Word of the day: yummy

When I read a blog on the NY Times Web site, I saw a comment that asked the author to refrain from using the word "yummy." They said, "Please, can the word 'yummy' be banned? It means nothing, and sounds sick-making." I thought that this was hilarious, and then I wondered if "yummy" was a real word. I found out that it is!

YUMMY
/ˈyʌmi/ Show Spelled Pronunciation
pronunciation: yuhm-ee
part of speech: adjective
origin: 1925-1930

Definition:

1.	very pleasing to the senses, esp. to the taste; delicious: The waiter brought out a tray of yummy desserts.

2.	extremely attractive or appealing.

Colleen's sentence: The Thanksgiving dinner I ate yesterday was quite tasty.
Haha just kidding. The sentence really is: The Thanksgiving dinner I ate yesterday was quite yummy.

I think I am most entertained by the fact that it was invented in the 1920's/1930's. The roaring 20's gave the English language some interesting words and phrases, such as "the bees knees" and the "the cats pajamas," and now, possibly the word "yummy."

This word has been around for a while, and if it's going to stay in our lovely repertoires, the angry comment-leaver is just going to have to get used to it!

When protecting a source goes too far

I just read an article in my favorite magazine, Allure, about narcissistic behavior and how it is becoming more prevalent in our celebrity obsessed society. The author, Judith Newman, wrote a fantastic article after she interviewed a woman who had risen quite quickly in the TV producing industry.

She described how this woman was very pretty and very smart, and as a result, believed that the world owed something to her. Overall, it was a well-written, well-researched article. There was just one huge problem. Judith Newman revealed that she had convinced the source not to use her real name because of the potential problems that she would face after the article came out.

Now, I think that because the source wanted to use her name in the article, Newman should have used it. As journalists, we are taught that we should always use a source's name if we can get it. Newman had the name.

I suppose that her reason for withholding the source's name was noble, but I don't think it was Newman's responsibility to make sure the woman knew what the consequences would be. If the source was a smart woman, as Newman says, than she would have been able to foresee the consequences of using her name.

Journalism stories should be informative and journalists should strive to be honest with their audiences. Journalists have more of a responsibility to their readers, not their sources. I'm not saying journalists have no responsibility to their sources, but they shouldn't protect a source that doesn't want or need protecting.

Blogging is a commitment

Blogs can be hard to do. In theory, they aren't at all because all you seemingly have to do is think of something to say, and then post it. However, sometimes you just don't have anything to say that you believe is worth other people reading. Plus, real life activities can take up all of your time, so even if you do have something to say, you may not have time to say it.

Well, I just want to apologize to all of my readers for not posting in several weeks. My problem was a combination of having nothing to say, as well as no time to post, which resulted in an empty blog. And I know it is hard to follow a blog when there aren't regular posts.

One of my all-time favorite blogs, Beauty Addict, went without any posts for several weeks. I became quite discouraged when I logged on repeatedly and found nothing new. As a result, I hadn't logged on until today, and the only reason I even did today was to find the link for the blog. I didn't even know if it had any new posts.

Here, the blog's author stated that pressures at work were causing her to slack off with posting. Pressures with work and school will always be there, and if you really love something and want it in your life, you have to work around those pressures and make time to do what you love.

That said, I also have to start making time for my own beauty blog on the Daily Illini Web site. Part of the reason I haven't been posting there is that I don't have money to spend on beauty products and makeup right now. So I guess I'll just have to think of creative ways to post about beauty without spending money. I'm sure anyone reading will appreciate that, too, especially with the state of the economy.