November 22
I am actually trying to make two statements here about
two different and unrelated words. When I worked for the government, I took a
course in Plain Language, a movement you can read about easily on the Internet
if you Google it. I generally agree with what the Plain Language movement
advocates, but there is one word that I am now convicted to defend, and that is
the word "utilise." Since taking that course and learning about
trying to eliminate unnecessary words from the English language, like utilise,
I have been trying to substitute "use" for "utilise" every
time. I've arrived at the point where I think utilise actually has its own
purpose that maybe it is just used in the wrong places many times. There were
some times when "use" just didn't seem to be as appropriate as
"utilise" depending on the concept. It seems to me that although its
meaning may be thought to be the same as for the word "use," it has a
different connotation. If I utilise something, I think I make use of it, which
seems to encompass more than if I simply use it. Indeed, even the Oxford
English dictionary indicates this. It defines the verb utilise as to make
practical and effective use of. Of the word "use" where Plain
Language proponents would argue that it can replace utilise, the OED defines
use as to take, hold, or deploy as a means of achieving something. In an
extreme example, I perchance use my computer, but I do not really utilise it.
That is to say I use to achieve some ends, but I don't really utilise it all
the time. I don't use it as effectively as I could for various reasons, such as
I didn't read the instruction book, or I'm too daft to figure out the
programming aspects of it or some such thing. Maybe it's just me, but I think
that utilise definitely has its own place in the English lexicon.
As for succinct, my comment only has to do with the ironic way it in which people use it. I first heard the word from one of my anthropology professors, who used it in one of his classes. He often used vocabulary I didn't know, so I would write them down and look them up. I instantly loved the word succinct. Not only is it a word that has aesthetic appeal to me, but it also has a great meaning. It sounds better than using brief or concise all the time. I like having options :o) But what I've been noticing a lot lately, for some reason, is that people will say something like: "It's nice and short, succinct, and to the point." The word succinct alone would suffice to mean the same thing. It's nice and succinct. By saying short and to the point, it's just being redundant, and in no way, is the statement in itself succinct. I guess the true irony would be in stating the word succinct is short, brief, succinct, and to the point. But I just find it a funny statement when people are so redundant with that particular word.
As for succinct, my comment only has to do with the ironic way it in which people use it. I first heard the word from one of my anthropology professors, who used it in one of his classes. He often used vocabulary I didn't know, so I would write them down and look them up. I instantly loved the word succinct. Not only is it a word that has aesthetic appeal to me, but it also has a great meaning. It sounds better than using brief or concise all the time. I like having options :o) But what I've been noticing a lot lately, for some reason, is that people will say something like: "It's nice and short, succinct, and to the point." The word succinct alone would suffice to mean the same thing. It's nice and succinct. By saying short and to the point, it's just being redundant, and in no way, is the statement in itself succinct. I guess the true irony would be in stating the word succinct is short, brief, succinct, and to the point. But I just find it a funny statement when people are so redundant with that particular word.
10:11 PM | Permalink | English Language
November 15
Or so I used
to be called at one point in my life. I am often at a loss as to what to write
about here, but I remembered that people often ask my advice about restaurants.
Now that I have my own site, I thought, why not add my own list of favourite
restaurants? To those of you in Edmonton, I hope you find this useful.
12:33 PM | Permalink
November 14
On
Saturday, November 11, we marked Remembrance Day (Veterans' Day in the US).
This date was chosen based on the declaration of peace and the cessation of
hostilities of the First World War, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the
11th month. I would not go so far as to say I'm on a crusade to have our
current generation respect and understand the significance of this day, but I
know when I was growing up, I felt that my own generation did not understand
the importance of Remembrance Day because we had never known war. Our dads
would not have fought in any war (the most recent that Canada was involved in
would have been the Korean War), and we certainly had no war to face when we
graduated from high school or university. With our soldiers now in Afghanistan
(and some of them dying), this has all changed. We not only have reason to
remember what soldiers did for us a long time ago, we have fallen soldiers to appreciate
now.
