True to Words

STOP SOPA & PIPA

2012-01-18T00:00:00.000-06:00

I can't figure out the HTML to blacking out my blog for today, and all the websites that could teach me how to do it are blacked out! So I'm just going to post this instead.

Excellent explanation from Stanford Law as to why SOPA and PIPA must be stopped and rewritten.
Google infographic showing the numbers and variety of people protesting these bills.
Sign the petition or write your federal representatives.

A Compilation of Word Lists for 2011 & 2012

2012-01-12T09:00:00.000-06:00

The end of one year and beginning of the New Year always means that people will come up with different types of lists to try to capture an image of what happened. There are lists of popular gadgets, amazing scientific discoveries, best selling cars and, of course, words.

Every year, there are at least a dozen different major word lists and countless more minor words lists. So inspired, even made my own top words of 2011 for True to Words. Here is a compilation of some of the best word lists for 2011, as well as predictions for 2012.

Global Language Monitor's Top 10 Words of 2011
Employing a technology known as NarrativeTracker, the Global Language Monitor analyzes English language usage on social media, the Internet, the blogosphere and in the top 75,000 print and electronic global media sources in order to select the 10 most used terms of the year.

American Dialect Society's 2011 Words of the Year
In its 22nd annual words of the year vote, the American Dialect Society determined the most useful, creative, unnecessary, outrageous, euphemistic and other words for the 2011 year. This is a fun list!

Most overused LinkedIn profile words of 2011
The online professional network LinkedIn analyzed the resumes of its 135 million users to determine that the term "creative" is most overused term on profiles in the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Dang, creativity is one of my favorite words!

Most Annoying Words of 2011
Once again, the Marist Poll has revealed the word or phrase considered to be the most annoying in casual conversation. For the third consecutive year, “whatever” is the "winner" of this title for 2011.

Top Ten Most Politically Contentious Terms of 2011
The intro sentence says it all: "The year 2011 was tumultuous for politics. With both ends of the political spectrum deeply committed to their ideologies, the rhetoric and vitriol each used to attack the other side’s priorities have been more contentious and polarizing than ever."

Banished Words For 2012
In 1976, Lake Superior State University in Michigan released its first "List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Overuse and General Uselessness". Here is your list for 2012!

Top Words of 2012 Predictions
The Global Language Monitor not only analyzed the popular words of 2011, it made predictions for what the most-used words of this year might be. Are you prepared to peek into the future of language?

Top 10 True to "Words" of 2011

2012-01-10T09:00:00.000-06:00

Thanks to the fun of Wordle, I have discovered how word counts can be interesting when applied over periods of time or publications. For the first time, I have created my own "Top Words of 2011," based on the posts published on True to Words throughout the year. Here they are, in descending order.

post
language
word
new
year
people
write
time
first
world

These words make sense, considering this blog covers language and communication topics across geography and time. I look forward to seeing how this list might change in the coming years.

True to Words' Top 10 Posts of 2011

2012-01-09T09:00:00.000-06:00

Gotta jump on the bandwagon for end-of-the-Old-Year/beginning-of-the-New-Year blog content. But I like doing these, so nyah! Without further ado, the top 10 most-viewed blog posts for True to Words in 2011.

10. Gender Stereotyping & Word Clouds: A Random Post

One of my attempts at a mini-post, inspired by The Achilles Effect, "Word Cloud: How Toy Ad Vocabulary Reinforces Gender Stereotypes". Eye-opening, for the informal research and for introducing me to how fun word clouds could be.

9. Bad Ad Placement Example #2

Part of my Blogging New Year's Resolutions for 2011 included doing more "Bad Ad Placement Examples." I did exactly one last year, but it still counts as a continuation of a previous topic, right? Right. This one happened to be placing headlines about Osama Bin Laden's sea burial next to "Catch of a Lifetime" ads for Chevy and an unusually unappetizing ad for a Fish and Chips special.

8. 27% of Congressional Communication is Taunting

I loved this post about a Harvard University analysis of Congress' language toward each other that showed nearly one-third of their communications are taunting in nature. I would love to see the results of a new analysis, as I think this percentage has gone up significantly, in inverse proportion to how little our "leaders" have accomplished in the meantime.

7. Got Milk, Got Controversy

All I can say is that a long-running, successful ad campaign took a turn for the sexist last summer and the whole blogosphere was a buzz. Because I had written a piece on the Got Milk? campaign before, of course I had to jump on the bandwagon. If nothing else, I hope this fiasco taught some brands the importance of message testing. Seriously.

6. Iron Age Hilltop Communication, Recreated

Another blog blurb! Probably the blurbiest one I've ever written. About an unique experiment that "shed light" on how Iron Age people communicated across distances about 2,500 years ago.

5. Language Barrier: Finger Lickin' Good

A second installment on the Language Barrier series! Another 2011 New Year's Resolution success! This post talks briefly about KFC's 50-year-old successful ad campaign, and how the brand stumbled when it first entered the Chinese market due to a mistranslation of the famous tag line.

4. Prairie Dogs Use Language to Describe Predators

There have been studies that show humans aren't the only species to have sophisticated language systems. This one talks about how prairie dogs communicate with each other. Really interesting to know that animals can warn each other about danger so specifically!

3. Body Language: Wordless Communication

A Valentine's day post about a type of communication that talks volumes, but is often overlooked. Indeed, actions truly do speak louder than words!

2. Friday Photography - New Background Wallpaper

I revamped my blog design in 2011 to more closely reflect the subject matter, as well as my tastes and style. Unfortunately, when I did so, it suddenly looked too much like other people's blogs. So I made my first background wallpaper!

1. Longest Words in the English Language

This post was so much fun to write, even if it was a formatting nightmare due to some words being longer than a paragraph long. One was so long, I didn't include it in the post, I only linked to it. It is also one of only two posts with the distinction of having been clicked more than any page on True to Words, even the main page! (The other is Friday Photography - Graffiti is Like Modern Day Cave Painting)

There you have it! The top posts for 2011 at True to Words. Can't wait to see what it will be next year!

Honorable Mention: New Online Toy: Scoop.It

Top 10 Posts for True to Words' First Year
True to Words' Top 10 Posts of 2010

Third Anniversary ~ True to Words

2012-01-08T00:00:00.000-06:00

Today is the third anniversary of the first post ever published at True to Words. Happy birthday, TTW!

Controversial Rules in Grammar

2011-12-20T09:00:00.000-06:00

I have a list of about 20 topics I would love to write about, but the holiday season and working long hours means I haven't had a lot of time to write. Once again, trying to master the art of writing shorter posts so I feel like I'll have time to finish one in a reasonable amount of time and get to the next project. It is just so hard, I like writing original content or longer musings on other people's posts that take longer to write!

Nevertheless, here I shall attempt it. This post from Online College, The 20 Most Controversial Rules in the Grammar World, was sent to me last week and it does have a few compelling points. Enough to list them here and make a quick comment! Here are five controversial grammar points from the article in no particular order.

The Oxford comma. I personally like it, but AP style doesn't. I switch back and forth between using it and not. I guess I'm going to have to make a decision sometime to save my editors' consternation.
Double negatives. Quite recently, two people have tried to get my goat about the grammatical correctness of double negatives. They can be used correctly to great effect and have unambiguous meaning to boot. There, I said it!
Ending sentences with prepositions. Believe it or not, despite advanced English classes in high school and the completion of college-level writing courses pursuant to a BA in English, this was a grammar rule that I didn't learn how to properly execute until sometime in the past two years. Now I want to fix all sentences that have been ended in a preposition.
Good vs. well. This one gets me all the time! I almost never respond the correct way. I can't seem to get this one through my head, but like how the rule about ending sentences with a preposition is now something of which I am aware, it may come to me eventually. I hope so, it sometimes makes me self-conscious when someone I meet seems to grasp this rule better than I.
Passive voice. This one burns me up. This is actually on the list of 20 topics about which I would like write. Again, years of training and applied experience in mastery of English grammar, yet I didn't even known the concept of "passive voice" existed until sometime within the past two years. This one I haven't grasped, though: I can't wrap my head around not using the words "is", "was" and "were" in the construction of certain sentences. Just as with the previous item on the list, I hope to learn it eventually. Maybe writing the passive voice post I've planned will help!

There are some other interesting grammar rules briefly discussed in this article, but most of them I think are silly arguments about tradition vs. common usage. Take a look at the rest of the list and see what you think.

Do any of these grammar rules grate your nerves or perplex you? How about any of those not listed in this post?

10 Quotes About Creativity

2011-12-08T19:00:00.000-06:00

Creativity and the act of creation are vital to the advancement of mankind. Without them, the human race would probably not exist. Creativity played a role in people learning how to make everything from fire, weapons and conversation, to the internet, Twitter and blogs like this one! In this post, read ten quotes on the subject to stoke your own creative fire.

"Creativity is a drug I cannot live without." ~ Cecil B. DeMille

“Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes and having fun.” ~ Mary Lou Cook

“The creative person is both more primitive and more cultivated, more destructive, a lot madder and a lot saner, than the average person." ~ Frank Barron

"There is no doubt that creativity is the most important human resource of all. Without creativity, there would be no progress, and we would be forever repeating the same patterns." ~ Edward de Bono

“The creative person wants to be a know-it-all. He wants to know about all kinds of things-ancient history, nineteenth century mathematics, current manufacturing techniques, hog futures. Because he never knows when these ideas might come together to form a new idea. It may happen six minutes later, or six months, or six years. But he has faith that it will happen.” ~ Carl Ally

"The whole difference between construction and creation is exactly this: that a thing constructed can only be loved after it is constructed; but a thing created is loved before it exists." ~ Charles Dickens

"The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves." ~ Carl Jung

"Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Creativity is a highfalutin word for the work I have to do between now and Tuesday." ~ Ray Kroc

“Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.” ~ Albert Einstein

Haiku News - December 5, 2011

2011-12-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

Kosmopolite Art
Tour links cultures through common
language: Graffiti.

Children are going
to learn profane words somewhere.
Why not from parents?

Software that detects
lies. Let's hope it works better
than autotexters.

Some body language,
behavior can indicate
genetic makeup.

Does language define
outward identity to
youngsters more than race?

Language vs. Math

2011-12-02T11:00:00.000-06:00

After reading Life's Extremes: Math vs. Language from LiveScience, it sort of made me wish I'd taken the SAT test. The article states:

Most people would agree they are better at verbal or math subjects in school, as grades usually do attest. Highly intelligent individuals often do well in both subjects... while less intelligent people can struggle. But a minority of us excels in the language department and bombs at mathematics, or vice versa.

