The Angry Archer

Know what makes The Angry Archer angry?

04/18/2012 -
Calendars are great.  They help us keep track of what day it is, help us schedule things, and keeps the world in some semblance or order.  The calendar has been around for a long time.  Sometimes they are only a year long, and sometimes they spanned lots and lots of years.  But here’s the clincher… the end of one calendar marked the beginning of another one.  In today’s society, there will always be “next year’s” calendar for sale, right?  Well, with print going digital,  I think printed calendars will become more and more rare.  Maybe we’ll start combining them and making them usable for more than a single year.

So let’s say that we started making super calendars that lasted 100 years.  100 years all in one calendar.   Then let’s say that the factory that prints them goes out of business.   Their last calendar was for 2015-2115.  Now let’s say that someone in 2110 finds one of these “relics” and decides… OMG!  The world is going to END in 2115!  Their calendar ENDS in 2115, so the world is going to end then, too!

See, that’s what’s going on with the Mayan calendar.  Their last calendar ends in 2012.  They just stopped making them (probably due to the fact that their civilization sort of collapsed due to outside influence).  That’s all.  They just stopped.  They didn’t stop because they thought the world would end… they just stopped making calendars.

So how about we get off the apocalypse kick, eh?

10/11/2011 -

Ok, let me start by saying that I like words.  I’m not against having a rich vocabulary.  I think it’s a great thing that can really come in handy sometimes.   What bugs me is when you’ve got these words that really don’t serve a purpose.  It’s like having three different ways to say purple.  Just say purple!   If the different words somehow mean something different than the other variations, I’m totally on board… use the different words.  But when the word is defined to mean the exact same thing as a more commonly used word… stick with that.  Don’t go all “Scrabble Triple Word Score” like it’s going to impress anyone.  It’s not.  It just makes you look like an idiot.

Example – Purse.  Clutch.  Handbag.  Wallet.  Evening Bag.  Tote Bag.  Hobo.  Satchel.  Shoulder Bag.  
I realize that there are slight variations for many of these words, but seriously… you’re telling me that the world would stop spinning without each of these?  We can’t axe a few of them?   Are they really enriching our everyday lives?  Or… are they just pretentious snobbery used to sell purses?

Another example – Sofa.  Couch.  Lounge.  Chesterfield.  Settee.  Divan. Canapé.  Sectional.  Loveseat.  Daybed.  Davenport.  
Thankfully, some of these words are finally falling out of use.  Again, I’m not against some of them.  I know that some of them have their place.  But ALL of them?  Seriously?

This is almost as annoying as the whole “soda/pop/cola” debacle.  More on that in a future post.

10/6/2011 -
The word “jitney”

jit·ney
noun ˈjit-nē plural jitneys [from the original 5 cent fare] : bus;   especially : a small bus that carries passengers over a regular route on a flexible schedule 
Origin unknown - First Known Use: 1903

This word just bugs me.  Every time I hear someone say this word, it takes a lot for me not to stick an arrow in their throat.  The word is USELESS.  It’s a bus.  A BUS.  Here in NYC, there’s a bus company called Hampton Jitney.  So, you’ve got this elitist “Hampton” on there… what can we do to make it appeal to everyone?  I know… include a lame-ass word like JITNEY. Guess what?  It’s a bus.