A biannual indulgence: a post about the dictionary and other such related things

The great thing about a blog is that I get 100% freedom to direct my own content.  This is why twice a year or so I indulge myself in a post that is dictionary-related.  You nerds out there may not care what this nerd is learning from the dictionary, but then again, you might.  The beauty of blogging is that I can float it out there without really having to worry about the negative impact that dictionary-focused blogging might have on my readership (hi Kerry and Joel!). 

So, today's post is brought to you by the hard copy of The Canadian Oxford Dictionary, The Chicago Manual of Style Online, and Dictionary.com

It's no secret that I love leafing through a hard copy dictionary.  At work I will often look up words and then spend a few moments scanning the pages before and after my original destination to see what other interesting things it might turn up.  So this morning, while I was cementing my understanding of the definition of the word 'egregious' (gross, flagrant, shocking, our outstandingly bad), I came across 'el cheapo' (cheap, inexpensive, of inferior quality, or a stingy person) which pretty much made my morning. 

For a relatively static document (at least compared to the ever-evolving internet) that has such an academic and sometimes stuffy feel to it, the dictionary actually does a surprisingly good job of keeping their finger on the pulse of popular culture.  They may be a few years behind on word trends, but they're doing a pretty good job of staying relevant.

Also on the lighter side of referencing materials, I find myself returning to the Q&A section of the Chicago Manual of Style website time and time again.  Every month, they answer people's questions on issues that may not be clear from a reading of the manual.  There is always a mix of genuine questions from people and questions that are coming from people who are clearly pretentious snobs.  And time after time, I am amazed at the way they humorously and effectively answer the questions and, when needed, knock the snobs down a few pegs.  I love them for it, because if anything I expected them to be the snobs.  I LOVE the people who answer the Q&As.  I want to be friends with all of them.  An example from last month's questions...

Q. If you have to call someone “Jeff-bear,” is the hyphen appropriate, or would “Jeffbear” suffice? The new Manual doesn’t say.

A. I’m sorry, but when we got to the term “Jeff-bear,” the Hyphenation Committee couldn’t agree and things started to get nasty, so we left it out. I’m afraid you’re on your own.


and another from the archives...

Q. I wonder which you think is best: Key Lime pie, Key lime pie, or key lime pie?

A. I’m actually partial to pecan, but if you’re asking about spelling, consult a dictionary: Webster’s 11th Collegiate prefers lowercasing, noting that “Key” is often capped.

Ha! 
 
And finally, I recently discovered that dictionary.com has a blog!  It's called the Hot Word Blog.  It's basically a playful forum for discussing all sorts of words.  Today's post is on the latest discovery of yet another word coined by Dr. Seuss. Enough said.  I like it.

The C-Line

As of October 8, 2010, the City of Edmonton has finally figured out how to get us a bus to the airport!  I'm sure it will have its share of challenges, but seriously, it was ridiculous how difficult it was to get out there (and expensive). Don't even get me started on the taxi licenses that prohibit drivers of the airport taxis from taking return passengers back to the airport.  ACK. 

Anyways, we now have something to Leduc called "The C-Line".  All it is is a bus that goes from Century Park LRT station out to the Edmonton International.  One step closer to actually becoming a visit-able city.  How can we hope to attract a full range of visitors to our City of Champions if they keep getting stuck in Nisku? 

I hope it works!

The Daily Good

There is a hard copy magazine called "Good" that has awesome design and quirky content.  One of their big things is to be all about sharing information in attractive and well designed ways that are both interesting to look at and easy to understand.  The first time I saw it I spent a long time reading an article about subway systems in major cities around the world.  That's a subject that could go either way in terms of interesting-ness, but it was so visually awesome that I really got into it.

Since I try not to subscribe to too many magazines (they stack up and I find it hard to get rid of them because I think of them as almost-books) I didn't sign up to receive the magazine, but I did sign up for "The Daily Good", which is basically one good thing a day, sent to your email account.  It's fun, and the things they send are surprisingly awesome and intersting, if not a little heavy on the bicycle news which is understandable since bicycles are generally awesome.

One of my favourites was this prototype of a station wagon bicycle.  It's funny and great all at once. In one of the pics it is even holding an adult as a reclining passenger.