The article also included the graphic below:

It then goes on to talk about various types of disorders that can effect reading or math comprehension, like dyslexia or discalcula. What it failed to do was address the major differences in the numbers above.

Of 1.5 million SAT test-takers in 2010:

154 students scored between 700-800* in math, while scoring 200-300 in critical reading.
5 students scored between 700-800* in critical reading, while scoring 200-300 in math.

*Out of a possible 800

That's a big difference in people who excel at math vs. language. The only explanation the article offers, brief and incomprehensive as it is, is that different parts of the brain are used for different functions. That doesn't explain anything!

I took the ACT, so I can't compare my score. I think I would have fallen into the reading comprehension category displayed to the left. My English score was a few points shy of perfect and my math score just barely squeaked by for the lowest range of average.

But why? Math is just another form of language and communication. And it should be easier, because there can't really be a double-meaning to numbers in the same way words can have different definitions.

The closest this article came to giving a real answer was:

Of course, environment and experience play a major role...Parents who have a lot of books around the house might encourage a child to get more into reading and writing, whereas math games promote doing sums instead.

My mom has always been a bookworm and I was reading some pretty complicated materials at a fairly young age.But I didn't try to learn to be advanced at reading comprehension, it just came to me naturally. At the same time I tried desperately to learn to be better at math.

Nothing really helped. Contrary to what the article says is the key to mastery, practice did not make perfect. Sometimes I think I'm lucky I can balance my checkbook. I can tell you how to rearrange a sentence so it doesn't end with a preposition without a second thought, but it takes serious concentration to multiply two single-digit numbers.

After searching, I couldn't find an answer as to why so few people excel at reading comprehension and suck at math compared to how many people are math-knowledge-rich and reading-ability-poor. But I did empathize with this story about Language People vs. Math People. Similar types of verbal scenarios have happened in my life!

If someone reading this knows the reason, kindly leave a link to the answer in the comments below. I am incredibly curious to know.

New Online Toy: Scoop.It

2011-11-30T11:00:00.000-06:00

A colleague introduced me to a new online tool that I absolutely love. Scoop.It lets people gather and distribute content from around the Web based their interests.

Scoop.It, from my experience, serves two main purposes.

First, its a great place to share internet stories you like on topics of your choice. For example, I currently have five topics on Scoop.It:

When I find pages, blog posts or articles that fall within these categories which I really want to share (but don't necessarily want to write a blog post about them), I just click my Scoop.it! bookmark button and a menu pops up. There, I can pick how the story will appear on my Scoop.It page, which is designed to appear as an attractive topic page or online magazine. There is also have the option to share it simultaneously on social media platforms of my choice (for me, mainly Twitter).

Second, its a great place to find articles, photos and videos relevant to your Scoop.It topics. It makes suggestions on content it thinks you might be interested in, based on the keywords you entered for your topic and content you've already shared. You can even add sources you like or subtract sources you don't (though some of the more advanced features like this require a monthly subscription).

The only thing that I can think of that I'd like it to do that it doesn't is to utilize my Bit.ly account when shortening links to Twitter. It doesn't do it yet, but it seems there is a possibility for it in the future, according to a response to feedback.

When I started using Scoop.It just a few weeks ago, it was invite only. However, it has now opened to the public and anyone can get in on using this content curation tool. The company is also beginning to experiment with a premium model that will allow users to embed their topic page onto their own websites.

For me, it is just a fun new online toy to share some of the interesting things I find on the internet. :)

Do you use a content curation tool that you particularly like? Share it in the comments.

See also: Pinterest

Morse Code: A Dying Language?

2011-11-14T00:00:00.000-06:00

S.O.S. in Morse Code

Extinct and threatened languages are discussed often in this blog. Usually, the culprit causing their disappearance is the advancement and expansion of more dominant languages, leading to the isolation and reduction of people who speak unique, rare tongues.

In cases where attempts are made to rescue dying language, technology such as computers and audio recordings are the tools being used to help turn the tide. When it comes to Morse Code, though, advancements in technology and audio broadcasting/recording are leading to its death.

Morse Code is a method of transmitting text data as a series of tones, lights, or clicks that can be understood by a skilled listener or observer. The International Morse Code encodes the alphabet, numbers and punctuation as standardized sequences of signals called "dots" and "dashes". It was developed in the first half of the 19th century and was used extensively during the first half of the 20th century, particularly for communication with the front lines during World War II.

Now, with smart phones, satellite technology, the internet and texting, the Morse Code language has become obsolete. Until a few years ago, it was mandatory for people taking amateur shortwave radio exams to know, but that section has been removed from the test. The Coast Guard stopped seeking and translating Morse Code distress messages in the late 1990s.

The slow death of Morse Code was partly the inspiration for George Campbell to record memories of his life as a landline commercial operator in a book entitled "Good Night Old Man." He was only 19 years old in 1945 when he passed on the coded message that Germany had surrendered. His aim with the book was to bring awareness of the language to younger generations, who no longer have need to learn it.

Though some might argue that Morse Code shouldn't be counted out yet, technology continues to rush forward. The LOLs and emoticons of texting are drowning out the dits and dahs of Morse Code. It is probably the only language quietly slipping into extinction that the world won't someday miss (but certainly don’t quote me on that).

[Update: The book "Good Night Old Man" can be purchased through Dream Write Publishing.]

Haiku News - October 31, 2011

2011-10-31T00:18:00.001-05:00

Capiale Cipher

Cracking this secret
code may result in better
translation software.

Kids with poor language
skills could learn a thing or two
from the Teacher's Pets.

Analysis shows
that the first human language
like Yoda sounded.

It only seems like
the staff at Affinia
Hotels read your mind.

English, Chinese and
German: First, second and third
most efficient tongues.

Haiku News - September 26, 2011

2011-09-26T00:00:00.000-05:00

A robot butler would be great, but is it really worth the risk?

Lingodroids are the
forerunners of self-aware
'bot butlers, T-1s.

Natural pupils,
kids could be key in saving
dying languages.

Conundrum: "Text slang"
and technologic ease could
damage language skills...

...But video game
technology may also
enhance language skills.

Words have great power.
Semantics change their meanings,
as if by magic.

Language Barrier: Finger Lickin' Good

2011-09-23T00:00:00.004-05:00

In the first installment of Language Barrier (longer ago than I care to admit), the original "Got Milk?" ad campaign was discussed, along with its nearly catastrophic translation into Spanish. The recent update to the campaign and the controversy it started inspired me (reminded me) there were cases of brand translation issues that hadn't yet been explored. At least at this blog.

When products make the trip to new markets overseas, new advertising campaigns in the local language must be crafted for them. Often, a company will simply take the concepts and tag lines of an existing campaign and translate them directly, sometimes without consulting resources that might have helpful cultural knowledge. This can lead to some very interesting interpretations from one language to another.

Kentucky Fried Chicken, now known as KFC, learned that the hard way when it first entered the Chinese market in the 1980s. "Finger Lickin' Good," its slogan since the 1950s, was mistranslated into Mandarin as "Eat Your Fingers Off." Though the chicken is quite tasty, that's probably not the right message to send in any language.

Making a gaffe like this could have doomed a brand, but in this case it was because KFC was new and relatively unknown in China at the time that it was able to recover. After the clumsy translation was fixed, Chinese citizens who were curious about all things from the West snapped up buckets of KFC chicken and licked their fingers. Today it is the most popular Western fast food in China, with the largest KFC market outside the U.S. at more than 1,200 franchises.

Supplemental: After more than 50 years of “Finger Lickin’ Good” as a tag line, KFC decided earlier this year to change one of the most successful slogans in advertising. As part of its attempt to establish a healthier image, it was changed to simply “So Good.” The rebranding coincided with the introduction of healthier frying oils and meals cooked on a griddle or baked instead of fried. There are also plans to show the calorie content of all items on KFC’s menus starting this September, though at the time of this post there doesn't seem to be any evidence of that having happened yet.

Women, the Workplace & Profanity

2011-09-19T18:15:00.002-05:00

Three random nouns, right? Apparently not. As I've mentioned before in this blog, I rather enjoy profanity and I fully believe it has a place in our culture, even if organizations like the Parents Television Council does not. Because of that fondness, I occasionally search for recent news about cursing. A story from Yahoo seems to have that business world buzzing about profanity in the workplace. And not just any profanity, but unladylike maledictions!

It all started after Yahoo chairman Roy Bostock called CEO Carol Bartz earlier this month on her cell phone to tell her that her services were no longer needed. In an interview shortly afterwards, she called the board members that fired her a bunch of "doofuses" who "f----- me over." Since her firing, Bartz's penchant for profane language throughout her career has become recurring themes in discussions about her and whether or not cursing is proper in the workplace.

Profanity in the workplace! What a great idea for a blog post! So I searched for just that, and wouldn't you know it, the first five news titles that popped up in Google’s results were questioning or commenting about women using salty language in the workplace. The stories ranged from simply asking the public's opinion through a poll to an essay about how "Cursing in the Workplace is a Lose-Lose Strategy for Women."

The article does make an interesting point that basically women are natural communicators who shouldn't resort to blue language to get their points across. By singling out women and not addressing the issue of men swearing in the workplace, I’m left with the belief that the author lets males off the hook when they fail to mind their “French” in the office. The writer also implies that using profanity calls a person's judgment into question. Since the article is aimed at women in the workplace, does this imply that a man's credibility isn't ruined by profanity but a woman's is?

Women, swearing and the workplace sheds some light on this, though I don’t like the observation’s pallor:

“It stands out because it's not expected," said Deborah Tannen, a linguistics professor at Georgetown University and author of "You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation."

"We always take notice of what's unexpected and women are still not expected to curse, so when they do, it's noticed more."

Further:

"If women talk in ways expected of them or project a feminine demeanor, it's seen as weak. But if they talk in ways associated with men or bosses, then they're seen as too aggressive," she said. "Whatever they do violates one or the other expectation, either you're not talking as you should as a woman or as boss."

Naturally, I don't like this "damned if you do, damned if you don't" situation. Either profanity isn't acceptable for anyone to use in the workplace or it is okay for everyone. It should really depend on the verbal standards of the unique office culture and the individual's choice whether or not to curse.

