Eight Terrible Titles and Battle of the Bands ~ We Three Kings

Before we get down to Battle of the Bands (which is still Christmas)... I want to do something fun with my WiP, titled right now as Out of Touch. It will be brief, so take a time-out with me. Here's the dealio...

I got tagged by Marcy Hatch at mainewords in a game called Eight Terrible Titles. Here's how it works. Scroll through your manuscript at random, letting your cursor wander over the pages. Stop. Select the phrase it lands on and–BAM! You’ve got yourself one terrifically terrible title! Repeat this 7 more times. Let the good times roll. Tag eight others (or whoever you want!).

I am going to include the whole sentence, but bold and use caps on the phrase where the cursor landed (see The New Title for my book). Let's see how good or bad this turns out!

1. "Not one of my Finer Moments," I agreed, though it was extremely satisfying at the time.
2. I searched the floor for The Pencil, but it was not there.
3. "What else? One Misplaced Cufflink, and my life unravels."
4. He pulled out of the lot, and I contented myself with the fact I was Riding in a Car I'd only dreamt about until this moment.
5. I landed Flat on My Face.
6. "Well, yes. I yelled at him and ran down the street, but he was Too Fast For Me." Grandma sighed discontentedly.
7. "A Shot To The Head. Was anything stolen?" I asked.
8. Without thinking, I Touched the Victorian-era divan, and the vision enveloped me completely.

Well, that didn't turn out quite as terrible as I thought it might. Touched isn't half bad. Maybe the name for the sequel???

If you're a writer, and this looks like fun, I invite you to give it a try. Only takes a few minutes, and it's interesting. So, I'm not going to pick on any of you. Just blow a kiss your way and an offer to run with it.

Now, let's get on with Battle of the Bands, part two of this Christmas edition.

Up until a few days ago, I was still undecided on what song/artists to use for this battle. I love Christmas songs. Just about all Christmas songs. The number of artists for any given song... well, the list can be endless. I spent nearly an hour (maybe more) shuffling from song to song on YouTube (or the Great Time Suck, depending on your experience) before landing on We Three Kings. I have no idea if anyone else is using this song today, has used it in the past, blah blah blah. But the chances of posting the same two versions of this song... I'd be shocked. So, let's get down to it. You get to vote on your favorite after listening to them both... so please give them both a listen and vote in the comments!

We Three Kings by The Piano Guys:
 

If that wasn't up your alley, maybe this will be...

We Three Kings by Celtic Woman:
 

For more Battle of the Bands fun, check out the other BOTB bloggers to vote on their battles:

• Far Away Series
• Stephen T. McCarthy's Battle of the Bands Blog
• Tossing it Out
• DiscConnected 
• The Creative Outlet of Strat Player
• Mike's Ramblings
• Curious as a Cathy 
• Book Lover
• The Sound of One Hand Typing
• Alex J. Cavanaugh (sometimes)

If you are participating in Battle of the Bands, and you are not listed here, leave me a note in the comments. Thanks!

Now, is the critical moment. It is time to vote for your favorite version of this song. I even encourage you to leave me long comment explaining all the ins and outs of why you voted as you did! 

Conversating?

Before I roll into this post, I want to remind you to check out the HERE'S TO YOU THURSDAY post if you missed it.

Now, onward.

Mom and I just watched an episode of Judge Judy on the DVR while eating lunch. Crazy people on that show. I used to think they found the dregs of society and put them on that show. I've come to believe that the dregs are now in the majority, and that is just a valid cross-section of the American people. Stupid. Very stupid. But, also very entertaining. I would tell you about the cases we watched, but not relevant to this post. What struck me was at the end (when the ruling's been given these clowns stand out in the hall answering questions, only proving that all parties are morons). One of the morons said, "We're still conversating."

Yep. Conversating.

This isn't the first time I've heard this word on Judge Judy. Another moron, in a totally different case, told Judge Judy (during the hearing) that he was conversating with someone. She said, "What?" And they went through a period of instruction wherein he was informed that "conversate" or "conversating" is not really a word. I thought it was just this one dude who used conversate like it was actually a word. Until today. Now, I know it's a pandemic. I looked it up on YouTube. All kinds of people (see Morons) are conversating there.

One particularly entertaining video explained the phenomena. Sorta. It started out with a young black dude listening to some rap song (don't know it), but it's by some guy named Biggy (spelling????) and that guy used the word "conversate." So, this guy and his brother engage in a conversation about the validity of conversate as a word. The one who starts it insists it is NOT a word, while the brother can't accept that because Biggy used it. He kept saying, "Even though Biggy used it???" Yeah, even though Biggy used it... not a word. So, they go out and interview folks about whether this is or is not a word.

Here's the shocker: Many people thought it was a word. Why? People everywhere use it all of the time. What people? The only time I've ever heard it is on Judge Judy. Oh... I forgot Biggy. I imagine Biggy's using it makes "most people" think it's actually a word. (If you want to watch this footage for yourself click here. Be forewarned: approximately the first 90 seconds is a rap song by the presumed Biggy. The last 30 of the 90 is the guy backing it up and playing it repeatedly. He wants you to know this video is designed to educate you on the word "conversate" and, I assume, to let you know who's responsible... Biggy.)

PSA: Conversate is not a word. Even the Urban Dictionary says it's not a word. Here's what it says:

Conversate: A word used by backwards, ignorant, illiterate inner city trash who mean to say 'converse'. 

Thank you for clearing that up, Urban Dictionary. I can always count on you to explain these words that leave me scratching my head.


Don't misunderstand me. I fully expect "conversate" to creep into the dictionary due to sheer usage. It will have the "slang" tag attached. I commend Biggy (still don't know who you are) for his power of persuasion over the language. I tried to get a word added to the dictionary via this blog. I think I had about 15 readers at the time = fail. I see now that there were four comments. Maybe I overstated my blog following at that time??? :(

What was the word, you ask? Pissabilities. You can read about how I came up with it here. Very entertaining blog bit, if I do say so myself!

I still think it's a great word. A former blog friend, current Facebook friend, used pissabilities in a comment just to make me feel good not too long ago. Frankly, I was shocked that she remembered, given how long ago I wrote that post. It gives me hope that pissabilities might catch on. Maybe I should find out who Biggy is and pass it on. He seems to have a broader reach... just sayin'.

Have you ever made up a word? Heard the word conversate before today? Or pissabilities (please say Yes!)? Fan of Judge Judy? Shocked and despaired by the state of the language?