Sorry for the slight delay since the last Bitmob Mailbag, folks. We used to have intern Mike Minotti vet the letters for us, but it turns out he was using the designated mail-reading time to write rambling essays on the unparalleled greatness of the National Treasure movies. Now I vet the letters myself.
If you'd like your rants, questions, or comments about Mike's passion for National Treasure (yes, it's real) featured in an upcoming edition, drop a note to letters@bitmob.com, subject: “Mailbag."
Dear Bitmob editors,
Is there a word you are partial to that you have not been able to use in any articles because it is too obscure? For example, I enjoy the words “defenestration” and “zarf,” but I haven’t had an opportunity to use them in any of my writing.
-Nick Nordstrom
Brett: First off, "zarf"? Is that a Star Trek character? I pride myself on my vocabulary, but I've got no idea what that means.
I like the rest of your question, however, so upon threat of defenestration I asked the wordsmiths at Bitmob to provide their own favorite obscure words. (Mine is "anathema.")
Demian: I'm also a big defenestration fan. Also, "flense." I name all my rogue characters that.
James: I've always liked the words "desideratum" and "amphigory." I learned the latter from the Woody Allen movie Annie Hall. When he said it, I went and looked it up immediately.
Jason: I don't like obscure words. I like clear and concise English that's understandable to the average reader. [What a curmudgeon! -Ed.]
Jay: My two picks are both things that are so specific, most people aren't aware there are words for them. Accismus is the act of pretending not to want something when you secretly desire it, and naufragous is an adjective that describes something that causes shipwrecks.
I like custom ring tones, and I'm looking for a ring tone for my boss's number. He calls me periodically and I want a ring tone that has a boss theme like One-Winged Angel...but not named One-Winged Angel. Any help?
-Tom Mead
James: As the guy who runs the Bitmob Community Jukebox, I've spent more time pondering the topic of video game music than any single person probably should. After much deliberation, I've settled on three suggestions for you:
1) Chrono Trigger -- Lavos' Theme
The thing with ring tones is that you generally only hear the first few seconds of them. This song's first three notes are instantly and epically recognizable.
2) Metal Gear Solid -- Encounter
While this isn't really a boss theme, I had to include it. The idea of MGS's alert music playing every time your boss calls is just too funny.
3) Super Mario Galaxy -- Battle for the Grand Star
Who better to play proxy for your boss than the biggest baddie of them all? He's the great-granddaddy of video game villainy, and over the years, his evil schemes have escalated from "stand on a rickety bridge and throw hammers" to "create galaxy that will be a staging ground for a universe-wide campaign of terror." He's Bowser, and his Super Mario Galaxy theme is by far his most epic.
Has there ever been a discussion about implementing forums on Bitmob? If so, what was the reasoning behind not having them?
-Michael Rousseau
Demian: We definitely talked about it before the site launched. We knew a forum could generate a lot of page views, but we've also seen so many forums descend into villainy... It's a big job and a lot of headaches just to keep one on track and nurture a positive tone, and even then it may not work out. But more importantly, we felt that if people were making forum posts, well, that's time and energy that they could've put into a blog post, but didn't. A really good blog post is actually very similar to a really good forum post, as you've got the comments afterwards for discussion, but you're more likely to put extra care into a blog post -- and that's what we wanted to encourage.
Maybe one day we'll add a forum, though. How badly do you want one? Out of a scale of 1-100.
Not enough Mailbag for you? Stay tuned tomorrow for an extra edition devoted to a question so divisive, one staff member threatened to knife someone while another crouched in a corner of the room, weeping softly to himself.
