Death Sentences

"htd" <herothatdied DeleteThis @yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:Ezcge.21308$_g1.16642@trnddc04...
>
> "Sam Culotta" <culotta_art DeleteThis @verizon.net> wrote in message
> news:sD9ge.10331$nX1.8051@trnddc09...
>> Death Sentences: How cliches, weasel words, and mangagement-speak are
>> strangling public language.
>> by Don Watson.
>>
>> I just hear Watson being interviewed on my local PBS station. This book
>> came out in Australia in 2003 but may be just arriving on American shores
>> this year.
>>
>> I've added it to my growing wish list and am wondering if anyone here has
>> read it.
>>
> This is the first I've heard of it, but I thank you for bringing it to my
> attention. This year's office Secret Santa gift taken care of in May -
> woohoo!
>
> htd

Yikes! You're as bad as my sister who has her Xmas shopping done by June
every year.

Yes, this may be the next Eats,Shoots, and Leaves, but a lot better. Watson
had a wonderfully dry wit and a voice like Sir Anthony Hopkins. I wanted to
run right out and buy it, but in MY family, when you're within a month of
your birthday the womenfolk will skin you alive for buying anything that
could be a gift.

Sam
 >> Stay informed about: Death Sentences 

Sam wrote:

Death Sentences: How cliches, weasel words, and mangagement-
speak are strangling public language. by Don Watson.

************
My take on it is that it's no big deal, really. It doesn't really
amount
to obfuscation. For the most part it's euphemism. Where I live, an
immediate death in the family is referred to as them "passing away."
Someone is free to sneer at it as a fluff way of stating the fact, but
there's no doubt what it means. And there are all these catch
phrases like human resources, action item, and slipping to the right,
but near as I can tell, everybody talking that is talking to somebody
that understands.

Lying is still lying. Good old-fashioned Webster dictionary English
works just fine.

The new phrases and terminology are not meant to obscure. Their
primary purpose is to make the people that speak it feel cool.

Michael
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Michael wrote:
> Sam wrote:
>
> Death Sentences: How cliches, weasel words, and mangagement-
> speak are strangling public language. by Don Watson.
>
> ************
> My take on it is that it's no big deal, really. It doesn't really
> amount
> to obfuscation. For the most part it's euphemism. Where I live, an
> immediate death in the family is referred to as them "passing away."
> Someone is free to sneer at it as a fluff way of stating the fact,
but
> there's no doubt what it means. And there are all these catch
> phrases like human resources, action item, and slipping to the right,
> but near as I can tell, everybody talking that is talking to somebody
> that understands.
>
> Lying is still lying. Good old-fashioned Webster dictionary English
> works just fine.
>
> The new phrases and terminology are not meant to obscure. Their
> primary purpose is to make the people that speak it feel cool.
>
> Michael
 >> Stay informed about: Death Sentences 

"The new phrases and terminology are not meant to obscure. Their
primary purpose is to make the people that speak it feel cool."

Another purpose may be to take control of a situation through language.
Recently the journalist Richard Rodriguez spoke in my community. One of
his most compelling points was the observation that he wants us as a
society to reclaim our language from the politicians; phrases such as
"red states" and "blue states" do nothing to help us understand one
another. They simply blur distinctions, important distinctions at that.
 >> Stay informed about: Death Sentences 

Oh, so that's the secret to training men: you have to make them believe
they'll be flayed if they don't do what you want.

Smacks of effort.

note to self: this BF thing may not be worth the trouble after all.
Invest in dog, post-haste!

htd
 >> Stay informed about: Death Sentences 

"htd" <herothatdied.TakeThisOut@yahoo.com> writes:

> "Sam Culotta" <culotta_art.TakeThisOut@verizon.net> wrote in message
> news:sD9ge.10331$nX1.8051@trnddc09...
> > Death Sentences: How cliches, weasel words, and mangagement-speak are
> > strangling public language.
> > by Don Watson.
> >
> > I just hear Watson being interviewed on my local PBS station. This book
> > came out in Australia in 2003 but may be just arriving on American shores
> > this year.
> >
> > I've added it to my growing wish list and am wondering if anyone here has
> > read it.
> >
> This is the first I've heard of it, but I thank you for bringing it to my
> attention. This year's office Secret Santa gift taken care of in May -
> woohoo!

This must be the year for it. My local paper had an article on a book
called Why Business People Speak Like Idiots : A Bullfighter's Guide
by Brian Fugere. In the business section no less.

Bruce
 >> Stay informed about: Death Sentences 

Bruce McGuffin wrote:

> "htd" <herothatdied.DeleteThis@yahoo.com> writes:
>
>
>>"Sam Culotta" <culotta_art.DeleteThis@verizon.net> wrote in message
>>news:sD9ge.10331$nX1.8051@trnddc09...
>>
>>>Death Sentences: How cliches, weasel words, and mangagement-speak are
>>>strangling public language.
>>>by Don Watson.
>>>
>>>I just hear Watson being interviewed on my local PBS station. This book
>>>came out in Australia in 2003 but may be just arriving on American shores
>>>this year.
>>>
>>>I've added it to my growing wish list and am wondering if anyone here has
>>>read it.
>>>
>>
>>This is the first I've heard of it, but I thank you for bringing it to my
>>attention. This year's office Secret Santa gift taken care of in May -
>>woohoo!
>
>
> This must be the year for it. My local paper had an article on a book
> called Why Business People Speak Like Idiots : A Bullfighter's Guide
> by Brian Fugere. In the business section no less.

And then there's that excellent committee game called "bullshit bingo."
 >> Stay informed about: Death Sentences 

<nancy.DeleteThis@bg.com> wrote in message
news:1115916127.780027.213950@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> "The new phrases and terminology are not meant to obscure. Their
> primary purpose is to make the people that speak it feel cool."
>
> Another purpose may be to take control of a situation through language.
> Recently the journalist Richard Rodriguez spoke in my community. One of
> his most compelling points was the observation that he wants us as a
> society to reclaim our language from the politicians; phrases such as
> "red states" and "blue states" do nothing to help us understand one
> another. They simply blur distinctions, important distinctions at that.
>
I'm only guessing here because I've yet to read the book, but I suspect this
is a large part of Watson's concern: control through language management.

Sam
 >> Stay informed about: Death Sentences 

On Thu, 12 May 2005, herothatdied wrote:

> note to self: this BF thing may not be worth the trouble after all.
> Invest in dog, post-haste!

How long were you with said boyfriend? What species is he?



David <= troll, Grimmly

--
"Old whores don't giggle much."
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 >> Stay informed about: Death Sentences