In recent years I’ve watched with horrified interest – and fear – as right-wing theocrats entrenched in the the Texas Board of Education have fought to insert fundogelical content into the state’s (and, ultimately, the nation’s) public school curriculum. I breathed a quick sigh of relief this evening upon learning that, in a recent election, Don McLeroy, a fundogelical dentist from Bryan, Texas, lost the board seat he had held since 1999.

My sigh was just a little one, though, since the vote was awfully close: 50.4%-49.6%. Also, McLeroy will retain his position until the end of the year (academic rather than calendar year, I pray hope), so he’s still got time to do some damage. Still, I will allow myself to enjoy (for tonight only!) some hope that the futures of both Texas and the USA may not be entirely bleak, and that reason may yet prevail in the world sometime in the current millennium.

– the chaplain

Take a look at what I found in my mailbag this morning:

Hxxxxx Wxxxxx will be having a special experimental treatment “dry run” on March 8th (Monday). Be in prayer that all that needs to fall into place for the treatment to move forward will go right where it needs to go to eliminate the cancer cells. It is a new treatment that has only existed exactly since Hxxxxx was diagnosed with cancer. A miracle!

A miracle, indeed! Gawd didn’t prevent HW from getting cancer, but at least he came up with a miracle treatment just in the nick of time. Too bad about all those other folks who got cancer before HW did and missed out on it.

Maybe Gawd’s next project should be a treatment for narcissism.

– the chaplain

– the chaplain

Ciao! Come sta? Sto molto bene.*

Some of you may have noticed that two of my recent posts have dealt with taboo words. In one of those threads, ildi mentioned Rick Steve, a travel writer and tour guide whose image is that of, as she put it, “a clean-cut middle-class American.”

As it happens, the deacon and I will be traveling to Italy this spring (a factoid that I mentioned here). In preparation for our trip, the deacon gave me Rick Steve’s guides to Venice and Rome as Christmas gifts. This past weekend, I ordered three Italian phrase books from Amazon, two of which arrived yesterday. One of these was Rick Steve’s Italian Phrase Book and Dictionary. Eager to start learning some rudimentary Italian (it may be useful to know, at the very least, how to ask where the bathroom is (Dov’e la toilette? – if you must know)), I perused both books last night. I’m sorry to report that I have not yet committed them to memory. Give me a few weeks and I’ll get back to you on that (ha! I wish!).

As I neared the end of Rick Steve’s book, I was amazed and, I must confess, delighted, to come across this entry:

As musical as these words and phrases sound as they roll off the tongue, I still like the four-letter Anglo-Saxon words to which I am accustomed. For example, “dannazione” is, on my tongue, much more cumbersome than “damn it!” And “vaffanculo” sounds too pleasant to mean “fuck you.” Nor do I think I’ll ever get the hang of saying “merda” when a simple “shit” will suffice. I will admit, though, that “balle” is growing on me, and may soon be nearly as useful a word to me as “bullshit” is. There’s also a strong possibility that “sei uno stronzo” may become a handy substitute for “you are an asshole.” Who knows? Even though I’ve forgotten most of my high school Spanish, I may yet end up getting the hang of this foreign language stuff. In the meantime, I’d better hit the books and learn some words that are more suitable for mixed company.

Uno, due, tre, quattro…

– the chaplain

* Hi. How are you? I am very well.

Some of you may recall that, approximately one year ago, I received Amazon’s Kindle 2 e-reader for Christmas. Now that I’ve been using the reader for nearly a year, I feel I know enough about the instrument, its functions and how I use it to share my impressions and opinions. I will divide my critique into two sections, Pros and Cons, then give a brief conclusion. I’ll begin by listing some Pros, good points and advantages that I’ve found in using the Kindle 2 reader.

