Dawn

Dawn

Saturday, October 16, 2010

A Spanish friend asked me last night if there was an English verb ‘to scapegoat’. My answer was that any noun in English could be turned into a verb. Especially if you were American. Sure enough, this morning I duly came across ‘To foreground’ and ‘To child-mind’. Point proven, I think. Of course, some of them work better than others.

And then this morning I came across the word ‘rube’ (as in “some unthinking rube looked up from his Gameboy”), which meant nothing to me. But, thanks to the internet, I now know this means something like yokel, hick, yahoo, hayseed, bumpkin or chawbacon. Happily, I now know what ‘chawbacon’ means as well. Quite an educative day.

So, Liverpool FC finally have new owners and a great weight has possibly been lifted from the shoulders of the management and players ahead of tomorrow’s game. But I rather hope not, as this is against Everton. Since this is the effectively the first relegation derby I can recall between the two teams, you can forget all that guff I wrote earlier this week about being sympathetic to Liverpool’s plight. May they collapse in further ignominy. Amidst scenes of delirious Goodison joy. If not, there may not be a post on Sunday night.

Which reminds me . . . There were some long-overdue words of wisdom on the English football scene in The Guardian earlier this week - English football has become an insatiable monster. And the truth is that we ought to face up to the fact but have shied away from doing so. The parallels with what was happening in the financial sector at the same time and for many of the same reasons are absolutely unmissable. . . . Get real about English football. It is a god that failed. Stop worshipping it. It is the reflection of the unbalanced, short-termist hedonism of the financial boom era. More here

Finally . . . Quote of the Year so far: Works of modern art, like financial derivatives, are fundamentally unintelligible products marketed in incomprehensible language. No wonder one’s crash was followed sharply by the other’s. – Edward Skidelsky.

Tailnote for new readers: Exciting news. The first eight chapters of my daughter’s novel can now be read and/or downloaded in pdf form, for easy reading. It’s a “Fast-paced political thriller but, above all, a personal tale of pride and paranoia.” Set in a fictionalised Cuba, it’s being e-published at the rate of at least a couple of chapters a week. If this entices you, click here.

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