Your quote as follows, "In England there is currently a great movement for the use of plain English. That is-jargon free and concise." Where might I look to substantiate this paragon of radical change? Give me a break! I've always marveled at England's command of our language. Actually, concise is nothing new. I cite the man who searched many miles and days in the far reaches of Africa to find Dr.Livingston. (Sp.) He remarked concisely at the chance meeting, "Dr. Livingston, I presume." When Wellington defeated Napoleon in Belgium, in the town of Waterloo, I imagine that conciseness was the rule of the day. Wellington's concise outburst may have been in the form of a one word directive; CHARGE!!! Hence, changes will no doubt alter the way our thoughts will be expressed. This forum seems to be however, the least likely place for brevity to recur, much to the dismay of short and to the point proponents. Modification of discourses may result in erroneous conclusions, based upon brief interpretations of important issues.

Could you explain for me what this all about? Is this another scheme to spring for monetary gain? Who would think such a ridiculous venture would develop into something useful? What this world needs more than anything imagined, is a reduction in pessimistic views that warp the susceptible and unsullied minds in 3rd world countries.

[This message was edited by Bill Hankey on 22 October 2006 at 04:51 AM.]

In comparison Polish has 156,000 words in the basic cannon.

English is diminished by the disinclination
to use it to it's fullest.
Sure it is simpler,
but if english becomes simpler over all,
then so do it's users.

Maybe Bill takes it a bit farther than most,
but to say this is BAD, is short sighted.

Can you say you have learned nothing from Bill's writings, and his manner of writing?
I can't.

Song writing for the popular song,
is based on simple communication logic,
but if you consider it's market as not
the best and brightest in search of high art,
but the masses trying to relax with something they can identify with in their lives.

Should all our dialogs be on the level of popular song...?
Me thinks not!

[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 22 October 2006 at 06:33 AM.]

Profound pessimism should be the province of people who have given up on life. It has pervaded all walks of modern life, under the guise of "sophistication". Somehow, it's hip to be dark. The Carter Family had it right - "Stay on the sunny side." Of course, that can be hard to do in a swamp of pessimism.

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This thread is about "pessimism" and how it relates to learning and staying interested in steel guitar.

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Pessimism: A tendency to stress the negative or unfavorable or to take the gloomiest possible view.

Anyone who's a pessimist will have a tough time learning to play steel guitar! It's not an easy instrument.

[This message was edited by Doug Beaumier on 22 October 2006 at 10:18 AM.]

The pessimism that one can continue to progress,
with vocabulary, and an increase in literary accumen,
even at advancing ages.

As a a possible evidence of same in other disciplines,
like playing musical instruments.

Hey, now what you say, I jess wan' it simple,
don't make me sweat, I's not interested.

Why not learn new words on a daily basis,
as part of continuing self education,
AS WELL AS learning new licks and new instruments.

[This message was edited by Bill Hankey on 22 October 2006 at 11:00 AM.]

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"I drink to make other people more interesting." -- Jack Nicholson

[This message was edited by Darryl Hattenhauer on 22 October 2006 at 11:01 AM.]

Terry

[This message was edited by Terry Edwards on 22 October 2006 at 11:40 AM.]

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Lighten up, guys. You're missing the joke. Bill's prose is an entertaining example of how to misuse a thesaurus. His usage, idiom, and punctuation are wrong. There's not one competent writer who writes crap like that except as a parody.

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Darryl
Some of us worked this out long ago. There are so many grammatical errors in this gentleman's posts. That fact alone prevents them being taken completely seriously. Some of his sentences are so preposterous and pretentious that I just cannot resist laughing at them. In this, they are worth reading if only for that reason.

I do feel that the posts should come under the Humour section. I am not convinced that Bill Hankey isn't a pseudonym by a clever and somewhat wickedly humoured steel player who may be well known to all of us.

Your parodies are right up there with Bill's. Keep 'em coming.

Ron, Wally, Ray, Dick, Joe, Stephan, James, John, Dr. B., Jim S., Chris, Arty, Billy Joe, Mike S., Ken, and Richard:

Come on, fellas. Join in the fun. Writing parodies is harder than it looks, but it's a lot of fun.

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"I drink to make other people more interesting." -- Jack Nicholson

[This message was edited by Darryl Hattenhauer on 22 October 2006 at 12:30 PM.]

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Give me a break! I've always marveled at England's command of our language.

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The English spelling is marvelled. Time to take the dictionary and thesaurus back and get a refund.

Sorry for taking this post off topic - or has it ever been on-topic?

(Edited to remove extreme sarcasm which has no place on this forum)

[This message was edited by Ken Byng on 22 October 2006 at 12:55 PM.]

Of course it's on topic. Bill brought up pessimism. If you decide that he's serious, then you're being pessimistic. Don't look at it negatively.

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"I drink to make other people more interesting." -- Jack Nicholson

[This message was edited by Darryl Hattenhauer on 22 October 2006 at 01:21 PM.]

You're right. But it would be neat to get more nutty parodies.

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Of course it's on topic. Bill brought up pessimism. If you decide that he's serious, then you're being pessimistic. Don't look at it negatively.

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I thought Ben Franklin discovered eccentricity--you know, with the kite and the key and all.

Every cloud has a silver lining… but…
Lightning kills hundreds of people each year who are trying to find it.

Keep looking on the dark side and you’ll never learn how to play steel guitar. I think that's what this post is about, right?

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My Site - Instruction

[This message was edited by Doug Beaumier on 22 October 2006 at 06:06 PM.]

