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There was quite an amusing article published in the paper yesterday, about pretentious words. Professor Larry Task, author of 'Mind The Gaffe: The Penguin Guide To Common Errors In English,' has pinpointed a selection of words that he feels are especially pretentious. They're presented below, with his comments:

• Albeit - pompous three syllable word for "but" or "though."
• Epicentre - should be used only by seismologists and idiots.
• Feedback - used for no reason most of the time.
• Hegemonic - domination by one power. Never used except by pretentious people, in pretentious writing, for pretentious purposes.
• Paradigm - most often used by those who don't know what it means, and is the basic test for pretension.
• Utilise - anyone using this instead of 'use' should wear a sandwich board declaring: I Am A Pretentious Twit.

I think Professor Task needs a new word for pretentious, since he obviously doesn't like synonyms. My thesaurus suggests ostentatious, conceited, elitist, grandiloquent, or haughty, but then it's probably one of those special pretentious editions you can buy.

Trek BBS Today

Below are some of the topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:

- Do you like the new 'Star Trek: The Motion Picture' DVD cover artwork?

- What do you think of the NX-01's sickbay?

- Do you have any Original Series book recommendations?

More topics can be found at the Trek BBS!

Trek Two Years Ago

These were some of the major news headlines on August 27, 1999:

• Kenneth Biller On WB Series
  Kenneth Biller, one of Voyager's writer/producers, was reported to be leaving the series to work on a new WB show, set at a performing arts college, for the 2000-2001 season. However, in the end Biller stayed with Voyager, winning a promotion to executive producer for the show's final season.

• Fort Wayne Con Report Update At a Slanted Fedora convention in Fort Wayne, Tim Russ (Tuvok), dropped a hint about an upcoming Voyager episode, saying that it is "Chakotay heavy and deals with a 21st century space ship." Of course, this turned out to be the sixth season episode, 'One Small Step.'

  More news can be found in the archives.

Corrections

In August 25th's Site Columns, we reported that actress Jennifer Lien (Kes) had turned 31. However, Lien did, in fact, turn 27. We apologise for any confusion that this may have caused.

Today's Television Listings

• In Canada, Space! will be showing The Original Series's 'Bread And Circuses' at 10:00am, with a repeat at 4:00pm, TNG's 'Timescape' at 12:00pm, DS9's 'Shattered Mirror' at 5:00pm, and Voyager's 'Equinox, Part II' at 10:00pm.

• In the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing TNG's 'Ensign Ro' at 17:00 GMT, with a repeat at 00:00, and Voyager's 'Remember.'

• In Germany, Sat.1 will be showing TNG's 'The Best Of Both Worlds, Part I' at 16:00 CET.

• In the Netherlands, RTL5 will be showing DS9's 'Tacking Into The Wind' at 18:00 CET. Thanks go out to StarTrek.nl for this!

• In Australia, TV1 will be showing The Original Series's 'Miri' at 11:30pm. Thanks go out to the Australian Babylon 5 & Star Trek air schedule

Tomorrow's Television Listings

• Unfortunately, we are unable to provide the Sci-Fi Channel listings due to a problem with the official Star Trek site.

• In Canada, Space! will be showing The Original Series's 'Assignment: Earth' at 10:00am, with a repeat at 4:00pm, TNG's 'Descent, Part I' at 12:00pm, DS9's 'The Muse' at 5:00pm, and Voyager's 'Survival Instinct' at 10:00pm.

• In the United Kingdom, Sky One will be showing TNG's 'Silicon Avatar' at 17:00 GMT, with a repeat at 00:45. BBC2 will be showing Voyager's 'Memorial' at 18:00. Thanks go out to the Great Link for this!

• In Germany, Sat.1 will be showing TNG's 'The Best Of Both Worlds, Part II' at 16:00 CET.

• In the Netherlands, RTL5 will be showing DS9's 'Extreme Measures' at 18:00 CET. Thanks go out to StarTrek.nl for this!

• In Australia, TV1 will be showing The Original Series's 'Dagger Of The Mind' at 11:30pm. Channel 9 will be showing TNG's 'Suddenly Human' at 11:55pm. Thanks go out to the Australian Babylon 5 & Star Trek air schedule

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