GUEST POST: Creative Destinations: Nashville (a.k.a. Music City)

I’m so excited to be writing this guest post on the Blog of Babel! I love Andrew’s wit and the way he seamlessly weaves together diverse, interesting articles and sparks creative conversations via his Blog of Babel. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m a fellow T-bird and blogger who writes all about travel on It’s GOSI.

For this guest post, we decided I should combine Andrew’s love of creativity and my passion for travel and write about cities that spark creativity!

Ok so places that spark creativity…First place that came to my mind was Nashville, TN. Ok, call me biased (because I am…Nashville is my home), but Music City is a place that’s budding with creativity.

For this post, I want to focus on local events/festivals that spark creativity. Check out these 3 events that occur every summer in Nashville:

Tour de Fat:

This past month Fat Tire’s Tour de Fat rode through town. The annual festival is essentially a kooky, misfit circus that celebrates the 2 B’s: BIKES and BEERS. From the bike made out of shoes to the make-your-own button and koozie stand, there is something for everyone to enjoy. 

Centennial Park hosts Tour de Fat and many other touring outdoor festivals as they pass through Nashville. Make sure to visit the park’s sweet replication of the Parthenon…it’s hard to miss!

Full Moon Pickin’ Party:

As mentioned earlier, Nashville is Music City, so naturally there are lots of music-related events. The Full Moon Pickin’ Party is all about live bluegrass music, so as a violinist/fiddler this is one of my favorite summer events. The party is held on the 2nd to last Friday of every month from May-October, and all guests are invited to bring bluegrass instruments and jam at Percy Warner Park (Click here for directions). 

My friends and I love grabbing a few camping chairs and trucking on down to play old bluegrass songs under the moonlight with other Tennessee musicians. Oh one more thing! The event is normally $15/adult (includes free water, soda, and 4 beers), but if you bring an approved bluegrass instrument, it’s only $5!

Big Band Dance in Centennial Park

Dance your heart out all summer long at Centennial Park’s Big Band Dance! Every Saturday night during the summer, Centennial Park brings in a live big band and hosts a night of swing dancing. People of all ages come out for a night of dancing and music. Don’t know how to dance? No worries! Show up at 7pm for a quick, free dance lesson and then dance the night away! Additional perk, the whole event is free!!

Want to learn more about Nashville? Check out It’s GOSI this week because I’ll be blogging more about Music City!!!!

- Sarah

Coca Cola, Linguistics & Brand Mgmt.

There has been an article circulating about variations in English pronunciation and word usage around the continental United States. It is a very good read - find it here. After glancing through the 20 plus maps in the article that delineate the variations in English, a few peaked my interest.

The above map shows what words Americans use to describe a "sweetened carbonated beverage". How do you call it? I most certainly do not say pop - which sounds to me like a phrase pulled from the 1920's. 

Coke or Soda: Which One is Better? 

However what we can see from this map is the green area in the southern United States - Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and parts of Georgia. This area uses the word "Coke" to refer to all types of soda. This phenomenon is not new to the marketing world - where one extremely popular, ubiquitous brand becomes the word of choice. The stereotypical examples of this are Kleenex and Bandaid - what do you call a bandaid if it isn't a Bandaid? 

Coke: Brand Dissolution  

I believe that Coca Cola should be mildly concerned with the linguistic developments in the south.  When certain brands become so popular they change the nomenclature of the market - the brand has begun to bleed. When Coke's name, which has been fortified with billions of marketing and branding dollars, is associated with other brands they may begin to enjoy Coke's marketing benefits. Although Coke may rule the South this does not mean that such language cannot spread north or east or west. I think it wouldn't hurt for Coke to invest in a marketing campaign to reassert their position in the market and stem the tide. What do you think?

Just For Fun

I come from RI and we always call the water fountain the bubbler (read: /BUB-lah/) . Is it me or is it weird that Wisconsin and one lone little state in New England use this strange term? #foodforthought

THE TUESDAY TCHOTCHKE: UK Embassy In Beijing Decorated With QR Code

​The above picture is of the UK Embassy in Beijing, CHINA. You may notice the obscenely garish (or insanely clever QR code plastered to the outside of the building). The code leads to the UK Embassy's Sina Weibo Account (also known as Chinese-govermnent-controled-twitter). 

It goes without saying this is extremely clever, but why - several reasons:

1. ​Flouts convention -  since when would any country want to deface the exterior of their own embassy (as a metaphor for national pride) with an ugly QR code (they are really not that pretty). ​
2. ​​Engages Pedestrians - ​this engagement tactic really shouts out to you and also is good fodder for internet rumors and gossip.
3. ​China has the largest amount of internet users (and growing). /endofargument.