My
appreciation always stemmed from my grandpa's experience fighting in WW2. It
was something he rarely talked about, except for the funny anecdotes, but twice
in my life, I had the chance to hear him tell me about him getting captured by the
Germans and about his only full blood brother getting killed and leaving behind
a wife and child he never met. It's the latter story that caused me to see my
grandpa cry for the one and only time in my life, and I tried to imagine how it
would be if I had been in the same situation, how I might feel. So on
Remembrance Day, even if I don't know any other veterans, I remember my grandpa
and what he went through.
My
cousin mentioned the other day that there are now white poppies people can buy
to protest war. The red poppies are used in the UK, if not France and Belgium,
as well as Canada, to mark the poppies that grew over the graves of thousands
of soldiers buried in Flanders Fields in Belgium. Now, people are trying to
protest war by encouraging people to wear white ones instead. Well, I'm not a
proponent of war; I certainly won't be the first in line if suddenly they need
a bunch of volunteers, but I think that while you may not agree with war, you
can still support our troops, past and present. The reality is that there are
guys over in Afghanistan now, and their friends are falling. Whether or not
it's for the right reasons, the white poppy will not make those dead people
come back or ease the pain of those who lost someone. I don't know if the white
poppy supporters intend any disrespect, but for me, even if I disagree with the
war now, I still want to wear a red poppy to remember the guys from past wars.
You can't tell me it was wrong to combat Hitler, who would surely have
controlled a significant portion of Europe if not parts of other continents in
the world, had someone not put a stop to it. What about remembering the
sacrifice of those who fought in that war? I certainly do and plan to continue
doing so in the future.
P.S. I
realise this colour combination is not easy to read, but I wanted to use the
combination of the red and black of our poppies.
5:34 PM | Permalink | News and politics
November 10
OK,
so the first snow was a while ago by now, but I still wanted to post a few
photos. When the snow fell, most of the leaves were still on the trees, at
least on our block, so our yard turned into this white blanket of snow with a
miscellaneous pattern of brightly-coloured autumn leaves. It was quite a grey
day when I took these photos, so the colour of the leaves doesn't really stand
out the way I saw it, but it gives you an idea. And for those of you in Mexico
that keep up to date with me, this is the type of winter I am used to: one
where snow falls around the end of October, as was the case here, and stays
around until the spring. I think we might manage that this year. We already
have 14cm of snow, and the forecast for tonight calls for more snow yet,
perhaps another 1-3cm, while I heavily dislike the driving conditions the snow
creates, it helps me to know that global warming--and El Nino this year, for
that matter--haven't quite got a complete grip on us yet. And I'm sure that
farmers are pretty happy about the snow cover, assuming they have in the rural
areas the snow we have in the city. I am not fond of the cold, but I am happy
to see that we are having a normal winter so far.
I
also would like to point out that I've added some photos, as I said I would
before, to the Harvest Glory album. I took these photos when I went out for a
walk one day. I wanted to discover some of the river valley paths going through
my area that I had so far never walked before, and I wanted to do it while the
trees were still in their harvest glory. One of my most favourite sights is
seeing the brilliant fall colour contrasted with the bright blue, afternoon
sky. It's like nature knows how to match colours without any instruction from
artists or style gurus. It's one of the things I've noticed that I love about
the prairies at harvest time, seeing the golden yellow of a crop of barley,
wheat, or oats, or a bright yellow field of canola against a blue sky for as
far as the eye can see. In my opinion, it is unmatched. Back to my walk that
day, though, I have one photo in there of the stairs I took to get to the path.
It seemed to me that they led into a dark abyss, and as I had no idea where
they really led, I was a little concerned. I learned after that my biggest
concern would be getting back up them as there are over 100 steps, about 134 of
them. Yikes!
10:57 PM | Permalink
November 07
I've
been baking a lot lately. OK, it hasn't been quite a storm yet, but relative to
the amount that I normally bake, I think I've been producing a lot. I've baked
2 batches of muffins and one black forest cake in the last 3 weeks. I'm finding
that I enjoy it a lot--and of course, it produces tasty results. If you're in
the market for a great chocolate cake recipe, let me know, and I'll forward it
to you. It's a nice, dense, but not too rich cake; just the way I like it! The
muffins are just great. The whole concept of the muffin is great, though. I
mean, here you have a tasty food that can contain all kinds of healthy stuff in
it, like nuts, fruit, dairy, fibre, and whole grains. I feel like just baking a
lot of muffins all the time. I think if I had my own business, I wouldn't mind
having a bakery. That would be cool, although it might be a fattening job!
