-------- MANTEX NEWSLETTER --------
Number 102 - March 2005 - ISSN 1470-1863
Literature - Design - Online Media
0----- "Kafka: A Very Short Introduction"
OUP have just brought out a new series
of pocket-book introductions to important
writers and ideas.
Kafka wrote in a way quite unlike any
authors who preceded him, and this study
offers a guide to his life and background.
Short chapters, well illustrated, and lots
of suggestions for further reading. Full
review and details at -
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/robertson.htm
0----- Pub Quiz - Question #1
Which Roman emperor made his horse a senator?
0----- Weird Facts #1
This is the shortest sentence that can be written
using all the letters of the English language:
"Blowsy frumps had quit vexing Jack."
[I didn't make this up myself.]
0----- "Graphic Design School" - new book
This is a very glamorous production from
Thames and Hudson, offering a guide to the
basics of graphic design.
First it deals with the elements - space,
colour, type, pictures - and how to arrange
them to good effect.
Then it covers the principles of creating
attractive pages through the choice of
appropriate typefaces and the use of grids.
Finally it shows examples of good professional
design in magazines, books, web pages, and
other digital media. Stunning page designs.
Full details and review -
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/dabner.htm
0----- Pub Quiz - Question #2
What is the original family name of the
British royal family?
0----- Weird Facts #2
Bach wrote his 'St Matthew Passion' on
a piece of wrapping paper.
0----- Animated Typography - see it now!
Fontaholics might enjoy this video
presentation giving the history
of a famous typeface - Cooper Black.
http://www.veer.com/ideas/btt/
0----- Pub Quiz - Question #3
When was the Berlin Wall built?
0----- Weird Facts #3
Vanilla has a pleasant aroma but no taste.
0----- "Grammar Monster" - f.r.e.e online guidance
Craig Shrives writes from Wigan to alert us
to his free on-line e-book designed to
answer English grammar queries. Try it to
sort out those who/whom queries.
http://www.grammar-monster.com/index.html
0----- Pub Quiz - Question #4
What is Port Salut?
0----- Weird Facts #4
The oldest parliament is Iceland's
Althing, founded in AD 930.
0----- Listen Again - on line
I'm a BBC Radio 3 man myself, but lots of my
friends are enthusiasts for Radio 4 - and
they're often moaning about good programmes
they have just missed.
Weep no more, mes amis. The BBC has a
"Listen Again" online service where you can
catch the 'Book at Bedtime' and documentary
on badgers or blue whales you missed.
It's amazingly comprehensive. Programmes are
listed A to Z by title, and there's a search
box if you're not sure. There are even links
to programme's own websites.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/progs/listenagain.shtml
For instance, whilst typing this I am listening
to a live broadcast of "From Arial to Wide Latin" -
a programme about fonts and typography. It includes
an interview with Neville Brody.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/science/fromarialtowidelatin.shtml
The BBC are also broadcasting a dramatisation
of Marcel Proust's "In Search of Lost Time",
which is one way of dealing with one of the
world's great but long novels.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/classic_serial.shtml
However, if you want to listen with a copy
of the original on your lap, there's a wide
range of options available. Here's our take.
http://www.mantex.co.uk/ou/a319/proust-1.htm
0----- Fonts and Design
And speaking of Neville Brody, I came across
his very stylish Research Studios web site
recently. If you are interested in modern graphic
design, be sure to click through to his projects
to see some stunning art work and great web design.
http://www.researchstudios.com/
Neville Brody is one of the most-requested topics
at the Mantex site - after Virginia Woolf. Any
typophiles and fontaholics who want to discover
more about his influential designs need look no
further than -
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/brody.htm
0----- Pub Quiz - Question #5
What do Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan,
and Egypt have in common?
0----- Weird Facts #5
The 1900 Olympics in Paris had competitions
in billiards, checkers, and fishing.
[Maybe smoking was allowed too?]
0----- TV Help for Teachers
A new TV channel has been launched in the UK
to help train teachers. "Teachers' TV" is the
first government-funded, public service channel
and is billed as an on-the-job training tool
and window allowing teachers to see 'warts
and all' what is happening in classrooms.
The channel, funded by government money but
editorially independent, will cost 20 million
pounds (29 million euros) of taxpayers' money
each year.
Over 500 teachers have been filmed at work for
the first set of programmes, which are designed
to help teachers plan lessons and develop their
work. The station will broadcast weekly education
news and current affairs, as well as professional
advice and curriculum-based programmes.
Each 15-minute programme, within a one-hour cycle,
will be shown 18 times over a three-week period.
12 production companies have been involved in its
production thus far.
http://www.teachernet.gov.uk
0----- Pub Quiz - Question #6
What is the capital of Australia?
0----- Weird Facts #6
The @ sign used in email addresses
is five hundred years old.