I've worked in professional offices where profanity was a part of everyday conversation and others where I thought I might by swallowed by the flames of hell dare I say the word "damn." I learned to adjust my vocabulary thusly; it should be easy enough for others to do it. But if there are mixed messages as to which gender can acceptably use such words and which can't, there may problems far bigger than profanity plaguing that particular workplace.

What is your view on swearing at work?

Friday Photography ~ Downtown Saint Cloud Icons

2011-09-16T02:03:00.000-05:00

St. Cloud is relatively close to me, but I don't end up visiting very often. My mom lives near there, though, so I do get there once in a while. I was there in July and snapped these two photos of Saint Cloud icons.

Val's Hamburgers

Paramount Theater

Language of Work & Labor

2011-09-14T23:59:00.001-05:00

A new glossary takes a look at the language and etymology of the words we use to talk about jobs and work.

"The Wage Slave's Glossary" by Joshua Glenn and Mark Kingwell is a guide to the language of labor. Though it includes a collection of interesting new words, like "cube farm" and "work-life balance," what I found to be most interesting were some of the older words.

For example, the word "downtime." It was a mid-century term that meant time when a machine is out of action or unavailable for use. And today, of course, this means that human beings who aren't working are compared to machines that being serviced, or robots that are being recharged. And the worst thing of all, is that many of us now use "downtime" to describe our own weekends and vacations.

And:

There used to be a term in the 18th century called the "after-dinner man," which was somebody who went back to work after they'd eaten their dinner. And of course at the time, that was considered a very strange thing to do -- dinner time's when you're supposed to be done with work, why would you go back? Either you're unhealthily addicted to work or you have too much of it. And of course today, we're all after-dinner men and we think nothing of the people who open their laptop after dinner and finishing up a Powerpoint or sending out some work emails.

Finally, apparently the word "boss" actually comes from Dutch plantations? A "work boss" was somebody who was the overseer of the slaves on the plantation, but now the word has come to mean "A person in charge of a worker or organization."

Though I haven't actually read the book, the interview with one of the authors and the excerpt on the American Public Media website has piqued my interest. I may just have to check it out!

Haiku News - September 6, 2011

2011-09-06T01:28:00.000-05:00

Using text slang for
a "cover letter" won't get
you the interview.

Duchess of Cambridge
Kate Middleton wows Wales by
learning to speak Welsh.

A short lesson on
baseball terminology
you might not savvy.

Uniting a Swiss
language has divided the
people who speak it.

Facebook has trouble
with basic features. "Translate"
will likely be lame.

Bad Poetry Day 2011

2011-08-18T23:41:00.001-05:00

There is a holiday to celebrate everything! Today, and every other August 18, just so happens to be Bad Poetry Day.

According to Wellcat.com, the creators of this particular holiday, the proper way to celebrate the day is to gather a group of old high school friends, write some bad poetry and then send it to an old high school teacher. But who really celebrates Bad Poetry Day like that? Cracked says we don't have to celebrate it that way, and I deem them a credible source in this regard.

I think just about everyone has written a bad poem or two in their lifetime, whether of their own accord or under educationally administered duress. I may or may not admit that in one point in my life during high school, I may or may not have filled one or more notebooks with some of my own bad poetry. I perhaps lost one that has never been found, one could possibly have been stolen and I just might have actually given one away during my hopelessly romantic phase. All of that is rumor and speculation of course. I admit nothing.

I thought that I might at least try to write some bad poetry. I'm pretty sure some people would think the haiku and little bit of other poetry I've written here has bordered on bad. In fact, upon reflection, I have complete faith that I could write some bad poems here.

I realize this post is late in coming
(and tardiness is most unbecoming)
but to busy-ness I've been succumbing
- nah, I was really watching the Twins game.

Ha! Okay, so here is another one:

There once was a Sam from Minnesota
Who had hit her daily coffee quota.
Having much work yet to do
another pot she did brew
And she didn't sleep that night, one iota.

Still with me? I'm almost done. But it wouldn't be my blog if there wasn't some sort of haiku:

Haiku Poetry:
Five syllables, then seven
then five more. That's all.

So there. If any of my old high school English teachers or college proffessors are reading this (I highly doubt it, but if you are give a shout-out in the comments), see what I've done with my creative writing and poetry classes? To the random person (people?) who may or may not have stolen (found) really angst-ridden, moody, typical-teenage-geek type poetry I may or may not have penned, I may or may not really want those books back!

Did you participate in Bad Poetry Day? Want to, even if it is no longer Bad Poetry Day? Leave your bad poem in the comments!

Haiku News - August 16, 2011

2011-08-16T23:59:00.000-05:00

Rhiannon so loved
the Korean language, she
gave it extra tongue.

This new mechanic
can't hear the clanks, squeals or tings,
but he can feel them.

There is a time and
a place for profanity,
in life and language.

I, me, us, we, you
she, they, he: Small, fleeting words,
big, lasting impact.

Books are banned for their
content from schools, yet parents
let kids watch "Teen Mom."

True to Words Cloud

2011-08-11T00:00:00.001-05:00

Ever since "Gender Stereotyping & Word Clouds: A Random Post," I've wanted to create my own word cloud based on the text here at True to Words. I finally took the time to do it!

Though the Wordle site looks easy to use, these images took a bit longer than I expected. The instructions on the site said I could just input the address and it would figure out the rest. It only seemed to track the language of the first pages of my blog and I wanted to make a cloud that represented the words throughout the entirety of the blog. That meant I had to go the alternate route and copy/paste all of the text, including deleting anything that might have copied over that I didn't want to have counted, like all the dates, the part where it names me as the author of the post, even the social media bar that has the Twitter and Facebook buttons. All of these could have swayed my results.

Here is the first one I liked enough to save. It is vaguely the shape of Minnesota! Hey, I said vaguely. Click on the image to see a larger version on the Wordle site.

That image has all the "common" English words filtered out, but the website's idea of common and mine were vastly different, resulting in some words that didn't seem appropriate (such as "one" and so many different variations of the similar wards). So I made another word cloud using the "Advanced" option, inputting word count information the website had tabulated for me under the "Word Count" menu option. This way, I was also able to include more of the words that I feel more closely represent what this blog is about. By extension, it also is a pretty good representation of some of the things that I like or value in general.

Again, click on the image to see a larger version. All in all, Wordle was a pretty fun toy. I may consider trying to find another way to use it in the future.

Have you used Wordle before? Provide a link to your creation in the comments section!

Sell It With Salmonella

2011-08-08T13:22:00.002-05:00

There are very few organizations in the world that can use a salmonella outbreak to boost their recognition.

Listening to Minnesota Public Radio the other day, I heard what to me momentarily sounded like a twisted advertisement mixed with a very real and deadly news story. An interview was taking place with a representative of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about a salmonella outbreak occurring in the United States. More than 36 million pounds of ground turkey meat is being recalled nationwide after 76 people became ill and one person died as a result of the bacteria. Right in the middle of the interview, the guy mentioned that these illnesses and many others could be prevented if more people followed the proper food preparation techniques of "Clean, Separate, Cook, Chill" every time they prepared a meal.

This is where the discussion briefly turned away from the very serious story at hand and towards the CDC's new ad campaign and website regarding food safety that was rolled out just weeks before this outbreak. Its tagline is exceedingly simple and useful: "Clean, Separate, Cook, Chill." He rattled off some food poisoning statistics (for example, one in six Americans get sick from foodborne illness every year), explained how following simple instructions could help keep people healthy and invited people to go to their website. The interview then went back to talking about salmonella and E. coli outbreaks that have struck the nation in recent years.

It got me to thinking, though, about just what I stated at the very beginning of this blog post. There aren't many organizations that could get away with exploiting a tragedy to get positive attention. The only others I could think of besides the CDC are other government agencies like the FDA, pharmaceutical companies (antibiotics, anti-virals and vaccinations against various diseases), automakers, insurance companies and politicians. Words like salmonella, E. coli, illness, flooding, auto accidents and death just aren't that sexy.

Do you have any other ideas on organizations or industries that can truly use tragedies to generate attention or even pad their bottom line?

Haiku News - August 1, 2011

2011-08-01T00:00:00.000-05:00

Humans' and wild chimps'
shared gestures show we really
aren't so different.

Calls for human rights
and speech freedom uplift the
Arabic language.

A bird that follows
grammar rules is always a
good egg in my book.

Government spies want
to know how your metaphors
reveal your ethos.

Body language can
expose thoughts and feelings you
want to keep hidden.

Also:

Langology news
in haiku form to amuse
and entertain you.

Minneapolis Pet News Roundup ~ July 2011

2011-07-31T00:27:00.000-05:00

I didn't write much for Examiner.com in July. Had to take a little time off to make sure I could accommodate a new client. The one article I did write, though, could apply to other events throughout the summer, not just the Fourth of July, so if you take your dog to picnics, camping or other warm-weather activity, it might be worth checking out.

Pet safety tips for the Fourth of July

Missing the Minneapolis Pet News? In the meantime, you can also read Minneapolis Pet News Roundup ~ June 2011 and Minneapolis Pet News Roundup ~ May 2011.

If you would like to receive Minneapolis and Twin Cities pet articles, including news, events and advice, please follow the Minneapolis Pet News Examiner on Facebook.

Got Milk? Got Controversy

2011-07-25T03:12:00.003-05:00

The nationally famous Got Milk? ad campaign has had its moments of controversy before. Who would have thought after nearly two decades it could cause sensational ripples in the marketing world, again?

The California Milk Processor Board's "Got Milk?" ad campaign has had a pretty major impact on dairy advertising in the United States since first aired 18 years ago. The initial commercial in the series was even voted one of the top ten best ever by a USA Today poll. Since then, the campaign has been kept fresh by constantly evolving, even being translated into other languages with mixed results.

So what's the hubbub about now? Recent PMS-themed “Got Milk?” ads promoted dairy products to men as a way to reduce premenstrual syndrome symptoms in their wives or girlfriends. The ads were based on studies published in scientific journals in 1999 and 2005 that found a link between calcium consumption and fewer PMS symptoms. But the problems with the ads are not so much the message they convey as much as how they convey it.

The Got Milk? ad campaign has used these studies to promote dairy products in the past, as evidenced by this 2006 commercial:

Seems innocent and innocuous enough. I think most people would find it funny. It plainly pokes fun at both sexes, as women can typically be a little emotional during that time of the month and men can be a bit simplistic in trying to solve problems for women they love.

