WARNING: Due to the adult nature of this subject, there is adult terminology contained within this post.
Recently a new publication has hit the market. Although there are mixed reviews about it with some pretty strong sentiments on both sides of the issue; I do not believe that anyone can say that “HardTimePress.com” has not made an impact one way or anther on the people in this area.
This is the first of what I can already foresee as many posts in defense of this publication. I for one absolutely love it and have become a “Fan” of them on Facebook. Why? Because in a lot of ways and for a lot of reasons I think it is long over due.
I currently work in a convenience store that carries the publication and I get it from all sides of this issue, most of which I find so completely hilarious that it borders on stupid! It’s the ones that come in the store every day and bitch at me for carrying it that really gets me. Excuse me!! I am not the storeowner and I do not decide what does and does not go on there. Now that we might have that clear maybe a few of these folks can sit back and take a moment to really look at what they’re actually pissed off about.
Personally I think that one guy hit the nail on the head when he came in and stated that he wished he had thought of it first. Because you know what, let’s face it; everything that is published through HardTimePress is in fact public information. All of it is published on a daily basis in all of the local newspapers. The only exception is that with HardTimePress you also get to see the beautiful police mug shots as well.
HardTimePress comes out every two weeks and currently covers the tri-county area of Columbiana, Mahoning and Trumbull Counties. The demand for the publication has been nearly overwhelming throughout the area, purchased regularly by many Police Departments, Prisons and individual Law Enforcement Officials.
I think the most idiotic reason I’ve heard lately for objecting to this publication is on the grounds of “invasion of privacy” can you believe that?! Criminal activity has been reported as public information for well over 50 years. Personally my feelings about the HardTimePress is that it is like having our own version of the hit show “Crime Stoppers” with a little bit of “America’s Most Wanted” mixed in; only it’s all locally oriented.
As far as privacy goes, I don’t think so! I don’t know how many (if any) people share my opinion on this matter but regardless I think that once you commit a crime, you have just forfeited a certain degree of your privacy. The greater the crime; the higher the level forfeited, period. But then again I’m also one of those who seriously oppose the decades long housing of convicted murderers, feeding, clothing, educating, etc them all on our tax dollars. I make no apologies for my views because you know what, hard times makes for hard people. I realize that if a lot of these prisons were to actually shut down, then there would also be a lot more unemployment. However, I think these guards would do a better service guarding the boarders of this country than playing nurse maid to these people.
Getting back to the ‘invasion of privacy’ issue with regards to public information, which is something that has irritated me beyond words since my return to my home state of Ohio. If anyone wants to talk about invasion of privacy, let’s talk about the reality of that right along with criminal activity, certain financial information is also considered public information.
This is a topic that caused a certain individual to interject themselves (rather defensively) into my conversation on this very topic. How many people reading this are actually aware of the fact that when you sell your house it is considered public information? Did you know that this information is also published in the local newspaper? Did you know that it is not just the fact that you sold your house that gets published? The information that actually gets published is far more detrimental in my opinion. Because what is published is your name, the physical address of your home, the name(s) of the individual(s) you sold it to and EXACTLY how much you sold it for!
You want to talk about invasion of privacy, that’s invasion of privacy!! The individual who just happened to interject themselves into the conversation mentioned above, did so based on the misguided concept that this information is used to moderate or to make known the market value of the neighborhood. BULLSHIT! It’s used by the various components of tax collecting agencies as one of the factors in determining the property taxes for your neighborhood.
So, based on that ideology let’s take another look at HardTimesPress if you will. Correct me if you want, if in addition to wanting to know the ‘current sale value’ (notice I did not say actual current or fair market value) of a specific home in your neighborhood; would it not be wise to also want to know the type of person who is living right next door to the house you might be thinking about purchasing? Or maybe who the person is that just bought the house right next to you after you've been living there for more than half your life, building equity into your home. Hell yes it would matter to me!!
