Sorry to offend, I meant "Happy Shamrock Day!"

I'm surely late to the party learning about this, but apparently there's a movement to rename today's holiday. And no, Massachusetts, not Evacuation Day - some would rather recognize March 17 as "Shamrock Day."

I learned about it from Alamo City Pundit and caught it on some other blogs but, knowing how whisper-down-the-lane works, needed more information. Trouble is, for all the mentions I found of Shamrock Day - including from Hallmark and the Disney Channel - there wasn't much in the way of explanation as to why the shift.

I finally found a short item in the Waco Tribune Herald which confirmed my hunch that "Shamrock Day" is favored by those who would rather not honor a religious figure, St. Patrick. They will, however, honor Irish Culture.

Here's where it gets funny. St. Patrick is the patron Saint of Ireland. Honoring Irish culture on a day named for St. Patrick is a recognition of the Roman Catholic tradition in Ireland. But so is wearing green; the green on the Irish flag represents the Catholic natives, while the orange represents Protestants. (Sidebar: if you're wearing orange today in Boston, God help you.) And of course, the Shamrock has become the symbol of the day because of the legend that St. Patrick used it to explain the concept of the Holy Trinity as he was spreading Catholicism on the Emerald Isle.

In an attempt to expunge religious references from today's holiday, the seekers of political correctness have replaced St. Patrick with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. I don't like to push my religion on anyone, but this is like replacing Easter with "Cross Day" or Christmas with "Manger Day." It certainly doesn't do any more to promote inclusion - assuming the original name for the day was exclusionary to begin with.

Perhaps they had too much green beer?

Collins to exuviate 24 little-used words

The Collins English Dictionary is 86-ing 24 words from its version of English. Not to be oppugnant, but this decision vilipends our language.

Collins feels the caducity of these words is apodeictic. But this caliginosity can only serve to embrangle future generations -- not to vaticinate, but I expect that when they come across these words but have no resource to find what they mean.

As keepers of our language, the Collins English Dictionary must behave with mansuetude when they make such decisions.

Let's all just try to get through today as quickly as possible...

Happy Birthday to the Smiley! If you’ve ever instant messaged or emailed, chances are you have used an emoticon (like “ :) ”). The suggestion was first made by Scott Fahlman in 1982, who is now a professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Fahlman suggested the tags because dry sarcasm was not translating on electronic bulletin board posts.

I’ve always tried to avoid them (as well as shortcuts like LOL, OMG, and WTF), but I realized how pervasive they were and are in the late 1990s when a friend wrote me a letter with a hand-written smiley (“:)”) at the end of a sentence. Seems to me she could have just drawn a smiley face, but I suppose we’re past that as a society.

Speaking of internet sensations which I refuse to embrace, September 19 is also International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Allow me to reiterate that it’s international – so you can feel free to call your friends in Canada and bellow “Arr, Matey!” – if, in fact, that’s how you’d talk to your Canadian friends.

I admit I simply don’t get the online cult status that pirates and their apparent rivals, ninjas, enjoy while cowboys, Vikings, witches, or druids are all but ignored.