If all goes well, I'll finish the essay I'm working on and send it in tonight so that I can go on holiday tomorrow without feeling guilty. (Yes, I know, just like a student). I'm going to take the old-fashioned blogger's approach and not sit sending emails from the beach or anything.
And I won't be sending any postcards either (well, not to here).
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more from Thomas:
well it's the same problem as with the use of web standards, some people (like me) use the word naturally (and don't even know that it is the official translation), but most people still use 'email' mostly because they aren't sure they will be understood (like AOL TV commercial here...) so it's just a matter of using the word and it will spread. as of the pronounciation of 'mel', it is the same in french and english. and actually, people still using the word 'email' in french pronounce it 'ee'-'mel'...
Thomas writes:
about the french 'email', actually, it has been decided by the french standard organisations, that the french word for email would be 'mel', shrinkage of 'message' and 'electronique'. voila :^) —
I was setting various email subscriptions to 'no email' today and I noticed I was setting the French ones to 'pas d'emails'.
Then I read this
'Courriel' doesn't sound great to me (although not as bad as 'consignia' or anything).
Does anyone know whether 'email' is (or was) pronounced the same in French?
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'All material on this site is fictional and bears no relation to reality'
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At last, some discussion of Alexander Walker that makes me feel like they're talking about the same guy. This is Xan Brooks in The Informer today after discussing The Hulk:
We will never know what Alexander Walker would have made of Hulk. After 50 years on the London Evening Standard, the critic died last weekend at the age of 73. Intriguingly, yesterday's Hot Tickets supplement still appeared in a state of denial about this, insisting instead that 'Alexander Walker is away' (in heaven, presumably). In the meantime there came a flood of tributes from rival critics and film makers, many of whom had previously regarded him with open exasperation.
I never knew Walker but I saw him many times. You couldn't miss the man. He would parade into morning press screenings in his spotless cravat, pass a few waspish comments with the regulars and then take his seat; a little duke presiding over a kingdom of pallid, coffee-drinking serfs. Much of what he wrote was reactionary twaddle, but every now and then he would startle you by championing a film you thought he'd hate, or destroying one you'd assumed he'd love. Walker's prose was crisp, sharp and passionate, and you had the sense that he believed every word he wrote (even when it was patently nonsense). Those morning screenings will be less interesting without him.
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First, I went with Apoa and Kiloh to see Bruce Almighty, a classic 'self-centred whingeing twit gets comeuppance and learns to be nice again' movie. You can probably sketch out the story yourself but there were some good funny bits along the way. On the journey, Apoa and Kiloh learned a few more things about the etiquette of London bus travel (that's right - there isn't any).
Then I took them home and rushed off to Enfield to catch Hoover Street Revival, an excellent documentary, directed by Sophie Fiennes (who also directed my mum's wedding video). It's really impressive and she's a very talented director. It's literally a documentary, i.e. it documents Noel Jones's sermons, the people who attend them, and the context in which they take place, but it doesn't have a strong narrative shape and it doesn't really probe what's going on. Which has left some audiences unsure about it. There are stories there, though. It definitely made an interesting contrast with the 'high concept' first feature of the evening.
I wonder what film would be the right one to complete a trilogy of god-related movies?
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It seems it's such a bore getting an academic teaching visa now that Peter Trudgill won't be going to the LSA Summer School (not to be confused with the Louisiana Sherrifs' Association) this year.
Read about it here
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Here are some rude words in Esperanto.
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That's how the vet described Jazzy after she attacked Roxy last week. She didn't do physical harm but did terrify her enough to make her empty her bladder and bowels and leave her too shook up to have her first vaccination.
Apparently all tortoiseshell cats are 'volatile structures' so we don't know whether it will be 'viable' for them to live in the same house. We now have to lock Roxy up when we go out (apparently, they're also sneaky and might well act friendly until we turn our backs). She's definitely doing a good job of acting friendly at the moment. So let's hope it's not just an act.
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Enn Reitel, that is.
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Here is an article on a linguist who is neither Noam Chomsky nor Steven Pinker.
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I enjoyed this even though I don't agree with everything it says.
I do agree that most of the public think we were cheated on the way to the war. There's loads of evidence that doesn't seem to be getting discussed very much at the moment. I think one thing people remember is Blair always emphasising that we wouldn't do it without a UN resolution until it became obvious there wouldn't be one.
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We had a barbie on Saturday, partly a kind of 4th of July thing, partly cos it was near Ohna's birthday, partly just for the fun of it and partly for summertime. It was a very enjoyable event. I especially appreciated having guests who were happy to dive in and cook their own food, and watching the kids enjoying themselves. You know that excitement they get when they're running wild at a big do? There was a definite sense of two separate worlds - one for kids and one for growns - which just happened to be sharing a space.
I also enjoyed the pre-party panicking and Ohna's catchphrase for the day - 'I still haven't had a chance to do the devilled eggs'.
And Roxy gave us her first rendition of the disappearing cat party trick, finally showing up in Apoa's room at one in the morning.
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Sparks and Pusscat found a new home last night so now Roxy is our only kitten. I think she's missing her siblings a bit but Jazzy (mum) doesn't seem to care about the reduction in numbers. I'm looking forward to having less mopping up to do, and to knowing who to blame for puddles and things.
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Whoops, I confused everyone. Ohna's in her 40th year now, i.e she's 39.
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Well, Ohna just entered her 40th year (no discretion in this family) so we were able to go public with what happened when we bought her present. We got her a very nice digital camera (canon ixus 400 for any techie folk) from a small branch of Jessops in Hampstead (the kind of place we go to cos we think it's nice that they exist even though we could save money by buying online). I'd phoned up to discuss it and get them to keep one aside for me and then it got stolen from the shop while we were trying to buy it.
We had a look at it and the assistant left it in its box on the counter while he pulled out memory cards from some drawers under a display cabinet. When we got back to the counter the camera was gone. Two guys had come in and pretended to look in a display case. Then one of them picked it up under his jacket on the way out. They were captured on cctv but I guess the cops would need to catch them with the camera before they could nail them.
The shop assistants took it very well, sighing and cursing but also smiling and giving the impression it wasn't the first time it had happened. The main thing they said to me was that it was lucky they had another one in stock. It occurred to me that they could have accused me of being in league with the baddies. I suppose the fact that I paid for the other one makes that less likely. It makes more economic sense to get one camera for nothing than two for the price of one, doesn't it?
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This is where you can read about the new law making it illegal to use a mobile phone while driving. It doesn't apply to cyclists, apparently:
'The new offence will apply to all mechanically propelled vehicles, including motorbikes. Although some respondents suggested that it should be extended to cyclists, we do not consider this is a significant problem that justifies extending the offence to non-motorised traffic.'
I guess they think the person you're most likely to kill on a bike is yourself. There was an interesting typo in the message I got telling me about this:
'Some of you may be interested to know that the DfT has recently published the results of their consultation on the use of mobile phones whilst driving ... They have recommended it should be an office to use a mobile phone whilst driving a moving vehicle.'
I like the idea of it being an office to use a mobile phone ...
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