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A letter to a would-be King Cnut of language | Writing: Jeremy Kahn
https://jeremykahnwriting.wordpress.com/2013/10/02/a-letter-to-a-would-be-king-cnut-of-language
Fictions and other thoughts. People skills and karaoke. A letter to a would-be King Cnut of language. October 2, 2013. You and I got into a discussion about the abuse of the word. I suggested that you look at something I wrote about learning language by osmosis. Language is what people speak, I suggested, not what the rules say. You didn’t see it that way. You made an analogy with shopping:. 8230;] if we look at other norms of behaviour, is the majority always right? Here’s my response. Unlike money, lan...
jeremykahnwriting.wordpress.com
About my father: Franz Kahn | Writing: Jeremy Kahn
https://jeremykahnwriting.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/fdk
Fictions and other thoughts. Did FDK believe in God? About my father: Franz Kahn. April 15, 2013. My father, Franz Daniel Kahn (FDK) was an astronomer. Or to be more precise, an astrophysicist. The equipment he needed for work consisted of a pad of paper, a slide rule, and a Bic (always). FDK thought in approximations. When talking about the physics of stars, there are few accurate measures, and many approximations. FDK would talk about quantities as. Thinking approximately means that you can simplify ca...
jeremykahnwriting.wordpress.com
My FB life | Writing: Jeremy Kahn
https://jeremykahnwriting.wordpress.com/2015/01/15/my-fb-life
Fictions and other thoughts. Glass half-full: things people never say. Grammar and the Grammar Police →. January 15, 2015. Saturday, 8 January 2011 at 18:06 UTC. Overheard on a train: *my gay mate phones me up and asks me are you gay yet? How are you anyway*? Tuesday, 7 June 2011 at 19:30 UTC 01. Theres machine gun fire outside. really. Thursday, 16 June 2011 at 17:20 UTC 01. And for my next gig I’m a birthday present. Thursday, 16 June 2011 at 17:20 UTC 01. Wondering what a birthday present should wear.
jeremykahnwriting.wordpress.com
Glass half-full: things people never say | Writing: Jeremy Kahn
https://jeremykahnwriting.wordpress.com/2014/12/15/glass-half-full-things-people-never-say
Fictions and other thoughts. A trip to the islands. My FB life →. Glass half-full: things people never say. December 15, 2014. People use the question. Is your glass half-full or half-empty. As an indicator for optimism / pessimism. The question implies that empty is bad and full is good. But if you ask. How full is your glass? The natural answer would be. How much have you drunk? The natural answer would be. How empty is your glass? My glass is three-quarters full. My glass is a quarter full. In a perso...
jeremykahnwriting.wordpress.com
Astronomy and lightning | Writing: Jeremy Kahn
https://jeremykahnwriting.wordpress.com/2015/01/20/astronomy-and-lightning
Fictions and other thoughts. Grammar and the Grammar Police. Some writing principles and the style guide that I haven’t written →. January 20, 2015. Some memories are created by family myths. This story about my father, FDK. May be an example. In the early 60s FDK spent a few months at the National Radio Astronomy Obervatory. In Greenbank, West Virginia. An emissary from the Sterrewacht. In Leiden came to Greenbank to give a seminar about Professor Jan Oort. This entry was tagged astronomy. You are comme...
jeremykahnwriting.wordpress.com
George Harrison played in our band | Writing: Jeremy Kahn
https://jeremykahnwriting.wordpress.com/2015/06/03/george-harrison-played-in-our-band
Fictions and other thoughts. Josh, Julie and the Iraqi English accent. The Elephant House →. George Harrison played in our band. June 3, 2015. George Harrison played with our band. A face I had known for all of my life. Who inspired a generation of kids. To learn to play the guitar and sing. Sat in with our band. We were standing outside the marquee. When George wandered over to chat. Charlie had a new mandolin. George said he had one by the same maker. But now he mostly played the banjo. THAT IS TOO COOL.
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Some writing principles and the style guide that I haven’t written | Writing: Jeremy Kahn
https://jeremykahnwriting.wordpress.com/2015/02/02/some-writing-principles-and-the-style-guide-that-i-havent-written
Fictions and other thoughts. Josh, Julie and the Iraqi English accent →. Some writing principles and the style guide that I haven’t written. February 2, 2015. A discussion about ableist language stimulated by this article. Has made me aware of my habitual use of words like. If that’s offensive (as the article suggests) then I’d prefer not to use them. David Cameron’s policies are stupid. David Cameron’s policies will not work because they fail to take account of x,y and z. On the same basis I think that ...
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Grammar and the Grammar Police | Writing: Jeremy Kahn
https://jeremykahnwriting.wordpress.com/2015/01/17/grammar-and-the-great-white-males
Fictions and other thoughts. Astronomy and lightning →. Grammar and the Grammar Police. January 17, 2015. This post was originally titled Grammar and the Great White Males. This offended some of the people it referred to. I think they are right. Hence the new title]. The Grammar Police keep on picking me up when I discuss good grammar, spelling and punctuation, saying things like I thought you said grammar doesn’t matter. Thanks for the reference Anna Kahn. I can believe all this and still aim for clarit...