Election Satire: Part 3

I just listened to this audio clip on Slick's blog and I was amazed.  It certainly shakes my confidence in the American electorate but what's truly amazing is that in an election where the candidates (not in equal amounts) are spending money like water on advertising, people are still unclear on what the candidate's actual positions are.

Of course this is the very definition of anecdotal, but even in it's humor it's a bit disturbing.

Thanks Slicky for finding this one....

Don't forget to vote in my poll on the right!

Common Misconceptions: Soccer/football

I promised this one earlier when I broached the subject of the Common Misconceptions (henceforth CM) posts.

I think that most people assume that since the vast majority of the football-playing world use that term and Americans say soccer - or as it is caricatured by Brits, "siaker" - then we must have invented the word.  The roots of this split go back to the mid-1800's when the rules of the game were being codified.  For the latter part of that century, several varieties of the game competed for supremacy and adherents with the current format coming out on top; eventually becoming known as Association Football.  Other varieties which included rugby and the fore-bearers of American and Australian rules football ended up making their way around the world as well.  Soccer was coined as a shortened slang for the word "Association" in Britain and eventually become the preferred term in most nations in which another football format is dominant (ie. Australia and the US).

Thus, the smug correction of the word "soccer" by non-Americans lies not in the fact that they are Euro-centric but in their continued gloating that their version of football has been proven by a century of global test-marketing to be the most exciting and compelling rule-set conceived.

Ok... a mandatory portion of the CM posts is that you must comment and let me know if this was a misconception that you had prior to me "enlightening" you.  Anyone?

Speaking of Misconceptions...

I mentioned that I was adding a feature in which I'll explore common misconceptions.  In honor of this I thought I would give an example of how I plan NOT to do this.

Above is a picture of a modern pamphlet (2004) that we have here for some reason.  If you could read backwards (you can blame Photo Booth for that) and in Russian, you would see that it is titled something like "The misconceptions that you have about Christianity."  As far as I can tell, it is a Russian-language outreach to the local Muslim populace.  I honestly can't make any assessment as to the quality of the material inside but judging the proverbial book by the cover doesn't inspire confidence.

Presumably the artwork is depicting a native Russian/Ukrainian/Cossack and a Muslim (Tatar or some other similar people group).  It starts out positively in it's presentation by acknowledging that the Christian - Muslim issues in this area are longstanding.  Then it just goes off the rails.  The Cossack character stands upright and proud, handsome in his traditional garb.  On the other hand, the Muslim stands somewhat hunched; almost cowed; his clothes more peasant and plain; a gut to emphasize his physical limitations.  His skin is darker (not necessarily accurate from my experience), his nose large and "Semitic" for some reason.  It is every bit the stereotype; in how Slavs traditionally view Muslims and in how Muslims assume that they are viewed.  Despite the fact that it looks like a scene from Lord of the Rings, this could be a very accurate presentation of an actual meeting between a Cossack and a Tatar, but why use is as cover art for a pamphlet designed to break down the barriers of preconceived notions?

Not really sure why I decided to share this but, hey, it was what I was thinking about today...

New post type - Common Misconceptions

Today while sweeping I was hit by a new concept for posts on the blog.  It sort of bridges Facts of the Day, historical topics and cultural commentary in what I hope will be an interesting forum.  I plan to take something that is generally held as truth or common knowledge and reexamine the basic facts behind the assumption.  Some of the topics I was thinking about were, "Are Americans the only people who refer to soccer by that name?", a very timely "Do price controls on commodities help the consumer?" or if I feel really brave "The underlying facts of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict."  I hope that most will more light-hearted than that but it's one of the issues that comes to mind.  Also if you have a suggestion for a topic, I'll give it a shot.

There may be occasions in which what I consider to be a misconception wanders into some of your strongly held beliefs so please feel free to comment or attempt persuade me.