Two hundred movie theaters showed '1984' last week as a protest to the government.

According to the website United State of Cinema, two hundred art house cinemas showed the dystopian movie 1984 last week, which is based on George Orwell's novel of the same name.

Over 184 cities and 44 states had a showing, while locations outside the country--five in Canada, and one each in England, Sweden, Holland, New Zealand, and Croatia--also joined in.

The collected group of theaters decided the week of April 4th was timely, as the protagonist in the book and movie begins his diary on that day.

The theaters' goal?


"The endeavor encourages theaters to take a stand for our most basic values: freedom of speech, respect for our fellow human beings, and the simple truth that there are no such things as 'alternative facts.'"


Delaware, Idaho, Mississippi, North Dakota, Tennessee, and Wyoming--all states with their fingers on the pulse of the excitement--were the six states that didn't have a single cinema in their entire state show the film. By comparison, California had 28 locations. Even Alaska and Alabama had a single location feature the film.

Delaware has a history of never involving itself in anything. It's like the agoraphobic of American states, the geographic and political equivalent of a pasty man with no calf muscle definition who enjoys white rice, low sodium saltines, and the smooth, smooth taste of filtered water.

What I'm trying to say is that it's a bad sign when even Alabama outdoes you.

Why distracted students are a concern.

Focusing on the matter at hand--in a classroom or in life, critics say--is what's most disconcerting about the next generation of students that's grown up on smartphones and tablets, where their attention has been routinely torn to the next interesting thing.

Psychologist Daniel Goleman, an author on such matters, points to a New Zealand study in the 1970s that focused on 8-year olds and their ability to focus--then checked in on them when they were 32-years old to see how they fared. The result? Kids who learned to focus as youngsters succeeded more in life as adults.

As Goleman said, "The more you can concentrate the better you’ll do on anything, because whatever talent you have, you can’t apply it if you are distracted."

The solution? Ban, limit, or minimize technological devices, reinforce focusing behavior patters with children, maybe give up. Experts don't know.

It's okay. You probably didn't even read to the end of this post. I accept that.

Fashionable Words: Kerfuffle

[Sometimes words die out of fashion. But sometimes those words are good words, words with a certain appeal that can't be denied forever. Those words should be brought back into fashion, used frequently and used often. These are those words.]

Word:
Kerfuffle


Definition:   noun
A commotion, disturbance, or fuss.


Origin:
Depends on which spelling you like with your kerfuffle.

According to the OED, kerfuffle was born in 1946 in That Summer, and other stories, a book by New Zealand's own Frank Sargeson. Sargeson only gets credit for the standard spelling in use today though, so tough shakes, Frank.

The original Scottish curfuffle (also known as gefuffle, because Scots love words that sound like you're four sheets to the wind) came from poet George Bruce in 1813, specifically from this jaunty little line:

An' Jeanie's kirtle, aye sae neat, Gat there a sad carfuffle.

It's even more fun when you try to say it like Ewan MacGregor in Trainspotting!

Sir David Lyndsay looking to start trouble.

Kerfuffle/curfuffle both have fuffle at their roots--meaning 'to throw into disorder, to jerk about'--which takes our etymology train back to 1536, when Scottish poet and diplomat Sir David Lyndsay first used the fuffle in his work Answer to Kingis Flyting.
[Not for nothing side story: Lyndsay rose through the ranks of Scottish court under James V (best known as Mary, Queen of Scots' dad). Yet for a man who was Scotland's point man on many international diplomatic events, there's no knowledge of Lyndsay's youth, education, upbringing, or even when he officially died. Is Lyndsay still alive today? Sure, why the hell not. Unsubstantiated, obscure, historical rumors--only on The Toolbox!]



The prefix cur- most likely comes from the Gaelic car (twist or turn about). Meanwhile, the prefix ker- is possibly influenced by cur-, so says the OED, but is really just an onomatopoeic formation to create the sound of something. (Think: "Kersplash!") For reasons unknown, the OED says ker- is generally considered vulgar, but doesn't explain.

There you go--I just offended you, and you didn't even realize it.


Most obscure UrbanDictionary.com definitions of kerfuffle:

4.  Basically used by Lou Reed from Little Britain. It means a state, a problem or a hassle.

8.  A cough that makes you fart.

10.  A very very rare sighting of a beaver-like animal with a mullet...it was seen in the backwoods of southern Kentucky...it had very large buck teeth and the people were not sure if it was a hillbilly that had moved into the wild or a very large beaver with a mullet.


