-------- MANTEX NEWSLETTER -------- Number 85 - October 2003 - ISSN 1470-1863 Language + Writing + Design + Reference 0----- 'Troublesome Words' - book on English language This is another excellent book on English language by Bill Bryson, the best-selling travel writer. It's an A to Z reference book of words and terms in English which commonly cause problems. It was written as a style guide when he was a sub-editor on The Times, and it covers words which are commonly mis-spelled (supersede, accommodation) words which are difficult to tell apart (blatant, flagrant) and grammatical terms which most people have problems remembering (compare to, or compare with?). It's a work of reference, arranged in alphabetical order from abbreviations, through mutual and common, to zoom. But his writing is so entertaining, you'll probably want to read it straight through, as I did, from beginning to end. He manages to convey useful and non-stuffy advice in a style which is witty and entertaining. Details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/bryson-2.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #1 What does the Latin phrase 'bona fide' mean? 0----- 'Oxford Dictionary of Quotations' - new book Who said on his deathbed, 'I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark.' The answer is Thomas Hobbes. This is a collection of over 7000 quotations, arranged thematically for easy look-up. Covering an enormous range of nearly 600 themes, there is every subject you can think of, from the more traditional topics of courage or parliament, to topical themes such as the Internet or genetic engineering. A useful author index (including descriptions and context lines) gives quick and easy access to what is in the dictionary and provides information on each author. 'Is sex dirty? Only if it's done right.' Woody Allen http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/oxf-quot.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #2 What sort of creature is a whippoorwill? 0----- 'Rian Hughes: Device' - new graphic design Rian Hughes is the new Neville Brody (maybe?). He's a fashionable graphic designer who has captured the visual world of the 50s and 60s and updated them to produce something graphically fresh and exciting. He favours a comic-book style mixed with hints of French bandes dessinees and Japanese Pokemon. This handsome book showing his portfolio offers an impressive range of work - from exhibition posters and CD covers to book jackets and font sets. My favourites items are parodies of two comics. 'Dare' is a diary of the downbeat problems of Dan Dare from 'Eagle' comics, and 'TumTum and the Forged Expenses' is a stunningly accurate parody of the TinTin comics. Full review and details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/hughes-3.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #3 What is lignite also known as? 0----- E.M.Forster - Guidance notes E.M. Forster has been added to our pantheon of classic twentieth century novelists. He was a friend of Virginia Woolf, a member of the Bloomsbury group, and one of the elder statesmen of the Modernist period. His work encompasses stories, essays, and novels - including his most famous, 'A Passage to India'. Full details and recommended reading available at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/ou/a319/forst-00.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #4 Who wrote 'Entertaining Mr Sloane'? 0----- 'Roger's Profanisaurus' - Dictionary of Slang Do you know what a 'carpet muncher' and 'a lady in comfortable shoes' have in common? Or would you know how to 'paint the baby's bedroom'? If you need an explanation of 'the vinegar strokes' or 'spanking the monkey' - then look no further. This book is a compendium of all the slang words you will ever need - plus a lot more you might not *want* to know. And it's hysterically funny. It's compiled from the pages of VIZ - the very politically IN-correct comic monthly. Somebody gave me a copy as a present, and I haven't stopped laughing since. DEFINITELY not for the faint-hearted. Full review and details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/roger-p.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #5 In which year did the Spanish Civil War end? 0----- Online Style Guides Apple have put their style guide on line. It's a 180 page PDF file, listing guidance on everything from abbreviations to zoomed video port, with appendices on units of measure, product names, technical notation, and how to write glossaries and indexes. To spare you an incredibly long URL, just go to their development site, and type Style Guide into the SEARCH box http://developer.apple.com The BBC News style guide is a lot more compact at 92 pages, and it offers general advice rather than a catalogue of details. "Irish Whiskey has one more letter than Scotch whisky". http://www.bbctraining.co.uk/pdfs/newsStyleGuide.pdf 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #6 What would you do with an Aldis lamp? 0----- Writers Circles - useful web site Writers' Circles is a decent web site I came across recently. It lists all sorts of information of use to those of the creative writing persuasion. Online/postal groups, National Organisations, Writing Courses, Workshops, Writing holidays, Competitions, Festivals, Articles, Magazines, Opportunities, Drama/Plays http://www.writers-circles.com/ 0----- Pub Quiz Question #7 Who was the wife of legendary King Arthur? 0----- Can it be True? "Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe." Amzanig! 0----- Pub Quiz Question #8 Where was Samuel Johnson born? 0----- In Memoriam - Walter Ong The sad news of the death of Walter Ong was posted on the SHARP-L mailing list recently. He was a very influential writer on the relationship between literacy and technology. If you have not read his classic 'Orality and Literacy', have a look at our recent review: http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/ong.htm There are now two webs site devoted to Ong and his work: http://www.slu.edu/colleges/AS/ENG/ong/ http://www.rememberingwalterong.com/ 0----- Pub Quiz Question #9 Who composed the opera 'The Cunning Little Vixen'? 0----- Bloomsbury News - Again! Yes, there is no end to the demand for information related to the Bloomsbury Group. If you are interested in writing, there's Virginia Woolf and Lytton Strachey. If it's art there's Vanessa Bell and Roger Fry. And if you run to economics and ballet, there's Maynard Keynes and Lydia Lopokova. All of these people are featured in a new online archive at the Tate Museum web site. There's a Bloomsbury timeline, Biographies of the main figures, a good art slide show, and a quiz. But I still can't keep track of who was lover to whom. Here's a tip. The HTML version has more pictures than the Flash version. http://www.tate.org.uk/archivejourneys/bloomsburyhtml/ 0----- Pub Quiz Question #10 Who invented logarithms? 0----- PUB QUIZ - ANSWERS What does the Latin phrase 'bona fide' mean? ANSWER: Good faith What sort of creature is a whippoorwill? ANSWER: A bird What is lignite also known as? ANSWER: Brown coal Who wrote 'Entertaining Mr Sloane'? ANSWER: Joe Orton In which year did the Spanish Civil War end? ANSWER: 1939 What would you do with an Aldis lamp? ANSWER: Transmit Morse code Who was the wife of legendary King Arthur? ANSWER: Guinevere Where was Samuel Johnson born? ANSWER: Lichfield Who composed the opera 'The Cunning Little Vixen'? ANSWER: Leos Janacek Who invented logarithms? ANSWER: John Napier 0----- COMING SOON 'Oxford Dictionary of Euphemisms' 'Design for the Real World' 'Companion to English Literature' 'Los Logos' 'Presenting Numbers, Tables, Charts' 'Giving Presentations' (c) Copyright 2003, 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 FREE 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-85-October-2003 ISSN 1470-1863 The British Library