Jay Doubleyou

Friday, 30 September 2022

the most-studied languages in the eu

The majority of pupils in primary and secondary education in the EU study at least one foreign language:

What languages are studied the most in the EU? - Products Eurostat News - Eurostat

It won’t come as a surprise to anyone that English is once again the most studied language by far in the EU. In upper secondary and vocational education it’s 96% and 79% respectively, according to the latest data from Eurostat.

And the most studied language in the EU is…. | E L Gazette

Thursday, 29 September 2022

british classical music and vaughan williams at 150

Britain has produced a lot of music:

Jay Doubleyou: music from the uk

Including a lot of classical music:

Jay Doubleyou: british music

Much of which is played at the biggest classical music festival in the UK:

Jay Doubleyou: bbc proms 2014

And a lot of 'classical music' is also played at Christmas:

Jay Doubleyou: favourite christmas carols

Here's more on British twentieth century classical composers:

Holst.and. Vaughan. Williams. Making. Music. English : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

BBC Two - Holst and Vaughan Williams: Making Music English

The BBC have been focussing on one particular composer this year:

BBC Radio 3 Celebrates Ralph Vaughan Williams At 150 With Vaughan Williams Today - Media Centre

This year “The Lark Ascending” by Ralph Vaughan Williams was voted Classic FM listeners’ favourite piece of classical music (as it was last year, and the one before that, and the one before that). They’re not alone in their admiration. A major theme of the BBC Proms this year is the 150th anniversary of the English composer’s birth.

Vaughan Williams' vision of Englishness is not the one we need - New Statesman

But did VW represent a certain view of England?

A Composer Forever English, Cow Pats and All - The New York Times

VW: much more than a cowpat composer - The Classical Music Guide Forums

English Pastoral School - Wikipedia

Vaughan Williams was indeed inspired by English folk music:

BBC Radio 4 - The Captain's Apprentice by Caroline Davison, Norfolk Rhapsody

This is a beautiful example:

Vaughan Williams - On Wenlock Edge (1909), sung by Anthony Rolfe Johnson - YouTube

On Wenlock Edge (song cycle) - Wikipedia

For example:

Vaughan Williams - 'Bredon Hill' from On Wedlock Edge - YouTube

On Wenlock Edge (The Film) - Part 5 - Bredon Hill - (Vaughan Williams) - YouTube

Bredon Hill - Wikipedia

'There's far more to VW than wistful evocations of the English landscape':

The Passions of Vaughan Williams - YouTube

John Bridcut - Crux Productions - Filmography

Finally, an overview on his 150th anniversary:

Front Row - Ralph Vaughan Williams - BBC Sounds

Thursday, 22 September 2022

politics as theatre

Politics has often been put on the stage.

With an example from Australia here:

Jay Doubleyou: what is a 'native speaker' of english? the issue of race...

Politics has always had an element of theatre about it.

Germany:

Triumph of the Will - Wikipedia

Triumph of the Will (1935) - (Documentary, History, War, Foreign) - video Dailymotion

1935: Triumph of the Will - The Power of Propaganda - YouTube

There's a lot of theatricality happening today:

behaviour that is extreme and not sincere, and that is intended to attract attention

THEATRICALITY | meaning, definition in Cambridge English Dictionary

Especially in today's 'culture wars':

>> Germany’s increasingly bold nationalists spark a new culture war | Financial Times

Jay Doubleyou: culture wars

Russia:

Putin propaganda just took an exceptionally strange turn

In recent days, the phrase “winter is coming” haunts. That’s partly because I, like millions of others, started watching House of the Dragonthe prequel to Game of Throneswho had these ominous words as a slogan.

But there is a second reason. I recently watched a video on YouTube that aims to convince English-speaking viewers to move to Putin’s Russia because, well, “winter is coming”. The 53-second film makes its pitch by highlighting the alleged allure of Putin’s country. “Delicious cuisine, beautiful women, cheap gas, rich history, fertile land, cheap electricity, ballet, cheap taxi,” a voice remarks solemnly as images, including some of beautiful women, flash past.

Putin propaganda just took an exceptionally strange turn | UK NEWS TO DAY

>> THIS IS RUSSIA WINTER IS COMING - YouTube

Rusia en España on Twitter: "Time to move to Russia 🤍💙❤️ https://t.co/4CZL1Nt4Gi" / Twitter

Russia is pretty good at this theatrical showmanship.

