Another collection of random finds

Tue Jun 12 16:27:05 UTC 2012

1. Several people have covered a rather broad scope of -[n]ista. Add one
more.

Culinista

http://goo.gl/YZsgd
http://goo.gl/aD6ze

With a book:

http://goo.gl/O1xdO
http://goo.gl/k7kAc

The word is spreading:

http://goo.gl/jwb9h
Culinistas take the stress out of cooking
> Instead of offering costly full-time chefs, Donenfeld has assembled a
> team of culinistas who will make weekly house calls, buy the
> groceries, create six to eight dishes in your kitchen and box them all
> up for a week’s worth of grub.

History, according to the founder:

http://goo.gl/kQJ2S
> We’re all too busy, or simply uninterested in cooking. And so I
> started The Culinistas as a way to bring people back to the connection
> that food so effortlessly creates – amongst family members, amongst
> friends, between the chef and the eaters, between the farmers and the
> chefs.

2. Another similar affix -[a][l]ytics. In this case, we have
"fanalytics". (There is also "fanalyst", but that's much less prominent
http://goo.gl/ExZ2i )

Fanalytics

http://goo.gl/kyoRf
MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, March 1-2, 2013 [Date is
incorrect--there will be a conference next year, but the reference here
is to the conference that took place in 2012 http://goo.gl/i5fKZ
http://goo.gl/pXXHe ]
Fanalytics
> Fan + Analytics. While Google, Facebook and Amazon are tailoring your
> web experience, the sports world has an entirely different approach to
> understanding their fan and gaining a competitive advantage. This
> panel brings together thought leaders from the most preeminent
> organizations in the sports and media world to discuss the evolution
> and growing importance of Fanalytics.

Ron Shandler runs an online column at BaseballHQ:

http://goo.gl/0RFul
FANALYTICS: Navigating Our Short Attention Spans
> The fastest growing game in the industry right now is the daily
> fantasy competition.

He also has an eponymous newspaper column at USAToday:

http://goo.gl/fGB3H
http://goo.gl/tdlle
http://goo.gl/atvbc

He has also put together a book.

http://goo.gl/BjvHe
2013 Baseball Forecaster: And Encyclopedia of Fanalytics

It's not only about baseball.

http://goo.gl/jkExX
> The Tepper Sports Fanalytics Club is a student-run organization at
> Carnegie Mellon's Tepper School of Business whose mission is to
> promote the application of data analytics within the sports industry.
> We are excited to bring our MBA program’s analytical prowess to this
> flourishing field and to the sports-crazed city of Pittsburgh.

http://goo.gl/S8pPA
> Traditionally, "The Knowledge" has helped us build tools to help music
> fans explore and discover music -- using all this data helps us
> predict what type of music a listener might like. For the last year,
> we’ve offered artist similarity and music recommendation web services
> around this data. But now we are going to turn this all upside down.
> Instead of using this data to help listeners find new music, we are
> going to use this data to help artists find new fans. That is what
> Fanalytics is all about.
> ...
> We have just launched Fanalytics, but apparently we are already seeing
> strong interest from the labels. (According the press release
> Interscope, Independent Label Group (WMG), RCA Music Group (Sony) and
> The Orchard are already on board). That's not too surprising, the
> labels are looking for new ways to reach out to fans. As we continue
> to grow "The Knowledge" here at the Echo Nest I'm sure we will be
> creating more interesting tools like Fanalytics that are built around
> the data.

3. Last week, Kurt Busch had another interesting outburst that raised
his probation to a suspension. But the more interesting part was his use
of "refrain" for "restrain".

http://goo.gl/fb2pd
> Following Saturday's Nationwide race at Dover, Busch was asked if
> being on probation limited his ability to defend himself on the race
> track. Busch took issue with the question posed by Bob Pockrass of the
> Sporting News, responding, "It refrains me from not beating the
> [expletive] out of you right now because you ask me stupid questions."
http://goo.gl/XDLCU [includes video http://youtu.be/gYgMpRzeHEw ]
> Busch had been asked about racing hard against Justin Allgaier
> <http://content.usatoday.com/topics/topic/Justin+Allgaier> and whether
> being on probation caused him to exercise on-track restraint.
> Busch responded, "It refrains me from not beating the (expletive) out
> of you right now, because you ask me stupid questions. But since I'm
> on probation, I suppose that that's improper to say as well."

4. Following up on the radio ads for "preventistry" and "preventist"
(preventive dentist/ry), Quicken Loans brings you YOURgage. It's all
over their web site too.

http://goo.gl/qV8FS
> You’ve been paying 7 years on a 30-year fixed mortgage and do not want
> to go back up to a 30-year term. The YOURgage allows you to refinance
> at 23 years to stay on track. The YOURgage offers you this kind of
> flexibility!

5-7. Another set of commercials from Saatchi&Saatchi (remember the drill
sergeant therapist and his "jackwagon"?) that brings in somewhat
familiar characters along with their catch lines.

