It's About Liberty: A Conservative Forum
Topics => General Board => Topic started by: Pandora on July 15, 2011, 02:11:55 PM
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Just taking an informal survey here.
eta: I'd greatly appreciate everyone chiming in. There's a reason for asking and I'll reveal that later.
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nonexistant.
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nonexistant.
Could you elaborate just a tad, please?
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If not for the icky human/organ thingy I could've been a good doctor, my handwritting is that atrocious...sometimes I have a hard time reading what I wrote...so I almost always print my scribbles...
:P
But for some reason I struggle with my sisters loopy writing...I thought girls all had fine penmanship...but she's an RN, close enough to a doc to make it seem OK.
;D
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Mine is pretty decent. I'm especially particular about print letters, always sure to make them clear. That mainly stems from a background in programming where ambiguity among similar characters can become a major PITA.
What I recently learned, and maybe you had this in mind when you posed the question, is that many school systems are no longer teaching cursive handwriting. That has long been such a fundamental part of elementary education, I can't believe it's being eliminated. I guess they need more classroom time for discussing PC propaganda. ::angry::
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(http://images.onset.freedom.com/ocregister/kpj6wn-09readhammerman6large.jpg)
I received penmanship awards in elementary schools ::thumbsinlapels:: today, after five minutes, I can't read it. I print if I can't find something to key it into.
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Sucks!! I have the wife do all my writing for me and I just sign the letters.
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nonexistant.
Could you elaborate just a tad, please?
I was living in and going to New Orleans public schools when we were being taught cursive writing. My teacher was intolerant of left-handers so she insisted that I learn right-handed. I did my best but it was never very good. At home I would revert to southpaw and so learned semi-ambidextrously (poorly). ::cool:: (notice he's left-handed)
In high school I took drafting and other Industrial Arts classes and gave up writing in favor of printing altogether. I also took typing class - because that's where the girls were :supercool: I didn't do too badly either ;D I now have to struggle to remember how to form the cursive characters. My writing is limited to filling out checks thanks to the digital age.
I'm at the point right now where I thank the stars for a keyboard - I'd be largely mute without one ::thumbsup::
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I take it you're refering to the scribbling that I call cursive. I, too, have dropped to printing for anything to be legible.
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I remember using cursive for taking notes in college, but not long after that I switched to printing. It was a conscious decision, since I reasoned that the purpose of handwriting was communication. Most people's cursive writing is pretty messy. They can read it, but no one else can. The same was true in my case.
My printed letters are not as neat as they used to be, but I think they're still pretty readable.
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My cursive is terrible. I feel like a retard when I try to write it. My signature long since devolved into a capital "P" with a squiggly line after it, but when I need to sign some official document legibly where I spell out my whole name, it looks like a 5th-grader.
I print. It's not pretty, but people can read it.
On the other hand, Mrs. IDP's handwriting is impeccable. Watching her slow, steady hand turn out textbook cursive amazes me. My experience is that in general, women write much neater and more legibly than men.
Also, I'm a three-finger-and-a-thumb typist. Left index finger, right index and middle, and an occasional left thumb. But I can type around 50 words a minute in my own retard style, so I'm only slightly handicapped.
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On the other hand, Mrs. IDP's handwriting is impeccable. Watching her slow, steady hand turn out textbook cursive amazes me. My experience is that in general, women write much neater and more legibly than men.
That's definitely true. It's the same part of the brain responsible for verbalizing and fluidity, and women have more activity there as shown by functional MRI scans (same reason they talk...and talk...and talk :)). Most people can immediately distinguish between male and female handwriting with a very high degree of accuracy. Women's looks like professional calligraphy; ours looks like Viking rune stones :)
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On the other hand, Mrs. IDP's handwriting is impeccable. Watching her slow, steady hand turn out textbook cursive amazes me. My experience is that in general, women write much neater and more legibly than men.
