Resources for January 22, 2014

Smells Like Human Spirit #67: "Deconstructing Edward Bernays’ Propaganda (Part 4)" and Part 5

Benton, Michael Dean. "Astroturf and Front Group Research: The Center for Union Facts." Dialogic Cinephilia (January 20, 2014)

Meghan Neal for Vice's Motherboard: "Obama's Linguistic Loopholes"

"The ability to perceive or think differently is more important than the knowledge gained." -- David Bohm, quoted in New Scientist (February 1993): 42.

David Miller on Divine Salve: "My Speech at Martin Luther King Rally"


Merriam-Webster's Word-of-the-Day

gaffer \GAF-er\

noun 1 : an old man — compare gammer; 2 a: foreman, overseer — British b : employer; 3 : a head glassblower; 4 : a lighting electrician on a motion-picture or television set

EXAMPLES

Before the first day of shooting, the gaffer spent several days setting up all the lights.

"Meanwhile, almost a hundred crew members, gaffers, lighting and camera people, makeup artists, sound technicians, producers and security were outside creating scenes for 'Draft Day.'" — From an article by Michael Heaton in the Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio), May 15, 2013

Though movie and cinema buffs associate "gaffer" with Hollywood, the word actually pre-dates motion pictures by about 300 years. The first recorded use of "gaffer" dates from the 16th century, when it was used as a title of respect for an older gentleman. Later it was used as a generic noun for any elderly man, and then it picked up the sense "foreman" (still used in British English), perhaps because the foreman was the most experienced and, most likely, the oldest person in a work crew. Today "gaffer" is usually applied to the head lighting electrician on a movie set. The gaffer's assistant is called the "best boy."





Brody, Richard. "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Folk Singer" The New Yorker (December 5, 2013)


Merriam-Webster -- Word of the Day

wangle \WANG-gul\

verb 1 : to resort to trickery or devious methods; 2 : to adjust or manipulate for personal or fraudulent ends; 3 : to make or get by devious means : finagle

EXAMPLES

Somehow, Irene managed to wangle front-row tickets and backstage passes for the concert.

"He quits his job, wangling a huge pay-off by blackmailing his boss, and buys a ridiculous red sports car." — From a film review by Marc Lee at telegraph.co.uk, November 21, 2013

"Wangle," a verb of uncertain origin, has been used in its sense "to obtain by sly methods" since the late 19th century. Occasionally, one sees "wrangle" used similarly, as in "wrangle a huge salary," but more typically it means "to argue or engage in controversy." Did the "obtain" sense of "wrangle" evolve through confusion with "wangle"? Not exactly. "Wrangle" was used with the meaning "to obtain by arguing or bargaining" as early as 1624, long before "wangle" appeared in the language. The sense had all but disappeared until recent decades, however, and its revival may very well have been influenced by "wangle." The "obtain" sense of "wangle" is currently more common than that of "wrangle," but both are considered standard.