- By Jim Evans
- Entertainment
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SMART TALK by Dr. Manda Rynne
THE DECADE OF THE NINETIES: We're pleased to announce that the Institute for the Linguistically Impaired has found a way to support its scholarship program, even during a recession. We have an electronic device, built right here in Underbelly, Texas, by legal immigrants, that we'll send you free of charge. The device, not the immigrants.
We call it the iSmart. (We just like the irony of the ungrammatical name.) Half the size of a cell phone, it hides in your pocket or purse, or clips to a strap or belt.
The iSmart beeps and transfers one dollar from your account to ours each time you commit the linguistic misdemeanor had chosen for the week. Need reminding? Just look at the screen.
So if you say the decade of the nineties instead of the nineties, it'll cost you, if that's what the screen says, and you'll soon break the habit. Imagine: you avoid inpatient charges, you sound more as if English were your first language, you sound smarter, and you support a vital institution.
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