They must get a less profane group of construction workers slightly farther uptown from me. The following was from the NY Times Metropolitan Diary today and I thought it was charming:

Overheard by Patrick Keeffe recently as he walked to the office: a group of construction workers sitting on a terrace wall on 52nd Street, outside the CBS building. One guy pulled a cellphone from his pants pocket. Another said, "Hey, you shouldn't carry that in your pocket; it could make you impudent."

Posted by: Random Penseur at 08:08 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Have You Seen This Man?

Seriously, he (the Scream) was stolen from the Munch Museum in Oslo yesterday by armed men who threatened the museum employees and then escaped to a waiting car.

Have you seen this woman? They also stole her, the Madonna:

UPDATE

Go to this blog, Secular Blasphemy, for a collection of a lot of links concerning the theft.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 01:27 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Tonight, while watching the most excellent Puerto Rican comeback against the Aussies in basketball, I notice the Boy Child is marching over to the bar. The Girl Child follows him. While I direct my attention to the game, I hear from over by the bar:

"Boy Child", she admonishes (she did actually use his name), "Get out of Pappa's Scotch!"

She is clearly looking out for me. Or my Scotch. Either way, she is such a good kid.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 07:38 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Coming home on the train tonight after a lovely dinner with my wife, I saw the following t-shirt on a young man on the train and I wanted to share it before the buzz from the wine faded and I no longer thought it was a good idea to post this:

My Other Ride is Your Mother

Now I hit "save" real quick before I can reconsider. Hey, I'm really not that mature.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 10:42 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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1 now that is funny i am glad you posted it...lol...

Posted by: k at August 20, 2004 11:32 PM (IAJcf)

2 That's hysterical!

Posted by: Linda at August 21, 2004 08:00 AM (9Pzdi)

3 You need to read it with the accent.

Posted by: kb at August 21, 2004 08:50 AM (WxDFb)

4 I've seen that somewhere before. I want to say it was a bumper sticker. My husband is the one that pointed it out to me. It was indeed funny.

Posted by: Holly at August 21, 2004 10:30 AM (Wkg+N)

5 I'll have to get one of those for my daily bus trips.

Posted by: Tuning Spork at August 21, 2004 01:49 PM (aQTmy)

6 I am reminded of those immortal words cited by Samuel Jackson: "that is some f**d up, repugnant s**t!" And I say that with all respect and great amusement! thanks for sharing!

Posted by: GrammarQueen at August 23, 2004 08:57 AM (gDEwS)

7 Glad you all enjoyed it!

Posted by: RP at August 23, 2004 09:03 AM (LlPKh)

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In the area of things that I find outrageous is this portion of a job announcement I found from the University of Toronto for a classics professor:

The University of Toronto is strongly committed to diversity within its community. The University especially welcomes applications from visible minority group members, women, Aboriginal persons, persons with disabilities, members of sexual minority groups and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents will be given priority.

I am particularly bothered by, inter alia, the implicit assumption that, ipso facto, a member of a minority group will necessarily "contribute to the further diversification of ideas" (like how I threw all that Latin in there?) just because of their minority status. I am also troubled by the assumption that "further diversification of ideas" is something that should be an end in and of itself, that is to the extent I even understand it. In any event, who is this "other" of whom they speak?

I have no great love or respect for diversity "studies" or "scholarship" (dig the scare quotes).

Here endeth the rant. Please continue with your normal activities while I sit here and mumble to myself.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 05:09 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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My Firm has just gotten retained by someone who is facing a potential $40 million judgment against him. Partial summary judgment has been entered on the first cause of action against him, his affirmative defenses and counterclaims have been dismissed, and the matter has been set down for an assessment of damages hearing. A note of issue has been filed by the plaintiff to certify discovery is complete and the case may be placed on the ready trial calendar. We appear to be long past the 20 day period in which one may move to strike the note of issue and remove the case from the calendar. We have had no discovery of any kind and need to take discovery on, inter alia, the issue of damages, both the computation and even the existence.

Welcome to my day. It's going to be quiet over here today.

Nothing like getting retained in a timely fashion.