Everybody writes "LOL" but I really did LOL.

Thanks for presenting the lightning strike that signifies nature's fury with unbelievable destructive power.
An electrical charge six inches in diameter can easily reduce a giant oak into a pile of toothpicks. One strike wiped out 500 sheep on a rocky slope. Yes indeed, pessimism is the ball and chain of society. There is no substitute for a healthy outlook to enable a person to become creative. Musical development is sluggish in the wake of a downward spiraling of regular practice sessions. The recourse involves a steady effort to regain the positive view of any difficult situation. Many liabilities are easily converted to assets.

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Congratulations for the proper usage of the word UNIQUE. Every now and then, someone who should know its proper usage will say VERY unique. Of course both words are adjectives, but the real problem stems from its actual definition. Being the only one, cannot be intensified by placing very before the word unique. FWIW

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I thought Ben Franklin discovered eccentricity--you know, with the kite and the key and all.

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Meet my two daughters
Monique and Unique.

Pessimism :
I can't
therefor
I won't

Why try,
when you can't
catch up to others

They will always be better,
so why try to do it also

I don't know this word,
so I won't learn it,
more fun to attack the
users pretentions.

Something is difficult
avoid it at all costs.

If I don't have a 2 x 4
I can never play like Buddy!

[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 22 October 2006 at 08:13 PM.]

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At that time Ben Franklin WAS English!! He only was "American" for a relatively brief span of his last 3-4 years.

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It's hard to imagine that Ben Franklin and George Washington, both born and raised on this side of the pond, were "English" until 1776... but I guess they were!

Edit: Obviously they were Colonists, and under the control of England until 1776. That's not to say that they were British.

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My Site - Instruction

[This message was edited by Doug Beaumier on 22 October 2006 at 10:17 PM.]

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"I drink to make other people more interesting." -- Jack Nicholson

[This message was edited by Darryl Hattenhauer on 22 October 2006 at 09:14 PM.]

Of course if you told that to King George at the time he would have said
balderdash,
or something equivalent.

He was considered a 'British Subject' of the King Of England,
until he joined the Continental Congress, at a rather advanced age.
Granted something of a second class citizen,
as a colonist, as time went on.

He was 'His Majesty's Royal Postman' for decades.

Franklin was an English subject until the revolution,
and that was rather late in his life time.

He reluctantly signed on when it became
obvious the way things were going.
But then did his best for the new country.

In some contemporaries views, not enough,
including he co-emisaries to France;
Adams and Jefferson.
Who also saw little the same way with each other.

This doesn't diminish Franklin,
nor his 'americanism' one iota.

That's just the way it was.

Oh, and he was one of the great optimists.

For further Franklinia see : http://www.amazon.com/Benjamin-Franklin-American-Walter-Isaacson/dp/0684807610

Excellent read.

Also worth the effort is John Adam's bio http://www.amazon.com/John-Adams-David-M cCullough/dp/0684813637/sr=8-2/qid=1161590286/ref=pd_bbs_2/002-2107490-3341649?ie=UTF8&s=books

As too 'American' :

A‧mer‧i‧can  /əˈmɛrɪkən/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[uh-mer-i-kuhn] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–adjective

1 of or pertaining to the United States of America or its inhabitants: an American citizen.

2. of or pertaining to North or South America; of the Western Hemisphere: the American continents.

3. of or pertaining to the aboriginal Indians of North and South America, usually excluding the Eskimos, regarded as being of Asian ancestry and marked generally by reddish to brownish skin, black hair, dark eyes, and prominent cheekbones.
–noun

4. a citizen of the United States of America.

5. a native or inhabitant of the Western Hemisphere.

6. an Indian of North or South America.

7. American English.

8. a steam locomotive having a four-wheeled front truck, four driving wheels, and no rear truck.

These days the most common usage is pertaining to 'american citizens'.

Thus only his last few years does he fit that definition.

If you stick to your definintion,
then we must also say
all Brasilians, Mexicans,
and Tiero Del Fuegans ARE 'americans' also.
Even if they live outside the USA.

But it is always with the qualifiers :
Central American, South American, Candadian American, Native American etc.
Or Colonial American. But always modernly used WITH the qualifier.

And besides it was intended as a witticism much
as your play on words was.

Why get so, stressed about it?
Or do you think I am a foreigner
insulting an american sacred cow?
Wrong.

[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 23 October 2006 at 08:27 AM.]

[Oops, sorry--this belongs in the 'grumpy old men' thread.]

But I do enjoy meeting, even if virtually, an American who continues to push against the tide of the slow deconstruction of English due to its misuse, and the eroding of proper usage by our leaders--I won't mention which president I'm referring to.
[Or better, '... to whom I'm referring.']
Guys like Bill become targets of derision in the modern social climate.
And yet he doesn't fall into the undertow of pessimism that is the topic.

But if he, and others, weren't a force to be reckoned with, no one would reply here.
As it is....
So keep keeping on, Mr. Bill. I for one (oops, redundant) enjoy reading you.

What does that tell you!

"Citizen of England" and "American" are not mutually exclusive.

Instead of citing Franklin and McCullough, try reading them. Neither of them use "American" to denote only the time after 1776 or 1783.

Find one book by any competent historian that says that "American history" doesn't include the colonial period. In fact, find one that says "American history" doesn't include the pre-Columbian period.

And find one competent writer who can even come close to Bill except as comedy.

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. . . I do enjoy meeting, even if virtually, an American who continues to push against the tide of the slow deconstruction of English due to its misuse, and the eroding of proper usage by our leaders-- . . .

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