On the art of speech.

Today, I was reminded of how standards in broadcasting are not what they once were. I am thinking, in particular, of the quality of speech of radio announcers. When I was a young boy, growing up in Britain, it was an apparently universal truth that only the best, clearest, most well spoken people ever made it to the radio. Everyone on it seemed to have perfect control of their tongues and speak with exquisite enunciation. Not so today, even in Britain, as anyone can readily observe. However bad Britain may have become, in this respect, matters are much worse elsewhere.

On the radio, today, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, I heard a particularly funny example of this tendency towards slovenly, inaccurate speech. I was in a taxi, and the car radio was on in the background. Over it there came the most unexpected announcement: “Come to Courts URINE sale! Courts URINE Sale!”. I found myself instantly puzzled at what I was sure I had heard. It was only towards the end of the advert when he repeated the same slogan again that I managed to work out what he was really trying to say: Courts Year End Sale!” The man’s speech had been so bad, that he had merged the two words, dropped the final “d” and made “year end”, sound like “urine”. Hilarious…and more than a little disturbing.

What struck me about this is that, for this advert to have been broadcast, something very strange must have happened: no-one, in the entire chain of approval, had either listened to the ad, or, if they had, had noticed the incompetent pronunciation. It suggests, therefore, that none of those involved had a strong grasp of what constituted good English pronunciation – even with a Malaysian accent attached. Either that or their knowledge of what it should have said, had made them hear it, as others would not.

This is all a little worrying for what it says about the standards of English language speech in Malaysia. You see, it is customary, for those who appear in adverts in the West, at least, to be very competent users of their respective languages. They are, after all, in the business of communication – and that communication must be clear and unambiguous if it is to be understood as desired. That advert was anything but clear.

It should be noted that Malaysia is not alone in this failing, however. When I was in Singapore, I noticed similar failings among its television personnel, on both news and entertainment channels. Particularly at fault were the newsreaders and those who made voiceovers introducing various programmes. Sometimes their errors of pronunciation came across as hilarious, at other times worrying and, on occasions, just plain dumb (such as when they say one word instead of another, because they are clearly unfamiliar with the target word – which would have made sense – and substitute it for one which does not). I even made the effort of arranging to see the head of Channel 5 at Mediacorp, to suggest that I might be able to help them out with voiceovers. He actually laughed at the suggestion and said: “We have people for that.” The irony of this, of course, is that the joke was on him, since he clearly had no idea, at all, of what constituted a good voiceover, or a competent speaker. I knew then, that the measure of this man, was in millimeters, at best. I mentioned, in passing that I was a writer, too, as background. He really perked up at that. Rather slyly, I thought, he urged me, not to write out my screenplays, if it was screenplays I was to write, but to “email me your ideas”. I knew at once, what was on his mind. Not only was this man unable to judge quality of speech…but he clearly seemed to be in the business of stealing ideas, too. Tellingly, I later learnt that he, too, was a writer (though he hadn’t mentioned it to me), but, it seemed, one in search of ideas.

This situation is more important than it appears, at first. All the key countries in South East Asia aspire to English language competence for their citizens – yet, they hamper themselves in achieving it, when their media figures are not competent speakers. The examples that are held up to the people, are not good ones. Now, there are plenty of very good speakers of English living in these countries, but the best of these are natives of English speaking countries. In other words, they are foreigners. These people tend not to be employed in public roles that would allow their ability to provide an example, however. This is because it is typical, in this part of the world, for the presence of Caucasians in the broadcast media to be restricted. This was notable in Singapore – and it appears to be the case, too, in Malaysia, since I really don’t know of any Caucasian media figure in Malaysia. I can’t even think of one. You’d think they could employ them in radio, at least, where their good English would be an asset and their white faces would be unseen…but I don’t know of any.

It is unlikely that Caucasians will ever have much of, if any, a presence on South East Asian televisions or on the radio. Yet, there is a simple solution. Native English speakers could be asked to advise on whom to hire to do the broadcast jobs in the first place. This is something, for instance, I could do, quite easily. By careful selection, only the best local speakers of English could be allowed to broadcast, with consequent benefits for the entire population. One of the first benefits, might be an end to all those urine sales, for a start.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here: http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

Good morning Daddy!

There are many ways to say “good morning”. My boys have a way all of their own.

This morning, I came down the stairs from my bedroom, into the corridor that runs alongside the TV room. Before I came into sight of my three sons, I heard Tiarnan’s conspiratorial whisper: “Daddy is coming!”

I knew, therefore, that something was afoot. Perhaps they were playing computer games, when they shouldn’t be? I wondered.

I rounded the corner, to see Tiarnan sprinting off in what I supposed to be the direction of one of his other brothers: there seemed a togetherness in his footsteps that hinted at another and, after all, he had had to have been speaking to someone. There was no-one else in the room.

I walked towards the kitchen paying no further heed to them.

Something flitted past me, quickly: a bright blur over my shoulder.

