Monday, November 30, 2009

Spelling Challenge

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Hey! What's the Spelling Challenge doing here on Monday? I decided to test your spelling skills at the beginning of the week rather than at the end! So let's get those brain cells all fired up and see how you do! Get your sticky note and pen, and write down the correct spelling for the ten words below.


NO PEEKING!
Peek
(Still loving this little peeking furry!)


1. falascious
2. drunkeness
3. subpeona
4. peurile
5. irrascible
6. deterance
7. viscious
8. afficianado
9. rhythym
10. tarrif


If you spell all ten words correctly, you get the beautiful sparkling gold glitter star! Good Luck!

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Whether or not you get your star, everyone gets this spray of PURPLE glitter stars for your efforts! It just wouldn't be right not to have purple stars as part of the Spelling Challenge, now would it?

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ANSWERS:

1. fallacious
2. drunkenness
3. subpoena
4. puerile
5. irascible
6. deterrence
7. vicious
8. aficionado
9. rhythm
10. tariff



Keep a smile on your face, spread some HAPPY, and

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Sunday, November 22, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

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"I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new."

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~



There will be no posts this week on CCP. I will be having a rather busy week in preparation of the holiday, and with all details yet to be worked out, things are rather unpredictable at this point.


I'm hoping to be able to take a moment here and there to peek in on things!


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~ Treasure the time with family and friends ~
Enjoy and celebrate the festivities of Thanksgiving!

Blessings to you all!
~ Crystal ~




Friday, November 20, 2009

Spelling Challenge

Fun Friday


It's Fun Friday's Spelling Challenge! Also, at the very end of this post is yesterdays Thorough Thursday Challenge, with the misspelled words highlighted in red.

Okay! Write down the correct spelling for today's words, and as usual the answers are listed below.


NO PEEKING!
Peek
(I just love this little peeking furry!)


1. temprament
2. boundry
3. seargant
4. acheivement
5. promissary
6. disasterous
7. surreptitous
8. absense
9. superintendant
10. exorbitant

BONUS WORD
sacriligeous


Time to see which if you get to add to that collection of virtual stars!
Spelling all 10 words correctly
gets you get a sparkling GOLD star!

Gold Star

Spell the bonus word correctly,
and you get the prized, very special, much coveted and very beautiful
Crystal Clear Proofing PURPLE star! It's a great star, isn't it?
Purple Star

Spell all 10 AND the bonus word correctly
will get a GOLD AND a PURPLE star!
(I know, the excitement is overwhelming!)




ANSWERS:

1. temperament
2. boundary
3. sergeant
4. achievement
5. promissory
6. disastrous
7. surreptitious
8. absence
9. superintendent
10. exorbitant

BONUS WORD:
sacrilegious


Yup, I did slip one in on you this week. "Exorbitant" was spelled correctly. Did I stump you? At least cause you to wonder about it?

So how many more stars did you get to add to your ever-growing collection this week? In place of having your name in lights, I had to keep with the whole star theme, and offer everyone a fun fireworks star! Tah-Dah!

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Now, here is yesterday's Thorough Thursday post in its entirety, with the errors corrected and highlighted in red.

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Original weblogs had to be manually updated through multiple sections of a common website. The creation of the majority of tools that allow authoring and maintenance of articles posted in a reverse chronological order, initiated a much easier publishing process, for a less technical, expansive population. The result was the forming of a direct class for what is known as online publishing, which has given us the blogs we see today. Obtaining blog software like WordPress, Blogger and LiveJournal are available through a number of web hosting services. This provides blinding speed and instant reaction to any concern or topic on the "global podium."

Since 2002 blogs have gained notoriety and credibility for their part in breaking, shaping and spinning news stories. It has become a way of throwing important information into the public limelight. It now, for all intent and purposes, drives mainstream media by forcing them to follow their lead. Blogging has become a priceless tool for quality communication and a way for intelligent people to provide intelligent and valuable insight, opinions and information.

In 1999 new software services like Blogger and LiveJournal were launched, making blogs much simpler to create.