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Been awhile since I've done one of these, but I came across a few things I thought might be interesting to share, and after doing a little quick research to augment them, I give you:

Today, in:

*1785 Oliver Hazard Perry US Naval hero at the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812 ("We have met the enemy") was born. He died from Yellow Fever at the age of 34. The link is to a very nice little bio.

*1866 Pres Andrew Johnson formally declares Civil War over. Let me refer you to an excellent report on the surrender at Appomattox from the Southern perspective.

*1873 Eliel Saarinen Finland, architect, was born. He designed a number of interesting buildings (including the Helsinki Railway Station, his most important, View image of the Station here and View image of the Station at night here) and was involved with what I think is one the most important architectural competitions of all times, The Chicago Tribune Tower competition, in which he took second place (I can't seem to find much about this on the net, to my surprise). He also designed beautiful furniture.

*1890 H.P. Lovecraft US, Gothic novelist was born and you can read a biography of him here, where, at the bottom, you can find a list of other online biographies.

*1942 Isaac Hayes composer (Shaft) was born. He has his own official web site (a little hokey, but fun).

*1940 Leon Trotsky icepicked by Frank Jackson in Mexico City. I found an article about the murder but I know that there is a lot more out there if you are interested.

*1944 Graig Nettles one of my favorite Yankees' 3rd baseman was born

*1968 650,000 Warsaw Pact troops invade Czechoslovakia and "crush . . . the Prague spring".

Posted by: Random Penseur at 09:07 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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My dad just sent me this. I've been sort of trying to stay a little above the fray, but this just totally cracked me up and I wanted to share it here. Enjoy!

John Kerry: Priceless (View image)

Posted by: Random Penseur at 09:51 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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1 Thanks for the image! That headshot was perfect for my nefarious usage.

Posted by: Jim at August 19, 2004 11:49 AM (IOwam)

2 Happy to be of service, Jim.

Posted by: rp at August 19, 2004 12:01 PM (LlPKh)

3 Tell your dad thanks-I have a big grin on my face now.

Posted by: Helen at August 19, 2004 01:36 PM (mjc0R)

4 this is me - also staying above the fray.... not smiling... carry on - nothing to see ....

Posted by: kbear at August 19, 2004 01:58 PM (IAJcf)

5 Perfect.

Posted by: Tuning Spork at August 19, 2004 07:46 PM (JALO3)

6 In case anyone hasn't seen this yet: http://www.jibjab.com/default.asp Heh...I don't like either candidate, so this was right up my alley!

Posted by: Amber at August 19, 2004 07:57 PM (zQE5D)

7 Happy to have amused, y'all.

Posted by: RP at August 20, 2004 05:28 PM (LlPKh)

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We allowed the girl child to stay up late last night and the night before to watch the Olympics. Together, we watched the medal ceremony for the first American fencer to win a gold medal. As an ex-fencer myself, I was thrilled. The young woman stood on the podium and they played the national anthem. The girl child was playing with a stuffed animal and stopped when the music started. And this is what she said:

What is that music? It's so beautiful!

Thus warming this old patriot's heart a little more.

Here's hoping we see some more world records broken by drug-free athletes!!!

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There is a spot, in Washington Heights, where you can pull your car over and get a great picture of the George Washington Bridge. I tender it here for your pleasure.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 08:29 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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1 You take beautiful photos RP, a talent I lack completely. I love how the break in the clouds is poisition right over the support beams. That is so cool.

Posted by: Rachel Ann at August 19, 2004 08:36 AM (8T53U)

2 Thanks, Rachel, but I cannot take responsibility for the placement of the clouds.

Posted by: RP at August 19, 2004 08:46 AM (LlPKh)

3 Thank you for this picture. Ahhh yes. Memories. As a Hick from the Sticks, I visited New York in 2000 for a wedding of a friend. Driving over the George Washington Bridge at 2:00 a.m. I was shocked at the amount of traffic. Bumper-to-bumper at 2:00 a.m.! This truly IS the city that never sleeps! Being dumped off the bridge for construction. "Look! Urban blight!" "Ohmigod. A real, live, breathing NY Hooker!" Blasting Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind" from the rental car's admittedly lousy speakers. I walked into an all-night deli and requested that a group of (very sporting) young men tell me to "F*** OFF!" (Yes, I have no shame.) (They delighted in my soft, southern accent -- that I didn't know I had.) Consuming the BEST DAMNED BAGEL IN THE WORLD. WA state may have the best coffee in the world, but I've never had a bagel that good. As I said, thanks for the memories.

