jeudi, mai 12, 2005 Merlyn just typed out a few lines from the secondary school essays that she's marking."She conceited defeat." I'm trying to get my church to understand that it's a combineD youth camp we're holding, not a combine youth camp, but nobody seems to be understanding why there is an extra "d" at the end of "combine". "It's not past tense what, the camp haven't come yet," they tell me. I'm reading eleven essays from NUS undergraduates, and the quality of writing is not much better. And no, these are not foreign students. Is the art of good writing dead? Some communication theorists are of the opinion that as long as we can understand each other, why should anyone bother about how we do it? Literature buffs will clutch their hands to their hearts in horror, and bemoan with the art buffs that beauty (in language, in painting, in art) is priceless, and cannot be let die so easily. But in the age where the SMS and chat window rule, is there any space in the future for good writing? I think I write in a very straightforward manner - no flowery language, no deep thoughts behind my words that create convoluted sentences. And yet, some of the younger generation find my language "cheem". Izzit juz bcoz i dun rite lyk dis? I wanted to try to link the content of this post to NewSpeak (1984), but I'm expending all my brain power trying to finish that stupid journal article (which I'm sure will be rejected - first by my sup then by the journal!) before I have to leave at 5.30am tmrw. Wish me luck. I'll post a picture of me on a camel when I get back. If you want to pray, pray that I'll meet a Matthew McConaughy lookalike (like in Sahara!) who's crazy about me. (Seriously though, I'm falling very, very ill. Pray that this illness DIES NOW.) ETA: I've FINISHED the first draft. Huzzah! 2500 words written in 12 hours - probably incoherent babbling, but here's praying (hey, there's another prayer request for you!) that my sup will find it okay. I HATE IT because it's not GREAT, but I've got a headache, I'm slightly woozy from the too-much-thinking and lack of sleep thing that I've been doing to finish this article, I'm leaving the house in two hours, and beggars really, really cannot be choosers. [kan u unnerstaan mi?] |
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