That's definitely true. It's the same part of the brain responsible for verbalizing and fluidity, and women have more activity there as shown by functional MRI scans (same reason they talk...and talk...and talk :)). Most people can immediately distinguish between male and female handwriting with a very high degree of accuracy. Women's looks like professional calligraphy; ours looks like Viking rune stones :)
There was one time when my mom was in a nursing home, and I was writing down some instructions given me by a nurse. She saw what I wrote and was very impressed. She said something like, "You write like a woman!" That was my printing, not cursive. She likely would have been less impressed with that.
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Women's looks like professional calligraphy
Way back when, I worked in an office where one woman had a very unique style of handwriting. The vertical dimension was pressed flat, and her letters were all horizontal. But it was scrupulously neat, and it looked like Arabic calligraphy. The baseline was as perfect as if she used a ruler. It was the weirdest damn handwriting I ever saw, but it was perfectly readable once you got used to it. But those who had never seen it before were left scratching their heads.
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I have always printed when writing by hand, as opposed to cursive. I was once told by an adult that there was no way that I printed that well, my parents must have done it for me.
My handwriting? Uk-Say.
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I need a translator to read mine
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I need a translator to read mine
LOL! At least you could find a translator. Mine is illegible -- period.
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I need a translator to read mine
LOL! At least you could find a translator. Mine is illegible -- period.
This aaumes I'm sentient enough that I remember what I wrote and the translator isn't just making it up
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Thanks for responding everybody; greatly appreciated.
This is tangentially related to the "Is this the end of handwriting? Indiana schools to teach keyboard skills instead" piece:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2012103/Is-end-handwriting-Indiana-schools-teach-keyboard-skills-instead.html (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2012103/Is-end-handwriting-Indiana-schools-teach-keyboard-skills-instead.html)
It is my contention that, for a majority of people, "handwriting" is automatically associated with cursive. It seems the author of the title of the Daily Mail piece makes the same association.
I asked the question the way I did to prompt an instinctive response, rather than a considered one. Unfortunately, Glock's post made the connection visible and sort of skewed the responses.
The reason I ran the poll at all was I've got a local teacher instructing that all writing by hand, printing and cursive, is "handwriting", and there is no commonly-held perception of the term as cursive, backed up by the "educated" opinion of thirty other "educators", a few of which don't know how to write cursive, and most of them don't teach it.
I've been informed that as I have no education credentials/experience/background, my contention on this is ignorant and therefore incorrect.
Technically, yes, all writing by hand is hand-writing, but, in my uneducated, uncredentialed opinion, handwriting is cursive, printing is writing by hand.
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I remember using cursive for taking notes in college, but not long after that I switched to printing. It was a conscious decision, since I reasoned that the purpose of handwriting was communication. Most people's cursive writing is pretty messy. They can read it, but no one else can. The same was true in my case.
My printed letters are not as neat as they used to be, but I think they're still pretty readable.
I guess that puts me in the either/or/both category.
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...handwriting is cursive, printing is writing by hand.
That has always been my understanding as well. Actually, I don't believe it is up for debate. I think it's just fact, and the people trying to convince you of your error are misguided.
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I've always taken a lot of pride in my "long-hand" and have been complimented on my handwriting often . In the last five years or so it's a little shakier but still not bad . I write letters quite often . It's becoming almost a lost art .
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Yeah, my grandfather wrote "short hand", said it kept him out of the trenches.
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I've always taken a lot of pride in my "long-hand" and have been complimented on my handwriting often . In the last five years or so it's a little shakier but still not bad . I write letters quite often . It's becoming almost a lost art .
I think it's a shame that letter writing is all but gone.
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I've always taken a lot of pride in my "long-hand" and have been complimented on my handwriting often . In the last five years or so it's a little shakier but still not bad . I write letters quite often . It's becoming almost a lost art .
It is guaranteed to become a lost art if it is devalued to the point where most of us (men at least) admittedly cannot accomplish it, and the schools begin eliminating it.
Imagine, a society unable to write in the script of our forefathers. Another way in which we're being separated from our heritage.
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I've always taken a lot of pride in my "long-hand" and have been complimented on my handwriting often . In the last five years or so it's a little shakier but still not bad . I write letters quite often . It's becoming almost a lost art .
