#185 - Link-o-llection.

[reileen]

I hereby dub these linkposts as "link-o-llections", a portmanteau of "link" and a misspelled "collection"! I r witty.

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From the inimitable sannion - Rihanna's Hymn to Zeus (otherwise known as "Umbrella"):

Rihanna goes on to sing:

You can stand under my umbrella

And this is one of the most powerful metaphors in the piece. Here she is comparing Zeus to an umbrella, by which she means that Zeus is our shelter and protection from the storm, a noble sentiment indeed, and one that is truly worthy of the god that she hymns so lovingly. No doubt that is why she chose to give such a name to her piece, for it is truly the central theme of the song.

Be sure to check the comments for a brief expose on how Justin Timberlake's "Sexyback" is an allegory for Hephaistos. No, seriously.

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From the Angry Asian Man - Obama on vacation in the "foreign, exotic" state of Hawaii:

Oh, please. As you might know, Senator Barack Obama was born in Hawaii, which—last I checked—is a state. One of those United States, actually. Of America. But it turns out, according to political analyst Cokie Roberts, Hawaii is too "foreign" and "exotic" a locale for a campaigning presidential candidate to go to for vacation. Huh?

On yesterday's edition of ABC's This Week, Roberts criticized Senator Obama for "going off this week to a vacation in Hawaii," which she said "does not make any sense whatsoever." Funny, it makes perfect sense to me. Can't a guy go back to his home state to chill? According to Roberts:

"I know his grandmother lives in Hawaii and I know Hawaii is a state, but it has the look of him going off to some sort of foreign, exotic place... He should be in Myrtle Beach, and, you know, if he's going to take a vacation at this time."

Hawaii isn't American enough, apparently. What the hell kind of criticism is this?!

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From Making Light - Classifying the Novel:

Novels may be classified in this manner:

(a) Those that are best-sellers, (b) those that were assigned to you in school, (c) those that you feel you have already read even though you have not, (d) classics, (e) those that are not read as the author intended, (f) those that many intend to read “some day,” (g) fantasy trilogies, (h) those that are otherwise not flawed, (i) those that were written on manual typewriters, (j) those that can be judged by their covers, (k) those that were padded by their designers during production to appear longer than they are, (l) those that are only called ‘novel’ by courtesy, (m) those that have been condensed by Readers Digest, (n) those that look well upon the shelf.

Making Light is a wonderful place full of simultaneously inspiring and intimidating individuals with a knack for wordplay and verse. Make sure you go through the comments - there's even more gems in there.

-Reileen
in another life, you and I worked West Virginia coal mines, side by side