-------- MANTEX NEWSLETTER -------- Number 99 - December 2004 - ISSN 1470-1863 Bumper issue for the festive season! Language - Writing - Searching - Jazz Design - Writing competition - Leet 0----- "Larpers and Shroomers" - new book Do you know what 'chav', 'shibby', and 'wiki' mean? Or have you ever thought about having a 'council house facelift'? If you are at all interested in the very latest slang and word coinings, this is the new version of Susie Dent's 'language report'. She looks at the latest slang, new words coined for new situations, and the distortions of language foisted on us by politicians, showbiz, and advertising. [A 'larper' is a Live Action RolePlayer by the way, and a 'shroomer' eats hallucinogenic mushrooms.] It's very entertaining, easy to read, and slap up to date. And at this time of year, it would also make an ideal present. Ignore the crap jacket cover. Full details and review at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/oxf-dent.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #1 Where is Aotearoa? 0----- Weird Facts #1 A shrimp's heart is in its head. 0----- "Web Search Garage" - new book Tara Calishain is an expert on using the Internet for research. This is her latest book on the subject. She shows you how to get the best out of search engines, how to discover the hidden gems within Google and Yahoo, and how to narrow your searches using Boolean modifiers [that's AND, OR, and NOT]. There are lots of interesting tips and tricks, such as searching using the *slang* or special language of your subject. And she even tells you how to assess the quality of the information you find. Full review and details at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/calishain-4.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #2 What were the names of the Marx bothers? 0----- Weird Facts #2 A pig's orgasm lasts thirty minutes. [That's half an HOUR! Lucky pig!] 0----- "Children's Writers' + Artists' Yearbook" There is now a version of the 'Writers' and Artists' Yearbook' for people who specialise in children's writing. The 'Children's Writers' + Artists' Yearbook' lists the names and contact details for publishers, agents, magazines, newspapers, and outlets for all kinds of children's writing. Sandwiched between these lists, there are essays and articles written by well-known writers on teenage fiction, how to get an agent, illustrating children's books, and writing for children's television. Full details and review at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/black-2.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #3 What is hypermetropia? 0----- Weird Facts #3 Pearls melt in vinegar. [Careful at the chip shop!] 0----- "PDF Hacks" - new book If you thought PDF files were only used for transmitting printable documents - think again. Sid Steward's new book from O'Reilly offers 100 tips and tools for customising PDF viewers, speeding up Acrobat by controlling its plug-ins, shrinking down PDFs into much smaller files, and how to create your own PDF files using a variety of different software programs. He also shows you how to add interactive forms to PDFs, how to download all the free software programs for doing these tasks, and even, if you feel up to it, how to get under the bonnet to re-program the Acrobat software. Full details and review at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/steward.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #4 Is the Isle of Man part of Great Britain? 0----- Weird Facts #4 Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise. 0----- "Artie Shaw: His Life and Music" - new book Did you know that the swing master Artie Shaw was once married to Ava Gardner and Lana Turner - though not at the same time of course. He was also a poll-topping clarinetist who for some time sold more records than his rival Benny Goodman. Yet he gave it all up to live in Spain, write fiction, and even run a cattle ranch. There were come-backs of course - and amazingly he's still alive at 95. All this and more is captured in John White's critical biography, which also includes an extensive discography. Full review at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/white.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #5 Which Australian composer wrote 'Shepherd's Hey!'? 0----- Weird Facts #5 Starfish have no brains. [But plenty of arms] 0----- Using Amazon as a search engine Did you know that Amazon allows you to "look inside" a book? And you can use this facility to search for words and quotes. For instance, if you know a phrase but can't remember where it is from, just type it into Amazon's search box. I just typed in "Someone must have been telling lies about Joseph K" - and sure enough, it identified the book as Kafka's 'The Trial'. Look inside the book, and it correctly places the quote as the opening of Chapter One. You can't *necessarily* see the page [for copyright reasons] - though I got access to the first six. But it does confirm the location of what you are looking for. http://www.amazon.com 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #6 What is the capital of Peru? 0----- Weird Facts #6 Pigs are unable to look up at the sky. [But who needs the stars when you've got...] 0----- LeetSpeak - "w00t!" - new language? Leet (often Eleet, leetspeak, leetspeek, l33t, ej33t, 31337, or 1337; from "elite") is a cipher, or novel form of English spelling. It's characterized by the use of non-alphabet characters to stand for letters bearing a superficial resemblance, and by a number of quasi-standard spelling changes such as the substitution of "z" for final "s" and "x" for "(c)ks". Leet is used by hackers, crackers, script kiddies, gamers, Animators, and even lamers. Simple forms of leet have become quite mainstream, as employees use the alternative spellings to circumvent their companies' mail filters designed to censor swearwords and other objectionable content. Also known as hakspeak, leetspeak is a type of communications where a user replaces letters for numbers or other characters. For example, "leet" in leetspeak would become "1337". This is a sentence in advanced Leetspeak T|-|i5 i5 4 53|\|+3|\|(3 i|\| L33+5p34k Google even has a search facility in it! where 'normal search' becomes 'n0rM4L s34rCh' http://www.google.com/intl/xx-hacker/ If you want to translate normal English into Leetspeak, there is a f.r.e.e downloadable program at - http://ryanross.net/leet/ 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #7 Who wrote 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'? 0----- Weird Facts #7 Tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur. [Check if you get the chance.] 