It is guaranteed to become a lost art if it is devalued to the point where most of us (men at least) admittedly cannot accomplish it, and the schools begin eliminating it.
Imagine, a society unable to write in the script of our forefathers. Another way in which we're being separated from our heritage.
I suspect those who cannot write cursive will soon evolve us into a society that cannot read it either, so the ability to read our founding documents in their original form will be lost as well.
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...handwriting is cursive, printing is writing by hand.
That has always been my understanding as well. Actually, I don't believe it is up for debate. I think it's just fact, and the people trying to convince you of your error are misguided.
According to Mr. Arrogant and his ignorant associates there is no debate; as teachers, they've decided both printing and cursive is "handwriting". Period.
And nothing I've said so far can convince him otherwise. He has an education degree you know. ::saywhat::
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...handwriting is cursive, printing is writing by hand.
That has always been my understanding as well. Actually, I don't believe it is up for debate. I think it's just fact, and the people trying to convince you of your error are misguided.
According to Mr. Arrogant and his ignorant associates there is no debate; as teachers, they've decided both printing and cursive is "handwriting". Period.
And nothing I've said so far can convince him otherwise. He has an education degree you know. ::saywhat::
He can take his education degree and cram it up his ass.
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...handwriting is cursive, printing is writing by hand.
That has always been my understanding as well. Actually, I don't believe it is up for debate. I think it's just fact, and the people trying to convince you of your error are misguided.
According to Mr. Arrogant and his ignorant associates there is no debate; as teachers, they've decided both printing and cursive is "handwriting". Period.
And nothing I've said so far can convince him otherwise. He has an education degree you know. ::saywhat::
He's just playing word games,since both are written by hand they must be hand writing.And he's just doing it to break her chops.
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(http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff269/halo707/keepteachingcursive.jpg)
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(http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff269/halo707/keepteachingcursive.jpg)
Please do share with us how you did that?
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...handwriting is cursive, printing is writing by hand.
That has always been my understanding as well. Actually, I don't believe it is up for debate. I think it's just fact, and the people trying to convince you of your error are misguided.
According to Mr. Arrogant and his ignorant associates there is no debate; as teachers, they've decided both printing and cursive is "handwriting". Period.
And nothing I've said so far can convince him otherwise. He has an education degree you know. ::saywhat::
He's just playing word games,since both are written by hand they must be hand writing.And he's just doing it to break her chops.
No. He isn't.
You've tangled with him; he's an arrogant, pompous ass who knows he's right about everything because he's an "educator". With a degree. Gots dem qualifications, donchaknow. And experience!
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(http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff269/halo707/keepteachingcursive.jpg)
Please do share with us how you did that?
I just wrote it in Word using a cursive font, then used a snipping tool to save that portion of the screen to a JPEG. We could also probably setup a cursive font for use in the online editor here...apparently it could be a secret language!
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You can also make custom fonts from your own handwriting (or hand-printing).
http://www.bing.com/search?q=make+font+from+your+handwriting&form=APMCS1 (http://www.bing.com/search?q=make+font+from+your+handwriting&form=APMCS1)
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...handwriting is cursive, printing is writing by hand.
That has always been my understanding as well. Actually, I don't believe it is up for debate. I think it's just fact, and the people trying to convince you of your error are misguided.
According to Mr. Arrogant and his ignorant associates there is no debate; as teachers, they've decided both printing and cursive is "handwriting". Period.
And nothing I've said so far can convince him otherwise. He has an education degree you know. ::saywhat::
He's just playing word games,since both are written by hand they must be hand writing.And he's just doing it to break her chops.
No. He isn't.
You've tangled with him; he's an arrogant, pompous ass who knows he's right about everything because he's an "educator". With a degree. Gots dem qualifications, donchaknow. And experience!
Is he really worth it? As for his degrees we all know what he can do with them. But you're having fun though.
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Not really John. Like the thread about RJLeeb where this latecomer is scolding people about saying nice stuff, there isn't much chance of winning hearts & minds, but right is right and insisting on holding standards and telling the truth is right.
