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Post by jean on Aug 18, 2009 22:05:55 GMT
I'm puzzled, ratarsed - didn't you say somewhere 'I freely admit that having low A level results so I could not attend University to study Linguistics...'?
So where and why did you have to study Chomsky?
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Post by Liberator on Aug 19, 2009 1:03:08 GMT
I'm puzzled, ratarsed - didn't you say somewhere 'I freely admit that having low A level results so I could not attend University to study Linguistics...'? So where and why did you have to study Chomsky? At North Staffordshire Polytechnic (now part of Staffordshire University I believe, in conjunction with Stoke-on-Trent and Cannock Campusses, but not the old Keele Universtity) as part of what was then a CNAA B.Sc. in 'Computing Science' (the only place to offer non-maths A level entry apart from Kew or somewhere near there in West London) incorporating, despite the supposed lack of match emphasis, 1st year university level classical calculus, information theory, abstract trigonometry, and the ones I actually liked, 'matrix methods' and linear programming (with a touch of non-linear optimisation as well). The Honours 1st year offered Econonomics as well, but as the lecturer said that as a Marxist he did not believe in it and I don't think much of 'sciences' that depend upon 'belief' I refused the exam and dropped to even more mathematical Ordinary syllabus. (The A levels were French, English Lit(2ce), German(2ce) and Latin (Ox & Cam joint) - but low grades - I retook EL and G because I loathed French so much. Now, I quite like it). For Beth, British education is traditionally narrower but deeper than American, so not much was 'elective'! It's changed now but I'm not sure that's a good thing. I remember when in France there was a move to make the Baccalauriat easier and it was the students who came out in protest. The pass rate used to be something like 10% so even to be put in and to fail it was a huge career boost. They didn't want to have their proof of ability removed so they'd have to continue competing after University instead of getting all that settled before and relaxing into a career governed by the ability they had proven in their teens and need not do again. I agree with them. Because I live here, in all international sports I support Ireland ( especially against the English ;D ) but not when the other side is flying the red-white-and-blue real Tricolor (or Tricoleur)
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Post by beth on Aug 22, 2009 17:13:53 GMT
OK, I guess that's better, in a way, since you don't have the option of a relatively shallow education - individual choice here. BTW, I thought of another #5 Bill Moyers - courageous, honest journalist (PBS) Except for Thomas Paine and, maybe, Abraham Lincoln, most of my heroes are contemporary.
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Post by Liberator on Aug 22, 2009 19:20:03 GMT
Thomas Paine reminds me a bit of Tony Benn - or vice versa. He may have great liberal ideals but risks overlooking that the people he would like to see given all power might not and a popular democratic dictatorship can be the worst of all.
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Post by beth on Aug 24, 2009 0:18:01 GMT
Who are your heroes, Ratarsed?
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Post by Liberator on Aug 24, 2009 1:10:44 GMT
None too sure actually, but probably from recent times Fidel Castro and Germaine Greer and from the distant past Valentinus
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Post by beth on Aug 25, 2009 1:46:32 GMT
None too sure actually, but probably from recent times Fidel Castro and Germaine Greer and from the distant past Valentinus Thanks for the link. Valentinus is interesting. Greer is the choice that surprises me. A remarkable woman but not someone I'd have guess you held in high regard. I understand why Castro could be seen that way. He was the peoples' hero and a far sight better than Batista (sp. ?). The U.S. has often blamed him for many things, including (of course) choosing to buddy up with Russia during the cold war era. But, our corp. business interests had played fast and loose with Cuba for many years, so we should not have been surprised. jmo
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Post by fretslider on Aug 26, 2009 22:15:43 GMT
3 heroes.... Difficult.
