The Howling (M)

desiderata.english


No, the screen script for the Hollywood version of The Howling (M) is not ready, but I'll tell you more about scripting next week, Insya-Allah. I have been saying a lot of "God Willing" nowadays because in My Country, a lot of people have resigned their fates to the God/Almighty/gods, whatever, shaking their heads, saying "I give up!"

Meanwhile, dishing you not a CON BF (sorry, I could not invite you for one this morn, I had it outstation in Petaling Jaya...)some serious HOWLERS!
One at NewsWorld.
At one AcademicaWorld.
And the nation's reputation is at stake.

HOWLING 1 at NEWSWORLD

From Yesterday's ChallengiA:

"***Plot to oust mayor


KUALA LUMPUR: Sex and graft. These are the two powerful weapons used by conspirators to topple the Mayor.

City police said the plotters included several senior officials of Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).

Yesterday, police arrested three men, including a DBKL department director and assistant director, in connection with the publication and distribution of the book Skandal Seks & Rasuah Ruslin.

They also confiscated 702 books, manuscript and printing materials.

THE CHALLENGIA:

As Desiderata is on the run, you need to tell me after reading the rest of the story if there is an "A" Star Howler somewhere...***"


PARTIAL ANSWER:

First paragraph as it stands means the mayor had been toppled!

But the rest of the story shows no, RUSLIN is STILL THE MAYOR!


The Star has made a serious Error, a fatal one in Desi's classification.
There is a BIG WORLD OF DIFFERENCE in a sucessful overthrow of the mayor, and
an attempt to topple him which had not been brought to a successful achievemnet of the mission.


Hence, the first para RE-WRITE to mean what the truth of what the real story's about:

KUALA LUMPUR: Sex and graft. These are the two powerful weapons used by conspirators in a failed attempt/bid/move to topple the Mayor.

DESIDERATA:

At the heArt of the matter, it's a core element that MEDIOCRITY rules in many sectors of Malaysia, including two high profile ones like Academia and English-language Print Media, especially of interest to desiderata.english in the rapidly falling standards of the English language.

Speaking from experience, I know for a fact that the Howling 1 case cited as an example shows how "fatal" this state of affairs has deteriorated into. "Fatal" in my mind because that news item featured on Saturday frontpage of The Star would have gone throught at least FOUR STATIONS, and yet none detected the flaw, unforgivable for the highest-circulating English daily which features a regular Mind Your Language column:

(1) from reporter to Desk Officer (can be a senior journalist, usually of Asst News Editor rank)

(2) from the news desk to a Sub-Editor

(3) from the Sub-editor to Chief Sub-editor

(4) final review by a team,which applies for the FrontPage news, comprising the Chief News Editor, maybe even including the Group Editor-in-Chief or his Deputy.

SO, do you see what a world of difference by adding that phrase 'in a failed attempt' ??????? Yes, SE7EN question marks so if you have the time, bring it to the attention of the four, plus another three, stations the reporter's copy had to travel through before the story saw the light of day I referred to!


HOWLING 2 at ACEDEMICAWORLD

From the SundayStar page 2 October 30, 2005


Pak Lah wants UM to find out why ranking dropped

KEPALA BATAS: The Prime Minister wants Universiti Malaya (UM) to study why its ranking among the world’s top 200 universities slid from 89th position last year to 169th this year.

Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said he was sad to hear of the drastic drop for the country’s oldest university.

“I hope UM will take the necessary action to rectify it,” he said after opening the national-level Welfare and Community Development Council (Mayang) at Rumah Kanak-Kanak Taman Bakti here yesterday.

The list was recently published in The Times newspaper’s Higher Education Supplement 2005 in London.

The rankings were based on the results of a survey of 2,375 academics worldwide.UM, however, ranked 45th in two other categories – Rest of the World’s Top 50 Universities and Arts and Humanities Top 50 Universities.

Abdullah said sometimes the criteria used in the ranking system might differ from country to country.

“We must compare our own criteria to see if it matches the one used by the international body,'' he added.


Pak Lah, it's no use trying to see whether the "criteria" is the root cause of the problem. It's the MEDIOCRITY that has beset the whole system, starting from the school system.

So now you understand why a Secondary Three student johnleemk' s writings, including one chapter of a Book he's writing, made Desi go wow, Wow and WoW as in gasps of Awesome" surprise. YoungLeemk would put many of these so-called journalists, many graduates too, to shame. Now you can understand why our academia rankings have continued to fall, fall and fall, through the years. Wasn't it very clear when you can have a case of a LECTURER who could not even string one or two sentences in an Examnination Paper without entertaining -- okay, some cringe, really, like the complainant who publicised the matter -- the students with some HOWLERS?

And the questions in MULTI-CHOICE FORMAT at University?

Pak Lah, you don't have to ask too many people why the University of Malaya's rankings have dropped and dropped...
Just check some samples of the Lecturers' work ... or interview some of the Young&Articulate students like leemk and others I have the privilege of highlighting here ...


Maybe just ask your Press Officers about the local English language standards ... in tandem with the local universities' standards, as far as English language proficiency standards are concerned. Surely you can extrapolate a relation between the two Worlds of Academia and Media somewhere ... nothing exists in a vacuum.

My dear Readers, who wanna join Desi in making THE HOWLING (M)?


Only triers (tryers) to the following will be considered for a shortlist:

CHALLENGIA HOWLING (M):

(a)Name the university where the referred lecturer came from -- the one who couldn't string a sentence or two in proper English (ie without committing an error which Desi calls a HOWLER).

(b)Title of the Chapter that johnleemk had written which made Desi go WoW, 3X.
John, you need to answer (a), not (b) if you are inclined to take part.


This is an Easy Challengia because you lazy I.Cowws don't need to give a RAT-tionale!


DEADLINE: Tomorrow 8AM?

PRIZE: You get a mention in the blockbustier THE HOWLING (M) Desi's planning, for HOLLYWOOD, here I come!