The coach would have us call a peach a pear if you would let him. I won't let him and neither will Pan. The presumptuous arrogance that his degree gives license to preach falsehoods or dribble is only true if we let him get away with it. And there are times when we must fight them hand to hand, neighborhood by neighborhood.
That particular neighborhood is Pan's not mine, so she has a vested interest in its quality and viability. I'm just butting in because I can. ;D
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Not really John. Like the thread about RJLeeb where this latecomer is scolding people about saying nice stuff, there isn't much chance of winning hearts & minds, but right is right and insisting on holding standards and telling the truth is right.
The coach would have us call a peach a pear if you would let him. I won't let him and neither will Pan. The presumptuous arrogance that his degree gives license to preach falsehoods or dribble is only true if we let him get away with it. And there are times when we must fight them hand to hand, neighborhood by neighborhood.
That particular neighborhood is Pan's not mine, so she has a vested interest in its quality and viability. I'm just butting in because I can. ;D
OK then let's get that dimm bulb that just stepped into this and rip her a new one!! ::whoohoo::
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Not really John. Like the thread about RJLeeb where this latecomer is scolding people about saying nice stuff, there isn't much chance of winning hearts & minds, but right is right and insisting on holding standards and telling the truth is right.
The coach would have us call a peach a pear if you would let him. I won't let him and neither will Pan. The presumptuous arrogance that his degree gives license to preach falsehoods or dribble is only true if we let him get away with it. And there are times when we must fight them hand to hand, neighborhood by neighborhood.
That particular neighborhood is Pan's not mine, so she has a vested interest in its quality and viability. I'm just butting in because I can. ;D
Butting in, in favor of Truth, Justice and The American Way, is greatly appreciated.
After awhile I get tired of fighting and just want to kill 'im instead.
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I was "taught" cursive in school, but it didn't take. I couldn't write in cursive now if my life depended on it. My signature is a simple squiggle w/ 2 identifiable initials and that's it. My print looks like I wrote it w/ my opposite foot!
I got over any embarrassment about iot long ago, but will always type or use a voice recorder.
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I was "taught" cursive in school, but it didn't take. I couldn't write in cursive now if my life depended on it. My signature is a simple squiggle w/ 2 identifiable initials and that's it. My print looks like I wrote it w/ my opposite foot!
I got over any embarrassment about iot long ago, but will always type or use a voice recorder.
Can you read cursive?not bwing a wise azz.
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Not really John. Like the thread about RJLeeb where this latecomer is scolding people about saying nice stuff, there isn't much chance of winning hearts & minds, but right is right and insisting on holding standards and telling the truth is right.
The coach would have us call a peach a pear if you would let him. I won't let him and neither will Pan. The presumptuous arrogance that his degree gives license to preach falsehoods or dribble is only true if we let him get away with it. And there are times when we must fight them hand to hand, neighborhood by neighborhood.
That particular neighborhood is Pan's not mine, so she has a vested interest in its quality and viability. I'm just butting in because I can. ;D
OK then let's get that dimm bulb that just stepped into this and rip her a new one!! ::whoohoo::
Well, I could play Attila The Hun and axe everyone in sight, but I'd rather be Jack the Ripper and selectively slice n dice ::devil:: I'll just play off of her cards and see where it takes me ;D
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Not really John. Like the thread about RJLeeb where this latecomer is scolding people about saying nice stuff, there isn't much chance of winning hearts & minds, but right is right and insisting on holding standards and telling the truth is right.
The coach would have us call a peach a pear if you would let him. I won't let him and neither will Pan. The presumptuous arrogance that his degree gives license to preach falsehoods or dribble is only true if we let him get away with it. And there are times when we must fight them hand to hand, neighborhood by neighborhood.
That particular neighborhood is Pan's not mine, so she has a vested interest in its quality and viability. I'm just butting in because I can. ;D
OK then let's get that dimm bulb that just stepped into this and rip her a new one!! ::whoohoo::
Well, I could play Attila The Hun and axe everyone in sight, but I'd rather be Jack the Ripper and selectively slice n dice ::devil:: I'll just play off of her cards and see where it takes me ;D
She won't stay unless she gets help so don't be looking for her to be around for very long.
