AUGUST 5, 2019

NEWS AND VIEWS A DAY AT A TIME
BY LUCY WARNER
AUGUST 5, 2019

THIS IS THE CONTINUATION OF MY FORMER NEWS BLOG, "A DAY AT A TIME," WHICH WAS SUSPENDED DUE TO TEMPORARY ILL HEALTH.

 MY MAIN FOCUS IN THIS BLOG IS TO EXPLORE A WIDE RANGE OF PROGRESSIVE SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ISSUES, ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE IMPORTANT OR UNUSUAL; THOUGH ARTICLES AND MEDIA ON OTHER SUBJECT MATTER WILL BE INCLUDED AS WELL, SO THAT I WON'T START TAKING MYSELF TOO SERIOUSLY AS AN ACTUAL EXPERT ON NEWS AND THE WORLD. I USUALLY FOLLOW POLITICS, SOCIAL JUSTICE, SOME SCIENCE, MUSIC, HISTORY AND THOUGHT. THE OPINION SECTION AT THE TOP OF EACH ARTICLE IS MY OWN, UNLESS OF COURSE I USE QUOTATION MARKS, ELLIPSES, ETC. 

I DO OFTEN USE ARTICLES THAT HAPPEN TO STIMULATE MY INTEREST IN SOME WAY,  WHICH  ARE NOT STRICTLY "NEWS." OFTEN THEY WILL BE HUMOROUS PIECES OR GIVE SOME SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION ABOUT THE ARTICLES THAT I FEATURE , SUCH AS A WORD OR PHRASE THAT IS NEW TO ME OR IS USED IN AN UNCOMMON WAY, SO I PUT THEM IN WITH AN ASTERISK, DOWN BELOW THE MAIN ARTICLE. THERE ARE OTHERS IN THE WORLD BESIDES MYSELF WHO ARE INTERESTED IN WORDS FOR THEIR FORM OR THEIR AGE, ETC.

I HOPE I WILL BE FORGIVEN, TOO, FOR STRAYING OFF INTO A PERSONAL MEMORY OR OTHER COMMENT. AT MY AGE I REALLY CAN'T HELP DOING IT,  AND I DO TRY TO MAKE THEM INTERESTING. WHEN I REREAD AND EDIT LATER, I TRY TO REMOVE ANYTHING THAT ISN'T UNDERSTANDABLE. 

I DO FAIRLY OFTEN PLACE WHOLE RELATED ARTICLES TOGETHER TO GIVE ANOTHER VIEW, USUALLY WITH A BRIEF HEADING INDICATING HOW MANY ARTICLES OF THAT TYPE ARE INCLUDED TOGETHER. THE MAIN ARTICLE WILL BE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE GROUP OF STORIES, WITH AT LEAST ONE COMMENT AT THE TOP.

 AS FOR MY INFORMALITY IN STYLE, I DON'T SEE THIS AS FORMAL WRITING, NOR DO I WANT IT TO BE. I AM NOT USUALLY WRITING AN ESSAY. AT LEAST HALF OF MY INTENTION IN WRITING A BLOG IS THE ABILITY TO MAKE A HUMAN CONTACT, HOPEFULLY ENLIVEN SOME THOUGHT OR TRANSMIT INFORMATION. FOR ME, IT IS A LINK BETWEEN MY MIND AND THE READER'S NO MATTER WHAT PART OF THE WORLD THEY INHABIT; NOR AM I ALWAYS BEING DEADLY SERIOUS, AS I LIKE TO PLAY OR JOKE SOMETIMES. 

ALMOST NEVER DO AMERICANS USE IN THEIR SPEECH OR EVEN IN WRITING,  THE MORE FORMAL PHRASES LIKE USING "ONE" TO REPLACE "I." "ONE DOES" INDICATES TO ME THAT "EVERYBODY" [WHO IS ANYBODY] SAYS THE WORD OR DOES THE DEED IN THAT PARTICULAR WAY, SO I HAD BETTER FOLLOW SUIT. THAT JUST MAKES ME LESS LIKELY TO OBLIGE. IN AMERICA THAT IS NOT HOW MOST PEOPLE SPEAK, NOR DO I WANT IT TO BE. OCCASIONALLY, I DO USE "THE ROYAL WE" TO HELP TO SOFTEN A STATEMENT, BECAUSE I KNOW THAT MY WAY OF SPEAKING IS VERY DIRECT, AND I HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO PLAN MY EVERY WORD.

I DO USUALLY  TRUST AND LIKE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE DIRECT RATHER THAN EVASIVE, BECAUSE IT REALLY SPEEDS UP THE PROCESS OF UNDERSTANDING EACH OTHER. SO, PLEASE DO FORGIVE ME FOR GETTING TO THE POINT, EXPLAINING IT AS PURSUASIVELY AS I CAN, AND SOMETIMES EXPRESSING SOME EMOTION. THE WORLD WITHOUT EMOTION IS DEAD.

 I DIFFERENTIATE MY OWN WORDS FROM THE PUBLISHED STORIES BY USING ALL CAPITALS AND BOLD PRINT, USUALLY IN PARAGRAPHS LOCATED DIRECTLY ABOVE THE STORY, BECAUSE IN THIS GOOGLE "BLOGGER" PROGRAM, THE ONLY EMPHASIS FORMS THAT WILL PRINT OUT IN THE FINAL PIECE  ARE: ALL CAPS, BOLD PRINT,  UNDERLINING AND ITALICS. I SAVE ITALICS FOR THE WHOLE BLOG IN ITS' FINAL FORM, BECAUSE IT  DOES SOFTEN THE IMPRESSION OF THE ALL CAPS STYLE.  IN OTHER WORDS, I AM NOT TRYING TO "SHOUT," AS SOME PEOPLE LIKE TO SAY, BUT TO PROVIDE CLARITY. 

NONE OF THE ARTICLES THEMSELVES HAVE BEEN CHANGED, EXCEPT FOR THOSE THANKFULLY RARE CASES IN WHICH SOME SORT OF UNREADABLE FORMAT HAS BEEN USED BY THE WRITER -- NO DIVIDED PARAGRAPHS, NO CLEAR AND COMPLETE DATE, OR NO NAME FOR INSTANCE, IN WHICH CASE I SOMETIMES DO INSERT A BLANK LINE AT THE PARAGRAPH MARKS TO GIVE THE READERS' EYES A REST, INSERT A "SIC," MAKE SMALL AND VERY OCCASIONAL INSERTIONS WITHIN BRACKETS AT THE END OF A PARAGRAPH, ETC. 

I RESERVE THE RIGHT TO UNDERLINE OR USE BOLDING WITHIN A NEWS PIECE TO INDICATE KEY POINTS WHICH I WANT THE READER TO SEE, SINCE I PRESENT THE WHOLE ARTICLE UNLESS IT IS ABSOLUTELY TOO LONG.  PLEASE DO GO TO THE INTERNET SOURCE ITSELF TO ASSURE YOURSELF OF WHETHER OR NOT I INSERTED THE EMPHASIS, OR JUST ASSUME IT IS MINE IF THAT IS OF CONCERN TO YOU. 

I WILL MAKE NO MORE SPEECHES ABOUT HOW I WRITE IN THIS BLOG, AT LEAST NOT TONIGHT. I'LL JUST START WRITING MY DAILY NEWS AND PERSONAL COMMENTARY TOMORROW WHEN I FEEL WELL ENOUGH AND HAVE TIME, SO PLEASE DON'T EXPECT A DAILY POST FROM NOW ON. I HAVE TO BE MORE CAREFUL OF MY HEALTH NOW.