Listography - pet hates

Sydney Shop Girl has been doing a series of memes, and I've taken inspiration from her Listography series (as inspired by Kate Takes 5).

This first one is pet hates. Ok, I probably should have started with a more positive list, but I need to get back into some more in-depth writing, and what better to do so is through a series of small rants.

1) The following expressions:

• 'a bunch of...' - ugh. So American. A bunch of grapes, bananas or flowers yes, but a bunch of money/clothes/ideas/stuff NO! And 'a bunch of fun' just makes no sense. A bunch is not a good quantifier. I saw this expression used by a credible Australian writer recently and was shocked.
  
  
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• 'all but...'. I don't even know what this means? Is it that something has or hasn't happened? All but given up hope. All but lost? Is it simpler to say or write 'given up hope' or 'was lost'. 'All but' seems so redundant. And the message is lost.
• 'became a Dad for the 2/3/4th time'. Okay. Big pet hate. You can become a Dad/Mum/Aunty/pet owner once - because you've gone from not being one, to becoming one. But once you're already a Dad/Mum/Aunty/pet owner, you can't become one again.

2) Lateness. I hate it. It's rude and inconsiderate, and constantly becoming a trait. I know things come up - traffic, family emergencies, work - but when someone is constantly late, it's tiring. Non committal. Devaluing. And I think the mobile phone contributes to lateness - it's like the late person thinks 'oh, they won't mind if I'm late, I'll send them a text to let them know'. If you want to impress me, be punctual.

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3) A lot of music of today. I'm looking at YOU, commercial radio and music TV. It's shit. Not inspirational, not quality, not clever. Just annoying, autotune, crappy lyrics, blatant sexualisation, and a lack of instruments. Katy Perry (Firework is really dull). Gaga. Chris Brown. Rihanna. Ke$ha. Black Eyed Peas. Bruno Mars. Akon. Whoever sings Like a G6 and Dirty Talk. Brian McFadden (thank God Clem Bastow pulled him into line!). I think you're all boring. And definitely NOT role models. I don't want to hear you singing, badly, about climaxes, whips and chains, sexual violence, hot wax and g-spots.

Tell me - on first glance of that picture above, would you think Rihanna is a singer or a badly dressed (and uncomfortable) sex worker? Bern Morley has written a brilliant blog entry on the inappropriateness of song lyrics.

4) Meal replacements instead of balanced meals.

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If you want to feel healthy and maintain a healthy size, eat a balanced diet! That means fruit and vegetables, dairy, meat or meat alternatives and grains or grain alternatives. A powder in a sachet mixed with water cannot be good for you. Or yummy. Food is good for you. Food is yummy. I hate seeing women guzzling meal replacement shakes for lunch, complaining about hunger, then sneaking in chocolates and chips later. And also envying my (varied) meals.

5) Vanity. Oh I am planning a whole blog entry on vanity.

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I am all for taking pride in myself and looking as good as I can, and I love receiving compliments on my appearance, but I hate it when looking good becomes more important than being a good person, or - God help us - worldly issues. I particularly dislike people fishing for compliments by posting pictures on Facebook or blogs and state how awful they look, when there is NOTHING wrong with them.

Stay tuned on my vanity blog entry. I'll be sure to be looking better than you when I write it.