PROS
There are several features I like very much about this e-reader. The most obvious of these is having hundreds of books right at hand in one compact, lightweight container. For someone whose work and living spaces have overflowed with books all of my life, this is a very attractive feature. Another feature I like is that many classic works are available at low cost, or even free (as I will point out in the next section, however, book prices are not an entirely consistent benefit). For example, I bought the complete works of Shakespeare, Dickens, Twain and some others, for under $5.00 apiece – some for only $2.00 – $3.00. I also like the fact that books can be purchased and delivered quickly, via the Kindle itself, or via computer (with no pesky sales taxes or shipping charges). Most deliveries take less than a minute via wireless connection (I believe Amazon uses the Sprint-Nextel network). Software upgrades are also delivered wirelessly. The Kindle’s text display is easy on the eyes – black type on a light gray background, and the font sizes are easily adjusted. If you prefer reading blogs, newspapers and magazines, rather than books, plenty of those are also available, with monthly subscription fees.

I’ll close this section with some logistical points. First, the Kindle 2’s battery life is pretty good (mine goes 6-7 days between charges), and one can continue reading while the machine re-charges. Also, backup copies of one’s library are stored at Amazon. So, if one deletes a book, then decides to reload it later, that’s easily done. A relatively new feature that I’ve not used much yet is a computer to Kindle synchronization feature. If one reads something on one’s Kindle, then, sometime later, wants to read the same book on the computer (or vice versa), both machines can be synchronized so that the book will open to exactly where one left off at the last reading. This bookmarking feature also works within the Kindle; one does not have to thumb through the pages to find one’s place – it is electronically bookmarked. One of my favorite features is the built-in New Oxford English dictionary. This is very easy to use; one simply places the cursor in front of the word one wants to look up and the definition appears at the bottom of the display. One can also navigate from that point to the dictionary for a more complete entry about the word. Another feature that is nice, but slightly awkward to use, is the search function. One can search the Kindle (or the Kindle store at Amazon) by typing the search term on the miniature keyboard located at the bottom of the machine.

Having covered some of the Kindle’s good features, I’ll discuss some of its weaknesses next. Please bear in mind that I am discussing only the Kindle 2 – not the Kindle 1 or the newer Kindle DX. Some of the features (good and bad) that I’m discussing here may not apply as readily to the other models.

CONS
Two weaknesses that I find with the Kindle 2 are its inability to display color graphics, and its iffy support for graphics generally, particularly tables, charts and the like. Some illustrations display adequately and others are useless – they’re entirely too small to read. This latter drawback is more serious, in my opinion, than the lack of color display. Nevertheless, upon learning that Dawkins’ The Greatest Show on Earth had numerous color illustrations that I didn’t want to miss, I skipped the Kindle version and bought the hard-cover version instead.

I mentioned above that Kindle’s pricing is not a consistently attractive feature. Most recent publications sell for $9.99 (or, sometimes $7.00 and above), which is a lot considering the fact that electronic books don’t require paper, glue, covers, shipping boxes, etc. Also, scholarly works for the Kindle often don’t sell for much less than their paper & glue counterparts. Since overstock books are frequently at lower prices than the electronic books, I often buy whichever book is less expensive, which is not always the Kindle book. Another drawback to the Kindle 2 is its high price – currently $259.00 USD, not including the costs of literature (one can buy some books with the initial purchase, so that the Kindle will come out of the box with some pre-loaded literature all ready for one to read).

One good feature that is awkward to use is the “search” feature. This is a great idea, but the keyboard at the bottom of the machine is very small – even smaller than that on many cell phones, so typing errors are frequent and frustrating. I’ve also had two or three instances in which the machine has “frozen” to the point where I’ve had difficulty re-booting it. These have been breathtaking occasions when I’ve wondered whether I would be able to resuscitate the machine or would end up burying it someplace nasty. These are not pleasant experiences (I’ve endured too many computer crashes to take these events too lightly).

