Dem
51
GOP
49
Here is the question we put before readers last week:
L.M.S. in Harbin, China, asks: Congratulations on the 20th aniversary. I tried to think of one word to describe the writing style of your site—humorous but still critical. I am wavering between "witty," "snarky," and "slick"... but it just didn't occur to me.
Note that we chose that question because the previous question of the week generated some long and tricky-to-format answers, leading to a delay of several weeks because we didn't have time to compile them all. So, we wanted something simple. It did not occur to us until it was too late that this question is dangerously close to fishing for compliments. Sorry about that.
Anyhow, here some of the answers we got in response:
C.S. in Grand Marais, MN: Smart
A.A. in South Orange, NJ: Acerbic
K.S. in Baltimore, MD: Menschy
T.P. in Clovis, CA: Snary
D.D. in Carversville, PA: One of the first words that came to mind was "artful." It's a complicated word for a complicated world, and although not all its definitions are positive, its positive definitions reflect what the two of you continue to create on a daily basis (allowing for very well-earned days off here and there).
In a blog post by Srinivas Rao, "On What it Means to Live an Artful Life," I've substituted the word "blog" for "life" in his article's section titles to demonstrate why it applies to Electoral-Vote.com:
- An Artful Blog is Deliberate
- An Artful Blog is Non-Linear
- An Artful Blog is Multi-Hyphenate
- An Artful Blog is About Bridging the Gap Between Our Ambitions and Our Abilities
- An Artful Blog is Unmistakable
- An Artful Blog Has Depth
- An Artful Blog is About Legacy More than Currency
- An Artful Blog is a Good One
One of his conclusions (apt to Electoral-Vote) is "When you live an artful life, creativity becomes the lens through which you view the world." Your creative thinking and writing helps shape and educate your readers' views of politics and the world. Happy Anniversary! And thank you!
B.C. in Phoenix, AZ: No doubt about it, L.M.S. in Harbin, China, ain't no existing single word in English that is up to the task of describing Electoral-Vote.com. We're gonna haveta coin one. I suggest "trollidrollisticpollery," which means "a humorous site targeting election predictors with the celebratory and mocking verbal equivalent of the business end of a hammer." Hey, look up all the definitions of "troll," "droll" and "poll" and see if that don't describe the site perfectly. Plus, the alliterative quality of them three words works so much better than the illiterate ramblings of the Gang Of Pricks political party.
K.H. in Albuquerque, NM: Astute, which Merriam-Webster defines as "Having or showing shrewdness and an ability to notice and understand things clearly, mentally sharp or clever. An astute observer. Astute remarks. Also: crafty, wily."
J.S. in Bellevue, WA: Erudition. If I have to limit myself to one word (and not attempt to create a Mary Poppins "supercalifragilisticexpialidocius"-like word), this is the word I would choose.
Insightfulsnarkpolianalysishistoricalishness might work too.
M.M. in San Diego, CA: Quiptastic!
R.A.G. in Seattle, WA: Insightful
P.W. in Columbus, OH: Drôle (French for "funny")
D.C. in Portland, OR: I must first point out that this week's reader's question was presented as a statement not a question! Picky picky, I know.
Forced to choose one word only, it would be the German "Bildung" which I picked up from my current read: Vienna, by Richard Cockett.
From his writing, I understand bildung to mean more than simply education, but a collective pursuit of individual, foundational self-improvement.
That's a good description of the community you lead.
S.W. in New York City, NY: Analytical
S.S. in West Hollywood, CA: One word to describe Electoral-Vote.com? I wanted a word that means intelligent, fair, evenhanded, entertaining, witty, and wise. What I came up with is... SAGACIOUS!
SAGACIOUS - The ability to make good judgment, while also being perceptive and insightful, often including some level of cleverness and wit. I think it's the perfect word! And as a bonus, it's just a little bit pretentious which seems correct for a site that requires a level of critical thinking most supporters of TFG simply don't have. (If they did, they wouldn't be supporters of TFG.)
K.D. in Toronto, ON, (gasp!) Canada: Reasoned
B.J.L. in Ann Arbor, MI: I think about how I describe the site to others, and I use the word "authentic". There is some expectation that I won't always agree with analysis but I like that whatever is presented sincerely, objectively and in your own voices. Anything about the Clippers, I attribute to (Z) and anything about estuary management and control, like the gates of Rotterdam, I assume are linked to (V).
C.O.N. in Port Orange, FL: Compelling! Your site is akin to a fascinating book that you can not put down and do not ever want to end.
P.N. in Austin, TX: The idea of defining anything by a single word is completely foreign to my philosophy. A point is just a point, but two points make up a line, and three make a plane. Imagining anything can be defined by a single characteristic is beyond me.
And so, to step beyond myself, I'll try. If I had to pick one word to describe Electoral-Vote.com's writing style, I would choose: Methodical.
I could list many other characteristics that, together, would draw a clearer picture of what your writing style is like. But none are more important to me than your methodical approach to your work. A methodical habit, together with, you know, an actually good method, is how we test ourselves, and our ideas, against the world.
Thank you for the twenty years of methodical teaching!
L.O.-R. in San Francisco, CA: Lively
A.G. in Scranton, PA: Fucktacularily Snarkiwonkticiousfying.
Two words, for one wasn't enough.
Here is the question for next week:
D.P. in Sunnyvale, CA, asks: Following up on questions regarding histories being portrayed in the movies, what true historical event/person/story do you think could be turned into a good movie with little to no artistic liberties?
Submit your answers to comments@electoral-vote.com, preferably with subject line "Past Perfect"!