-------- MANTEX NEWSLETTER --------
Number 125 - February 2007 - ISSN 1470-1863
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0--- 'Love Letters' - book review
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/adamson.htm
Leonard Woolf is best known as the
long-suffering husband of Virginia Woolf,
who he selflessly nursed through long
periods of mental and physical illness.
What's not so well known is the fact
that as soon as she died he began a
relationship with a married woman that
lasted for the rest of his life.
He even went into business partnership
with her husband and bought the house
next door to them.
These are the letters he exchanged with
Trekkie Parsons, a woman who successfully
divided her time between the two men for
twenty-five years. The full story is here -
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/adamson.htm
0--- Pub quiz - Question #1
What is the capital of Ecuador?
0--- JazzFM Redux!
http://www.thejazz.com
I stumbled across the newly re-launched
Jazz-FM yesterday. It came up on DAB radio
and is also available via Sky Channel 0113
and NTL Digital Channel 1961, as well as online.
Good quality music, and NO announcements,
which is wonderful - except you sometimes
want to know who's playing. It's been
re-named The Jazz.
Even more surprising - no adverts. I assume
that this can't last, and they' ll seek
sponsorship revenue once they've built
up a fan base.
It's a welcome addition to the paltry music
broadcasting scene in the UK. The playlist
is fresh too - not the same old stuff that
JazzFM used to recycle day after day.
http://www.thejazz.com
0--- Pub quiz - Question #2
Which card game features heels and nobs?
0--- Totally Weird and Wonderful Words - new book
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/mckean.htm
Do you know what 'illecebrous', 'langsuir',
and 'telematology' mean? No - I thought not.
They are 'attractive', 'female vampire', and
'the study of peat bogs' respectively. Not
many people know that.
Or did you know that there's a term to describe
'having a palate like that of an emu'? (It's
'dromaeognathous, just in case someone asks.)
This is a collection of outrageously obscure
words. You can either amaze your friends, or
just laugh at the New Yorker style cartoons.
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/mckean.htm
0--- Pub quiz - Question #3
In which country is Fray Bentos a port?
0--- 'Windows Vista: The Missing Manual'
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/pogue_3.htm
Vista was announced with a great fanfare
last week - which is why Bill Gates was in
all the newspapers.
It's the replacement for Windows XP, but
it doesn't come with a manual - which gives
publishers O'Reilly chance to step forward
with this timely offering.
David Pogue specialises in these clearly-written
and hold-you-by-the-hand guidance tomes. This
one talks you through all the new fatures, and
shows you how to make the most of what seems
like a very attractive offering.
The new operating system looks unashamedly
like an Apple Mac - with lots of chunky icons
and 3D-like graphics.
There are actually several versions of
Vista, and David Pogue explains the differences
between them and helps you choose the one you need.
Full review here -
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/pogue_3.htm
0--- Pub quiz - Question #4
What is a young hare called?
0--- 'Personal Record: 1920-1972' - book review
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/brenan_2.htm
Gerald Brenan wrote one of the best books
in English on the Spanish Civil War ('The
Spanish Labyrinth') and an amazingly popular
travel book 'South from Granada'.
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/brenan.htm
'Personal Record' is his autobiographical
account of the years 1920 to 1972, much of
it focused on his bohemian existence as he
shuttled between Bloomsbury and self-imposed
exile in Andalucia.
An affair with the painter Dora Carrington
dominates his erotic imagination until her
suicide in 1934.
Along the way there are vivid portraits of
Bloomsbury figures such as Lytton Strachey,
Leonard and Virginia Woolf, and David Garnett.
Full account of his adventures here -
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/brenan_2.htm
0--- Pub quiz - Question #5
How many edges does a 50 pence piece have?
0--- 'Hidden' - film review
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/haneke.htm
Guest film reviewer and fellow blogger
Bill Jones has been into his DVD collection
again to give us his thoughts on Michael
Haneke's French thriller 'Hidden'.
