David's comments
(member since Aug 12, 2008)
David's comments from the True North group.
(showing 1-20 of 98)
It's crockers to slip a rozzer the dropsy in snide.
Orthodox.
Alas, they are all heretics.
Operant conditioning works really well in some realms. Just ask my dog.
The hypothesis is associated with Benjamin Lee Whorf and Edward Sapir. It's an interesting hypothesis but very hard to test.There's a related hypothesis that logographic writing (as in Chinese) develops different mental abilities than alphabetic writing systems. (Not to speak of abjads and abugidas).
May 19, 2009 12:05PM
I don't know whether ignorance is bliss or not, but I'm reasonably happy.Go figure.
May 18, 2009 04:58PM
Hypocrisy is one of the foundations of social order. We are all sinners, but do we have to boast about it, or worse, turn it into a 12-step group or a political cause?(Yes, I know I scratch and fart, but now I'm so proud of it, I have a support group and do it everywhere).
May 17, 2009 10:56PM
Marlbrouck se va-t-en guerreMironton mironton mirontaine
Marlbouck se va-t-en guerre
On ne sait s'il reviendra.
May 17, 2009 10:22PM
They marry fairly early and manage to breed at a higher rate than secular types. Their men spend two years on mission, mostly abroad, and learn a good deal about foreign languages and cultures, as the Gov. of Utah and future ambassador to China did.Their religion is heretical, but their behavior is sounder than the average American's.
It would be a good thing if CA and NY were more like Utah than the other way around.
Palatino is much more elegant than Times New Roman, which is readable but stodgy.
For three transgressions of America, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof . . .
"Gift" in German means "poison."
The publishing industry seems to use "Young Adult." Reminds me of an old phrase, "Ya can't arrest me! I'm a yout'!"
PS, why is it "Young Adult"? Sounds like a euphemism to me. Why not "Older Children"?I know, I know. Marketing.
I agree it's harder with the YA section. But if the teens have access to the adult shelves (don't they?), it would seem a question of judgment, which someone must exercise, not censorship.BTW, I've been watching a bit of teen TV this week (kids home from school). Seems beside the point to worry too much about sex in prose, when it's hurled at kids electronically with rhythmic regularity.
Surely there are some limits. One wouldn't put The Canterbury Tales in the original, or Tropic of Cancer in the kiddie stacks. Or how about an illustrated surgery manual?Why have kiddie shalves at all if someone isn't to exercise judgment in acquisitions for them? You may think a particular judgment is cowardly or stupid, but it seems to me that whoever picks the books can't avoid making choices. (Parents, of course, have responsibility to oversee their kids' reading as well).
I might add that by the time I was ten or so I resented not being able to take out adult books. However, I was as odd then as I am now.
Feb 16, 2009 10:04AM
Pride and Prejudice is in the public domain. You can do anything you want with it, legally.Bad taste is not illegal.
I'm talking about "rational" schemes for universal betterment, not works of kindness. See, e.g., Pol Pot, Lenin, Robespierre, et al.Social arrangements tend to evolve for a reason. Although they sometimes require reform, I tend toward caution in that regard.
Harry Golden said "cellar door" was the most mellifluous word in the English Language.Personally, I like short, Anglo-Saxonish words like "swart."