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I have all the time in the world and am a patient predator.
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I have all the time in the world and am a patient predator.
::evilbat::
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Yes, but my hand-eye is bad when it comes to fine motor skills.
I was "taught" cursive in school, but it didn't take. I couldn't write in cursive now if my life depended on it. My signature is a simple squiggle w/ 2 identifiable initials and that's it. My print looks like I wrote it w/ my opposite foot!
I got over any embarrassment about iot long ago, but will always type or use a voice recorder.
Can you read cursive?not bwing a wise azz.
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Yikes, it seems I missed quiet a bit. Who is this RJ Leeb?
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Yes, but my hand-eye is bad when it comes to fine motor skills.
It's not so much the eye, but the hand, as goes fine motor skills. Mine have deterioriated as well, making my handwriting less-than. Which is distressing, as it used to be very nice. So, I slow down and use a writing instrument requiring a little more pressure which increases control.
I learned to write in Catholic School, where the nuns never taught printing; we were taught cursive right from the start.
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Yikes, it seems I missed quiet a bit. Who is this RJ Leeb?
It's probably a little unfair to be talking about it here but Pandora invited me to another local (for her not me) BB to view the little ant farm experiment she has going on there. The libs are pretty much like you find libs anywhere - just tethered a little more by the owner.
Still, they're fun to tweak and with Pan and JF's kind indulgence I've been flinking noses ::slapfight::
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Yikes, it seems I missed quiet a bit. Who is this RJ Leeb?
It's probably a little unfair to be talking about it here but Pandora invited me to another local (for her not me) BB to view the little ant farm experiment she has going on there. The libs are pretty much like you find libs anywhere - just tethered a little more by the owner.
Still, they're fun to tweak and with Pan and JF's kind indulgence I've been flinking noses ::slapfight::
That's why Pan got a fly swatter.I just like to go in and run ruff shod over them. Obama pisses me off and I beat up on his followers.
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Yikes, it seems I missed quiet a bit. Who is this RJ Leeb?
Soup speaks true. Local forum; opportunity to beat up on the Oppressives without having them sht on the floor at home.
I DO NOT miss having to do that here. Here is home, where I come to get away from THEM, to have my beliefs reinforced and even, at times, questioned and strengthened.
However, these are the ::facepalm:: with whom I have to live.
Anybody else wants to indulge in the culture war, I'll share the url, PM me, just keep your location to yourself.
I'm guessing you all have your local forums on which to engage the local statists.
Edited.
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Yikes, it seems I missed quiet a bit. Who is this RJ Leeb?
It's probably a little unfair to be talking about it here but Pandora invited me to another local (for her not me) BB to view the little ant farm experiment she has going on there. The libs are pretty much like you find libs anywhere - just tethered a little more by the owner.
Still, they're fun to tweak and with Pan and JF's kind indulgence I've been flinking noses ::slapfight::
That's why Pan got a fly swatter.I just like to go in and run ruff shod over them. Obama pisses me off and I beat up on his followers.
AGAIN with the flyswatter?!
I'm tellin' Nan. You're in big trouble. Until I get my mitts on ya.
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I'm guessing you all have your local forums on which to engage the local statists.
Nah, I keep getting banned. Apparently it's a tone thang... ::hysterical::
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Well, I am indeed late to this particular party.
First, in my mind writing is longhand is "cursive" and printing is printing.
Like most people my age (over fifty) I learned to recognize the printed letters first and then to print them by hand. Writing came next and I spent at least one year in school learning how to write correctly and legibly. I learned to print all over again (and much better) in junior high school and then high school drafting classes. And then I really learned how to print in college engineering classes.
Along the way I learned to type as a high school sophomore. That was one of the best years of high school because there were only four or five guys in a class full of girls. Much to my later chagrin it turned out to be incredibly useful when the computer came along for good in the early nineties. Who knew, eh? Just recently it was brought to my attention that I have been unnecessarily putting two spaces between sentences...a holdover from my typing education. But typing isn't writing or printing so back to the subject at hand...
