The Lexicographer's Rules

I’ve got a new column in the Malaysian Star today, this one about clipped endings of words like -tard, -tastic, and -tacular, and about retard and retarded.

The fellow at Undress Me Robot isn’t the only one with a crush on my friend an colleague Erin McKean (who is married, has a cute little boy, and will probably respond to your belles lettres d’amour with a polite and pert “Thanks!"). There is this person. And this one. And this one, too.

Portfolio has a nice little profile of her in its Job of the Week section.

Never mind. The error is now fixed. Where it says

Computer searches helped persuade her to add the words taikonautedamame (a Chinese astronaut); (Japanese soybeans boiled in their pods and served as an appetizer)…

it should say

Computer searches helped persuade her to add the words taikonaut (a Chinese astronaut); edamame (Japanese soybeans boiled in their pods and served as an appetizer)…

You’d think they’d be a little more careful when editing an article about a lexicographer.

My second column has appeared in the Malaysian Star: Spanglish and Nuyoricanspeak. This time, I write about Spanish and English and some of the ways that the blending and mixing of the two languages continues.

Recent interesting catchwords from the Double-Tongued Dictionary are:

flexting n. flirting via text messaging.

couch homelessness n. not having a home of one’s own and taking temporary shelter with friends or relatives.

I want to direct your attention to Wristcutters, a wry, sharp film starring Patrick Fugit, the kid from Almost Famous. It was produced (with others) by my friend Tatiana Kelly. After it made the rounds of the film festivals last year, I feared the little gem would be lost before they could pick up some kind of national distribution. But now it looks like they’ve done it!

There’s a trailer on the Wristcutters web site but because the web site is all Flash-based, it takes some clicking to get to it. Click on “Enter site,” then on the “Menu” in the lower right corner, then on “Videos.” There’s also video in the sidebar of the very positive New York Times review.