I am a bicycle enjoyer and latent bicycle commuter.  Heavy emphasis on the latent.  But we won't talk about that.
I borrowed a pic here from designboom.com which I linked to above.  If you click through the link there are some images showing it in use, but here it is in all of its glory.  Think of all the excellent things you could do with this!

Stars - a Halloween diversion

I started listening to Stars in about 2004 when I was still in university.  A couple of their songs figured prominently on some of the early mix cds that I made for Joel right when we started dating.  We've seen them a few times over the years and every time I think I might be done with them, they come and play a  show and I love them all over again.

This time, they played at the Winspear on Halloween, which was doubly awesome because it gave me something awesome to do on a holiday that I'm not crazy about.  The best thing about Halloween otherwise was an email from my brother letting me know that Halloween was in full swing over at their house and that my neice was dressed up as a POODLE and was rolling around on the floor eating chocolate.

As you can see in the picture (credit to Joel, who took it on his phone), they had a bubble machine on stage.  How can you not love them for that?  We were three rows back so Joel and Torquil (one of the lead singers) exchanged an awkwardly lengthy thumbs up avec eye contact close to the end of the show.  And Amy Milan (the other singer) totally called out a lame guy who was smoking in one of the balconies and ashing over the railing down on to the stage.  She called him a "little sh*t". Ha. I loved her for that.

Their new album is called "The Five Ghosts" and sounds worth checking out.  My favourite will always be "Heart", followed closely by "Set Yourself on Fire".  Joel and I were listening to their old albums (and new) this past weekend while we were working on a project, and it was totally transporting me back to old, fun times.

Also noteworthy: Torquil is an actor on the side, which you can totally tell from watching his melodramatic stage presence, and had a speaking role on on episode of SATC.  He was a guy at a party that Carrie goes to with her super young boyfriend.  His line is "I like your leather pants".  Totally a claim to fame though to have spoken to SJP.

NaBloPoMo

I have been challenged by a coworker to join the ridiculous sounding "NaBloPoMo".  In a nutshell, blog every day for the month of November.  Since I'm always toying with the idea of giving up blogging entirely but spend equal amounts of time toying with the idea of buckling down and actually blogging more regularly, I figured it was worth accepting the challenge.

The timing is right because I was thinking this weekend that there is quite a span of unrecorded years in my life right now.  I journalled like a maniac through university and as embarrassing as some of it is to read now, it's nice to be able to go back and visit my old self in that way. 

In the past five or so years, other than a few spotty journal entries, the major written record I have of my activities and interests is actually my old blog posts.  So, maybe it's time to pick up again with a bit more momentum before I can't remember how I spent my youth.  Otherwise, I won't have anything to look back on and be embarrassed about!

For more information about NaBloPoMo, click HERE.

If I fail miserably, be gentle with me.

Megan & Joel

Megan, who I have known for 9ish years now, got married to a Joel earlier this month.  We like to refer to him as Joel II, because he came on the scene of our friend group several years after my Joel was already established as the group Joel.  But for the purposes of this important occasion I will drop the slightly rude "II" and call him THE Joel.  Just be aware that THE Joel does not = MY Joel.

I volunteered my kitchen and my efforts to helping Kerry create their wedding flowers.  It was quite the process and there were flowers everywhere.  Kerry posted about it here.

Since Kerry already posted about the flowers, I thought I would highlight the adorablecuteness of the decor.  As Kerry said, obviously the marriage is the most important thing, but SERIOUSLY, how cute were their decorations!

I loved the door backdrop with the flags and the silhouettes.  And the tissue paper poufs.  And the cake topper as well as the real live cute bride and groom. 

And I threw in a cute picture that MY Joel took of our hands.  Because it's cute.

All the best to you Megan and THE Joel.

Love, Bethany

Painting!

As I mentioned, I painted my kitchen.  A super cute aqua colour. It was SO fun to paint after years of not being allowed. 

And my parents brought over an intense picnic lunch because they are adorable.  And then Joel christened it with a closed-eyes dance party.  He didn't actually say I could put this picture online. 

So that's painting.  Next up: finished house!