But, then, so are their American apologists:

Kremlin memos urged Russian media to use Tucker Carlson clips – report | Fox News | The Guardian

Peter Pomerantsev says the West should be doing the same:

Despite his defeats, Putin still shapes our perceptions. Let’s fight him at his own game

Strengthen sanctions and support the Ukraine military, of course. But the west needs to get its own messages across with an ideological offensive

Despite his defeats, Putin still shapes our perceptions. Let’s fight him at his own game | Peter Pomerantsev | The Guardian

With lots more here:

Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible by Peter Pomerantsev review – Putinism and the oil-boom years | Books | The Guardian (Feb 2015)
Peter Pomerantsev: Why We’re Post-Fact (July 2016)
Wolves in nationalist clothing – POLITICO (feb 2017)
Radio Prague - It’s not Russia vs. the US any more, the big threat is a Trump-Putin alliance, says writer Peter Pomerantsev (Feb 2017)

Jay Doubleyou: information wars

In particular: Vladislav Surkov

Peter Pomerantsev · Putin’s Rasputin · LRB 20 October 2011

Adam Curtis has looked at the man behind the politics of theatre in Russia:

BBC's Adam Curtis: How Propaganda Turned Russian Politics Into Theater | Video | RealClearPolitics

America:

Jay Doubleyou: propaganda, public relations and manufacturing consent

Tuesday, 20 September 2022

abilene paradox and groupthink

In the Abilene paradox, a group of people collectively decide on a course of action that is counter to the preferences of many or all of the individuals in the group.[1][2] It involves a common breakdown of group communication in which each member mistakenly believes that their own preferences are counter to the group's and, therefore, does not raise objections, or even states support for an outcome they do not want. A common phrase relating to the Abilene paradox is a desire to not "rock the boat". This differs from groupthink in that the Abilene paradox is characterized by an inability to manage agreement.[3]

Abilene paradox - Wikipedia

One important idea for understanding social behavior and conformity is preference falsification. This concept was developed by the economist Timur Kuran.
In short, preference falsification means to express beliefs you don’t actually hold in order to fit into a social group. It can be uncomfortable to disagree with others. Especially with those who you consider to be coalitional or political allies.

Facts About Minority Opinion vs. Majority Rule | Psychology Today

Abilene Paradox is an evil, especially in a work environment. Without counter opinions and presentation of individual thoughts, no company/firm can flourish. Hence, it becomes important to try and get rid of the paradox.
Agile Business gives out some easy and effective steps to check Abilene Paradox. Some of these practices involve

...

This Is Why We Agree To Do Everything We Hate When We Are In A Group

Why groupthink might be a good thing after all
An organisation that acts with unity of purpose is a better bet than one paralysed by indecision or internal division

Why groupthink might be a good thing after all | Financial Times

Opponents of the monarchy who have taken a less diplomatic position — criticizing the public for falling victim to establishment groupthink, for example — have been called out by other republicans for estranging would-be allies. “A republicanism that has no faith in the public is no republicanism at all,” wrote one columnist in Spiked, a libertarian online magazine that opposes the monarchy but often takes potshots at what it often sees as the “woke left.”

Anti-Monarchists Tread Lightly After Queen’s Death, but Their Goal Persists - The New York Times

In the seven hours of evidence he gave at the Houses of Commons, Dominic Cummings mounted a systematic attack on the decisions of the government and its scientific advisory groups during the pandemic. These decisions, he repeatedly suggested, were a result of “groupthink”. Cummings used the term 15 times (and his questioners used it a further seven). It was applied to the government in general, to the Department of Health and to Sage. It was used to explain the delay in understanding the threat posed by the virus, in locking down, in closing borders, in building a testing system, in developing vaccines – in fact, according to Cummings, groupthink was the culprit for pretty much all the failures of decision-making that led to tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths.
As a result, the term – a behavioural science concept – is becoming as familiar to people as spike proteins or the R rate. Yet there is a key difference. Groupthink is a highly contested concept in psychology that is now viewed with considerable scepticism by those who research group behaviour. It misrepresents how often groups make poor decisions, why groups make poor decisions and how to stop groups making poor decisions. So, while you can certainly agree with Cummings that the government made many disastrous decisions during the pandemic, the notion of groupthink obscures the real group psychology at work.

Blaming Covid mistakes on ‘groupthink’ lets the government off the hook | Stephen Reicher and John Drury | The Guardian

Sunday, 18 September 2022

romeo + juliet and west side story

What do you know about the Italian city of Verona?

