30 July 2009

They Can't Take That Away from Me

Even as a child I was a voracious reader, in fact some of my earliest memories are of reading books. This deep and prolonged exposure to the written word, to literature, has given me an almost innate sense of grammar. (Though anyone who's read Chomsky's non-political oeuvre is aware there's a school of thought that says grammar by its very existance is innate.)

And so while I may not know how to concisely define either the subjunctive or the indicative, or be able to clearly state how one conjugates the pluperfect, or even confidently delineate why one hyphenates a compound adjectival phrase but not an adverbial one, by virtue of being well read it seems I can craft a passably grammatical sentence.

Yet like many people, I've been frustrated by the seeming lack of a grammatically acceptable, universally inclusive pronoun that can represent a whole comprised of one or both genders, and one person or multiple people. Specifically I've been frustrated that the pronoun "they" seemed to fit the bill, but was formally defined as being plural and thus not appropriate for the task.

Therefore I was quite delighted to see John Gruber at Daring Fireball post a link to the On Language column in The New York Times Magazine which not only defended "they" as both singular and plural, but stated that there was a historical precedent for using "they" to represent nouns both one and many, both masculine and feminine.

This will surprise a few purists, but for centuries the universal pronoun was they. Writers as far back as Chaucer used it for singular and plural, masculine and feminine. Nobody seemed to mind that they, them and their were officially plural. As Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage explains, writers were comfortable using they with an indefinite pronoun like everybody because it suggested a sexless plural."


Since Chaucer‽ Since the late 1300's‽ Then why was my high-school English teacher (metaphorically) rapping my knuckles for "misusing" plural pronouns in the 1980's‽ (No worries, I've constrained all my interrobangs to this paragraph.)

Using "they" in this pluripotent way has always felt right to me, almost instinctually. Now we have proper grammarians providing a historical framework for this usage, and encouraging the Twitterati to keep pushing this now-common use until it becomes standard once again. Bless them.


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They Can't Take That Away from MeSong written by George and Ira Gershwin, performed by Billie Holiday (among many, many others)Billie Holiday - The Complete Billie Holiday - They Can't Take That Away from Me

29 July 2009

C'est si bon

Earlier today, Ana Marie Cox re-tweeted from Maud Newton a link to a video of bartender Del Pedro making Gin Gimlets, inspired by a passage in the Raymond Chandler classic, The Long Goodbye.

The recipe is simple:

2 oz. Gin
¾ oz. fresh lime juice
¼ oz. Rose's Lime Juice

Shake ingredients with ice, strain into glass.

Oddly enough, I had all the necessary ingredients. So I thought it might be interesting to try this recipe, and perhaps even video myself making it.

But since Jake doesn't have opposable thumbs, it's up to me to hold the iPhone and make the drink. Hmmm. Not sure how well this will work, especially since I have to do it in one take, and I've had a couple of practice rounds already...



Well, there you go. Just shake the lime juice, the Rose's, and the gin, then strain. Delicious.


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C'est si bonSong by Henri Betti, with French lyrics by AndrĂ© Hornez and English lyrics by Jerry Seelen; performed by Louis ArmstrongC'est si bon—Louis Armstrong

Simmer Down

It feels like everything is moving much too fast these days. Either I've become the world's most stereotypical grouchy old man, or life is moving at an unacceptably fast clip. For example, the July 4th holiday weekend was less than a month ago, yet it feels like three months ago. I do not like this feeling.


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Simmer DownSong by Bob Marley and The WailersBob Marley & The Wailers - The Birth of a Legend - Simmer Down

21 July 2009

It Keeps You Runnin'

This month marks the fourth year that I've been blogging. Interesting.

If anyone out there is following along, even periodically, I hope they're enjoying themselves. I know I am.


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It Keeps You Runnin'Song by The Doobie BrothersThe Doobie Brothers - The Very Best of The Doobie Brothers - It Keeps You Runnin'

05 July 2009

Thine alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human tears!

The morning of the Fourth of July, I attached a steel flagpole bracket to the front porch of my house, so I could fly the American flag proudly on our Day of Independence.

Afterward, I looked up and down my block, but mine was the only flag I could see. I knew that two blocks down in front of Fire Station #1 there was a flag flying, and two block in the other direction there'd be a flag in front of the Louden Nelson Community Center, but mine appeared to be the only American flag on a residence that I could see.

Perhaps my neighbors didn't have flags. After all, it's been eight years since most anyone around here has had any faith, let alone pride, in their government. Or perhaps they couldn't fly a flag, as many of them are renters and don't have the right to attach a flag to their house or apartment.

No matter. My personal admiration for the Obama administration was enough to inspire me to proudly raise the Stars and Stripes, and there could not have been a more beautiful day to do so. The sky was clear and blue and the temperature was mild; a perfect day to sit on the porch with Jake and offer a hearty greeting to the passersby.

Addendum: after reading this post my friend Gregory chided me, saying I should "fly the flag regardless of whether or not you support the particular Commander In Chief currently in place. I think it's particularly important to remain patriotic during the troubling times in America while we work to make it better." And he's right.

In my haste to finish a blog post, I used the Obama administration as a shorthand to represent the social and political awakening taking place in the United States during the past couple of years. It was a lazy characterization, but worse it left the wrong impression. I raised my flag on the Fourth of July not because I support only this specific CINC, but because I am so proud that people across this nation are electing responsible representatives and demanding accountability from officials, and I believe the current administration is encouraging and supporting this resurgence of citizenship.

In the most literal sense, a flag represents a country; a marker used at multinational gatherings. But when you, an individual, raise a flag it's no longer a simple marker, it's a proxy for your own patriotism. It becomes imbued with your beliefs about citizenship, governance, rights, and responsibilities. And if the country doesn't currently match your beliefs, flying the flag is an inspiration to you to work for the greater good. (This is also why many people find it so offensive to see the Confederate flag flown, as they don't want to believe there are people in the US currently striving to divide the Union and enslave parts of the population.)

Therefore, I should have been as eager to raise my flag last year or the year before as I was this year. It should have been as natural as studying position papers, donating to progressive candidates, canvassing loved ones, or any of the other things I've been doing to help America reach her potential.


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"Thine alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human tears!"Lyrics from America the Beautiful — words by Katherine Lee Bates, melody by Samuel Ward, covered by Mannheim Steamroller (and countless others)Mannheim Steamroller & C.W. McCall - American Spirit - America the Beautiful

03 July 2009

Miles and miles left to go, miles from anything we know.

Yeah, mid-afternoon on the first day of a three-day weekend is not a good time to drive to Santa Cruz.

Took a look at the map while eating lunch, and the traffic on southbound 17 is backed up all the way 'till it ends at the 280! And once you plod your way through the mountains, it gets really bad again in Scotts Valley, all the way into Santa Cruz. Yuck.

Glad I'm already here, and won't be moving the car all weekend.

What's interesting is that the traffic doesn't continue southbound on 1 to go deeper into the county. I guess everyone's headed specifically to Santa Cruz, probably to catch The Smithereens at their free concert at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk tonight.


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"Miles and miles left to go, miles from anything we know."Lyrics from the song Miles from Nowhere by The SmithereensThe Smithereens - From Jersey It Came! - The Smithereens Anthology - Miles from Nowhere