No, You Couldn't Make This One Up

My cousin sent me an email about a new dining sensation, located in Taiwan. I really didn't want to believe that we've come to this point in so-called creativity, but well, see for yourself. Gives new meaning to having a bowl of something. At least it's not in Flatbush or Teaneck.

http://www.qualitybath.com/blog/interest/marton-the-worlds-first-toilet-themed-restaurant/

On Friending

A discussion ensued in class last week about the Facebook-centered verb form "to friend." Most of my students were of the opinion that not only is this "new verb" here to stay but that in a few years time no one will remember a time when it wasn't a verb in common use. They believed the same would be true of "to facebook" as a verb. Then they asked my opinion, and I gave it to them.

Yes, over the centuries we have added new verb forms to the general fund of English words. Most have come to us from the specialized jargon of sub-groups of English--think "to mouse" entering the language from the language of computers. Some we borrow from other languages.

Re "to friend," it may indeed enter general English and remain for a while, as a specialized form of "to befriend," referring only to befriending someone on Facebook. I don't think, however, that it will replace "to befriend" in general usage. For one thing, despite Facebook's desire for it to be otherwise, there are more people who are not on Facebook than are on Facebook. For those not on Facebook, the use of "friend" as a verb will raise eyebrows. For another thing, I believe that it will remain as informal usage and won't be accepted in "official" writing, such as that required in academia. And for another thing, I think this will be a generational divide, with those who grew up without "to friend" as a verb generally not using it in regular parlance.

As to "to Facebook," it's not going to be even as much accepted as "to friend" might be. Generally, trademarked item names that have entered the language and have survived in common usage are for items in a general class of commonly used things. Thus, many people today tell you to go get a kleenex when you sneeze, even if that isn't the brand of tissues you use. The same used to be true for the items that keep food cold in your kitchen--for decades those items were referred to as fridgidaires, no matter whose brand they were. A lot of people, when asked if they would like a cup of coffee, will respond with "Do you have Sanka?" It's not that they are asking for that brand in particular; they are asking if you have decaffeinated coffee available. Could be the time of day, but I'm having trouble thinking of even one product that has come into the language as a verb other than "to hoover" as a substitute for "to vacuum."

My students looked at me with disbelief when I gave them my opinion. And they were totally disbelieving when I told them that 20+ years from now they will find themselves in the awkward position of having to explain to their own kids and grandkids just what Facebook was. It's a fad, and like other fads in the past, it will have its time and pass into oblivion. No one wants to hear that the world they count on being there may only be temporary. I left them with this thought: Do you believe that technology has reached its zenith? Do you believe that all that is possible to be invented has already been invented? Do you believe that computers as presently constituted are the end of the line? Is there something better, something different beyond computers as we understand them today?

Perhaps I should have given them that old saying I grew up with: here today, gone tomorrow. If it could happen to me, it can happen to them.


Just a little note on all that "friending" that goes on and wanting everyone to "friend" you.
Be thou the first true merit to befriend; His praise is lost who stays till all commend.
Alexander Pope

Technology and Religion

An interesting article in the JWR on the use of apps for handheld devices and their place in religion. Particularly interesting because of the attitude of some in the frum veldt towards computers and anything that is computer-like. Rabbi Bentzion Twerski makes a particularly interesting point about the use of these apps as regards his work as a mashgiach/kashrut supervisor--almost instant access to product/ingredient lists and explanations, making kashrut decisions quicker and more accurate.

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/1210/religion_apps.php3

The Nose Knows

Science and scientific study may not be important in some sectors of Klal, but in others it's alive and well. Scientists at the Weizman Institute in Israel have invented a new mobility device for those whose ability to move has been destroyed by illness or accident. Imagine being able to manipulate a wheelchair or a computer just by sniffing through your nose. A link to the article below.


http://jewishworldreview.com/0710/sniffing.php3

These Inventions Above all Other Inventions

Note: the subject for this posting came about because of an article in the local paper. A family's home was destroyed by fire and those in this family's neighborhood were being called on to help them in replacing "essentials" that had been lost. When I read the list of items needed I sort of scratched my head, thus this post.

There's a lot of talk around that we all own too many things, and that there are just too many things out there clamoring for us to buy them. There's talk about paring down our lives to the real basics, to only those things that are truly important.

Okay, let's get a start on paring down. But first, how are we going to judge which are the things that are truly important for us to own? Which things are really necessities as opposed to luxuries? Keep in mind that necessities may or may not be societally determined and may or may not be the purview of the individual. Also, the definition of what is a necessity can change over time or from place to place.

There are many items that have been invented and are available for public consumption in roughly the last 50-60 years. If an accident happened and you needed to replace everything that you owned previously, but you were to be limited to having only five of those items replaced first, as being the most important for you, which five would they be? Why? Give it some thought and let us all know. I have a feeling that opinions are going to be widely divergent.

Note: I am excluding medications and medically related items from the choices. I would hope that all would agree that the invention/discovery of antibiotics, of hearing aids etc. would be considered as societal necessities above and beyond the items we can purchase for our own use. I am also excluding a basic stove and refrigerator in a kitchen. I don't believe that anyone in the US would consider those as optional.