Having enjoyed reading your
biographical, They
can't take that away from me... I
would love to post your article (for my) course for
seniors entitled Autobiography and Journaling ... and
let them read your article as a good example of what
I call the reader's writer, clearly expressed and easy
to read. (Howell)
The French language has
always appealed to me ... so I enjoyed Lavinia's
experiences en
France! (Di Sullivan, Perth, Australia)
I am an American and an
expat here since 1990. I have been a subscriber to Writing
Tip for a few years now and look forward to the Friday
editions. I archive by creating topics of the tips
relevant to me and often refer. (Mary, Lagos, Nigeria)
WRITERS!
Write
Your Own Best Seller!
This
year, don't just read a best-seller ... Write
your own using the software program that works
in the same way J K Rowling writes her Harry
Potter novels!
Who said Aussies would
bet on two flies crawling up a wall? Now I know
better! (Bill Denham, Chicago, USA)
I enjoy reading your page
every week, Jennifer, it's never boring and there's always
something to bring a smile to my face! (Kenny Dima,
Tenerife, Spain)
Great newsletter -
originally found this site after searching for
clarification on a contentious
point amongst work colleagues. Just had to look at old
issues and now look forward to Fridays (Juliet Wallace,
Manchester, ENGLAND)
When I was a girl (not that long ago
... Well, it doesn't seem all that long ago!) one of my favourite people
was Leonardo da Vinci. What a man! What a brain! To have come up with all those
light-years-ahead inventions, those amazing sketches, those fabulous paintings
and sculptures and ... everything.
So it was with great delight that I
discovered that my mate Leo had been having a bit of fun with the Establishment
all this time. Did you know he was a prankster? Not your usual impression of the
Great Man, is it? "More significantly, he was a
hoaxer: researchers Dr Lillian Schwartz and Dr Digby Quested, working
independently, have demonstrated that he was the model for the Mona Lisa.
Indeed, he usually managed to include himself in most of his works, being one of
the disciples at his famous Last Supper, and can be seen lurking in the bottom
right-hand corner of his Adoration of the
Magi."
There's a theory doing the rounds in
some arty circles that da Vinci faked the Shroud of Turin. It seems that it's
possible to actually recreate the effect found on the shroud using primitive
photographic techniques that were known in his time: "Basically
you project the image of your 'subject' via a lensed camera obscura (pinhole
camera - a box with a hole in it) onto a piece of linen that has been coated in
light-sensitive chemicals (among which is urine) and leave it for several hours
to develop. Then you wash the cloth to remove the extra chemicals and heat it to
'fix' the image - and you have an image of the same vagueness and the same
colour as the Turin Shroud." (Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince)
There are lots of articles about the
shroud here so you can decide for yourself.
I think Picknett's and Prince's
research sounds fascinating.
Hmmm ... that didn't come out right,
did it?
How about, "Picknett and
Prince's research?" Yes, much better.
As Richard English explained on the
FOTA board recently, " ...two or more nouns or a
compound noun both "belonging" to the same thing take the apostrophe
in the last noun only (William and Mary's reign)"
Wouldn't you love to be able to make
a living investigating things like these? If you're lucky enough to have
uncovered a mystery and want to write about it (or anything else), don't forget this.
And
this week's Little Something Extra has more excellent tips for anyone wanting to
write a mystery (or anyone just interested in the process).
Let's stay with the church and
things religious (mostly) for a tad longer - try this ...
2.
censer of metal, for burning incense, having various forms, held in the hand or
suspended by chains
3.
a winged sandal (as worn by Hermes)
4.
an explosive device used to break down a gate or wall
5.
habitually suspending judgement
6.
an outgrowth on a plant or animal such as a fowl's wattle
7.
a unit of illumination equal to one lumen per square centimetre; 10,000 phots
equal one lux
8.
a recluse or hermit, especially a religious recluse
9.
remarriage after the death or divorce of one's first husband or wife
10.
one of a set of seats, usually three, provided in some Roman Catholic and
Anglican churches for the use of the presiding clergy, traditionally placed on
the epistle side of the choir near the altar, and in Gothic-style churches often
built into the wall.
