Sunday May 1, 2005
Weekend musings
- Posted by Rob (#1) on May 1, 2005 21:57 CEST
Last March I rolled around in a foot of snow after a gig. As much fun as that was, I'm glad this weekend delivered plenty of warm weather instead.
On Friday I went to see Alexisonfire and Rise Against at Nighttown. The former were absolutely fab and I ended up buying a hoodie of theirs. Having wasted most of the cash I brought on beer, I actually paid for it with British pounds. I'm always trying to pull off something special, I suppose. Not that I actually pulled a bird, maybe because I am becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the Dutch punk rock scene. Guys and girls are really going over the top with their appearance as if rock music is all about fitting in with a subculture. Don't get me wrong, I like piercings, tunnels, tattoos, dyed hair and all that - I'm guilty as charged for three of them. But when every single person in a crowd is starting to look the same it is becoming somewhat lame. At least bring some individuality to the floor! The audience was not alone in exposing "been-there, done-that" behaviour though: Rise Against could not resist throwing in some anti-Bush sentiments into their performance. That too is getting a bit tiresome, folks. I probably would have yawned even if my political interests had not given me a more nuanced opinion than "war is bad, even when it spawns democracy".
Little criticism of government on Saturday: half of Rotterdam was dressed in orange, paying tribute to our unelected head of state for Queen's Day. Highlights of the afternoon were almost ending up in the middle of some small riots between violent drunks and the police at Stadhuisplein and seeing a lot of immigrants wearing orange head scarves. Cute. Went out for a quick drink at night but didn't stay out for too long: the forecasts for Sunday were good so I had to be up at a reasonable hour to work on my tan, which I did. Ended the weekend with some shopping: a book, a DVD and some groceries.
It's dark again outside, but my skin is still glowing from the sunshine. Can't wait until next weekend and I hope it will provide the same amount of fun, beer and sun!
- PermaLink: Weekend musings
- Tags: Rotterdam, Nighttown, Alexisonfire, Rise Against, Queens Day, tanning
- Post comment
Book review - Between You and I
- Posted by Rob (#1) on May 1, 2005 22:18 CEST
Last week I tried ordering James Bennett's book on the Anglosphere on-line, but the order was cancelled because the book was no longer available. So I ordered it at a respectable, local bookstore today and on my way out I ran into a little book that immediately caught my attention: Between You and I by James Cochrane. It defends proper usage of the English language. And it felt as if someone who learned English as second language in school could stand to read such a book, especially when that someone is very skilled in abusing the language in e-mail, instant messaging and text messaging conversations:
There are so many threats to the survival of good, plain English that it is not easy to be optimistic. E-mail has a great deal to answer for. Punctuation is no longer required and verbs are abandoned with the speed of a striptease artiste late for her next performance. Text messaging is worse - much worse. Yet I have seen it suggested that students be allowed to use 'texting' abbreviations in examinations. Ultimately, no doubt, we shall communicate with a series of grunts - and the evolutionary wheel will have turned full circle.
I have to defend text messaging though: there is nothing wrong with the occasional grunting and frequently that is actually the very purpose of inter-human communication. Nonetheless it is useful to be reminded that February is pronounced with four syllables, there is a big difference between "may have" and "might have" and that nouns as verbs are Americanisms that are not fully appreciated in proper British English. As a bonus, the book includes George Orwell's famous essay "Politics and the English language".
It was a bit of a relief that many of the book's entries were already known to me as bad English, but also frightening that I consider it to be a very good gift for many friends of mine, of whom a large number are native speakers. Between You and I costs only a tenner and at that price is a much better investment than three pints, at least for those who are interested in improving their language skills.
- PermaLink: Book review - Between You and I
- Post comment