Good morning. Monday in Whitewater will be windy with a high of 47. Sunrise is 6:56 AM and sunset 7:07 PM for 12h 10m 58s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 2.2% of its visible disk illuminated. Whitewater’s Alcohol & Licensing Committee meets at 4:45 PM and the Library Board meets at 6:30 PM.…
Language
Daily Bread, Facebook, Language
Daily Bread for 3.18.23: Declaration, Persuasion, Narration
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Good morning. Saturday in Whitewater will see scattered flurries with a high of 27. Sunrise is 7:00 AM and sunset 7:05 PM for 12h 05m 06s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 14.1% of its visible disk illuminated. The Polar Plunge returns to Whitewater today at the Cravath Lakefront. On this day in…
City, Conservative Populism, Culture, Daily Bread, Education, Excuses and Rationalizations, Freedom of Speech, Language, Low Standards
Daily Bread for 2.14.23: Nothing Upsets the Populists Like Contrary Speech (esp. from Blacks or Gays)
by JOHN ADAMS • • 1 Comment
Good morning. Valentine’s Day in Whitewater will be rainy with a high of 50. Sunrise is 6:52 AM and sunset 5:25 PM for 10h 33m 36s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 40.9% of its visible disk illuminated. Now, Whitewater — don’t let showers dampen your spirits. There’s romance in the rain. Whitewater’s…
Boosterism, Daily Bread, Gaslighting, Language, Toxic Positivity
Daily Bread for 11.28.22: Oh, Merriam-Webster, It’s About Time
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Good morning. Monday in Whitewater will be party sunny with a high of 45. Sunrise is 7:03 AM and sunset 4:22 PM for 9h 19m 23s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 27% of its visible disk illuminated. Whitewater’s Urban Forestry meets at 4:30 PM, and the Whitewater School Board meets in closed…
Daily Bread, Language, Science/Nature
Daily Bread for 7.24.22: ‘Parentese’ as a True Lingua Franca
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Good morning. Sunday in Whitewater will see morning showers with a high of 83. Sunrise is 5:39 AM and sunset 8:23 PM for 14h 44m 27s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 15% of its visible disk illuminated. On this day in 1935, the Dust Bowl heat wave reaches its peak, sending temperatures…
Culture, Daily Bread, Language
Daily Bread for 7.17.22: On Latinx
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Good morning. Sunday in Whitewater be partly sunny, with scattered afternoon thunderstorms, and a high of 84. Sunrise is 5:32 AM and sunset 8:29 PM for 14h 58m 38s of daytime. The moon is a waning gibbous with 80.7% of its visible disk illuminated. On this day in 1955, Disneyland is dedicated and opened by Walt…
Daily Bread, Language
Daily Bread for 6.4.22: 2022 Scripps National Spelling Bee Ends in Epic Spell-Off
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Good morning. Saturday in Whitewater will see a brief shower or two this morning followed by scattered afternoon thunderstorms with a high of 70. Sunrise is 5:17 AM and sunset 8:29 PM for 15h 12m 00s of daytime. The moon is a waxing crescent with 21.3% of its visible disk illuminated. On this day in 1989,…
Daily Bread, Fascism, Language, Russia, Ukraine, War
Daily Bread for 4.25.22: ‘Ruscism’
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Good morning. Monday in Whitewater will be partly cloudy with a high of 45. Sunrise is 5:56 AM and sunset 7:49 PM for 13h 53m 16s of daytime. The moon is a waning crescent with 28.2% of its visible disk illuminated. The Whitewater Unified School Board meets in open session at 5:45 PM, then enters closed…
Cats, History, Language
Friday Catblogging: Why do we say ‘cat got your tongue?’
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
Language
A Reminder from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer: “It’s not just Shark Week…”
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
As it turns out, while testing her microphone before going live at the first night of the Democratic National Convention, Gov. Whitmer of Michigan used a spicy test line: Gov. Whitmer (D-MI) jokes before going live: "It's not just Shark Week … it's Shark Week *mouths expletive*" pic.twitter.com/KSndbTvLZi— The Recount (@therecount) August 18, 2020 Via…
America, Culture, Fortitude, Language, Rhetoric
Roosevelt’s Speech at Madison Square Garden (10.31.1936)
by JOHN ADAMS • • Comments
So this libertarian doubts the economic effectiveness of the New Deal, in its first and later iterations during the Roosevelt Administration. And yet, and yet… I admire Roosevelt greatly, as he was a courageous man who described the conditions of his time honestly (if the solutions not so well). His speech on 10.31.1936, announcing a…
Assault Awareness & Prevention, Hunger, Language, Public Relations, University, UW System, Writing
At UW-Whitewater, For All That Value, Too Little Administrative Respect for Values
by JOHN ADAMS • • 4 Comments
There’s a press release (screenshot here) contending that UW-Whitewater contributes a large sum – hundreds of millions – to the Wisconsin economy. The release is written by Assistant Vice Chancellor Sara Kuhl. Kuhl begins the release touting the power and influence of the university by misspelling a common English word (emphasis added): UW-Whitewater, one of…
Assault Awareness & Prevention, Crime, Language, Newspapers, Writing
Janesville Gazette’s Reprehensible Story About an Alleged Sexual Assault
by JOHN ADAMS • • 4 Comments
At the nearby Janesville Gazette, there’s a story about an alleged sexual assault that’s simply reprehensible reporting: Excessive drinking was prelude to sex assault, court document alleges. (The reporter, Frank Schultz; editor, Sid Schwartz.) Here’s how Schultz’s story begins – a single-sentence first paragraph: An 18-year-old Janesville man is accused of second-degree sexual assault after…
America, Language, Newspapers, Trump, Writing
Why Feature Stories on Major Topics are Now Often a Waste of Time
by JOHN ADAMS • • 1 Comment
Feature stories on major topics, in which the author begins a multi-paragraph description of a person or scene before offering a substantive consideration of the topic, have today little use in newspapers. These stories are meant to set a scene, and perhaps evoke emotions in readers who are, the author presumes, indifferent or ignorant of…