I realize Thoreau wasn't trying to escape superfluous language when he went to the woods because he wished to live deliberately, but...
"We are currently in the process of remodeling this area."
What does "currently" add to this sentence? Or "in the process of"? Neither word/phrase adds any meaning not already conveyed by "We are remodeling this area."
I suppose if you feel it is necessary to remind your customers that you're not planning to continue remodeling forever, I'll let you add "currently" or "in the process of", but not both.
On the positive side, I do like that they said "any inconvenience we may have caused you" rather than the neutral/passive "any inconvenience this may have caused you." It shows that they hold themselves accountable for their customers' diminished experience. Unlike many celebrities/politicians half-heartedly apologizing for "the situation" or "what happened" as if they had nothing to do with it.
End of rant. I leave you with a few more words from Thoreau's Walden (which I found when I made sure it indeed was Thoreau who said "Simplify. Simplify"):
Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in. I drink at it; but while I drink I see the sandy bottom and detect how shallow it is. Its thin current slides away, but eternity remains. I would drink deeper; fish in the sky, whose bottom is pebbly with stars. I cannot count one. I know not the first letter of the alphabet. I have always been regretting that I was not as wise as the day I was born. The intellect is a cleaver; it discerns and rifts its way into the secret of things. I do not wish to be any more busy with my hands than is necessary. My head is hands and feet. I feel all my best faculties concentrated in it. My instinct tells me that my head is an organ for burrowing, as some creatures use their snout and fore paws, and with it I would mine and burrow my way through these hills. I think that the richest vein is somewhere hereabouts; so by the divining-rod and thin rising vapors I judge; and here I will begin to mine.
A Food-and-Drink-filled Journey
through Everyday Life,
seasoned with Borrowed Inspiration
and the occasional Genuine Observation
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Why won't anyone sing about the month of March?
And where is the love for hump day?
I just examined my music collection, looking for songs about each month of the year. Here are the results:
- January (2 song titles)
- February (2)
- March (0)
- April (5)
- May (2)
- June (3)
- July (4)
- August (1)
- September (6)
- October (4)
- November (4)
- December (6)
So, what inspires people to write songs about September and December, but not about March? I don't know. (Several song titles with "march" in them, but none of them meaning the month.) Looks like the months ending in "ember" and "ober" do well, perhaps they work better lyrically.
Next, I looked at the different days of the week:
- Monday (11)
- Tuesday (5)
- Wednesday (2)
- Thursday (3)
- Friday (6)
- Saturday (13)
- Sunday (18)
Clearly, people are inspired by the weekend and the dreaded Monday, leaving little love for the middle of the week. Not much else to say here, I guess...
I just examined my music collection, looking for songs about each month of the year. Here are the results:
- January (2 song titles)
- February (2)
- March (0)
- April (5)
- May (2)
- June (3)
- July (4)
- August (1)
- September (6)
- October (4)
- November (4)
- December (6)
So, what inspires people to write songs about September and December, but not about March? I don't know. (Several song titles with "march" in them, but none of them meaning the month.) Looks like the months ending in "ember" and "ober" do well, perhaps they work better lyrically.
Next, I looked at the different days of the week:
- Monday (11)
- Tuesday (5)
- Wednesday (2)
- Thursday (3)
- Friday (6)
- Saturday (13)
- Sunday (18)
Clearly, people are inspired by the weekend and the dreaded Monday, leaving little love for the middle of the week. Not much else to say here, I guess...
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