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Recent Battles
Queen Victoria
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Juicing The Sheep
09 April 2009 11:11 AM | No CommentsThe Journal of Queen Victoria Thursday, October 21, 1868 “Juicing the Sheep“ At a quarter to twelve I drove off with Louise and Leopold in the waggonette up to near the “Bush” (the residence of William Brown, the farmer) to see them “juice the sheep.”...
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Queen Victoria’s Border Collies
26 January 2009 4:40 AM | 18 CommentsFor well over a century the “Collie” name has been co-opted by show breeders who have created a monster whose face looks like a door stop with beady eyes set in triangular slits. These same people have co-opted the notion that Queen Victoria was deeply...
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Show Me the Collie
22 January 2009 3:38 AM | 1 CommentHaving established that Queen Victoria’s direct influence on the proliferation of the show Collie is insubstantial at best, let’s explore what impact the Monarchy may have, in fact, had on the culture of dogs during her reign. Five. If the show Collie owes more to...
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The Queen and the Collie
20 January 2009 2:57 AM | 2 CommentsThe old wisdom on the rise of the show Collie is that Queen Victoria met them on a trip to Scotland in the 1860s, became infatuated, acquired them, sponsored them in shows, bred them, and her abundant trend-setting prowess lead to their bountiful rise to...
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The Victorian Collie Myth
19 January 2009 8:03 PM | 5 CommentsThe prevailing creation myth among show Collie enthusiasts is that Queen Victoria’s infatuation with the breed set the ball in motion, elevating the humble farm dog to aristocratic splendor. Queen Victoria saw her first Collies in the 1860′s, and she enthusiastically began to sponsor them,...
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Juicing The Sheep
language Archive
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The Future Language of Dog
Posted on December 25, 2008 | No CommentsThe Ancient, Modern, and Future Language of “Dog.” Part 1. The Ancient. Wherein the Author describes the Border War between Linguists on the history of the proto-word for “Dog.” Part 2. The Modern. Wherein the Author describes Dog’s omnipresence in modern language.Part 3. The Future.... -
The Modern Language of Dog
Posted on December 24, 2008 | No CommentsThe Ancient, Modern, and Future Language of “Dog.” Part 1. The Ancient. Wherein the Author describes the Border War between Linguists on the history of the proto-word for “Dog.”Part 2. The Modern. Wherein the Author describes Dog’s omnipresence in modern language. Part 3. The Future.... -
The Ancient Language of Dog
Posted on December 23, 2008 | No Commentsreprint from 8/23/07 The Ancient, Modern, and Future Language of “Dog.” Part 1. The Ancient. Wherein the Author describes the Border War between Linguists on the history of the proto-word for “Dog.”Part 2. The Modern. Wherein the Author describes Dog’s omnipresence in modern language. Part... -
A Sense for Words
Posted on September 25, 2008 | 1 CommentOne of the tried, true, and now extinct tests of language acuity on the SAT is the analogy. I mourn its passing. Analogies bring out relationships between words and concepts that I find fascinating. The short hand for analogies compares two words, presents you with... -
On "Hallelujah"
Posted on March 24, 2008 | 2 CommentsFor the first post in the “Texutal Analysis 101″ series, I’d like to start with a song that is particularly vulnerable to shallow and hasty interpretations. The ironic and jaded lament for a lost and broken love, Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. The casual reader might want... -
Textual Analysis 101
Posted on March 1, 2008 | No CommentsWhen was the last time you carefully listened to the lyrics of your favorite song and asked what was really happening? Too often we are swept away by the melody and the words are just embellishments as this NSFW R-rated, but funny, ad demonstrates: ..... -
Signs of the Apocalypse I
Posted on February 11, 2008 | No CommentsDo you know what incompetent educators do when they utterly fail to teach children English in an English speaking country, children of parents who speak no other language? They decide that they’ll elevate the garbage those children do speak to language level and declare victory.... -
The Modern Language of Dog
Posted on November 19, 2007 | No Commentsreprint from this blog 8/24/07The Ancient, Modern, and Future Language of “Dog.” Part 1. The Ancient. Wherein the Author describes the Border War between Linguists on the history of the proto-word for “Dog.”Part 2. The Modern. Wherein the Author describes Dog’s omnipresence in modern language.... -
Dog Eats Typos
Posted on November 9, 2007 | 1 CommentAnd for the final question on the Grammar Nazi Level 1 proficiency exam, can you overlook the cute puppy and baby to find the error in this published cartoon: Hint: You’re not proof-reading very carefully. Perhaps your editor needs to be fired. YAY, you win... -
Razvodit and Vodka
Posted on November 9, 2007 | 2 CommentsOnce there lived and existed a great learned man with a beard almost as long as God’s. And one day the people came to this man and said ‘Go to the Lord, and tell him of our misery.’ ‘I will go,’ said the man. So...
Queen Victoria's Border Collies