Apparently, Enough is Enough

For the most part, we all know the more routine clichés—but you should also be on the lookout for some of the newer offenders.

Every year since 1975, Lake Superior State University in Michigan has released a list of overused words/phrases for each year.  And while you may have already seen this, I couldn’t help but pass on this list for 2011.

Realistically, I know this list doesn’t mean much—if you’re going to use the term “baby bump,” there aren’t exactly a ton of alternatives, and I think “ginormous” is a pretty rad word.  But it’s still amusing to see what words the public tends to get sick of.

You can read about the history behind the banished words lists here, by the way.

So, what about you?  Any words or expressions you’d like to kill off?  Any words you have a tendency to overuse?  Because I'll admit, I'm guilty of using "pretty much" and "not exactly" too much.

Dragons, Vampires, a Princess in a Tower...Oh My?

Thank you, Disney. 

    The fact that one of your movies -- Tangled -- came out on DVD today, actually inspired this post.  (Whether or not that's good remains to be seen.)

    But back to my point.  In case you're living under a rock, venturing out for the occasional peek at a Geico billboard sign, I'll tell you -- Tangled is basically a revamped Rapunzel story. 

    Among authors and Hollywood, warped classics -- fairy tales, folk tales, kiddie stories -- are obviously really popular.  You just have to look at a few of the more recent movies in theatres and stores, plus the upcomings, to learn that much:  Snow White, Little Red, Rapunzel, Robin Hood, Alice, Beauty and the Beast, blah, blah, blah.

    In most cases, I don't really mind the revamps.  But I almost choked on my Cheez-Its when I heard Amanda Seyfried whisper, "What big eyes you have," and the previews for Beastly definitely made me groan. 

    To be fair, I never got over my inital bias enough to, you know, watch either of those movies, so I really shouldn't judge.  Much. 

    On the other hand, I absolutely adored Tangled and Alice in Wonderland, so there you go.

    I guess my thing is, it has to have a fresh enough twist to it, preferably in a way that doesn't completely kill the orignal.  Someday, I'd love to make my own version of one of the less-covered classics -- but only if I can find an original hook. 

    The last thing this world needs is another vampire story, but the second-to-last is definitely a trend-riding, maniac author. 

    But what do you think? 

It's a Tiny...It's a Book...It's a Tinybook (Unofficially)

This.  Is.  Insane.

    And, okay, slightly awesome.

    But don't take my word for it.  Check out this new book trend -- the coolest thing since ebooks -- right here.