Used in a sentence:
1.  Martha's new fruit punch recipe caused quite a kerfuffle at the church social once everyone found out it was made with seven kinds of liquor.


Word Awesomeness Scale (1 to 5):
Four.

Sounds less threatening than it actually is.

'Hobbit' film a death trap for animals, innocence.

From the Oh, Geez, This Is Depressing file comes news that a New Zealand farm used to house animals from in the upcoming Hobbit film was a sort of death camp for the four-legged family.

According to wranglers hired by the production company, three horses, six goats, six sheep, and a dozen chickens all died at the farm, largely from poor conditions.

The farm was known for its rolling hillside--a rolling hillside which included sinkholes, bluffs, and broken down fencing--none of which is good for horses frolicking at 30mph, but is entirely Orc-approved.

[Probably best to skip this next part if you don't want to know what the Eye of Sauron wrought on a bunch of innocent animals.]


One horse, named Doofus (real name), only maimed his leg in busted fencing. Another horse, Molly, met the same fate, ripping her leg open. Unlike Doofus, Molly's injuries are permanent though. Both Doofus and Molly got off easy compared to others--including a horse named Claire, who was found dead after she fell over a bluff, where her head was discovered submerged in a stream. (Really, I'm not trying to make you cry here. I promise.)

Another horse, Zeppelin, died of natural causes according to an autopsy report--but animal wrangler Johnny Smythe said he believes Zeppelin died of a digestive infection from a new type of feed. Smythe said Zeppelin's intestinal track was filled with a yellowish liquid, indicating infection. (I don't want to see you cry. I swear.)

Finally, a miniature horse named Rainbow--who was to be used in the movie as a horse for Hobbits--was euthanized. Why? According to wrangler Chris Langridge's account to the Associated Press, "When I arrived at work in the morning, the pony was still alive but his back was broken. He'd come off a bank at speed and crash-landed," Langridge said. "He was in a bad state." (Okay, you can cry now.)

And that doesn't even cover the goat and sheep deaths, or the dozen chickens who--even the production studio admits--were maimed to death by dogs that snuck on the farm and tore the birds apart.

Producers of The Hobbit claim that not all the deaths were from neglect or poor conditions. The state that some sheep only died from exposure to severely cold weather. Because a death via hypothermia is totally fair game when compared to plunging off a bluff and breaking your back.


[Okay, you can read again if you skipped the above portions.]

Producers claim they tried to improve conditions on the farm once wranglers alerted them to the poor conditions, and they refute that the total number of deaths the wranglers swear by. The movie studio also wants you to know that The Hobbit's director, Peter Jackson, bought three of the pigs that worked on the film and took them home. 

Because three pigs going home with man previously known to crack 400lbs always turns out well for Pork Chop.





Yes, the photo is of My Little Pony. Why? My Little Pony > dead horses.

My precious, my precious! New Zealand releases Hobbit-themed currency, continues to blur line between New Zealanders and Hobbits.

As if people weren't pretty certain Bilbo Baggins was from Aukland already...

The New Zealand Post--the country's government-owned creator of currency and stamps--has developed a line of Hobbit-themed money and stamps in advance of the release of The Hobbit in theaters. Picture the American $1 bill paying homage to Star Wars with Chewbacca smiling at you instead of George Washington.

Stamps are nothing new. Money is though. While the New Zealand Hobbit currency is a little too precious to spend for dinner and a movie ($1 coins retail for $29.90 [NZ], and $10 coins are made out of pure gold, valued at $3,695 [NZ]), they are legal tender, for all debts public and private. And while most characters get some love in stamp or monetary form, the focus is heavy on Bilbo.

Gollum? Apparently a greedy monster cuts too close to home for governmental officials. He's given a stamp, but not a coin. Nor a ring for that matter.

The Top Ten Most Educated Countries in the World...

...are kind of what you expect. Except for New Zealand. No disrespect for New Zealand or anything, but I think most Americans would've assumed France, Taiwan, Germany, Sweden, Spain, etc., would round out the top ten.

After all, there's a 50/50 chance most Americans think New Zealand is inhabited by Hobbits.