Much the same way that a storeowner would want to know that a known/convicted thief has just walked into their store; local residents should want to know if he/she is also their neighbor! I know I would! If you have grandchildren, wouldn't you want to know if a known/convicted pedophile has just bought the home next to yours? Or that there was one already living there next door to the home that you are thinking about purchasing? As long as there are no children actually living in your home and you do not live within the prescribed distance from areas frequented by children, that pedophile is NOT breaking and/or rules or laws by living there.
In the bygone days of yesteryear an individual’s reputation was something that was treasured, built up through years of hard work and honest ethics concerning those with whom we did business. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore and it hasn’t been for a long time. Yet at the same time our reputations still follow us everywhere we go, much like our credit scores; neither of which should not be taken lightly.
I am in full support of this publication primarily because of everything that has already been addressed in this post. It is not so much just for the alleged serious crimes of murder, rape, aggravated assault/menacing, etc but for the lesser ones as well. I’ve also heard complaints from the one’s I call the “Pickers and Choosers” as far as what should and should not be published in the HardTimesPress.
People seem to take offense at the fact that speeders are listed right there along side the previously mentioned more serious crimes. The reality of that fact is that the publication covers ‘arrests’ and cannot pick and choose whom it is going to identify. Legal reasons would prohibit that practice because it would then lay the groundwork for a harassment lawsuit based on the fact that the plaintiff could then state that the publication was specifically targeting certain individuals. If you were arrested for a crime, your information gets published. Who you are and what your crime was is of no concern to the publication, which is as it should be.
Similar to the old saying, “Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.” All of this boils down to the simple fact that there will be many battles fought in the war against the invasion of privacy before it is over. People are going to have to decide exactly what the dividing point is between ‘the right to know’ and ‘the need to know’ before the overall issue of individual privacy can be fully addressed.
Gives a person a little bit to think about in my opinion.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
The Right to Rant
I guess that would be the best description of my specific purpose for this particular blog. We all have our own opinions about every subject; the problem is not so much in the agreement or disagreement of them but the apparent overwhelming need of some to shut up those that don't necessarily agree with someone else's opinion.
Yeah I know, a very long-winded sentence. Yet that's the essence of a great deal of what I've been feeling for a long time. And that involves just about every aspect of my life right now whether it's with family, friends, work, religion or politics and that's just a tip of the iceberg.
Having been associated with the Internet for nearly 20 years, I think I've participated in just about every form of 'interactive association' out there. I've been part of both the public and private chat rooms with AOL, I've been in a lot of AOL sponsored forums as well, covering a multitude of subjects and issues. I've had accounts with Twitter, Yedda, and LiveJournal and am still active in a number of the forum and debate arenas. It is truly amazing to me, the number of completely closed-minded people there are out there in this world. It is no wonder that there is so much discord.
I'm pretty frustrated right now with the Internet in that I accept the fact that things often progress and/or improve, but those are terms that are in reality a matter of opinion. I had a long time running blog of various rants that I can no longer access because they have switched formats that do not cooperate with the older formats. So now I'm starting over. Whatever.
So, for the first time visitor, which I hope people read this post first, because this is more of a description of my personal attitude, as in about me personally so to speak rather than the blog itself. Also regarding this particular blog; while I am not a paid columnist or a professional blogger, this is a place for me to post either personal ‘Commentaries’ 'Editorials' or to just ‘Rant’ about something. The reference in the title to being "Personal Disputations" has a direct relevancy to the fact that this is my personal blog, it is not force fed to your computer. Therefore, if you don't like what is being said here, then just like with your TV or your radio; you can turn it off or change the channel.
I'm not out here for the specific purpose of offending anyone, yet at the same time I'm not going to walk on eggshells either just to insure that I please everyone that just happens to stumble across this blog and decides to start reading it. After all it is a personal opinion blog, I'm not obligated to stick to a certain subject or patronize any readers with regards to the chosen subject. These are my personal feelings about the given subject of the post. Which is primarily due to the fact that a number of years ago I personally adopted the quote of "Acceptance in nice, approval not required" and that's the way it is. You don't have to like me and I don't have to like you. I'm not here to please you and you're not here to please me. But then again, that's life in a nutshell.
