There was an interesting article in the newspaper this week about changes that are taking place in the U.S. population. According to a new report published by the Census Bureau (the part of the federal or national government that counts how many people there are in the United States), by the year 2042, the majority of Americans will no longer be white.

America will increasingly become a country where the majority are “minorities.” In U.S. English, the word “minority” is often used to describe those who are not white or of European descent (to have come originally from a place). Examples of a minority would include Hispanic/Latino, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and African Americans. But now in many cities in the United States — and soon in the entire country — more than 50% of the population will be members of one of these or another minority group.

Part of the reason for this change in the population has been the declining (decreasing) birth rates (the number of children a woman has) of European Americans, as well as the higher birth rates of other groups and the increasing number of immigrants.

This change has already taken place in many places such as Los Angeles, where only 30% of the population is classified as white or European American.

~Jeff

There are many types of blogs. The ESL Podcast Blog is one for learning. Other kinds of blogs are confessional, where people tell others about something they’ve done, often things that was a secret and/or wrong in some way. Many blogs give new information or breaking news (most recent news, happening right now) about politics, technology, and other topics. Still other blogs are a creative outlet, where people can post their imaginative and original works or ideas for others to see.

For some therapists (people or doctors who help people with mental or psychological issues and problems), blogs have another function. Therapists are telling their patients to blog as part of their treatment (medical care to make a person better).

Psychologists (scientists who study the mind) say that blogs are different from diaries because there is a built-in (inherent; as part of it) audience. As children, we learn that we can get help if we tell others about our problems. And as adults, we associate (connect) communication with getting consolation (comfort received after something bad happens). For this reason, psychologists say, blogging gives people their need for sympathy (others feeling sad for you), especially when there are major problems. Therapists say that blogging gets you closer to a sympathetic audience and that’s therapeutic (have a good effect on your body or mind). According to one psychologist, blogging, which can be anonymous (not identified by name so no one knows who you are), which gives it another therapeutic advantage: People can tell of intimate (private and personal) things without making themselves vulnerable (giving other people an opportunity to attack or harm them).

Would you consider starting a blog? If so, what kind of blog would it be and what would you write about?

~ Lucy

Cartoon: “I had my own blog for a while, but I decided to go back to pointless, incessant barking.”
pointless = without purpose
incessant = with no end; without stopping
to bark = to make the loud sound a dog makes with its mouth when it “speaks”

A font is the size and style of printed letters and words, like these:

The latest trend (fashion; something new that many people are doing) for important people or celebrities is to commission (hire someone to make or create something) someone to create your own custom (specially made; not standard) font.

* Did you know that Barack Obama, who is running for (wanting to be elected to the job of) U.S. president, has his own font?

* Did you know that singers/celebrities, like Beyonce and Bjork, do too?

An article I read reported (gave information) that last year, a movie called Helvetica (the name of a font) became very popular. Helvetica is a documentary (movie based on true events) about the history of this font–yes, an entire movie about one font! In the cities where it played (was shown), there were sold out (all the tickets sold; every seat was filled) audiences.

Typographers, people who arrange or design letters/words for printing, say that fonts can send important and subtle (not bold; not very easy to see or understand) ways, communicating or changing a mood (emotion; how you feel) or a tone (quality; character; feeling). Business and advertisers know this. They use thick fonts to convey (communicate) boldness (having courage and confidence) for products like cigarettes, and they use thiner and lighter fonts for fashion (clothes and other things people wear).

The two fonts I see the most in daily correspondence such as letters and emails in the U.S., both personal and professional (in business), are Arial and Times Roman (see above).

Do you select a special font for your correspondence? What do you think it says about you?

I usually use Arial. It’s simple, so I guess I’m simple*, too.

~ Lucy

* simple = 1) plain, not fancy, 2) easy to understand, or 3) dumb, stupid, not intelligent, when describing a person