tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.comments2024-03-27T08:35:55.978+00:00TocasaidUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger243125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-8823231525161723192016-09-27T21:53:55.281+01:002016-09-27T21:53:55.281+01:00Just recently heard of the passing Norman Campbell...Just recently heard of the passing Norman Campbell, a good friend and companiero in Edinburgh in the mid sixties. I have many fond memories of our times as students together.<br />GTAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-64878934214657077502016-08-04T17:04:35.219+01:002016-08-04T17:04:35.219+01:00¨spoken by a minority¨
Depends how you define the...¨spoken by a minority¨ <br />Depends how you define the group. In the world as a whole English may well be a minority language. In a household or gathering of five, if three speak Gàidhlig then it´s the majority language. I.e. it´s all relative.<br />The real question here is whether enough people speak/write G. often enough for it to be sustained and developed as a viable continuing everyday medium of discourse. I´d say ´yes´, but it was a close call. <br /><br /><br />¨Gaelic is ancient¨ <br />A language that has been passed down the generations is bound to be ´ancient´, the alternative is a ´made-up´ language like Tolkien´s Elvish langs. or possibly some contact languages etc. <br />Again, the real question lurking here is whether G. has adapted and continues to adept to the changing needs of its speakers as opposed to being ´stuck in the past´. Again, I´d say ´yes´, but it had a close call.<br /><br />¨Gaels are bilingual¨<br />´S math sin, nach e? He is simply stating that he envies their linguistic superiority.<br /><br />¨I don't understand it¨<br />Nach truagh sin? Implying he somehow thinks it important but is unwilling to learn ... out of some kind of false pride? Highland cringe? Mi-rùn mór nan Gall internalised?<br /><br />¨it's the indigenous tongue of the Scots¨ <br />No more or less than Inglis. Both arrived at around the same time, and anyway go back far enough and ¨Everybody came from somewhere else¨. <br /><br />----<br /><br />*B´fheàrr leinn aon choinneal a lasadh na´n dorchadas a tharcaiseachadh*Marconatrixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01199367986122142971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-33979033497943896322016-08-04T16:03:59.510+01:002016-08-04T16:03:59.510+01:00¨in both Westminster and Hollywood¨ ... not that I...¨in both Westminster and Hollywood¨ ... not that I haven´t nearly typed that myself a few times, and wondered whether there was some subconscious truth trying to emerge -- LOL! However if anything it´s WM that´s heavily into show biz :-)<br /><br />---<br />¨English is the Walmart of languages¨ An interesting analogy. I´d see English as largely a cheap-n-cheerful convenience store whereas other languages may be a bit more specialised, up-market or both.<br /><br /><br />Marconatrixhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01199367986122142971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-70899574984468283602016-06-01T11:18:34.883+01:002016-06-01T11:18:34.883+01:00A Scottish/Gaelic group within the SNP to develop ...A Scottish/Gaelic group within the SNP to develop policies to normalise the use of the language throughout Scotland would be a canny step.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09570968010413845052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-38769297817255036302016-05-31T10:58:26.269+01:002016-05-31T10:58:26.269+01:00Hi Anon,
You need to be patient. In case you hadn&...Hi Anon,<br />You need to be patient. In case you hadn't noticed, posts on this blog are few and far between at the moment. Plus there are other reasons for moderating comments other than 'disagreement'.<br /><br />As to bullying and bigotry - I don't need you learn/ speak Gaelic. That's your choice and therefore I don't mind your disagreement/ different choice. I do however have little or no tolerance for those who oppose diversity and the rights of others. Who's the bully - the person demanding rights for his/ her tongue and culture or the person who mocks it and denies those rights?<br /><br />Anyway, sorry you sound so, er, aggrieved and angry. Have a dram.MacNaBrachahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01585663680725464839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-55035073561922704452016-05-31T09:22:22.763+01:002016-05-31T09:22:22.763+01:00Comment visible after approval, ha. Should have gu...Comment visible after approval, ha. Should have guessed you'd only accept comments which meet your approval. Echo chamber preferred I guess.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-78710605601241093952016-05-31T09:20:25.367+01:002016-05-31T09:20:25.367+01:00Not everyone who doesn't agree with your point...Not everyone who doesn't agree with your point of view is right wing, a fascist, a bigot or full of hatred or any other overused term we hear today. Sometimes people just have a different opinion. Why do some people feel the need to bully in order to get their own way? Your attitude is sadly rather typical of a section of society which is permanentlt agrieved about one thing or another. Can you make a point without sounding angry and calling people names I wonder. Grow up!