kennyb EXTRAVAGANZA

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

What Is English?

Is it the English of London or of New York, of San Antonio or Newark, Sydney or Dublin, Nairobi or New Delhi? And the English of whom in those places? Everyone? Only certain people? Is it the language of Merriam-Webster, or of the BBC, or the Queen, or Tom Brokaw, or Madonna, or Snoop Doggy-Dog, or the University of Oxford? Is it an element in foreign policy, or a device for the exercise of cultural imperialism? Is it a means of bridging the smaller languages to promote communication and bring economic advancement? Is it a device for excluding those who have not had the good fortune to learn it? Is it inherently superior to other languages or a language that just got lucky? Is there such a thing as “correct” English, and is such “proper English” superior to other forms?

Evidently the answers that one finds in grammatical studies, or in standard dictionaries, cannot reflect the full diversity of language in its social setting. While the abstract study of language is crucially important, there is a very real danger that we will conclude that Spanish is something in a textbook, that French is to be found inside a dictionary, that Chinese is hidden in a box of CDs. The study of language as a social phenomenon, as something constantly changing, constantly being renegotiated, gets relatively little attention. But language is in fact an institution that has a massive bearing on our lives, in all kinds of ways.

posted by kennyB 15:36

Saturday, April 23, 2005

guessthagoogle
Originally uploaded by artkennyb.
Hey, I got 306 .... not quite on the high score's list, but pretty darn-tootin' good if ya ask me! Post your scores in the comments, see who can do betta!!!

posted by kennyB 10:34

Thursday, April 21, 2005

giraffes'butt
Originally uploaded by artkennyb.
...so i went to the ZOO w/Kate, my sis, her husband and my nephew and nieces ....what a krazi time we had .... check out these giraffes in their springtime mating ritual!!!

posted by kennyB 16:00

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

.....well, i changed my format, a bit of an update for me. First person add a comment saying what i've changed wins a prize!!! hurry, offer only valid until i post again.

posted by kennyB 14:18

Saturday, April 09, 2005

boogabasement sketch b+w
Originally uploaded by artkennyb.
Here's a sketch I did a few years ago. It's been a re-occurring theme ... an image that keeps popping up in my brain. Just thought I'd get it out of my skull and in to the mind of those that read this.

posted by kennyB 21:26

Friday, April 01, 2005

Febuary 24 1968 - March 30 2005
He will be missed

"I tried walking into a Target , but I missed."

"I haven't slept for ten days, because that would be too long."

"I type 101 words a minute. But it's in my own language."

"I wish I could play little league now. I'd be way better than before."

"I played golf....I did not get a hole in one, but I did hit a guy and that's way more satisfying. Your supposed to yell FORE, but I was too busy mumbling that ain't no way that's gonna hit him."

"The depressing thing about tennis is that no matter how much I play, I'll never be as good a a wall. I played a wall once. They're relentless."

"When someone hands you a flyer, it's like they're saying here you throw this away."

"I like rice. Rice is great if your hungry and want 2000 of something."

"I got my hair highlighted, because I felt some strands were more important that others."

"I'm against picketing, but I don't know how to show it."

"I hate turkeys. If you stand in the meat section at the grocery store long enough, you start to get mad a turkeys. There's turkey ham, turkey bologna, turkey pastromi,.Some one needs to tell the turkey, man, just be yourself."

"I lke refried beans. I wanna try fried beans, because maybe they're just as good and we're just wasting time."

"This product that was on TV was available for four easy payments of $19.95. I would like a product that was available for three easy payments and one complicated payment. We can't tell you which payment it is, but one of these payments is going to be hard."

"I was going to get my teeth whitened, but I said screw that, I'll just get a tan instead."

"I was at this casino minding my own business and this guy came up to me and said your gonna have to move you're blocking a fire exit. As if there were a fire, I wasn't gonna run. If you are flamable and have legs you are never blocking a fire exit."

"I don't own a cell phone or a pager. I just hang around everyone I know, all the time. If someone wants to get a hold of me they just say "Mitch," and I say "What?" and turn my head slightly."

"I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're going and hook up with them later."

"My friend said to me "You know what I like? Mashed poatoes," I was like, Dude, you gotta give me time to guess. If your ging to quiz me, you must put a pause in there."

"An escalator can never break. It can only become stairs. You would never seen an Escalator temporarily out of order sign, just Escaloaor temporarily stairs. Sorry for the convenience."

"I was walking down the street with my friend and he said "I hear music" As though there's another way you can take it in. Your not special. That's how I recieve it too. I tried to taste it, but it did not work."

"I went to the park and saw a kid flying a kite. The kid was really excited. I don't know why, that's what they're supposed to do. Now if he had a chair on the other end of that string, I would have been impressed."

I can't get into flossing, I can't. People who smoke say you don't know how hard it is to stop smoking. Yes I do. It's as hard as it is to start flossing. You seem jittery. Yeah, I'm about to floss.

"One time a guy handed me a picture of himself and he said. "Here's a picture of me when I was younger." Every picture of you is when you were younger. Here's a picture of me when I'm older. How'd you pull that off? Let me see that camera."

"I think pickles are cucumbers that sold out. They sold their soul to the devil and the devil is....Dill."

"I get the Reese's candy bar, If you read it, there's an apostrophe. The candy bar is his. I didn't know that. Next time your eating a Reese's and some guy named Reese comes up to you and says let me have that. You better give it to him. I'm sorry Reece, I didn't think I would ever run into you."

"I've been working the colleges and I always buy the shirts from the college, because they're quality shirts. But people always get the wrong idea. I'm walking around wearing a Washington U shirt and someone says "Hey Washington U, Did you go there?" Yeah! It was a Wednesday."

"Y'know I order a club sandwhich all the time. And I'm not even a member. I don't know how I get away with it. I like my sanwhiches witth three peices of bread. So do I. Lets form a club. Okay, but we're gonna need more stipulation. Yes we do. Instead of cutting it once, lets cut it again. Yeah, four triangles. And we shall dump chips in the middle. Let me ask you something, how do you feel about frilly toothpicks? I'm for them."

......he wasn't that old, just damn funny....http://www.turnto10.com/news/4335246/detail.html

posted by kennyB 22:10

DSC01207
Originally uploaded by artkennyb.
Kate and I decided to share sushi at a friend's house the other nite. What a blast! We kept it simple, just some crab and tuna rolls. We couldn't find any fortune cookies, I even thought about thieving them from wegman's, but they were nowhere to be found. The best part was the wasabi .... especially just after i mixed it up (from the big jar of powder i have) and the smell permeating throughout the house!!!

posted by kennyB 09:55