"Though she and Emma McLaughlin had written the “The Nanny Diaries,” Ms. Kraus’s professional success had not translated into dating success.
So last year Ms. Kraus decided to dedicate their latest novel, “Dedication” (Simon & Schuster, 2007), to her husband.
No, she wasn’t married. But she was hopeful." - edythe via Bookmarklet
omg, Lisa, thank you, thank you, thank you for really and truly making me laugh aloud (um, that has absolutely no reflection on Brandon - just comical and unexpected)! - edythe
Heh heh... Not just lqtm - laughing quietly to myself?? I'm here all week, edythe. And I've already quit my day job. :-P - Lisa L. Seifert
"English will become more like Chinese in other ways, too. Some grammatical appendages unique to English (such as adding do or did to questions) will drop away, and our practice of not turning certain nouns into plurals will be ignored. Expect to be asked: "How many informations can your flash drive hold?" In Mandarin, Cantonese, and other tongues, sentences don't require subjects, which leads to phrases like this: "Our goalie not here yet, so give chance, can or not?"" - Ana
This article was fascinating. Reshared from Chris's feed. For once, I wish that our FOAFing were less aggressive so I could just "like" it and more people would see it... - Ana
Heh I shared this on Reader as well with my personal favorite "Please do the needful" as a comment. - Erica Baker
Reminds me of a recent episode of Radio Lab on NPR. I never knew about tonal languages before hearing it. Fascinating. - Harvey Simmons
The title is misleading. Languages have been spoken imperfectly by foreign speakers since time immemorial, but has that impacted the way the standard dialects are pronounced? Also iiuc you don't have what's defind as a dialect until you have a group of native speakers. - j1m
@jim Yes. Language is ever mutating in large part to cross-cultural saturaton. Every language historically shows this. - Michael W. May via twhirl
well, we have similar effect in Russian where language norm is kept more stringently (since Russian empire) - like changing noun's gender for irregular (borrowed) nouns, etc - silpol
it is fascinating to see so many French words in english traced back to 1066 normandie conquest. - Pokai
Why did you bother to read them all? I just cannot relate to my gender much of the time... understand things like this, yes, to a point, but I don't 'get it'. - Michael W. May
I don't know. i couldn't stop. i guess i wanted to come across more that weren't so hateful. there were a few... - edythe
Well, regardless of gender politics, it was a story about one human being treating another human being quite poorly without actually telling him why. And quite effectively told. That basic sense of unfairness certainly would draw out the hurt feelings of anyone who's ever felt trampled upon when they thought they were putting forward only honest benevolent emotion. This engenders bitterness, even anger and rage, and of course the internet is the place to anonymously let loose your most basic feelings... - Nick
I think you could reverse the gender roles in the story quite easily... like one girl said in the comments "I’ve been this girl. I’ve been that guy, too." It was a harsh story.... and a lot of people in the world have been treated harshly many times. That is the plight of humans and we continue to get very angry about it.... - Nick
Many of the comment posts were written as if directed to the author of a blog post where this was a true telling. That is where the vicious and visceral came out most. That is what irks me. - Michael W. May via twhirl
That's more a testament to the talent of the writer I'd say.... that he created a powerful fictional character. - Nick
Well, a powerful piece of art provokes an emotional response..... I guess I just don't find it surprising..... People everywhere are hurt and in pain, frustrated and reactionary. This is the state of the world. Wars have been fought for less.... - Nick
"Is it my turquoise lighter holder,Or my voice, full of coins and strangulations,That compels the alcoholics, the men I literally live for,To repeatedly ask what I want? "Hey! What do you want?"I know girls who dance in bars and marry, like, firemen.This man here is so unemployed I could talk to himAll night. I'm saddled on a teetering labrador of lust, drunkAnd ready to fill up a station wagon. " - RAPatton
I can never quite call this type of thing is poetry. Passionate, yes. Vivid, yes. But I need more evident structure, and yes, rhyme to call it poetry. I call this artistic short essay ;) - Michael W. May
can't help it, I have to say, writing does not have to rhyme to be poetry. I'll need to listen to this sometime to see if this particular instance counts as poetry. - Kamilah Gill
oh, I know my view is old, old fashioned and in the miniority ;) - Michael W. May via twhirl
11 years after i first read it, i still think it's a pretty fucking awesome poem. i can understand why you wouldn't consider it poetry, mwm. but she really, really knew what she was doing when she wrote this. it is so tightly constructed, even while it sounds like a semi-lucid rant. god, I don't know if i will ever stop admiring this poem or this poet. - edythe
song was used to good effect at the climax of "Chacun Cherche son Chat" ("When the Cat's Away") - Karim
wow. i remember seeing that movie when it came out. and seeing the preview for Ponette and wanting to burst out laughing... (but i didn't!) sorry, i guess the Pollyverse is a sort of rough space today. - edythe
lol omg "Ponette" is on my list as possibly the most depressing film ever. I needed therapy afterwards. and you laughed at the trailer. bonus points. - Karim
SO COOL! How have I never seen this site before?!?! I love specific instructions! Did you see that they're doing an exhibit at BumberShoot in Seattle this year? - Lisa L. Seifert
yeah, lisa. :) there is a book, too. normally, i wouldn't think a book based on a web site would be very interesting, but i really like it. it's both funny and moving. it kept making me cry. - edythe
Oh, forgot the real comment. I'll drive off a road hundreds of feet into some canyon. Don't tell my friends and family...they'll be concerned. - Jim Stanger
"If you’re a slow reader, two people have died from it. It’s not your fault." Phew! Here I was thinking that having a learning disability was takin' folks out left and right. - Joanmarie
nathan, pretty sure you meant that "tongue-in-cheek" ;-) but there actually is a link between gum disease and heart disease. http://www.webmd.com/heart-dis... So you could probably roll up "gum disease" into the number 1 cause of death, heart disease. floss or die, peeps. - Karim
Don't let my wife see this. Inches from a motorcycle - Charlie Anzman
The day after July 4 it's good to know that the least likely way you will die is fireworks discharge. - Kevin Shannon
I was serious about gum disease. I'm with you there, Karim. Though I don't floss. - nathan
oh! well apologies for the didacticism, then :-D but what's up with the no flossing? are you TRYING to kill yourself? (and would "not flossing" roll up into "suicide?" But I digress...) one of life's little pleasures is having a cute dental hygienist lean over you and tell you your gums are in great shape. - Karim
yes, i, too, am now worried that nathan is suicidal. those odds are kind of surprising, too. (rap, i'll be checking for your e-mail soon. ;) ) - edythe
