Food for Thought - December 1999
Webgrammar Stew
Recommendations
Webgrammar Stew
BlueEar - Global
writing worth reading. Editor Ethan Casey, London, says,
"We are equally about building a world-class outlet for
the best international writing and making a reasonable,
albeit not excessive, profit for ourselves…We see ourselves
as the online equivalent of a thoughtful monthly or
fortnightly magazine with a distinctive tone and a global
outlook. Our topic is the frontier between the personal,
interior world and the outer world of public events. "
Steve Lanier, Washington DC, BlueEar.com Publisher, says,
"It will always be easiest to pander - to sell Twinkies
and biscuits rather than oat bran. But at a certain point,
consumers fed a 24-hour diet of junk food will begin to
search elsewhere for sustenance. And this is what is
happening. One by one, the number grows of individuals
who are searching for alternatives. BlueEar.com offers
these individuals a home and a community. The world is
too wondrous a place to waste time and resources serving
junk food and pandering to humanity's lowest common
denominator. We know there is more than this in ourselves,
and we hope we will kindle the wondrous capacity of the
human spirit in our readers and our world."
Differences and Similarities: Pretext & Pretense Pretext is a false reason given to conceal a truth, and
comes from a word meaning "to weave, before, pretend."
Think of a pretext as having "texture, a cloth, a cover-up."
Pretense comes from a word meaning "alleged." It is usually
an unsupported claim, perhaps regarding an accomplishment;
it's make-believe, a false claim or profession. AP
Stylebook says pretense is a more overt act intended to
conceal personal feelings.
Pretext, then, is often used to hide the truth, while
pretense is commonly used to stretch the truth.
DID YOU KNOW THAT you abbreviate Washington (the state) as
Wash., but never abbreviate it when referring to the U.S.
capital. Use state of Washington or Washington state. Use
Washington, D.C., or District of Columbia when the context
requires distinction between the state and the district. (AP Stylebook).
Recommendations
Ask Asia - fine resource for teachers and students doing a
unit on Asia. Of special interest: "Instructional Resources"
link in the "For Educators" section - http://www.askasia.org/
Center for Anthropology and Science Communications
http://www.concentric.net/~mpbruns/CASC/
Crash Course in Copyright
http://www.utsystem.edu/OGC/IntellectualProperty/cprtindx.htm
Daily Grammar Tips from Mr. Bill Johanson, English teacher at
Canyon View Junior High in Orem, Utah.
http://www.dailygrammar.com/
Dictionary of Phrase and Fable
http://www.bibliomania.com/Reference/PhraseAndFable/index.html
The Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, founded in 1995, is the
nation's first natural habitat refuge developed specifically
for endangered Asian elephants. It operates on 800 acres
surrounded by a 3,000-acre buffer zone in the town of
Hohenwald, Tennessee, 65 miles outside of Nashville. It exists
for two reasons: To provide a haven for old, sick or needy
elephants in a setting of green pastures, old-growth forests,
spring-fed ponds and a heated barn for cold winter nights,
and to provide education about the crisis facing these social,
sensitive, passionately intense, playful, complex, exceedingly
intelligent and endangered creatures - http://www.elephants.com/
Fun Mathematics Lessons - Hosted by Rice University's Math
Dept. http://math.rice.edu/~lanius/Lessons/
Letter Perfect : A Guide to Practical Proofreading
http://www.eeicom.com/press/lp/toc.html
National Gallery of Ireland
http://www.nationalgallery.ie/
Take Our Word For It - Weekly Word-origin Webzine: http://www.takeourword.com/
Wordsmyth Dictionary/Thesaurus: Brainstorm word lists that share common synonyms, definitions, or examples. http://www.wordsmyth.net/
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