This is not going to be a blog that has a single subject or a particular focus and runs on continuously about it. I can log on here in the morning, read some article that is political in nature, and either post a commentary or rant about it, then turn around in an hour and do the same thing about another article that is say religiously oriented, or talk about something that happened to me personally that day. Then again, I may choose not to log on here at all for a couple of weeks or maybe a month. Whatever the case may be it’s my right to either praise it or rant about it. That's my choice as much as it is your choice not to read it.
Although I was born and raised in Ohio, which is geographically considered to be Mid-Western, I don't feel as 'at home' here as I should or thought I would. The greater majority of my adulthood has been spent away from my hometown of Lisbon, Ohio. It is rather amazing to me just how different people can be just going from one state to another much less almost across the country. I’ve lived in Ohio, Texas, Alaska, South Carolina and Pennsylvania; then spending a number of years in Europe, living in Germany, France, Italy, England and Ireland as well. All of which contributes to the fact that I have a very different perspective and opinion of people in general than those who have never been there.
It all goes to reinforce within my mind that our own personal life experiences are what play the largest factor in how we feel about something. If you have never experienced it, how can you really have an educated discussion about it? An opinion I can understand, but to ‘state’ that something is ‘this way’ or ‘that way’ in a factual manner when it has not been personally experienced is beyond me. Yet there are a number of those I call friend who seem to have what can only be defined as more than just an opinion on anything and everything, even if they’ve ‘never been there’ so to speak.
One perfect example is the fact that while I've been in the military yes, I have no personal experience upon which to draw or offer any real judgment of what goes on in a war or battle setting. Yet I know people who have never even been in any of the branches of the Armed Forces much less participated in a military confrontation who are very quick to offer their estimation about it.
I think the biggest difficulty for me in the area of communicating with others is that I've always been one who interprets what people were saying from a dictionary point of view. Meaning that I tend take what people say more in a literal way, in that my interpretation of what was said is based on the 'established' definition of what was actually said, not what was 'meant' by what was said. I’ve always felt that doing that would be more like "reading into” something and I have historically made it a habit to try never to read into what has been said regardless of the individual. This does not mean that I have never been left wondering what a person meant by whatever it was that they said. I know that for the most part as far as I’m concerned this is more due to what was not said rather than what was said.
In the over all I think most people are so caught up in their own little worlds that they fail to see just how much they infringe upon others. They either don't really listen to what they are actually saying or they don't have enough of a mastery of the English language to adequately articulate their thoughts into words, regardless of just how trivial it may seem to them as they are saying it. Yet too, there are those that just don’t care about how they say something.
Personally a more functional formula for effective communication includes socialization, which is an adequate combination of all parts of speech; meaning the enunciation, articulation, terminology as well as the proper blend of emotion. The emotional state of the speaker, whether it concerns the subject or the individual they are directly speaking to greatly influence’s all of the other aspects of what they are saying. A perfect example of this would be something someone said once in one of my spiritual growth sessions. "People may not always remember exactly what you said, but they will always remember how what you said made them feel."
While not as applicable in these [Internet] types of interactive associations, other forms of communication such as body language, facial expression and tone of voice are major factors in the way your words and meanings are interpreted. Because communication is much more than just the words we choose to express thoughts, feelings and emotions.
We can all recognize those who are listening just because they are trying to be polite, you can see it in their eyes, the ‘sly’ or ‘fake’ smile. We’ve all known the one’s that use simple little ‘fidgeting habits’ that let you know they aren’t interested or could care less about what you’re saying; those people who continuously look away from you while you’re talking or they sit there and pick invisible lint off their cloths, they play with their watch or a ring. They run the gamut of silent body language to the more assertive measures like the rolling of their eyes, heavy sighs, etc.
I've spent a bit of time in that description because I am fully aware of some of my own personal faults and I readily admit to them. Primarily as I’ve already stated that I do have the bad habit of mentally translating what someone says by my own dictionary applied understanding of the actual words they used, which may be in reality something entirely different than what they are actually meaning. An additional difficulty on my part in my own attempts to communicate with others, I have all too often applied my own level of sensitivity complicated by the "Paralysis of Analysis"; a condition that stems from what I now understand as my own innate fear of being misunderstood. All of that translates into the fact that it is rarely (if ever) my actual intention of misguiding someone or hurting his or her feelings or offending them.
