I was inspired by Jacket Copy’s classic literature web movie and so put together one of my own using the simple (and free) online animated moviemaking tool xtranormal. Below is a video featuring part of a scene from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet–with the titular characters as robots. Xtranormal only has sterile, computer-generated voices to provide the dialogue, but in this context I’m thinking it kind of works.

After the jump, watch Jacket Copy’s Pride and Prejudice web video. Read more »

I examine his square face.  He stands with a single arm outstretched, reaching out for something ever-changing.  With his vacant eyes and through gritted teeth he inquires, “Meep?”

I am of course talking about The Lit Drift Robot who resides about a third of the way down our home page.  If you’re a regular reader, you know that Robot just wants to learn how to love.  “Meep?” he calls!  “Meep?” he asks.  “Meep?” he pleads.  Though the word is unfamiliar to me, judging from his body language and the context of his statement, I can only assume meep to mean “Will you teach me? Will you take me under your wing? Is there hope for me?”

Rather than assume that I interpreted Robot’s statement correctly, I looked up the word meep online.  According to Urban Dictionary, meep is a word of many meanings ranging from “an exclamation akin to ‘ouch’ or ‘uh oh’” to an exclamation that “can be used for any purpose whatsoever” or “sums up everything.”  Its origins are believed to be of The Muppet Show’s Beaker.

Though a versatile word indeed, meep is not as commonly used as… let’s say, blurgh. Unlike the more flexible meep, blurgh has a negative connotation and is often used to express frustration or disdain.  There is no real instance in which you can use the word in a positive manner.  What’s craziest is that when you hear the word blurgh, there’s almost no question as to what it means.  It’s not even really necessary to be a fan of 30 Rock to have a full understanding of its definition and application.

How is it that made-up words are sometimes so much more expressive than the real ones? Read more »