"So" Here's Today's Post

There is an annoying and growing usage of the word "so" to begin a sentence. What is new is its status as the introduction to thoughts and its encroachment on the territory of "Well," "Um," "Like" and their ilk. No longer content to lurk in the middle of sentences, it has jumped to the beginning and is being used, ad nauseum.

To make matters clear, the word "so" indicates the continuation of a thought or subject. After all, among its synonyms, are "consequently," "thus" and "therefore."

There are a variety of thoughts as to why "so" has become the new sentence starter, but to be sure, once a new word usage (grammatically correct or not) catches on, it becomes a matter of "monkey see, monkey do", or in this particular case "monkey hear, monkey repeat".

The misuse is not limited to the hard of understanding. Witness the misuse by some "educated" people and sources:

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, late last year: "So it’s not only because we believe that universal values support human rights being recognized and respected, but we think that it’s in the best interest for economic growth and political stability. So we believe that."

A dispatch on National Public Radio last month, in which a quarter of the sentences began with "so":

"So it’s, I think, the fifth largest in the nation. So, but now that’s the population in general. So there are sort of two, there are two things that are circumstantial..."

Michael Erard the author of “Um...: Slips, Stumbles, and Verbal Blunders, and What They Mean.” Erard said, The rise of "so," is another symptom that our communication and conversational lives are chopped up and discontinuous in actual fact, but that we try in several ways to sew them together — or ‘so’ them together, as it were — in order to create a continuous experience."

Perhaps we all live now in fear that a conversation could snap at any moment, could be interrupted by so many rival offerings. With "so," we beg to be heard. We insist, time and again, that this is it; this is what you’ve been waiting to hear; this is the "so" moment.

Personally, I'm just happy that I listened to my English professor. I hate to sound so stupid unnecessarily.....
 


Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada

The News As I See It: Mayor Filner of San Diego has had 14 women come forward alleging that he sexually harassed them. Hooters restaurants are refusing to serve Filner because they say he's disrespectful to women in his office. The CEO said there's a time and a place to be disrespect to women and that's at a Hooters.

A Great Grandmother is the latest woman to claim that Mayor Filner sexually harassed her. I saw the woman who made the claim on a news report and, in her particular case, I think she's either seeing dollars signs or having hallucinations.

According to a new report, Tulsa, Oklahoma, has the lowest rent in the country. Nice try Tulsa, but we're still not moving there.

North Korea recently developed their first-ever smart phone, just like an iPhone. It's hard to believe they built a smart phone, because wi-fi and cellphone data plans are illegal there. You can't even have friends and family in North Korea. If you ask Siri any questions, she reports you to the police.

Justin Bieber did something recently and he wants to make sure you know about it. He was driving through L.A. and happened upon a woman who asked him for money. So he stopped, handed her money and posted a picture of himself on Instagram. Always give back: a good message. Maybe we can give him back to Canada.

Karijini National Park, Western Australia

This Date In History: 1777; The Revolutionary War battle of Bennington, Vermont, won by American forces. 1829; The original Siamese twins, Eng and Chang, arrived in Boston.

1948; Baseball legend Babe Ruth died in New York City at age 53. 1960; Cyprus, the third-largest island in the Mediterranean, became an independent republic. 1962; Algeria was admitted to the Arab League.

1977; Elvis Presley died at Graceland, his Memphis,Tennessee home, from heart failure at age 42. 2003; Former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin died.

Picture Of The Day: This is probably the longest picture I've ever posted, but it needed to be long to see the beautiful panorama of this elevated highway in Wollongong, Australia.

Printable Things I Never Told You: 1) Smart cars are a good idea until you die in a 5 mph parking lot collision. 2) Wanna hear me read a receipt from a trip to the grocery store? That's how interested I am in listening to the details of your workout. 3) Why haven't any of Spiderman's arch enemies just squashed him with a giant shoe? 4) The kids in my neighborhood are so obnoxious, I decorated the beehive in my tree behind my house like a piñata. 5) Sometimes auto-correct can be your worst enema.....and that's five !

Today's Horoscope: Leo - August 16: Although your faults are easy enough to see, you must really make an effort today to let people truly understand the depth of your problems. Long walks, cold showers and playing with the puppies could be very helpful. Bear in mind I'm referring to puppies of the four legged variety. We wouldn't want another restraining order, would we?

Birthdays: George Meany, labor leader 1894, Menachem Begin, Zionist leader and Israeli prime minister (1977–83) 1913, Charles Bukowski, fiction writer 1920, Frank Gifford, football player 1930, Suzanne Farrell, ballet dancer 1945, James Cameron, director 1954, Angela Bassett, actress 1958, Madonna, pop singer and actress 1958.

Amsterdam, Netherlands

The AREA 51 Retirement Home Bar And Grill: A young farm couple, Homer and Darlene, got married and just couldn't seem to get enough loving. In the morning, before Homer left the house for the fields, they made love. When Homer came back from the fields, they made love. And again at bedtime, they made love.

The problem was their nooner. it took Homer a half hour to travel home and another half hour to return to the fields and he just wasn't getting enough work done. Finally Homer asked the town doctor what to do.

The doctor advised, "Homer, just take your rifle out to the field with you and when you're in the mood, fire off a shot into the air. That will be Darlene's signal to come out to you. Then you won't lose any field time."

They tried Doc's advice and it worked well for a while. Homer came back to the doctor's office. The doctor asked, "What's wrong? Didn't my idea work?" Homer said, "Oh, it worked real good. Whenever I was in the mood, I fired off a shot like you said and Darlene would come running. We'd find a secluded place, make love and then she'd go back home again."

The doctor said, "That's good, Homer. So what's the problem?" Homer replied, "I ain't seen her since hunting season started."

A pastor was presenting a children's sermon. During the sermon, he asked the children if they knew what the resurrection was. Asking questions during children's sermons is crucial. Asking children questions in front of a congregation can also be very dangerous.

After the pastor asked the children if they knew the meaning of the resurrection, a little boy raised his hand. The pastor called on him and the little boy said, "I know that if you have a resurrection that lasts more than four hours you are supposed to call the doctor."

Seaside deck, Hawaii

The Hits Just Keep On Coming: A priest offered a Nun a lift. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident.

After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg. The nun said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The priest removed his hand.

But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again. The nun once again said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The priest apologized, "Sorry sister but the flesh is weak." Arriving at the convent, the nun sighed heavily and went on her way.

On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, "Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory."

Moral of the story: If you are not well informed in your job, opportunities for advancement will pass right by you.

Mario is planning to marry and asks his family doctor how he could tell if his bride-to-be is still a virgin. His doctor says, "Mario, all the Italian men I know use three things for what we call a Do-It-Yourself-Virginity-Test-Kit which consists of a small can of red paint, a small can of blue paint and a shovel."

Mario asks, "And what do I do with these things, doc?" The doctor replies, "Before you climb into bed on your wedding night, you paint one of your balls red and the other ball blue. If she says, 'That's the strangest pair of balls I've ever seen!', you hit her with the shovel."

That's it for today, my little cactus flowers. Remember, if you get lost in the woods, a compass can help you get lost farther north. I'm heading over to AREA 51 for happy hour and I just might try out the recently opened Hialeah Park Casino.

Have a great weekend and more on Monday.

Stay Tuned !