It's a guy thing, but that last shot with the tear was unnecessary. But still.

I have an article in The Independent today about the Banned List, so I reproduce the latest version here. These are the top 100 words and phrases to avoid.

Meanwhile, the Committee is working extra shifts compiling  an even longer list in secret, so that no one knows whether they have been banned or not, thus ensuring that self-discipline, originality and the avoidance of cliché is internalised.

Nominations for candidates to go on the new list in the comments, please. Or send me a #bannedlist suggestion on Twitter.

1. It’s the economy, stupid.

2. A week is a long time in politics. Or variants thereof, such as, “If a week is a long time in politics then a month seems an eternity.”

3. What part of x don’t you understand? Although this one seems to have nearly died out already.

4. Way beyond, or way more.

5. Any time soon.

6. “Events, dear boy, events.” (Except as the name of an excellent political blog, currently in abeyance.)

7. Learning curve.

8. Raising awareness.

9. Celebrating diversity.

10. In any way, shape or form.

11. Inclusive.

12. Community, especially a vibrant one.

13. Hearts and minds.

14. Celebrity.

15. Makeover.

16. Lifestyle.

17. Going forward.

18. A forward policy.

19. A big ask.

20. At this moment in time.

21. Not fit for purpose.

22. Hard-working families.

23. Apologies for lack of postings.

24. Black hole (in a financial context).

25. The elephant in the room.

26. Perfect storm.

27. Seal the deal.

28. A good election to lose.

29. Game-changer.

30. Beginning an article with “So”.

31. IMO, IMHO, LOL, ROFL and so on. I mean, whose opinion is it going to be? Genuinely witty abbreviations, however, are permitted, for example, QTWTAIN, YYSSW, IICRS (Questions to Which the Answer is No; Yeah, Yeah, Sure, Sure, Whatever; Iraq Inquiry Coverage Rebuttal Service).

32. Vibrant (when used to mean lots of non-English people).

33. Progressive.

34. Arguably, as in “arguably the most perfect village in the Siebenburgen” (Spectator, 24 July 2010).

35. Headlines beginning “Now”, as in “Now You Pay for Prison Parties.”

36. We will take no lessons on x from y.

37. Beginning a report with “They came”.

38. Iconic.

39. “Action” as a verb.

40. Parameter.

41. The level of.

42. A sense of.

43. A series of.

44. The introduction of.

45. A package of. Especially measures.

46. A basket of.

47. A raft of.

48. A range of.

49. The prospect of.

50. (All) the hallmarks of.

51. “Leverage” as a verb.

52. U-turn as a verb.

53. Dislocate as a noun. Or disconnect.

54. Toilet, storyline or any other unsuitable noun as a verb.

55. Exponential or exponentially used to mean big or a lot.

56. Incredible or incredibly as intensifiers.

57. On a daily basis.

58. It’s in his/her/their DNA.

59. Let’s be clear.

60. At the end of the day.

61. Organic, to refer to anything unrelated to farming or to the chemical science that deals with carbon-based compounds.

62. “The truth is…” before the peddling of an opinion.

63. End of.

64. Any journey not describing travel from A to B.

65. A no-brainer.

66. Pot, kettle.

67. What’s not to like?

68. Max out (in relation to credit cards only).

69. He/she gets it. They get it. He/she/it just doesn’t get it.

70. “All the evidence tells us” to mean “I’ve read something about this somewhere that confirms my prejudices”.

71. Fairly unique.

72. Paradigm shift. Or anything to do with a paradigm.

73. Quantum leap, except to mean a very small change of fixed magnitude.

74. Step change.

75. Sea change.

76. Real people and the real world. In real time.

77. Coffee, the waking up and smelling thereof.

78. Ongoing.

79. Project, except in the construction industry.

80. “No longer.” (Following a loving description of The Way We Were.)

81. Agenda, except to describe a list of things to be discussed in a meeting.

82. Out of the box (especially thinking).

83. Kick the can down the road.

84. Psychodrama. (To describe any tense political relationship.)

85. Radar, to be on someone’s, or to be under the.

86. Name and shame.

87. Does what it says on the tin.

88. Stakeholder.

89. Deliverables.

90. Key (adjective). Especially keynote speech.

91. Enough already.

92. Who knew?

93. Epic fail.

94. See what I/he/she did there?

95. Not so much.

96. Beleaguered, except of a city, town or fort with turrets.

97. Rolling out, except carpet, wallpaper or logs.

98. Forward planning (until invention of time machine allowing other kinds).

99. “And yet, and yet …”

100. The suffix -gate added to any news theme supposedly embarrassing to a government.

The original Banned List was, of course, George Orwell’s in 1946: dying metaphors (“Examples are: Ring the changes on, take up the cudgel for, toe the line, ride roughshod over, stand shoulder to shoulder with, play into the hands of, no axe to grind, grist to the mill, fishing in troubled waters, on the order of the day, Achilles’ heel, swan song, hotbed”); verbal false limbs (“Characteristic phrases are render inoperative, militate against, make contact with, be subjected to, give rise to, give grounds for, have the effect of, play a leading part (role) in, make itself felt, take effect, exhibit a tendency to, serve the purpose of”); pretentious diction (“Words like phenomenon, element, individual (as noun), objective, categorical, effective, virtual, basic, primary, promote, constitute, exhibit, exploit, utilise, eliminate, liquidate”); and meaningless words (his examples included “class, totalitarian, science, progressive, reactionary, bourgeois, equality”).

