-------- MANTEX NEWSLETTER --------
Number 109 - October 2005 - ISSN 1470-1863
Writing - Design - Music - Wine
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0--- 'The History and Power of Writing' - new book
This monumental work is the story of writing
from its very beginnings to its recent
transformations through information technology.
Henri-Jean Martin covers everything (and I mean
everything) related to writing, from cave scratchings
to computers. And as he traces the changes - from
scrolls to books, from paper-making to printing
techniques, from libraries to the Internet - he
reveals how technological developments have a
profound effect upon both the writer and the reader
of a text.
This is a heavy-duty and serious piece of work
which ought to be better known. If you teach or
study writing in any way, this ought to be on
your list of required reading.
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/martin-2.htm
0--- Pub quiz - Question #1
What form did the monster Charybdis take?
0--- Weird facts - #1
The Nike swoosh was designed by a Portland State
University student, and purchased by Nike for $35
0--- Awful Plastic Surgery
OK - it panders to one's sense of schadenfreude,
but there's plenty of visual fun at this site
which dishes the dirt on celebrities who go in
for surgical 'enhancement'.
Posh Spice features more than once; you can marvel
at Donald Trump's 'comb over'; and stand back amazed
at the present state of Mary Tyler Moore and Burt
Reynolds. Even President Bush sneaks in, but the
scariest of all is Jocelyn (The Bride of) Wildenstein
You're not supposed to enjoy it - but you will.
http://www.awfulplasticsurgery.com
0--- Pub quiz - Question #2
When was the United Kingdom founded?
0--- Weird fact #2
A chicken is one of the few things that man
eats before it's born and after it's dead.
0--- 'Graphic Design for the 21st Century' - new book
This is another of those blockbuster
compilations from Taschen publishers.
600+ pages packed with the very latest
in graphic design from all over the world.
Each artist is given a few pages to show
off the best they have done since the start
of the new millennium.
The colour reproductions are tip top, but
the best part for me was the fact that all
the artists' contact details are given - so
you can check their web sites - many of which
are works of art in their own right.
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/fiell-4.htm
0--- Pub quiz - Question #3
Which game is played on a diamond?
0--- Weird fact #3
The Eiffel Tower shrinks 6 inches in winter.
0--- F.r.e.e Anti-Virus Software
During a debate on the pros and cons of
Norton's anti-virus program, my son alerted
me to the f.r.e.e installation available
from Grisoft in the Czech Republic.
http://digbig.com/4epbd
Get protection now. Muchas Gracias Carlos!
0--- Pub quiz - Question #4
What was the stage name of Marion Morrison?
0--- Weird fact #4
Albert Einstein never knew how to drive a car.
0--- Franz Kafka's Blog
Yes, even Kafka has started blogging!
You can read his diaries, which are in
English and German at -
http://www.metameat.net/kafka
Current entries are at 1910 - so there's
plenty left to go up to 1923
If you'd like a brief guide to the writings
of this prophetic and enigmatic modern master,
dip freely into our Kafka resources at -
http://www.mantex.co.uk/ou/a319/kafka-00.htm
0--- Pub quiz - Question #5
Which philosopher was Alexander the Great's teacher?
0--- Weird fact #5
Finland has the greatest number of islands of
any country in the world: 179,584.
0--- 'The Real McCoy' - new book
Do you know why we say 'he really knows his onions',
'he's mad as a hatter', and 'she cut him to the quick'?
English is full of such idioms - and they must be
particularly baffling to foreigners. This new book
gives the fascinating stories behind hundreds of
the most interesting expressions in English.
The explanations are offered in an easy and
lighthearted manner. Xmas present material.
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/hole.htm
0--- Pub quiz - Question #6
How many legs has a Bombay Duck?
0--- Weird fact #6
Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.
0--- 'Oxford Companion to Wine'
Jancis Robinson is the wine pundit with those
trade-mark owlish specs. She had a hit TV series
on wine appreciation in the 1990s.
This is the latest edition of the mammoth
book which she produced as a result. It's
an encyclopedia of every aspect of wine -
from growing the grapes to drinking the
stuff. And she brings an interestingly humorous
touch to her profound knowledge of the subject.
There is *everything* you could want to know.
The history of wine; the best vintages; every
variety of grape; individual growers; the
science of oenology; and wine in every country -
from the Aegean islands to Zimbabwe.
I once got a copy as a birthday present, and
I've used it regularly ever since.
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/robinson.htm
0--- Pub quiz - Question #7
Who painted 'The Laughing Cavalier'?
0--- Weird fact #7
A flamingo can eat only when its head is upside down.
0--- Optical Illusions - Online
Michael Bach has a collection of amazing
visual puzzles, optical illusions, and
baffling effects at his University of
Freiburg site.
You'll need a degree in physics to understand
the scientific explanations - but don't let
put you off. They're great fun.
I guarantee that once you start the tour,
you'll find it difficult to stop.
http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/index.html
0--- Pub quiz - Question #8
What is Mulligatawny?
0--- Weird fact #8
A baby is born without kneecaps.
They appear between age 2 and 6.
0--- 'Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson'
If you're a fan of blues music, you'll
enjoy this biography of the 'King of
the Delta Bluesmen'.
Actually, it's not a conventional biography -
because so little is known about the mysterious
figure of Johnson, except that he made a handful
of records and then had his life cut tragically
short in mysterious circumstances.
