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Discussion Groups / English Usage / January 2009Earthlings! Listen to this leader.
I went to the Mall on Tuesday with a perhaps unique perspective (aside from being trapped on the fringes of the crowd, that is): never had heard the guy speak before -- don't watch TV. Don't follow politics -- never even read his speeches. Over the cacophony of bus engines, assorted sirens and bellowing soldiers, I caught "...know that you are on the wrong side of history..." Huh? Imperative voice? How...muscular. Had the spaceship just landed? Would I hear "Take me to your leader!"? Oh, he _is_ our leader... The next day I found the full text of the address in the Washington Post. More surprises: "...bitter swill of civil war and segregation..." Pungent imagery? "...you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you." Addressing our enemies -- hey you! -- directly? I was curious as to whether electric language like that was the rule or the exception in this speech, so I made a very quick tour through an online archive of inaugural addresses, from Kennedy onwards. (It's at http://www.bartleby.com/124/ and for some reason, doesn't yet have Bush's second.) The answer is: exception. You have to go back to Kennedy to find much piquancy or wit. For example, there is this line in Kennedy's address: "in the past, those who foolishly sought power by riding the back of the tiger ended up inside." Clinton was a real disappointment. The Rhodes Scholar allowed his speechwriters to feed him pablum both times. But in his I could see the basic template: We are in crisis; we have gone astray; we need a renewal; we are good; there are forces of tyranny at large that... need a talking-to. Obama followed the basic template, but it was like Beethoven coming out of a Muzak system. Elect a black man president? No miracle; it was inevitable. The real miracle is that a democracy as large as ours can still elect in intellectual. -- Charles Packer http://cpacker.org/whatnews mailboxATcpacker.org > I went to the Mall on Tuesday with a perhaps unique > perspective (aside from being trapped on the fringes [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > inevitable. The real miracle is that a democracy as > large as ours can still elect in intellectual. Okay, but why did you capitalize "mall"? ~ ~ ~ PJ > Okay, but why did you capitalize "mall"? > > ~ ~ ~ > PJ- Hide quoted text - Freudian slip > Okay, but why did you capitalize "mall"? Well, the NY Times does it, as in this blurb I just this moment saw on its Web site: "After braving Inauguration Day masses on the Mall, Judith Warner finds meaning..." -- Charles Packer http://cpacker.org/whatnews mailboxATcpacker.org > > I went to the Mall on Tuesday with a perhaps unique > > perspective (aside from being trapped on the fringes [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] > > - Show quoted text - He means the Mall, in Washington. >>> I went to the Mall on Tuesday with a perhaps unique >>> perspective (aside from being trapped on the fringes [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] >>> inevitable. The real miracle is that a democracy as >>> large as ours can still elect in intellectual. >> Okay, but why did you capitalize "mall"? > He means the Mall, in Washington. I figured that out. I was trying to be silly, but my silliness flopped onto its head. ~ ~ ~ PJ [aue only] In alt.usage.english, Jackson Pillock wrote: >> > I went to the Mall on Tuesday with a perhaps unique >> > [...] >> >> Okay, but why did you capitalize "mall"? > >He means the Mall, in Washington. ... which seems to be capitalised differently from The Mall, in London.  SignatureMike Barnes Cheshire, England > [aue only] > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > ... which seems to be capitalised differently from The Mall, in London. The Washington Post reported overhearing two out-of-towners trying to find the Inauguration: Man: I'll go ask that policeman how far we are from the Mall. Woman: We don't want to go to the mall; we want to go to that big grassy place. SignatureJohn Varela Trade OLD lamps for NEW for email Jackson Pillock: >> He means the Mall, in Washington. Mike Barnes: > ... which seems to be capitalised differently from The Mall, in London. Yes, it's capitalized with a Z there. Pronounced "zee", yet. SignatureMark Brader | lying Toronto | abort reply. msb@vex.net | -- random words at end of a spam message In alt.usage.english, Mark Brader wrote: >Jackson Pillock: >>> He means the Mall, in Washington. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > >Yes, it's capitalized with a Z there. Pronounced "zee", yet. Ah so, 'e means zee mahl, in Voshington. I'm still wondering whether "Jackson Pillock" is a real name. SignatureMike Barnes Cheshire, England Mike Barnes: > I'm still wondering whether "Jackson Pillock" is a real name. Oops, sorry about that. SignatureMark Brader | "I think it's safe to say that no person can hope to Toronto | achieve basic life competence without consulting my msb@vex.net | work on a regular basis." -- Cecil Adams >[aue only] > [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > >... which seems to be capitalised differently from The Mall, in London. That is how I'd write The Washington Mall if I was going to shorten it: The Mall. There is only one. The Washington Mall. The Mall. SignatureRegards, Chuck Riggs Near Dublin, Ireland > I went to the Mall on Tuesday with a perhaps unique > perspective (aside from being trapped on the fringes [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] > Charles Packerhttp://cpacker.org/whatnews > mailboxATcpacker.org Intellectualism has been under attack for such a long time. To now be faced with a man who not only thinks before he speaks, speaks of well formed ideas, using complete sentences, without 6pm news phrases, must be shocking not only to the general public but TV journalists as well. The age of thinking may be upon us, the age of reacting may be dead. "but it was like Beethoven coming out of a Muzak system." The 9th, no doubt! If you can listen to the 9th with full choral, that is the most inspiring thing you can hear. On Jan 23, 7:22 am, Charles Packer <mail...