Tuesday 13 March 2012

Oh Please!!!

The woman reading the news – on the BBC – actually said “scientists have suggested that eating red meat increases the likelihood of death”

red meat

Which rather implies that not eating red meat will decrease the likelihood of death. I talked to my Year 6 pupils about it – and one of them said ‘but that means if you don’t eat red meat you could be immortal, Miss!’ Somebody somewhere isn’t editing the news bulletins very carefully, are they?

But considering that the Secretary of State for Education wants every child to achieve above average results, what can you expect? [That only works in fictional Lake Wobegon, Mr Gove – the rest of the world operates according to the conventions of statistics, where the ‘average’ is in the middle of the results, so some children must be below average]

People do not think about what they are saying anymore. They are literally talking rubbish!! [And how often is that adverb used incorrectly?]

But on the subjects of words, and re-phrasing things, I really did enjoy the Proclaimers new single, Spinning Around In the Air, played on Chris Evans show this morning. Listen out for it, it is fun!

11 comments:

  1. Oh I am so so glad you said about the red meat BBC report. I listened to it alone this morning - Steve had gone to work and thought I must have misheard or misunderstood - I worry these days about what I do /don't understand. And no-one was there to ask - lol!
    L.x.

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  2. I do wonder how so many people have managed to live to such advanced years. We are told that we are living longer and there are so many elderly people that the pension pot can't keep up. Aren't these the very people who ate what they wanted because there weren't all these reports telling them what they should and shouldn't be eating?

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  3. Surely everything in moderation! They come up with these things and in a couple of years it's something else.

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  4. John Humphreys yesterday morning about 8.45 with interviewees on Today programme- hilarious recordings of presenters mis-using "literally"- you would love it. Must be on podcast or something. eg Some separated parents are lirerally splitting their children in two. The beautiful Humphreys was right there with Solomon reference!

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    1. I have just listened to the Today clip- it is brilliant!

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  5. This is often the sort of thing you hear in health reports, about so and so increasing or reducing one's risk of death. I believe our risk of death is at 100%.

    Do your students really call you "Miss"? Like in the movies? How wonderful!

    xofrances

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    1. Yes they call me Miss much of the time. It's what many British schoolkids do. Last week I even heard a boy call a MALE supply [substitute] teacher 'Miss'. Sometimes the tiny ones call us 'Mum' by mistake.

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  6. Agree with you on the Mr Gove thing - I met him at a union conference last year - not sure he said a single intelligent thing! x

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    1. Thank you for confirming what I already suspected about him!

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  7. Did they leave out an adjective or something? Sudden death? Early death? Cholesterol-related death? It's nice to know that your students could recognize the illogic inherent in the statement. (Wait - is illogic a word?)

    So nice to hear a PHC reference from across the pond! I didn't know anyone listened to Garrison over there. He is a Saturday night institution in our neck of the woods.

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  8. Oh dear....
    There is a shop here whose automatic door bears the sign "please press the disabled button to open the door". I always want to ask if the button is fixed yet.
    And I have just searched online for a swimsuit with legs, for women, to be faced with the line "swimsuits for women with legs"
    I despair.

    Lynn P

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