Outside
of that, I finally have a new job. I'll be working with the (non-profit name
removed due to potential legal implications), starting out as an admin
assistant and working my way into something else. Some of my friends think I'm
crazy, considering I had an opportunity to work at an IT company doing HR work
for about $10,000 more per year, but that work would be boring for me, and I
certainly wouldn't feel like I'm contributing to helping my society in some
way. The people at the (unnamed) are super supportive and warm, and one of my
friends already works there--Kelly, the one I visited in London and probably
wrote about going to Tooting Broadway with, for those of you keeping up with
the travel part of my blog. With Kelly there, I won't even have to worry about
finding a lunch buddy!
12:52 PM | Read comments (1) | Permalink
October 20
I
have to use something bright today on this gray day. It is snowing outside, but
it is wet snow, and the damp, cold weather has succeeded in doing nothing to
improve my even grayer mood. Gray days are always reflective days for me, and
today, I'm reflecting on job interviews.
I've
started to realise that job interviews are like taking exams in school. I mean,
they are obviously exams of a sort, but what reminds me of the exam process is
the post-interview period. Many people I knew could come out of an exam saying,
"Yes! I aced it!" or "I'm pretty sure I didn't do very
well." In my case, whenever I thought I had done well, I did poorly, and
when I thought I hadn't done well, I ended up scoring high. I got to the point
where I would come out of an exam having no idea how I really did, realising
that I only really knew the answers to two-thirds or 75% of the questions. The
only times I really had a good idea if I did well was if I had an essay in
place of an exam. Then I could guarantee myself a good grade most of the time.
What I've come to learn about myself is that I excel in writing and that I
don't think in multiple-choice ways or succeed in impromptu speaking on
subjects about which I know very little or am unprepared to speak. Writing
helps me to organise my thoughts and beliefs, whether I write them in the form
of an essay, story, email, or poem. I had another interview this morning, this
one with the Faculty of Nursing, and I really cannot gauge how it went. They
are looking for strong writers, and while I am, I haven't any publications
outside my master's thesis to prove it.
Back
when I wrote the Graduate Records Examination in order to apply to several
different grad schools, my analytical score (basically doing logic problems)
was my highest score, where I appeared in the 85th percentile, and my verbal
skills were the lowest at about the 60th or 65th percentile. I was so dismayed
because even when my grammar abilities were worse, I was still considered to be
a local grammar guru to many people I knew. The verbal section really caught me
on the vocabulary section, where I had to state the antonym to words like
"bucolic", which, according the Educational Testing Service, is a
word that everyone with a Bachelor's degree would know. It started me thinking
that maybe I express myself in ways that are more abstract or harder to
quantify. I love texture and timbre, pitch and posey, shape and shade, and hue
upon hue. Maybe that is the reason why I excel in the creative arts the most.
I'm
having a hard time trying to figure out how to advertise myself as a
proofreader to make some extra money while I'm looking for a job, but maybe
what I'll start doing is finishing up a few paintings, posting them on my blog,
and hope that some stranger will see them and want to buy one. Let me tax your
gray matter no longer with my drivel!
8:52 AM | Permalink
October 14
It
excites me that there are people I don't even know that read my blog, and I
invite you to please leave comments--nice ones hopefully--to let me know if you
enjoyed passing through my world. It surprises me that my life would interest
enough of my own friends and family let alone complete strangers, but it
doesn't upset me, that's for sure! I was even happy to see someone hit my site
because they searched for Maltbie Davenport Babcock--a far cry from those
people that were directed to my site by looking for X-rated material!
Not
a whole lot to report on in the last week or so. Last weekend continued to have
odd events occurring, but not as many on one day as what happened last Friday.
It was bizarre. For those of you on my msn, you may have noticed my comment
about going to jail, and that's because I may be starting work in Edmonton's
federal prison for women. The only problem is that we don't know when it will
start because the project (meaning funding) is still awaiting approval, so I
may still be incomeless for a while.