I know that I’ve commented on it before, the “Lost Art of Communication” because it is rampant with the new technologies that seem to be taken so much for granted by those born after the “Baby-Boomer” generation. I believe they’ve been labeled as “Generation X”, a generation that is sometimes also called the “Nomad Generation.” In some ways it’s no wonder, life is changing so fast, almost right before their eyes; there is no real time to actually adapt to some of these changes before the next one hits. Personally, I’m happy to be part of the “Baby Boomer” Generation. I wouldn’t want to be a teenager again and face even half of what these kids face today.
Yet something that truly irks me to no end is the abbreviated manner of speaking that has found a home in our communications toolbox due to apparent need for speed texting. I know we’ve all seen it here on the internet, the way some people (not just teenagers) use language that is similar to acronyms rather than actual words. Just the fact that young people would rather sit there and type out text messages for sometimes hours at a time, yet can't dial a simple 10 digit number and actually communicate verbally with someone.
No longer restricted to Cell Phones “Text Talk” is now found on nearly every venue of the Internet, while not limited to it, it is more prevalent in social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. Sentences like “How r u?” “Yeah FB and IRL” “OMG u C that!” “Nuthin to do tonight soo um texttt” “Had to do all that bc I haven’t dun nun.” You know, really, what’s up with all of that? I know these kids are not as illiterate as their communications make them appear.
Not to mention that there seems to be an additional language forming on the Internet. I see it used more commonly on Facebook than any other forum. What’s up with all the extra letters in a word? I see a string of letters like the S and the T at the end of so many “Status Updates” on Facebook.
I realize that Facebook, MySpace and other similar sites are ‘for fun’ yet at the same time it makes me cringe when I see all of that going on. It only gives credence to all the claims about how kids don’t know how to talk anymore; they don’t know how to spell correctly anymore. No wonder, in reality they don’t have to, they have their own language and it’s not the one I learned in school.
The overall need to be understood should not be considered the same as the need to have people agree with me as much as it is a sincere attempt to not offend someone. I believe that in most cases we can get our personal opinions expressed and explained properly if we make the attempt to approach it with the complete understanding that it is our opinion, no one has to agree to it much less share it.
The ability to understand someone is most often something that occurs when people actually ‘talk’ about something and ‘discuss it with an open mind’ in an effort to see the entire picture. Going back to the “Art of Communication” while adding the proper blend of something called “Empathy” or more commonly explained as ‘putting yourself in someone else’s shoes’ so to speak.
Thanks for ‘listening’!
Yeah I know, a very long-winded sentence. Yet that's the essence of a great deal of what I've been feeling for a long time. And that involves just about every aspect of my life right now whether it's with family, friends, work, religion or politics and that's just a tip of the iceberg.
Having been associated with the Internet for nearly 20 years, I think I've participated in just about every form of 'interactive association' out there. I've been part of both the public and private chat rooms with AOL, I've been in a lot of AOL sponsored forums as well, covering a multitude of subjects and issues. I've had accounts with Twitter, Yedda, and LiveJournal and am still active in a number of the forum and debate arenas. It is truly amazing to me, the number of completely closed-minded people there are out there in this world. It is no wonder that there is so much discord.
I'm pretty frustrated right now with the Internet in that I accept the fact that things often progress and/or improve, but those are terms that are in reality a matter of opinion. I had a long time running blog of various rants that I can no longer access because they have switched formats that do not cooperate with the older formats. So now I'm starting over. Whatever.
So, for the first time visitor, which I hope people read this post first, because this is more of a description of my personal attitude, as in about me personally so to speak rather than the blog itself. Also regarding this particular blog; while I am not a paid columnist or a professional blogger, this is a place for me to post either personal ‘Commentaries’ 'Editorials' or to just ‘Rant’ about something. The reference in the title to being "Personal Disputations" has a direct relevancy to the fact that this is my personal blog, it is not force fed to your computer. Therefore, if you don't like what is being said here, then just like with your TV or your radio; you can turn it off or change the channel.
