“A generous, sensitive, intelligent and literate book that despite its generosity, sensitivity, humanity, and literacy, manages to be a deadly bore.”
The New Yorker
Excerpted from: Barnard, Andre, and Bill Henderson, eds. Pushcart’s Complete Rotten Reviews and Rejections. Wainscott, NY: Pushcart Press, 1998.
Posted in English Language Arts, Quotes
Tagged fiction/literature, humor, literary oddities
“standard English: The language that is used by the vast majority of newspapers, magazines, and books published in the United States, as well as by most television networks, government agencies, universities, and employers. Critics object that requiring students to learn standard English discriminates against those who do not speak or write standard English and privileges those who do. Yet the ability to read, speak, and comprehend standard English is necessary for anyone who hopes to advance in school, higher education, the professions, or the business world.”
Excerpted from: Ravitch, Diane. EdSpeak: A Glossary of Education Terms, Phrases, Buzzwords, and Jargon. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2007.
“Mobile: A kinetic sculpture that consists of forms connected by wires or rods and wire. Because it hangs free, it is set in motion by air currents. Devised in 1932 by Alexander Calder.”
Excerpted from: Diamond, David G. The Bulfinch Pocket Dictionary of Art Terms. Boston: Little Brown, 1992.
“Answers: A mechanism for avoiding questions.
This might be called obsessional avoidance or a manic syndrome. It is based on the belief that the possession of an education—particularly if it leads to professional or expert status, and, above all, if it involves some responsibility or power—carries with it an obligation to provide the answer to every question posed in your area of knowledge. This has become much more than the opiate of the rational elites. It may be the West’s most serious addiction.
Time is of the essence in this process. An inability to provide the answer immediately is a professional fault. The availability of unlimited facts can produce an equally unlimited number of absolute powers in most areas. Memory is not highly regarded. Right answers which turn out to be wrong are simply replaced by a new formula. The result of these sequential truths is an assertive or declarative society which admires neither reflection nor doubt and has difficulty with the idea that to most questions there are many answers, none of them absolute and few of them satisfactory except in a limited way.”
Excerpted from: Saul, John Ralston. The Doubter’s Companion. New York: The Free Press, 1994.
“Commonplace (noun): An obvious or trite comment or opinion; routine, unremarkable observation.
‘When he first noticed me, he tried to flummox me by addressing me in Latin, but I was equal to that dodge, and after a few commonplaces, we changed to English.’ Robertson Davies, Fifth Business”
Excerpted from: Grambs, David. The Random House Dictionary for Writers and Readers. New York: Random House, 1990.
“An ounce of hypocrisy is worth a pound of ambition.”
Excerpted from: Winokur, Jon, ed. The Big Curmudgeon. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2007.
Posted in Quotes, Social Sciences
Tagged fiction/literature, humor, literary oddities
“Whom did novelist Henry Fielding summon to court for the murder of the English language? Poet laureate Colley Cibber in 1740. Fielding issued the summons under the pseudonym ‘Captain Hercules Vinegar.’”
Excerpted from: Corey, Melinda, and George Ochoa. Literature: The New York Public Library Book of Answers. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993.
Posted in English Language Arts, Quotes, Reference
Tagged fiction/literature, humor, literary oddities, poetry
“social cognition: A term used by social and developmental psychologists to refer to how people come to be concerned with the actions, thought, and feelings of others. This area of study examines how social perceptions develop, how individuals make social judgments, and how others affect an individual’s self-concept. Many children with learning disabilities have significant deficits in social cognition as well as academic difficulties.”
Excerpted from: Turkington, Carol, and Joseph R. Harris, PhD. The Encyclopedia of Learning Disabilities. New York: Facts on File, 2006.
“A prating barber asked Archelaus how he would be trimmed. He answered, ‘In silence.’”
Excerpted from: Winokur, Jon, ed. The Big Curmudgeon. New York: Black Dog & Leventhal, 2007.
“Thorstein (Bunde) Veblen: (1857-1929) U.S. economist. Born in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, he grew up in Minnesota and earned a PhD in philosophy from Yale University. He taught economics at the University of Chicago and other universities but was unable to keep any position for long because of his unconventional ideas and the disorder in his personal life. In 1899 he published his classic work The Theory of the Leisure Class, which applied Darwin’s evolutionary theories to the study of modern economic life, highlighting the competitive and predatory nature of the business world. With dry humor he identified the markers of American social class, and he coined the term ‘conspicuous consumption’ to describe the display of wealth made by the upper class. His reputation was highest in the 1930s, when the Great Depression was seen as a vindication of his criticism of the business system.”
Excerpted from: Stevens, Mark A., Ed. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Encyclopedia. Springfield, Massachusetts: Merriam-Webster, 2000.
Posted in Quotes, Reference, Social Sciences
Tagged professional development, readings/research, united states history
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