Momentary Language

"'Momentary language' is an odd concept when you think about it"

I don't know who Ruth Walker is, and I'm sure she's quite the linguistic pyrotechnist, but I take umbrage to her recent reference to lil' ol' me in her April 12 entry, "Rated 'L' for Language," on her blog for the Christian Science Monitor. In that entry, she writes

The new flick, "The Hoax," for instance, ... has been rated "R" – restricted to those 17 or older without parent or guardian – "for language." For language? Don't all movies have language? a visitor from Mars would ask. Wasn't that the whole point of "the talkies"?

No, what's meant here is profanity, vulgarisms, and the like. But to say so would take more space – more words – than we would like. So "language" becomes shorthand for "foul language," and we have another case of "bad" meanings driving the "good" meanings out. ...

A quirky variant here is "momentary language," meaning, presumably, a few dirty words, rather than a nonstop stream of profanity, in an otherwise wholesome movie. I see it's a distinctive enough phrase that someone has glommed onto it as the title of a blog.

"Glommed onto it"? Glommed?! Sounded pejorative to me, but I'm just a lowly independent blogger -- unlike the clearly brilliant Ms. Walker, Christian Scientist blogger extraordinaire. Here's what the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition has to say:

glom, v.tr.

1. To steal.
2. To seize; grab.

I get it; when Walker notes that "'Momentary language' is an odd concept when you think about it," and proceeds to wax inanely about the notion for a few sentences, this is a sign that she is reflective and deep, capable of detached ironic commentary on contemporary cinema and culture. When I employ the striking phrase as the title of my blog, however, I'm neither thinking nor ironic ... I'm simply glomming, I guess.

I suppose Walker's expense of so much "Verbal Energy" leaves little left over for reflection, or common courtesy.

I Live For This

Ok, blog fans! Here begins another -- probably abortive -- attempt to revive these Musings. With students on a short fall break and the Yankees prematurely out of the playoffs, however, I find myself with a bit of time on my hands. We’ll see if it lasts.

We’ll start this revivification attempt off with some left-over business ... mostly random, unredacted!, impressions I jotted down in a cheap imitation of a Moleskine notebook during my trip through Europe in June.

I'm Back

Post-election blues pretty much kept me out of commission since November, and, given my duties in conjunction with Lafayette College's job search for an aesthetician and/or specialist in ancient philosophy, I have successfully resisted the siren song of blogging. This semester, however, I will be back and blogging as a component of a course I'm teaching: Questions of Trust in Science.

It's good to be back!

Further Signs of Intelligent Life in the Lehigh Valley

It's been more difficult to keep up with blogging now that I've begun the semester. I vow to do better.

For those who feared that, with my blog so intermittent, signs of intelligent life from the Lehigh Valley in the blogosphere would be difficult to find, I wanted to recommend the blog of Amardeep Singh, Assistant Professor of English at Lehigh. I admit to not having had as much time as I would like to peruse his blog, but it seems to include literary items, pieces of interest to those working on post-colonialism, and entries concerning contemporary affairs. It's worth checking out.

Musings More Intermittent

I'll be on vacation for the next month, in a shack (literally!) on the beach with (gasp!) no internet access. I'll be posting once a week or so, whenever I return to civilization to resupply. Meanwhile, wish me luck on getting a lot of writing done!

Away for a few days

I'll be away from the confluence of the Delaware and Lehigh rivers, the wellspring of my musings, for the next few days, so posts will be more sporadic until after Memorial Day.