It's
been a while since I set out to offend the known world ... 'bout time to change
all that! Here's a fascinating little insight into the national character of ...
oh, lots of people, really.
A
bit of background is in order - the IRB is the International Rugby Board (why
this obsession with football recently, I wonder?) If the whole concept of burly
men hurling themselves at each other to gain possession of a bit of inflated
pigskin is a mystery to you, this site will shed a little light: http://www.irb.com/
)
The
All Blacks make up the New Zealand team; the Haka is their spine-tingling
war-cry and dance performed before they go into battle ... er ... start playing:
http://www.uidaho.edu/clubs/womens_rugby/RugbyRoot/rugby/Songs/haka.html
The Wallabies make up the Australian team (current world champions).
The
World Cup is being held in Australia this year ... Forget about the footy, why
not pop over for a visit? http://www.australia.com
(While you're there, click on Queensland, then Brisbane to see where I spend my
days.)
"Following
complaints made to the IRB about the All Blacks being allowed
to motivate themselves by performing the 'Haka' before their games, other
nations were asked to suggest pre-match rituals of their own. The IRB
Rugby World Cup 2003 Organising Committee has now agreed to the following
pre-match displays:
1. The England team will chat about the weather, wave hankies in the air
and attach bells to their ankles before whingeing about how they invented
the game and gave it to the world, and how it's not fair that everyone
still thinks New Zealand is the best team in the world.
2. The Scotland team will chant "You lookin' at me Jimmy?"
before
Smashing an Iron Bru bottle over their opponents' heads.
3. The Ireland team will split into two, with the Southern half
Performing a Riverdance, while the Northerners march the traditional
route from their dressing room to the pitch, via their opponents' dressing
room.
4. Argentina will unexpectedly invade a small part of opposition
territory, claim it as their own "Las In-Goals-Areas" and then
be
forcibly removed by the match stewards.
5. Two members of the South African team will claim to be more
important than the other 13 whom they will imprison between the posts
whilst they claim the rest of the pitch for themselves.
6. The Americans will not attend until almost full time. In future
years they will amend the records to show that they were in fact the
most important team in the tournament and Hollywood will make a film
called 'Saving No.8 Lyle'.
7. Five of the Canadian team will sing La Marseillaise and hold the
rest of the team to ransom.
8. The Italian team will arrive in Armani gear, sexually harass the
female stewards and then run away.
9. The Spanish will sneak into the other half of the pitch, mow it and
then claim that it was all in line with European "grass quotas."
They
will then curl up under the posts and have a kip until half time, when
their appeal for compensation against the UK government will be heard.
10. The Japanese will attempt to strengthen their team by offering good
salaries to the key opposition players and then run around the pitch at
high speed in a highly efficient manner before buying the ground (with a
subsidy from the UK government).
11. The French will declare they have new scientific evidence that the
opposition are in fact all mad. They will then park lorries across the
half-way line, let sheep loose in the opposition half and burn the
officials.
12. The Australians will have a barbie before negotiating lucrative
singing and TV contracts in the UK. They will then invite all their
mates to come and live with them so they can get on the grog every
night."
"May as well be hanged for a
sheep as hanged for a lamb," as my Grandma used to say ... So here's a
story I received from Paula ... we thought it was funny ...
"I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the
edge, about to jump off. I immediately ran over and said "Stop! Don't do
it!"
"Why shouldn't I?" he said.
I said, "Well, there's so much to live
for!"
"Like what?"
"Well ... are you religious or
atheist?"
"Religious."
"Me too! Are you Christian or
Jewish?"
"Christian."
"Me too! Are you Catholic or
Protestant?"
"Protestant."
"Me too! Are you Episcopalian or
Baptist?"
"Baptist."
"Wow! Me too! Are you Baptist Church of
God or Baptist Church of the Lord?"
"Baptist Church of God."
"Me too! Are you Original Baptist
Church of God, or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?"
