Why Name Changes are Bad

I AM going to argue here that we ought to refuse to accept requests from abroad to change English names of countries and cities on the grounds that it is potentially manipulative, definitely confusing, and that it robs that country of all respect due from an historical association.

Why Jailhouse Rock is Gay

ELVIS made it a hit. It’s been covered by the Blues Brothers and many others. But Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller’s “Jailhouse Rock” is a very strange song indeed. It is all about homosexuality in prisons. There can be no question of that.

You see, it is

Why Hypocrisy is Good

AN hypocrite is someone who hides intentions or true personality. At least, it is almost everywhere except where people speak English.  For some unknown reason, in English, the word has a different meaning.

When someone preaches something, but practices the exact opposite, then (but only in English) that person is accused of being an hypocrite, or of acting hypocritically. I am going to show that being an hypocrite is (a) normal, (b) healthy, (c) necessary for a civil society, (d) honest and (e) one of your human rights.

Why You Should NOT Drop Your House Selling Price

THE British are obsessed with two things: the weather and house prices.

The great many TV shows relating to property is a clue to how important this is to us; there’s something about “bricks and mortar” we love to invest in. In this post I shall try to explain why dropping the price of your property is a bad idea, and that everyone should act like a proper investor and wait for the tide to turn!

When Politics Died

IN the USA you could be a Democrat or a Republican, in the UK you could be for the Conservative & Unionist party, the New Labour Party, or the Liberal Democrats.

The logic tells us all that if you are for one, then it follows that you are against the rest.  The difference has to be something to do with what the political party stands for. But things have now changed; politics died.

How to Lose Weight

A SLIMMING DIET is needed if you want to lose weight. While a little exercise can help at key times during a slimming diet, the main thing is to watch

Why Not Forgive?

FORGIVENESS is out of fashion at the moment.

I think it is a great shame; forgiveness is a measure of civilisation, of how far we have progressed, or advanced – how civilised we have become.

Unfortunately, the present hunger is for revenge and retribution. We demand punishment for people who have done wrong, especially when

What is Art Part 1

EVERYONE seems to know what “art” is until you ask them. It’s all very complicated for such a small word!

I decided to investigate, and found that the meaning of “art” has changed over quite a short period of time — and not merely changed, but radically changed so that it presently means the polar opposite of what it originally meant — and that’s pretty amazing, in my opinion.

How Words Manipulate Part 2

IN a previous article posted on this blog, I attempted to show how easily we are manipulated by the wording of copyright restriction notices (see How Words Manipulate of January 2007). I wrote that article because it had become annoying enough in my mind and I needed an outlet.

Recently I have been getting annoyed by the rhetoric of the gutter press, magazines, web sites, radio and television — especially when journalists interview serious professionals who cannot resort to quips or soundbites, or when politicians are involved!

That is why I have returned to this subject. This time I want to concentrate on how we are manipulated by the spoken word — by what is known as

Why Consumer Choice is Not Good

I AM going to argue here that things have gone wrong, and that responsibility has become misplaced. It seems to me to be the case that things are no longer what they once were, that things are no longer simple.

Allow me to illustrate: Bread is no longer just bread, there