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airborne's reviews
133 reviews
Politics and the English Language by George Orwell
5.0
Ironically, while a great portion of this essay opposes vagueness in writing, people have still misinterpreted it as Orwell expressing revulsion for literary fashion, style, and abstractness in all forms of writing. If this were the case, many authors of beloved classical literature would be, as Orwell states, "bad writers." In fact, Orwell himself would also be classified as a "bad writer," as even he has broken his own rules in his writing. This is not the case and is a silly thought. "Politics and the English Language" is written to highlight the dispensible mundane, unclear, and meaningless English in strictly political text and that the vaguest and most fashionable political writers will often hold the most ideological influence over the minds of others, despite that they may be the dumbest. This calls to mind Bernard Shaw's play "Pygmalion," in which the phonics professor, Henry Higgins, wielded such power with merely his language that he transformed a lowly flower girl into a woman of poise through his language teachings. While Henry had little regard for human mannerisms, the elegance of his tongue falsely gave him an air of principle. The play demonstrated the deceit that proficient—and sometimes downright incompetent—use of English can hold over others, as Orwell's essay warns, whether implemented intentionally or not. Prospective political commentary writers would do well to read this essay many, many times over with a highlighter.
Welcoming the Japanese Visitor: Insights, Tips, Tactics by Kazuo Nishiyama
3.0
A small book full of insights into the minds of Japanese international travelers and advice we can utilize to improve their experience abroad. I work at a small airport in a famous city for tourists in Maine, so to encounter people from faraway places flying in isn't all that unusual. I'm not necessarily interested in selling them anything or providing any tourism-oriented business aside from strictly doing my job, but it's worthwhile to better understand how some of them may see our side of the pond nonetheless.