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Monday 24 April 2017

Bad Chamber, Bad Bad

We all know from experience (*cough* Sanctuary City *cough*) that the Michigan Chamber of Commerce is racist. We are now faced with the reality that the same Chamber is also anti-public education. Here, for example, is a post of theirs advocating against Michigan State Senate Bill 271, which would have allowed schools to expand the school year. Their reason? The travel industry. Putting money over children's educations. That's our "Pure Michigan" Chamber.

Saturday 22 April 2017

Stynt Ðy Novelri!




"Stynt ðy clappe! Beoð ðo writerris be wetleas knafen. Ðy langag o engelond diffoulened be, ille usenid bi sclaundrous novelri." (from https://lethargic-man.dreamwidth.org/510688.html)

"Stunt thy clapper! (1) The writers are witless knaves (2). The language of England is ---befouled (3)--- besmirched (3a), ill used by scandalous (4) innovation (5)." (Translation based on content at above link, using Middle English Dictionary at https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/m/mec/med-idx?type=id&id=MED10867.)

1. A "clappe" is a noise. This phrase approximates our own "Shut your mouth!"

2. A reference to the low status of sl*v*s. A knave was a servant; the word also had uses as referenced just previously.

3. I based this on a seeming connection between the Middle English word and the modern English word "foul."

3a. So close. Middle English Dictionary led me to "besmirch" based on the meaning "stain." The Etymology Online Dictionary is really cool.

4. Gratitude to the University of Michigan Library for hosting the Middle English Dictionary on its website.

5. Novelty.
.

The Kalash: A Reader

Kalash Solstice: Winter Feasts of the Kalash of North Pakistan
Alaudin (Progressive Publishers) - 1992
https://books.google.com/books?id=m_1tAAAAMAAJ

Kalash Solstice: Winter Feasts of the Kalash of North Pakistan
Jean Yves Loude, Viviane Lièvre (Lok Virsa) - 1988
https://books.google.com/books?id=8f8LAAAAIAAJ

An Annotated Bibliography of Nuristan (Kafiristan) and the Kalash Kafirs of Chitral
Schuyler Jones (Munksgaard) - 1966

Indigenous Peoples and Ethnic Minorities of Pakistan: Constitutional and Legal Perspectives
Shaheen Sardar Ali, Javaid Rehman (Routledge) - 2013
https://books.google.com/books?id=60VAsoo-huYC

Kafiristan
Ross Howard (Glass House Books) - 2014
https://books.google.com/books?id=lh_sBAAAQBAJ

Reuters: "Conversions to Islam threaten Pakistan’s "Macedonian" tribe" October 20, 2011
http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-60007720111020

Taliban threat closes in on isolated Kalash tribe
The Guardian, 17 October 2011
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/oct/17/taliban-kalash-pakistan-afghanistan

SC takes notice of TTP threats to Kalash, Ismaili communities
Express Tribune
20 February 2014
https://tribune.com.pk/story/674126/sc-takes-notice-of-ttp-threats-to-kalash-ismali-communities

Sunday 16 April 2017

Easter 2017

When Gramma's hyacinth bloomed really beautifully and I got to listen to the best pipe organist ever via a livestreamed service.