The Hawaiian language uses two diacritical markings. The ‘okina is a glottal stop, similar to the
sound between the syllables of "oh-oh." In print, the correct mark for designating an
‘okina is the single open quote mark. The kahako is a macron, which lengthens and
adds stress to the marked vowel. For
example 'pau,' depending on placement of ‘okina and kahako, can mean completed,
smudge, moist or skirt. The State of
Hawai‘i and University of Hawai‘i strongly encourage use of Hawaiian
diacritical markings. http://www.hawaii.edu/site/info/diacritics.php
Critical Toponymies: The Contested Politics of Place Naming
Read an 18-page analysis of Hawaiian place
names and colonialism at:
H.B. 709 Report Title:
Hawaiian Language; Spelling; Name of State
Description: Requires after 7/1/l1, the use of a glottal
stop in the spelling of “Hawai’i” in all documents and signs prepared by or for
state or county agencies or officials. Authorizes
the revisor of statutes to change the spelling of the name of the State to include
the glottal stop when preparing supplements and replacement volumes of the
Hawaii Revised Statutes. Effective 7/i/1l. http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2012/bills/HB709_.pdf
January 3–13, 2013
An adventurous lineup has
been announced by Museum of the Moving Image for its second annual edition of
First Look, a showcase for inventive, groundbreaking new international cinema. Taking place at the Museum from January 3
through 13, 2013, First Look will include 26 works, feature-length and short
films from Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Portugal, Russia,
South Korea, Spain, Thailand, and the United States. Almost
all of the programs are New York premieres.
http://www.movingimage.us/files/pages/about/first_look_selections_2012-12-04.pdf
36-01 35 Avenue Astoria, NY 11106 718 777 6888 Hours: Tue-Thu: 10:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m., Fri: 10:30 a.m.–8:00 p.m., Sat-Sun: 11:30 a.m.–7:00 p.m. Mon: Closed
In 1986, the Netherlands proclaimed the new 12th province of Flevoland but they didn't carve out the
province from already existing land nor did they annex the territory of their
neighbors - Germany and Belgium. The Netherlands
actually grew. The Dutch and their ancestors have been working to
hold back and reclaim land from the North Sea for over 2000 years. Over 2000 years ago, the Frisians who first
settled the Netherlands began to build terpen, the first dikes to hold back the
water. In 1287 the terpen and dikes that
held back the North Sea failed, and water flooded the country. A new bay, called Zuiderzee (South Sea) was
created over former farmland. For the
next few centuries, the Dutch worked to slowly push back the water of the
Zuiderzee, building dikes and creating polders (the term used to described any
piece of land reclaimed from water). Once
dikes are built, canals and pumps are used to drain the land and to keep it
dry. From the 1200s, windmills had been
used to pump excess water off the fertile soil; today most of the windmills
have been replaced with electricity- and diesel-driven pumps. Then, storms and floods of 1916 provided the
impetus for the Dutch to start a major project to reclaim the Zuiderzee. From 1927 to 1932, a 30.5 km (19 mile) long
dike called Afsluitdijk (the Closing Dike) was built, turning the Zuiderzee
into the IJsselmeer, a freshwater lake. (Much
of the Netherlands is essentially a delta for the Rhine and other rivers.) Further protective dikes and works were
built, reclaiming the land of the IJsselmeer. The new land led to the creation of a the new
province of Flevoland from what had been sea and water for centuries. The collective North Sea Protective Works is
one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, according to the American Society
of Civil Engineers.
Czech author Karel Capek published the play Rossum's Universal Robots or
R.U.R. in 1921. This play is the reason why the word 'robot' was invented. Furthermore, it explores different issues that
could arise if artificial life was created.
It has to be noted that robots in Karel Capek's play are quite different
from those machines we regard as robots today. In this play a scientist named Rossum manages
to synthesize matter that can then be used to create artificial yet functional
organs and tissue similar to natural ones. Something like artificial stem cells. Although Robots' origins
are biological they are 'mechanical' in any other sense of the word. They are mass manufactured as grown-up
individuals, they eventually go out of order because of wear and tear and they
can be designed as needed. Typical
models have no individuality whatsoever and most humans regard them as
machines. The story goes like this. One day an idea struck Mr. Capek's mind. An idea of a play about artificial human-like
beings that are manufactured to work for humans and the issues that could arise
in such a situation. There was one
problem though - he couldn't come up with an appropriate name for these beings. So he sought advice from his brother - Jozef
Capek, a painter and a good friend. It was
Jozef who suggested to call these artificial beings 'robots'. The word comes from a Czech word 'robota'
which means serf labor, hard work. If
Jozef hadn't come up with this word we would probably call robots 'labori' now,
as that's how Karel initially intended to call them. Link to R.U.R. and read it
free at: http://www.allonrobots.com/karel-capek.html
Read more about Karel
Capek, (Jan. 9, 1890-Dec. 25, 1938) at: http://www.legacy.com/ns/news-story.aspx?t=karel-capek--beyond-the-robots&id=213
"Fiscal cliff" heads the 38th annual "List of Words to Be
Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Overuse and General
Uselessness" put out by Lake Superior State University in Michigan. "You can't turn on the news without
hearing this," said Christopher Loiselle, of Midland, Mich., in his
nominating submission, reports the
Associated Press. "I'm equally worried about the River of Debt
and Mountain of Despair." The list
of terms proposed for banishment also includes another phrase heard during the
fiscal cliff talks in Washington: "Kick the can down the road." Also on the list: "Job
creators/creation." Fiscal cliff is
the term used for a series of across-the-board federal tax increases and
spending cuts that kick in next year if Congress is unable to put together a new
debt reduction agreement. Federal
Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is credited -- or blamed -- for coining the term
"fiscal cliff," using the phrase at a congressional hearing. http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2012/12/31/obama-fiscal-cliff-banned-words-lake-superior-state/1800103/
Link to Lake Superior State University's banished
words lists, 1976-2012 at: http://www.lssu.edu/banished/archived_lists.php (At the top left of the screen, you will find
a link to the 2013 list.)
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