Word of the Year

I learned today, at Dictionary.com that the "Word of the Year" for 2010 was "epic."

What an utter disappointment. Well, at least it wasn't a surprise. I've heard this word used so often this past year or two that it's even become a part of my normal lexicon. It's annoying when words aren't used properly, but even I'm guilty of such crimes ("awesome"). But to hear that "epic" is the new "awesome" is...I don't know...a tad bit annoying. Perhaps because it's used primarily by the younger generation; like they're trying too hard to be cool or something. Anyway, I try to look at it the same way I look at Time Magazine's Person of the Year: the winner was chosen as a result of a combination of things, from popularity (person), usage (word), or otherwise something of a representation of a major event or occurrence that year. In Mark Zuckerberg's case, he was simply the biggest douche of 2010. Well, more like 2004. "Epic" was something like that. Just not nearly as bad.

On a related note, the kanji 暑 was chosen as the "Kanji of the Year" for 2010 here in Japan. It means "hot/heat," and describes the ridic heat in 2010. I personally would have chosen 高, as it means "high/tall," and can be used to describe both the weather and the high value of the Yen.

Kanji of the day: 帰 from 帰る　「かえる」 "kaeru," which means "to return (home)." 'Cause that's what I'm about to do! Peace out!