As an aside in a comment to a previous post, I noted The Jerusalem Post's ridiculous use of the word "slams" every time it describes any level of criticism.
I did wonder if I was hyper-sensitive, so I ran a Google News search of Jerusalem Post headlines from July 1 to July 18. Here are the results:
Lindenstrauss slams parties over real estate (July 2)
Israeli, Vienna politician slam anti-Israel measure (July 2)
UTJ slams PM on Tal Law (July 2)
Lapid slams PM, religious parties over service law (July 3)
Yachimovich slams Plesner recommendations on Haredi draft (July 4)
Politicians from Left, Right slam Plesner report (July 4)
Student association heads slam Ariel boycott calls (July 4)
Amnesty slams China for Uighur crackdown (July 5)
China slams Clinton's criticism over Syria stance (July 7)
US slams idea that Iran can help resolve Syria conflict (July 10)
Top China paper slams Clinton's democracy comments (July 12)
Romney slams Obama for playing down threat of Hugo Chavez (July 12)
US Jews slam Levy report on legalizing outposts (July 15)
MK Atias slams treasury for not supporting public housing (July 17)
ADL slams Kotel replica as part of anti-abortion center (July 18)
[One wonders why there was only one slamming between July 13 and July 16. Was there a drought? Did Google News miss it?]
This is not only a critique of the Post's copy editors' lack of creativity. Saying "slam" every time robs the word of its meaning, and robs the headline of any nuance. Not every criticism, tease or challenge is a "slam".
Here, then, are verbs they could use to describe different types of negative political rejoinders:
For questioning:
questions, challenges, probes
For tough talk:
criticizes, bashes, maligns
For attemps to elicit a reaction:
pushes, needles, goads
For personal attacks:
insults, skewers, jabs
What other words, or types of negative rejoinders, would you offer?
Showing posts with label Books: Random news articles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books: Random news articles. Show all posts
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Friday, March 18, 2011
Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down
Thumbs Up - Great article:
Grant Hill's response to Jalen Rose
Basketball player Grant Hill's New York Times response to his rival Jalen Rose's documentary, "Fab Five", in which Hill was denigrated as an Uncle Tom.
Very good reading, and it made me think of the way Jews in one camp denigrate Jews in other camps, who haven't experienced life or Judaism their way.
Favorite line: My mother always says, “You can live without Chaucer and you can live without calculus, but you cannot make it in the wide, wide world without common sense.” As we get older, we understand the importance of these words.
And Thumbs Down - You've heard of Purim Torah, well, this must be Purim Activism - as in, activism so silly it's clearly self-parody:
Where are the women in the Maccabeats Video?
Among the most obvious problems:
- Complaining that a Purim video has an infant play Esther, even though it also features small children playing the other roles in the megillah.
-Criticizing that video because it features only adolescent males and small children (excuse the redundancy), even though it's made by an all-male acapella group. (Or is the complaint that Jews shouldn't have all-male acapella groups? I may have missed that.)
-But this gem of logic must be the best quote - If we can be modern enough to make a snazzy music video, can’t we also be disciplined enough not to reduce a woman to a sexual object when she ascends the podium? I'm missing something here, but I don't know what it is.
It actually reminds me of what Jalen Rose did to Hill in that documentary, come to think of it.
Enjoy the reading...
Grant Hill's response to Jalen Rose
Basketball player Grant Hill's New York Times response to his rival Jalen Rose's documentary, "Fab Five", in which Hill was denigrated as an Uncle Tom.
Very good reading, and it made me think of the way Jews in one camp denigrate Jews in other camps, who haven't experienced life or Judaism their way.
Favorite line: My mother always says, “You can live without Chaucer and you can live without calculus, but you cannot make it in the wide, wide world without common sense.” As we get older, we understand the importance of these words.
And Thumbs Down - You've heard of Purim Torah, well, this must be Purim Activism - as in, activism so silly it's clearly self-parody:
Where are the women in the Maccabeats Video?
Among the most obvious problems:
- Complaining that a Purim video has an infant play Esther, even though it also features small children playing the other roles in the megillah.
-Criticizing that video because it features only adolescent males and small children (excuse the redundancy), even though it's made by an all-male acapella group. (Or is the complaint that Jews shouldn't have all-male acapella groups? I may have missed that.)
-But this gem of logic must be the best quote - If we can be modern enough to make a snazzy music video, can’t we also be disciplined enough not to reduce a woman to a sexual object when she ascends the podium? I'm missing something here, but I don't know what it is.