Today, more than one blog is created every second and there are currently over 100,000 million blogs worldwide.

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Every one of you deserves recognition, and that's why we must continue the tradition of spreading the now famous Crystal Clear Proofing HAPPY! This week you all get to put a smile on your face with this happy DANCING STAR!

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Remember to live each moment, count your lucky stars, feel some HAPPY, and then spread it around!

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Thursday, November 19, 2009

Thoroughness Challenge

Thoroughly Thursday
Thoroughly Thursday is a weekly post consisting of paragraphs that contain spelling and/or grammatical errors, and your job is to find them. Please do not list the errors you find within the post. The same post is repeated at the end of Fun Friday's Spelling Challenge, with the errors corrected and highlighted in red.

Note: Names and places will NOT be misspelled, nor will there by any changes to punctuation. In addition, if there is a word that may have more than one accepted form or there is more than one accepted spelling, those also will not be changed. That would not be fair...the purpose of the Challenge is thoroughness, not technicalities.


This week your Challenge paragraphs continue with the history of blogs and blogging as they evolve and begin to immerge as the blogs we're familiar with today. This week you're looking for 11 errors. Good Luck!


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Original weblogs had to be manually updated threw multiple sections of a common website. The creation of the majority of tools that allow authoring and maintainance of articals posted in a reverse chronilogical order, initiated a much easier publishing process, for a less technical, expansive population. The result was the forming of a direct class for what is known as online publishing, which has given us the blogs we see today. Obtaining blog software like WordPress, Blogger and LiveJournal are availible through a number of web hosting services. This provides blinding speed and instant reaction to any concern or topic on the "global podium."

Since 2002 blogs have gained notoriaty and credability for there part in braking, shaping and spinning news stories. It has become a way of throwing important infomation into the public limelight. It now, for all intents and purposes, drives mainstream media by forcing them to follow there lead. Blogging has become a priceless tool for quality communication and a way for intelligent people to provide intelligent and valuable insight, opinions and information.

In 1999 new software services like Blogger and LiveJournal were launched, making blogs much simpler to create.

Today, more than one blog is created every second and there are currently over 100,000 million blogs worldwide.

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blog button


Be sure to check back tomorrow to see how thorough you are!




Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Wednesday's Weird Word

Wednesday's Word


Wednesday's Word is a weekly feature which gives you the opportunity to grow your vocabulary with a not-very-common and/or not-frequently-used word.


Today's word is: SCUNNER, and its pronounciation is: skun-er.

Scunner is noun, meaning a strong dislike; an aversion.


Personally, I have a definite scunner of spiders.

As a matter of fact, I was going to include a picture of a spider in this post, and I couldn't do it! I didn't want to "see" that all day! *shudder*


So, is there anything or anyone that you take a scunner to?



See you back next Wednesday for another new, weird word!





Tuesday, November 17, 2009

One Word vs. Two Words

Techie Tuesday

Several words in our language can be spelled as one word or as two, depending on its meaning. Below is a list of a few such words, with sample sentences on how they are used.

Almost - all most
The plane was almost (nearly) three hours late.
We are all most pleased (all very much pleased) with the new schedule.

Already - all ready
The order had already (previously) been shipped.
The order is all ready (all prepared) to be shipped.

Altogether - all together
He is altogether (entirely) too lazy to be a success.
The papers are all together (all in a group) on your desk.

Always - all ways
She has always (at all times) done good work.
We have tried in all ways (by all methods) to keep our employees satisfied.

Anytime - any time
Come see us anytime you are in town, (one word meaning "whenever").
Did you have dealings with him at any time in the past? (Two words after a preposition such as at.)

Anyway - any way
Anyway (in any case), we can't spare him now.
If we can help in any way (by any method), please let us know.

Awhile - a while
One word as an adverb; two words as a noun.

You may have to wait awhile. (Adverb.)
You may have to wait for a while. (Noun; object of for.)

Everyday - every day
You'll soon master the everyday (ordinary or daily) routine of the job.
He has called every day (each day) this week.