Verona | Italy | Britannica

It's also famous as the setting for one of the most famous plays:

Shakespeare In Verona: The Home Of Romeo & Juliet

Here's a good overview for students:

Summary of Romeo and Juliet

EFL / ESL Materials | Romeo and Juliet

And here here's a modern updating of the play:

Romeo and Juliet 1996 trailer - YouTube

It has also been adapted into a ballet - by Tchaikovsky:

Romeo & Julia | Tchaikovsky-Ballet - YouTube

And by Prokoviev - with the same scene:

Prokofiev Romeo and Juliet -- Tybalt-Mercutio-Romeo fight scene (Macmillan) - YouTube

With a film of the original staging in Moscow [from 9:15]

"The Magic of Romeo and Juliet" - The story of Prokofiev's great ballet - YouTube

With a fabulous staging in Budapest from 2020:

Romeo and Juliet | About | Great Performances | PBS

Romeo and Juliet: Beyond Words, BBC iPlayer | Culture Whisper

The Making of Romeo and Juliet: Beyond Words | Great Performances | PBS

Then there is West Side Story:

West Side Story - Wikipedia

Which Spielberg filmed last year:

Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story" | Official Trailer | 20th Century Studios - YouTube

But here's the original from 1961:

West Side Story - Prologue - Official Full Number - 50th Anniversary (HD) - YouTube

West Side Story ' Dance at the Gym ' Mambo 日本語字幕 - YouTube

West Side Story - Cool (1961) HD - YouTube

It really is a 'great piece of art':

The Great ‘West Side Story’ Debate - The New York Times

Why West Side Story is a Masterpiece - YouTube

Friday, 16 September 2022

cancelling anti-royalists

The idea behind 'cancel culture' is that you are afraid to say what you think:

Cancel culture: what views are Britons afraid to express? | YouGov

And this is part of the bigger 'culture wars':

Jay Doubleyou: culture wars

Jay Doubleyou: brexit and the culture wars: part two

But has it become another left-right divide?

More than half of Britons afraid of sharing non-progressive views | UK | News | Express.co.uk

This question has come up in a big way over the last week or so:

Jay Doubleyou: arresting anti-royalists

Polly Toynbee writes for the Guardian:

As businesses close and funerals are halted, fear of being attacked by a rightwing mob is stifling freedom of expression following the Queen’s death

Dissenting voices on royal mourning have been silenced. This is ‘cancel culture’ | Polly Toynbee | The Guardian

But with a warning from the FT:

The left needs to rediscover its fervour for free speech | Financial Times

Tuesday, 13 September 2022

arresting anti-royalists

The UK's press is full of pieces on the monarchy:

The Queen: Latest news, breaking stories and comment | Daily Mail Online

Which has been an opportunity to 'bury' other news:

When BBC News butted into an episode of Bargain Hunt on BBC One at 12:39pm on 8 September, it triggered an almost unprecedented period of rolling news coverage. For the next 4,641 minutes, the BBC’s main television channel was devoted to little else other than coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s health, death and the transition to King Charles III.
The same is true for newspapers and news websites. Almost immediately, coverage of the normal news agenda ended. As one politics reporter told GQ on the day the Queen died, they knew their reporting would fall by the wayside. Since 8 September, news coverage of the late Queen and new King has become all-encompassing. MailOnline has published 540 stories mentioning “Queen Elizabeth” in the last five days; The Daily Express’s website has pushed 511. The Mirror’s website has shared 445 stories on the royals. (The Guardian was more muted, publishing 173 stories, while The Independent had everyone beaten, with 724 stories mentioning the Queen.)
We’ve become overwhelmed with coverage about a single news event – and from that, comes the opportunity for those seeking to bury bad news. (The now infamous phrase stems from a memo from an adviser to then-UK transport secretary Stephen Byers, who coined the term in an internal memo written on 9/11 2001, saying it was “a good day to bury bad news”.)
“Governments, particularly those who are most cynical working within them, will always seek to make the most out of a tragedy,” says Steven Buckley, associate lecturer in journalism at the University of the West of England. “It is common practice for bad news to be put out at Christmas or New Year when many journalists aren't working in the hope the information goes unnoticed.”

How the government is using the monarchy to bury bad news | British GQ

Nevertheless, there have been a few questions raised about this institution:

King Charles inherits crown with support for monarchy at record low – but future not set in stone

However, over the last couple of days, people protesting against the monarchy in the UK have been arrested:

Arrests of protesters prompt free-speech concerns - BBC News

Is there a right to protest at royal events? - BBC News

King Charles: Police demand protestor’s details after he held up piece of paper outside parliament | The Independent

Prince Andrew heckler arrested for hurling abuse as royals walk behind Queen's coffin

Republican protesters arrested at King Charles proclamations | UK news | The Guardian

What is interesting is the reaction outside the UK to these arrests:

Anti-royal protesters are being arrested in the U.K. : NPR

'Not my king': Anti-monarchist arrests spark criticism in Britain | The Times of Israel