Yes, I have an opinion on the crosswords vs. Sudoku smackdown!. My opinion is that crosswords are fun and maybe even enlightening as a brain stretcher, although ultimately they're sort of pointless, unless they prevent Alzheimer's, which they might.
Sudoku looks boring. I look at it and think, "oh, I could write a computer program to figure that out." And according to the article, the puzzles themselves are computer generated. There won't be any jokes, surprises, or puns. So I really don't understand the fun.
Oh, and it probably comes as no surprise to anyone that I really, really hate that marketing phenomenon known as "chick lit." The linked article talks about it in opposition to "literary fiction" which I'm not such a huge fan of either, but at least literary fiction as a marketing phenomenon is trying to sell consumers on the idea that "here, this book is good, you might like to read it, or at least buy it and leave it lying around so people will think you're smart." The Chick Lit marketing phenomenon is trying to sell consumers on the idea that "here, this book is a kicky and fun lifestyle accoutrement. Look, the cover is pink! And there's a vaguely 1962-retro drawing of some shoes on it! Shoes that look like they might have come from Paris or something!"
Finally, fall fashion. I have read forecasts and articles in a number of places, but I couldn't find a good one to link to online, so you're just going to have to trust me -- I'm a fashion expert. First of all, the big memo that everyone has gotten is that "the 80s are back." The problem is, I actually remember the 80s, and none of these new so-called 80s trends looks very much like what I remember. Okay, high-contrast stripes are kind of 80s, and wearing leggings with pumps are kind of 80s, and ruffled and/or poofy miniskirts are kind of 80s. But none of these trends needed to come back, because they were ugly the first time, and they're actually uglier now, if you can believe it.
Supposedly, skinny jeans are in. But, since the only people who have ever been able to make skinny jeans work are heroin-addicted rock stars (or at least people who look like heroin-addicted rock stars) I doubt this trend will have much oomph. Actually, I pray to the fashion gods that this trend will not have much oomph. I am already sick to death of the "sausage casing" trend of the past several years, with people stuffed into clothes that are far too tight. If people do try to wear skinny jeans, it will only get worse. Sigh. Maybe it has to get worse before it gets better.
The 80s didn't need to come back, of course, and neither did the 70s, and the 90s, being merely a rehash of the 70s, don't need to come back, and the 00s, which we are still in the middle of, are -- well, if it's just a rehash of the 80s which were in some ways a rehash of the 50s, except where it's a rehash of the 90s where it was a rehash of the 70s -- I'm sorry, where was I?
Oh, yeah, fashion is dead. Long live fashion.
