-------- MANTEX NEWSLETTER -------- Number 103 - April 2005 - ISSN 1470-1863 Words - Language - Speed Reading - Type 0--- 'Internet Annoyances' - new book If you are reading this on line (and how else?) you'll be well aware of the frustrations and problems of Internet Life. System crashes, spam everywhere, networks which don't work, lost passwords, slow connections, and anti-virus software which brings your system to its knees. Preston Gralla has been on line since the mid 1980s, and he's kept track of simple solutions to all of these problems. His new book 'Internet Annoyances' tells you how to make your system behave and where to download free software to improve performance. It's a model of effective writing. Every problem is defined in one paragraph and fixed in two or three more. Ignore the awful jacket design: this is a terrific book. http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/gralla-3.htm 0--- Pub Quiz - Question #1 What date is the Ides of March? 0--- Weird Facts #1 Soda water does not contain soda. 0--- F.r.e.e Translation Service It's rough and ready, but you can do a quick translation of any text from English into several languages, or from those languages into English. http://www.freetranslation.com/ 0--- Pub Quiz - Question #2 In which year did slavery end in the USA? 0--- Weird Facts #2 Peanuts are used in the production of dynamite. 0--- 'Virginia Woolf: Authors in Context' - new book Virginia Woolf fans (and there are many) will be interested in David Whitworth's new book from Oxford University Press. After sketching the details of Woolf's colourful family and social life, he offers a series of essays which relate her work to the important issues of the period 1900-1940. These include the development of literary modernism, the rise of socialism, philosophic debates over art and realism, early feminism, plus advances in science and medicine. He knows her work very well, doesn't ignore weak spots such as her anti-semitism and snobbery - and he also traces the way her work has been viewed in the years since her death. Full details and review at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/whitworth.htm 0--- Pub Quiz - Question #3 Who was Graham Greene's 'Third Man'? 0--- Weird Facts #3 Crocodiles swallow stones to help them dive deeper. 0--- 'Speed Reading for Success' - software Did you know that UK Chancellor Gordon Brown (rather like J.F. Kennedy and Margaret Thatcher) is reputed to devour shelfloads of books with ease? He does it by speed reading them. Jane Smith reckons that with regular practice you can raise your average speed from 250 words a minute to more than 1,000. Her audio book on CD tells you how to do it. She talks you through the process in ten easy lessons. En route she also covers scanning and skimming as well as other study skills such as note taking and memory maps. Full details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/smith.htm 0--- Pub Quiz - Question #4 Who composed 'Giant Steps'? 0--- Weird Facts #4 The screwdriver was invented before the screw. 0--- Clean up your Email - f.r.e.e software > When you reply to or forward an email, > the message includes all those annoying > angled brackets, like the ones I have > shown here. You can get rid of them with f.r.e.e program TextMonkey which automatically strips them out. It will also add or remove HTML tags. http://www.textmonkey.com 0--- Pub Quiz - Question #5 Who wrote 'Coming up for Air'? 0--- Weird Facts #5 Mercury is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature. 0--- Bloomsbury Group - Update A brand new edition of Lytton Strachey's Letters has just been produced by Paul Levy. These reveal sides to his nature unknown to previous biographers - including a penchant for sado-masochism. There's also a new book by Barbara Caine - 'Bombay to Bloomsbury: A Biography of the Strachey Family'. This offers multiple portraits of the rest of the very talented Stracheys. So - we have updated our notes on the Bloomsbury Group, in particular http://www.mantex.co.uk/ou/a319/strachey.htm 0--- Pub Quiz - Question #6 What is Donald Duck's middle name? 0--- Weird Facts #6 If you keep a goldfish in a dark room, it eventually turns white. [Try it!] 0--- 'Thinking with Type' - new book Ellen Lupton is a pre-eminent American author and educator in design matters. Her latest book offers tutorials in the essentials of typography and design. She starts from the selection of fonts, shows how they can be spaced and manipulated, then goes on to analyse the construction of effective page layout. It is a beautifully illustrated book, and she even designed it herself - so you can see her principles put into practice. Full details and review at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/lupton-2.htm 0--- Pub Quiz - Question #7 Which creature lays the largest eggs in the world? 