I had never even heard of the word, "cursive" until my wife used it when homeschooling our children. For me it was always "writing," "handwriting" or "long hand."
So, that said, my handwriting is, in my opinion, pretty good. At least, it's pretty good when I am writing for someone else to read. If I am writing for myself or if I am in a hurry then I will usually print. That's because I can print faster than I can write well and legibly. I spent much more time learning to print in a machine-like manner over the years so I just do it better and faster than handwriting.
If I have a choice (and I usually do these days) I much prefer to compose my thoughts and communications to others on a keyboard. This is because it's infinitely more legible than anything else out there and (most importantly) it's infinitely correctable. I will compose a paragraph or a post or whatever and then go back over it several times to try and make sure that I am saying precisely what I want to say. More often than not words are removed that are unnecessary to making a point.
I don't write or print anywhere near as much as I used to but when I do I always try and do it well.
So...that's me on writing.
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I'm guessing you all have your local forums on which to engage the local statists.
Nah, I keep getting banned. Apparently it's a tone thang... ::hysterical::
And yet you have the self-control to prevail elsewhere.
IOW, not buying. ::saywhat:: :supercool:
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I'm guessing you all have your local forums on which to engage the local statists.
Nah, I keep getting banned. Apparently it's a tone thang... ::hysterical::
And yet you have the self-control to prevail elsewhere.
IOW, not buying. ::saywhat:: :supercool:
SoundPolitics was my local watering-hole. The proprietor was a great guy who handed over considerable control of day to day moderating to several unscrupulous types (sound familiar?). I locked horns with one of them several times over tone issues where he was censoring my posts but allowing my adversaries' posts to remain.
I called him on it and I wouldn't back down to him and he banned me.
Nowadays I recognize the characteristics of intolerant azzholes and take myself out of the game. I did so with CT and I did so with Grouchies. I don't see Gene that way so I doubt that I'll need to do a repeat performance.
Now how he'll deal with me is an entirely different matter ;-)
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I'm guessing you all have your local forums on which to engage the local statists.
Nah, I keep getting banned. Apparently it's a tone thang... ::hysterical::
And yet you have the self-control to prevail elsewhere.
IOW, not buying. ::saywhat:: :supercool:
SoundPolitics was my local watering-hole. The proprietor was a great guy who handed over considerable control of day to day moderating to several unscrupulous types (sound familiar?). I locked horns with one of them several times over tone issues where he was censoring my posts but allowing my adversaries' posts to remain.
I called him on it and I wouldn't back down to him and he banned me.
Nowadays I recognize the characteristics of intolerant azzholes and take myself out of the game. I did so with CT and I did so with Grouchies. I don't see Gene that way so I doubt that I'll need to do a repeat performance.
Now how he'll deal with me is an entirely different matter ;-)
Yes. Sounds familiar, as in "a CT thang", but that wasn't on you.
Color within the defined lines and Gene will be fine with you. Intolerant azzholes can be deftly dealt with, without stepping out. I've seen you do it.
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Just recently it was brought to my attention that I have been unnecessarily putting two spaces between sentences...a holdover from my typing education.
Out of curiosity, when was that brought to your attention? I was also taught to put two spaces between sentences and always do so in formal writing. I sometimes opt for one space if I am using a monospaced font, and also because some online submissions automatically condense the whitespace anyway.
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Just recently it was brought to my attention that I have been unnecessarily putting two spaces between sentences...a holdover from my typing education.
Out of curiosity, when was that brought to your attention? I was also taught to put two spaces between sentences and always do so in formal writing. I sometimes opt for one space if I am using a monospaced font, and also because some online submissions automatically condense the whitespace anyway.
I was taught to do so, as well, in typing class, and still do to this day. It's automatic.
I'd like to know who taught you, trap, that it was unnecessary.
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Well, I am indeed late to this particular party.
First, in my mind writing is longhand is "cursive" and printing is printing.
