Brad,

I have conversed with many of the young and old men and women who have
proudly served in the capacity of which you write. My father,
brothers, and sister are included among these patriots. So, too, are
many of my academic colleagues. And regardless of the "common parlance
among the military," "merit" derives from their capacity to
differentiate between the "language of the street" and intellectual
discursive vocabulary.

 As to your original question which prompted both the "grunt" and your
condescending reply: "The first snowstorm of the season in Denver was
both early and severe, which was
not what the weather service predicted," I  understand this to "mean"
that the weather service incorrectly predicted both the time of onset
and the nature of Denver's first snowstorm.

No direct reply needed,
Diane








On Wed, Sep 3, 2008 at 4:46 AM, Brad Johnston <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Ah, Chere Madame, I regret that you are offended by the language of the
> streets, which is not sophomoric in this case, as the young man quoted is
> depicted in the film as a last-year high school student, even though he,
> like the others, seems to be somewhat older than the part he played.
>
> The point, relating to something that must have happened while you were
> away, was that I asked a simple question, "what do these words mean?", and
> got lengthy replies that did many things but did not answer the question. At
> least the young man replied exactly to what he was asked. There is a certain
> merit in that ability.
>
> The words "great line", erroneously beginning with a capital letter and
> ending with a period, constitute a fragment.
>
> The words "great movie" are also a fragment and they opine that this is a
> movie you would probably enjoy seeing, if you can stomach the decidedly
> English overlay and at least that one naughty word.
>
> As to the adjective quoted, were you to converse with any of the young men
> who have been occupied defending your freedom to be offended by their
> speech, you will know that the offensive word is in common parlance among
> the military, at least in the Army, which was my assigned branch of service.
>
> (The average age of these grunts, by the way, is currently something just
> under 19 years. I was 24 when I was drafted, so I was something of a
> superannuated grunt.)
>
> Since you missed my query, let me ask you, what do these words mean? "The
> first snowstorm of the season in Denver was both early and severe, which was
> not what the weather service predicted."
>
> What I mean by "mean" is just tell me what happened. What message do the
> words convey?
>
> .yoursverytruly.brad.03sep08.
>
> ~~~~~~~
>
> On Tue, 9/2/08, diane skinner <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> "Great line"?  Is that your sentence or your frag?
> And your point? Are you now going to argue that the word many people,
> including me, find offensive functions appropriately as an adjective?
> Certainly a word-smith could muster up a more erudite quote to express
> seeming frustration than this sophomoric one.
>
> Diane Skinner
>
> ~~~~~~~
>
> Brad Johnston <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> My inability to extract simple answers to simple questions reminds me of
> a wonderful movie which I recommend highly, particularly to you. I gave
> it five Netflix stars, i.e., five on a five scale.
>
> ~~~~~~~
>
> The History Boys(2006) R
>
> Nicholas Hytner, Richard Griffiths and Frances de la Tour reprise
> their Tony-winning roles in this engaging film version of Alan Bennett's
> play chronicling a rowdy group of boys on their way to higher education. On
> a quest to attend either Oxford or Cambridge, the teens grapple with
> the intricacies of university entrance exams and admissions, ultimately
> learning as much about the education system as they do about academics.
> ~~~~~~~
>
> In a scene in which a senior student is sitting for his oral exam for
> Oxford admission, he is asked to please define "history". The young man,
> sitting alone facing three teachers, somberly replies, "History is just one
> fuckin' thing after another".
>
> That's all he said.
>
> Great line. Great movie.
>
> .brad.02sep08
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