Posted by: Emma at August 19, 2004 03:51 PM (NOZuy)

4 yes...memories... i can hardly wait to see it again... soon - the second week in september i am smiling right now - thanks

Posted by: kbear at August 20, 2004 08:03 AM (IAJcf)

5 Emma, thanks for that wonderful comment. Brought a big smile to my face! Come on home, K!

Posted by: RP at August 20, 2004 05:30 PM (LlPKh)

6 I love the George Washington bridge, when I think of it I remeber freedom and respect. It's just a perfect view of life in newyork.This bridge represents alot!Thanks for reminding me of this wonderful cite RP. Makes me feel great to know somebody still cares!Great picture status I can tell.

Posted by: Shaquanna at February 25, 2005 05:43 PM (WLUGe)

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Do any of you keep up with the insurgency in Nepal? It is one of my particular interests. If you don't let me give you a little background. There is a maoist insurgency, patterned after the Shining Path insurgency in Peru, operating in Nepal since the mid 1990's. Their aim, of course, is to bring down the monarchy in Nepal and replace it with a government patterned on the teachings of Mao, probably because that's been such a success everywhere else it has been tried.

The Shining Path is not a good model for anyone to follow, as the Council on Foreign Relations reports:

Shining Path, established in the late 1960s by the former university professor Abimael Guzman, is a militant Maoist group that seeks to install a peasant revolutionary authority in Peru. The group took up arms in 1980, and its ranks once numbered in the thousands. Experts consider it one of the worldÂ’s most ruthless insurgencies; Shining Path often hacked its victims to death with machetes. The group, which now has only several hundred members remaining, operates mainly in jungle areas.

While this conflict in Nepal receives sporadic coverage in the American media, today was an exception. There was an article in the NY Times this morning that made me think that the insurgency in Nepal is, for all intents and purposes, over and the rebels have won. The upshot of the article is that the rebels have called for a blockade of the capital, Katmandu. All traffic has been prohibited from entering the capital. And you know what? The drivers are listening and obeying. The rebels have isolated the capital with a single proclamation. Not one gun or bomb was needed, they are so feared in Nepal.

Immediate consequence:

Planes - which are too expensive for most people in this impoverished nation - and roads are the only way to travel in the Katmandu Valley, and its 1.5 million people depend on trucks to bring in fuel, food and other goods. Many store owners said they would run out of vegetables and other food if the blockade lasted for more than a few days.

Iswor Pokhrel, the minister for industries, commerce and supplies, said the city had a few days' supply of kerosene for cooking. Officials at the Nepal Oil Corporation, the country's sole petroleum distributor, said its supply of fuel for cars and buses would last about two weeks.

See why I think the insurgency is basically over but for the actual handover? The government has lost the ability to provide food and fuel for the capital. The people fear the rebels more than the they trust that the government will be able to protect them. It is starting to look like nothing more than a strong breeze will knock this government over.

Or, since this was reported in the NY Times, it's all bunch of shite. Still, the Times has to get it right sometimes, right?

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I am not going to be updating this theme on a regular basis because it would never end. But this one, from an article I read at Little Green Footballs, just jumped off the page at me. It was contained in this Yahoo news article about Rep. Lantos who was very critical about the failure of the Egyptian government to shut down the tunnels the Palestinians are using to smuggle weapons in. Here was the bit that got my blood pressure moving:

[Lantos] added: "I am strongly and irrevocably opposed to arming terrorists," referring to Palestinian militant groups.

Holy shit. We now need an explanation of what a terrorist is? A terrorist is not a militant. We don't need the reporter to translate this. It was clear to us all. Or it would have been before this reporter and his colleagues watered down the meaning of the word until no one knows what anyone is talking about any more.

Pardon me, I have go throw up now.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 09:31 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Do not collect $100. Instead, go immediately to Helen's blog, Everyday Stranger (one of my daily must reads), and read her post about passion and her refusal to be "life's bitch" .