Like most people my age (over fifty) I learned to recognize the printed letters first and then to print them by hand. Writing came next and I spent at least one year in school learning how to write correctly and legibly. I learned to print all over again (and much better) in junior high school and then high school drafting classes. And then I really learned how to print in college engineering classes.
Along the way I learned to type as a high school sophomore. That was one of the best years of high school because there were only four or five guys in a class full of girls. Much to my later chagrin it turned out to be incredibly useful when the computer came along for good in the early nineties. Who knew, eh? Just recently it was brought to my attention that I have been unnecessarily putting two spaces between sentences...a holdover from my typing education. But typing isn't writing or printing so back to the subject at hand...
I had never even heard of the word, "cursive" until my wife used it when homeschooling our children. For me it was always "writing," "handwriting" or "long hand."
So, that said, my handwriting is, in my opinion, pretty good. At least, it's pretty good when I am writing for someone else to read. If I am writing for myself or if I am in a hurry then I will usually print. That's because I can print faster than I can write well and legibly. I spent much more time learning to print in a machine-like manner over the years so I just do it better and faster than handwriting.
If I have a choice (and I usually do these days) I much prefer to compose my thoughts and communications to others on a keyboard. This is because it's infinitely more legible than anything else out there and (most importantly) it's infinitely correctable. I will compose a paragraph or a post or whatever and then go back over it several times to try and make sure that I am saying precisely what I want to say. More often than not words are removed that are unnecessary to making a point.
I don't write or print anywhere near as much as I used to but when I do I always try and do it well.
So...that's me on writing.
Better late than never, and this is what I'm talking about, but perhaps it is an age thing, in that most folks of, or over, a certain age, view cursive as handwriting.
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Didn't read further than the OP, but mine's not that great.
I've always wondered why. I'm very athletic, and I have the eye hand coordination of a brain surgeon. I am also very good with words, but put a pen in my hand and my brain and it just don't seem to gel like they ought to.
I have always had the same issue with typing. Many moons ago, when I was still a teenager, I tried multiple times to pass the civil service exam typing test, but I never managed to do it. I even rented a typewriter for a month so I could practice, but I always made ONE TOO MANY errors. Sigh. Maybe it's because my brain gets ahead of my fingers? I dunno.
I just love computers, where you can backspace every time you make a mistake.
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Didn't read further than the OP, but mine's not that great.
I've always wondered why. I'm very athletic, and I have the eye hand coordination of a brain surgeon. I am also very good with words, but put a pen in my hand and my brain and it just don't seem to gel like they ought to.
Well, your quandary must not be that uncommon, I mean, have you by chance seen the handwriting of an actual brain surgeon? ;) That's gotta be the first year of med school: "Fundamentals of Indecipherable Handwriting, Part I"
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I never could really "write" but my printing has gotten terrible also, over the last 20 years of non stop computer use.
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Just recently it was brought to my attention that I have been unnecessarily putting two spaces between sentences...a holdover from my typing education.
Out of curiosity, when was that brought to your attention? I was also taught to put two spaces between sentences and always do so in formal writing. I sometimes opt for one space if I am using a monospaced font, and also because some online submissions automatically condense the whitespace anyway.
I was taught to do so, as well, in typing class, and still do to this day. It's automatic.
I'd like to know who taught you, trap, that it was unnecessary.
To answer both of you:
I always knew why I had originally been taught to put two spaces between sentences. I am the sort of person who asks a lot of questions (I admit that I don't ask as many as I used to but I assume that is an age issue). I want to know the "why" behind things. So when I was taking typing in school I asked around (the teacher didn't know) and I eventually found out that it had to do with the mechanical shortcomings of typewriters (Ever wonder why keyboards are laid out in the QWERTY arrangement? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QWERTY) The answer is, again, rooted in typewriter mechanics).
Anyway, I read this article that someone linked to earlier this year. It is found in Slate (http://www.slate.com/id/2281146/) and it reminded me of the old story (perhaps fable) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hold_your_horses) that surrounds the phrase, "Hold your horses." That story is told to illustrate the silliness/futility of the "we've always done it that way" mindset. I knew immediately that I was doing something (double spacing between sentences) solely because I had been taught that way to overcome a mechanical issue with typewriters and that there was absolutely no reason to continue to do so. It has taken me about three or four months to unlearn it.