And Orwell’s six rules hold good:

Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.

Never use a long word where a short one will do.

If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

Never use the passive where you can use the active.

Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

It should also be noted that the Committee has decreed that some phrases are compulsory.

Tagged in: banned list

Some great writing/ directing. "Wanna pull?"

The re-positioning of high fructose corn syrup as "corn sugar" is reminiscent of the cigarette industry cover-ups. Perhaps the "truth" campaign could spread its benevolent wings here too.

Corn Refiners's ad effort

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One of the biggest food fights of the year heated up again last week when five more sugar companies signed on to a lawsuit that seeks to stop the corn industry from marketing high-fructose corn syrup as a natural sugar, or "corn sugar." The Corn Refiners Association, backed by food giants such as Archer Daniels-Midland, is seeking the name change from the Food & Drug Administration. And while it awaits the ruling, the industry is running an ad campaign by Omnicom's DDB, Chicago, that includes TV spots featuring parents walking through cornfields declaring that whether corn sugar or cane sugar, "your body can't tell the difference."

"The simpler the message, the easier to remember," Audrae Erickson, president of the Corn Refiners Association, told Ad Age. "Sugar is sugar." The debate is even becoming part of pop culture, with "Saturday Night Live" spoofing the ads in a skit featuring two moms fighting over the issue. "SNL" comes down on the sugar side, with the kicker showing the corn supporter's kid, who is, um, a little bit too big for her age.

But who's really right? We decided to take a closer look at the key issues, while pulling some conclusions from neutral sources such as university and government studies and the American Dietetic Association.

 

What is corn sugar?

 

CORN INDUSTRY: Says "corn sugar" more accurately describes high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) because corn syrup is nothing more than sugar made from corn.

SUGAR INDUSTRY: Accuses the corn industry of seeking to "co-opt the goodwill" of the phrase "sugar." Says "corn sugar" is already used by the FDA to describe what it says is another sweetener product made from corn starch. Using corn sugar to describe another product will "mislead" consumers.

VERDICT: The FDA already has a definition for "corn sugar" and it refers to a substance "commonly called dextrose" -- which refers to a type of sugar that can be made from corn. HFCS is made by processing corn syrup into a product that contains fructose, which is a sugar found in fruits. So the FDA would have to amend its definition or create a new one.

 

Is high fructose corn syrup "natural"?

 

CORN INDUSTRY: Says it has no artificial or synthetic ingredients, and the "process used to make sugar is remarkably similar to that used for high-fructose corn syrup."

SUGAR INDUSTRY: Says there is "no naturally occurring fructose in corn or corn starch" and that HFCS is a man-made product that did not exist before the late 1960s.

VERDICT: HFCS cannot be made without processing, as described above. But pure sugar takes some intervention as well, like shredding and squeezing cane stalks to extract a juice that is boiled and sent through a centrifuge, according to Sugar.org.

 

Are high-fructose corn syrup and sugar nutritional equals?

 

CORN INDUSTRY: Says corn sugar contains the same two simple sugars as table sugar (glucose and fructose), contains the same amount of calories and "is handled the same by the body as table sugar."

SUGAR INDUSTRY: No. Says there are "clear molecular differences" between HFCS and sugar and that the body processes them differently. Points to studies linking HFCS to a "variety of health problems, principally obesity, elevated cholesterol and triglycerides."

VERDICT: The American Dietetic Association says studies show "little evidence" that HFCS "differs uniquely" from sugar and other sweeteners in how it affects metabolism or weight gain, although it notes that more data are needed. But a 2010 study by University of Princeton researchers found that rats fed HFCS gained more weight than those fed the same amount of calories from sugar.

Of course, consumers would be wise to limit their intake of sweeteners of any kind. Or, as the Dietetic Association says in a report, "there is a role for sugars and HFCS in our food supply," but "we can get too much of a good (sweet) thing."

iPad takes center stage in a TV spot for a car. Not to mention it doubles as the owner's manual. Really smart stuff.

"Missing Face" by Miami Ad School Hamburg. Crazy good idea to help find missing people with the help of 500,000,000 facebook users and facial recognition software.

WSJ's Sarah Nassauer visits the Hub to discuss companies going back in time to capture consumers' sunny view of the past by rolling out retro labels and packaging on products. (Image: General Mills Inc.)

When you think about it (if you're one who partakes in such pastimes), it's a no-brainer. Reconnecting an aging population (yea you, yea me) with emotional triggers of our youth makes perfect marketing sense. It's not about how retro old Cheerios designs look today, it's about taking us back to a time in our lives. Life was simpler back then. And we didn't have to post about how simple it was. "OMG Dad just brought home a microwave! It almost fits in the kitchen! I'm making a Salisbury Steak HungryMan!"

One in a series of new commercials for the 70" Sharp Aquos. Simple. Uncluttered. Memorable. Too bad the 70" will play like a 27" on my 52" Samsung. Maybe starting with an extreme close up and pulling out would have given a better feel for the size. (Yea, I realize that was a weird sentence.)