Comments on: I've Been Everywhere, Man

I've Been Everywhere, Man

jonson — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 09:37:07 -0800

Are you, like many others this summer, considering avoiding the costs & hassles of pricey foreign or domestic travel by having a "staycation" at home? Daily Show commenter John Hodgman (ably backed by Jonathan Coulton on the strings) enumerates the benefits of a "Holistay" (much better name) to help you make your choice.

By: ColdChef

ColdChef — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 09:44:12 -0800

Ahem. Daily Show commenter and longtime MetaFilter member, John Hodgman.

By: quin

quin — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 09:54:20 -0800

Well, 'staycation' sucks, and 'holistay' is certainly better, they both beat the hell out of 'house arrestication' which just isn't as much fun as it sounds.

By: interrobang

interrobang — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 09:56:28 -0800

Whichever word you use for it, the key to John Hodgman's humor seems to be a presupposition that John Hodgman is funny.

By: emd3737

emd3737 — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 09:57:18 -0800

whenever I read the term staycation, i think it says Stay Cation, as in, don't migrate towards the cathode.

By: Optamystic

Optamystic — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:01:12 -0800

That was quality.

By: notsnot

notsnot — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:02:06 -0800

Anyone not putting "staycation" in derision-quotes needs to be shot, burned, drawn, and quartered. Oh, and pissed on. What a truly awful faux-word.

By: stavrogin

stavrogin — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:10:12 -0800

Having CNN overuse "staycation" is at least slightly better than the constant front page crap about "man caves". I wish they could kill iReport already.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:11:58 -0800

Is the idea of "vacation" for most people a kind buffet/bar/chaise lounge with changeable scenery? Might as well get memory implants a la "Total Recall" or something.

By: everichon

everichon — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:15:37 -0800

If I am still being paid to lay around, read books, drink wine, ride my bike, and entertain ill-behaved cats, in my sweet, walkable little town, I call it "awesome".

By: Divine_Wino

Divine_Wino — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:17:49 -0800

If these meretricious waterheads want to keep making up stupid words for stupid concepts that's fine, I just want them to know that I'm going to find them one day and clip off all their fingers and toes with a rusty pair of meat scissors, cool? Cool!

By: everichon

everichon — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:19:54 -0800

constant front page crap about "man caves" Wow, do I hate that dopey-ass phrase.

By: boo_radley

boo_radley — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:26:27 -0800

what the hell is a man cave?

By: quin

quin — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:29:06 -0800

It's like a Bat Cave, only with less stuff to save Gotham, and more 42" TVs with surround sound and wet bars.

By: DU

DU — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:31:07 -0800

"staycation" is an unnecessary word. "Vacation" already means staying at home. If you want to refer to time off from work that you spend travelling or visiting family, you use the term "a huge headache".

By: bondcliff

bondcliff — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:33:50 -0800

"Staycation" was a huge hit for 80s rockers the Stay-Stays.

By: ...possums

...possums — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:35:12 -0800

It's like a Bat Cave, only with less stuff to save Gotham, and more 42" TVs with surround sound and wet bars. Unlike the Man-Bat Cave which is filled with guano.

By: nosila

nosila — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:36:04 -0800

Thanks for directing me to the Daily Show today. There were some comic jewels in that episode. Pursuit of happiness --> ignorance is bliss --> we're living the dream of the founding fathers. "Checkmate." Ha! I had a great professor in college who pointed out that there's an aphorism for everything, and once you find the one you want, there's another one that contradicts it, or at least comes close. It's fun to play games with them: if ignornace = bliss and knowledge = power, bliss 8800; power. Whatever...that's totally not funny. Wisdom is so played out. Can anyone think of any super funny manipulations of aphorisms and clichés?

By: nosila

nosila — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:37:35 -0800

err...bliss "not-equal-to symbol" power. bliss does not equal power. wise sayings refuse to submit to the boundaries of html. or somethin'.

By: stbalbach

stbalbach — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:42:31 -0800

I miss ye ole coaching days.