Suddenly, I felt a little twinge in my back. I had been shot, by a Nerf gun.

I looked behind me and there, several metres away, with a mischievous little grin, stood Tiarnan, four, his gun still raised. He seemed jubilant. It was plain, therefore, that it was his bolt, that had struck me. A few steps further back, behind him, stood Fintan, similarly armed. It was clear that he, too, had been taking a shot at me.

“Good morning Daddy!”, piped Tiarnan.

“Good morning, Tiarnan!”.

He was all smiles as he stood there reloading his gun. The boys liked to play with their Nerf guns. These, for those who don’t know, fire foam rounds and are quite harmless, but great fun for kids, particularly boys. By hunting me down before breakfast, as they just had, they were including me in their games. In a way, it was an honour, because I know how much fun it all is, to them. By including me, they were speaking, in the way boys do, by their actions, of their sense of togetherness with me. I was not just a bystander…but a participant to be included, in their own private world. I was, if you will, an "honorary brother". Oddly, Tiarnan has, on occasions, referred to me as a "brother". I know how special that term is, for him...so I feel quite flattered.

Happy hunting boys!

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here: http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

The secret annual Holocaust.

The Holocaust is, rightfully, thought of as one of the greatest crimes against Humanity that there has ever been perpetrated. It involved the systematic killing of millions of Jews, mentally handicapped or disturbed, Soviet POWS, Freemasons, Slovenes, Poles, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Romani.

In all the total of those who died, according to this Wikipedia article was the enormous number of somewhat less than 13 million people. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Holocaust). The Nazis are thought of, as a consequence, as one of the most evil organizations ever to have been invented by Man. Of course, it is right to think of them, as so. Yet, there is a greater evil in this world, than the Nazi death machine, than all the efforts of the Holocaust ever managed to achieve. This is an evil which occurs in every country of the world and occurs so routinely, that most people think nothing of it. It is a practice which kills approximately 42 million people per year. It is, therefore, a Holocaust every four months; three Holocausts per year – yet no-one says anything about it. What do you think it is? Please have a good think about what you think might be killing so many people per year, deliberately, systematically and with extreme prejudice.

Please genuinely think of what could be killing so many people, deliberately. I would like you to write what you thought, below, as well.

The answer is abortions by doctors. Doctors, around the world, kill an annual total of 42 million fetuses. Think about that. That is almost enough people to repopulate the United Kingdom, from chopped up, aborted babies. This is an evil far, far greater than ANYTHING the Nazis did – yet it is considered legal, normal, and routine in many countries. Yet, it is an abomination and a truly great crime against Humanity. If you doubt this vast number, please check out this link on abortion statistics: http://www.abortionno.org/Resources/fastfacts.html

It is notable that 38% of abortions occur among families with incomes of 30,000 to 59,999 US Dollars per year and 13.8% for families with incomes over 60,000 dollars per year (in the USA). So, for many women, abortion is not an economic necessity: it is a social commodity, a selfish luxury of thinking only of oneself and not of the unborn child. Indeed, in the US, 93% of all abortions occur because the baby is seen as “inconvenient” or “unwanted”. Only 6% of abortions are for the reasons of health of the baby or mother.

I rather think that the only type of person who could abort their child, is one who does not or cannot think, long term. They are people who lack the imagination to look ahead and imagine what their child might be like, were they to be born. They cannot foresee the marvelous times ahead, of getting to know their child, of hearing their first jokes, their laughter and, eventually, their wisdom, unfold. They cannot foresee all the beauty inherent in a human life. All they see, instead, is the immediate difficulties that all children bring: sleepless nights, nappy changing and planning life around them, until they are old enough to be a little more independent. Yet, to think in such shortsighted terms, is to fail to balance the whole length of the life ahead, against the short period of dependency.

Mostly it is the mother who wants to abort her own child – and that I find puzzling. Stereotypically, women are supposed to be nurturing and loving towards children yet, anyone trying to understand the problem of abortion, should know this: IN ALMOST ALL COUNTRIES, THE FATHER HAS NO RIGHT TO STOP THE ABORTION FROM PROCEEDING. Yes, that is right. Almost all of these 42 million abortions are SOLELY THE WILL OF THE MOTHERS.

That, to me, is appalling. These mothers are not mothers at all, but murderers. It is only the strangeness of modern law that prevents these “mothers” from being recognized as child murderers. So, too, their “doctors”. These modern abortion doctors are no different in kind, flavour or moral failing than that other famous Dr…Mengele, the Nazi doctor who experimented on humans and then killed and dissected them. Modern doctors who kill hundreds of unborn children each, each year are absolutely no better than Mengele was. The only difference is that we are not blinded to Mengele’s crimes, by socially accepting them. Abortion is socially accepted and legally enshrined in most countries - but ethically speaking, it is still a horrible crime against the most defenseless members of Humanity.

The fact that doctors kill 42 million unborn babies each year tells me something very interesting. Doctors do NOT, on balance, “save lives”. I very much doubt whether doctors “save” 42 million adult or child lives each year, as a whole. However, they do KILL 42 million fetuses. So, it is very likely that, on balance, doctors are members of a murderous profession that kills far many more people than it saves.