The final features that I’ll discuss here are the “highlighting” and “comments” features, which are supposed to allow one to mimic the underlining and margin notation practices in which many readers engage. The difficulty I find with these features is that there are only two ways to retrieve one’s notes. First, by physically going through the book again, or second, by going to an area called “My Clippings” where the notes are stored. I find it cumbersome to navigate through “My Clippings,” (and the books too – perhaps I just need to master the “search” function better) so I don’t do much highlighting or note-taking on the Kindle anymore. If I want to “clip” something, I just type it into a computer file and save it there. Another reason I don’t use the highlighting feature is my discovery that, if the battery is getting low, trying to highlight a passage is a good way to freeze the machine.

CONCLUSION
I like using my Kindle 2, but I haven’t abandoned paper & glue books yet. I’ve taken the Kindle on trips within the USA and have loved its lightweight, easy portability. Nevertheless, I will not be taking the Kindle to Italy this spring (although the deacon intends to take his). For that trip, I’m just more comfortable with the idea of buying some paperbacks to read on planes, trains, etc. If I leave a $7.99 paperback behind, I won’t miss it much. In fact, I may leave it behind intentionally once I’ve read it. I won’t feel the same way if I leave my Kindle behind.

I imagine that electronic books will be the norm in the future. Shortcomings of current readers will be corrected and improvements to the technology will continue to develop. One day, perhaps even within my lifetime, it is likely that paper & glue books will be antique pieces, much like vinyl records and record players are today. Until that time, I’ll keep straddling the fence between both types of books and taking advantage of the particular strengths of each medium.

– the chaplain

Let me say, right from the start, that this post probably is not about what you think it’s about. Don’t blame me. Blame Christopher Fairman, the author of the book under discussion here.  Let me also say that, if you take a quick look at the title of Fairman’s book (and miss, overlook or ignore the subtitle), you may be dismayed to discover that his book is not about what you might have thought it would be about either. Nevertheless, if you care at all about freedom of speech and ideas, this is a book you probably should read.

In this provocatively titled book, Fairman discusses the word “fuck” in great detail. He discusses the power of the word, much of which derives from its status as a taboo word and the object of word fetish. He discusses the word’s etymology, linguistic and psycholinguistic contexts, its historical uses as a referent to sex and in other ways (as political speech, for example), and its inconsistent judicial status in American jurisprudence. His primary purpose in doing this is to encourage all who care about freedom of thought and speech to protect the use of all language in the formulation and transmission of ideas. Fairman says,

Whether you shout it in the street or whisper it in the bedroom, say it deliberately as a political protest or accidentally let it slip out, make a single fleeting reference or sing an expletive-laden rant, intend to be funny or downright foul, if you say “fuck,” someone wants to silence you. We shouldn’t passively watch as tiny coalitions with a webpage and a word fetish take some of our words away. When it’s the government trying to cleanse your language, you should really worry. We shouldn’t tolerate any part of our representative government mucking around in our words….

At issue isn’t just protection for some entertainer’s potty mouth. Words are ideas. If the government can control the words we say, it can also control what we think. Ultimately, my concern is for the preservation of our most basic liberty – a freedom of the mind (p.10).

Fairman’s historical discussion of “fuck” begins with the observation that the word has systematically been excluded from most English dictionaries. He calls this “a deliberate attempt to cleanse the language of this word” (p.37). He also alerts readers that some of the urban legends about the origin of the word as an acronym (For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge and Fornication Under Consent of the King) are false, and explains why this is so. Notwithstanding concerted attempts to wipe the word “fuck” clean out of the English language, the word has been resilient. He explains the reasons for this in a chapter devoted to linguistic and psycholinguistic analyses of the word. One reason for its longevity is its ability to be used in many ways – as a verb (in this case, often with a sexual meaning), an adverb or adjective (these uses are not usually sexual), as a noun (this could be a sexual meaning, but often is not), or simply as an interjection.