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-77132337120531820172016-04-30T00:06:29.083+01:002016-04-30T00:06:29.083+01:00Thank goodness you are back and in sparkling form....Thank goodness you are back and in sparkling form.<br /><br />Failte!Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02975588480290026016noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-89718137556345175362015-11-17T12:06:40.221+00:002015-11-17T12:06:40.221+00:00evening Gaelic classes in Glasgow are full of non ...evening Gaelic classes in Glasgow are full of non Scots, along with Scots. If you look here, for example http://www.hie.co.uk/about-hie/news-and-media/archive/research-reveals-value-of-gaelic-to-businesses-and-communities-in-scotland.html, it shows that economically (if people don't care about the cultural aspect) its not bad business to invest in.<br /><br />Then there's the huge success of the Gaelic schools. I plan to send my son (if he can get in!). Sadly growing up in the 1980s I didn't get the chance to learn Gaelic that my Great Grandmother (and presumably other ancestors) spoke. Even if I had no genetic connection, I'd still understand the value.Neilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10417102781519011949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-91584857741889325572015-11-11T09:30:02.151+00:002015-11-11T09:30:02.151+00:00I am from the continent and I had never heard of S...I am from the continent and I had never heard of Scottish Gaelic or of any Celtic languages until I arrived at Edinburgh Airport when I was 10; there I saw "Fàilte gu Alba" for the first time. I was very confused and wrote the sentence into my diary. At the end of the holidays, I had a whole list of such strange words I couldn't understand, and I even bought a tiny Scottish Gaelic-English and Scots-English dictionary. Today, I am on an exchange semester at the University of Aberdeen, learning Gaelic. Without such signs I probably still wouldn't even know of the existence of Scottish Gaelic.Oliviahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00025876338806821555noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-33457802028878427942015-09-02T12:58:05.632+01:002015-09-02T12:58:05.632+01:00This line from the Rev in particular is baffling: ...This line from the Rev in particular is baffling: '...to the vast majority of the population, who are made to feel like uncultured aliens in their own land...'<br /><br />If there are people out there who feel like this, that a language spoken by this '0.9%' has that effect, then they really ought to think long and hard about where this attitude comes from. It's incredible to think that a couple of Gaelic words could have that effect. So much for tolerance. I remember seeing a post from Scottish Police on Facebook, in the Gaelic, something about "Happy Holidays" or to that effect, and immediately came the snarky replies: "Well I live in the highlands and I don't speak Gaelic, so why are you discriminating against me?" And of course, if they had only waited 60 seconds, they would have seen the English translation being posted, as these things always are. Incredible. Behold the oppressed ultra-majority.<br /><br />A thuilleadh air a sin, saoil an urrainn dhuibh innse dhomh cò às a fhuair sibh an rabhadh? Glè inntinneach feumar ràdh.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14019074898067417639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-30032905359552655972015-04-25T07:00:55.562+01:002015-04-25T07:00:55.562+01:00The Argentinian have our own teutonic cross f...The Argentinian have our own teutonic cross flamming in MALVINAS, the cross of the cavalry of Juan Manuel de Rosas, JAJAJAAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-31572398636700431082015-03-30T12:38:31.941+01:002015-03-30T12:38:31.941+01:00If it's 'racist' to reject migration a...If it's 'racist' to reject migration as Government policy then what's the point of representation as a citizen - or in the Scottish case - a British 'national'? In the southern counties of Ireland - where leftist academics acknowledge mass migration has taken place over 15yrs - it's considered 'racist' to speak Gaelic on Dublin's public transport. Low-wage migration during a property bubble had debate snuffed out as 'racist' (EU/Nice Treaty I/II) and now (unofficially) the 26 counties still in recession is seeing increased competition in a neo-liberal race to bottom for wages. So, Marxists want open borders and Libertarians want rid-of welfare state. Where's the hope for the citizen who can only accept as articles of faith the promises given by elected politicians?Mairéad Ní Dhuinnnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-6285660474582911222015-03-30T10:04:01.680+01:002015-03-30T10:04:01.680+01:00You lot are nuts. It's television FFS! Get a l...You lot are nuts. It's television FFS! Get a life.