@cpacker.org> wrote: > I went to the Mall on Tuesday with a perhaps unique > perspective (aside from being trapped on the fringes [quoted text clipped - 41 lines] > Charles Packerhttp://cpacker.org/whatnews > mailboxATcpacker.org Intellectualism has been under attack for such a long time. To now be faced with a man who not only thinks before he speaks, speaks of well formed ideas, using complete sentences, without 6pm news phrases, must be shocking not only to the general public but TV journalists as well. The age of thinking may be upon us, the age of reacting may be dead. "but it was like Beethoven coming out of a Muzak system." The 9th, no doubt! If you can listen to the 9th with full choral, that is the most inspiring thing you can hear. ============= Most Bush supporters are intellectually challenged. On Jan 23, 7:44 am, "Koolchi...@smurfsareus.xxx" <john.kulczy...@sympatico.ca> wrote: > > I went to the Mall on Tuesday with a perhaps unique > > perspective (aside from being trapped on the fringes [quoted text clipped - 58 lines] > > - Show quoted text - A man who, while reciting scripted answers to questions on Sunday morning interview shows, said "a out----" and "a international action." CBS's Face the Nation and ABC's This Week, two Sundays before the inauguration; while the interviewers' questions were different, one from each was sufficiently like one from the other that the answer was, word for word, the same -- had to have been questions submitted in advance so the speechwriters could do their work. Try some semantic analysis -- what did he actually say? Thompson in '12! > On Jan 23, 7:44 am, "Koolchi...@smurfsareus.xxx" > [quoted text clipped - 74 lines] > > Thompson in '12! Thompson in '12! Says it all, innut. [ ... ] >> Try some semantic analysis -- what did he actually say? >> >> Thompson in '12! > > Thompson in '12! > Says it all, innut. Hunter S. Thompson is expired. And he wasn't an Esquimaux. More like Gahnzeaux. SignatureFrank ess > Koolchi...@smurfsareus.xxx wrote: > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > -- > Frank ess What about Fred Thompson? Is he past his "best before" date? > A man who, while reciting scripted answers to questions on Sunday > morning interview shows, said "a out----" and "a international [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > the answer was, word for word, the same -- had to have been questions > submitted in advance so the speechwriters could do their work. Frequently heard as of late...... "a historical" > Frequently heard as of late...... > > "a historical" Which sounds perfectly correct to me except on days when I'm dropping my aitches. SignatureRob Bannister > > Frequently heard as of late...... > [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > Rob Bannister Really? it's like fingernails on the chalkboard to me >> Frequently heard as of late...... >> >> "a historical" > > Which sounds perfectly correct to me except on days when I'm dropping > my aitches. Sometimes I select the article I want to use, and then I adjust my aitches or lack of them accordingly. SignatureSkitt (AmE) why not? >>> Frequently heard as of late...... >>> [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Sometimes I select the article I want to use, and then I adjust my > aitches or lack of them accordingly. - he said articulately. SignatureLew [aue only] In alt.usage.english, Robert Bannister wrote: >> Frequently heard as of late...... >> "a historical" > >Which sounds perfectly correct to me except on days when I'm dropping >my aitches. Ditto, except that I never drop that particular "h". Does anyone really say "an historical" pronouncing the "h"? That seems most odd to me. SignatureMike Barnes Cheshire, England > [aue only] > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > Does anyone really say "an historical" pronouncing the "h"? That seems > most odd to me. I'd lay money on it having been said just that way on the BBC this week. I'm not keen enough to go and plough through audio files to find it though. It always feels wrong to me. SignatureOnline waterways route planner: http://canalplan.org.uk development version: http://canalplan.eu In alt.usage.english, Nick wrote: >> [aue only] >> [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] >week. I'm not keen enough to go and plough through audio files to find >it though. It always feels wrong to me. I'll keep an ear open for it. SignatureMike Barnes Cheshire, England >Does anyone really say "an historical" pronouncing the "h"? That seems >most odd to me. Yes, I hear it frequently in the broadcast media. Like nails on a blackboard.... -GAWollman SignatureGarrett A. Wollman | The real tragedy of human existence is not that we are wollman@csail.mit.edu| nasty by nature, but that a cruel structural asymmetry Opinions not those | grants to rare events of meanness such power to shape of MIT or CSAIL. | our history. - S.J. Gould, Ten Thousand Acts of Kindness > [aue only] > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > Does anyone really say "an historical" pronouncing the "h"? That seems > most odd to me. Unfortunately, yes, though it's mainly older people - this was a bit difficult to write, since I'm an older people myself in some people's eyes. SignatureRob Bannister >[aue only] > [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > >Does anyone really say "an historical" pronouncing the "h"? To pronounce the two words that way, I'd have to slow down for a significant fraction of a second between them. That's not for me. > That seems >most odd to me. I'm relieved. SignatureRegards, Chuck Riggs Near Dublin, Ireland |
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