One of the evidences of the power of taboo, and the power of fuck as the object of both taboo and fetish, is the use of euphemisms (f-word, f*ck, etc.) in place of the word itself, a practice that Fairman derides as “silly” (p.57). “Fuck” as the object of taboo is in play when its use is avoided (by some) and when its use is deliberately intended (by others) to shock and/or offend; “fuck” as the object of fetish is in play when people have extremely negative emotional reactions to the term and seek to prohibit its use in all circumstances (pp. 59-60). Fairman discusses examples of the fuck taboos and fetishes in TV, music, workplaces, classrooms and even courtrooms.

Since Fairman is a lawyer and professor of law, it’s not surprising that much of his book deals with legal cases surrounding various uses of the word “fuck.” The body of work devoted to legal parsings of this humble little word is quite large, varied and interesting. Not surprisingly, given the seemingly schizophrenic character of American society, the legal status of the word “fuck” is inconsistent, and, consequently, unclear. Sometimes it’s obscenity, sometimes it’s not. Sometimes it’s protected speech, sometimes it’s not. Fairman contends that this state of uncertainty is not healthy for civic discourse. He bluntly concludes,

The future of fuck is clear. If we continue to allow the state to pick and choose the words we can use and the context in which we can use them, freedom is at stake…. Once that word is extinguished, gone are its literally hundreds of uses, hence hundreds of ideas…. Now you might think I’m an alarmist and that the First Amendment stands to prevent precisely what I foreshadow. But before you discount my fears, please remember: Fuck is being fucked in the shadow of the First Amendment. Neither a Commission nor a court nor a cop should have power over our ideas. To ensure freedom of the mind, fuck must be set free (p. 191).

Fairman’s book is well-written, easily grasped and a worthwhile read for anyone with any interest at all in freedom of speech, freedom of conscience and freedom of thought. As you’ve no doubt gathered by now, the book’s provocative title was chosen deliberately, precisely because the word “fuck” is tremendously evocative and powerful. It was also chosen deliberately because it is a marginalized (perhaps even endangered) word. When words are marginalized and endangered, the marginalization and endangerment of ideas is not far behind. Freethinkers and freedom lovers can never, in good conscience, allow the intolerance, marginalization and extinction of words and ideas to go unchallenged. I, for one, am indebted to Christopher Fairman for speaking out for my right to fuck.

– the chaplain

This weekend’s snowstorm is the fourth – count ‘em, four – major snowfall we’ve had in northern Virginia this winter. It’s also the third – count ‘em, three – snowfall we’ve had this week. This past Tuesday’s snowfall of 3 inches or so (which, in any normal winter in these parts would have been major news) pales in comparison to the two weekend storms that surrounded it. It has now been snowing for over 24 hours and it is supposed to keep snowing for several hours more.

I’ll start by offering you a comparison of last week’s view from my window with this week’s view, which is still in progress as I type.

You can see that there’s a considerable difference between what happened then and what is happening now.

As a bonus, I’m also going to show you a view from my front stoop.

You can see that the maintenance guy has cleared some pathways. As I type, the poor fellow is out there again, shoveling the snow from my stoop and plowing the path again. Just before I took this picture, I measured the snow on the pathway (which had been cleared two hours before I got out there) and found that it was about 4 inches deep. So, as you look at the photo, keep in mind that the low bit is four inches deep and see for yourself how much deeper the untouched snow is. You can also see that, if the guy hadn’t cleared away some of the snow from the fire hydrant (lower right hand edge), it would be buried. The accumulation thus far is at least two feet deep. It’s 95% (or more) fresh snow, because most of the stuff that fell on us last weekend and earlier this week had melted by midweek.

I’ll close this post with a photo I took after Tuesday’s snowfall. You know, the one that Phil predicted hours before it happened (maybe there is something to this groundhog prognostication thing!). This photo was taken the day after Groundhog Day (as was the one in the 50 Word Bible post) and, I must admit, the snow was gorgeous that morning.

That’s all for now. I think it’s about time to enjoy some hot Irish cocoa!

– the chaplain

Punxsatawney Phil spoke. It was not good news for sun worshipers.

– the chaplain

Saturday, January 30, 2010 – 3:17 p.m. EST:

– the chaplain