0----- BBC again - Language Survey
The BBC is also hosting an interactive website
which is mapping regional accents and language
in the UK. It's a combination of fun and serious
linguistics.
I checked out the region where I live, and sure
enough, there are lessons on how to speak like
a Mancunian in ten minutes,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/voices/
Actually, Manchester also features in an item I
spotted recently on the amusingly nerdish Pathetic
Motorways site. This lists motorways which are
hidden, secret, unfinished, unbuilt - and in
Manchester's case the shortest in the UK - a
300 metre stretch of the Mancunian Way flyover.
http://pathetic.org.uk/
0----- Pub Quiz - Question #7
Who wrote 'The Master and Margarita'?
0----- Weird Facts #7
The world's population increases by
237,748 people every 24 hours.
0----- F.r.e.e Text Editor
Buckshee text editor from NoteTab features:
open and edit many documents at once; edit
huge text files; text drag-and-drop;
AutoCorrect/Auto-replace mode; clip tool
for quick and easy text insertion; capture
text sent to Clipboard.
http://www.notetab.com
0----- Pub Quiz - Question #8
Who composed 'A Little Night Music'?
0----- Weird Facts #8
The first leap year was 46 BC.
0----- 'Word Hacks' - new book
If you would like Word to behave itself better,
or make use of some of its hidden power features,
Andrew Savikas has a new book which shows what's
available just under the bonnet.
With a few tweaks and a careful choice of menu
options, you can get it to do all sorts of tricks
for you.
His tips are graded, so you can choose your level
of difficulty. Easy ones include forcing Word to
show you more recently used files and showing you
what fonts look like instead of just listing names.
The more advanced hacks include some extremely
powerful macros which will help you to edit long
documents and projects. Full review and details at -
http://www.mantex.co.uk/reviews/savikas.htm
0----- Pub Quiz - Question #9
Where is Salamanca?
0----- Weird Facts #9
The first computer program was written
by Augusta Lovelace - Byron's daughter.
0----- The Editorium - free newsletter
If you do a lot of writing and editing using
MS Word, you might be interested in the free
weekly newsletter from The Editorium.
They provide tips and tricks for Word users,
and even have some f.r.e.e downloadable software.
http://www.editorium.com
0----- Pub Quiz - Question #10
Which is the correct spelling -
Yogurt, Yoghurt, or Yoghourt?
0----- Weird Facts #10
Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from sand.
0----- Readers' Letters
*** Readers' Rhymes ***
Regular correspondent Damian Grant writes from
Lille to comment on Weird Fact #2 in the last issue.
Monthieur: there ith no rhyme for month?
Not tho, monthieur; I wath in Parith wunth,
Wath treated to a thucculent coelacanth.
The bill wath pothted to me on the nth
Oth lath Theptember. The man mutht be a dunth
Who cannot find a thimple rhyme for month!
*** Camping it Up ***
Sidney Allinson writes from Victoria, Canada.
#5. Which country was the first to use concentration camps?
ANSWER: Britain (Boer War)
"Not so. This is historically not correct.
In fact, the first concentration camps were set
up by the Spanish government in Cuba in 1897 - also
whence the origin of the name 'concentrado'."
*** Pain in the Neck ***
Geoff Lee writing from Southampton observes:
"I think that you'll find that dragonflies have a
considerable range of head movement."
and makes this further linguistic observation.
"Esoteric means 'likely to be understood by
only a small number of people' while exoteric
is the opposite, meaning 'likely to be understood
by the general public'.
In my experience that makes esoteric exoteric
and exoteric esoteric."
0----- PUB QUIZ - ANSWERS
#1. Which Roman emperor made his horse a senator?
ANSWER: Caligula
#2. What is the original family name of the
British royal family?
ANSWER: Saxe-Coburg
#3. When was the Berlin Wall built?
ANSWER: 1961
#4. What is Port Salut?
ANSWER: A French cheese.
#5. What do Tanzania, Uganda, Sudan,
and Egypt have in common?
ANSWER: The river Nile
#6. What is the capital of Australia?
ANSWER: Canberra
#7. Who wrote 'The Master and Margarita'?
ANSWER: Mikhail Bulgakov
#8. Who composed 'A Little Night Music'?
ANSWER: Stephen Sondheim
#9. Where is Salamanca?
ANSWER: Spain
#10. Which is the correct spelling -
Yogurt, Yoghurt, or Yoghourt?
ANSWER: All three are correct.
0----- COMING SOON
'Virginia Woolf: Authors in Context'
'The History and Power of Writing'
'Speed Reading for Success'
'Word Myths'
'Web Services Essentials'
'Dictionary of Design since 1900'
'Oxford Spellchecker and Dictionary'
'Internet Annoyances'
(c) Copyright 2005, MANTEX
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News-102-March-2005
ISSN 1470-1863
The British Library
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