Goodbye to All That

I'mma let you finish 2009, but not without a few parting links:

The 15 Most Stupid Products of the Decade, including Vista, the UroClub, and—talk about the Walk of Shame!—Crocs. (Hat tip: Irene Nelson.)

Laurel Sutton of Catchword Branding selects the ten best and worst Internet company brands of the decade. Best feature of the list: the categories (The Letter-Dropper, The Misspeller, etc.).

Lake Superior State University, in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, presents its 2010 List of Banished Words. (Full title: "Words Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.") The list—the 35th annual—is compiled from reader suggestions, and includes the predictable peeves: tweet, app, chillaxin', etc. I'm not crazy about the "banishment" concept (and who's that queen, anyway?). But I can't resist citing the tweet from Steve Silberman that notified me of the list: "Tweet czars say stimulus apps a toxic asset." (If you aren't following Steve on Twitter, I suggest you do so immediately.)

John McIntyre, former Baltimore Sun copyeditor, offers the one statement that, for him and his colleagues, "fitly epitomizes the year that is gasping its last today."

Finally, a bit of horn-tooting in the guise of public service: Amy Rosenberg of the Philadelphia Inquirer sums up the year in words and catchphrases: Octomom, hopium, hiking the Appalachian Trail, and much more. (I confess I had to look up J-Roll.) Yes, I am quoted therein, and my "word etc. blog" is named. Thank you, Ms. Rosenberg!

Happy New Year, all! And special thanks to everyone who commented, corrected, and sent links and tips for blog posts. See you in the future.

Comments

[twitter.com/hush6]

So...what does J-Roll mean? Is it related to the baseball player?

[mike]

Oh my ... I love my Crocs. Not for their stylin' looks, tho, that is true. My daughter, on the other hand, won't be seen with me when I'm wearing them.

As for Vista, I believe this just suggests that any version of Windows that does not include a number is to be avoided. Earlier candidate: Windows ME, which of course started this merry decade.