Words to live by. Hard to do maybe, but something we all ought to aspire to.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 08:44 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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1 $100? When did I get a 50% pay cut? Drat.

Posted by: Jim at August 18, 2004 09:48 AM (IOwam)

2 When we got married.

Posted by: RP at August 18, 2004 10:14 AM (LlPKh)

3 I checked that post out. It's brilliant! Thanks for the link!

Posted by: Mick at August 18, 2004 03:31 PM (VhRca)

4 Thanks, babe Now go dote on your Mrs

Posted by: Helen at August 18, 2004 04:19 PM (mjc0R)

5 Will do, Helen!

Posted by: RP at August 18, 2004 05:13 PM (LlPKh)

6 Thanks for the link. What a wonderful virtual visit to Venice I had while reading Helen's post!

Posted by: Azalea at August 18, 2004 06:47 PM (hRxUm)

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Did anyone happen to catch the portion of the Olympics television coverage last night when they did the story about the ancient Olympics site where the shot put and some other events will be held? It was actually not bad. And then, Bob Costas (is that his name?) got to speak and he showed that the English language is probably close to being on its last legs. This is what he said as the other correspondent signed off:

Props to you Dan for a fine report.

My wife looked at each other in stunned disbelief. Did we just hear him say, "props"? In the land which gave us the word, "kudos"? He said it so matter of factly, in that faux-gravitas newscaster's voice, the one that makes everything sound so important and so significant. There was no hint of mockery or self-doubt. No sense that he was being forced to use this term by an ever increasingly youth conscious marketing department trying to reel in the younger viewers. Nope. He used it like it was a perfectly acceptable synonym for the eminently serviceable word, "congratulations". I admit that hoary old thing as 5 syllables to the 1 in "props", but still. Not a reasonable excuse.

Normally, I don't look to sportscasters for examples of good English. In fact, the opposite is true. My favorite sportscaster malaprop was in the Fall of 1985 when, while watching the pre-game to some college football game, the announcer said:

It's very unusual to have these two teams meet so early in the season. This game could have national championship implifications

That one is so good that I have to think sometimes, almost 20 years later, before I use the word implication because implication doesn't sound as important as implification.

But I digress.

The reason Mr. Costas has me so heated up is that there is no good reason to reject many of the excellent words English has put at our disposal to signify congratulations or approval in order to replace them with the darling of the rapper set: "props". In my head, a prop is something you find on a set. Kind of like Mr. Costas, come to think of it.

We may not speak the King's English anymore, but we ought to draw the line somewhere. The way you speak in this country, while not as serious a matter as it is in England, will still serve to either limit or expand your opportunities. Many first generation immigrants will tell you that they learned to speak English here from the television. Teaching them that "props" is an acceptable way to convey congratulations is a dis-service to these people and to anyone else who might be led to think it's now appropriate to walk into the CEO's office and say, "Ms. Smith, props to you on that fine presentation you gave to the analyst community on our new cost accounting recognition system." Can you see that happening?

There are standards and we have them for a reason. Even if mine is the lone voice in the wilderness crying out for rigor and adherence to these standards, so be it. I know my wife will keep me company, at least, and English isn't even among her first two or three languages.

Here endeth the rant. Please resume your normal activities. I think sometimes that if it weren't for this blog, I'd be that guy in the corner. You know the one, the guy muttering to himself who makes you think, did he take his meds?

AN UPDATE

I just read the following article about the value of memorization in teaching children proper English and I extract the following paragraph for your consideration (in which the author does a much better job than I have done in expressing why the dumbing down of our language is such a problem with real consequences for those cheated out of an education):

All these benefits are especially important for inner-city kids. Bill Cosby recently pointed to the tragedy of the black kids he sees “standing on the corner” who “can’t speak English.” “I can’t even talk the way these people talk,” Cosby said: “ ‘Why you ain’t. Where you is.’ ” To kids who have never known anything but demotic English, literary English is bound to seem an alien, all but incomprehensible dialect. Kids who haven’t been exposed to the King’s English in primary school or at home will have a hard time, if they get to college, with works like Pride and Prejudice and Moby Dick. In too many cases, they will give up entirely, unable to enter the community of literate citizens—and as a result will live in a world of constricted opportunity.