Now look at a few ads from the most recent Got Milk? campaign that are causing a stir:

Not quite as innocent or innocuous, is it? Combine the ads with the EverythingIDoIsWrong.org website and it's a little hard not to be offended at the implications being made for both men and women. The site had an Emergency Milk Locator map, color-coded Current Global PMS Level, a Video Apology Enhancer and something called a Puppy Dog-Eye-Zer.

Ugh. Really?

The marketing-minded part of me thinks this particular streak of humor has an edge to it that cuts at the very people who are most likely doing the grocery shopping. It may be an attempt at reaching out to men about the benefits milk can have, but in the meantime they're counter-intuitively belittling the women they're supposedly trying to help. Additionally, this biting, one-sided style simply isn't appropriate for marketing a wholesome staple product like milk.

The rest of me thinks this campaign is just plain bullshit.

Though the ads have generated a lot of conversation, the attention hasn’t been positive. The campaign is less than two weeks old and already the California Milk Processor Board has apologized. The name of the website has changed to "Got Discussion?" and it has been completely re-purposed to address the many issues the ads have stirred up. And billboards that have already gone up are going to be altered.

Bet none of that was originally included in their marketing budget. Though milk as a product will ultimately survive, this is a blemish on an otherwise well-received, long-term ad campaign.

What is your opinion of the ads?

Minneapolis Pet News Roundup ~ June 2011

2011-06-29T01:19:00.000-05:00

A listing of all the Minneapolis Pet News Examiner articles published in June. This time there was some good advice about keeping pets safe and happy.

If you would like to receive Minneapolis and Twin Cities pet articles, including news, events and advice, please follow the Minneapolis Pet News Examiner on Facebook.

Minneapolis Pet News Roundup ~ May 2011

2011-05-31T23:59:00.002-05:00

A listing of all the Minneapolis Pet News Examiner articles published in May. Lots of events and observances.

Be Kind to Animals Week 2011
National Specially-abled Pets Day 2011
National Hug Your Cat Day 2011
National Dog Bite Prevention Week
Minneapolis ranks high for dog attacks on postal workers
Help for displaced, lost pets after Twin Cities tornado

Donations to help North Minneapolis residents and pets are still needed! Check out the Resource Sheet for North Minneapolis Post-Tornado Relief Efforts to discover how you can help.

If you would like to receive Minneapolis and Twin Cities pet articles, including news, events and advice, please follow the Minneapolis Pet News Examiner on Facebook.

Oldest Readable Writing in Europe Uncovered

2011-05-23T14:49:00.000-05:00

Last week in the Mother of All Mother Tongues post, the earliest spoken languages and their evolution into modern day dialects were discussed. This week, a quick post about an ancient tablet found to have the oldest readable writing in Europe.

The tablet was created by a Greek-speaking Mycenaean scribe between 1450 and 1350 B.C. The Mycenaeans dominated much of Greece from about 1600 B.C. to 1100 B.C. They were made legendary in part by Homer's Iliad.

Found in what's now known as the village of Iklaina, markings on the clay tablet fragment measuring roughly 1 inch tall by 1.5 inches wide are early examples of a writing system known as Linear B. Used for a very ancient form of Greek, Linear B consisted of about 87 signs, each representing one syllable.

The Mycenaeans appear to have used Linear B to record only economic matters of interest to the ruling elite. Fittingly, the markings on the front of the Iklaina tablet appear to form a verb that relates to manufacturing, the researchers say. The back lists names alongside numbers—probably a property list.

Excavations at Iklaina have yielded evidence of an early Mycenaean palace, giant terrace walls, murals and an advanced drainage system, but the tablet was a big surprise. According to dig director Michael Cosmopoulos and what is currently known about the civilization, the tablet shouldn't exist.

First, Mycenaean tablets weren't thought to have been created so early. Second, literacy was not widespread at the time and until now, tablets had been found only in a handful of major palaces (although the Iklaina site once boasted a palace, at the time the tablet was created the settlement was merely a satellite of the bigger city of Pylos). Third, because these records tended to be saved for a relatively short time, the clay wasn't intended to last and should have crumbled long ago.

These finance-related tablets weren't meant to be permanent. They were not baked to harden properly, only dried in the sun which made them very brittle. When whoever was keeping the record no longer needed it, it was thrown into the garbage pit. In this case, when the pit later caught fire, the heat hardened and preserved what was left of the tablet.

While the Iklaina tablet is an example of the earliest writing system in Europe, other writings are older. For example, writings found in China, Mesopotamia, and Egypt are thought to date as far back as 3,000 B.C.

Linear B itself is believe to have originated from an older, as-yet undeciphered writing system known as Linear A. Archeologists think Linear A is related to the older hieroglyph system used by the ancient Egyptians. As for Linear B, the ancient Greek alphabet eventually overtook it and later evolved into the 26 letters used in many languages today.

The study on this tablet was published in the April issue of the journal Proceedings of the Athens Archaeological Society.

Mother of All Mother Tongues

2011-05-19T00:00:00.007-05:00

All the world’s 6,000 modern languages likely have origins in a single Mother Tongue spoken by early Africans about 50,000 to 70,000 years ago, a study suggests. The finding may help to explain how the first spoken language developed, dispersed among the population and helped to advanced to the evolutionary achievements of the human species.

The author of the study, Quentin Atkinson, is an evolutionary psychologist at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. He has found the first migrating populations that left Africa laid the foundation for all the world's cultures by taking a lone language with them when they left.

About 50,000 years ago (though the exact timeline is debated) there was an abrupt shift in how humans behaved. This is when they first began to generate cave art, bone artifacts and more complex hunting tools. Many experts contend that this creative burst was probably caused by the development of language, which not only enabled abstract thought but also its communication to other people. The good doctor's work supports this idea.

"[Language] was the catalyst that spurred the human expansion that we all are a product of," Dr. Atkinson said.

His research is based on phonemes, distinct units of sound such as vowels, consonants and tones, and an idea borrowed from population genetics known as "the founder effect." That principle holds that when a very small number of individuals break off from a larger population, there is a gradual loss of genetic variation and complexity in the breakaway group.

Dr. Atkinson figured that if a similar effect could be recognized in phonemes, it would support the idea that modern verbal communication originated in Africa and then expanded elsewhere.

After examining 504 worldwide languages, Dr. Atkinson found that dialects with the most phonemes are spoken in Africa, while those with the fewest phonemes are spoken in South America and on tropic islands in the Pacific.

The study also found that the pattern of phoneme usage globally mirrors the pattern of human genetic diversity, which also declined as modern humans set up colonies elsewhere. Today, areas such as sub-Saharan Africa that have hosted human life for millennia still use far more phonemes in their languages than more recently colonized regions do.

"It's a wonderful contribution and another piece of the mosaic" supporting the out-of-Africa hypothesis, said Ekkehard Wolff, professor emeritus of African Languages and Linguistics at the University of Leipzig in Germany, who read the paper.

These conclusions are compatible with the reigning thoughts on the origin of modern humans, known as the "out of Africa" hypothesis. Boosted by recent genetic evidence, this theory alleges that modern humans first emerged in Africa alone, about 200,000 years ago. Then, approximately 50,000 to 70,000 years ago (you'd think they'd be able to narrow that gap a little), a fraction of the population moved out and colonized the rest of the world. They became the ancestors of all non-African populations on earth.

When it comes to the origin of the earliest languages, it's a lot harder to determine. Truly ancient languages haven't left much evidence for scientists to study because languages weren't written down until thousands of years later.

Only humans have the capacity to communicate with this language based on different grammar rules and in written form. It enables us to share ideas with others and even pass them directly on to future generations. Without language, culture as we know it wouldn't exist, so it's not hard to understand why scientists want to know more about it.

Read more about Dr. Atkinson's study.

"Um" and "Uh" Help Toddlers Learn New Words

2011-05-15T23:59:00.025-05:00

I had a few teachers and professors who had trouble making it through a full sentence without sprinkling in a few too many "ums" and "uhs". Seems a bit ironic after reading about this new study.

A team of cognitive scientists at the University of Rochester's Baby Lab conducted a study which shows toddlers actually use their parents' fumbling (referred to technically as speech disfluencies) as a signal to help them learn language more effectively.

For instance, say you're walking through the zoo with your two-year-old and you are trying to teach him animal names. You point to the rhinoceros and say, "Look at the, uh, uh, rhinoceros." It turns out that as you are fumbling for the correct word, you are also sending your child a signal that you are about to teach him something new, so he should pay attention, according to the researchers.

Young kids have a lot of information to process while they listen to an adult speak, including many words that they have never heard before. If a child's brain waits until a new word is spoken and then tries to figure out what it means after the fact, it becomes a much more difficult task and the child is apt to miss what comes next, says Richard Aslin, a professor of brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Rochester and one of the study's authors.

"The more predictions a listener can make about what is being communicated, the more efficiently the listener can understand it," Aslin said.

Yet as a teenager and later as an adult attending class with a few teachers and professors who employed these "disfluencies" too often made it almost impossible to learn. In high school, it was funny and there was lots of giggling at the teacher's expense. In college, it was funny, too... at first. With one prof, we even kept a daily tally of how many of each he used. It would quite often get into the 600s for a one-hour class (For those of you keeping score, that is upwards of 10 per minute or one every six seconds).

So there I was in a class on which I spent my hard-earned money, so distracted by this man's inability to speak that I was counting his disfluencies. A lot of people could get past it, it was sheer torture for me. Needless to say, contrary to how it works when you're a toddler, "uhs" and "ums" are not conducive to learning when you're cognizant enough to know that's what you're sitting down to accomplish.

Anyways, in the study, the effect was only meaningful in children two years or older. When kids are between the ages of two and three, they usually are at a stage of development where they can create basic sentences of about two to four words. They also tend to have a vocabulary of a few hundred words. Younger children most likely haven't learned yet that disfluencies tend to precede new or unknown words.

Read more about how the study was conducted by Prof. Aslin, along with Celeste Kidd, a graduate student at the University of Rochester, and Katherine White, a former postdoctoral fellow at Rochester who is now at the University of Waterloo.

Bad Ad Placement Example 2

2011-05-04T15:58:00.001-05:00

It's been a long time since Bad Ad Placement Example 1, but it's been a goal of mine to post more regularly about this kind of stuff. Badly placed ads can be simply in bad taste or catastrophic, among other things. I would say the two below appearing on the same page as a story about Osama bin Laden's burial at sea would fall in the funny and gross categories, respectively.

Win a Catch of a Lifetime

Half Off Fish and Chips

As a side note, it is a little weird that I always seem to notice this type of thing more often when the topic is serious like the two listed above.

