Thursday, September 9, 2010

On reading:

Saying “Tla” to English-Only – How Aggressive Majority Language Policies Threaten Native Culture


I would like to hear from an advocate of "English-only" what they are afraid of? Why is language so intimately identified with culture that people in the USA feel threatened by people who speak additional languages to English? What is wrong with speaking two or more languages? How could that undermine the political establishment? Anyway, what does "English" culture mean in the USA? I suppose there is an unconscious awareness that " once a language disappears, it isn’t long until the culture to which it belongs begins to lose shape" - Chief Harry Wallace as cited in the article).
So why is that? Why is language such a powerful vehicle of culture that once it disappears the "culture" goes with it?

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Why the name? Artemesia Gentileschi was a student of Caravaggio and the first female painter to become a member of the Academia di Arte del Disegno in Florence, Italy. She made a name for herself in a time when females were not considered capable of being accomplished painters.
It is also a connection to Florence (where I used to live) and friends there, and here, who are painters in the realist style.
Well, that was easy! I thought it was about time to try out a blog. I have been a journal writer for many years and this seemed like a logical extension of that activity. I invite you to read and engage with the ideas. I look forward to learning both from my own writing and eventual interaction with other ideas that writing may provoke.