The Kung Fu Monkey.
Not gonna link any specific posts, not gonna go into details. Just gonna tell you that if you aren’t reading him, you should be, and that I don’t link him often enough.
The Thesaurus
Reading up on more of the Marcotte/McEwan Marathon, and saw this paragraph:
Writing is a revelatory thing. Use of ALL CAPS is a shout; use of profanity to me reflects unseriousness and lack of a vocabulary (or at least a thesaurus) and a lack of manners. Using every single issue to smear and denigrate rather than persuade, enlighten, or heck, just entertain for a second, makes the writer look like a loon. Making every post somehow All About Me and My Proclivities That You Can’t Stop exhibits paranoia. It just does. And that’s why the two bloggers have become a liability.
Do people actually use a thesaurus? I simply do not recall a time that I have ever needed one other than trying to cheat while doing a crossword puzzle. Dictionaries are invaluable- I am, at least once a week, referring a dictionary to make sure I am using a word properly or a student has used a word properly.
But the thesaurus? I never use one, I don’t own one, and I think if I did, it would make my writing seem forced.
Non-Football Open Thread
By request.
Some IPCC-related links if people feel like talking about climate:
Washington Post.
Tim Lambert deals with some confusion about sea level predictions.
The part about hurricanes doesn’t say much. There are more hurricanes in the Atlantic and warming seas will absolutely magnify hurricane strength. That is just a natural consequence of how huricanes form. But as to whether individual storms are the result of warming, meh.
RealClimate is currently down. For the most nuts-and-bolts discussion of the issue, check with them when the site comes back up.
Molly Ivins, RIP
Open Thread
I can’t speak for John, but I plan to be extremely busy today. Talk amongst yourselves in the meantime.
Open Thread
Work work work.
(Warning: subtle Firefly reference. Dorky banter may follow.)
How Long?
My only comment (for now) about Tim’s post below about the surveillance being conducted by the military is to wonder:
“How long before Hugh Hewitt and the Powerline are demanding the Ny Times be tried for treason for revealing this state secret?”