The following is a transcript of Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr’s remarks after being introduced as Senator Barack Obama’s vice-presidential running mate in Springfield, Ill.

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Folks, again, it’s not political sloganary when I say we literally can’t afford four more years of this non- energy policy written by and for the oil companies, making us more and more dependent from hostile nations on our ability to run this country and literally, not figuratively, literally putting America’s security at risk, we can’t afford four more years of a foreign policy that has shredded our alliances and sacrificed our moral standing around the world.

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The next President of the United States is going to be delivered to the most significant moment in American history since Franklin Roosevelt. He will have such an incredible opportunity, incredible opportunity, not only to change the direction of America, but literally, literally to change the direction of the world.

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Ladies and gentlemen, we believe that our tomorrows will be better than our yesterdays, and we believe we’ll pass on to our children an even better life than the one we lived. That literally has been the American way, and it can be that way again.

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Barack has the vision, and what you can’t forget, you know his vision, but let me tell you something. He also has the courage, the courage to make this a better place, and let me tell you something else, this man is a clear eyed pragmatist who will get the job done. I watch with amazement as he came to the Senate. I watch with amazement. He made his mark literally from day one reaching across the aisle to pass legislation to secure the world’s deadliest weapons, standing up to some of the most entrenched interests in Washington, risking the wrath of the old order to pass the most sweeping ethics reform in a generation.

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Ladies and gentlemen, America gave Jill and me our chance. It gave Barack and Michelle their chance to stand on this stage today. It’s literally incredible.

I don’t know who this guy is. I don’t know his politics. But anyone who can use literally that many times in one speech has my vote.

(Thanks, everyone who submitted this!)

Lilly McElroy likes to throw herself around. At men, onto her bed, through the air. A performative photographer and video artist, McElroy seems to have a lot of fun making refreshingly spontaneous pictures. I asked her to explain the procedure behind her photographs and this is what she sent me:

“I started the project by placing an ad on Craig’s list looking for men who would meet me at bars blind date style and let me literally throw myself at them. This worked fairly well, but limited the # of photos I could take. Now , I go to bars with a friend/photographer and approach men who are physically larger than I am. I ask them if I can literally throw myself at them. If they say yes, I have myself photographed doing it and buy them a drink afterwards. If it seems like they want to hang out, I’ll have a drink as well. Sometimes we talk about the project and sometimes we just chat. I don’t have a specific set up for the photos. I just want them to look as much like snap shots or party pics as possible.”

Link: The Year in Pictures, Lilly McElroy (via BoingBoing)

Related: more literally throwing of oneself

Timmy the Energy Bear!

A brand new concept for the naturally healthy household,‘Timmy’ is a delightful cuddly, soft toy who is literally ‘alive’. Timmy has been developed to re-energise the ‘dead’ atmosphere in centrally heated, indoor rooms – effectively bringing the natural elements from fresh air – inside! Combining gentle magnetic fields in his tummy, with natural daylight energy in the form of photon platinum fabric, Timmy helps to neutralise electrical smog, encouraging restful sleep and general well-being.

Timmy would make an original gift for any child. He comes with a delightful little storyline jigsaw in his box which explains how ‘he was born in the stars and rode to England on a moonbeam’ ….

I know I can never sleep restfully unless the electrical smog has been neutralized by gentle tummy magnets and photon platinum fabric, so I’m buying two of these.

(Thanks, Madeleine, via New Scientist)

BBC: Man freed from collapsed building

Eyewitness Anthony Gilberthorpe told BBC News 24: “I heard a mighty explosion and about two floors and the roof of a building to my left hand side was literally showering down in front of me.

“So I literally threw myself, literally jumped up and threw myself, to the right hand side of the road not knowing whether I was going to be hit.”

Mr Gilberthorpe saw a van driver step out of his vehicle moments before it was hit by a huge piece of debris.

“What I did see which was quite shocking was a huge boulder went right through his vehicle, literally where he had been 15 seconds previously and I think that’s the most frightening thing that I actually witnessed.

Oh… my… god. Four literallys and a bonus actually.

Mr Gilberthorpe, you have catapulted yourself into the literally hall of fame. In fact, from now on, when someone commits multiple instances of literally abuse, it shall be known as “a gilberthorpe”.

(Thanks, Sahra)

Jerry Falwell (may he rest in… well, may he rest) provided this example of literally misuse:

Someone must not be afraid to say, ‘moral perversion is wrong.’ If we do not act now, homosexuals will own America! If you and I do not speak up now, this homosexual steamroller will literally crush all decent men, women, and children who get in its way … and our nation will pay a terrible price!”

Link (via The California Majority Report)

From an Amazon.com review of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World:

Kramer, who is better known for socially conscious, serious cinema (Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?), is in a mood for broad comic characterization, and some of his jokes are so intentionally obvious (Durante literally kicks a bucket when he dies), they’d have a place in Airplane!

Update: of course this is a correct usage of literally.

Kids today… they love the MTV. Even better than watching MTV is appearing on MTV — but you’ll have to do something outrageous to get noticed. Amelia decided that peeing her pants was a great way to exhibit her talents, and the producers of MTV’s Next were so impressed by her use of literally that they put her on the air:

I just want to tell you how relieved I am to be on this date. Like… like literally relieved…

• Play Quicktime Video (1MB) (Next via The Soup)

Please vote in the comments: is this correct, incorrect, unnecessary, or just plain gross?

• Incontinence
• MTV

Reader Joy Nyenhuis writes:

Hey literally weblog people! I came across an amusing use of “literally”. A passage from William Davis’s Lincoln’s Men about how Civil War troops regarded Lincoln as a father:

In the regiments of the United States Colored Troops,
to which he had literally given birth, there was no
doubt Lincoln sat at the head of the table.

Thanks, Joy! I was able to verify this by searching the book at Amazon:

It’s pretty astounding that something like this could pass through the editing process (or through his birth canal)!