Oh look!
For the first time in months, I’ve taken a look at the web-rankings site alexa.com, and find to my immeasurable surprise (well, not really, but one doesn’t like to come across as a Joseph) that this website is the 10th most popular Maltese website in Malta.
The top Maltese sites are ranked:
1. timesofmalta.com
2. maltatoday.com.mt
3. hsbc.com.mt
4. maltapark.com
5. bov.com (Bank of Valletta)
6. vodafone.com.mt
7. okmalta.com
8. go.com.mt
9. airmalta.com
10. daphnecaruanagalizia.com
Not at all bad, I would say, for a sad, bitter, frustrated woman with no life who everybody ignores because she’s mad and psychopathic and irrelevant, and whose name Mr Balzan can’t even bring himself to mention lest she turns round and bites his arse.
But then I am a witch and have been out casting spells all night with my broomstick and my black Neapolitan mastiff (so much more stylish than a cat) to get that result.
If you ask me nicely, Kurt Farrugia, I’ll cast a spell to add 10 inches to your legs, though I’ll be hard pushed to add much to your intelligence quotient, and I might even have a go at turning Jason and Ronnie into men. But I’m not promising anything there.
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DCG DCG DCG DCG……..
[Daphne – DCG? Daphne, you mean. Or Mrs Caruana Galizia. I’ve never been able to understand why people find three names exhausting and feel compelled to use initials. Imagine if we lived in Spain.]
You’re right to a point, but can you picture your supporters chanting “Daphne Caruana Galizia” at a rally or something? Your name, like you on a bad day, is too much to handle – hence the catchier “DCG”.
QED.
[Daphne – As if, Reuben. We know through experience that in that case it would be ‘Def-ni’. Chanted names must have two syllables only, hence: Ed-die, Lor-rans, Joe-zeph, BUT Min-toff. Nobody ever chanted Sant or Karmenu’s names. They made do with Lay-ber instead.]
Hmm.”Baxx-ter, Baxx-ter”. I think I’m in with a chance. 2013 here we come.
they did Daphne…’Fre-du Fre-du’ haha :)
[Daphne – His name is Alfred, not Fredu.]
Actually Alfred Sant was Fre-du and KMB was Kar-me-nu. In the case of a PN activity, KMB became ze-ro.
The “brains” at the Labour glasshouse must be tying themselves up in knots about that.
I meant about the ratings …
How about Fre-du…Fre-du, Ze-ro…Ze-ro.?
The correct term is “Mrs DCG dear”. Three words.
EFA RCC DCG AST KMB
We all know who they are – so that is something.
And JPO…
I don’t think it’s difficult to understand. TLAs (three letter acronyms) are all over the place. While one tends to think of them as a Facebook generation invention, the truth is that they have been a long time coming.
It’s not all LOL and OMG. There’s CEO and GSM, IBM and CPU, BBC and CNN, mp3 and USB, FBI and SIS, NBA and NFL. We’re literally overflowing with them. The internet and text messaging (SMSes) are simply speeding up the process.
They’re often used to fudge the meaning of a word. Being mentally unbalanced is not nice but having OCD or APD is just a condition. Firing a huge missile on a group of people doesn’t sound very civilised but firing a PGM or an RPG makes it sound professional; while looking for WMDs makes you sound like you actually know what you’re doing. More recently, NTC made the Libyan freedom fighters sound more organised which led to them being taken more seriously.
People love them because they’re short, catchy, provide good soundbites, make people who use them sound ‘in control’ or ‘professional’ and are convenient for when one wants to forget what the actual letters mean,
Because three letter words are all the rage, three word names lend themselves particularly well to the phenomenon. That’s why people talk about JFK (does anyone say John Fitzgerald Kennedy Airport?), YSL, DSK and, locally, JPO and DCG.
[Daphne – I have never referred to a person by their initials, if for no other reason than I think it’s naff, the equivalent of calling an airconditioner an ‘aycee’. Also, it’s dehumanising, and you will notice that it’s done when we wish to objectify a person (look at all the people who are known by their initials). I make concessions, though, for objects known by far too many syllables, like GPS (imagine saying the whole thing; you would sound really anally retentive). I am probably the only person left in Malta, apart from his family and friends, who says Jeffrey rather than JPO, for instance.]
