0559 - Repetition

Our Chief Proofreader is still smarting from not correcting “Wolky” to “Wolfy” a while back, when we were citing the trio of Cheney, Rummy and Wolfy. As a small amend, he offers the remarkable name of Homayoon Kazerooni, a Professor at Berkeley. He, perhaps you knew (ha!), is the inventor of the Berkeley Lower Extremity Exoskeleton, or BLEEK. This gadget allows a hapless experimentee to carry enormous weight while looking as if swallowed by a mantis. We thought you ought to know.

And then, this last week there was the Democratic Convention, which we enjoyed when not napping. That Barack Obama is something else! Before getting on to today's non-political rant, we would like to pass on a Staff concept. This is a new idea for the debates, which are always Presidential candidate versus Presidential candidate, and VP-same versus VP-same. Recent events suggest that the format could be changed and improved, thus stimulating viewership. We want to see new match-ups. We've had the notorious Cheney use of the F-word at the Senate, and then, the charming and multilingual Teresa Kerry told a pushy reporter to shove it. So, what about a late-night no-words-barred debate between T. Kerry and Cheney? We'll bet it would be as exciting as Luke Skywalker versus Darth Vader. Similarly, the Bush and Kerry daughters could exchange hamster stories, but this in the family time slot. Well, on to today's topic.

Readers, dear Readers, it was Robert Louis Stevenson who said: “There is but one art, to omit. Oh, if I knew how to omit I would ask no other knowledge.” Well, in the political wars repetition to the point of voter stupefaction is beloved by all who plan the campaigns. And, in business, those who attack the consumer market believe that duplication as remorseless as the Abu Ghraib prison policy will sell the stuff. We have quite a few dismal examples.

Start with The New Yorker, a high end magazine which sends us not less than seven separate “blow-in” or bound-in subscription cards with every issue. Acres of forests are wasted to no end. Read our lips: we already subscribe, fellows. Similarly, the OO is sometimes seen in clothing from Lands' End [Proofreader: that's where they put the apostrophe]. Their sturdy and simple goods are appropriately humble, durable, and suitable for Anguilla's climate. But, they send their catalogs not just quarterly, but monthly, along with innumerable special ones for women, men, hamsters, and also several for towel and sheet freaks. There's nothing at all wrong with their stuff, but who needs 20 catalogs a year (and fat ones, too)?

As for TV, we have a special situation here in Anguilla that is about to drive our Revered Investment Guru (the R.I.G.) mad. The R.I.G. of course has to watch CNBC, the stock market program, early in the morning during calisthenics, and also at the end of the afternoon nap when the market is closing. Well, CNBC is channel 29 on our cable system, and suddenly all the commercials were removed. Instead, at least 15 times an hour, we have a mindlessly repeated do-good spot telling us not to teach our children to hate by using racial slurs, because, so they say, children are “Remarkable little sponges”. The sentiment is fine, but the spot is too short, so it is repeated two and a fraction times every four minutes until the listener could scream. Another investor now resident here expresses the same sentiments; we've agreed to share the cost of a suicide bomber to stop this interminable stupid repetition. Shut up!

Next time: Debatable [OO #560]

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