The 'Britishisation' of American language? Jolly Good wot!

Firstly, let me link the story for your persual forthwith;

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-19670686

It would appear from studying the details of the story (above linked) that there are a select few American academics despairing at the 'Britishisation' of their proud linguistic history. Quite aside from the obvious irony of complaining about a British infulence on the English language this amuses and irritates me in eqaul measure when one thinks of the 'Americanisation' of the British language that has been ongoing for years.

That aside we are living in a metaphorically shrinking world bridged as it is by the wonders of technology and the interactivity of social media. Thus we can only expect greater cultural homogenisation.

Finally of course, we must always remember that language is interactive. The currency of popular linguistics will cut both transatlantic directions & beyond. Language is an ever changing, ever evolving thing and as such we should embrace and celebrate those changes wherever we can.

So to any 'Britishised' words that have slipped into the American consciousness I can say this - 'jolly good that man, now keep a stiff uppper lip in your lingustic sevice. Time to celebrate with a  cup of tea anyone?'

Hubble the mind boggler

Over the years the Hubble space telescope has sent back some truly amazing pictures. Now it is in the news again for capturing 'extraordinary pictures of the universe'. they are both fantastically inspiring and at the same tie give one a sens of infinitesimal inconsequentiality. Very little can be added to the sense of awe in words, in some cases a picture truly does paint a thousand words. hence I can offer little of more worth than the wonder itself at this link

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-19728375

NB it is worth remarking how small a portion of the sky this image actually represents!

An insult to Islam?

There is a film causing a firestorm of hatred through the Islamic world. The fact that it was developed and produced in America doubtless fuels some of the passionate responses towards it. I have never seen the film and can therefore not comment on it directly.

 It is a point of wonder to me though, how many of the people ina delirium of religious fervour have indeed seen the film. One need only recall the vitriol spat towards Salman Rushdie after publication of the 'Satanic Verses' by so many who had avowedly NOT even read the work to know that a mob response can be engendered without recourse to reason.

Which bring me to the core thought of this post. Why can people not be led by reason rather than passion? It worries me when the PM of Egypt calls for the criminalisation of criticism of Islam. Firstly how America chooses to govern herself internally is surely not his affair (unless it was to affect his country directly). Secondly, how can anyone call for the right to free speech be taken away?

The latter is an abiding principle of western civilisation. A principle tat is Worth defending. To have to protect a faith legally does not reflect well on the inner strength of that faith. Many Christians were insulted by Monty Python's 'Life of Brian' but the educated amongst them would not call for its eternal banning/censure. Nor would they take to the streets in angry mobs over it.

We can only hope that eventually whatever your faith, or lack thereof, we can all learn to tolerate and accept each other in the very short time we share this world.

Denegrating a venerable game

Came across an article on Grantland which you  can find here http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8362701/the-evolution-cheating-chess

The thing that stood out the most for me was that the main protagonist was not only cheating his opponents (out of title and prize) but also himself. The joy of chess is that no two games are ever the same. Familiar perhaps (certainly in the errors we make) but never identical. There are so many options, so any patterns and responses that can occur. it truly is a beautiful as well as a technical game. We can learn as much , if not more, in defeat than we can in victory. To have played your best, to have enjoyed it whatever the outcome, those are the joys the venerable game has to offer and I would recommend to anyone not to take those experiences away from themselves in this way.

'Rooked' indeed.

Andy Murray and nationality

Andy Murray finally got the monkey off his back and won a grand slam tournament. A moment of personal triumph one would think. Yet there are Scottish nationalists who wish to hijack it. They want it to be Scotland's win and to play on his Scottishness.

The point is not whether he is Scottish or British - he's bot h a Scots Brit (just like Sir Chris Hoy and all the other team GB medallists, including Murray, who represented Britain at the Olympics). The point is rather though can we not just celebrate the personal triumph without it becoming a political football?

The Internet has metaphorically shrunk the world, we are all e citizens together now so let's not emphasise those nationalistic tendencies too much and just celebrate the achievements of another who deserves personal recognition.

Inspiring a generation

Well the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics have come to an end. They were hugely enjoyable and hugely successful for Great Britain.

Now however comes the hard part. They are supposed to leave a lasting legacy and to 'inspire a generation'. i really hope that happens but I'm not so sure. I know plenty of people now that it's over who are back behind their remotes waiting for the next TV 'event' to come along. Long term I hope that that's the exception, because regardless of how many medals team GB collected the important thing from these games is will they have made a difference? Let's hope so!

Farewell to the carefree melody of Summer

Summer is limping to a close, its July to August dampened carcass a remembrance now only of  the wetter times we had. The nicest thing about the school summer break is that it allows childrens' personality to flower. They are not daily faced with that most daunting of judgements from other children, - are you an individual, and should you therefore be ostracised. At home at least they have the comfort space and freedom to be themselves.

Which is why the rush back into school at this coming time of mists and mellow fruitfulness can seem all the sadder.

The one great hope is that they will be schooled in how to think, how to consider and most of all how to reason. instead they will be put upon the grindstone of progress and looked at as potential numbers for grades. An education and a qualification are not always the same thing, but I wish they could be.

Lt us hope then that teaches out there, children themselves and parents too can support wherever possible the individuality of their children and hope that it leads them to discoveries and learning that is both fun and inspiring.

If not the Autumn will give way to along withered winter of disaffection and nobody wants that!