It's like I posited above, if you think props is a real word, you constrict your opportunities.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 08:25 AM | Comments (17) | Add Comment
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The Girl Child and I were watching the Olympics on Sunday, specifically some of the swimming. She was pretty interested in it and so, dreaming of seeing her on the podium one day, we had the following conversation:

Me: Those are the fastest people in the whole world swimming this event right now. Isn't that cool?

Her: Yes.

Me: Would you like to swim like that one day at the Olympics?

Her: [Pause as she thinks about it] No, I just want to swim fast in the kiddy pool.

And so my dreams of vicarious Olympic glory slink away.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 02:43 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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1 One step at a time, Random!

Posted by: Mick at August 17, 2004 03:39 PM (zY+L9)

2 Good point, Mick. Today, the kiddy pool! Tomorrow, the world!

Posted by: rp at August 17, 2004 04:20 PM (LlPKh)

3 This post made me giggle, then I read all the way down to the bottom of the page, so now I have tears on my cheeks and one bit of advice I reeeally wanted to make sure you see, hence commenting here... Get a puppy. It is THEE only way to even begin to heal a heart broken by the loss of a good dog. This I know. Get a puppy. I promise, it'll help... a LOT. Even if your parents don't want one, if you can get one yourselves, it'll make you and your daughter feel better and even your Mom and Dad when they get to see 'im. Puppy faces are the most healing thing God ever put on this Earth...

Posted by: Stevie at August 17, 2004 05:40 PM (oeRPb)

4 IMHO, so is puppy breath, but that just may be my own weirdness, there... *giggle*

Posted by: Stevie at August 17, 2004 05:42 PM (oeRPb)

5 Mmmm...puppy breath. Ahem... I've been reading about last week as well. I sure hope this week is working out much better for you and the fam. At the very least, I hope you got more sleep. Swimming fast in the kiddy pool has its own challenges...namely, random kiddies.

Posted by: Linda at August 17, 2004 09:29 PM (9Pzdi)

6 Stevie, thanks so much for the advice. We are deep in the midst of puppy negotiations and only need to first agree on a breed. My dad wants another Kuvasz and my mother a Golden. Linda, thanks. Things are picking up because, if for no other reason, that is the nature of life. And, it is clear you have spent some time yourself recently in a kiddy pool.

Posted by: RP at August 18, 2004 09:02 AM (LlPKh)

7 The art to navigating a kiddy pool is not limited to dodging kiddies, but also the byproducts that such kiddies produce. Great post though, just started reading your blog today, I also like the next post about the English Language, kudos!

Posted by: Oorgo at August 18, 2004 06:37 PM (lM0qs)

8 My only thought about this is that I wouldn't asked "Would you like to do that someday?" 'cause that puts the kid on the spot. I'd've said "..and you could do that some day, too, if you wanted to". It tells them that they can be anything they want without demanding that they tell you what they want yet. I always hated when adults asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. If I said "Astronaut" then they said "Don't you want to be a doctor so you could help people?" Eventually I just answered "I want to be a doctor so I can help people." Maybe they were trying to tell me that I could be a doctor, but it always felt like they were telling me that what I wanted was wrong.

Posted by: Tuning Spork at August 18, 2004 08:42 PM (2iTIs)

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I get a decent amount of junk mail at the office. Often, solicitations from publishers who want me to buy expensive treatises. Today's solicitation was, all appearances to the contrary, not a joke. I was offered the opportunity to buy:

Digest of Commercial Laws of the World

NOW WITH NEW COVERAGE OF NORTH KOREA AND IRAN!

They have laws? For international commercial transactions? Really? If I was doing a transaction there, I would be specifying ICC arbitration in Geneva or Paris with a choice of law clause that was somewhere other than Iran or North Korea.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 12:32 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Jim, over at Snooze Button Dreams, was profiled in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

I think it has to make a nice change from the time he was profiled at the airport and they touched him in all of those inappropriate places.

Yay, Jim!

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I have to go to the dentist this morning, and if that wasn't reason enough to be sad, I read the following things.

