Cassie's Perfect ... Word

Speak well, and carry a grammatically correct phonetic stick

Spoken language is all about communication.  There’s too much mumbling going on these days.  Too much fast-talking.  Too much abbreviated talk.  Too much misuse and too much abuse.  

Too many people walking around who can’t communicate and whose grammar and phonetics are . . . alright, I’ll say it . . . incorrect.   Now, don’t get me wrong:  I’m a baby boomer, a product of the ‘60s.  So I appreciate a little hip talk, a little slang.  I appreciate Woodstock … and Joe Cocker. 

But this particular video “speaks” volumes about what’s wrong with the spoken English language.  (Thankfully, the Beatles said it all much more succinctly.)

And thank heavens for captioned videos!

via videosift.com

Well . . . .  Maybe it was the mud.  But what did he say?

Here comes a funny movie!

Just heard about a new movie by David Zucker (director and writer of "Airplane!" and "The Naked Gun" fame). It's called "An American Carol," and it's set for release on October 3, 2008.

Real quick plot summary from IMBD: "An anti-American filmmaker who's out to abolish the July Fourth holiday is visited by three ghosts who try to show him the country's good sides."

Appearing in this latest Zucker parody are Kevin Farley (brother of the late Chris), Kelsey Grammer, Trace Adkins, Dennis Hopper, Jon Voight, James Woods, and - of course - Leslie Nielsen, among many, many others.

I haven't been inside a movie theater for about 12 years. But I'm already planning a trip to a theater near me.

Can't wait to see it!

Talking in the Good Old Days

I was at a small Fourth of July gathering the other night. The party was hosted by a local, syndicated talk radio host. Most of the men there are, or were, in the radio business. We women are the wives and girlfriends of these men. And none of us is in radio, although we do listen to the radio. We are in varied lines of work: finance, pharmaceuticals, domestic engineer, freelance writing and copyediting ….

Without fail, when we get together with this group of people, the conversation inevitably revolves around radio frequencies, radio personalities, radio scandals, radio history, radio this, and radio that. Occasionally, one of us women will make a comment or add our two cents. But more often, we listen for lulls in the radio conversation so that in a somewhat hushed voice, like stage whispers, we can carry on our own conversations. “How did your sister’s surgery go?” “I saw a great movie on Lifetime last night.” “Can’t wait for the cruise! Which ports are we visiting?”

This bothers me, and it made me think of the old social custom where, after dinner, the men would retire to the parlour to smoke cigars, sip brandy, and talk about … men stuff. And the women would …. I guess the women would sit around the dining room table or head to the kitchen or the sitting room to talk about … women stuff. In fact, I saw this not too long ago while watching the classic film, The Spiral Staircase.

I recognize that this practice still exists to some extent, but it’s not expected or widely accepted. (Thanks a lot, Women’s Lib.)

Perhaps at the next social gathering, I will suggest separate party areas: men over there, women over here. Now … can we talk?

Between

I had never heard of this movie before. Between (2005), starring Poppy Montgomery, is a look at love and life, life and death, death and dreams. It's a movie that you find yourself participating in. What is this mystery, what is the meaning of this? Who, where, how?

See it if you get a chance.