[Vision2020] CJ's exterior wall art

[Kenneth Marcy]

First, the literal truth: Nowhere in the Argonaut's 13 September 2016 
front-page article does the word-for-word phrase "going out of business" 
appear.

However, one of the useful, interesting, and occasionally amazing 
features of the English language is its ability to use different words, 
or different strings of words, to indicate the same, or very similar, 
ideas, concepts, or understandings.  For example, on the front page, 
above the fold, under a page-wide photograph with the paper's masthead 
superimposed, is the caption "CJ's Nightclub, a popular spot for swing 
dancing, closed in August after 19 years of serving the community of the 
Palouse in downtown Moscow."  Under a page-wide headline, and above the 
author's by-line, is the heading "CJ's Nightclub closes its doors."

The caption and the heading do not indicate "closed until next evening" 
or "closed for remodeling" or some other phrase that implies after the 
passage of a period of time, that a reopening will occur.  The phases 
"closed . . . after 19 years" and ". . . closes its doors" imply a 
closing after which there will be no re-opening. The clear implication 
is that CJ's Nightclub, as a business, is gone forever.  Another way of 
stating the same idea is to say "CJ's is going out of business."  
Actually, to be a bit more precise about it, since the closing occurred 
in August, and it is now September, the verb should be in the past 
tense: "CJ's went out of business" or "CJ's has gone out of business."

Now, if CJ's Nightclub, as a business, is, in fact, going to be 
reopened, that's a different matter.  That's news.  That's the opposite 
of what was reported today.

The closing of a particular business does not imply anything about the 
physical building within which the business operated.  That same 
building might soon house some other business, either of a similar type 
or something entirely different.  Perhaps a similar business named The 
Lazarus Lounge will arise in the same space. Or maybe a Millennial 
Market will cater to the special needs of newer area residents, or 
another incarnation of Nature's Nostrums, or Outrageous Others, or yet 
some other awful alliteration.  As it stands now, CJ's, as a particular 
business, conducting its unique blend of activities, is gone.

That does not imply that the owners of the building are gone, or that 
they won't find some interesting and successful successor activity for 
the physical space that used to house CJ's Nightclub, which is now 
closed, and out of business.  But those owners were not the subject of 
the sentence indicating that CJ's is out of business.  CJ's may be gone, 
but the building owners are not.  Two different ideas requiring the 
compositional clarity of two (or more) different sentences.


Ken



On 09/13/2016 07:05 PM, CJ's Night Club wrote:
> Dear Ken,
>
> Please reread the print edition of the UI Argonaut. No where does it 
> state your claim, "going out of business." For the record, the 
> Rodericks simply retired. They have several options with the building. 
> They will decide that at the appropriate time.
>
> Cheers,
> The Rodericks
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> *From: *"Kenneth Marcy" <kmmos1 at frontier.com>
> *To: *vision2020 at moscow.com
> *Sent: *Tuesday, September 13, 2016 6:47:23 PM
> *Subject: *[Vision2020] CJ's exterior wall art
>
> I noticed in the print edition of the UI Argonaut that CJ's is going 
> out of business.  The paper printed a picture of the exterior wall art 
> on the east side of the building.
>
> I wonder what the future holds for that artwork, and whether those 
> with an interest in it will attempt or accomplish more than taking 
> higher resolution photographs of it.
>
>
> Ken
>
>
> =======================================================
>  List services made available by First Step Internet,
>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>                http://www.fsr.net
>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> =======================================================
>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20160913/75d85cc0/attachment.html>