Yes, the aptly dubbed “Friday Fun Blog” is back. As a new academic year starts, so too we start up with this weekly post that is only loosely academic and fully nonsensical. Can you guess the theme this week(Re: did you even read the title)?

• Sesame Street has always been slightly ahead in the word game, which is why so many parents let their kids watch it. It’s so ahead, though, that many of the jokes are intelligent enough for parents, so that watching Sesame Street is less like watching The Wiggles and more like watching a tame John Oliver. Oh, hey, by the way, Sesame Workshop and John Oliver got together to do this video in support of Sesame’s “Words Are Here, There and Everywhere” campaign. Careful: you can easily waste an afternoon on the video and the out-takes.http://youtu.be/iLi2xB82ZyI
• With words come a terrible responsibility. With a wider range of words also comes a larger arsenal for insulting people. Not that we condone insults, but we do find it interesting what passed/passes for insults to certain peoples, places, and eras (see Shakespearean insults, for example). Of all the insults we’ve seen this far, Lutheran insults really spit some hot fire. See for yourself with Tyler  Rasmussen’s Lutheran Insult Generator. (Note: Read Rasmussen’s rationale before you lambast him for cultural insensitivity).
• Let’s get serious for a moment and talk about literacy issues among university students. Is it fair to assume that all university students possess superior reading, writing, and comprehension abilities? According to a study published this spring, no. In May, News1130 reported that “27 per cent of Canadians with at least a bachelor’s degree don’t hit the benchmark for what’s considered a basic level of literacy.” Why do you think that is? Maybe we would have all improved our literacy if Cookie Monster and John Oliver were a permanent duo. Read more on the story here.

Happy Friday!