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It’s a Mariah Christmas: Why We Love to Meme During the Holidays
Mariah Carey’s tenacious cameos in memes across the internet speak to a widespread cultural gloom lying just beneath Christmas cheer.…
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The World’s on Fire. Fall Out Boy Fails to Say Anything About it.
In the original 1989 hit “We Didn’t Start the Fire” Billy Joel takes on the role of a passive observer.…
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Language
“I’m willing to tell you. I’m wanting to tell you. I’m waiting to tell you.”
George Bernard Shaw,
Pygmalion
Wherever there are people there is communication. Whether it’s through speech, gestures, or actions – everyone expresses. Language is a complex performance that can’t help but say more than we mean about ourselves yet remain Inadequate. If we’re willing, wanting, and waiting why is the meaning of our words so hard to pin down?
Information Literacy
Are Algorithms Biased? – Being Balanced on Social Media
Short answer is no, but people can be.
The Statue of Liberty: Paywalled
The Battery is the best place to view Lady Liberty but America’s most meaningful monument has been put behind walls. I’m left wondering, is America for sale? In…
Legal Language
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Ohio’s Issue 1: Ballot Language
On November 7th Ohio citizens have the chance to make a decision about abortion rights but are…
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Ohio Abortion Bill – Explained
I recently got a propaganda flier in the mail that boldly asks “have you seen the language?”…
Meme Series
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Advice for a Broken Emoji Heart
Apple’s overactive software updates left me with a dilemma. How do we communicate the whole gamut…
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Elf is Back on the Shelf, Boys
After years without Elf-on-the-Shelf, I’m seeing a lot of instances of the Elf-on-the-Shelf meme scrolling down…
Data
“In nonsense is strength”
Kurt Vonnegut,
Breakfast of Champions
We can’t see or feel data and it doesn’t really exist in the temporal world. Yet every moment, data describes the world we perceive. It has the power to guide our decisions and bring us wisdom – but first, it’s nonsense.
If we interpret it right, we can turn nonsense into strength.
Politics
ICE is the Worst of Us
Another day, another deadly ICE shootings. The nation is, once again, in disbelief over the federal government’s use of unnecessary force. Let’s take a look…
The Onion Hates ICE
This is a somber addition to the Analyze the Meme series. After the shooting of Renee Nicole Good, the internet has been overwhelmed by strong…
Hi, I’m Mia!
I have a Master’s in Library and Information Sciences and a BA in Linguistics. I spend my professional time working with children who need a leg up with literacy, and children who are too darn smart for their own good. Incidentally, these are often the same children!
At home, I like to imagine myself a photographer, graphic designer, and chef. All of which, I am not! But life is about learning, and you can’t learn what you don’t do!
Which brings me to the site. Most of the photos and featured images on Small Words blog are photographed, or designed and edited by me and, of course, all posts come from my noggin. Not a drop of AI used here.
I hope you like the space I created and, as always, I would love to hear from you in the comments!
Time
No matter how far you are separated from other people if you have an idea of time why then you are in the same world with them
Dalton Trumbo,
Johnny Got His Gun
Time–the fourth dimension—defines an experience, a lifetime, and a cultural zeitgeist. It’s human to want to suspend these moments so we can turn them over in our hands. Before we forget, we capture these moments with art, film, and music. No matter how far apart we feel, ideologically, culturally, or geographically, art bridges our differences and reminds us that we live in the same world. We can be separated by space and still united.
Place
“If you don’t know where you are going any road can take you there.”
Lewis Carroll,
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Travel represents a chance to expand our horizons and challenge ourselves in the unfamiliar. When we are away from home, we are forced to navigate the unknown geography of someone else’s roads, customs, and culture. It’s not about the coordinates of our destination, it’s about being in “another place”. Any place will do.
Travel Logs
More in Place
Ballantrae Park Bunnies
These bunnies created by British sculptor Sophie Ryder, live in Ballantrae Park in Dublin, Ohio. If you thought, like me, that they were frolicking rest assured that we are… very wrong. These hares are performing an aggressive dance for the love of the ladies and rights to the lushest, most nutritious four-leaf clovers. You know, luck-of-the-Irish stuff. As cute as these…
Ferns and Fears
What fears have you overcome and how? Daily Prompt The irredeemable dyslexic that I am, I read this prompt very wrong. “What ferns have you overcome and how?” It made me think of the following ferns I came across a couple of days ago, at the Garfield Park Conservatory: But since we’re on the topic of ferns and fears, I…
Vignettes
For a shorter read check out these Vignettes!