I’m a lover of words, full, long ones, but as much as I resist, I simply have to admit that these have become part and parcel of the English language I know you love so much. English is the main driving force in forming acronyms (although other languages are not immune). They have become so prevalent that they are often considered words in their own right rather than acronyms.
If you’ve never used any of the above, then I have my utmost respect but you’re fighting a lost battle. DNA is much a part of the English language as serendipity is.
Here’s an entertaining article about the phenomenon published in Intelligent Life.
http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/ideas/lane-greene/omg-etc
[Daphne – Great article, thanks.]
I am very sorry and I won’t do it again.
We’d have a Jose’ Muscato de la Tierra Murrada to keep us entertained.
Where does Maltastar feature in the list?
[Daphne – 21st Maltese site in Malta, AFTER lidl.com.mt.]
Heqq, il-Lejburisti l-ewwel fejn se jiffrankaw lira jmorru imbaghad jidhlu fil-Maltastar ha jaraw kemm se jnaqqsilhom il-kontijiet tad-dawl.
And then, probably, only because people from this site keep putting up Maltastar links to point out their latest gaffe.
Relate to resources employed and this would read
1. daphnecaruanagalizia.com
2. What 2?
Still a distant runner-up to xhamster. Nyark nyark. Pajjiz tal-valuri, what.
[Daphne – XHamster is not a Maltese site.]
Yes, but I needed a punchline. Comedian’s licence.
The only alteration I do to this list is ‘Maltatoday.com.mt’ will not even stay on the list. I tried to follow it, heaven know how I tried but like others Mr. Balzan turn me off.
Maltatoday number 2? Saviour’s SEO spend must be huge – and I wonder where the money to do so comes from.
well done!
“For the first time in months, I’ve taken a look at the web-rankings site alexa.com, and find to my immeasurable surprise….”
What’s with the false modesty?
[Daphne – It’s not false modesty. It’s English as opposed to Globish.]
For the second time in as many weeks Saviour Balzan has decided to block Malta Today’s website and as soon as I post a comment I am informed that “service is unavailable’
These are the same persons who are continually preaching against any form of censorship.
Happens to me too, as a matter of fact. I thought there was something wrong with my connection as I’ve been getting a “service not available” message every time I try to post a comment (wanted to post a link to Lou Bondi’s blog regarding the lies being spread by Lawrence Grech).
I have just received an E Mail from Mr Balzan assuring me that he will look into the matter because, he said, there is absolutely no preference there.
He also thinks that my comment could be problematic…Well, I posted comments like “Testing”, “Hello”, “Good morning”….and yet service was still, and is still, unavailable.
Now it’s final. Mr Saviour Balzan has just informed me that he believes that there must be some valid reason why he is refusing to publish my comments.
“Nimmagina mhabba l-kitbiet tieghek” Unbelievable!
The champions of liberalism, the champions of freedom of speech refuse to publish my comments, under my own name, for the very simple reason that Labour activists have no answer to them.
Imhabba l-kitbiet tieghek…Mur obsor. And don’t forget that Malta Today is an independent publication. Shame on you, Mr. Balzan.
[Daphne – I don’t know why you bother. The newspaper set up purportedly for self-described morally superior intellectuals has ended up with subliterate trash for readers.]
http://www.updowner.com/stats/Malta/reach
The comments on this page have somehow shifted the discussion away from the point of this blog entry.
I admit I had never heard of okmalta and maltapark but all the other sites are run by organisations, some of which are very large by Maltese standards.
On the other hand, here we have a blog, run by one woman in her spare time; a site without any fancy design gimmicks, just plain straightforward articles. There’s nothing to buy, no phone numbers to look up and no banking transactions to carry out.
And she gets to be up there with the top ten sites in Malta, which means that there must be literally tens of thousands of people who visit the site every day, just to read what Daphne has to say.
That’s quite an achievement.
And you know why?
She doesn’t have anyone telling her what to write.
She knows that upholding her principles allows her to open up the mental habitat.
When Daphne says she’s surprised at the number of hits, it’s nothing but appreciation to those who give her credit and an awareness that authenticity is a still a respected value.
Thus the aversion to being branded, as I inadvertently did.
Daphne, well done. Consider the power of your pen – surely you can help turn around your own prediction for the next election?
But Daphne did, Myriam. She predicted Labour will win.
Labour might win because it appears that ignorance is gaining ground in Malta.