Outside
of that there is little to amuse you in my life at the moment. The main reason
I leave a message today is to point out some fall pictures I took and wanted to
share with you. The colour is brilliant, but photos cannot capture the almost
golden glow that seems to emanate from the centre of the trees. My best friend
Angela wrote on her blog that it seemed to her that the colours were more
brilliant this year, and I had independently thought the same thing, so maybe
it's not just our own perceptions. I have more pictures that are still on my
camera, but I'll post some of the ones I have for now. They were taken around
my university and around the area where I live.
4:08 PM | Read comments (1) | Permalink
October 06
I can't say
that everything went wrong today, but enough things did--and then they
didn't--to make it a very strange day. First of all, I was sleeping at this
lady's house last night (too long of a story for those of you that don't
already know who this is), and when I came home this morning, I was supposed to
find an empty house, save for my roommate's brother, who would have been fast
asleep in his own bed in the basement suite of the house. Kelly's 7am flight
would almost have reached her Kelowna destination. Well, when I came home, her
bro was definitely sleeping, but it was because he had no reason to wake up to
take her to the airport. Kelly herself appeared out of her room! Through an
alarm clock error, she slept in and missed her flight. Little did I know that
would be just the start of things.
Our gas metre
used to be in our basement, so the City of Edmonton guys were supposed to come
out at 11am today to change it to an outside metre, meaning the gas guy
wouldn't require anyone to be home to come and read the metre. Well, crews
showed up around 8am. Not that I mind it when they come earlier than later,
especially as this meant they would be gone before I had to leave for my lunch
date today, but as a result of their arrival, our nosey neighbour phoned us up
at 8:15am to see why all these people were there, despite the fact that she had
the same work done to her gas metre earlier in the summer! I also couldn't shower
because they had turned off the gas, meaning there would be no hot water.
A short while
later, Kelly left to the airport just to see if she could get on the next
flight out as a standby passenger. I decided to get some work done, put in a
few resumes, email my lunch date today to decide where to meet, and all those
sorts of good things. I get to my computer, and the Internet isn't working! I
couldn't figure out what happened! Then I remembered that Telus (the phone
company, for those of you from out of province/country) had sent us an upgraded
modem, and it was sitting at the post office ready for pickup, so off I went to
retrieve it. When I got it home, I started trying to set it up, but it turned
out I needed the Telus username and password for the Telus account, and I had
no idea what that was since the account is in the landlady's name, and she
happens to live in BC! I knew Kelly would be able to work it out, except that
she might be on her way to Kelowna, which would mean I would have no access to
the Internet until she came back. How I depend on my Internet these days; it's
sad, no? Well, I needed to cancel lunch with my friend for sure, but I didn't
even have a phone number for her. She has recently started her job, and she has
been having problems with her work number not functioning, so we had only been
in email contact. So what to do. I phoned Mom (always a good idea when you're
in trouble!)
Mom emailed my
friend for me with my phone number so she could call me and hopefully make a
plan for a postponed lunch. Then she suggested I go to her house and shower and
use the Internet there. So that was the plan when Kelly appeared at home again.
I guess there were so many people already on standby that there was no chance
for her, and being that it is the Thanksgiving long weekend, flights were
booked solid the whole weekend.
Kelly started
trying to get the modem hooked up, but when she unpacked her laptop, it was
almost too hot to touch, and it wouldn't turn on, even though it had been off
since last night. We still don't know what happened. At a last attempt for
help, she decided to call Telus, thinking we could at least set up the Internet
on my laptop, but the phone wouldn't even work! We found another phone to use,
and then for some reason, her computer decided to work, and we were able to get
Telus to help set up the modem. By that point, I still needed to shower and
leave for an afternoon meeting, not to mention put in some resumes for jobs
whose deadlines are today, so the day was crazy enough indeed.
My lunch date
suggested all this may be on account of today's full moon, and she might be
right!!! I've used black and orange on purpose to represent the spookiness we
are experiencing this Halloween month! :o)
4:32 PM | Permalink
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