Posts Tagged: meme

  • An AI generated image that represents Angus MacPhail and the derivation of MacGuffin.

    MacGuffin—Angus MacPhail’s greatest joke

    Every profession has its own language. Film-makers have some wonderfully odd terms, but none is odder than the MacGuffin—a film-making trope made famous by Alfred Hitchcock that originates from the writer, Angus MacPhail.   MacPhail while a student at Cambridge University helped edit The Granta, the university’s magazine. He, with his friend Ian Dalrymple, also […]

  • Image of an attractive catlady surrounded by cats.

    Is cat lady so offensive?

    Donald Trump’s, running mate for the 2024 US election, JD Vance, has proven a liability after his criticism of prominent Democrats as “childless cat ladies” has resurfaced. The expression (and resulting meme) has unleashed anger from childless celebrities and cat-owning single women. The US election again is generating memes around words as we discussed with […]

  • Kamala Harris speaking with attendees at the 2019 Iowa Democratic Wing Ding at Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa. Creating her memes. Original photo by Gage Skidmore

    Kamala’s coconut tree and other memes

    Are you keeping up with Kamala Harris’s rise as the US Democratic Party’s candidate? Are you understanding some of the words around the campaign? I love politics and the US election has more drama than Netflix can ever provide—bigger heroes and villains. But what makes it so insanely addictive for me is watching the political […]

  • Mnesomyne, the goddess of memory and the maker of meme - oil painting by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

    Memes and the forgotten goddess of memory

    Meme is considered to be a recently created word used to describe the cultural impact of the Internet in transmitting particular ideas. However, it has a much older relative that shows that it is a very old concept with a very old name. According to Wikipedia, an Internet meme is: … a catchphrase or concept […]

  • Acumen means sharpness of mind, the ability to make accurate and intelligent judgments

    Entrepreneurs with acumen

    Acumen is a word that should be familiar to you. It means sharpness of mind, the ability to make accurate and intelligent judgments. We hear acumen most often when describing entrepreneurs; in that they are said to have business acumen. Acumen is a word that has been around since the early sixteenth century when it was borrowed from […]