2009-05-13

jackshoegazer: (Jack/Work & Play)
2009-05-13 08:02 am

Tales in Etymology

I was reading an article about how U2's Bono recently called Elvis a "white nigger" which is pretty fucking racist no matter how he meant it.  In the article, it mentions that in the poem that Bono read, there are offensive words like "nigger" (obviously) and "spastic".

HUH?  Spastic is an offensive word?  So I looked it up.  I had no idea that the word had its origins with cerebral palsy, the main symptom of which is spasticity.  Growing up, I knew that words like nerd, geek, spaz, dweeb, et cetera... all had original and quite specific meanings, but they sort of homogenized into rather bland slang insults meaning roughly the same thing.

Now my vocabulary is better and more specific and now I will only use spastic in proper context.  (Though, I never ever called anyone a spaz.)  However, I still have a hard time not saying "retarded" as a pejorative.
 

jackshoegazer: (Beard/Core)
2009-05-13 11:10 pm
Entry tags:

Operation: Plan B does not have a name yet.

Today, I registered for fall classes.  I'm running out of good classes to take.  I'm basically down to the few requirements I haven't filled yet.  I'm taking chemistry, which fulfills my physical science plus a lab requirement and weight training to fulfill my physical education requirement.  Otherwise next spring, I have to take a composition class and a speech class and I am finished.  Anything else is just electives I have to round out my schedule with.  So to round out my fall, I'm taking photography and a weather/climate class.  This will be the first semester since I went back to school that I haven't taken a social science.  After next spring, this time next year, I'll be finished and getting ready to transfer over to UW-Madison to finish up my BA.  And I'll have to pick a major.  Fuck.  I have no idea what I'm going to pick.