It actually reminds me of what Jalen Rose did to Hill in that documentary, come to think of it.
Enjoy the reading...
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Ray Bradbury, Bo Derek, Gary Kao and more
Found a few minutes tonight to catch up on newspaper websites, which was nice. Here are several interesting articles I can recommend:
From the Wall Street Journal: A Wandering Mind Heads Straight Toward Insight
I love reading about Creativity, and this article offers much food for thought, in terms of how creativity is triggered in the brain, the role of daydreaming, and different methods of problem-solving. I have to assume that some of the daydreaming observations may help explain why kids and teens do so much unfocused thinking. Incredibly fascinating.
The New York Times offers: A Literary Legend Fights for a Local Library
I didn't know Ray Bradbury was still alive; I love his writing. Now he's campaigning for the survival of a California library, but the interview is really more about what Bradbury is doing these days - writing, speaking, railing against the Internet and reminiscing about Bo Derek - than it is about the fate of the library. I'm surprised to hear of his opposition to the Internet; I would have expected him to value its potential for safeguarding books. But I don't know him, I've only read his books.
Another one from the New York Times: At V.A. Hospital, a Rogue Cancer Unit
I worry about things like this all the time - doctors who don't know what they are doing, or who don't care, but get by because the people who know them are reluctant to speak out. The allegations regarding prostate cancer treatment by Dr. Gary D. Kao and others are truly frightening. That it's happening to military vets makes it even worse.
Caroline Glick offers Column One: Israel's rare opportunity
Ms. Glick oversimplifies way too much for the sake of her point, making many tenuous assumptions about Iran's government, its people's inclinations, and more. She knows it, and adds numerous disclaimers and caveats to that effect. Nonetheless, her essential argument that Israel should publicly recognize and support Iran's demonstrators is compelling.
And, finally, CNN offers a shockingly low-key government statement, in Gates: U.S. ready if North Korea sends missile toward Hawaii
Word is that North Korea is preparing to launch a missile at Hawaii, and the best the Secretary of Defense can muster is, ""We do have some concerns if they were to launch a missile," but "we are in a good position should it become necessary to protect the American territory."
Is he asleep, or just trying to project calm? I'd be more comfortable with a, "Come on, guys, that ain't gonna happen," or a Bush-esque "Bring it on!" What does "We do have some concerns" mean?
Oh, and let's not forget... this week's Haveil Havalim is here!
From the Wall Street Journal: A Wandering Mind Heads Straight Toward Insight
I love reading about Creativity, and this article offers much food for thought, in terms of how creativity is triggered in the brain, the role of daydreaming, and different methods of problem-solving. I have to assume that some of the daydreaming observations may help explain why kids and teens do so much unfocused thinking. Incredibly fascinating.
The New York Times offers: A Literary Legend Fights for a Local Library
I didn't know Ray Bradbury was still alive; I love his writing. Now he's campaigning for the survival of a California library, but the interview is really more about what Bradbury is doing these days - writing, speaking, railing against the Internet and reminiscing about Bo Derek - than it is about the fate of the library. I'm surprised to hear of his opposition to the Internet; I would have expected him to value its potential for safeguarding books. But I don't know him, I've only read his books.
Another one from the New York Times: At V.A. Hospital, a Rogue Cancer Unit
I worry about things like this all the time - doctors who don't know what they are doing, or who don't care, but get by because the people who know them are reluctant to speak out. The allegations regarding prostate cancer treatment by Dr. Gary D. Kao and others are truly frightening. That it's happening to military vets makes it even worse.
Caroline Glick offers Column One: Israel's rare opportunity
Ms. Glick oversimplifies way too much for the sake of her point, making many tenuous assumptions about Iran's government, its people's inclinations, and more. She knows it, and adds numerous disclaimers and caveats to that effect. Nonetheless, her essential argument that Israel should publicly recognize and support Iran's demonstrators is compelling.
And, finally, CNN offers a shockingly low-key government statement, in Gates: U.S. ready if North Korea sends missile toward Hawaii
Word is that North Korea is preparing to launch a missile at Hawaii, and the best the Secretary of Defense can muster is, ""We do have some concerns if they were to launch a missile," but "we are in a good position should it become necessary to protect the American territory."
Is he asleep, or just trying to project calm? I'd be more comfortable with a, "Come on, guys, that ain't gonna happen," or a Bush-esque "Bring it on!" What does "We do have some concerns" mean?
Oh, and let's not forget... this week's Haveil Havalim is here!
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