S&S put out a series of ads for Toyota Corolla that include "Coach T", a
secondary "coach" and a bunch of "recruits". So far, there are three in
the series. (See the first link below for the full list--click on the
campaign name, The Recruits.) There are two sets of each spot--a
30-second one and a 45-second one. The language in each pair is somewhat
different and I tracked down both version for each of the two spots
listed below. There are three installments so far, The Pitch,
Madre-Padre, and Driver's Ed.

The first one is unremarkable, for my purposes. The second has the
"recruit" behind the wheel, with Coach T in shotgun seat. The longer
spot ends with a catch phrase (absent from the shorter spot).

"Let's take this puppy for a little spin--alright, madre-padre?"
http://goo.gl/zySSl [does not include the final comment with the catch
phrase]
http://goo.gl/Iya3Y [full comment after the closing shot @0:39]

Full list of campaign ads here [ http://goo.gl/3nJcC ]. In the
follow-up, Drivers Ed, another "recruit" says, "My Mom thinks I need to
keep the MPG up." To which "Coach T" responds (in the short version),
"Poor sh[]e does" [ http://goo.gl/xy6Wf ] @0:16 In the longer version,
he says, "Of course, she does..." http://goo.gl/0YO80 @0:25

Remember the other ads: One that included "Shut the front door!" and
"Franklin Delano!" from Oreo Fudge Cremes commercial (which I just saw
on-air again yesterday morning); and another that used "What the ff...
front yard? from TruGreen commercial http://goo.gl/Qe0oK ?

The latter got a lot of attention, although not here (I was tempted to
mention it earlier, but left it off until now):

http://goo.gl/8Cj4n
[Comments:]
> LOL. Live a little people. Who gives a front yard about language.
> ...
> 💜💜💜💜 this commercial. Anyone who doesn't can just Shut The Front
> Door!! Lmao
> ...
> Really, you have to go so low as to infer the "front" yard F-word to
> see your product. Must mean it's not that great. Too bad, was
> thinking of hiring the local company....shame on you!
> ...
> One Million Moms can go front yard themselves.
> ...
> what the french toast is funny to
> ...
> He forgot to "shut the front door."
> ...
> 12 people are offended by front yards.
> ...
> I am furious over this commercial. Hear plenty of that kind of
> language on movies, not regular TV . There are no limits to anything
> any more. No wonder our kids are so messed up!

The response to "Million Moms" protest is telling--"They think the ad is
offensive because it DOESN'T use a 'bad' word?"

8-9. A couple of minor flags from the MIT Reunion Weekend that just ended.

First, the claim that the words "hacker" and "hacking" (although,
likely, not "hack"--both v. and n.) originated with the Tech Model
Railroad Club seems to be a part of the MIT lore. I've overheard a
couple of people mentioning this in conversation (obviously, no
references). ADS-L already has several post that include references from
the 1950s, although the TMRC reference is still in doubt. I might be
able to check out the Club's own records in the near future, although I
make no promises.

The second "minor flag" was an aside reference from one alumnus about
another, "He's hiring quants." This is an uncommon term, but not
unknown--in fact, the OED already has it.

Quants, adj. and n3 B. 2.
> 2. /Finance/ and /Econ./ A quantitative analyst; a person who excels
> at or depends upon quantitative methods of analysis.

I've seen it in print, but this is the first time I've heard it live.

10. This one just in. "Party like [it's] 1999" (both versions) seems to
be an old running joke (mocking the TV infomercials for party music CDs
from years ago--in multiple languages). There are other variants of
"Party like X" with X either a word or a clause. LATimes this morning
elevates it further.

http://goo.gl/Q6qSl
L.A. fans get ready to party like it's er, the first time
> There will be a parade and fan rally Thursday to celebrate the Kings'
> first Stanley Cup championship.
> ...
> On Monday night, after each goal, fans chanted, "Go, Kings, go" and
> "We want the Cup," as the team chased its first championship in its
> 45-year existence.

The hed riffs on the snowclonelet, but also bends it to reflect the fact
that the Kings won the Stanley Cup for the first time.

11. A bit of an ambiguity introduced into a crime report.

http://goo.gl/ziFNS
> The two had a brief argument before the alleged attack, police said.
> Jeremy Roberts, 38, allegedly answered his door when his ex-wife
> Candice Roberts, 36, arrived and retrieved a double-edged knife before
> the attack, police said.

The man had stabbed his ex-wife and had his son call 911 to report it,
but, from this sentence, it's not entirely clear who initially had the
knife. There is actually no doubt about the source of the knife--it's
just not clear from that particular statement.

12. "Stadia" is the somewhat uncommon (today) plural of "stadium". But,
apparently, FIFA prefers it.

http://goo.gl/s15w0
Making stadia safer
> Despite the growing number of excellent stadia being built around the
> world, there is currently no international industry kitemark or
> certification which exists.

Of course, not many speakers/organizations get to talk about multiple
sports venues, so, perhaps, the rarity of the form is due just to lack
of opportunity.

VS-)

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org