Just Stop It

Waxing Crescent Moon

So far I haven't really minded the whole shelter in place, social distancing, wash your hands thing. It's not really so very different from the way I live anyway. I am comfortable in my little work and sleep space. I don't party. And I like to think I am a fairly hygienic individual who rarely stinks.

I have been writing four hours every morning, walking two hours every afternoon, napping and scrubba-dub-dubbing myself and my trailer in the early evening, then kicking back to relax.

What I am missing right now are the NCAA basketball tournaments and the NBA season. Normally I get pretty charged up this time of year and spend many long evenings glued to the tube watching hoops. This year, the only TV that is worth watching is the cable news pandemic coverage or the binge sessions of Criminal Minds, both of which disturb my sleep.

So to placate my tendency to get very pissed off about everything, I have been paying attention to words on TV. I don't mean the content or lack thereof, I just mean the terminology used to convey it. There are words or word combinations that are so overused, misused, abused, and confused as to render them meaningless. Of course, I have compiled a list. And here it is.

Just Stop It - Things Not To Say Any More

Game Changer - when Kareem Abdul Jabbar, then Lew Alcindor, came to UCLA from Power Memorial High School in New York, the NCAA decided to change the rules of college basketball to outlaw dunking because he was so dominant they thought nobody else could compete with him.  Well guess what, in his first game at UCLA, Kareem scored 56 points WITHOUT dunking. And oh yeah, he won three consecutive national championships and graduated with honors and a degree in history. Kareem was the only real game changer in my lifetime.

Writ Large - No human with any brains says the word "writ." End of story.

Hot War - All wars are hot. Even the "Cold War" got pretty hot now and (Cuban Missile Crisis) then.

Influencer - Are you kidding me, Instagram sex toy babe slash bearded man-bun barista posing in yoga pants at Hoover Dam?

Pump the Brakes - just stop.

Gut Punch - Shut up and do your ab workouts, wussy.

All Hands On Deck - What is this, a battleship? The only deck most Americans have ever set foot on is the one in their neighbor's backyard. And hands? On the deck? Eww, where's the sanitizer!

Through the Roof - Stop exaggerating. Your insurance won't cover it anyway.

Abundance of Caution - Say what you mean, you're scared witless.

Negative Patient Outcome - Is that anything like "dead as a door nail?"

There are more dumb things on my list, but Criminal Minds is starting, so see ya.

Peace, Love, and Quarantine,
Jim