Democritus
Gabriel Chevallier
Ritchie Blackmore
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Post by beth on Aug 27, 2009 20:33:12 GMT
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Post by Liberator on Aug 27, 2009 22:54:17 GMT
Beth, if the US had not been so fanatically opposed to Fidel I think his regime would have been far more benign than it has had to be. The nutter there was Che Guevara. As for Greer, I should think it's pretty obvious that I am even more critical of modern 'feminism' than she done more to sell women out to conservative 'masculine' society than to change that society to value traditionally 'feminine' values any more than it ever did. That's not the message of her 'Sex and Destiny' in particular but most of her writing involves 'feminising' society more than it does 'masculinising' women to fit and talking about women's strength, not whining their weakness.
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Post by beth on Aug 28, 2009 4:07:10 GMT
Beth, if the US had not been so fanatically opposed to Fidel I think his regime would have been far more benign than it has had to be. The nutter there was Che Guevara. As for Greer, I should think it's pretty obvious that I am even more critical of modern 'feminism' than she done more to sell women out to conservative 'masculine' society than to change that society to value traditionally 'feminine' values any more than it ever did. That's not the message of her 'Sex and Destiny' in particular but most of her writing involves 'feminising' society more than it does 'masculinising' women to fit and talking about women's strength, not whining their weakness. That's interesting to me. I don't think I've ever read her books - just articles and interviews. Nice to know she had a creative approach.
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Post by DAS (formerly BushAdmirer) on Aug 28, 2009 22:34:39 GMT
OK, BTW, I thought of another #5 Bill Moyers - courageous, honest journalist (PBS) Gag on a spoon. Did you actually really say that?? Bill Moyers was (is) one of the most left-wing, far-out, sold-out liberal propaganda dispensers of our time. He's right there with Pacifica Radio's Amy Goodman and MS/NBC's Keith Olbermann. Bill never reported the news. Bill distorted the news. Beth you need to start watching Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and a few others who accurately describe the political landscape. Moyers never did that.
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Post by beth on Aug 29, 2009 4:19:04 GMT
quote author=das board=history thread=397 post=9104 time=1251498879] OK, BTW, I thought of another #5 Bill Moyers - courageous, honest journalist (PBS) Gag on a spoon. Did you actually really say that?? Bill Moyers was (is) one of the most left-wing, far-out, sold-out liberal propaganda dispensers of our time. He's right there with Pacifica Radio's Amy Goodman and MS/NBC's Keith Olbermann. Bill never reported the news. Bill distorted the news. Beth you need to start watching Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and a few others who accurately describe the political landscape. Moyers never did that.[/quote] heh das, you are relentless and, often, very funny. I'd be embarrassed to recommend the scum-of-the-FOX, but it takes all kinds, I guess. I'd suggest Moyers, Chris Matthews, Frank Rich, Gene Lyons, Bob Herbert, Paul Krugman, Garrison Keillor, Amy Goodman, Jack Cafferty, Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow. Bill Maher and Markos Moulitsas (KOS) deliver a little harder sting. Though Maher's show is often a joy to watch because of his panelists. Then, if you want your ears handed to you on a plate, you can listen to Mike Malloy www.mikemalloy.com/ But, you know what? This is a thread for heroes - not for critics. Some very cool people have posted their heroes here - starting with Lin. I don't think anyone wants to access this topic to watch us squabble. Let's try taking this to another area - like Politics.
