-------- MANTEX NEWSLETTER -------- Number 88 - January 2004 - ISSN 1470-1863 A very happy New Year to all our readers Punctuation - Writing - Design - Style 0----- 'Eats, Shoots and Leaves' - new best-seller You wouldn't think that a book on punctuation would become a Xmas best-seller - but Lynne Truss did just that with her guide to the 'Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation'. She's a punctuation militant, and wants us all to become angry about sloppy commas and apostrophes. Fortunately she makes her case in a very witty manner. There are no heavy grammar lessons here, simply examples of good and bad usage explained. And if you want a tutorial on lively journalism, just keep an eye on how close she gets to her readers. Crisp and sophisticated writing. Full review at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/truss.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #1 What is the only chess piece which cannot be taken? 0----- 'Dictionary of Proverbs' - new edition What's the origin of 'Fine feathers make fine birds', and what does 'A peck of March dust is worth a king's ransom' mean? This dictionary lists explanations for traditional expressions which have become proverbial. It also makes itself relevant to today by adding those which recently achieved that status - such as 'There's no such thing as a free lunch' and 'No pain, no gain'. This is a new edition, with lots of extra entries. Full review and details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/oxf-prov.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #2 Of which US state is Montpelier the capital? 0----- Quotable quotes - Arnie the Language Slayer Arnold Schwarzenegger was asked if he had broken his promise to investigate the charges of s*xual harassment which had been made against him during his election as governor of California. He replied: "It meant much more for me that I wanted to look into it myself, so that doesn't mean that I won't do that, but I mean the bottom line right now is that I am focusing on this and there is no investigation." Nuff said! 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #3 What is the central core of an atom called? 0----- Surely not again! Yes - more Bloomsbury. You might think we are going quietly bonkers here regarding the writers and artists of the Bloomsbury group. However, there really does seem to be an insatiable demand. The Open University has even recently based one of its online courses on the subject. So we have no hesitation in announcing two new sets of free guidance notes on the creative and radical members. These are painter Dora Carrington and writer Vita Sackville-West. Both of them are probably best known for the fact that they were married to men but had affairs with women, but their creative work seems to be surviving and even gaining in reputation. Judge for yourself at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/ou/a319/carrngtn.htm http://www.mantex.co.uk/ou/a319/vs-west.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #4 Who wrote 'The Master and Margarita'? 0----- Design - 'Los Logos' The German publishers die Gestallten Verlag have a habit of producing high-quality books on contemporary design. This is no exception. It's an amazingly comprehensive catalogue of company logos, trademarks, and corporate typography. There's no fuss or palaver here: it's a huge collection of examples from all over the world. Graphic design fans will find this a rich sample book of ideas and approaches. Full details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/klant-3.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #5 Who painted 'Broadway Boogie-Woogie'? 0----- 'Communicate in Style' - new book This is a writing style guide for technical authors and writers of business documentation - though anyone else could profit from what it has to say about making documents more logical, tightly organised, and structured. The author Yateendra Joshi takes an amazingly close look at the smallest details of presenting information on screen and paper. And interestingly, he backs up his arguments with illustrations from other style guides. Full details and review at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/joshi.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #6 Who shot Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963? 0----- 'Dictionary of Designers and Graphics' This is more than a static list of data. It gives potted biographies of typographists, graphic designers, and poster artists - plus details of design movements, individual studios, and general art movements. It covers the period from mid nineteenth century to the present day. I bought a copy to take on holiday, and read it from cover to cover. It's beautifully illustrated, fully cross-indexed, and a bargain at Amazon. Full review and details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/livingst.htm 0----- Pub Quiz Question #7 What nationality was painter Mary Cassatt? 0----- Quotable quotes - Where did they put those WMD? Donald Rumsfeld recently explained his position on the quest for weapons of mass destruction. "The message is that there are no knowns. There are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns; that is to say there are things we now know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns - things we do not know we don't know. And each year we discover a few more of those unknown unknowns." When asked to clarify this puzzling statement, Rumsfeld answered more succinctly: "There is another way to phrase that, and that is that the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." 0----- Pub Quiz Question #8 What sort of food is Sapsago? 0----- 'Schott's Food and Drink Miscellany' - pocket trivia Schott's Original Miscellany knocked Harry Potter off the top of the best-seller charts last year. This is the follow-up in the same attractive format. It's printed to look like an old encyclopedia, but in fact it's a brand-new collection of the most amazing - and amusing - trivia related to food and drink. There are recipes for weird concoctions such Salmagundi and Humble Pie, and instructions for how to behave at the dinner table, lists of people who have had food named after them, how to fold napkins, and if you get stuck, how to eat dogs and horses. Very good fun. http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/schott-2.htm 0----- Pub Quiz Question #9 In which country was Leon Trotsky murdered? 0----- Last Word President Bush called Arnold Schwarzenegger to congratulate him on being elected as the governor of California, and after he got off the phone, Arnold said, "Gee - and I thought my English was bad." Jay Leno 0----- PUB QUIZ - ANSWERS What is the only chess piece which cannot be taken? ANSWER: The king Of which US state is Montpelier the capital? ANSWER: Vermont What is the central core of an atom called? ANSWER: The nucleus Who wrote 'The Master and Margarita'? ANSWER: Mikhail Bulgakov Who painted 'Broadway Boogie-Woogie'? ANSWER: Piet Mondrian Who shot Lee Harvey Oswald in 1963? ANSWER: Jack Ruby What nationality was painter Mary Cassatt? ANSWER: American What sort of food is Sapsago? ANSWER: Cheese In which country was Leon Trotsky murdered? ANSWER: Mexico 0----- COMING SOON 'Indie Fonts' 'Design Through Digital Interaction' 'Creative Content for the Web' 'Designing Web Graphics' Talking Dictionaries (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-88-January-2004 ISSN 1470-1863 The British Library