I'm not out here for the specific purpose of offending anyone, yet at the same time I'm not going to walk on eggshells either just to insure that I please everyone that just happens to stumble across this blog and decides to start reading it. After all it is a personal opinion blog, I'm not obligated to stick to a certain subject or patronize any readers with regards to the chosen subject. These are my personal feelings about the given subject of the post. Which is primarily due to the fact that a number of years ago I personally adopted the quote of "Acceptance in nice, approval not required" and that's the way it is. You don't have to like me and I don't have to like you. I'm not here to please you and you're not here to please me. But then again, that's life in a nutshell.
This is not going to be a blog that has a single subject or a particular focus and runs on continuously about it. I can log on here in the morning, read some article that is political in nature, and either post a commentary or rant about it, then turn around in an hour and do the same thing about another article that is say religiously oriented, or talk about something that happened to me personally that day. Then again, I may choose not to log on here at all for a couple of weeks or maybe a month. Whatever the case may be it’s my right to either praise it or rant about it. That's my choice as much as it is your choice not to read it.
Although I was born and raised in Ohio, which is geographically considered to be Mid-Western, I don't feel as 'at home' here as I should or thought I would. The greater majority of my adulthood has been spent away from my hometown of Lisbon, Ohio. It is rather amazing to me just how different people can be just going from one state to another much less almost across the country. I’ve lived in Ohio, Texas, Alaska, South Carolina and Pennsylvania; then spending a number of years in Europe, living in Germany, France, Italy, England and Ireland as well. All of which contributes to the fact that I have a very different perspective and opinion of people in general than those who have never been there.
It all goes to reinforce within my mind that our own personal life experiences are what play the largest factor in how we feel about something. If you have never experienced it, how can you really have an educated discussion about it? An opinion I can understand, but to ‘state’ that something is ‘this way’ or ‘that way’ in a factual manner when it has not been personally experienced is beyond me. Yet there are a number of those I call friend who seem to have what can only be defined as more than just an opinion on anything and everything, even if they’ve ‘never been there’ so to speak.
One perfect example is the fact that while I've been in the military yes, I have no personal experience upon which to draw or offer any real judgment of what goes on in a war or battle setting. Yet I know people who have never even been in any of the branches of the Armed Forces much less participated in a military confrontation who are very quick to offer their estimation about it.
I think the biggest difficulty for me in the area of communicating with others is that I've always been one who interprets what people were saying from a dictionary point of view. Meaning that I tend take what people say more in a literal way, in that my interpretation of what was said is based on the 'established' definition of what was actually said, not what was 'meant' by what was said. I’ve always felt that doing that would be more like "reading into” something and I have historically made it a habit to try never to read into what has been said regardless of the individual. This does not mean that I have never been left wondering what a person meant by whatever it was that they said. I know that for the most part as far as I’m concerned this is more due to what was not said rather than what was said.
In the over all I think most people are so caught up in their own little worlds that they fail to see just how much they infringe upon others. They either don't really listen to what they are actually saying or they don't have enough of a mastery of the English language to adequately articulate their thoughts into words, regardless of just how trivial it may seem to them as they are saying it. Yet too, there are those that just don’t care about how they say something.
Personally a more functional formula for effective communication includes socialization, which is an adequate combination of all parts of speech; meaning the enunciation, articulation, terminology as well as the proper blend of emotion. The emotional state of the speaker, whether it concerns the subject or the individual they are directly speaking to greatly influence’s all of the other aspects of what they are saying. A perfect example of this would be something someone said once in one of my spiritual growth sessions. "People may not always remember exactly what you said, but they will always remember how what you said made them feel."
While not as applicable in these [Internet] types of interactive associations, other forms of communication such as body language, facial expression and tone of voice are major factors in the way your words and meanings are interpreted. Because communication is much more than just the words we choose to express thoughts, feelings and emotions.
