Opinions of her government’s competence vary wildly, but there is consensus on one point—Gillard’s inability to sell a positive policy message, or to communicate to voters either what she stands for or who she is. The Prime Minister seems to have a profoundly uneasy relationship with the English language.

And later on:

Gillard obfuscates when she should illuminate, uses many words when a few would do, and confuses messages so badly that voters would be forgiven for thinking she’s deliberately trying to mess with their heads.

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As is often reported, the New York City accent is vanishing. Some people are even paying good money to unlearn it, much like Radio Days’ Sally and her diction lessons. Bronx-born filmmaker Heather Quinlan is working on a documentary all about it. If These Knishes Could Talk is both, as Heather says, ‘an homage to my father and grandparents, who had wonderful accents I don’t hear anymore, and also to celebrate that which makes New York so unique.’

And in the interview:

New York accents sound different in Jewish neighborhoods (think Woody Allen), Puerto Rican neighborhoods (Rosie Perez), Irish neighborhoods (Jimmy Cagney), Italian neighborhoods (Al Pacino), etc. Though again, your ethnic background does not necessarily determine your accent. Rudy Giuliani is an example of an Italian-American whose New York accent is not Italian, but Irish, since he grew up in an Irish neighborhood.

Fascinating.

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Jon Hicks:

This uplifting ditty and accompanying Python-esque video about my favourite refreshment was Kula Shaker’s free Christmas single from 2007!

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That’s the problem with loving typography. It’s always a pleasure to discover a formally gorgeous, subtly expressive typeface while walking along a street or leafing through a magazine.

Indeed. And, you’ve got to love the English language: consider the marked difference between the meanings of ‘formally gorgeous’ (of typefaces) and ‘formerly gorgeous’ (of washed-up movie starlets).

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Sorry, but social networks simply aren’t cool anymore among the 15-to-24-year-old crowd. […] Why? It seems the older crowd—people 25 and older—has given social networks the unmistakable stench of being not cool. Why would an 18-year-old kid want to mimic the lifestyle of a 30-year-old?

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