discoveredjoys

Comment Threads

• outeast1 commented on The language of alienation
  "Austerity poses an imminent, existential threat to the American people." It doesn't seem so long ago since I first encountered the contemporary use of 'austerity' as a euphemism for 'swingeing cuts in public spending' as opposed to an ascetic lifestyle choice or an unfortunate state of deprivation possibly glamourized in retrospect ('Dig for Britain' and whatnot). I'd imagine that someone from a decade or so ago would likely have been unable to interpret the above correctly; and an intelligent reader, if pushed to give meaning to it, might have imagined it to be some kind of satirical statement mocking American...
• outeast1 commented on The language of alienation
  Reading through the suggestions above... Many seem to be things one could have understood even without the tech or circumstances being familiar (like the reference to getting to Mars with 3-d printed food; it'd sound far-fetched, but not incomprehensible). Neologisms and references to people and events are a bit cheaty, really, no? It's most effective when a word has one meaning to the present reader but another to a future reader, or where a new word provides inaccurate clues to the real meaning (like the reference to a 'droid' - if it were an entirely novel word, the reader could...
• ywwg.myopenid.com commented on The language of alienation
  "New Orleans has recovered half of population lost in 2005" "Four Americans killed by U.S. drone strikes, administration discloses" "Second Star Trek movie 'not that great'"...
• Adrian Howard commented on The language of alienation
  Another 2013 headline that wouldn't make much sense to 2003 folk (or, indeed, folk outside of the UK). "RSPCA has called for 'badger-friendly' labels on milk and yogurt" ( http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/9563335/RSPCA-call-for-badger-friendly-milk.html for those outside the UK for context )....
• Noel Maurer commented on The language of alienation
  Charlie, you should read The Unwinding, by George Packer. I recommend the book in general. But for the purposes of this thread, I strongly recommend pages 7, 35, 69, 107, 137, 155, 217, 297, and 379. I strongly recommend those pages to each and every reader of this thread....