US – Tuesday, February 9
Plant blast under investigation
Federal investigators headed to Connecticut yesterday to determine the cause of an explosion at an unfinished power plant that killed at least five workers and hospitalized dozens of others.
 
Pressure grows for sanctions
International pressure for new sanctions against Iran grew yesterday after Tehran announced plans to make higher-enriched uranium and add 10 nuclear sites in a year, raising Western fears it wants to develop atom bombs.
 
Stern: I’d do ‘Idol’ for $100M
Howard Stern took to his radio show yesterday to address the rumors that he’s a possible replacement for Simon Cowell for the next season of “American Idol.” To sum it up? He’s not going for it.
 
Dancing while the skinny lady sings
You’ve heard of the jukebox musical? David Parsons and singers AnnMarie Milazzo and Tyley Ross of the East Village Opera Co. offer a jukebox opera, playing nightly at the Joyce. Eleven Parsons dancers share the stage with Milazzo and Ross, who clutch microphones cranked to 11 and stroll through the action. On the recorded soundtrack, three drummers create a wall of sound so loud you — well, I — want to hide under the seat. Digital video of abstract patterns, natural landscapes and stunning architecture change for each song.
 
‘Free’ ad leads to fraud suit
NEW YORK. A Wisconsin college student is suing credit firm Experian — the brains behind the ubiquitous FreeCreditReport.com jingles — for fraudulent advertising after she inadvertently signed up for a monthly $14.95 monitoring service.
 
Let me count the ways ...
‘Tis the season for writing love letters. But that can be a daunting endeavor, especially when you’re not sure where to start. Should you put it in verse, use flowery language, get erotic? As with almost anything in life, the simpler you keep it, the easier (and often better) it will be. It doesn’t sound that romantic, but think of your love letter as a laundry list of the reasons why you adore your sweetheart. It’s kinda like Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnet 43: “How do you love your partner? Count the ways!” Here’s how to do it without rhyming or pulling out a thesaurus:
 
Published 00:17, October the 26th, 2009
 
 

Words of wonder

With the death of Times-man William Safire, the world lost one of its great dissectors of linguistic peculiarities, not to mention a passionate practitioner of the alliteration arts. With a tip of the cap to Safire, we offer some confounding colloquial conundrums that get our goat.

With everyone interested in economic indices that apparently reveal when our country will pull itself out of its doldrums, we hear a lot of talk about a spike in the Dow, or other pertinent graphs.

According to that usage, a spike is when something shoots skyward. Then again, a spike in volleyball sees the ball slammed to the ground or, if we can get personal for a moment, into your face in 10th-grade gym class. A railroad spike or baseball spike digs into the earth, not the sky. Shouldn’t a spike in the Dow indicate a dramatic free fall, not an upsurge?

Then there’s the matter of workaholics, shopaholics and chocoholics. Obviously the derivative is alcoholic, or one addicted to alcohol, with the -ic suffix personifying the one who can’t handle his or her hard lemonade. If we subtract the -ic from the addiction iterations, we’re talking about people hooked on workahol, shopahol and chocohol. Unless we’re discussing Kahlua, there’s no such thing as chocohol.

Finally, there is the tendency among pundits to slap -gate onto anything scandalous — a nod, of course, to presidential malfeasance at the Watergate hotel in 1972. The contemporary usage includes Letterman-gate, Kanye-gate and, lest we forget, Monica-gate.

The “Watergate” scandal works because that’s where the dirty deed took place. But unless Dave and his Late Show paramours had their trysts atop a gate (talk about your dangerous liaisons!) or at that forever-besmirched Washington hotel, phrases like Letterman-gate simply don’t hold water. 

– Michael Malone details his commuting woes on Trainjotting.com.

Metro does not endorse the opinions of the author, or any opinions expressed on its pages. Opposing viewpoints are welcome. Please send 400-word submissions to letters@metro.us.

 
 
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MMMpod
The February MMMpod features conversation from Ozzy Osbourne. Michael Emerson from "Lost" tells us about his days enjoying punk rock in Boston. We also dig up an old interview from the late great Howard Zinn. We have a song from Delta Spirit and The Soft Pack, who tell us where they got their name.

 
 
Metro Life Panel