We can all recognize those who are listening just because they are trying to be polite, you can see it in their eyes, the ‘sly’ or ‘fake’ smile. We’ve all known the one’s that use simple little ‘fidgeting habits’ that let you know they aren’t interested or could care less about what you’re saying; those people who continuously look away from you while you’re talking or they sit there and pick invisible lint off their cloths, they play with their watch or a ring. They run the gamut of silent body language to the more assertive measures like the rolling of their eyes, heavy sighs, etc.
I've spent a bit of time in that description because I am fully aware of some of my own personal faults and I readily admit to them. Primarily as I’ve already stated that I do have the bad habit of mentally translating what someone says by my own dictionary applied understanding of the actual words they used, which may be in reality something entirely different than what they are actually meaning. An additional difficulty on my part in my own attempts to communicate with others, I have all too often applied my own level of sensitivity complicated by the "Paralysis of Analysis"; a condition that stems from what I now understand as my own innate fear of being misunderstood. All of that translates into the fact that it is rarely (if ever) my actual intention of misguiding someone or hurting his or her feelings or offending them.
I know that I’ve commented on it before, the “Lost Art of Communication” because it is rampant with the new technologies that seem to be taken so much for granted by those born after the “Baby-Boomer” generation. I believe they’ve been labeled as “Generation X”, a generation that is sometimes also called the “Nomad Generation.” In some ways it’s no wonder, life is changing so fast, almost right before their eyes; there is no real time to actually adapt to some of these changes before the next one hits. Personally, I’m happy to be part of the “Baby Boomer” Generation. I wouldn’t want to be a teenager again and face even half of what these kids face today.
Yet something that truly irks me to no end is the abbreviated manner of speaking that has found a home in our communications toolbox due to apparent need for speed texting. I know we’ve all seen it here on the internet, the way some people (not just teenagers) use language that is similar to acronyms rather than actual words. Just the fact that young people would rather sit there and type out text messages for sometimes hours at a time, yet can't dial a simple 10 digit number and actually communicate verbally with someone.
No longer restricted to Cell Phones “Text Talk” is now found on nearly every venue of the Internet, while not limited to it, it is more prevalent in social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. Sentences like “How r u?” “Yeah FB and IRL” “OMG u C that!” “Nuthin to do tonight soo um texttt” “Had to do all that bc I haven’t dun nun.” You know, really, what’s up with all of that? I know these kids are not as illiterate as their communications make them appear.
Not to mention that there seems to be an additional language forming on the Internet. I see it used more commonly on Facebook than any other forum. What’s up with all the extra letters in a word? I see a string of letters like the S and the T at the end of so many “Status Updates” on Facebook.
I realize that Facebook, MySpace and other similar sites are ‘for fun’ yet at the same time it makes me cringe when I see all of that going on. It only gives credence to all the claims about how kids don’t know how to talk anymore; they don’t know how to spell correctly anymore. No wonder, in reality they don’t have to, they have their own language and it’s not the one I learned in school.
The overall need to be understood should not be considered the same as the need to have people agree with me as much as it is a sincere attempt to not offend someone. I believe that in most cases we can get our personal opinions expressed and explained properly if we make the attempt to approach it with the complete understanding that it is our opinion, no one has to agree to it much less share it.
The ability to understand someone is most often something that occurs when people actually ‘talk’ about something and ‘discuss it with an open mind’ in an effort to see the entire picture. Going back to the “Art of Communication” while adding the proper blend of something called “Empathy” or more commonly explained as ‘putting yourself in someone else’s shoes’ so to speak.
Thanks for ‘listening’!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Introduction to Personal Disputations and what it actually means
While I think it’s quite obvious, I accept the fact that it is only because I’m the one creating it. However, the English language as wonderful as it may be to many people, experiences a remarkable evolutionary process that happens on an almost daily basis, especially in the area of technology. We see new words appear, old words disappear, even actually becoming obsolete.
