I.T. Erudio

Clever heading here – Welcome

Just a place for me to put my random thoughts …

  • Plot holes and “Star Wars” …

    “Telling stories” is a euphemism for “lying.” “Lying” obviously requires a “lie” to build around – with the definition of “lie” (the third definition from Merriam-Webster: “to make an untrue statement with intent to deceive”) being the relevant point. Not that INTENT is required. SO it is POSSIBLE for someone to “tell a story” that is not…

  • What is the purpose of amateur sports?

    Maybe the first question becomes “Do amateur sports have a purpose?” The numbers fluctuate but there are AROUND 1 million high school football players each year in the United States. Around 7.8% of those high school football players will play in college (at any level). Less than 0.5% of those college players will make an…

  • Mr. Shakespeare, marketing, and the “Western”

    A lifetime ago I worked as a “student employee” as an undergrad. I was helping out the “system administration” folks – and ended up doing low level “desktop support” for faculty members. random thought: I remember running the big ol’ suit case size “VHS video” camera when they gave a presentation about this new “internet”…

  • genre twists and franchise changes

    Re-watched the original “Mad Max” (1979) – available on various “streaming services.” Now, the ORIGINAL “Mad Max” was/is a “low budget” Australian movie. It didn’t get “distributed” in the U.S. “back in the day” – which was why “Mad Max 2” (1981) was released as “The Road Warrior” (1982) in the U.S. The “low budget”…

  • thoughts on genre

    Genre found its way into the English language in the late 18th century from “middle French.” The French got it from Latin – the “gen-” part tends to refer to “grouping”/category – e.g. “genus” in biology is closely related. random thought: gender is also “closely related” but “genesis” was derived from the Greek “gignesthal” with…

  • Gifs, dial-up, and Libraries

    I went down the rabbit hole this morning on how to pronounce “gif” We always “recognize” more words than we actively use – and if you “learn” a word by reading, then the “correct” pronunciation might seem odd English/”American” is particularly bad – because we readily absorb words from other languages. e.g. is the “e”…

  • random thoughts on “Acres of Diamonds”

    Russel Conwell (February 15, 1843 – December 6, 1925) (from wikipedia) “was an American Baptist minister, orator, philanthropist, author, lawyer, and writer. He is best remembered as the founder and first president of Temple University in Philadelphia, as the Pastor of The Baptist Temple, and for his inspirational lecture, ‘Acres of Diamonds’.” A link to the full text of Mr.…

  • life, humor, Star Wars

    It bothers me a little when a “random comedian” comes out and describes their “theory of humor” as being “pain.” Usually it is an “established” entertainer – and they present the idea that “all humor is based on pain” as being a form of received wisdom. Obviously anytime the word “all” creeps into the discussion…

  • The hero’s transportation – thoughts from the remuda

    “Max Brand” was one of the pen names used by Frederick Faust (1892-1944). Mr Faust wrote “westerns” under the name “Max Brand” – somewhere in the neighborhood of 220 “pulp westerns.” Mr Faust also wrote under 21 other pseudonyms, in another dozen genres. Mr Faust was described as a “classical poet” – but since there…

  • Bogart, Rat Pack, road trips

    buy me a coffee Patreon “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” – a classic movie starring Humphrey Bogart and directed by John Huston has a couple of memorable lines. Probably the most referenced line is: “Badges?… We ain’t got no badges. We don’t need no badges. I don’t have to show you any stinking badges!”…