"Reformed Baptist Church of God."
"Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist
Church of God, reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God,
reformation of 1915?"
"Reformed Baptist Church of God,
reformation of 1915!"
To which I said, "Die, heretic
scum!" and pushed him off."
1. a poem or puzzle in which the first letters of
each line spell out a word, phrase, or name - ACROSTIC
2. uses pictures, numbers, and letters of the
alphabet, to make words and sentences - REBUS. Some good fun for the littlies -
make your own rebus online here: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/rhymes/painting/
3. a word, phrase, sentence, poem, or longer item
which reads the same backwards as it does forwards - PALINDROME
4. a sentence that contains every letter of the
alphabet - PANGRAM. "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" is
one example - here are some more: http://spinelessbooks.com/table/forms/pangram.html
6. a piece of writing that includes only one of
the vowels - UNIVOCALIC. (Yes, I know I put "univolic" last week -
that was just to test you!) Here's an example from Lord Holland’s Eve’s
Legend: "Men were never perfect; yet the three brethren Veres were ever
esteemed, respected, revered, even when the rest, whether the select few,
whether the mere herd, were left neglected."
7. a
play on words which have the same sound but different meanings; an expression in
which two different applications of a word present an odd or ludicrous idea -
PUN
8.
an inscription in which certain numeral letters, made to appear especially
conspicuous, on being added together, express a particular date or epoch -
CHRONOGRAM. See some examples here: http://www.mathematische-basteleien.de/chronograms.htm
9.
a word or phrase spelled by rearranging the letters of another word or phrase -
ANAGRAM
10.
a language user's knowledge of words - LEXICON
If you received this newsletter from
a friend and you'd like to have your very own copy delivered to you on Friday,
just click here: mailto:WritingTips-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
and why not spread the word? Send your friends a
copy and invite them to join our merry band - we number nearly 7,000 now.
Now this is a helpful little guide I
just received from Lachlan and even though it has nothing to do with our theme,
I thought I'd include it as a sort of Community Service:
"This should be
as common as a driver's licence in the wallet of every husband, boyfriend, or
significant other.
DANGEROUS: What's for dinner?
SAFER: Can I help you with dinner?
SAFEST: Where would you like to go for dinner?
ULTRASAFE: Here, have some chocolate.
DANGEROUS: Are you wearing that?
SAFER: Gee, you look good in brown.
SAFEST: WOW! Look at you!
ULTRASAFE: Here, have some chocolate.
DANGEROUS: What are you so worked up about?
SAFER: Could we be overreacting?
SAFEST: Here's fifty dollars.
ULTRASAFE: Here, have some chocolate.
DANGEROUS: Should you be eating that?
SAFER: You know, there are a lot of apples left.
SAFEST: Can I get you a glass of wine with that?
ULTRASAFE: Here, have some chocolate.
DANGEROUS: What did you do all day?
SAFER: I hope you didn't overdo it today.
SAFEST: I've always loved you in that robe!
ULTRASAFE: Here, have some more chocolate.
And remember: Money talks ... but chocolate sings."
Hmmm ... maybe this does fit with
our theme after all ... When you're searching for motives, perhaps?
A Little Something Extra
I love mysteries, don't you? Would you like to
try writing one - for fun or profit? Here's an excellent Infoproduct to get you
started. It's called "Writing and Selling a Mystery Novel" and it's by
US mystery writer, Vickie Britton: http://www.ourmailnet.com/shopping/shopdisplayproducts.asp?page=3
One of the latest techniques used in solving
crimes (and therefore mysteries) is DNA fingerprinting. This is a t'riffic
introduction to the whole process, called "DNA Fingerprinting - Evidence
and Applications" by US writer, Miriam Ruff: http://www.ourmailnet.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=41
3. Use your credit card on my secure
order form: http://www.write101.com/fund.htm (You
can also access the PayPal subscription link from this page if the link above
didn't work for you. With PayPal, you can use your credit card, PayPal account
or pay online using your own cheque account.) OR
