‘Wet Willies’ in Bengali

Here’s a video of my taxi driver, Mohommad from Bangladesh, telling us the word for “wet willie” in Bengali. A “wet willie” (for the uninitiated) is the act of sticking a wet finger into someone’s ear. My kids were doing it to each other in the back seat.

Nice to know that wet willies are a global phenomenon.

A new mystery

To the bewilderment of scientists, the Pioneer 10 spacecraft–which left the solar system in 1983–is slowing down:

Scientists eliminated all possible causes — gravity, radiation, equipment problems — and have now apparently concluded that the craft have been affected by a previously unknown force that’s about 10 billion times weaker than the gravitational force.

What is this new force, and how is it we haven’t encountered it before? Explanations aren’t forthcoming just yet, but the research is due to be published in an upcoming issue of The Physical Review, a physics journal. After that, expect a lot of arguing among researchers about how to verify this force, why it exists and what to call it. Or as scientists call it: fun!

I won’t be reading that journal article, but I look forward to hearing about the reaction to it. I enjoy these reminders that so much of our existence can be summed up with the word “mystery.”

By the way, I’m reading a great book — “Twilight of the Clockwork God” by John Ebert, an editor with the Joseph Campbell foundation. He explores how metaphysics and physics are growing closer.

Barber of Abu Dhabi

Last night I received a shave similar in some respects to Elmer Fudd’s experience:

It was awesome.

Marching band at Zayed University

Here’s a marching band on the campus of Zayed University where I teach. Not really sure what they were doing, but they sound great. Notice that all of the students are taking pictures/videos as well. Does anyone just enjoy live events anymore? Seems we’re all busy recording for everyone else.

Bobby Cox on winning streaks

In the Atlanta Journal-Constitution article on the Braves’ fourth win in a row contains the following insight:

“It’s always good to go in on a winning streak,” manager Bobby Cox said.

Hmm. Really? That quote probably should have been left in the notebook.

Hurricane Katrina and Media Storytelling

Here’s a good multimedia project about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I’ll be showing this to my Media Storytelling class later today…

Orwell on politics and language

Embedded in my good friend Farooq Kperogi’s grammar column this week is a reminder of George Orwell’s astute writings on political speech. Kperogi writes:

George Orwell was the first notable person to call attention to this type of language usage. In his famous 1946 essay titled, “Politics and the English language,” he said, “political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible.”

This is done, he pointed out elsewhere, through staleness of imagery and lack of precision. The expression “Kenyans have made up their minds” is certainly not only stale but also fraudulently imprecise. No one, not least the politicians, have conducted any scientific opinion poll to determine whether or not Kenyans have made up their minds on any issue. The expression is intended only to anesthetize the Kenyan population into a false sense of consensus with the points of views of the politicians making the claims. But more than this, it’s also convenient and ready-made; it doesn’t require any thinking to say it.

Orwell identified three features of the political language of his time: dying metaphors, verbal false limbs, and pretentious diction. This is true of our time too.

Indeed. I need to go back and re-read Orwell’s essay.

How to write good

“Do not put statements in the negative form. And don’t start sentences with a conjunction. If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do. Unqualified superlatives are the worst of all. De-accession euphemisms. If any word is improper at the end of a sentence, a linking verb is. Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky. Last, but not least, avoid clichés like the plague.”

– William Safire

Welcome, Mr. Brisbane

The new ombudsman for the New York Times just wrote his first substantive column — and it’s pretty good. He notes some readers’ concern with editorialized news in the news section. Articles without the “opinion” or “commentary” moniker are summarizing events and wrapping them up with an opinionated conclusion — material more often found on the op/ed pages.

The newspaper is undergoing changes and everyone’s being given the freedom to experiment. But some think the experiment is messing with the traditional emphasis on objectivity. One observer thinks we should simply drop the cloak of objectivity:

To Dan Gillmor, director of the Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship at Arizona State University, the whole effort to demonstrate impartiality is wrong-headed to begin with. American newspapers, once home to unfettered political agendas, have labored in the modern period to cull point-of-view out of reporting with the result that “newspaper writing turned into some of the dullest prose on the planet,” in his view. He sees no conflict between “having a worldview and doing great journalism,” and points to British papers like The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph as examples.

The Times is having none of that. Instead, it chooses to play in the mosh pit under the old rules, refining them as needed. The challenge is compounded because The Times, to its credit, has taken the “innovation” bit into its mouth and run with it. New features, functions and capabilities come on stream all the time, requiring close monitoring.

Too bad — dropping the objective perspective would be fine. Besides, the NY Times isn’t truly objective anyway — a point made by a previous ombudsman.

In the end, Brisbane suggests sticking to objectivity and labeling these “experimental” columns. But, he admits that they may have to give up the cloak given the current direction of media and audience fragmentation.

Don’t get cocky, GOP

Larry Sabato, a prominent political scientist, is flatly predicting the GOP will take the House and probably take or tie the Senate in mid-term elections this November. Sabato, apparently, has a good track record for predictions. Such a landslide for the GOP invariably conjures memories of 1994, the last time the United State surged toward the Republicans.

I’d just like to point out a couple of differences between 1994 and 2010.

In 1994, nobody — and I mean nobody — saw the landslide coming. I remember political pundits and newscasters stunned with disbelief as the results drifted in from across the country that Tuesday night. Given the widespread expectations of a Democratic drubbing, this November differs greatly from its 1994 counterpart.

Another difference is that the GOP in 1994 were offering voters a clear alternative to the ruling party. Their 10-part “Contract with America” offered a palpable idea of exactly how the party planned to rule differently from the Democrats. I’ve yet to see any clear, coherent message that details how the Republicans plan to lead if they do take control of Congress in November. The GOP still appear rudderless — despite perfect conditions for a cogent message of austerity and limited government to emerge. Instead, the GOP are simply enjoying the fruits of a bad economy and the anti-incumbency fever it carries. A couple of positive economic reports before the election could easily sway the public back into the Democrats’ camp.

So, my warning to the GOP is one I’ve heard before, but that tends to get lost amid Republican euphoria — “Don’t get cocky, kid.”