It deals with "the insecurities and shameful
secrets which often lie beneath the veneer
of success", and strikes a very contemporary
note in dealing with institutional racism.
He also mentions that it has a central
scene of heart-stopping horror. Be prepared
for intrigue and shocks at -
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/haneke.htm
0--- Pub quiz - Question #6
What is the main town of Jersey?
0----- 'Information Architecture' [new third edition]
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/rosen-2.htm
This is a major event in the world of Information
Architecture. The first edition of this book became
an instant classic. The third edition is not only
much bigger - it's much better and more carefully
thought through.
Louis Rosenfeld and Peter Morville look at how
to design and organise large scale Web sites
today, in the light of all that has happened
in the last few years of what's now called Web 2.0.
They cover all the major issues - navigation
systems, usability, labelling, information chunking,
and creating understandable structures. The new
information in this third enlarged edition also
includes resources and software which have been
created in the last few years of this rapidly
expanding profession. Full review here -
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/rosen-2.htm
0--- Pub quiz - Question #7
For what is RADAR an acronym?
0--- New Yorker - picture slide show
http://tinyurl.com/ywycr7
Each week in The New Yorker, the section
Goings On About Town opens with a photograph
of something that's happening, or about to
happen, in New York.
They now offer a retrospective look at a
year of events. Photographs by Sylvia Plachy,
Brian Finke, Lisa Kereszi, Lauren Klain Carton,
Landon Nordeman, Yola Monakhov, and Gus Powell.
To view the slide show, click on the red link
in the Related Links box to the right.
http://tinyurl.com/ywycr7
0--- Pub quiz - Question #8
What type of tree is the source of sago?
0--- 'Crossfields' - new social design review
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/crossfields2.htm
This is a compilation of graphic design,
illustrations, cartoons, photographs, and
mini-essays all focused on the theme of 'home'.
It's design with what purports to be a social
purpose, though it's not always easy to see
the connection between the two.
It will appeal to youngsters just embarking on
design courses in further and higher education.
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/crossfields2.htm
0--- Pub quiz - Question #9
What was made by the Manhattan Project?
0--- Local blog makes good!
http://heatonmoor.blogspot.com
When two or three active bloggers discover
that they all live in the same neighbourhood,
you can bet your life what happens next.
Yes - they start a community blog. And
that's exactly what a group of us have
done where I live.
It's a blatant mix of local gossip, moans
about the council, plus the nearest we can
get to celebrity news (local writers in our
case). And some nice piccies of course.
For your f.r.e.e slice of life in south
Manchester, go no further than -
http://heatonmoor.blogspot.com
0--- Pub quiz - Question #10
Which ancient language is used in Buddhist ceremonies?
0--- Reader's Letters and Corrections
Two or three sharp-eyed subscribers wrote
to point out that the last issue for
January was number 124 - not 123 as it
said in the header.
So adjust your archives accordingly, or
if you want to consult ours, they're at
http://www.mantex.co.uk/news/archive.htm
0--- Pub quiz - ANSWERS
#1 What is the capital of Ecuador?
ANSWER: Quito
#2 Which card game features heels and nobs?
ANSWER: Cribbage
#3 In which country is Fray Bentos a port?
ANSWER: Uruguay
#4 What is a young hare called?
ANSWER: A leveret
#5 How many edges does a 50 pence piece have?
ANSWER: Seven
#6 What is the main town of Jersey?
ANSWER: St Helier
#7 For what is RADAR an acronym?
ANSWER: Radio detecting and ranging
#8 What type of tree is the source of sago?
ANSWER: Palm tree
#9 What was made by the Manhattan Project?
ANSWER: The first atomic bomb
#10 Which ancient language is used in Buddhist ceremonies?
ANSWER: Pali
0--- COMING SOON
Design Management
The Bloomsbury Group
CSS The Missing Manual
Dictionary of Rhymes
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News-125-February-2007
ISSN 1470-1863
The British Library