The term ‘disputations’ is a relatively new word, created to effectively combine the meaning of the words ‘conversation’ and ‘debate’ into an entirely new concept. The actual (Dictionary) definition of disputation identifies it as a ‘noun’ and describes it as being…
1. the act of disputing or debating; verbal controversy; discussion or debate.
2. an academic exercise consisting of the arguing of a thesis between its maintainer and its opponents.
And then finally most dictionaries are providing the previous or now obsolete term or word:
3. Obsolete. Conversation.
Personally the categorization of ‘obsolete’ regarding the term or word ‘conversation’ clearly disrupts the ‘art of communication’ in verbal form. When the actual dictionary applied definition of ‘conversation’ is reviewed…
1. informal interchange of thoughts, information, etc., by spoken words; oral communication between persons; talk; colloquy.
2. an instance of this.
3. association or social intercourse; intimate acquaintance.
4. criminal conversation.
5. the ability to talk socially with others: She writes well but has no conversation.
And as with the term ‘disputation’ the term ‘conversation’ also replaced and caused to become obsolete the essence of the act of conversing, the art of conversation so to speak.
As seen here…
6. Obsolete
a. behavior or manner of living
b. close familiarity; intimate acquaintance; as from constant use or study
All of which indicates to me that the terminology described as ‘conversation’ was in reality a verbal exercise in the sharing of knowledge in an effort to ‘come together’ for the better understanding of something. Demonstrated by the definitive term ‘informal’, which is used in the actual definition of the term ‘conversation’ itself; whereas it is absent in the definition of ‘disputation’.
Personally this definition also indicates that there is at minimum an implied knowledge of the subject, whether it is through individual study or personal experience as in the constant use or everyday language.
All of which brings to mind some of the controversy that in my opinion surrounds the current concept of "Home Schooling." I am personally not in favor of this method of education for one primary reason. While I have met several Home Schooled individuals, they do seem to be pretty intelligent regarding what is commonly called 'book learning' yet all of them lack something else that is important in life and that is 'people skills'.
Another term that has made a quick rise in use is the word ‘Pundit’ which is a word we’ve heard most often applied to those in the media; a term more specifically targeted in the political arena than any other. The dictionary provides a very basic definition of it, and that being the following…
a. somebody who expresses opinion: a critic or authority on a subject, especially in the media
b. somebody wise: somebody with knowledge and wisdom
Again therein implies that the individual has at the very least an understanding of the subject in which they’re attempting to address. The reality of the matter is that this term actually comes from the borrowed Hindi word “pandit” which means “a scholar or expert in Indian religion and law.”
While I have titled this particular blog “Personal Disputations’ does not proclaim by any long shot that I would ever consider myself an expert in anything beyond how I personally feel about a given subject. While at the same time it does not state that I am actively or intentionally soliciting any form of debate over the subject in question. The fact of the matter is that I have made a sincere attempt at choosing what I personally feel to be the most accurate description. It is because I understand and accept the fact that because there is no subject considered taboo for this blog, therefore it is understood (at least on my part) that there will be individuals who feel the need to ‘debate’ not just the issue as stated, but also my personal opinion of it. All of which is fine with me.
Because as stated by the use of the word ‘personal’ in the definition, it also clearly dictates that it is opinionated in nature. Meaning that, according to the actual definition of the root word ‘opinion’ which means…
a. An opinion is a subjective statement or thought about an issue or topic, and is the result of emotion or interpretation of facts.
b. It is a personal view, attitude or appraisal.
c. A belief or conclusion held with confidence but not substantiated by positive knowledge or proof.
An additional term that is not so new is the word ‘rant’ which is also quite relevant to one of the primary purposes or functions of this blog. While the definition of ‘rant’ implies hostility or some form of antagonistic proclamation, it is more so an act of ‘venting’ which is more commonly known as ‘letting off steam’ about something.
All of the above has been merely an attempt at providing some basic idea or concept as to what this blog itself is all about. However, continuing onward, the post entitled “The Right to Rant” is in actuality more of a descriptive explanation of me, the author of this blog and the purpose for which it was created.