By: Gucky

Gucky — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:48:31 -0800

I'm just excited that someone besides me is using the term "portmanteau" today.

By: everichon

everichon — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:00:00 -0800

Portmanteaux.

By: ZakDaddy

ZakDaddy — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:00:19 -0800

nosila - "Great minds thing alike." "Fools never differ."

By: ZakDaddy

ZakDaddy — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:00:35 -0800

Argh. -"thing" +"think"

By: nosila

nosila — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:02:14 -0800

Zakdaddy: So great minds = fools. Nice.

By: Afroblanco

Afroblanco — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:14:32 -0800

Related article : The End of Summer Vacation

By: FelliniBlank

FelliniBlank — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:15:14 -0800

Argh. -"thing" +"think" If this degenerates into one of those interminable "another think coming" (correct) vs. "another thing coming" battles, I'm going to kill myself.

By: GuyZero

GuyZero — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 11:25:10 -0800

"staycation" was used a couple of years ago on 'Corner Gas'! Was Brett Butt ahead of his time? I believe the episode in question was titled 'Mail Fraud'.

By: Aversion Therapy

Aversion Therapy — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:05:56 -0800

what the hell is a man cave? You ever see Goatse?

By: Brainy

Brainy — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:10:54 -0800

Thanks ColdChef, although in adding John as a contact I had to mark him as "friend > none" because there was no "computer > used at work" option

By: inigo2

inigo2 — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:14:04 -0800

If this degenerates into one of those interminable "another think coming" (correct) vs. "another thing coming" battles, I'm going to kill myself. Maybe we can talk about it in a plane on a conveyor belt, while also discussing whether or not .9999repeating equals 1.

By: TheOnlyCoolTim

TheOnlyCoolTim — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:27:39 -0800

Having CNN overuse "staycation" is at least slightly better than the constant front page crap about "man caves". So it looks like a "man cave" is a slightly sexist version of a "den" or a "rec room." Christ, what assholes.

By: loiseau

loiseau — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:34:43 -0800

We're sorry but this video is unavailable.

By: mullingitover

mullingitover — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:41:49 -0800

Awesome, we USians are so beaten as a people that we're talking about staying home for our pathetic 2-week vacation as a choice, rather than as something we have no choice about due to the skyrocketing cost of transportation.

By: Space Coyote

Space Coyote — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:47:55 -0800

Boy I'd love to be able to watch that video clip. I'm tempted to start flagging US or UK-only video clips whenever I see them pop-up.

By: fiercecupcake

fiercecupcake — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:56:39 -0800

Staycation, all I ever wanted...

By: mephron

mephron — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 12:58:15 -0800

Nosila: Knowledge is Power. Power corrupts. Learn things. Be Evil.

By: cardboard

cardboard — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:52:48 -0800

For the Canadians: Official Daily Show video-clips online. The Hodgman piece is in Clip 2.

By: eclectist

eclectist — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:08:02 -0800

I've been stretching out my 'two weeks' vacation by taking four-day-weekends for an entire month (or more) for about five years now. Key to this, of course, is being able to work those three days in the middle of the week. It didn't occur to me until this year that I was probably saving a ton on gas.

By: Durn Bronzefist

Durn Bronzefist — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 19:44:01 -0800

That's what I'm doing, eclectist, and my first long weekend of the bunch starts tomorrow! Once I figured out that I couldn't afford to go anywhere, I certainly wasn't going to blow one or more weeks at home with the time whistling by. But multiple long weekends... awesome.

By: Burhanistan

Burhanistan — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:08:14 -0800

I'm a USian and get four weeks a year (hooray for foreign owned subsidiaries!). That's pathetic by European standards but still not the prison sentence of most workers. Two weeks time off a year is really just a kick in the groin and it pains me to hear office workers bitching about unions ruining the country when they could be organizing and demanding more paid time off.

By: Eideteker

Eideteker — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 11:19:25 -0800

"what the hell is a man cave?" Finished abasement.