Literature Map

Z, from epea pteroenta, posted a great Literature Map site. As z suggests, list 3 books that have influenced your life, and then put them into the map. The results are amazing. I found that I should be reading Joyce Carol Oates, Ernest Hemmingway, Toni Morrison, Mark Twain, T.S. Eliot, Virginia Woolf, and Socrates...among many. Quite a grouping.

Thanks for that, Z!

And to continue with limericks on "epicaricacy"...

Sean had suggested that I intersperse these posts with "epicaricacy" limericks every so often. That is such a good idea. Here is my next one:

"Epicaricacy" is a word
(Though Simpson would say, "that's absurd!")
Where you take lots of joy
In one's misery...Oy!
Though it'll only be used by the nerd!

Note: John Simpson is the editor of the OED, and "epicaricacy" isn't, nor has it ever been, included in the OED.

Limerick Judging

Blogs can be a good place to blow off a little steam. So here goes...

We have a limerick game on Wordcraft. It started out simply enough with a few of us having fun writing limericks about places. The place might be Hong Kong or London or Paris. However, as happens in life, I suppose, it has gotten serious. People from OEDILF have joined us. People aren't happy with just one submission, so they've been submitting lots more. The judging has been fair, I suppose, but I surely haven't always agreed with it, on many different fronts. Then there is my intense competitiveness. Not winning has been wearing on me. So, I've decided not to submit limericks anymore. I like my limericks, and I am not going to let others make me feel bad about them.

Speaking of limericks, here is the limerick that will start a chapter I am writing:

In nursing let's bring to fruition
A standardized course to transition
New nurses to practice,
Like docs, cuz the fact is
It's a safety, no-brainer position!

A Cuban in London

I enjoy Google Alerts because they keep me updated on all new "epicaricacy" citations in the Internet. This was a nice discussion of the word. I'd love to see A Cuban in London on Wordcraft!

Reviewing Abstracts

Recently I have had the privilege of reviewing some abstracts for the Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and the British Medical Journal (BMJ). The conference planners of course gave us lots of information about what they wanted us to consider in the reviews. What they didn't give us, though, was how to evaluate international abstracts. I have to say, it was hard to be completely objective with some of them. For example, one abstract from Iran said, "Praise be to God if this abstract gets accepted." Many were very unclear and ungrammatical, but it was most likely because English was obviously their second language. Others were at quite an elementary level, but again those countries (like Albania) are not as medically advanced as the U.S. is.

So, it wasn't easy to be objective, but I believe I succeeded. It was so interesting to see the difference across the world.

Another Limerick

For president Sarah L. Palin
Campaigns, though it clearly is failin'.
Joe six pack's not working,
And doubts are sure lurking,
With all the supporters she's hailin'!

The Political Disdain of Words

This has been the strangest political campaign. The candidates who have excelled in communication, including both writing and speaking, are being criticized for it. Indeed, a command of the English language has been laughed at. Being able to put together an intelligent, rational sentence and to support your views with facts and figures, and other evidence, is considered elitist. Instead, we're told, you must use "down-home" words and phrases like "Joe Six-Pack" or string together a bunch of words that make no sense at all. The New Yorker says it best with this article.

Just think, in less than a month this campaign will all be over. YES!