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Everything's generic
 or those who thought they'd seen everything when it comes to the moronic genericization of trade names ("kleenex," "xerox" and the other usual suspects, plus some newbies, such as "hotmail" for any free e-mail service), I think I have a new low.I probably shouldn't be picking on Voice of the Hill, one of two publications that cover my neighborhood, the District of Columbia's Capitol Hill, thoroughly and entertainingly, if not well-editedly. But I couldn't let this passage, in a brief item about a remodeled hotel, go without comment (emphasis mine):
General Manager, Laura Schofield, calls it a "pottery barn/retail look," which when translated means the new decor has nothing to do with "no surprises" and everything to do with such indulgences as data ports at the desks, sybaritic baths, and kitchenettes equipped with refrigerators and microwave ovens.Imagine that: Something so shocking that I'm glossing right over the high-school-yearbook commas around the general manager's name. A pottery barn look? Hold everything! Did the editors fall into the gap? They should be tied up with linens and things and sent to bed, bath and beyond. Do these people think this phrase refers to a time-honored tradition of storing pottery in barns? (Never mind that data ports, kitchenettes and bathroom fixtures have nothing to do with Pottery Barn. Nice "translation"!) At least the designers didn't go for a philippe starck look. It's been done.
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