So in addition to missing out on the passage of the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote — which would’ve have sent Bierce reeling in his grave, if he were indeed in one – old Ambrose never got to experience the convenience of "email, n. Technological advance that ensures that one’s letter will not be ignored by a correspondent too busy to write a reply." Instead, Koenig goes on to say, "one’s message is sent to a person too busy to type two words and click."
Speaking of communications, stick this in your ear and hold, please: the "cell phone n. Invention that has brought more hope to mankind than the promise of an afterlife, with tidings far more interesting than whatever the person who is receiving the call is doing. Sometimes the companions of the called take their demotions personally, but they are usually old or have something wrong with them.’
For the world of art and design, The New Devil’s Dictionary offers a brief description post-World War II "minimalism"; in keeping with the non-essential, sparse concepts at issue, it may be helpful to cite a proverbial reminder from Koenig that, of course, "A little learning is usually sufficient." With that in mind, the author starts to sketch out the movement as a "Style that allows the cold and vacuous to appear disciplined and refined." Deferring to an authority on the matter, she then quotes a prominent decorator who maintains that "The conspicuous austerity of minimalism is a powerful statement about self," and concludes that "This statement can be made only by those for whom austerity is a choice. The cold and vacuous poor are out of luck."
And usually not empowered — ‘empower’ being the buzzword of last decade, and probably this decade too, no doubt. But not as ubiquitous as it had been since Oprah, for whom austerity is indeed a choice, went media minimalist on us. In any event, true to its all-encompassing nature ("multi-task v. To do three or more things at once … none very well"), The New Devil’s Dictionary spotlights a three-fold definition of "empower v. (1) To enable to make a purchase or create a nuisance. (2) To instill false hope: 'The children were empowered by the increase in their self-esteem.”’ But when the psycho-prattle chin music makes a transition to an entity without a human face, I get trepidacious, heading for the exits: "(3) To give a sum or service that contributes far less to the recipient than to the donor’s self-satisfaction. Seen on the envelope of a charity that had been given free postage: “Empowered by Pitney Bowes.'"
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