Apple Foot

Recently Misinterpreted

It's a banner day for mis-reading things. Here's two of the more noteworthy:

• In an article on online advertising, I saw a reference to "dick-through rate". Oddly, since I was looking at FaceBook ad information, this might not be the wrong term to use.
• An article on batch processing items in a certain database was titled "Bringing Up Batch." I read "Bringing Up Bach". Thought maybe the company had a new product line named for the composer.

Recently misinterpreted

What the sign near the loading dock said: NO IDLING

What I read: NO BLING

Recently misinterpreted

What the wedding announcement said: "The bride wore a simple cream gown..."

What I read: "The bride wore a SAMPLE cream gown..."

What I thought: Are they bragging about getting a good price on the gown? Or is this some kind of designer prototype that they're proud of? And if that's the case, why not name the designer? Oh, wait...

Art, Autism, and My Family

According to the CDC, 1 in 150 children in the U.S. has an autism spectrum disorder. One of those children is my nephew J.

J. is seven years old. He loves to read, and to play with numbers. He has a dog and two younger brothers, and he's sensitive to loud noise. This year he'll be starting religious instruction, and I wonder if he'll find the Hebrew alphabet as fascinating as he does our twenty-six letter alphabet. Some day I hope to see his bar mitzvah.

Claudine Intner, mother of a child on the spectrum, is an artist. In order to raise funds for Autism Speaks, a national autism awareness and research organization, Claudine started Art Now for Autism. There's a really nice article about her effort in the Annapolis Capital for October 9

More than 100 artists from North America, Australia and Europe have donated more than 400 pieces of art for sale in the month of October. Last year only 27 artists participated, so the exhibit has grown immensely this year.

The exhibit includes a range of fine arts and crafts including painting, drawing, collage, photography, mixed media, jewelry, fiber art and more. There is a selection of unique, hand-crafted puzzle piece pins available for only a $25 donation (the puzzle piece is a symbol for autism spectrum disorders).  100% of the funds raised from the sale of art will go to Autism Speaks. The exhibit includes several artists with autism including well-known British artist Stephen Wiltshire who donated three prints. Other artists have family members or students with autism. Art available will range in price from as little as $10 to over $500 for original works of art.

Art Now for Autism’s online exhibition and fundraiser began October 1, 2008, and will continue throughout the month of October. For more information please visit www.artnowforautism.com.

The artwork in the exhibit is amazing-- I hope you'll visit the exhibit, and maybe even be moved to contribute to the cause. I also hope you'll pass the site information along to your friends and family who may be interested.

Thank you,
Auntie AppleFoot

Recently Misinterpreted

What the McDonald's commercial hawked: Newman's Own Organic Iced Coffee

What I heard: Newman's Own Organic-Sized Coffee

Recently Misinterpreted

What the database record said: "High Plain Elementary [School]"

What I read: "High Pain Elementary"

Which is silly, since everyone knows that "high pain" is junior high.

Long ago misinterpreted

When I was in fifth grade or so, one of the local channels ran "Battle of the Planets" after school. I loved it, though God alone knows why.

The token female on the superhero team was called--I kid you not--Princess. All the kids were supposed to be costumed like some kind of bird, and she was the swan.

Thank god for the web, with its infinite knowledge of anime, because otherwise I'd've gone to my grave believing she was a duck.

Recently Misinterpreted: Non-Verbal Edition

Bertucci's had a new scallops and spaghetti dish I tried a couple nights ago. Since it was hot when it got to the table, I figured I'd start with a small scallop, less likely to scorch my mouth.

The scallop was... pasty, granular almost. Entirely the wrong texture. And while the taste wasn't foul, it was definitely not in the least scallop-y.

I'm thinking, oh, shit, the scallops have gone completely bad! I'm already trying to figure out the best way to call this to the server's attention, and I'm trying to decide if I should pro-actively vomit the small bit I've already eaten so as to prevent food poisoning, when I realize:

that was a roasted garlic clove.

Recently misinterpreted

Subject line on spam: "(Make love not war) ezx"

What I read: "Make love not ear wax"

Recently Misinterpreted: Too Much Sci Fi

From a story about a sinkhole in Dorchester:

What it said: "State police say eastbound traffic on Gallivan Boulevard will be restricted..."

What I saw: "State police say EARTHBOUND traffic on Gallivan Boulevard will be restricted..."