Why is Spelling and Punctuation so Important?

Recently, two gaffs by Guilford County Department of Transportation employees made regional, if not national news, and made us look like idiots. A road crew painted "SHCOOL" instead of "SCHOOL" on the newly paved road leading to Southern Guilford High School. Also, a few weeks earlier, the word "Guilford" was misspelled on a detour sign at Wendover Avenue near I-40, to "Guiliford." This made local news; WGHP covered it on both their television broadcast and their website. But a friend of mine told me that it was also reported as far as her new hometown of Downington, PA.

This seems to be following a national trend. A writer, Jeff Deck, took his friend, Benjamin D. Herson, on a trek across the nation to find typographic errors on street signs and to correct the mistakes if possible. The adventure is chronicled in the book "The Great Typo Hunt." Apostrophe "s"s where there should be plural "s"s, misspellings, and poor grammar line the streets and shops of America.

So, what's the big deal? Why is the spelling of "SCHOOL" and GUILFORD" important? Who cares about apostrophe "s"s anyway, you might be thinking. There are more important things to worry about. Everybody knows what is meant, right?

The point is that in no other English speaking country could I imagine that such a gaff would take place. It would be considered idiocy, precisely because it is such a small deal. If it is considered a part of a person's basic education to know the rules of the language that the person speaks, then anyone, under any circumstances, should not have a problem with using English properly. This is why employers ask if you have a high school education when you apply for a job, to make sure that the basics are covered. Frankly, to misspell "SCHOOL" directly outside of a school is not just plainly stupid, but is emblematic of the quality of education that we give our children in America.

American culture left behind much from European culture that it did not consider of practical necessity. We are a pragmatic people, and if there is no practical use for something, then we tend to ignore it, or to not waste time on it. This, taken to an extreme, can cause us to view rules such as avoidance of dangling participles to be of no consequence. In the "real world," we think, such things do not cost me money, do not get in the way of performing a task, and are therefore considered unimportant. "Who Cares?" may as well replace "E Pluribus Unum" as our national motto.

We commit the sin of ignorance combined with arrogance, acting like we rule the world while advertising by our actions that we are slipshod, careless, and don't take the time to be thorough in any endeavor that we undertake. We signal that we can easily have the wool pulled over our eyes, and in fact this has happened to many Americans, who did not take the time to read the contracts that they signed, or to understand the systems that run our society or the companies in which we invest. While poor grammar is in itself a small thing, it is an example of the sloth that has led us into the mess in which we find ourselves today.

America, stop being stupid!

Obama Cancels Offshore Oil Lease Sales in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico

More good news, in my opinion:
Obama Cancels Offshore Oil Lease Sales in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico
I know that this shuts down potential sites for energy resources, but look at the larger picture. We really don't know how to handle offshore drilling safely, and spills such as the Deep Sea Horizon are unacceptable as business as usual. And we will need to move to cleaner energy sources sooner than later.

Looks like they capped it!

Well, it would be wrong of me to not mention a success - no matter how long awaited - in dealing with the oil spill. But, as you can see, a temporary measure to stop the oil from spewing out of the ocean floor into the Gulf of Mexico seems to have actually worked. Good!

Recording my music

I've been trying for the past month or so to record my music and sell it online. Earl Brackett (whom in a previous life was known to me as "Chip") turned me on to the site www.broadjam.com. Here composers, performers, and arrangers - all independent - post their music for review by fellow Broadjam members and sometimes place their music for sale. There are also opportunities to submit individual tracks for placement in television shows, movies, video games, in-flight DVDs, you name it. So, I got a Broadjam membership.

I've recorded three pieces so far, and posted them on my page. Two of them I have entered into licensing contests. It typically costs about $15.00 to enter a piece into a contest, so I have only done this twice. I got good reviews for my music. It remains to be seen if mine will be selected out of the thousands that must be entered into these contests.

I have listed all three of my selections for sale. It costs 99 cents to download, and I get 80 cents per sale. I will see that money quarterly, assuming that I make at least $20.00 in sales and I request it once a quarter. So far, one person has downloaded my music.

One of the pieces is "For the Gulf", a unique piece for hammered dulcimer with lots of 9th and 11th chords, which I dedicated to the Gulf of Mexico. It's a tranquil piece, which explores the beauty of the Gulf, from the waves that play on top of the water to its majestic depths. It's not about the current polluting of the Gulf waters, but a tribute to its beauty. It's gotten good reviews.

You can find my music at www.broadjam.com/lmkirwan. Enjoy, and please take the music with you if you like!

Here's a news item about the first attempted 24 hour flight of a solar powered plane, taking place as of this writing:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100707/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_switzerland_solar_adventure

Critical thought or emotional manipulation?

There is in our current culture a lack of knowledge on how to reflect critically, or even how to think critically, which has had a deleterious effect on our society, especially politically. In a talk given at the Music Personnel Conference 45 of the Association of Music Personnel in Public Radio, Lorna Ozman revealed how emotional appeals are more successful than intellectual appeals in persuading people, and are being used more often in everything from public radio fundraisers to political speeches. Short term memory resides in the left side of the brain, where logic takes place. Long term memory resides in the right side of the brain, where emotions are. If someone wants to say something that is memorable, they should appeal to the emotions of the listeners. Messages nowadays are less about facts and figures and more about the emotional reasons to take action.

Also, attention spans are shrinking. Sound bites have shrunk from 45 seconds in 1968 to 8 seconds today, according to Ozman. This is distressing. We are forgetting how to think critically, and instead are being emotionally manipulated by members the media, and are reacting emotionally when it comes time to make our most important decisions - what to buy, who to buy from, what policies to support, who to vote for.

Ever wonder why so many of us bought SUVs in the 90s? These were gas guzzling behemoths; it wasn't a smart buy, and with the average American family not exceeding 5 people, it wasn't a necessary buy. But advertisements for these vehicles appealed to our emotions. A bride ignores worried phone messages from her mother as she drives through the backwoods to the voice of the announcer saying, "Get away from it all in our new Isuzu Rodeo SUV." "It's never too late to have a happy childhood," says the announcer as a child in a mud puddle grows up to run his V6 Isuzu Rodeo through the mud. Neato! I'll buy one. Forget environmental concerns and my wallet. I want a Fun-mobile with a powerful engine. And when the price of a tank of gas rose to $3.00, you couldn't give those things away.

It's our own fault that they take this approach. We failed to watch news programs that were informative and challenging, and instead tuned into fluff and entertainment. In the end, the advertisers and the politicians gave us what they knew we wanted. We need to teach ourselves how to reflect critically, and then, by engaging in critical reflection, make it a part of our society again.

Case In Point: Unemployed Need Not Apply

Follow this link: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Outofwork-job-applicants-told-cnnm-3498252371.html?x=0. It is exactly the opposite of the Social Justice teachings that I posted before.