The term ‘disputations’ is a relatively new word, created to effectively combine the meaning of the words ‘conversation’ and ‘debate’ into an entirely new concept. The actual (Dictionary) definition of disputation identifies it as a ‘noun’ and describes it as being…
1. the act of disputing or debating; verbal controversy; discussion or debate.
2. an academic exercise consisting of the arguing of a thesis between its maintainer and its opponents.
And then finally most dictionaries are providing the previous or now obsolete term or word:
3. Obsolete. Conversation.
Personally the categorization of ‘obsolete’ regarding the term or word ‘conversation’ clearly disrupts the ‘art of communication’ in verbal form. When the actual dictionary applied definition of ‘conversation’ is reviewed…
1. informal interchange of thoughts, information, etc., by spoken words; oral communication between persons; talk; colloquy.
2. an instance of this.
3. association or social intercourse; intimate acquaintance.
4. criminal conversation.
5. the ability to talk socially with others: She writes well but has no conversation.
And as with the term ‘disputation’ the term ‘conversation’ also replaced and caused to become obsolete the essence of the act of conversing, the art of conversation so to speak.
As seen here…
6. Obsolete
a. behavior or manner of living
b. close familiarity; intimate acquaintance; as from constant use or study
All of which indicates to me that the terminology described as ‘conversation’ was in reality a verbal exercise in the sharing of knowledge in an effort to ‘come together’ for the better understanding of something. Demonstrated by the definitive term ‘informal’, which is used in the actual definition of the term ‘conversation’ itself; whereas it is absent in the definition of ‘disputation’.
Personally this definition also indicates that there is at minimum an implied knowledge of the subject, whether it is through individual study or personal experience as in the constant use or everyday language.
All of which brings to mind some of the controversy that in my opinion surrounds the current concept of "Home Schooling." I am personally not in favor of this method of education for one primary reason. While I have met several Home Schooled individuals, they do seem to be pretty intelligent regarding what is commonly called 'book learning' yet all of them lack something else that is important in life and that is 'people skills'.
Another term that has made a quick rise in use is the word ‘Pundit’ which is a word we’ve heard most often applied to those in the media; a term more specifically targeted in the political arena than any other. The dictionary provides a very basic definition of it, and that being the following…
a. somebody who expresses opinion: a critic or authority on a subject, especially in the media
b. somebody wise: somebody with knowledge and wisdom
Again therein implies that the individual has at the very least an understanding of the subject in which they’re attempting to address. The reality of the matter is that this term actually comes from the borrowed Hindi word “pandit” which means “a scholar or expert in Indian religion and law.”
While I have titled this particular blog “Personal Disputations’ does not proclaim by any long shot that I would ever consider myself an expert in anything beyond how I personally feel about a given subject. While at the same time it does not state that I am actively or intentionally soliciting any form of debate over the subject in question. The fact of the matter is that I have made a sincere attempt at choosing what I personally feel to be the most accurate description. It is because I understand and accept the fact that because there is no subject considered taboo for this blog, therefore it is understood (at least on my part) that there will be individuals who feel the need to ‘debate’ not just the issue as stated, but also my personal opinion of it. All of which is fine with me.
Because as stated by the use of the word ‘personal’ in the definition, it also clearly dictates that it is opinionated in nature. Meaning that, according to the actual definition of the root word ‘opinion’ which means…
a. An opinion is a subjective statement or thought about an issue or topic, and is the result of emotion or interpretation of facts.
b. It is a personal view, attitude or appraisal.
c. A belief or conclusion held with confidence but not substantiated by positive knowledge or proof.
An additional term that is not so new is the word ‘rant’ which is also quite relevant to one of the primary purposes or functions of this blog. While the definition of ‘rant’ implies hostility or some form of antagonistic proclamation, it is more so an act of ‘venting’ which is more commonly known as ‘letting off steam’ about something.
All of the above has been merely an attempt at providing some basic idea or concept as to what this blog itself is all about. However, continuing onward, the post entitled “The Right to Rant” is in actuality more of a descriptive explanation of me, the author of this blog and the purpose for which it was created.
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