IT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN ACCURATE, but it was smart! Allison Glock's New York Times piece on Knoxville contained this introduction: "KNOXVILLE is often called 'the couch' by the people who live there. It’s a place too unassuming to shout about but too comfortable to leave." That's a nice intro, but nobody in Knoxville can remember ever hearing it called "the couch." But thanks to that bit, Glock's story is the most-blogged item in the Times at the moment. My advice to travel writers -- always open your point with a minor error that's sure to get under local bloggers' skins, and watch your traffic and rankings soar!Oh, if only we could have been blogging back in 1992, when the New York Times published the ludicrous "Grunge: A Success Story," by Rick Marin:
LEXICON OF GRUNGE: BREAKING THE CODEOf course, Megan Jasper was just horsing around — she made the whole thing up — and the New York Times fell for it. You'd think, after all the embarrassment, they'd be really careful about reporting slang.
All subcultures speak in code; grunge is no exception. Megan Jasper, a 25-year-old sales representative at Caroline Records in Seattle, provided this lexicon of grunge speak, coming soon to a high school or mall near you:
WACK SLACKS: Old ripped jeans
FUZZ: Heavy wool sweaters
PLATS: Platform shoes
KICKERS: Heavy boots
SWINGIN' ON THE FLIPPITY-FLOP: Hanging out
BOUND-AND-HAGGED: Staying home on Friday or Saturday night
SCORE: Great
HARSH REALM: Bummer
COB NOBBLER: Loser
DISH: Desirable guy
BLOATED, BIG BAG OF BLOATATION: Drunk
LAMESTAIN: Uncool person
TOM-TOM CLUB: Uncool outsiders
ROCK ON: A happy goodbye
CORRECTION: (Just when I'm pointing out mistakes!) I've corrected the spelling of Marin's name.
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10 comments:
Journalists, dumb as rocks. And just as useful. If you’re building a wall. Otherwise, not so much.
Ann, didn't you suggest something like this once as a way to get law review citations? Make a semi-plausible argument for a semi-plausible thesis and watch the rest of the academy write articles explaining what's wrong with your paper?
Yeah, good memory s. But I wouldn't recommend making factual errors or miscitations.
"minor error"? that's a major error. I lived in Knoxville for six months and couldn't get out of that hell on earth fast enough. The only redeeming value it has is the scenery is gorgeous. But if you go just a few miles further east or south it is even more beautiful.
The only worse place I can think of is Chattanooga.
That's a nice intro, but nobody in Knoxville can remember ever hearing it called "the couch."
I've certainly never heard it called that; sometimes you hear that cliche: "it's a big small town" or "a small town disguised as a city" ... that sort of thing.
It was a pretty decent article otherwise, IMO. Hit the main highlights.
gob nobbler = loser
nob gobbler = something else
Until a few years ago, the words "Jesus Is Lord Over Knoxville" emblazoned the side of a downtown warehouse. I mean painted in four-story high letters. Big. This message greeted all those who exited the interstate coming downtown.
Knoxville also has a designated "Preacher's Corner" on one of the main downtown street corners. (Or it used to.) Indeed, every day, men with Bibles come, and, sir, they do preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. And they do so loudly unto the heavens.
The scenery's great, the people are friendly, the taxes are low, and the hushpups are hot, but if anyone reading this is thinking about loading the Love Bus and moving to K-town, it's a fur piece from Madison, Wi., or Cambridge, Mass.
It is a law-and-order town, not unlike Erwin, Tennessee, whose sheriff hanged Mary, the elephant.
Knoxville is on my list of bigot cities never to visit.
With a little luck, EVERY city is on DTL's list not to visit. I'm not sure if there is a city out there that isn't just a little bit bigoted towards assholes.
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