But that's just me. I wouldn't dream of making it an issue with anyone else any more than I would attack someone's typos, mis-spellings or grammar.
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Those pieces are very interesting, particularly the one about the "two spaces"; I didn't know about the monospace issue.
But that's just me. I wouldn't dream of making it an issue with anyone else any more than I would attack someone's typos, mis-spellings or grammar.
No, no; of course not. I didn't mean to imply you would by the way I asked my question.
Hmmmm ... it does take some effort to NOT space twice after a period.
Although I learned how to type quite well in high school, it wasn't until I began working for Western Union that I became equally facile with the number row. Teletype machines - Telex - had six number "addresses"; TWX had ten, and they were on every trouble-ticket or piece of information associated with it.
At Western Union was my first encounter working with computers as well. The company had its own in-house network with its hub located in New York.
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You were prescient with this piece, Pandora.
Here is Jazz Shaw at HotAir (http://hotair.com/archives/2011/07/20/the-things-we-lost/) lamenting the disappearance of handwriting...
With one exception, I can not recall writing anything of any length in cursive script for decades. The sole exception, which probably still applies to many of us, is my signature. But even that has morphed a lot. When I was a student I actually had a very legible signature, but the decades since then have seen it evolve drastically. At this point, my John Hancock consists of what is almost certainly a “J” followed by a series of squiggles which may or may not be Egyptian hieroglyphs.
There are two pages of comments following his essay.
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You were prescient with this piece, Pandora.
Here is Jazz Shaw at HotAir (http://hotair.com/archives/2011/07/20/the-things-we-lost/) lamenting the disappearance of handwriting...
With one exception, I can not recall writing anything of any length in cursive script for decades. The sole exception, which probably still applies to many of us, is my signature. But even that has morphed a lot. When I was a student I actually had a very legible signature, but the decades since then have seen it evolve drastically. At this point, my John Hancock consists of what is almost certainly a “J” followed by a series of squiggles which may or may not be Egyptian hieroglyphs.
There are two pages of comments following his essay.
That was a good piece, and some good comments too.
Technological advances change things. Cursive handwriting just isn't as important as it used to be, as it's easier to send e-mails. Likewise, people nowadays don't write books using calligraphy.
My pet peeve is spelling. To wit:
To, two, too
There, their, they're
That sort of thing. Really, it's not that complicated.
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You were prescient with this piece, Pandora.
Here is Jazz Shaw at HotAir (http://hotair.com/archives/2011/07/20/the-things-we-lost/) lamenting the disappearance of handwriting...
With one exception, I can not recall writing anything of any length in cursive script for decades. The sole exception, which probably still applies to many of us, is my signature. But even that has morphed a lot. When I was a student I actually had a very legible signature, but the decades since then have seen it evolve drastically. At this point, my John Hancock consists of what is almost certainly a “J” followed by a series of squiggles which may or may not be Egyptian hieroglyphs.
There are two pages of comments following his essay.
That was a good piece, and some good comments too.
Technological advances change things. Cursive handwriting just isn't as important as it used to be, as it's easier to send e-mails. Likewise, people nowadays don't write books using calligraphy.
My pet peeve is spelling. To wit:
To, two, too
There, their, they're
That sort of thing. Really, it's not that complicated.
I've seen a link to a study demonstrating the link between handwriting and brain function. There's something positive there for learning how to connect letters via cursive and learning other things.
It's not just the positives included therein, it's the cultural implications in the loss of the skill.
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My pet peeve is spelling. To wit:
To, two, too
There, their, they're
That sort of thing. Really, it's not that complicated.
Are you sure it's spelling? That looks a bit more like misusage. Homophones are a bitch for some people.
And to that list I would add :
its, it's
The thing that's kind of crazy/stupid is that I see misused words all the time now in professional pieces written by supposed journalism grads.