Source: Video of bin Laden's sea burial to be released?

World Press Freedom Day 2011

2011-05-03T02:10:00.000-05:00

May 3 is World Press Freedom Day. Its observance aspires to raise awareness of why press autonomy is important and remind governments of their duty to uphold the human right to freedom of expression.

The day was chosen to mark the anniversary of the Declaration of Windhoek. Written two decades ago in 1991 by African newspaper journalists who had experienced intimidation, imprisonment and censorship for performing their jobs, this statement of press freedom principles calls for independent and pluralistic media throughout the world. The declaration also asserts that freedom of expression is more than a fundamental human right: A fully independent press is also essential for a successful democracy to flourish.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) marks World Press Freedom Day each year with a conference that brings together media professionals, press freedom organizations and UN agencies to discuss the state of press freedom worldwide and solutions for how to address the difficulties. For the first time ever, the 2011 World Press Freedom Day conference is being hosted by the United States. It began on May 1 in Washington, D.C. and continues through today.

The theme of this year's event is "21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers". Its aim is to re-affirm basic principles of media freedom in the digital age, 20 years after the original declaration was made in Windhoek, Namibia, to address print publishing and long before the Internet, mobile phones and social media were ubiquitous. More and more, "citizen journalists" are playing a major role in reporting the news, especially in the Middle East and North Africa.

The timing of World Press Freedom Day this year is significant in light of recent events during which several notable journalists, media assistants and "netizens" lost their lives or were imprisoned while trying to gather information in war-zones. As of the time this post was published, 18 journalists and 2 media assistants have been killed and 151 journalists, 9 media assistants and 128 netizens have been imprisoned, according to figures tracked by Reporters Without Borders.

Reporters Without Borders has also released its 2011 list of predators of press freedom. Most notably, some people are missing this year compared to the 2010 list due to citizen rebellions. The first to go was Tunisia’s President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who was forced to step down in January.

Other predators such as Yemen’s Ali Abdallah Saleh, who has been overwhelmed by the wave of protests sweeping his country, or Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, who is responding with terror to his people’s democratic aspirations, could also fall. And what of Muammar Gaddafi, the Guide of the Revolution, now the guide of violence against his people, a violence that is deaf to reason? And Bahrain’s King Ben Aissa Al-Khalifa, who should one day have to answer for the deaths of four activists in detention, including the only opposition newspaper’s founder, and the vast repressive operation against pro-democracy protesters?

Freedom of expression has been one of the first demands of the region’s peoples, one of the first concessions from transitional regimes, and one of the first achievements, albeit a very fragile one, of its revolutions.

See the full list of all 38 predators to press freedom from Reporters Without Borders site.

About the image: Located in the Newseum in Washington, D.C., the Journalists Memorial pays tribute to reporters, photographers and broadcasters who have died reporting the news. The names of 2,007 individuals from around the world are etched in its glass currently. The memorial is rededicated each year to add the names of journalists who lost their lives in the preceding year.

ACK!

2011-04-30T15:43:00.000-05:00

At long last, and on the last day no less, a non-haiku poem in honor of National Poetry Month, inspired by the previously shared poem, "OCK":

ACK!

A bruised and broken victim of a sneak attack,

Lay face down on frigid pavement in a grim, dark shack.

"This isn't just your punishment, this is payback!"

Red hot bullets fled the chamber and the world went black.

I so liked the cadence, brevity and darkness of "OCK," which originates from a comedic opera, that I wanted to use it as a basis for a poem. It has a singular rhyme scheme on a hard consonant, a 12 / 13 / 12 / 13 syllable count and a death-related topic. An entertaining way to kill some time and stretch the creative muscles. What do you think?

Gender Stereotyping & Word Clouds: A Random Post

2011-04-27T00:00:00.007-05:00

Just a quick one for today. Saw this post at The Achilles Effect, "Word Cloud: How Toy Ad Vocabulary Reinforces Gender Stereotypes" and found it to be quite intriguing for two completely unrelated reasons.

First, the most obvious one is the shocking choices of words that are used to appeal to boy children when it's laid out as plainly - and literally graphically - as Crystal has displayed here, according to her research. Even with what she has said is just a starting point, and not by any means an exhaustive record, it’s not hard to recognize that the generalities are basically true. Simply watch television on a Saturday morning or Cartoon Network pretty much any time of day and the contrasts in word choices for ads aimed at boys vs. girls are as obvious as the differences in typically gender-assigned colors. I'm more surprised by the top word for marketing at young females being "love." Just from my own experience I feel like I hear the word "girl" repeated more often than anything in the advertisements that are aimed at them. As if girls don't know they're girls or as if marketers trying to attract their attention, sort of like "Here girl! Look over here at the shiny things! Good girl!"

But I digress.

Second, how fun is Wordle? It makes me want to do my own little vocabulary- or language-related research project so I can make my own cloud of words in graphic form. Now for an idea on what to explore...

Iron Age Hilltop Communication, Recreated

2011-04-24T23:59:00.018-05:00

[My first "blog blurb," because I don't think I'll ever get to blogging more regularly until I master this type of short, concise post]

Forget cell phones, telephones or e-mail. A unique experiment has literally shed light on how Iron Age people communicated across vast distances from hilltop to hilltop about 2,500 years ago.

"It was a success," said archaeologist Erin Robinson. "It captured the public's imagination and we made extra links we did not think were possible."

"Most of the hill forts across the surrounding landscape can be seen from each other," explained Ms Robinson from Denbighshire's Heather and Hillforts project.

"The experiment was aiming to see if the glowing fires could have been seen across the hills and acted as a communication or warning system."

"It was fantastic," she said. "We saw all the way to a hilltop in Cheshire, which we weren't sure we'd be able to do."

Read the rest of the North Wales hillfort test of Iron Age communication.

Friday Photography ~ Harvey

2011-04-22T23:51:00.001-05:00

This caught my attention in St. Paul today and liked it so much I snapped a photo. Love the film version of "Harvey," but I've never seen the play. And I'm a sucker for just about anything theatrical.

Have You Seen Harvey?

April 20, 2011, Missing rabbit friend. Answers to the name of "Harvey". Exactly 6.5 feet tall. White with pointed ears. Last seen wearing a bowtie and tweed coat. Frequents Charlie's Place on 12th and Main. Missed dearly by pal Elwood P. Dowd. Wanted for questioning by the esteemed Dr. Chumley of Chumley's Rest Sanitarium on an unspecified matter. If you've seen him or have any ideas as to Mr. Harvey's whereabouts, please contact Mr. Dowd or his sister Veta Louis at their home, 343 Temple Drive.

Find Harvey!
April 28th, 29th and 30th, 2011
HPSH Auditorium 7:30 PM
$5 Students, $7 Adults
1015 S. Snelling Avenue

Check it out, support high school theater. It gives teens public speaking skills that will come in handy later.

Haiku News - April 12, 2011

2011-04-12T23:59:00.007-05:00

Stolen credit card
canceled, then came the flowers:
"Thanx for ur money!"

Protecting "their" nest,
a goose and a deer have formed
an unlikely pair.

"Hey you! Subscribe to
Dish Network and we'll throw in
a shotgun for free."

At every level,
this sounds like a story that
The Onion might print.

He crossed the ocean
with a little help from his
friends - and a sweet raft.

Also:

Langology news
in haiku form to amuse
and entertain you.

27% of Congressional Communication is Taunting

2011-04-09T23:59:00.041-05:00

"Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!" ~ Taunting French Soldier played by John Cleese, Monty Python and the Holy Grail

How people address each other in a conversation or negotiation determines the success or failure of the end result. This isn't rocket science, as toddlers first learning language are capable of figuring it out. Yet as adults, we don't always take this into account - even the people who are running the country (maybe especially this group).

A Harvard University professor has analyzed Congress' behavior, using computers to look for trends in members’ language and writings. What he has learned may help explain why the legislative branch has such trouble closing on negotiations for, well, pretty much anything. Modern representatives spend about 27 percent of their communications simply taunting each other.

“It’s jarring and surprising,” said Prof. Gary King, an expert in using computers to find patterns in large amounts of data. And, King said, probably counterproductive if we want Congress’s members to trust one another enough to make deals. The entire government may go bankrupt…We probably want our representatives to be listening to each other rather than calling each other names.”

To determine his results, King and two graduate students analyzed 64,033 press releases sent out by all U.S. senators between the years of 2005 and 2007. They used a computer program to sort them into different categories, based on their content.

Credit-claiming. That involves a legislator trumpeting his own role in securing a bridge or a dam or some other thing voters want. “The government did this thing because of me."
Position-taking. This is the point of congressional expression. "I have this stance on this ideological issue."
Advertising. This non-partisan method of getting a politician’s name out in the media could be as simple as recognizing a hometown team or local celebrity. “Look at me! I’m a member of Congress!

These three categories are well known to political scientists, whose Grand Unified Theory of Congressmen holds that these are the primary methods legislators will use to express their selves. But some news releases King and his team examined didn’t fit into them.

This category is where the taunting falls in. It's not a new idea that legislators love to insult and make jabs at each other. How much they do it just has not ever been quantified before.

According to his study, legislators spend more than a quarter of their time outwardly disrespecting each other. The members guiltiest of hurling abuse were those whose districts were considered “safe,” or strongly held by their party.

And the documents examined were from several years ago, before the financial downturn began and the current high-pitch rhetoric that seems to be escalating. Examining a sampling of 48 much more recent news releases from three top congressional Democrats and three top Republicans showed that 20 percent were mainly about taunting the other side. Some examples:

Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) sent one out on proposed Social Security changes that said, “Republicans have shown they couldn’t care less about those who have the least.”
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) sent out one on the anniversary of the federal health-care law saying, “Democrats have not displayed the same interest in listening to the American people.”

Some think the taunting serves a purpose in that it sparks the public's interest and makes their opinions on an issue clear. However, I concur with the conclusion of Prof. King, which is that the taunting distracts Congress from its most basic mission of finding common ground to solve national problems. A vast majority of the time they spend name-calling and ridiculing each other could be better spent working on legislation that's going to put people to work, stimulate the economy and moving towards solving the other problems facing this country today.

Source: 27% of communication by members of Congress is taunting, professor concludes

April is National Poetry Month

2011-04-02T23:59:00.056-05:00

"Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words." ~ Edgar Allan Poe

April is National Poetry Month.

