There is a scholarly article about the implied non-reader. Yes. No mistake. It is not about the ‘implied reader’ which is an old hat, really, but, indeed, about the ‘implied non-reader’. In essence, the article is about the craze to publish in the academic world, even if you haven’t really anything new to say. Anyway, no academic publishes anymore because they have anything important to say, but because they need to collect brownie point, nowadays called h-index or impact factor. So they publish and then make sure they get cited. The focus has shifted from the content, to strategies to grow your h-index.
When I started to write this blog, I wrote for the implied ‘non-reader’. I didn’t really think anyone would read this. Then when I realised that there were actually people reading it, I got a bit nervous and self-consious. Your writing is better when writing for the implied non-reader because you just write for yourself the way you feel and the way you see life and the world. Once you start writing to the implied reader, you start worrying about other people, what they think and what they feel, and you start not writing certain things because they are private or could be offensive, or even libel.
Patrick today had another session with his new speech therapist and it almost seemed like if he had decided not to cooperate. As if they didn’t get on with each other. As if they didn’t connect. We’ll give it another go and the re-consider. Out in the park Pat discovered that a good Innocent smoothie is still a favourite – no bother even drinking it out of the bottle!
Progress with the building work has been slow last week. When you look at the picture your first thought might be that they put up the block, but in the wrong place and without any cement. The thing is that they did not start yet laying the block. That will happen tomorrow. It’ll be finished in 2-3 days. Next will be the roof. And it’ll be downhill from there!
Today’s German Music Tip
Gregor Meyle, Keine Ist Wie Du. This is what you could call ‘schmalzig’, but I kind of like it, what Joan Baez called ‘nostalgic’ in Diamonds and Rust.
What’s hot
Blocks
What’s cold
Looking back
The German word/phrase/verse of the day
Volle Pulle!
An Saol Live your Life , An Saol eile
Hospi-Tales 
Hi Reinhard, You said ‘it’ll be downhill from there’, meaning things will go well from then on. That’s an interesting difference between German and English. Literally the same thing means the exact oppposite in the two languages.We talk about an ‘uphill struggle’ and ‘things going downhill all the way’ as both being negative while Germans say ‘Jetzt geht’s bergab’ meaning something positive like ‘now we’re going downhill, i.e can freewheel down from now on’- which has to be good! Anyway, I hope the building will certainly go ‘bergab’ without ever ‘going downhill’! You’ve all had enough English ‘downhill’ for a while! x
So what do English-speaking people do, Eithne, when things start going well if it’s neither going up, nor going down? Is the ‘home run’ just a straight flat? Or, are things always kind of problematic? – In any case, it seems to be difficult to get rid of the German within, even after 30 years:)