Texting, Friending -- The New Verbs

Anthony Gardener takes an amusing look at an undeniable trend: "Mothers and fathers used to bring up children: now they parent. Critics used to review plays: now they critique them. Athletes podium, executives flipchart, and almost everybody Googles. Watch out—you’ve been verbed." -- "You've Been Verbed"

STTA. One thing for sure: The trend that Gardener describes has the quality of a tidal wave. Generally, English teachers tend to be a bit conservative in such matters, but one wonders: Is there really anything to worry about? What does Gardener think? What do you?

The First War on Terror

"In the late 19th century, as today, a terrorist cabal detonated bombs in the heart of the Western world. Judged by the number of successful attacks on politicians and royalty, that force was more directly threatening to the inner circles of power than today’s radical Islam." -- Brian Doherty's review of The World That Never Was (Reason)

STTA. It's easy to ignore the fact that Europe and the U.S. both had their own home-grown terrorists over a century ago--Anarchists, dedicated to using indiscriminate urban violence to achieve political ends. Doherty's reviews suggests lessons we can learn for our current struggle with politically-inspired violence.

Libertarianism

"Libertarianism is a long, clunky word for a simple, elegant idea: that government should do as little as possible. . . . [but] it doesn’t fit into the two-party paradigm. Libertarians want less state intrusion into the market, which aligns them with Republicans, but also less interference in social choices, which aligns them with Democrats. As Massachusetts governor William Weld put it in 1992, “I want the government out of your pocketbook and your bedroom.” -- Christopher Beam, "The Trouble with Liberty"

STTA. Libertarianism has long existed on the fringe of American politics, its appeal often esoteric and intellectual--although the current Tea Party movement has both passion and a strong libertarian (anti-government) bent. Still one wonders why such a seemingly popular idea has had such a hard time gaining a mass following. Your thoughts?

The Western: New Life for an Old Genre?

"With True Grit crossing the $100 million mark at the box office, the Western, often given up for dead, appears to be back.

"Black hats, white hats, guns, a frontier code of honor, big-sky country — all have been Hollywood staples since at least 1903, when The Great Train Robbery sent gunslingers galloping across the plains of New Jersey." -- Bob Mondello @ NPR.

STTA. Film Westerns have been one of the distinctive creations of 20th-century American culture, even if their appeal has reached far across our borders. In the story quoted from above, Mondello lists 5 classic Westerns. How do you explain the enduring appeal of this genre for American audiences?