Etcetera Writing

I’m worried that my last entry is everything I didn’t want this blog to become - obvious. Practice makes perfect? Can I be a little more trite? Well, sure I can, just watch.

To be fair, I did bring a unique spin to an old dreidel (no, I am not proud of that last phrase). I noted an obscure quote and an insightful book. And then I blew it all off by showing the high probability of our own failure.

Lighten up, Mike. There’s lots "triter" stuff than that.

Case in point (or should that be “submitted for your approval”), this little gem that appeared today on my Yahoo featured news section under the tease “must see vacation spots in North America,” which was patched together from an article of 15 items from ForbesTraveler.com. The Yahoo version, titled “North America’s Top Vacation Spots,” listed only seven. I don’t know why.

Caveat Emptor: The featured section referred to these as “must see spots,” which are way different from “top spots.” “Must sees” and “tops” are not synonymous. In fact, “must sees” often are “must sees” because they are not “tops.” Needless to say, it was a colossal waste of time (trite expression number nine in this post, for those of you keeping count). I could have – and did – name almost all of them before finishing the lead.

For those of you who are just dying to know, the number one “top spot” is Disney World in Florida, followed by six more cities, including Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. Each entry had its own vague description. For example, did you know that Chicago is “home to myriad vacation draws, from its architectural wonders to high-profile sports franchises to a thriving theater scene and numerous lakefront leisure activities” (how I’d hate to be stuck in a town devoid of “myriad” vacation draws). Funny how that description works for New York and Los Angles, not to mention Detroit, Milwaukee, Boston and “myriad” other “must see” cities.

It’s just one more example of what I’ve come to call “etcetera writing,” that vague, banal, space-filling fluff that clutters our digital highways and byways. I may as well be reading “blah, blah, blah” (I will not say yadda-yadda-yadda) or the ramblings of those Peanuts cartoon adults. It’s just so much nothing. And we’re awash in it. Awash, I tell you!

I first became upset with this kinda’ stuff after stumbling across an episode of “Unwrapped,” the Food Network’s show about how popular snacks, candies, and fast foods are made. I paraphrase here, but each episode seems filled with bland little lines like “cookies have been an American favorite for years.” Well, sure they have, apparently outlasting good writing and a sense of importance.

The question is, am I going to be part of the problem or part of the solution (trite expression number – oh, I lost count)? I’m sure I’ll continue spreading the Orange Highway with stupid, useless, and meaningless things, many of them too personal to be of use to anyone but my analyst, but I do promise that every now and then I’ll post an entry that matters.

Oh, by the way, this isn’t one of them.