The first is from Little Green Footballs where Mr. Johnson shares an article about, in part, the opening ceremonies at the Olympics:

When the Palestinian delegation marched into the Olympic Stadium at the opening ceremonies last week, they were warmly welcomed. When the Iraqis came in, they got a standing ovation and the loudest cheers of the night. Even the Americans were greeted with polite, if unenthusiastic, applause.

But the small Israeli team — 36 athletes competing in 14 sports — was met with quiet so complete it was shocking.

The atheletes must have felt so isolated and so hated. How horrible. How un-Olympian in spirit.

The second thing I read was from Elizabeth at Ravings of a Corporate Mommy. Elizabeth writes, so movingly, of her defender, Paul, when she was a young girl and was teased so cruely by the other children. Go read it, but I warn you, it will make you sad because Elizabeth is a gifted writer who can really make you feel the pain of this little girl. But it's worth it.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 07:30 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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[Warning: The following was composed primarily between the hours of 2 and 2:30 this morning and I have decided to publish it before I have any coffee.]

No, debasement is tradtionally something you do to currency. In Roman times, if I recall my Roman Law class from law school correctly, to debase currency meant melting a pure metal coin down, adding lead to the melted bit and reminting it in order to make more coins. Lead was a base metal. It had the effect of devaluing the entire currency and causing people to lose confidence in the monetary system. Under Roman Law, I seem to recall it was punishable by death.

Debasement is also something that the clever alchemists at Reuters and the A.P. and other "news agencies" (dig the scare quotes) are doing to the English language. How so? Let's take some examples, one at a time.

Instead of saying terrorist, we hear: rebel; militant; militia; or, my personal favorite, activist.

Terrorist means or meant (all definitions adapted from Dictionary.com): a radical who employs terror as a political weapon; usually organizes with other terrorists in small cells; often uses religion as a cover for terrorist activities.

Rebel means or meant: To refuse allegiance to and oppose by force an established government or ruling authority. To resist or defy an authority or a generally accepted convention.

Militant means or meant: A fighting, warring, or aggressive person or party.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Latin mlitns, mlitant- present participle of mlitre, to serve as a soldier. See militate.]

Militia means or meant:An army composed of ordinary citizens rather than professional soldiers. A military force that is not part of a regular army and is subject to call for service in an emergency. The whole body of physically fit civilians eligible by law for military service.

Activist means or meant: advocating or engaged in activism, n : a militant reformer.

These words, all perfectly good words with their own distinct meanings, are being debased, being melted down in a large Reuters kettle and, weighted down with lead, being reminted and contorted into the shape of the word terrorist. Soon, if not already, they will be read to be mere synonyms of the word, terrorist. And then our language will be rendered poorer and the readers will, if they have not already, begin to lose confidence in the whole system of reporting "news" (sorry about the scare quotes again, I can't help it). Why? Well, if activist is a word you might normally associate with someone trying to unionize apple pickers and then you start seeing it turn up in connection with a fellow who's activities include, say, firing an AK-47 at a school bus full of children, your view of that activity is warped by your perception of what an activist really does, or did before Reuters got ahold of the word. See it enough times and your brain, which is more sensible, will start to substitute the word terrorist for activist or, maybe, you will start to lose the meaning of the word activist which you had fixed in your brain. Everything just sort of melts down. And eventually, you distrust the messenger just as much as the message and you are not sure what anything means any more in any context.

I won't advocate a death sentence for these terribly earnest editors who, in their haste to avoid making some kind of value judgment about the activities of our hypothetical "activist", as the Romans might have, but I am open to suggestions for an appropriate punishment for those who continue to debase and contort this beautiful language and deprive it of all absolute meaning until everything is relative and not one word means anything until they tell you what they want it to mean.

One final thought, maybe we should just call the terrorists, freedom fighters, since by and large, they are fighting freedom all over the globe.

Posted by: Random Penseur at 07:21 AM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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1 these are not the things i think about at 2 am i find it very interesting however, that you do.

