Language usage, as I am using the term (others will have different ways of using it), is concerned with how we use language for specified purposes. My study of language usage includes an interest in how power at times distorts language, because it has the power to do so. Language usage also concerns itself with the distinction between rhetoric and reality. As well, the category is concerned with the formal, systematic study of rhetoric, and with humanity’s attempts to define reality.
I recently saw the Florida Project playing at the Revue Cinema at 400 Roncesvalles Ave. in Toronto. I was impressed with both the film and the venue. If you have the opportunity to see this film, I recommend it strongly. As I noted in my film review on Twitter: Refreshing film addresses themes in a manner […]
A Dec. 6, 2017 Etobicoke Guardian article by Cynthia Reason is entitled: “South Etobicoke Historical Voyage sails on to Alderwood: Franklin Horner Community Centre program delves into history of Etobicoke’s lakeshore communities.” First-rate article by Cynthia Reason I am very impressed with how this article is put together, with how it is constructed. One part flows […]
Update: A more recent post is entitled: Staff report regarding Long Branch Character Guidelines deferred at Dec. 8, 2017 Toronto Council meeting; slated to go to Council in January 2018 [End] The Long Branch Character Guidelines final staff report is on the agenda for the City of Toronto Council meeting that takes place on […]
The concept that we become what we imagine ourselves to be (or what we pretend ourselves to be) is from a quote in a book by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. The concept also brings to mind a line from William Blake, who speaks of people who became what they beheld. I came across both concepts somewhere […]
A Nov. 24, 2017 CBC article is entitled – and I swear this is true – “‘Swearing is Good for You’: The evolutionary advantages of f-bombs.” The article refers to a book by Emma Byrne entitled: I Swear: The Surprising Science of Our Dirtiest Words (2017) I swear. Sometimes. Especially when I’m in either the […]
Update As noted in a comment at the end of this post, the flippant tone of my review of the Chicago Tribune “gentrification” article is perhaps not warranted. Accordingly, a tentative bottom line that occurs to me, influenced by the preface by Richard J. Evans in the first of his three books – his trilogy […]
I have long been pondering how to approach the writing of a post about my late father’s 1936 Berlin Olympics photo album. The photo on the right was taken in Tartu, Estonia in 1936 or earlier. The photo, which is available online and is also featured in my father’s 1936 Berlin Olympics photo album, is of […]
I’ve recently received a notice about a CCFEW Bird Walk. The notice includes a reference to the Humber Bay Park project. The text in the message refers to an Oct. 30, 2017 meeting about the Humber Bay Park architectural component. “The presentation materials are online,” the message notes, “but a bit difficult to find on […]