0--- Weird Facts #7 The word 'set' has more definitions than any other word in the English language. [Over 150 - Count them!] 0--- 'Word Myths' - new book You know that 'posh' does NOT come from 'Port Out, Starboard Home'. We covered that issue in Michael Quinion's book of the same name. http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/quinion.htm Now David Wilton has come up with a new collection of linguistic urban legends. This includes debunking myths which surround the origins of 'The real McCoy', 'OK', 'Mind your Ps and Qs', and 'The whole nine yards'. He also explains why we should guard against unnecessary political correctness in our accounts of 'picnic', 'Indian' and 'gay'. It's a lively, readable book - and he backs up his arguments with formidable scholarship. Full review and further details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/wilton.htm 0--- Pub Quiz - Question #8 Who is older, Superman or Batman? 0--- Weird Facts #8 Despite its hump, a camel's spine is straight. 0--- 'In Other Words' - new book Lovers of words will enjoy this collection of odd terms from languages all around the world for which there are no easy English equivalents. The Germans for instance have a term 'Drachenfutter' (dragon fodder) to describe the gift a husband offers his wife after staying out late or committing a domestic misdemeanour. The Japanese on the other hand describe the difficulty of speaking a foreign language as 'Yokomeshi'. The beauty (and humour) in this term is that literally it means 'horizontal boiled rice' or 'eating a meal sideways'. Still not funny? Well remember, Japanese is *written* vertically. Get it now? Lots more in the same vein, and full review at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/moore.htm 0--- Pub Quiz - Question #9 Which city, which is also a country, is the world's smallest? 0--- Weird Facts #9 A donkey can see all its four feet at the same time. 0--- 'Dictionary of Foreign Words & Phrases' There's an update and new edition of this useful compilation of words which have entered English usage from other languages. It includes obvious terms such as 'nouvelle cuisine', 'futon', 'ad lib', and 'tamagotchi' - but also more obscure terms for which there is no English equivalent, such as the Spanish 'duende', the German 'Gebrauchsmusik', the Latin 'nexus', and the Italian 'tramontana'. It's as useful for what it leaves out, because you don't need to wade through lots of ordinary words to find what you need. Pronunciations are given, as well as examples of the word in current use. Full review and details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/oxf-fwp.htm 0--- Pub Quiz - Question #10 What is the difference between a leopard and a panther? 0--- Weird Facts #10 During the chariot scene in 'Ben Hur', a small red car can be seen in the distance. [Isn't there a wristwatch in there somewhere too?] 0--- Readers' Letters Umpteen subscribers rushed to point out the deliberate mistake in last month's newsletter. To include all letters of the alphabet, 'blowsy' should have been given its US spelling: "Blowzy frumps had quit vexing Jack." Here's another example that's even shorter: "Waltz, nymph, for quick jigs vex Bud." 0--- PUB QUIZ - ANSWERS #1. What date is the Ides of March? ANSWER: 15th March #2. In which year did slavery end in the USA? ANSWER: 1863 #3. Who was Graham Greene's 'Third Man'? ANSWER: Harry Lime #4. Who composed 'Giant Steps'? ANSWER: John Coltrane #5. Who wrote 'Coming up for Air'? ANSWER: George Orwell #6. What is Donald Duck's middle name? ANSWER: Fauntleroy #7. Which creature lays the largest eggs in the world? ANSWER: The shark. #8. Who is older, Superman or Batman? ANSWER: Superman (by 11 months) #9. Which city, which is also a country, is the world's smallest? ANSWER: The Vatican #10. What is the difference between a leopard and a panther? ANSWER: None (they are two names for the same animal) 0--- COMING SOON 'Weather Bird' - Jazz Reviews 'The History and Power of Writing' 'Web Services Essentials' 'Oxford Spellchecker and Dictionary' 'Rodchenko, Lissitzky, Moholo-Nagy' (c) Copyright 2004, MANTEX All Rights Reserved PO Box 100 Tel +44 0161 432 5811 Manchester Fax +44 0161 443 2766 M20 6GZ UK www.mantex.co.uk If you like this newsletter, PLEASE FORWARD IT to friends and colleagues. New subscribers should register at the following address -- http://www.mantex.co.uk/newslet.htm BACK ISSUES featuring news items, reviews, and product details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/news/archive.htm Please retain the copyright and list-joining information. It may be posted, in its entirety or partially, to newsgroups or mailing lists, so long as the copyright and list-joining information remains. If you have any requests, observations, or items you would like to be included in our next issues, just mail us at -- news@mantex.co.uk You receive the MANTEX newsletter because you subscribed to it. If you wish to leave the list, go to -- http://www.mantex.co.uk/newslet.htm News-103-April-2005 ISSN 1470-1863 The British Library