Another traditional tipoff that a pope has died is the ritual closing of the shutters of the two windows at the side of the pope’s apartment overlooking St. Peter’s Square. Some say the closing of the shutters can be the first tangible sign of a death.
Despite those arcane traditions, first official word that John Paul had died came in e-mails sent by the Vatican press office to accredited journalists.
That marked a stark departure from the centuries-old traditions of one of the world’s most enduring institutions, the Roman Catholic Church. —William J. Kole —E-Mails Usurp Arcane Signs of Pope’s Death (Guardian | AP)
Similar:
College Professors Hate Sharing These Mind-Blowing Study Tips (#3 Made Me Cry)
Read the syllabus.
Read the syllabu...
Academia
URL Hacking (new graphic for an older page that’s surprisingly popular on my site)
Cyberculture
David "Mr. McFeely" Newell Still Delivering at Seton Hill TEDx
David Newell is one of the speakers at t...
Culture
Los Angeles sheriff appears to back down after signaling he was investigating reporter
Villanueva has repeatedly singled out LA...
Current_Events
The Girl's Obsession with Scottish History Continues
Wife: "What did you do with your bedshee...
Aesthetics
Should your grieving mum see your digital secrets?
A US state has passed a law that will gi...
Current_Events
Good point, Matt.
Note also that the bit about the e-mail is actually a very minor point in the story — it was the headline writer who attached such great significance to the e-mail. Headline writers are trained to avoid passive verbs, and to inject action wherever possible.
Well, except on TV. Tonight, linguists continuing to investigate a recent phenomenon: participles usurping verbs.
The Guardian headline is a nice, tidy example of a very common rhetorical maneuver: it wasn’t “email” that usurped the closing of the shutters and other traditional signs, it was the Vatican press office. Human agency (the individuals who sent the messages) and not the technology acting in some autonomous fashion.
This isn’t quite technological determinism, I don’t think . . . anyone got a better name for it?