<br /><br />I had to laugh though at the idea of modern day Inverness folk dancing around stone circles! I guess those Yanks know us better than we know ourselves.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-53779482314053490952015-03-28T09:21:28.169+00:002015-03-28T09:21:28.169+00:00You asshole. I bet you're not even Scotish. Wh...You asshole. I bet you're not even Scotish. What do you know about us Outlander fans? I bet you're not even a woman. Bullshit blog.Poindexternoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-35360798648214232122015-03-28T04:56:46.451+00:002015-03-28T04:56:46.451+00:00"Dissapointing" "Shit" "S..."Dissapointing" "Shit" "So, so bad" Those don't sound like the words of someone who "loved it." If your opinion was honest it might count for something. your backtracking tosses any credibility you had into the shitter. Along with your blog.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-13967091490246935992015-03-28T04:45:30.855+00:002015-03-28T04:45:30.855+00:00You said Outlander was "disappointing" a...You said Outlander was "disappointing" and "shit" in your initial review. Now you claim you "loved it?" What a bunch of wishy washy BS. I could respect your opinion if it was an honest one. You really are a tool. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-84369187335238263432015-03-27T17:13:58.612+00:002015-03-27T17:13:58.612+00:00Your volte-face is nothing more than a condescendi...Your volte-face is nothing more than a condescending slap in the face to anyone who reads it. You obviously do not love the show and have set out to ridicule it and anyone who disagrees with your, very biased and distorted, point of view. I will try to be brief as I go through your blog.<br /><br />Yes, Outlander fans are obsessed – we are actually pretty ok with that description. For many of the fans, it’s been over a 20 year wait to bring this series to the screen and all of us – new or old to the fandom – want to give it the best possible chance of success.<br /><br />You didn’t love it. Fine. I said before I really don’t care about THAT. You misrepresented the work – passed it off as ‘soft porn’ (and are doing so again) because that is what you decided it was. Is there sex in the series? Well yes….sex is a very natural and normal part of life. The scenes portraying this have been well done and are not gratuitous. Ron Moore has said in many interviews if it doesn’t move the story in an important way – it isn’t there. (Oh, I’m getting the feeling you just don’t know who Ron Moore IS – Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Roswell, Helix – really someone that would take on a ‘Mills and Boon’ sort of show right? NOT)<br /><br />Yes, many middle-aged women are hooked on the books. So are many 20 somethings, doctors, lawyers, teachers – you name a high end profession and it’s represented in the fandom. From personal experience – an accountant, a nurse, a born Scot that thinks they are wonderful, a Navy SEAL, and a lawyer. Those are people I personally know. I’ve read many comments from soldiers who pick them up for overseas flights because they are LONG books, and write home asking for the rest of the series and then pass them around camp. I hardly think these are the ‘Mills and Boon’ types.<br /><br />The history. Is it 100% accurate to every detail? Of course not. It’s fiction. Is there enough actual history woven in to get someone’s interest that might normally find history boring? Absolutely. Have there been many who have taken up reading ACTUAL history books about the era because they were so intrigued by this ‘fiction’ – I’m quite sure I’m not the only one. As far as paganism – it is quite advanced and is still practiced there today – and all over the world. Your mother didn’t – cool for her. It’s a small piece – but it IS important to the history of the area whether you choose to acknowledge that or not.<br /><br />Is the Gaelic perfect? Probably not – but productions can’t always allow for perfection. I do know that the Gaelic consultant is passionate about getting it as correct as possible and the cast is working hard to do their very best with it. Hopefully – it will bring about an increased interest in a beautiful and meaningful language that many never even get a chance to hear except for something like this.<br /><br />Ok this is getting long – I apologize. My main point is – if you are going to review something, be honest about it. You don’t like it – that’s fine. Don’t call it an apple when it’s a peach or say it’s porn when it isn’t. I would have to honestly tell people to be careful reading your blog because you do not accurately portray what you review. You can hate it – say you hate it and say you think Outlander fans are a bunch of idiots. That’s ok, it’s your opinion – but don’t lie to people about the content just because you don’t like it. <br /><br />Oh…and I DID write my own blog about this. Here you go: https://rynawolfe.wordpress.com/2015/03/27/reviews-and-passionate-fans/<br /><br />WolfeTalesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-75267629527835010482015-03-27T10:37:31.697+00:002015-03-27T10:37:31.697+00:00But, I loved it! Does my opinion still count?