0----- "Little Book of Nicknames" - new book Did you know that the queen's nickname is Brenda? And her son's is Action Man. Andrew Delahunty has compiled an amusing version of his longer Oxford Dictionary of Nicknames. It combines figures from politics (Paddy Pantsdown) sport (Goldenballs - Posh's name for Becks) and an explanation of those standard nicknames attached to people with certain surnames - such as Dixie Dean and Nobby Clark. Good fun, and a reliable guide to street culture. Full details and review at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/delahunty.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #8 In which city did Stradivari make violins? 0----- Weird Facts #8 It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open. [Try it next time.] 0----- "Handwritten" - new book This one for typography and design enthusiasts. Steven Heller has collected the very best in contemporary letters created by *hand* rather than by digital typography. It's beautifully designed and printed, full of visually exciting materials, and is edited in a full scholarly manner. The examples include letters scratched on pictures, sewn into fabrics, gouged out of wood and metal, splattered across hoardings, and even written onto human flesh [see below]. Full details and review at - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/heller-2.htm 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #9 What did Ava Gardner and Lana Turner have in common? 0----- Weird Facts #9 Our eyes remain the same size from birth. 0----- Young Letter Writers' Competition Royal Mail (UK) have a letter-writing competition for youngsters - with lots and lots of prizes. Ideal classroom activity for primary teachers this month! All entrants are invited to write a letter about their 1st Class Hero. The letter might be addressed directly to their hero, or to someone else explaining the merits of their hero. For the first time Royal Mail will accept the use of slang language in its entries. This is to reflect the way real children use language. However, be warned that the examples of slang they offer include such expressions as - "I'm just popping out", "You cheeky monkey", "Cheerio", "Cheers", and "Party pooper". Not exactly bigging up on street cred there then. There are 4 categories; 7-8 years old; 9-11 years old, Special Achievement Award; and Teachers [sic] award. Closing date for entries - 23rd December 2004 Competition helpline 0970 240 1640 http://www.royalmailgroup.com/community/community1a.asp 0----- Pub Quiz - Question #10 Who wrote 'American Buffalo'? 0----- Weird Facts #10 An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain. 0----- Bloomsbury Group - new pages We've added a couple of new items to the popular Bloomsbury Group section of our f.r.e.e tutorials. The first is on art and design. It features books dealing with the work of Vanessa Bell, Roger Fry, Duncan Grant, and the increasingly popular Dora Carrington. http://www.mantex.co.uk/ou/a319/bloom-02.htm The second is called 'Portraits and Biographies'. It features studies of Virginia Woolf, Vita Sackville-West (her lover) Ottiline Morrell, and *her* lover Bertrand Russell, plus Dora Carrington and her lover Gerald Brenan. http://www.mantex.co.uk/ou/a319/bloom-03.htm 0----- Weird News If you think some of our facts are weird, you can't beat everyday life for something even more astounding. The venerable mailing list Society for the History of Authorship Reading and Publishing recently burst into life with a discussion about books which are bound in human skin - one example of which was the author's own. And one contributor emailed to reveal that he was a volunteer in Shelly Jackson's "Skin" project, in which participants have one word of a short story tattooed onto their body. http://ineradicablestain.com/skin.html http://www.wam.umd.edu/~madancer/title.html If you want to sign up, you'd better hurry. Last time I looked there were only 315 words left. 0----- Feedback + Corrections We put a duff link in the review of John Seely's new book "A to Z of Grammar and Punctuation" in the last issue. Thanks to Andrew Wille for pointing it out to us. This is the correct link - http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/seely-4.htm Damian Grant writes from Lille to suggest that the same review contains a grammatical error. [Shurely shome mishtake!] "Are you one of those people who wonder where the apostrophe should go?" He suggests it should be 'wonders' Is he right? What's your opinion? 0----- Announcement Subscriber Dr Mike Unwalla writes from across the Pennines in Sheffield to say he has just been appointed Principal UK Expert for software documentation by the British Standards Institute. Congratulations Mike! He also appends a useful list of contact details for those interested in standards and technical communication matters: The British Standards Institution "is about improving the quality of life through the application of best practice to everything we do". See http://www.bsi-global.com The Institute of Scientific and Technical Communicators (ISTC) is the principal professional body for technical communicators in the UK. See http://www.istc.org.uk ISO is a network of national standards bodies from 140 countries. For example, in the UK we have the BSI, the US has ANSI and Germany has DIN. These bodies work in partnership with international organisations, governments, industry, business and consumer representatives. See http://www.iso.org TechScribe helps software companies to provide clear user documentation for their products. See http://www.techscribe.co.uk 0----- PUB QUIZ - ANSWERS #1. Where is Aotearoa? ANSWER: It's the Maori name for New Zealand #2. What were the names of the Marx bothers? ANSWER: Groucho, Harpo, Chico, Zeppo, Gummo #3. What is hypermetropia? ANSWER: Long-sightedness #4. Is the Isle of Man part of Great Britain? ANSWER: No #5. Which Australian composer wrote 'Shepherd's Hey!'? ANSWER: Percy Grainger #6. What is the capital of Peru? ANSWER: Lima #7. Who wrote 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'? ANSWER: Anita Loos #8. In which city did Stradivari make violins? ANSWER: Cremona #9. What did Ava Gardner and Lana Turner have in common? ANSWER: They were both married to Artie Shaw #10. Who wrote 'American Buffalo'? ANSWER: David Mamet 0----- COMING SOON 'A-Z of Spelling' 'The Modern Movement 1910-1940' 'Web Services Essentials' 'Dictionary of Design since 1900' 'Windows XP Power Hound' 'Oxford Spellchecker and Dictionary' 'OpenOffice.org Writer' 'CSS Cookbook' 'XML Hacks' (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-99-December-2004 ISSN 1470-1863 The British Library