Elijah Wald puts his life in the context of
the blues tradition, and the dozens of other
blues players who came out of the Mississippi
delta - which was flooded regularly even then.
He analyses all Johnson's recordings - then
takes the story up to the present with the
controversial claim that the blues were
're-discovered' by white UK groups such as
the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. Very
readable, and amazingly well-informed.
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/wald.htm
0--- Pub quiz - Question #9
Which flower is also called the Woodbine?
0--- Weird fact #9
Soldiers from every country salute with their right hand.
0--- 'The Art of Project Management' - new book
Scott Berkun was a project manager for
Microsoft, working on the development of
Internet Explorer, Windows XP, and MSN.
His manual of advice looks at every stage
of a project, from original conception,
through construction, to testing and
evaluation.
The principles he describes apply to *any*
sort and any size of project - from what he
calls the solo-superman who does it all alone,
to big teams who need to be carefully co-ordinated.
It's an amazingly thorough book, he doesn't shy
away from discussing problems, and he throws in
plenty of anecdotes which reveal what goes on
in the Microsoft empire.
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/berkun.htm
0--- Pub quiz - Question #10
Who is buried at the Arc de Triomphe?
0--- Weird fact #10
A snail can have about 25,000 teeth.
0--- 'Developing Feeds with RSS and Atom'
Did you know that you get news headlines
and notifications of web site updates sent
directly to your desktop?
And you can *send* your own out too - using
what are called 'feeds'. It's a way of
syndicating information automatically,
using software called RSS (Really Simple
Syndication) and Atom.
Ben Hammersley's new book tells you how
to do it, where to download the (largely
f.r.e.e) software, and how to set it up.
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/hammersley-2.htm
0--- Readers' Letters + Corrections
-- Essay-Writing Farms --
Trevor Pull writes from Nottingham Trent
University with an observation on plagiarism
and essay writing services:
"Firstly let me say that I do enjoy your
Newsletters very much and have found some
very useful information in them over the years.
I was amused when I followed the link in the
last newsletter for your free guidance on
Plagiarism download.
Am I missing the subtlety of placing two adds
for essay writing services at the top of the Page?"
EDITOR'S REPLY:
The ads are generated automatically by Google,
which reads the subject matter of the page,
then places paid-for advertising.
However, on looking into the matter, we can in
fact put a filter on those ads we don't like.
And we've done so since.
We disapprove of plagiarism and students
paying for someone else to write their essays.
Those with an interest in plagiarism might
care to join the mailing list on this topic:
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/PLAGIARISM.html
-- Of Cats and Apes --
Sandy McGiven writes from Auckland in New Zealand to say:
"Cats also have baby teeth and adult teeth. When we
were adopted by a stray kitten, the vet used her
teeth to estimate her age, because she still had
her baby set (and yes, I found one after it dropped
out on the floor a few weeks later).
And I'm sure lots of biology teachers will reply
to the "We are descended from apes". It should say
that we are descended from a common ancestor that
we share with apes, and so the apes really are
allowed to be here too!
I wonder how many Creationists you have on your
mailing list? You may be about to find out!"
-- Old Library Books --
Damian Grant writes from Lille in France to say:
"Such is the reputation of your menstrual organ,
I was surprised to find an error in the answer to
Question #10 of your quiz this month.
The Library you refer to was the Library of Alexandria,
not Alexander. He may have had a few scrolls of his own,
and some palm leaves (rather than a Palm Pilot), but it
was the city he founded that created the library, some
30 years after his death, in 290 BC.
Specifically, it was the Egyptian king Ptolemy who got
the subscriptions going. As we know, an important part
of the contents were destroyed during Caesar's Egyptian
campaign in 47 BC; and Mark Antony is supposed to have
given lots of scrolls (early Valentine cards?) to Cleopatra.
The library was finally destroyed by Caliph Omar when
Egypt was conquered by the Arabs, in 646 AD. Why, one
wonders, when the Arabs were in many respects the greatest
scholars of that age, and indeed were responsible for
transmitting many of the texts from antiquity?
Perhaps Omar didn't destroy the contents of the library,
but took them off to a cave somewhere: in which case,
they will be the longest-overdue library books in history."
-- Words and Music --
Tony Rogers writes from Australia to say:
Actually it's called a theremin (not theramin).
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theremin.
0--- PUB QUIZ - ANSWERS
#1 What form did the monster Charybdis take?
Answer: A whirlpool
#2 When was the united kingdom founded?
Answer: 1801
#3 Which game is played on a diamond?
Answer: Baseball
#4 What was the stage name of Marion Morrison?
Answer: John Wayne
#5 Which philosopher was Alexander the Great's teacher?
Answer: Aristotle
#6 How many legs has a Bombay Duck?
Answer: None - it's a fish
#7 Who painted the 'Laughing Cavalier'?
Answer: Frans Hals
#8 What is Mulligatawny?
Answer: Curried soup
#9 Which flower is also called the Woodbine?
Answer: Honeysuckle
#10 Who is buried at the Arc de Triomphe?
Answer: The Unknown Soldier
0--- COMING SOON
'Faith in Time'
'Understanding Comics'
'Digital Art History'
'Web Services Essentials'
'Oxford Spellchecker and Dictionary'
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News-109-October-2005
ISSN 1470-1863
The British Library