Stop! I Don't Wanna Hear It Anymore

Apropos of the many protests currently going on in college campuses, here's a protest song by Melanie Safka, used in the movie R.P.M.

She was a great singer from the early 1970's.

Truly Tasteless, Moronic Banner

This truly tasteless banner was hanging on an off-campus condo in Tuscaloosa. It's just a damned game, idiots! 

I'll pass on the game today. This turned me off.

USA Today Gets It All Wrong!

USA Today published today a list of the greatest college fight songs.

1.  "Rocky Top" (Tennessee)
2.  "Ramblin' Wreck" (Georgia Tech)
3.  "The Victors" (Michigan)
4.  "Victory Song" (Notre Dame)
5.  "Aggie War Hymn" (Texas A & M)
6.  "Fight On" (USC)
7.  "On, Wisconsin" (Wisconsin)
8.  "Boomer Sooner" (Oklahoma)
9.  "Yea, Alabama"     (Alabama)
10.  "Anchors Aweigh" (Navy)

This list gets a major fail, in my opinion!

Rocky Top and the Victors are overrated. ND's song is a pain. I thought Boomer Sooner was a joke!

Yea Alabama and Anchors Aweigh deserve higher ratings than what they got.

Strangely enough, when I went to vote at Forest Hills School some years ago, the band was playing "On Wisconsin."

Political Party Debates

The television news networks, and the political parties, seem very enamored of having television debates as part of the process in selecting Presidential candidates. And, once the Vice-Presidential candidates are selected by the two major nominees, having at least one of those as well.

The recent Republican candidate debate was really a reductio ad culos.  To begin with, it was lengthy; especially if you include the preliminary one for those not eligible for the main debate. Second, it had too many participants, which made it hard to distinguish among several. Finally, each participant had less than 20 minutes air time; some as little as 10 minutes.

But there are other problems as well. The brief exposure time sets a premium on dropping zingers and cheap sound bites. They have little time to expound on their ideas, making possible complex reasoning seem so simplified!

The also-ran debate seemed extremely poorly conceived: in effect, the audience was primed before by their separation from the others into writing them off as losers or also-rans. In effect, they were relegated to the kids' table in the political feast.

So, in general, it was probably premature to have a debate with so many participants. But Fox and CNN both liked to generate some news lest there is not enough to go around.

Tennessee Vols Fans

Gender-Neutral Pronouns at U.T.

The University of Tennessee Office for Diversity and Inclusion recently asked people to use gender-neutral pronouns such as "xe," "xym" and "xyr."  The reason is that not all people think of themselves as "male" or "female," and identify themselves in a different fashion if they are transgender. This proposal was to suggest alternatives for the sex-specific third-person pronouns he, she, him, and her. These suggested alternatives "xe," "xym," and "xyr" are pronounced like "zee," "zim," and "zeer."

Immediately local State Representatives such as Bill Dunn (R-Knoxville) and Se, Frank Niceley (R-Strawberry Plains) took issue immediately with this proposal.

My first response was to scoff, thinking it's a hair-brained idea originating in the adminisphere from people who have too little to do with their time. However, the wording of the article said that the Office for Diversity and Inclusion asked!  Therefore, my thoughts on it changed.

In other words, it was a suggestion, not an order. Telling university students and professors what to do as a losing possibility, much like herding cats. What is likely is that some will follow the suggestion; while others, for whatever their reasons might be, will not. By making a request, and not a ukase, it stops it from being a top-down mandate on language. In general, bottom-up usage is more likely to take hold.

Anyway, instructors were asked to learn students' names and pronoun preferences during the first few meetings of a class.

This sounds like a good alternative; given that some students are transgender an may have a difficult life because of it. However many transgender people are around, they don't need another mortification. Therefore, give the students or others the option.

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/local-news/genderneutral-terms-encouraged-at-ut-criticized-by-legislators_30641205?google_editors_picks=true

Bling for the Butt!

This is sold as a gag gift for cat owners.  It's been my experience with cats is that they are not loath to show their butts.  Imagine this scenario: You're wakening from being asleep.  You slowly wake up, and  the first goddam thing you see is your cat's butt!  It sort of shakes your confidence and you expect that the day is not going to get any better. 

But here's a product to spare you that psychological trauma:  https//twinkletush.com

Your cat will enjoy this new look too!