The Academy of American Poets introduced the first National Poetry Month in April of 1996 as a way to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the United States. Since then, the celebration of poetry has grown and now includes both Canada and Great Britain. Each year, publishers, booksellers, educators, literary organizations and bloggers (like me) use April to promote poetry.

Organizers encourage writing a poem a day in celebration. Though many schools incorporate this into their lesson plans and some individuals are even brave enough to do it, I'll not be quite so ambitious. Do expect at least a few poems from me (good or bad) sometime in April. Nothing on the scale of the Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn Seasonal Sonnet Series from a few years back because frankly I'm not quite sure where that inspiration came from (I couldn't even write a sonnet for an college assignment). But something interesting and poetic is sure to arise at some point.

You don't have to be a poet to enjoy what the month has to offer. Check out 30 Ways to Celebrate National Poetry Month. People who would like to be on the receiving end of a Poem a Day can sign up for the e-mail list at Poets.org. Poem Flow for iPhones, available through the iTunes store, features daily poems presented as both fixed and animated text. The truly poetic at heart can even search the National Map for events happening near them this month.

On a related note, there is still time for St. Paul residents to submit entries to have their poems published on city sidewalks. The Fourth Annual Saint Paul Sidewalk Poetry Contest ends April 17 at midnight.

My other previous attempts at poetry, for better or worse and some of which I had forgotten I'd even written:

Forgotten Roses
Under Your Skin
Into the Darkness
In Memory of Ian Talty
Summer on the Prairie

Don't forget my ever-present Haiku News Series.

Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year 2011

2011-03-26T23:59:00.017-05:00

This year's Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year has been awarded to a book advising dentists on how to run their practices Mongolian warlord style. The prize was decided by a public vote on The Bookseller's website.

"Managing a Dental Practice: The Genghis Khan Way" by former dentist Michael Young won the prize on Friday. The book offers a guide on empire-building in the dentistry field. Young argues that warmongering tenacity is required to build a successful business. The book includes chapters on managing conflicts, team-building and planning for disasters.

The book beat finalists including "8th International Friction Stir Welding Symposium Proceedings," which detailed a friction stir welding symposium that occurred in Germany last May, and a romance novel called "The Italian's One-Night Love Child" by Cathy Williams. Other books that were shortlisted for the vote were "What Color is Your Dog? Train Your Dog Based on His Personality 'Color'" (Yes, you read that correctly) by Joel Silverman, "Myth of the Social Volcano: Perceptions of Inequality and Distributive Injustice in Contemporary China" by Martin Whyte and "The Generosity of the Dead: A Sociology of Organ Procurement in France" by Graciela Nowenstein.

Last year's winner, "Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Planes" by Daina Taimina, saw its sales increase by 1,500% in the first month after winning the prize. Other past winners of the prize include "Living with Crazy Buttocks" by Kaz Cooke, "Greek Rural Postmen and their Cancellation Numbers" by Derek Willan, "Highlights in the History of Concrete" by C. C. Stanley and "Bombproof Your Horse" by Rick Pelicano and Lauren Tjaden.

Actual books, really. I looked them up. They really do exist, though some are expectedly out of print.

Run by trade magazine The Bookseller, the prize was founded in 1978. Its rules say the books must be serious and their titles cannot just be a gimmick.

Source: Mongol warrior’s tooth tips wins odd book title prize
Source: Genghis Khan dentistry book wins odd title prize

Fourth Annual Saint Paul Sidewalk Poetry Contest

2011-03-16T21:16:00.004-05:00

It’s time for the Fourth Annual Saint Paul Sidewalk Poetry Contest. I am not a St. Paul resident, so I can't participate, but I bet at least one reader of this post could.

Look down! Some of Saint Paul's sidewalks are paved with poetry. Since the Every Day Poems for City Sidewalk program began in 2008, 31 poems have been impressed into the cement of 268 of the city's sidewalks.

Once again, the St. Paul Public Works Department and Public Art Saint Paul invites would-be bards to submit their poems to the citywide contest. Winning poems will be permanently “published” in the cement of a sidewalk.

For this year's edition, organizers are requesting short poems, preferably those with a topic revolving around nature and the outdoors. Poems may be inspiring, humorous or thoughtful, as long as it is appropriate for the general public. St. Paul residents of all ages are invited to participate. Up to 5 poets will receive a $150 prize and citywide honor.

An example from a previous contest winner:

A dog on a walk
is like a person in love −
You can't tell them
it's the same old world.

By Pat Owen

Additionally, Poet John Minczeski will lead two workshops for burgeoning poets on Saturday, April 9. The first is at Merriam Park Library, 1831 Marshall Ave., from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 651-642-0385. The second is at the Rice Street Library, 1011 Rice Street from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. 651-558-2223.

The contest began March 15 and ends April 17 at midnight. For more information and to submit entries, visit www.stpaul.gov/poetry.

10 Most Endangered Languages in the World

2011-03-11T17:28:00.003-06:00

I have been meaning to post this for a while. Someone sent me an article exploring the 10 Most Endangered Languages in the World to me knowing that I'd find it interesting.

We tend take languages like English, German, French, Spanish and Mandarin for granted. Because they are so widely spoken, we expect them to be around forever. Provided humanity doesn't manage to kill itself in the next few decades, that may not be the case in the future. Dialects rise and fall just as civilizations do.

Many languages that currently exist were at one time spoken by many, but are alive today only because a single speaker is still breathing. Often, that lone speaker is geriatric. Sometimes, they are suffering from dementia. Ethnographers and linguistics experts calculate that at least one language slips into silent extinction every two weeks.

Here are three of the 10 Most Endangered Languages in the World:

Apiaca: Also referred to as Apiaka, Apiake, and Apiaca, these Brazilian peoples find their language and way of life threatened by the gradual creep of Portuguese into the Mato Grosso region. Considered a subgroup of Tupi (specifically Tupi-Guarani), the language only appears to have one remaining speaker in 2007. This in spite of an ethnic population hovering around 192 people.

Kaixana: The last known individual to boast Kaixana as his primary language was Raimundo Avelino. He was 78 as of 2008, living in the Limoeiro, Amazonas, Brazil, and seems to still be kicking around as of February 2011. As far as ethnographers and linguists know, he is the last of the Kaixana speakers.

Kulon-Pazeh: Various Sinitic dialects popularly spoken in Taiwan endangered Kulon-Pazeh (also known as Kulun) to the point it went officially extinct after the 2010 death of Pan Jin-yu. She worked fiercely to educate her peoples in their native tongue, so it continues to hobble along as a second language rather than a primary. However, the overall outlook remains grim, especially considering its status as a "home language" since the 1930s.

Read the rest of the 10 Most Endangered Languages in the World at Online Colleges.

Friday Photography - New Background Wallpaper

2011-03-04T01:16:00.002-06:00

This is my blog. There are many like it, but this one is mine. Recently, I revamped it with a new look and the nifty bookshelf photo below was the wallpaper. That is, until I realized just how many other blogs True to Words resembled after the change.

Image by luoman.

So, inspired by the "template," I made my own background wallpaper. I went to my favorite place, the historical Ames Florida Stork House Museum and took some photos in the home's upstairs library. Below, you can see the full result.

Of course, I like my version better. :) The shelves may be warped and crooked and the worn bindings are not as "neat" as the generic books of the first photo. But these books actually mean something to me. Not only do I contribute towards their care by volunteering my time at the house, but my friends William Shakespeare, Washington Irving, Mark Twain, Homer and Aesop are on those shelves.

This was also my Thursday photo for my 365 project.

Haiku News - February 28, 2011

2011-02-28T13:32:00.001-06:00

Romeo the fox
has been relocated from
his posh London flat.

"Respected for sure,
but no way we're naming a
building after him."

Ever feel like you
need an extra hand? Your brain
could accommodate.

In places, the oil
and dead animals are ten
centimeters thick.

"M'kay, kids, don't do
drugs, drugs are bad. M'kay, they
make you look like hell."

Eighteen months to plan,
and just hours for art to be
destroyed by wind gusts.

When they know someone
is in trouble, it is in
their nature to help.

Origins of International Mother Language Day

2011-02-21T01:11:00.001-06:00

February 21 is International Mother Language Day. The observance is held annually worldwide to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. Though the first worldwide inception was proclaimed by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in November 1999, its history runs deeper and darker than its current state of celebration might indicate.

International Mother Language Day exists because of a battle over the right to speak a language. It originated as Language Movement Day, which has been commemorated in Bangladesh (formerly East Pakistan) since 1952. During that year, a number of University of Dhaka students were killed by the Pakistani police and military during Bengali Language Movement protests.

The events that led up to that day started on 21 March, 1948, when the Governor General of Pakistan, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, declared Urdu as the only official language for both West and East Pakistan. The mainly Bengali-speaking people of East Pakistan (which is now Bangladesh) protested against it, starting the Bengali Language Movement. On 21 February, 1952, students in the present day capital city of Dhaka called for a provincial strike. The government declared a limited curfew to try and prevent this. Though the protests were tame and the students unarmed, the Pakistani police fired on them anyway, killing at least four. Four more were killed the following day.

The first anniversary on 21 February, 1953, was observed in the country as Martyrs' Day. More than 100,000 people assembled at a public meeting held in Armanitola in Dhaka. West Pakistani politicians exacerbated the situation by declaring anyone who wanted Bengali to become an official language to be an "enemy of the state." February 21st 1954 and 1955 were equally tense and as the movement spread through East Pakistan, the whole province came to a standstill.

The first peaceful observance of Language Movement Day was in 1956. The government had relented during the previous year. On 29 February 1956, Bengali was officially recognized as the second language of Pakistan. The country's constitution was reworded to say "The state language of Pakistan shall be Urdu and Bengali." Language Movement Day is thought to have been the start for the independence movement, which eventually resulted in the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971.

The observance spread beyond the young nation. International Mother Language Day has been observed worldwide every year since February 21, 2000. The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2008 as the International Year of Languages, to promote unity in diversity and international understanding through multilingualism and multiculturalism. On 16 May, 2009, the General Assembly called upon Member States "to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world".

Languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing heritage and history that can date back thousands of years. Every action to promote the dissemination of mother tongues encourages linguistic diversity and multilingual education. Their study also helps to develop fuller awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world, inspiring solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue.

Body Language: Wordless Communication

2011-02-14T23:51:00.017-06:00

Valentine's Day. Sounds like the perfect day to talk about a little-discussed aspect of communication: Body Language.