Posted by: kbear at August 17, 2004 08:42 AM (IAJcf)

2 I wholeheartedly agree with you, RP. I share your linguistic as well as journalistic/political concerns. On the linguistic front, I have had similar thoughts regarding, for instance, substituting host for hostess (the whole gender-neutral thing is depriving us of an entire category of words!) and impact (as a verb) for affect. Really, I could rant ad nauseum on this topic! Thanks for sharing.

Posted by: GrammarQueen at August 17, 2004 08:49 AM (gDEwS)

3 You're doted with an uncanny power of analysis at two o'clock in the morning. I have a hard time thinking of anything other than the mortgage and car payments, while I toss and turn. Perhaps, in lieu of the death penalty (and as if it were actually up to us!), we could strip the culprits of their press credentials and give them a sound hand-slapping on network TV. That should keep them in line! ;-)

Posted by: Mick at August 17, 2004 09:08 AM (zY+L9)

4 Yup. I find myself writing blogs in my head at 2 am, if I am up. I'm not sure if that makes us dedicated, or very sad

Posted by: Helen at August 17, 2004 10:00 AM (mjc0R)

5 It's very sad. You should wait until 4:00 AM like me. ;-)

Posted by: Jim at August 17, 2004 01:48 PM (IOwam)

6 Well, Helen, Jim, that may explain why we get along so well. GrammarQueen, feel free to spill it out. I'd be curious to read your thoughts on that topic. Kbear and Mick, I just couldn't help myself. I lay there in bed and this post just sort of wrote itself while I couldn't sleep. I think I need a new pillow.

Posted by: RP at August 17, 2004 05:21 PM (LlPKh)

7 What was once called a lie is now called spin.

Posted by: stolypin at August 17, 2004 11:20 PM (RxOy+)

8 Ivan, you should also add the use of the words elections and democracy as applied to places like North Korea.

Posted by: RP at August 18, 2004 08:53 AM (LlPKh)

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AJ Liebling is probably most widely known for his oft-repeated quotation that: ""Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one". In that regard, we might even consider him the spiritual father of blogs everywhere. If you disagree, just look at all the guest bloggers at the recent Democratic Party Convention where the blogger was elevated to the status of journalist and publisher in one fell swoop. But, that's not why I want to write about him. I want to call him to people's attention because he was a fantastic writer.

This is from a biographical sketch I found on him on the net which also has a nice list of the books he published:

After early schooling in New York City, Liebling wrote in The Wayward Pressman that "I went up to Dartmouth in the fall of 1920, lacking a month of being sixteen". Liebling did not finish his schooling at Dartmouth, claiming they threw him out for missing compulsory chapel attendance. He then enrolled in the Pulitzer School of Journalism at Columbia University and after finishing there, took the job at the Evening Bulletin. After his stint in Providence, Liebling went on to report and write for New Yorker magazine. While employed by New Yorker he served as a war correspondent; filing many stories from Africa, England and Europe. Following the war he returned to regular magazine fare and for many years after he wrote a New Yorker monthly feature called "Wayward Press". Liebling was an avid fan of boxing, horse racing and eating, frequently writing about each. In 1947 Doubleday and Company published Liebling's The Wayward Pressman, a highly quotable collection of his writings from New Yorker and other publications. Liebling's father was employed in New York City's fur district and his mother grew up in San Francisco. Liebling was married to Jean Stafford, a poet.

I am a big fan of Mr. Liebling and am re-reading his wonderful book, Between Meals, describing his time in Paris in 1926-27 when, as a 22 year old, his father gave him the gift of a year of study in the City of Light. The title refers to the fact that Paris, for him, became one long study in eating and drinking and this book is about that and what he did in the time between his meals. It includes time spent boxing and time spent rowing. It is a marvelous memoir.

How could you not love someone who writes like this about Vodka:

The standard of perfection for vodka (no color, no taste, no smell) was expounded to me long ago by the then Estonian consul-general in New York, and it account perfectly for the drink's rising popularity with those who like their alcohol in conjunction with the reassuring tastes if infancy -- tomato juice, orange juice, chicken broth. It is the ideal intoxicant for the drinker who wants no reminder of how hurt Mother would be if she know what he was doing.

Click below on extended entry for the rest (I put this in bold for my wife, who has problems with the extended entry function and I figure if she does, someone else might).

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Posted by: Random Penseur at 10:25 AM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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