2297 Passing Fancy

Time marches on. They also say it passes, possibly while it's marching or possibly as if escaping like gas from a cosmic alimentary canal.

And with each passing moment, we get another little change in the way things are from the way they were. Take tie-dye. Yes tie-dye, that ultimate expression of individualistic hippiedom.

Recently I was at an event and the T-shirts the folks wore who were putting it on were tie-dye. Which was totally cool. It really fit the theme of the event, which was dedicated to the art of crafting. Tie-dye is definitely crafting.

But oddly, the considerations of expediency and efficiency required that the tie-dye shirts worn by the event folks be uniform. They were, after all, being used to identify those in charge. So the shirts were ordered from a manufacturer. And they were uniform indeed. 

Prefab uniform tie-dye. It made one's brain cramp. Like a meeting of the anarchy steering committee.

Another example of the passing of time is the dictionary. And not just any dictionary.  Millennials are finally having their way with the one used for the stodgiest of games: The Scrabble Dictionary.

Merriam-Webster's Official Scrabble Player's Dictionary, a tome that sets the tone not unlike the OED, and hasn't been updated for decades, has finally entered the 21st Century. 

They've added 5000 new words that will be officially recognized on the Scrabble board. Narcissistic smartphoners rejoice, one of the words is selfie. They also included bromance and chillax. And of course texter and hashtag. The tweet generation can't communicate without them. 

There's also beatbox, and my favorite, buzzkill. Which is how I felt when I realized that time was also letting the language standards of my youth pass, like a dissipated tweet from you know where.

For shizzle.

America, ya gotta love it.