– Joyce Kilmer, “Trees,” 1913

This just in: Trees are important.

You can’t move around international mythology, folklore or history without bumping into a tree. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil…the Bodhi Tree…George Washington and the cherry tree…Tree of Life…Newton and the apple tree…Joyce Kilmer’s sentimental yet oft-quoted “Trees”…and what do you think Arbor Day celebrates?

Trees are intertwined in our consciousness, inspiring verse, song and legend. Might as well embrace the fact that we’re treehuggers, whether we like it or not, so let’s do our best to protect our trees.

They’ve been pretty good to us, and at least they give us something to talk about. And the oxygen to do so.

For those of you who’ve just woken from a centuries-long sleep á la Ash in Army of Darkness: Gaming is a big deal. The Tokyo Game Show just ended and Master Chief began his final campaign, yet the mainstream world is slower than frozen molasses when it comes to acknowledging that gaming is the mainstream. Why is it finally happening? Is it Nintendo’s adeptness at engaging the entire family in playing the Wii? Is it the killer consoles and games that take graphics, interactivity and fun to an entirely new level?

Sure. That, and a lot of money.

Quite a few articles mention Halo 3’s new features and fantastic gameplay, but many have focused on the filthy lucre. Seth Schiesel’s story in The New York Times quotes a statement from Microsoft: “In our first few hours on sale, all signs indicate that we will indeed have achieved the biggest entertainment retail day in history.” “Entertainment retail” doesn’t just mean games, people. We’re talking bigger than blockbuster movie weekends.

Want more proof? Here’s a clip of Master Chief presiding over the closing bell at NASDAQ today.

One of the most intriguing and entertaining entries to gadget bloggery, Fry posted a lengthy entry about smartphones that’s worth a read.

Fry also pulls the tug-of-war rope a bit further away from the misspelling miscreants’ side of the internet. (Do I love the internet? Yes, indeed. Do I think some people use the electronic medium as an excuse to be sloppy? Yes, indeed. Am I a fuddy-duddy? I can live with that, as long as you spell it correctly.)

Fortunately, I can take comfort in the fact that 7-Eleven’s convenience extends to its website, where one can use its store locator tool (a fantastic use of interactive media) to find the Slurpee havens nearest to our new office. And that will fill the extra 15 minutes of the commute with Coke-cherry-mix-a-lot goodness. 

Never fear, the posts will continue on a more regular basis. Perhaps I’ll throw in some cornball one-liners to boot. Anything to make Chuck Barris, a fellow Gemini, proud. Happy 78th, Chuckie Baby!

In her June 1 “E-Media Tidbits” on Poynter Online, Amy Gahran wondered whether print newsrooms are now monitoring web news as fervently as they once did with TV news. One could assume that the “online vs. print” sturm und drang has led to some behavioral changes. Even so, it makes me think back to my days in a newsroom that sported a lone computer with an Internet connection. (I should mention this was less than 10 years ago.)

Be sure to check out the comments on Gahran’s post from journalists, who reveal that some progress has been made. Commenter James Montgomery also reminds us that it “takes some savvy to know what sites are more reliable than others,” a truism for we communications professionals as well.

Not that anyone would or should say such a thing. At least not say it and mean it. (Sorry, John.)

As Patricia O’Connor noted, however, English is a living language that can become messy and confusing as it changes and grows. Aren’t we lucky.

Yes, we, like, totally are.

Public relations, marketing, and journalism are evolving, too. They’re moving beyond their traditionally formal structures to adapt to their audiences’ likes, locales and lingoes.

The fluid nature of language can make it more challenging for us PR practitioners to navigate the world of alternative-yet-rapidly-becoming-mainstream media, sure. But it also makes it exciting. At the very least it should keep us from growing complacent, reusing stale ideas, and repeating the same tired phrases ad infinitum.

To quote the Plain English Campaign - “George Orwell’s advice is still worth following: ‘Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.’ “

This also should apply to verbal (ab)use of figures of speech. “Business language” can be particularly tiresome: Open the kimono? Drink the Kool-Aid?

Surely we can do better than that. Or at least do something different.

How about “raise the kilt” or “put on our Nikes and wait for the comet“? Or, for a tasteful start, how about we refrain from using mass cult suicide or nudie references altogether?

Join me on a journey through the jargon. We might not be able to stop it, or even explain it, but at least we’ll have each other.