If one truly wishes to improve the true mean life expectancy of the human race, one should outlaw medicine, at once. Doctors should become a banned “profession”. Were there no doctors at all, in this world, something very odd would begin to happen: millions of children who would have been murdered would be killed no more. They would be born to have lives.

Now, I realize that aborted children are not considered part of life expectancy statistics, but they should be. If a child is aborted, it has had a very short life. Yet it is not counted in the life expectancy statistics of its nation. It should be. Life expectancy stats should be recalculated for all countries, by including the longevity of the aborted babies. We would then see something very interesting: mean life is much shorter, in the modern world, than one would have thought. It could, indeed, be as short as eras that we look down upon as barbaric for the living conditions that foreshortened the lives of the people of the time. Our statistics are lies. They do not tell us the true longevity of all people conceived, in the modern world.

If stats included all conceptions and the resultant longevity, mean longevity for populations would RISE if doctors were banned from practicing (and all substitute abortionists). Of course, the highest ages reached would decline since, whilst doctors do kill many unborn humans every year, they also help the oldest old, live a few years longer, and sicker than they otherwise could.

Of course, there might be population problems, were all conceptions to be born. However, if women and girls knew that all conceptions would result in births, they would be better motivated to use non fatal forms of contraception, more carefully. So, that potential problem would probably not come to pass.

We like to think of ourselves as morally superior to the Nazis. Most modern countries look on them with horror and a sense of “how on Earth could they?”. Yet, daily, in clinics across the world, crimes as great are being committed each and every day. Doctors, who should be devoted to saving lives, are killing unborn babies. It is monstrous – and it is something which should not happen, in a moral world. However, we don’t live in a moral world. We live in a “convenient” world. A world in which nothing so fragile as a baby’s life should be allowed to interrupt our “lifestyle”. (Ironic that to preserve their “life”styles, many mothers use the death of their children, as their tool of choice).

What is truly monstrous about our world, therefore, is the extent to which most people are unaware of just how monstrous it is. We have managed to make the truly abhorrent seem routine and acceptable, when it is not, and can never be, to those who see things truly.

I would like to see a world in which abortions are history, not current events. I wonder, though, whether I will ever live to see a world such as that: a world of conscience, of humanity, a world that knows the value of life. We are a long way from such a world. It may be, that I shall never see such a world and that such a world may never be. However, people who can see this truth clearly, must not stop at trying to make the world a more humane one. So, if you understand the sadness of the abortion of the millions who die before they are born, please do what you can to create a better world, a world in which such “unwanted” children, might be given the chance to live.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here: http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)

A very odd prime number

Yesterday, Ainan recounted to me a conversation he had had with Fintan, seven.

“I asked him: “What is an odd prime number?””

Fintan, answered at once. “23”.

“No,” said Ainan,”2. It is odd because it is even.”

I can only imagine what I would think would be Ainan’s style of announcement: a triumphant utterance, pleased to have surprised, by something unexpected.

Ainan, in other description of the story, rephrased it as: “2 is an odd prime number, because it is even.”

Now, I think this is quintessential Ainan type thinking. He has a liking for that which stands out, is distinctive, or unusual in any way. 2 fits this ideal, because it is the only prime number that is even. It, is, in fact, the only prime number which could ever be even – because any other even number would, obviously, be always divisible by two, making it not prime, after all.

I have an inkling that thinking about the odd or atypical, will characterize Ainan’s life work. He is very likely to devote himself to that which is exceptional, that which appears to flout rules: for that is his natural bent, to be drawn towards that which does not conform to expectation. There is, I think, much potential in such ways of thinking. We shall see what he makes of it.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, 10, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, 7 and Tiarnan, 4, this month, please go to: http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html

I also write of gifted education, child prodigy, child genius, adult genius, savant, megasavant, HELP University College, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, Malaysia, IQ, intelligence and creativity.

There is a review of my blog, on the respected The Kindle Report here: http://thekindlereport.blogspot.com/2010/09/boy-who-knew-too-much-child-prodigy.html

Please have a read, if you would like a critic's view of this blog. Thanks.

You can get my blog on your Kindle, for easy reading, wherever you are, by going to: http://www.amazon.com/Boy-Who-Knew-Too-Much/dp/B0042P5LEE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&s=digital-text&qid=1284603792&sr=8-1

Please let all your fellow Kindlers know about my blog availability - and if you know my blog well enough, please be so kind as to write a thoughtful review of what you like about it. Thanks.

My Internet Movie Database listing is at: http://imdb.com/name/nm3438598/

Ainan's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3305973/

Syahidah's IMDB listing is at http://imdb.com/name/nm3463926/

Our editing, proofreading and copywriting company, Genghis Can, is at http://www.genghiscan.com/

This blog is copyright Valentine Cawley. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited. Use only with permission. Thank you.)