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Post by Barry on Jun 23, 2008 9:39:46 GMT
And, of course, lox means 'liquid oxygen'. There's a potential typing-error disaster awaiting NASA there, I've always thought ...
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Post by Pete on Jun 23, 2008 14:53:37 GMT
And, of course, lox means 'liquid oxygen'. There's a potential typing-error disaster awaiting NASA there, I've always thought ... So bagels and lox is very cold bread rings?
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Post by Pete on Jun 29, 2008 1:38:59 GMT
An episode of Law and Order that I have just seen had a guest star called Howard Overshown.
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Post by Rajesh Valluri AKA Raj on Jul 10, 2008 7:03:31 GMT
I am reading the book "The adventure of English" by Melvy Bragg. Since the author is bragging about how great and powerful the English language is, I thought he earns a place in this post. What do you guys think?
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Post by Verbivore on Jul 10, 2008 9:28:26 GMT
Raj: I'll pay that. I've not seen the book, but I did watch the tv series (a rarity for one who hasn't lived with an idiot box for more than 30 years). Neighbours who share my interest in language invited me to watch the series with them. I quite enjoyed it, though Mr Bragg's style was possibly a tad, er, overenthusiastic, so your inclusion of him in this thread is possibly appropriate. Thanks for the contribution.
PS: Did Bragg actually research and write the book, or is it one of those volumes based on a tv series and then attributed to the program's presenter (though possibly ghost-written)?
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Post by Rajesh Valluri AKA Raj on Jul 10, 2008 13:26:28 GMT
Raj: I'll pay that. I've not seen the book, but I did watch the tv series (a rarity for one who hasn't lived with an idiot box for more than 30 years). Neighbours who share my interest in language invited me to watch the series with them. I quite enjoyed it, though Mr Bragg's style was possibly a tad, er, overenthusiastic, so your inclusion of him in this thread is possibly appropriate. Thanks for the contribution. PS: Did Bragg actually research and write the book, or is it one of those volumes based on a tv series and then attributed to the program's presenter (though possibly ghost-written)? Thanks for the response Verbivore. It was quite a compelling read. The author claims that this book is result of years of research for his television work and other assignments. He has acknowledged some contributors and it is mainly his work.
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Post by Verbivore on Jul 10, 2008 15:17:43 GMT
Thanks, Raj. I shall pursue a copy of the book on your recommendation. Always looking for some good reading, and finding it ever harder to come by. There are times I think I'm just read out and it's all down hill henceforth!
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Post by Paul Doherty on Jul 10, 2008 15:51:24 GMT
Lord Bragg is quite a respected academic, TV executive, broadcaster and novelist -- he's a lot more than just a celebrity presenter. I'd be surprised if most of the research and ideas weren't his own.
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Post by Verbivore on Jul 10, 2008 16:18:09 GMT
Thanks for that, Paul. Out here in the Antipodean colonies we miss out on so much. (I'd never heard of Bragg until I watched that series.)
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Post by Twoddle on Jul 10, 2008 18:18:18 GMT
I imagine the TV series is the one I watched a year or two ago. It was interesting and easy viewing, but there were quite a few errors in it: dog-eared factoids that even I knew had been debunked. Nevertheless, it was both educative and entertaining.
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Post by Pete on Jul 10, 2008 19:18:09 GMT
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Post by Tone on Jul 10, 2008 20:40:55 GMT
Vv, > Always looking for some good reading, and finding it ever harder to come by. There are times I think I'm just read out and it's all down hill henceforth! <Er, Pratchett, Asimov, Heinlein? Should keep you going. (Dunno where to, though. ) Tone
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Post by Verbivore on Jul 11, 2008 0:02:39 GMT
Thanks, Tone. Done Asimov and Heinlein decades ago, but Pratchett not yet encountered (except in your previous mentions of him). I have - or used to have - a pattern whereby if I found my first reading of an author adequately satisfying I would acquire all that author's work and read it in series over a week or three. It's been a long time, however, since I've found anything inspiring enough to follow that pattern. No doubt my occupation has jaded me somewhat, and I can no longer enjoy anything that I find of less than a rather high standard (and, of course, of appropriate subject matter). Car workshop manuals don't qualify - they are purely utilitarian. As a 16-year-old I acquired the 54-volume set of Great Books of the Western World (at that time published by Britannica). In two years I had read (if not necessarily understood) the lot - during my two final years of secondary school (and still managed to matriculate!). That literary experience set the bar rather high, and whilst not everything I choose to read need be of that quality, I certainly don't go for popular potboilers. Give me some more James Baldwin, Gore Vidal, Salman Rushdie, Mary Renault, Douglas Adams, Arthur C Clarke, Patrick White, EM Forster, Thomas Kennealy, Hanif Kureishi, Roald Dahl, Jean Genet, William S Burroughs ... . Oh dear - the thought of all those good writers makes me want to burn the dross I'm working on and go for a long drive in the bush!
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Post by amanda on Jul 11, 2008 7:46:16 GMT
I have - or used to have - a pattern whereby if I found my first reading of an author adequately satisfying I would acquire all that author's work and read it in series over a week or three. I've just done that with Daphne Du Maurier. Don't know why, but until recently her work had passed me by; however once I'd started I couldn't stop.
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Post by Barry on Jul 11, 2008 10:54:32 GMT
Vv,
Have a crack at Alan Hollighurst (start with The Swimming Pool Library). He's written four books so far - not a series, but all excellently written novels. The most recent (The Line of Beauty) won the Booker in 2004, and was serialised on BBC TV. Quite strong stuff, mind you ...
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