Into - in to
He walked into the outer office. (Into implies entry.)
He came in to see me. (In is part of the verb phrase came in; to is part of the infinitive to see.)

Indifferent - in different
She was indifferent (not caring one way or the other) to the offer.
He like our idea, but he wanted it expressed in different (in other) words.

Maybe - may be
Maybe is an adverb; may be is a verb.

If we don't receive a letter from them today, maybe (an adverb meaning perhaps) we should call.
He may be (a verb) out of town next week.

Onto - on to
He lost control of the car and drove onto the sidewalk. (Onto implies movement toward and then over.)
Let's go on to the next problem. (On is an adverb in the verb phrase go on; to is a preposition.)

Someday - some day
Please set up a meeting with them someday next week.
Please set up a meeting with them for some day next week. (Two words when used as the object of a preposition such as for.)

Sometime - some time
The order will be shipped sometime (at some unspecified time) next week.
It took me some time (a period of time) to complete the job.

Whoever - who ever
Whoever (anyone who) is elected secretary should write that letter at once.
Who ever made such a statement? (Ever is an adverb.)


At times you'll find two words spelled as one, and the resulting one word is not a word at all, (a good example is alot). Our language has many such situations, rules, and exceptions to rules. This is why many people feel intimidated and frustrated by grammar.



Source: The Gregg Reference Manual



Monday, November 16, 2009

Fun Facts

Monday Menagerie

In addition to motivational and inspiring thoughts, I'm a fan of trivia and what some call "useless knowledge." In my humble opinion, no knowledge is useless, but regardless, below is a list of some interesting fun facts. And who knows, these pieces of information might just come in handy with your writing! Anyway, they are fun little tidbits!


- All swans in England are the property of the queen or king.

- Urban birds have developed a short, fast "rap style" of singing, different from their rural counterparts.

- In Hong Kong, a betrayed wife is legally allowed to kill her cheating adulterous husband but she may only do so with her bare hands.

- Adding a drop of olive oil and lemon juice to an ice cube then running it over your face gives you better results than some expensive skin care products.

- You will weigh less if you weigh yourself when the moon is full.

- Honeybees never sleep.

- Every day is about 55 billionths of a second longer than the day before it.

- Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.

- Earthworms have five hearts.

- Fingerprints of koalas are similar (in pattern, shape and size) to the fingerprints of humans.

- If an Amish man has a beard, he is married.

- If a native Hawaiian woman places the flower on her right ear, she is available, (the bigger the flower, the more desperate).

- Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.

- Fathers tend to determine the height of their child, mothers their weight.

- A "lost world" exists in the Indonesian jungle that is home to dozens of hitherto unknown animal and plant species.

- As of 2006, more than one in eight people in the United States showed signs of addiction to the internet.

Mmmm...2006 is nearly 4 years ago. I wonder how many people are currently addicted to the internet...or better yet to blogging. After searching for an answer to that, the best I could find was that it is "in the millions."


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Friday, November 13, 2009

Spelling Challenge

Fun Friday


It's Fun Friday's Spelling Challenge! Also, at the end of this post are the words that were misspelled in the Thorough Thursday Challenge.

Do you have your sticky note and pen ready? Great! Let's get started! Write down the correct spelling for this week's words, and as usual the answers are listed below.


NO PEEKING!
Peek


1. vigilent
2. souvenier
3. occurance
4. noticable
5. alledged
6. definately
7. leutenant
8. noticable
9. existance
10. hiararchy

BONUS WORD
onomatopia


Now lets see if you can add to that collection of virtual stars you have!
As you know, If you spell all 10 words correctly
you get a sparkling GOLD star! (Isn't it pretty?)

Gold Star

If you spell the bonus word correctly
you get the prized, very special, much coveted and very beautiful
Crystal Clear Proofing PURPLE star!
Purple Star

For spelling all the words, including the bonus word correctly
you get a GOLD AND a PURPLE star!
(And you ROCK!)