Wha...But, I loved it! Does my opinion still count?<br /><br />What did I leave out? I mentioned the Gaelic, the sex, the romance, the fighting, the time travel, WWII... please enlighten me.<br /><br />Btw, I'm not a distiller but I know a good dram when I have one. Though someone else may disagree. Ditto, am not a chef but...<br /><br />I did note with some distain than even Vanity Fair (!) moaned that Outlander was blatantly pitched at a certain female audience. Hell, what do they know?MacNaBrachahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01585663680725464839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-15435879298894137572015-03-27T00:27:47.239+00:002015-03-27T00:27:47.239+00:00I'll answer more in depth in my own space but ...I'll answer more in depth in my own space but to answer your question...NO. It wasn't that you disliked the show myself or anyone else took issue with. It's that you completely misrepresented the show, and what it is about. If you are going to review something, have the good sense to actually KNOW what you are talking about and do it properly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-82161728838414784022015-03-17T00:22:56.254+00:002015-03-17T00:22:56.254+00:00No it is NOT accurate. His opinion that he doesn&#...No it is NOT accurate. His opinion that he doesn't like it is fine. If it didn't tickle his fancy that too is fine. Say that - but he totally and completely misrepresented the show and the books! If you are going to put a review out for public consumption - at least be accurate. As I said above, comparing it to a 'Mills and Boon in the heather with groins moving to a port-a-beul' is just ridiculous given that Ronald D. Moore wouldn't touch such a thing! <br /><br />I have stopped reading a books part way through because the author simply didn't grab me. Nothing wrong with their writing, good story, well written - just not my thing. But I've never misrepresented a book when telling people that! My living was selling books so I do know how to give a review that is fair and honest even if I don't like it myself. This was just total misrepresentation. THAT is the problem.WolfeTalesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-63625595084516176562015-03-16T22:20:15.243+00:002015-03-16T22:20:15.243+00:00 @ WolfeTales: why watching a whole series of some... @ WolfeTales: why watching a whole series of something which has not convinced you in the first episode??? It is like reading hundreds and hundreds of pages of a book which you found boring and predictable within the first 50 pages...why bother?<br /><br />If you like the film (and book) and consider it a great piece of art- fine! But give that writer some credit if he chooses to spent his time with something more worthwhile. in his OPINION!<br /><br />Yes, it is a piece of opinion which does not claim to be fair, or nice, or accurate. It is a matter of taste and not an academic analyses.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-33879759754487747862015-03-16T03:09:26.034+00:002015-03-16T03:09:26.034+00:00So - you made a stupid-ass assumption because the ...So - you made a stupid-ass assumption because the books have been labeled as 'romance' - which they are NOT. They can be shelved in this category; historical fiction is more accurate but could be and have been shelved in Sci-Fi/Fantasy. <br /><br />Because you had prejudice against the author and your assumption of what you were watching - you watched only the pilot episode which, by nature, has to do a lot of background for the entire story. You have no real clue what the story or show is about or what it's like. You made up your mind before watching it then trashed it unfairly.<br /><br />FYI a great MANY 'manly men' (my own mate included) think this show is great. And I really don't think Ronald D. Moore would head up some sappy, 'Mills and Boon' type show given his other credits.<br /><br />If you don't like it - fine - but be fair. You have described this very VERY inaccurately. Your one write-up tells me your opinion can't be trusted about anything.WolfeTalesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-67034931858777343502015-03-15T21:04:34.042+00:002015-03-15T21:04:34.042+00:00Anon- so you're commenting on the above blog w...Anon- so you're commenting on the above blog which you haven't read? Yes, I viewed the first episode. No more.<br /><br />Erica - thanks for the comment. No, I haven't read the books - I just commented on the television version. I guess I'm just not into romantic fiction. The sex scenes were good enough though. Pity she hadn't got together with one of the rough and smelly guys. Would've been less predictable.MacNaBrachahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01585663680725464839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7947757505254506820.post-24908281700329845672015-03-14T21:18:40.265+00:002015-03-14T21:18:40.265+00:00In response to your "review" of Outlande...In response to your "review" of Outlander I have to disagree. You obviously haven't read the books. They are not as you describe them. There is an actual plot and character development. I won't deny that there are great sex scenes but those are sprinkled into an amazing story. The production team has done a fabulous job bringing the story to life and doesn't deserve the shade you are throwing at them. Read the first book with an open mind and then let's see if your opinion is the same.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11429790991997363001noreply@blogger.com