Actions truly do speak louder than words. Body language is a form of non-verbal communication through body posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye movements. Humans send and interpret such signals subconsciously. A person can literally be saying one thing, while their body says something else. Knowing how to read the signals people don't even know they're giving can provide you with clues into their personalities and moods, maybe even help you find love.

According to body language expert Patti Wood, we rely on sight, sounds, smell and touch during flirting to decipher availability, gender and approachability.

"You can send and receive up to 10,000 non-verbal cues in less than one minute of interaction," says Wood, author of Success Signals, adding that since these cues are under less conscious control, they more accurately indicate a person's emotions than what they say.

According to Wood, "one way we show attraction is to move towards what we like. We will point our feet towards a person, lean our upper bodies in, bring our heads forward and symbolically reach towards someone with our gestures."

This kind of silent language is universal. Nonverbal signals are somewhat instinctual and invoke more primitive parts of the brain. For example, a man standing with shoulders squared, chest puffed out, and head held high could signal confidence to a woman but could be interpreted by men as a warning to stay away.

Want a mini cheat-sheet on how to interpret the silent messages other people are communicating? Here are some positive body language signals worth noting:

Hands on hips: Ready, confident
Smoothing clothes, straightening collar: Wants to be noticed
Fluffing or twirling her hair: Playful
Prolonged eye-contact, facing you: Interested
Stroking her throat, neck or upper chest: Sexual interest
Hands in view on table: Nothing to hide
Straightening collar: Wants to look good and attract your attention
Fingers form a church steeple: Confident (Or he's a geriatric millionaire hatching a plot...)
Touching own lips: Wants to kiss (If it's the pinky, this may actually indicate an evil mastermind)
Uses hand gestures a lot: High energy

Negative body language signals:

Hand on chin: Bored
Foot and Finger Tapping: Stress, impatience, or frustration
Hands deep in pockets: Secretive
Chin stroking: Evaluating you
Increased rate of blinking: Signals anxiety
Avoiding eye contact: A sign of disinterest
Crossed arms: A sign of defensive resistance
Throat covered by hand: Offended physically or emotionally
Tugging at earlobe: Wants to interrupt and say something
Picking at nails or cuticles: Angry, stressed

Though body language is subconscious and instinctual, it doesn't necessarily translate the same across all cultures. For example, an American may be more comfortable standing closer to another person than a European individual may find comfortable. The best way to determine what's being said is to watch and observe, to listen to the words in addition to the subtle cues a speaker may be offering. Knowing how to read and interpret body language can definitely make a big difference when it comes to understanding others.

Longest Words in the English Language

2011-02-10T23:59:00.091-06:00

When I was in high school, some of my classmates and I had a lengthy debate about what was/is the longest word in the English language. At the time, we landed on "antidisestablishmentarianism," because we decided "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" wasn't really a word. Sorry, but really, its not.

antidisestablishmentarianism: [\an-tee-dis-uh-stab-lish-muhn-tair-ee-uh-niz-uhm\]
Date: 1838
Function: Noun
: opposition to the withdrawal of state support or recognition from an established church, especially the Anglican Church in 19th-century England.

It turns out, I learned later, that at 28 letters, this word isn't the longest in English. Weighing in at a whopping 1,185 letters long, the name of a tobacco virus was deemed the longest word. Are you ready? Take a deep breath and say:

acetylseryltyrosylserylisoleucylthreonylserylprolylserylglutaminylphenylalanylvalylphenylalanylleucylserylserylvalyltryptophylalanylaspartylprolylisoleucylglutamylleucylleucylasparaginylvalylcysteinylthreonylserylserylleucylglycylasparaginylglutaminylphenylalanylglutaminylthreonylglutaminylglutaminylalanylarginylthreonylthreonylglutaminylvalylglutaminylglutaminylphenylalanylserylglutaminylvalyltryptophyllysylprolylphenylalanylprolylglutaminylserylthreonylvalylarginylphenylalanylprolylglycylaspartylvalyltyrosyllysylvalyltyrosylarginyltyrosylasparaginylalanylvalylleucylaspartylprolylleucylisoleucylthreonylalanylleucylleucylglycylthreonylphenylalanylaspartylthreonylarginylasparaginylarginylisoleucylisoleucylglutamylvalylglutamylasparaginylglutaminylglutaminylserylprolylthreonylthreonylalanylglutamylthreonylleucylaspartylalanylthreonylarginylarginylvalylaspartylaspartylalanylthreonylvalylalanylisoleucylarginylserylalanylasparaginylisoleucylasparaginylleucylvalylasparaginylglutamylleucylvalylarginylglycylthreonylglycylleucyltyrosylasparaginylglutaminylasparaginylthreonylphenylalanylglutamylserylmethionylserylglycylleucylvalyltryptophylthreonylserylalanylprolylalanylserine: [Yeah right, I can't find any online sources that articulate how this word is articulated]
Date: 1964
Function: Noun
: Chemical name for the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), a positive-sense single stranded RNA virus that infects plants, especially tobacco and other members of the family Solanaceae

Then last month I found this article from NPR that explores the longest words in the English language. The usual suspects were included in the debate, mainly the three words already listed in this blog post. Then there, at the end, was a different word that is even longer than the TMV virus' chemical name. Weighing in at a whopping 1,913 characters, enter:

methionylglutaminylarginyltyrosylglutamylserylleucylphenylalanylalanylglutaminylleucyllysylglutamylarginyllysylglutamylglycylalanylphenylalanylvalylprolylphenylalanylvalylthreonylleucylglycylaspartylprolylglycylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylserylleucyllysylisoleucylaspartylthreonylleucylisoleucylglutamylalanylglycylalanylaspartylalanylleucylglutamylleucylglycylisoleucylprolylphenylalanylserylaspartylprolylleucylalanylaspartylglycylprolylthreonylisoleucylglutaminylasparaginylalanylthreonylleucylarginylalanylphenylalanylalanylalanylglycylvalylthreonylprolylalanylglutaminylcysteinylphenylalanylglutamylmethionylleucylalanylleucylisoleucylarginylglutaminyllysylhistidylprolylthreonylisoleucylprolylisoleucylglycylleucylleucylmethionyltyrosylalanylasparaginylleucylvalylphenylalanylasparaginyllysylglycylisoleucylaspartylglutamylphenylalanyltyrosylalanylglutaminylcysteinylglutamyllysylvalylglycylvalylaspartylserylvalylleucylvalylalanylaspartylvalylprolylvalylglutaminylglutamylserylalanylprolylphenylalanylarginylglutaminylalanylalanylleucylarginylhistidylasparaginylvalylalanylprolylisoleucylphenylalanylisoleucylcysteinylprolylprolylaspartylalanylaspartylaspartylaspartylleucylleucylarginylglutaminylisoleucylalanylseryltyrosylglycylarginylglycyltyrosylthreonyltyrosylleucylleucylserylarginylalanylglycylvalylthreonylglycylalanylglutamylasparaginylarginylalanylalanylleucylprolylleucylasparaginylhistidylleucylvalylalanyllysylleucyllysylglutamyltyrosylasparaginylalanylalanylprolylprolylleucylglutaminylglycylphenylalanylglycylisoleucylserylalanylprolylaspartylglutaminylvalyllysylalanylalanylisoleucylaspartylalanylglycylalanylalanylglycylalanylisoleucylserylglycylserylalanylisoleucylvalyllysylisoleucylisoleucylglutamylglutaminylhistidylasparaginylisoleucylglutamylprolylglutamyllysylmethionylleucylalanylalanylleucyllysylvalylphenylalanylvalylglutaminylprolylmethionyllysylalanylalanylthreonylarginylserine: [BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I dare you to try and pronounce it]
Date: ???
Function: Noun
: Full chemical name of tryptophan synthetase A protein, which partners with tryptophan synthetase B protein to create tryptophan, an essential amino acid

While searching to find the official definitions and spellings of these words for this blog post, I found yet another word, and this one takes the cake (and is so long, it won't be printed here). Numbered at a gigantormous 189,819 characters, check out the real longest word in the English language (click the link to see the full name).

titin: [\tit-in\]
Date: ???
Function: Noun
: the shortened name for a protein that in humans is encoded by the TTN gene; also known as connectin

But the NPR article made a really good point about whether these words are used or not. Though the full words for tryptophan synthetase A protein and titin are quite long, they haven't been published in usage. The TMV virus name, however, was published in science journals in the 1960s. Since that time, there have been bigger, longer molecules that could be words, but publications don't bother to spell them because it uses up large amounts of space and paper. And really, did anyone even reading this blog post read the words all the way through? I wrote it, and I didn't.

My further research also lead me to wonder about these "longest" words, as even linguists disagree whether they should even exist because of their highly technical nature. There are obviously shorter words that are used much more commonly in references to these nouns. Surely since it is easier to say and requires fewer breaks for breathing than its full name, titin must be thrown around much more often than the methionylthreonylthreonylglutamin-what-a-novel-of-a-word.

Also, some of the "shorter" words that are still exceptionally long are disputed. Lopadotemachoselachogaleokranioleipsanodrimhypotrimmatosilphioparaomelitokatakechymenokichlepikossyphophattoperisteralektryonoptekephalliokigklopeleiolagoiosiraiobaphetraganopterygon is a 183 letter word that refers to a fictional dish mentioned in Aristophanes' comedy Assemblywomen, but its an English transliteration of an ancient Greek word that has never appeared in a dictionary. And pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis, at 45 letters long, was actually coined specifically to serve as the longest English word and is the longest to ever appear in the dictionary. It's a lung disease that is more commonly called silicosis. But if its coined to be the longest, is that cheating?

So after all of those words are shoved to the side, either because their challenged or coined, what is left? Its 35 letters long and you're never going to guess what it means.

hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia: [\hippo-poto-mons-stro-ses-quipped-alio-phobia\]
Date: ???
Function: Noun
: The fear of long words.

-----
Resources:
What's The Longest Word In The English Language?
Longest word in English

James' Painting

2011-02-09T23:50:00.000-06:00

I've been writing more website content! This time for a local painting company. James’ Painting is a residential and commercial painting contractor based in Prior Lake, Minn.. Serving the Minneapolis – St. Paul Twin Cities Metro Area, they have over 20 years experience painting homes and businesses with careful attention to detail and results that last for years.

An excerpt from their website:

A fresh coat of paint can rejuvenate the interior or exterior of nearly any home or business. The outside of a building is the first thing a visitor sees and can leave a lasting impression. Selling a home? Kick up the exterior curb appeal and make the interior walls sparkle with a new coat of paint. Do customers visit your establishment? A property with a well-maintained appearance instills more confidence in your clientele than cracked, peeling paint.