ANSWERS:

1. vigilant
2. souvenir
3. occurrence
4. noticeable
5. alleged
6. definitely
7. lieutenant
8. noticeable
9. existence
10. hierarchy

BONUS WORD:
onomatopoeia


Because this week's bonus word is not all that common, I'm going to just make your day with its pronounciation and definition! Isn't that exciting? (Just play along with me, I'm having fun here...) LOL!

Onomatopoeia is a noun whose meaning is: The formation or use of words such as buzz or murmur that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions they refer to. It is pronounced:
ahn-ah-mat-oh-PE-ah.


So? How'd you do this week? How many of those stunning stars do you get to add to your collection? To those of you who earned stars...

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Here is yesterday's Thorough Thursday post in its entirety, with the errors corrected and highlighted in red.

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Blogging has become a whole separate world from the internet. Blogging actually came to the surface back in 1983, when it was referred to as "Usenet." It was considered a primary medium for moderated newsgroups which provided an area for posting discussions on virtually any topic, but was moderated by individuals or small groups. It wasn't until 1994, just a few years after the world wide web was created, that blogs evolved into what is more commonly referred to as an "online diary."

Blogging, while starting out slow, has rapidly gained popularity as a tool for many individuals, organizations and corporations, as a medium to stay in touch with and provide a means of creating an information system. On the individual platform, it is a way for average citizens to have a venue to communicate, reach out and provide feedback on practically any subject humanly conceivable.

The term "blog" was derived from what most knew as "web-logs." The term “weblog” meaning a regularly updated collection of links to other sites and comments, was originally coined by Jorn Barger in 1997, though what is commonly understood as blogging began as early as 1996. In May of 1999, Peter Merholz coined the term "blog" in a posting on his personal blog site, by mischievously breaking down the word weblog to "we blog." The "we" was eventually dropped, resulting in the term we are all familiar with: blog.

In broad terms, a blog is commonly thought of as an online journal, though they can range from intimate personal diaries to more journalistic newsletters. Some blogs focus on a narrow selection of topics of interest to the author, while other blogs cover a much wider range of topics.

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As always, you all deserve recognition for your efforts! We must continue the tradition of spreading the famous Crystal Clear Proofing HAPPY and award everyone with the SMILEY STAR!

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And wishing you all a very

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Thursday, November 12, 2009

Thoroughness Challenge

Thoroughly Thursday
Thoroughly Thursday is a weekly post consisting of a couple of paragraphs that contain spelling and/or grammatical errors, and your job is to find them. Please do not list the errors you find within the post. The same post is repeated at the end of Fun Friday's Spelling Challenge, with the errors corrected and highlighted in red.

Note: Names and places will NOT be misspelled, nor will there by any changes to punctuation or capitalization. In addition, if there is a word that may have more than one accepted form or there is more than one accepted spelling, those also will not be changed. That would not be fair...the purpose of the Challenge is thoroughness, not technicalities.



This week your Challenge takes a look at the history of the blogs and blogging, and contains 9 errors.
Good Luck!



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Blogging has become a hole separate world from the internet. Blogging actually surfaced back in 1983, when it was referred to as "Usenet." It was considered a primary medium for moderated newsgroups which provided an area for posting discussions on virtually any topic, but was moderated by individuals or small groups. It wasn't until 1994, just a few years after the world wide web was created, that blogs evolved into what is more commonly referred to as an online diary.

Blogging, while starting out slow, has rapidly gained popularity as a tool for many individuals, organizations and corporations, as a medium to stay in touch with and provide a means of creating an infomation system. On the individual platform, it is a way for average citizens to have a venue to communicate, reach out and provide feedback on practicaly any subject humanly concievable.

The term blog was derived form what most knew as web-logs. The term weblog meaning a regularly updated collection of links to other sites and comments, was originally coined by Jorn Barger in 1997, though what is commonly understood as blogging began as early as 1996. In May of 1999, Peter Merholz coined the term blog in a posting on his personal blog sight, by mischieviously braking down the word weblog to we blog. The we was eventually dropped, resulting in the term we are all familar with: blog.

In broad terms, a blog is commonly thought of as an online journal, though they can range from intimate personal diaries to more journalistic newsletters. Some blogs focus on a narrow selection of topics of interest to the author, while other blogs cover a much wider range of topics.

*******************************************************************************

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Be sure to check back tomorrow to see how
thorough you are!






Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Wednesday's Weird Word

Wednesday's Word


This a weekly feature where you have the opportunity to grow your vocabulary with a not-very-common and/or not-frequently-used word.


Today's Wednesday's Word is: GALIMATIAS, and its pronounciation is: gal-uh-mey-shee-uhs.

GALIMATIAS is a noun, meaning nonsense, or gibberish; confused, meaningless jargon; confused or unintelligible talk.

After several drinks, it was difficult to have an intelligent conversation with him, as most of what he was saying was galimatias.


Use galimatias in a conversation today! This one you could really have some fun with!


See you back next Wednesday for another new, weird word!




In appreciation to all who have served or are serving our country - THANK YOU and Happy Veterans' Day!

Remember to thank our Veterans today!





Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Levels of Editing

Techie Tuesday

Yesterday you were given a general look at proofreading and copyediting. Today I'll offer more detail regarding the differences between the two, and also provide you with a synopsis of the various levels of editing.


There is clearly an overlap in the type of work expected of proofreaders and copyeditors.

Proofreaders don't see things the way other people do. They scrutinize. When something is awry, their warning buzzer goes off, and they pore over every last letter and shred of punctuation to hammer the copy into error-free perfection.

Copyeditors step deeper into the intricacies of voice, language and plot, and they maintain grammatical and tonal consistency. A copyeditor will analyze, process and transform copy into intelligible, easy-to-understand prose.

An interesting fact about the word copy is that as an English word, it's related to "copious." Both are from the same Latin root that means plenty or abundance. Copy is the message that comes across.


LEVELS OF EDITING

Standard proofreading involves making sure writing is free of mechanical errors - in spelling, punctuation, consistency, and some elements of formatting - and is grammatically correct.

Editorial proofreading encompasses all the tasks involved in standard proofreading, plus a few minor tweaks to ensure clarity and correct word choice.

Copyediting involves all proofreading tasks and also improves phrasing and organization to make the writing more effective.

Substantive editing calls for a greater level of rewriting and reorganization and even the suggestion of new approaches and ideas.


With standard proofreading the goal is to ensure clarity through correctness and consistency, and by watching to be sure the discussion generally makes sense. If it doesn't, a query of the client is needed. At this level pointing out a which that should be a that or noting that a word has been used three times in two sentences is about all the writing reconstruction the job description covers.

Editorial proofreading opens more doors for change. It's expected that more be done, but still nothing extreme. At this level, rather than simply offering suggestions, changes - again, nothing major - can and should be changed.

At the level of copyediting, language is shaped a bit more. Sentences are evaluated: Is it wordy? Ambiguous? Repetitious? Appropriate for its audience? Logical? Does the main point stand out? The work is considered as a whole: Are the topics presented in an effective order, or would another order make the information clearer? Copyediting involves questioning the manuscript constantly; however, the level at which this is done depends on whether a client is looking for light, medium or heavy copyediting.

Substantive editing is the most hands-on level of editing. It's also called content editing. It addresses not just how something is said, but what is being said. License is given to simply rewrite portions of text or reorganize the work to present content more effectively.


Ideally, editorial changes are made first, followed by proofreading to catch small items that may have been overlooked along the way. The line between proofreading and copyediting is very often blurred, and in reality, a little - or a lot - of both are done when editing a manuscript.

Copyediting is done early in the process to solve larger problems that could have a big effect later in the process. To copyedit is to check consistency and accuracy. Although part of copyediting may be to proofread to remove common errors, a copyeditor must also maintain the structure and tone of the project.

Proofreading is done to look for typos, misspellings, and other on-the-surface errors. Proofreading is usually done toward the end of the process; the book has already been designed and all the material is present.

Very often both are performed simultaneously, with more emphasis on copyediting initially, and thorough proofreading being performed to "polish" the project - unless of course the editor is asked specifically to find only the errors that fall under the category of standard proofreading.


No matter what level of editing is performed, the message being conveyed by the writer must be crystal clear!


150





Partial Source: McGraw-Hill Desk Reference for Editors, Writers and Proofreaders



Monday, November 9, 2009

A Look Into "Proofreading"

Monday Menagerie

The following is taken from the first post I wrote when I entered the blogosphere. I'm featuring it today as an introduction of tomorrow's post, where I'll provide a more in-depth look at the subject.

There's More to Proofreading Than Just Reading!

Part of the job of a good proofreader is to not only find the errors, but also having the ability to find the right words to get the writer's message across to the reader in a clear and concise manner.

Proofreading itself involves pretty much the obvious: misspelled words, incorrect punctuation and grammatical errors.

Copyediting is another aspect and is a bit more involved. When editing written material, a copyeditor looks for proper structure and "flow." The last thing a reader wants is to have to "work" at reading. The written words should be as readable as if they were being spoken aloud. Of course this goes without saying that the speaker be well-versed in the proper use of the English language.

So, you have proofreading for spelling, punctuation and grammar; copyediting for structure and proper content. What other element or skill is essential in the process of polishing a manuscript?

Writing. In order to be of value to a client, a "proofreader" should definitely possess excellent writing abilities. If something is written without proper format or composition, how could that possibly be remedied unless your editor has the ability to find the right words and use them in the correct order, so that what you are writing is understandable and reads with ease?

What is most commonly referred to as proofreading obviously involves more than merely finding a misplaced comma or a misspelled word. Please be sure to read tomorrow's post, where I'll provide a more detailed look into the differences between proofreading and copyediting - and the various levels of editing.



Friday, November 6, 2009

Spelling Challenge

Fun Friday


It's Fun Friday's Spelling Challenge! And, at the very end of this post are the words that were misspelled in yesterday's Thorough Thursday challenge.

Do you have your sticky note and pen ready? Great! Let's get started! Write down the correct spelling for this week's words. As usual the answers are listed below.


NO PEEKING!
Peek


1. athiest
2. bellweather
3. concensus
4. dumbell
5. exhilerate
6. hierachy
7. innoculate
8. liason
9. occurrance
10. pronounciation

BONUS WORD
perogative


Now lets see if you can add to that collection of virtual stars you have!
As you know, If you spell all 10 words correctly
you get a sparkling GOLD star! (Isn't it pretty?)

Gold Star

If you spell the bonus word correctly
you get the prized, very special, much coveted and very beautiful
Crystal Clear Proofing PURPLE star!
Purple Star

For spelling all the words, including the bonus word correctly
you get a GOLD AND a PURPLE star!
(And you ROCK!)




ANSWERS:

1. atheist
2. bellwether
3. consensus
4. dumbbell
5. exhilarate
6. hierarchy
7. inoculate
8. liaison
9. occurrence
10. pronunciation

BONUS WORD:
prerogative



So? How'd you do this week? How many of those stunning stars do you get to add to your collection? To those of you who earned stars...

Congratulations!


Here is yesterday's Thorough Thursday post in its entirety, with the errors corrected and highlighted in red.

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Early History

The practice of making extra copies of manuscripts goes back to ancient times; in Rome there were booksellers—Horace mentions the Sosii, who were apparently brothers—and the copying of books by trained slaves reached considerable proportions. With the introduction of printing into Europe in the middle of the 15th century, book publishing sprang into lively existence. The author, the printer, and the publisher of a work were sometimes all the same person, as in the case of members of the Estienne family in France in the 16th cent. The differentiation of printer, publisher, and bookseller appeared early, however, as patrons of literature had books printed for distribution and booksellers had their printing done by others to meet the growing demand.

The Emergence of Publishing Houses

The first important publishing house (1583–1791) was that of the Elzevir family in Holland. The Elzevirs were businessmen rather than scholars, and the business of bookselling grew as literacy increased. Concurrently, printing, publishing, and bookselling spread learning across the West. Religious controversy bred polemics, and arguments printed in broadsides, pamphlets, and books were handed out zealously and bought eagerly by partisans. An interest in knowing the future also increased the amount of literature issued by bookseller-publishers, and almanacs and the like were issued for the wider public.


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Between the Spelling Challenge and the Thorougness Challenge, you all deserve a little recognition! So let's spread some of that famous Crystal Clear Proofing HAPPY and award everyone for their efforts with the fun, new SMILEY STAR!


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And wishing you all a very


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Thursday, November 5, 2009

Thoroughness Challenge

Thoroughly Thursday
Thoroughly Thursday is a weekly post consisting of a couple of paragraphs that contain spelling and/or grammatical errors, and your job is to find them. Please do not list the errors you find within the post. The same post will be repeated at the end of Fun Friday's Spelling Challenge, with the errors corrected and highlighted in red.

Note: Names and places will NOT be misspelled, nor will there by any changes to punctuation. In addition, if there is a word that may have more than one accepted form or there is more than one accepted spelling, those also will not be changed. That would not be fair...the purpose of the Challenge is thoroughness, not technicalities.



This week's paragraphs feature a little history on the first books published and the coming of age of the modern-day publishing houses. This excerpt is taken from Fun Trivia, and it contains 14 errors. Good Luck!


PresswithMen


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Early History

The practice of making extra copies of manuscripts goes back to ancient times; in Rome there were booksellers—Horace mentions the Sosii, who were apparantly brothers—and the copying of books by trained slaves reached considerable preportions. With the introduction of printing into Europe in the middle of the 15th century, book publshing sprang into lively existance. The author, the printer, and the publisher of a work were sometimes all the same person, as in the case of members of the Estienne family in France in the 16th century. The differentation of printer, publisher, and bookseller appeared early, however, as patrons of litrature had books printed for distribution and booksellers had their printing done by others to meet the growing demand.

The Emergance of Publishing Houses

The first importent publishing house (1583–1791) was that of the Elzevir family in Holland. The Elzevirs were businessmen rather than scholars, and the business of bookselling grew as literacy increased. Concurrantly, printing, publishing, and bookselling spred learning across the West. Religious contraversy bred polemics, and arguments printed in broadsides, pamphlets, and books were handed out zelously and bought eagerly by partesans. An interest in knowing the future also increased the amount of literature issued by bookseller-publishers, and almenacs and the like were issued for the wider public.


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Be sure to check back tomorrow to see how thorough you are!


PresswithBooks





Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Wednesday's Weird Word

Wednesday's Word


Wednesday's Word will be a weekly feature wherein I'll introduce a not-very-common and/or not-frequently-used word.


Today's Wednesday's Word is: NAUPATHIA.


NAUPATHIA is a noun, whose meaning is: seasickness.

She made sure she took medication with her on her cruise to help with her naupathia.



Try using naupathia in conversations! Have fun with it! See you back next Wednesday for another new, weird word!




Note: The source for many of the words I'll be featuring can be found at Luciferous Logolepsy. They are so obscure, I was actually unable to find some of them at a couple of common online dictionary references, such as The Free Dictionary.com. This one, however, is listed.



Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Apostrophe Use With Possessive Nouns

Techie Tuesday

How to use apostrophes with possessive nouns can, at times, be a little tricky. Here are a few tips on how and when to use the apostrophe when forming the possessive of certain nouns:


SINGULAR NOUNS

To form the possessive of a singular noun not ending in an s sound, add an apostrophe plus s to the noun.

Crystal's blog
California's coastline


To form the possessive of a singular noun that ends in an s sound, be guided by the way you pronounce the word.

a. If a new syllable is formed in the pronunciation of the possessive, add an apostrophe plus s.

The boss's approval
St. Louis's airport


b. If the addition of an extra syllable would make a word ending in an s sound awkward or hard to pronounce, add the apostrophe only.

Los Angeles' freeways
For goodness' sake
New Orleans' restaurants
For convenience' sake



PLURAL NOUNS

For a regular plural noun (one that ends in s), add only an apostrophe to form the plural possessive.

Investors' objectives
The witnesses' contradictions
The United States' policy
Attorneys' fees
The agencies' rules



REMEMBER...
Plural nouns that end in s take only an apostrophe, while singular nouns that end in s take an apostrophe plus s, (unless the apostrophe plus s sounds awkward).

The bosses' office - plural
The boss's office - singular
Los Angeles' freeways - singular, but Los Angeles's freeways sounds awkward.


For an irregular plural noun (one that does not end in s), add an apostrophe plus s to form the plural possessive.

Women's coats
Children's toys



A good way to avoid mistakes in forming the possessive of plural nouns, is to form the plural of the noun first, then apply whichever grammar rule above fits:


Singular Noun------------Plural Noun------------------------Plural Possessive
boy----------------------------boys (regular)----------------------boys'
boss--------------------------bosses (regular)------------------bosses'
child--------------------------children (irregular)----------------children's
mother-in-law--------------mothers-in-law (irregular)-------mothers-in-law's



An additional note...
Now to completely confuse you, some constructions can be tricky. For example, the use of back-to-back possessives. Say, for example, you want to refer to the children belonging to two brothers of your father, (i.e., your cousins). The double possessive would be: My father's brothers' children. You could even have a triple possessive with: My father's brothers' children's books. Ouch. Obviously best to stick with your cousins!

Also, a more common problem is the use of a possessive form when ownership is involved. Take the example above of: mothers-in-law's. Obviously we're referring to a possession of two or more mothers-in-law. Rather than, The mothers-in-law's purses, you could opt for: The purses of the mothers-in-law.


ADDENDUM...
I'm including this excerpt, as you will note is also in the reply to Diane's comment. Whether to add just the apostrophe or the apostrophe plus s to possessive nouns, including names, is very controversial; there seems to be no absolute and clear-cut rule:

According to the Chicago Manual of Style, for nouns ending in s: "the possessive of most singular nouns is formed by adding an apostrophe and an s, and the possessive of plural nouns by adding an apostrophe only...this practice is used in conjuction with the way possessive forms are generally pronounced." It goes on to add that, "...feelings on these matters sometimes run high..." thus ending in numerous exceptions and modifications to the general "rule."




Sources: Gregg Reference Manual, CMS, Grammarmudge



Monday, November 2, 2009

American and British English - Words

Monday Menagerie


In American and British English, there are some words and phrases with grammatical differences; one form being preferred in American English and another in British English, some words are spelled differently, and then there are some words which, though they mean the same thing, are completely different words. Below I've listed several common words in both American and British English. You may find yourself writing - or reading - a novel set in England, have a scene in a book with a British character or two, or simply find the following interesting, and maybe a little fun!


American vs. British

apartment = flat
argument = row
baby carriage = pram
backpack = rucksack
band-aid = plaster
bathroom = loo or WC (water closet)
can = tin
checking account = current account
cookie = biscuit
corn = maize
cotton candy = candy floss
cupcake = fairy cake
diaper = nappy
elevator = lift
eraser = rubber
flashlight = torch
fries = chips
gas = petrol
guy = bloke, chap
highway = motorway
hood (car) = bonnet
jello = jelly
jelly = jam
kerosene = paraffin
lawyer = solicitor
license plate = number plate
loose change = slummy
lucky = spawny
mail = post
motor home = caravan
movie theater = cinema
muffler = silencer
napkin = serviette
nothing = nought
overpass = flyover
pacifier = dummy
pants = trousers
parking lot = car park
period = full stop
pharmacist = chemist
police officer = bobby
popsicle - ice lolly
potato chips = crisps
rent = hire
sandwich = butty
sidewalk = pavement
soccer = football
soda, pop - fizzy drink
stuffed animal = cuddly toy
sweater = jumper
trash can = bin or dust bin
truck = lorry
trunk (car) = boot
underwear = smalls
vacation = holiday
vest = waistcoat
windshield (car) = windscreen
zip code = postal code


Mmm...I think for lunch I'll make myself a bitty and have a fizzy drink. And as soon as I finish typing this sentence, you'll notice that I've used a full stop.




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