Read about the reason.

Two words: Munchkin coroner. I feel it’s safe to say that we all learned something today with the passing of “Wizard of Oz” actor Meinhardt Raabe. In a village of tiny people, Munchkin coroners are just the start. No doubt it would have Munchkin street sweepers and Munchkin zookeepers, too.

Buried in the AP obit is this nugget:

Raabe was about 3½ feet tall when the movie was made. He eventually grew to about 4½ feet. He toured the country for 30 years in the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile, promoting hot dogs as “Little Oscar, the World’s Smallest Chef.”

That would normally be enough for one man. But not Raabe.

(Originally posted at The Buzz on pjstar.com)

Yes, another sign of the academic apocalypse: proper nouns are now legal in the next edition of Scrabble.

Mattel, creator of the 70+ year-old board game, decided that capitalized names will drive kids with limited vocabulary toward a game consisting entirely of tiny wooden blocks. Previously, only a few proper nouns listed in the Collins English dictionary were legit.

In the BBC News story, Mattel said there would be “no hard and fast rule over whether a proper noun was correct or not.”

Continuing to justify their decision, they point out high-scoring rappers N-Dubz (17 points) and Jay-Z (23 points.) I counter with folk extravaganza “CrosbyStillsNashYoung.” Just plop down one name each turn, building onto that original construction, and you’ll end up with a whopping 35 points. 105 points if on a triple word score.

The new edition with amended rules hits stores this July.

AFTER WE WENT TO PRESS… Salon.com had this important tidbit of information:

Writing in Slate, Stefan Fatsis, author of “Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players,” told lexicon addicts across the land to call off their dogs. The poorly disseminated real story was that “Mattel, which owns the rights to Scrabble outside of North America, is introducing a game this summer called Scrabble Trickster. The game will include cards that allow players to spell words backward, use proper nouns, and steal letters from opponents.” In other words — it’s just a spinoff. And American Scrabble, which is owned by Hasbro, isn’t even affected.

So nevermind.

(originally posted at The Buzz on pjstar.com)

No.

Perhaps you’re perplexed, begging to ask me “but why not?” And I shall say this: It doesn’t replace or consolidate any gadget I already own. It’s not great at creating content. And it doesn’t multitask (make me coffee.) So be gone, pad of Apple!

TIME magazine summed it up as such: “It mutes you, turns you back into a passive consumer of other people’s masterpieces.” I’m already on that dangerous path with this infrequently updated blog.

What do others say?

• Cory Doctorow: Why I won’t buy an iPad and think you shouldn’t either
• Danny O’Brien: CD-ROMs and iPads
• B. Imei Hsu: Why you don’t want an iPad
• Charlie Brooker: I hate Macs

Yet we all know that I’m a sucker for these things (see Nook.) As antidote, I’m watching the following video on eternal repeat.

Full disclosure: I own several Apple products.