My, How Times Have(n't) Changed

Credit: Calvin and Hobbes, by Bill Watterson

Don't Make No Sense

I have the blood of both an English teacher and a former algebra teacher coursing through my veins. A blessing in many ways, but as such, I have a strong tendency to dissect the English language with an overwhelmingly logical mind, often to the annoyance of people within a 10-foot radius. (And you.)

But bear with me, because I've found something that will make your head explode.

Commonly, the "in-" or "un-" prefix negates the meaning of a word. For instance, "flexible" vs "inflexible", or "tie" vs "untie". This is the case the vast majority of the time...but not always, for no good reason at all, such as with "flammable" vs "inflammable", which essentially mean the exact same thing. (Look it up.)

My co-workers and I ran across another interesting example the other day.

Consider "valuable", which describes something that has tangible value. A Babe Ruth rookie card has value. Now consider "invaluable", which frequently is used as a more intense version of "valuable". Friendship, for one, is invaluable. Literally, if an object is invaluable, then it has no value; not because it isn't precious, but because the object is so valuable that its value cannot be quantified...if that makes sense. "Invaluable", therefore, has a very positive connotation.

Now consider "worth". The aforementioned Babe Ruth rookie card has lots of worth, in the same way that it has lots of value. But friendship is so precious that its worth cannot be measured. So would you describe friendship as "worthless"? Even though this is exactly the same line of reasoning we followed from "valuable" to "invaluable", the word "worthless" has a strong negative connotation. Friendship isn't worthless, but that lousy novelty t-shirt you got from your distant relative for Christmas might be.

How is this possible? "Value" and "worth" are synonyms. But negating them as shown above, getting "invaluable" and "worthless", are antonyms.

No doubt this is because the words evolved in different ways through the years. Sort of like "terrific" came to mean something very positive, even though it springs from same root as the word "terror", which ain't so positive.

Just another way the English language don't make no sense.

Will It Blend?

Trying to sell a blender? Forget those boring, pointless, 3am infomercials. Just upload YouTube videos of your state-of-the-art Blendo 3000 -- or whatever you call it -- blending anything and everything, from Bic lighters to golf clubs to light bulbs!

That's what Blendtec did...achieving hitherto unreached heights of randomness and hilarity. Check out Tom Dickson -- who isn't the greatest of actors, but apparently makes a living doing this while the rest of us are stuck behind desks -- as he blends a dozen glow sticks into an eerily fluorescent smoothie:



I think I like the background music best, if not the profound conclusion, "Yes! It blends!" See: Will It Blend? for more. It's actually staggering how many of these videos there are.

JoshCast #31 - Furr

Kudos to my brother for turning me on to Blitzen Trapper, an indie rock group hailing from Portland, Oregon. The title track from their 2008 release, Furr, in particular continually invites me to hit that rewind button, just so I can hear it one more time.

It's a whimsical tune about some wandering soul that, enamored by the wild, assimilates with a pack of wolves, only to be drawn back to reality six years later after meeting a pearl-skinned girl. ...Um, I think. It's probably open to all sorts of interpretation if you study its lyrics, but at any rate, it's a fun listen.

Pretty cool papercraft animation accompanies it on the music video. Check it out: