Status-Q

A very cute Flash animation. Pointless, of course, as is so much Flash stuff, but cute none the less. [Scripting News]

Anyone with an academic background who also knows Tolkien will appreciate Dave Pritchard's The Lord of the Rings: an allegory of the PhD?.

John Naughton forwarded this to me originally, but I found it, with lots of other rather good stuff, on Danny Yee's Humour Collection. Tolkien enthusiasts who are also familiar with Microsoft's operating systems might enjoy One OS to rule them all.

Scott Kirsner: IM is here. RU prepared?. See also John's Observer column.

Splendid! Nottingham City Council has started 'fining' its staff for incorrect use of the apostrophe. A marvellous idea.

If only they would do the same thing in schools...

Have you ever noticed how often characters in films say things twice? It's generally used to end a scene, along the lines of:

Frodo: I'm glad you're back, Gandalf! Gandalf: So am I, Frodo Baggins.
[thoughtful pause]
So am I. [Fade to black]

It's the modern equivalent of Shakespeare's rhyming couplets, and it happens all the time. No matter how realistic the movie dialogue in general, people still repeat themselves like this. Try it in real life to make yourself sound more like a movie star.

Actually, of course, you'll just sound silly. It only works at the end of a scene before the lights go out, so it's a little trick, perhaps, best saved for your deathbed, to make your last words stick in people's minds.

Just make sure you don't misjudge the length of that thoughtful pause.