb: If you can’t spell it, don’t use it.  Using a big word to make yourself sound smarter only to misspell it makes you look, well, stupid.

Have we gotten so lazy that we can’t even take a moment so as not to look like total dunces?

Instead of actually doing some research or thinking for ourselves, we just believe everything we hear spouting out of the TV or read on the internet.  It’s like a modern day game of “telephone” and it’s entirely possible that the original source wasn’t even accurate.  And while I know, a lot of us use the internet as a reference point, you’ve got to be careful.  Just because it’s on the internet doesn’t mean it’s true.  In this digital age, it’s imperative to get your facts straight.  Once you put something out there… it’s out there.

So, I guess my point is this:  if you’re going to make the effort to do something, spend a little extra time making sure that you do it right.  I do my very best to always make sure that anything I post is accurate and relevant.  Remember when I was going to buy myself a cute little hedgehog?  Well, it’s a good thing I did my homework.  Had I not, this post may have never been written due to missing digits.

xx,

WhyDid

P.S. If you can find the type-o in this post, you win!  (Just kidding… unless, of course, you find one).

WhyDid Wisdom: There Will Be Unicorns

By |February 2nd, 2012|WhyDid Wisdom|
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Hamlet and Ophelia

“The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”  – Hamlet Act III, scene III

You’ve probably heard this quote before… or maybe even even (mis)quoted it yourself.  But what does it really mean?  When this phrase is uttered (incorrectly or not), it is meant to say that one is so adamantly opposed to the “charge”, that one’s objection may indicate the exact opposite.

Have you ever caught someone in the midst of a lie and when you question that person, the alibi is so airtight that it’s almost too perfect?  There is such an elaborate excuse that you can tell it’s been pre-meditated?  Right around that time is when your antennae should go up and your brow should furrow.  Talk about a red flag.  The party in question is basically giving him/herself away.

It’s like when my dog (Smitty) pees on something.  He gets all worked up and it’s a dead giveaway.  Guilty as charged… hence another popular phrase, “Guilty dog barks the loudest.”

May seem like a straightforward explanation, but protest can also take the form of boasting or bragging.  As we all know (or at least should), boastfulness most times stems from deep insecurity.  Those who paint the prettiest pictures are usually the ones with the most to hide.

When I scroll through my Facebook feed and see people leaving elaborate status updates about how great life is or how much they are “over it” or how in love they are with his/her boyfriend/girlfriend, I feel really embarrassed for those individuals.  Partly because I’ve definitely been guilty of doing it before… so I can spot it from a mile away.  Here’s the thing, people who are living really fabulous lives are out doing just that… living their fabulous lives.  Not updating their Facebook pages.  People who are deeply in love with someone don’t have to broadcast it.  People who are over it… are over it.

So, next time you’re feeling bummed cause you see that everyone is out popping bottles alongside Jay-Z at the hottest club on the planet and there are models and unicorns- UNICORNS- there, just chuckle to yourself knowing that this is really code for sitting home alone watching Golden Girls with a quart of Haagen Dazs and there’s probably a cat involved… not that there’s anything wrong with that either.

The rest is silence.

xx,

WhyDid

Smart is the New Pretty: Snooze or News

By |January 25th, 2012|Smart Is the New Pretty, WhyDid Wisdom|
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Being bombarded with news about celebrities breaking up and being rushed to rehab on a daily basis, it’s time we looked for some news that might make us smile rather than snooze.  It’s a rough world out there… for a celebrity.

  • Welp, seems I’m not alone in my love of all things neon. [Nylon]
  • You could probably sport something bright to stand out at the newly re-opened 40/40 Club.  Oh wait… [Huffington Post]
  • Hmph… well, there’s always that documentary about cassettes.  That’d be fun. [TechCrunch]
  • BeachMint (mother company of JewelMint, StyleMint, ShoeMint, and BeautyMint) just keeps on growing with more “Mints” to come! [TechCrunch]
  • Not a Mint fan?  ShopSavvy is a pretty amazing new way to comparison shop while on the go by scanning barcodes. [TechCrunch]
  • Pretty soon your car may be very sensitive.  So sensitive it will respond to your very touch.  [Business Insider]
  • Speaking of touching, Victoria’s Secret’s new “Designer Collection” is sure to make your Valentine squeal with delight. [Fashionista]
  • Did you ever think you’d squeal with delight over an aardvark?  Today’s the day. [Huffington Post]
  • No, no.  Aardvarks aren’t endangered species, but these guys are. [Huffington Post]
  • Know who else isn’t endangered?  These six new breeds introduced into the Westminster Kennel Club [Huffington Post]
  • Hell, might as well throw in a cat video while I’m at it. [Gawker]

How did we get here?

xx,

WhyDid

 

photo via A Yankee’s Southern Exposure

Smart Is the New Pretty: Where Did the Internet Go?

By |January 18th, 2012|Smart Is the New Pretty, WhyDid Wisdom|
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You may be thinking to yourself, “What the heck is going on with the internet today?  It’s different.  It’s weird.”  Well, there’s good reason for that.  Many websites are going “black” in protest of SOPA.  WTF is SOPA, you ask?

xx,

 

WhyDid Wisdom: One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish…

By |January 12th, 2012|WhyDid Wisdom|
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As we headed home for the holidays, we were forced to remember where we came from.  Pretty or not as that place may be, it’s part of who we are and we should never forget it.  Many of us have migrated from our small hometowns to bigger, busier cities, while others never left their childhood haunts.  Neither is right or wrong; merely a matter of taste, circumstance, or predisposition.

You may have heard people throw around the phrase “big fish in a small pond” from time to time, but what does that really mean?  Basically what it implies is that someone may be considered a “big deal” in a small city (a big fish in small pond), but wouldn’t even be a blip on the radar in a bigger city (pond).  Sometimes we think that because we’re making big splashes in our small towns that we’re sure to make a wake in a larger lake… but that may not always be the case.  While some fish may thrive in a new big pond, others will flounder and struggle to swim.

You may have also thought about this phrase the other way around… “little fish in a big pond.”  Maybe you like to swim under the radar and being a little fish in a big pond feels more comfortable.  I once had a friend tell me that she would never move to a big city because she preferred being the big fish in her small pond.  Honesty is a virtue, I suppose.  And, well, maybe she was on to something.  Oftentimes, people leave their lagoons in hopes of making it big in a big city —- only to return with broken dreams and bruised egos.

Whether you choose to stick close to the shore of your small pond or head out into the current of the great sea, there will always be bigger fish (and maybe even some sharks).  It’s important to keep that in mind seeing as they could chew you up or just swallow you whole.

Fish don’t have feet, so they’re kind of stuck where they were hatched.  Luckily, we have more options.  Planes, trains, and automobiles can get us just about anywhere the mind can fathom.

I have always wondered whether people would rather be a big fish in a little pond or a little fish in a big pond.  I think I’d rather be a mermaid… but seeing as that’s not an option, I’d go with the little fish in a big pond.  Gives me plenty of room to grow.

xx,

WhyDid

 

 

 

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