During a visit to our nation’s capital, I attended a service at the Washington National Cathedral. I was under the impression that the congregation there was Episcopal.
Imagine my surprise, then, when I heard everyone there, as if in one voice, proclaim that they believe in “one holy Catholic and apostolic Church!”
Too bad I didn’t read the prayer when they were saying it, in which “catholic” is spelled with a small “c”.
My Bad!
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Click HERE to read two versions of the Nicene Creed, in which the words quoted above are used.
For a definition of the words “catholic” and “Catholic”, click HERE.
In 2003, Michael McGough of SLATE pondered the question, “Does the Vatican have exclusive rights to the word “Catholic”?”
For information about tours to explore the gargoyles of the Washington National Cathedral, click HERE.
At least one critic has taken issue with today’s post, I Want to Be a Rebel, given that this blog ostensibly is about the use and misuse of language, and that post is about something else. How can I justify my choice?
Can I tell you that what one chooses to wear, or how one chooses to appear to others, is as much a type of communication as is the language that one uses? I suppose I could, but the truth of the matter is this:
I am a curmudgeon and this is my sandbox, from which I will comment on what I please.
My Bad!
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For a good discussion of the types of nonverbal communication, click HERE.
If a curmudgeon were more modern, he would say “My Bad!”, for, in the words of Jon Winokur, curmudgeons “have the temerity to comment on the human condition without apology.”
For a discussion as to why saying “my bad” is not really an apology, see my June 20 Post
He flew by me on the interstate, riding low on his black motorcycle, with his woman clutching him around the waist. I began to daydream about the life of a rebel outlaw, alone on the open road, carried away on his snarling Harley Davidson.
Later, I saw that same Biker refueling his bike at the BP. There he was in all his glory, bedecked in a leather jacket with the words “Harley Davidson” across his back. His bandanna was red and sweat-stained . . . with the words “Harley Davidson” woven into the pattern. And his gleaming belt buckle, so large and shiny . . . said “Harley Davidson.”
Ah, life on the open road, I thought, that guy must feel so free.
Then, as I was walking into the station, I saw a little girl walking towards me. She had on a cute pink T-shirt . . . with a picture of the Little Mermaid on it. Dangling from her ears were . . . Little Mermaid earrings. Slap, slap, slap went her flip-flops on the pavement, and when I looked, I saw that they had pictures on them – you guessed it, the Little Mermaid. I turned to watch her go and, as she walked past the biker, I noticed that she had on a backpack . . . emblazoned with a picture of the Little Mermaid.
I wondered, is she a rebel too?
My Bad!
To find genuine Harley Davidson MotorClothes merchandise, click HERE
For genuine Disney Little Mermaid merchandise, click HERE
My friend, who considers himself a player, and who others consider a thug, told me recently he went to visit his “moms”.
Funny, I always thought he had heterosexual parents.
My bad!
For a list of online dictionaries of the hip-hop vernacular, click HERE.
colage.org is the website for people with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer parents.
In a recent radio interview, the rapper M&M stated that he was so good at making his lyrics rhyme due to his skillful enunciation.
It’s true, I understood his words just fine.
My bad!
Click HERE for the definition of “enunciate”.
Click HERE for the definition of “pronunciation”.
For a good discussion of the difference between enunciation and pronunciation, click HERE.
For years I have been in the habit of thinking, but not speaking, the first word or two of a sentence. Hence, wishing to communicate, “I want to go to the zoo,” you might hear me say, “go to the zoo.”
I hope this has no relation to the post below concerning “old-timer’s” disease.
My bad!
Hi, although I don’t remember your name, I went to the doctor today and I am writing to let you know: I have “old-timer’s disease”.
My Bad!
Click HERE for the pronunciation key for Alzheimer’s
The online Urban Dictionary has a number of definitions for the term, “My Bad”, among them the following:
A way of admitting a mistake, and apologizing for that mistake, without actually apologizing. The best definition I ever read of this, now paraphrased: “I did something bad, and I recognize that I did something bad, but there is nothing that can be done for it now, and there is technically no reason to apologize for that error, so let’s just assume that I won’t do it again, get over it, and move on with our lives.” Ruder than apologizing, but with the same meaning: a flippant apology.
I speak this way too. My bad!