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Post by Liberator on Aug 29, 2009 5:43:28 GMT
That's interesting to me. I don't think I've ever read her books - just articles and interviews. Nice to know she had a creative approach. Actually the best thing she ever wrote was a 'gardening' column in the satirical magazine Private Eye under the name of Rose Blight. Every magazine has to have a gardening column, so she she wrote this kind of anti-one about maintaining an overgrown damp squelchy London back lot where about the only things that will grow are poisonous or frightening. My girlfriend lived in just such a place with just such a 'garden'. Private Eye is a strange but glorious beast, perhaps very British, because although it swipes at everybody, it has always done so from the priviliged position of those able to afford to swipe at everybody. So it can be mostly very left wing, but just as unimpressed by the pseudo-trendy art world and in its time, it has extracted the urine from gay, feminist and communist extremists just as much as from its current Lord Snooty (a reference to an old kids' comic that barely shifted from the 1930s!) about the Conservative Leadership. It's Pseuds Corner is always worth a look though. Ireland has a copy called Phoenix, but as nobody gives a tinker's cuss about Irish politics unless it's paying them off or they're paying it off, it's not as much fun. 'Female Eunuch' is a bit dated and can jibe against anti-capitalist matriarchal values. 'Sex and Destiny' contains the wonderful phrase "The Family is a socially subversive unit". By 'family' she means the minimum of mother and child, but she does not exclude men like a lot of feminists did in the 1980s. She does however, take an almighty blast at growing globalisation and monetarisation that has turned the 3rd world into our overseas plantations having to sell cheap to us and buy dear instead of producing for themselves until strong enough to meet us on equal terms. I'd prefer us to be learning from them! Julius Nyerere wrote on the same theme long before, but I never saw the book again and he was so influenced by Marxism and inheritted a post-colonial mess that he never really got Tanzanian self-sufficiency to work. Julius K. Nyerere
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Post by beth on Sept 1, 2009 2:33:26 GMT
Great post, ratarsed. Lots of good information - much of it news to me. I ran off to google and found Private Eye online, and read and read. Stashed it in my periodicals directory. Veery amusing. www.private-eye.co.uk/
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Post by gabriel on Sept 27, 2009 6:34:10 GMT
OK here goes if anyone's interested.
JFK Julius Caesar Beethoven
JFK and yes, I'm aware of most of the faults in his character, but I admire him for his determination to achieve his goals and not let his multiple health problems get in his way. He's maybe not a hero but a person I greatly admire.
Caesar - well, what can you say? Veni, vidi, vici. He knew what he wanted and he grabbed it. Problem for Juli was it cost him everything.
Beethoven - can you imagine composing the 9th Symphony and only being able to hear it in your head?
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Post by iamjumbo on Sept 27, 2009 14:35:16 GMT
OK, BTW, I thought of another #5 Bill Moyers - courageous, honest journalist (PBS) Gag on a spoon. Did you actually really say that?? Bill Moyers was (is) one of the most left-wing, far-out, sold-out liberal propaganda dispensers of our time. He's right there with Pacifica Radio's Amy Goodman and MS/NBC's Keith Olbermann. Bill never reported the news. Bill distorted the news. Beth you need to start watching Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and a few others who accurately describe the political landscape. Moyers never did that. you really do need to get a grip. normal people watch hannity and the blonde bimbo coulter for comedy, since none of that group are capable of presenting FACT. the only intelligent members of faux news are alan colmes and juan williams. sorry that you are so out of touch with reality
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Post by iamjumbo on Sept 27, 2009 14:41:55 GMT
vince lombardi thomas jefferson george mcgovern
the reasons are obvious, but, vince because of the quote, "winning isn't everything, it's the ONLY thing", which is a credo everyone should follow. jefferson, because he understood the inherent evil of those who consider profit even close to being as important as people. mcgovern because, although we lost, he began the road to what little progress has been made in this country
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Post by chefmate on Sept 27, 2009 15:31:21 GMT
But don't you have to lose to enjoy the thrill of winning?
Failure is a great teacher and many times humility has to be learned before we can move on to enjoy the fruits of success.
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Post by iamjumbo on Sept 27, 2009 19:20:02 GMT
But don't you have to lose to enjoy the thrill of winning? Failure is a great teacher and many times humility has to be learned before we can move on to enjoy the fruits of success. it's a matter of attitude. i NEVER lose. sometimes, i'm behind at the end of the game, but i never lose. it's true that, no matter how carefully things are planned, there will be times that you fail. nothing wrong with that. what IS wrong is accepting that failure. doing the best that you can is never good enough. you have to do the best that can be done. that was vince's real message. failure is NEVER acceptable as for humility, i guess it depends on your perspective. i am quite humble, since i don't think that i'm better than anyone else, although i realize that there are far too many who choose to be less than i. i also recognize the fact that there is no one in the world better than i. so, yeah, i learned the humility lesson
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