James’ Painting offers free estimates for all interior and exterior house painting and commercial painting projects. From color selection to clean-up, they take great pride in providing superior quality work and outstanding customer service.

---

Sara Duane-Gladden is a Minneapolis - St. Paul Twin Cities Metro Area freelance writer specializing in writing search engine optimized website content and helping small businesses utilize social media marketing techniques.

Prairie Dogs Use Language to Describe Predators

2011-01-31T14:32:00.001-06:00

Humans aren't the only species to have sophisticated language systems. One of the most recent new languages discovered belongs to the humble prairie dog.

Prairie dogs, a rodent native to North America, are social creatures that live together in little underground communities. They are very social creatures that spend their days looking for food and chattering away with each other. When a predator enters their village, such as a dog, coyote or hawk, they call out to warn their neighbors with a distinctive "chee chee chee chee" sound.

When Professor Con Slobodchikoff of Northern Arizona University first started studying prairie dogs 30 years ago, he couldn't tell the difference between warning calls for different predators. However, the prairie dogs all responded to what appeared to be similar calls with different specific behaviors, like scurrying into their burrows for cover or standing up to get a better view. Slobodchikoff began to think there was something to the sounds that he wasn't hearing.

Slobodchikoff and his students recorded the noises from prairie dog villages whenever a human, dog, coyote or hawk passed. Then he used a computer program to analyze the recordings. The program measured the calls' frequencies and separated out the component tones and overtones.

What Slobodchikoff discovered was that the calls clustered into different groups, and each cluster had its own signature set of frequencies and tones. Prairie dogs, in other words, don't just have a call for "danger" — they have one call for "human," another for "hawk" and a third for "coyote." They can even differentiate between coyotes and domesticated dogs.

Even more astonishing, upon further analysis he discovered that prairie dogs appear to have methods of describing individuals within each type of predator. He had four volunteers walk through a prairie dog village dressed exactly the same except for their shirts. Each volunteer walked through the communities four times: once in a blue shirt, once in yellow, once in green and once in gray.

He found, to his delight, that the calls broke down into groups based on the color of the volunteer's shirt. "I was astounded," says Slobodchikoff. But what astounded him even more, was that further analysis revealed that the calls also clustered based on other characteristics, like the height of the human. "Essentially they were saying, 'Here comes the tall human in the blue,' versus, 'Here comes the short human in the yellow,' " says Slobodchikoff.

Slobodchikoff's experiments have been repeated with other groups of prairie dogs. His experiments offer insight into other highly social animals that may communicate with languages more sophisticated than we expect.

Source: New Language Discovered: Prairiedogese - NPR

Haiku News - January 24, 2011

2011-01-24T15:50:00.001-06:00

After drinking too
much Schnapps, Mr. Owl spent a
night in the drunk tank.

Forget "Man bites dog,"
how about "Fox shoots hunter"
for a hot story?

A cell phone ring tone
replaced the Tock-Tick-Tock of
the crocodile clock.

Pompeii, preserved by
ash, has been neglected by
preservationists.

Seven kids weren't taught
to not eat "candy" they find
in strange locations.

Potato guns aren't
safe. Shoot only when there is
a Boy Scout nearby.

Three in 10 people
have committed financial
infidelity.

Mom and offspring were
caught shoplifting. She said her
kids made her do it.

A major pillar
of our ecosystem may
soon become extinct.

Into the lion's
den the penguin crawled... good thing
they were all asleep.

Minneapolis Pet News Examiner

2011-01-21T20:17:00.000-06:00

Lately, I've been looking for new ways to explore my interests through writing. As someone who shares a life with 3 cats, 2 dogs and a parrot, I am excited to be the new Minneapolis Pet News Examiner!

Like some sort of special present, my first article was published on Friday - my birthday! I've tried to hit the ground running, having published five articles already. Please check them out:

I also plan to write some advice-style articles based on my personal experiences owning or caring for animals as fragile as fish and hermit crabs to as robust as dogs and horses. Twin Cities area readers, please let me know about local pet news and events you think are newsworthy by via e-mail, Twitter or posting a comment. Any kinds of pets: Dogs, cats, parrots, horses, ferrets, pot-bellied pigs, llamas, whatever! I am ready to write about everything pet-related in Minneapolis, St. Paul and the surrounding Twin Cities!

Hugo-Gunn Photography

2011-01-18T00:00:00.005-06:00

Recently, had the opportunity to write the website copy for a local photographer. Hugo-Gunn Photography specializes in professional wedding photography and senior portraits. Takes a look at some of their photos below:

Traditional and Artistic Senior Portraits

Traditional and Artistic Wedding Photography

This content was really easy to write, given my own love for photography. It was also incredibly fun to write, given the talent of the photographer. Even though I tend towards realism in my own photos, I looove the more artistic looking pictures on the Hugo-Gunn Photography site. If you know someone who is looking for truly unique portraits or wedding photos, Hugo-Gunn could be the place to contact. Based in Prior Lake, Minnesota, Hugo-Gunn Photography proudly serves Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and the surrounding Twin Cities Metro Area Communities.

---

Sara Duane-Gladden is a Minneapolis - St. Paul Twin Cities Metro Area freelance writer specializing in writing search engine optimized website content and helping small businesses utilize social media marketing techniques.

Save a Life Haiku News

2011-01-16T04:49:00.005-06:00

January is
National Blood Donor Month -
the need is urgent!

AHA wants states
to require students to learn
CPR at school.

Student, teacher, and
firefighter saved lives with the
Heimlich maneuver.

Register
as an organ and tissue donor:
Save a life in death.

The truly brave may
even choose to be alive
when they "donate life."

My Blogging New Year's Resolutions for 2011

2011-01-12T21:15:00.001-06:00

True to Words has been around for two years! In 2010, I made some blog-related New Year's resolutions. Here's a report on my progress and some new resolutions for 2011!

This year, as last year, I resolve to...

• Write more blog posts - In 2009, I wrote 97 posts. In 2010, I wrote 108 posts. That is almost a 9% increase! For 2011, I am aiming to write at least 10% more for 119 posts!

• Increase post variety - I think I did this, delving more into ancient tongues and scientific studies of language than my first year. Now I think I want to also move towards discussing how language shapes our world in other ways.

• Blog more consistently - Most of the time, I was really good at being consistent, while there were periods when I was really bad about it. I have a good excuse, though: I got married! I'll do my best again this year, and if something time consuming comes up again, I'm going to try and be more pro-active about pre-posting.

• Revisit topics more often, like Bad Ad Placements and Language Barrier - I did revisit some topics this year, but I now find it a little odd that the specific two categories I mentioned last year didn't see any action. In 2011, am going to add at least one story to each!

• Write more reviews of music, movies, etc. - By doing two reviews last year (the awesome Donny Dirk's Zombie Den and the ill-fated, inappropriately named Taste of Minnesota), I doubled how many reviews I did in 2009. Four is what I'm aiming for this year, starting with the Winter Carnival Beer Dabbler Showcase on January 29.

Did anyone else make blogging New Year's resolutions? Share them here or let's see your link!

True to Words' Top 10 Posts of 2010

2011-01-10T19:10:00.001-06:00

Since my last post, we welcomed the New 2011 Year and True to Words turned two years old. What to write, what to write? Oh, I know! How about highlights of the most-visited blog posts from the past year? Of course, what else would I do! Here are my Top 10 Posts of 2010!

10. Ancient Language Deciphered By Computer

The cooperative effort of two universities across several disciplines has created a computer program that can decipher "lost" languages. This program could not only speed up the translation process of ancient documents, it also could help improve online translation software.

9. Laughter: The Most Primitive Language

Laughter is primal, social, universal and infectious. Laughter is so unique, that it should come as no surprise that the scientific analysis and research of laughter is a quite serious matter. And laughing rats are seriously, adorably cute, so don't forget to watch the video at the end.

8. International Mother Language Day Highlights Endangered Languages

Every 14 days, one of the world's estimated 7,000 spoken languages dies. February 21 is International Mother Language Day, which has been observed annually since February 2000. The day is meant promote linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism throughout the world.

7. The Simpsons Contributions to the English Language

London-based translation company Today Translations polled 320 of linguists across the world to try to find the “most valuable addition to the English language” from the world’s most popular animated TV series, "The Simpsons". Here's a hint: "D'oh!" - Homer’s trademark grunt of irritation or frustration - is the top contribution, but it certainly isn't the only one.

6. Review: Donny Dirk's Zombie Den in Minneapolis

For my birthday last year, some of my closest friends and I went out for dinner at Broadway Pizza and then to Donny Dirk's Zombie Den for drinks. A great bar in Minneapolis that offers a... unique... atmosphere. It is a Zombie Den, after all!

5. The Death of Boa Sr and the Bo Language

Last year in February, one of the oldest languages in the world died when Boa Sr, the oldest member of the Great Andamanese tribe, drew her last breath. The 85-year-old was the only known fluent speaker of 70,000-year-old Bo language. According to one count, there are about 470 languages throughout the world that are on their own version of an endangered species list.

4. Text-Slang Creeping Into Academic Work

Texting language is fine for messages to friends, but when it seeps into academic work, it leaves college professors both confused and aggravated. Some have even developed official policies about it written into their syllibi. "'wut up ya I cnt make it 2 clss lol' is insanely unprofessional," reads the syllabus of Alejo Enriquez, a Cal State East Bay instructor.

3. Dinner vs. Supper

Dinner and supper. The preference for "dinner" over "supper" is both regional and generational. What are the actual differences between the meanings of these words and how they're used? And which term do you prefer to use?

2. Floriography: The Language of Flowers

The language of flowers, or floriography, was a Victorian-era means of communication in which various flowers and floral arrangements were used to send messages in code. This allowed people to express feelings which otherwise could not be spoken during this particularly frigid period of history.

1. Friday Photography - Graffiti is Like Modern Day Cave Painting

Some of our most priceless works of art were painted on cave walls by ancient humans. In my opinion, some of our most overlooked creative works have been spray painted on the walls of buildings. And I have to say I am glad this post is in the top spot, because it is one of my absolute favorites.

There you have it! Check out the Top 10 Posts for True to Words' First Year while you're at it. Happy New Year!

Friday Photography - Have a Happy New Year

2010-12-31T12:00:00.000-06:00

Have a happy New Year!

Stay safe, drink responsibly, and designate a driver so you can actually enjoy 2011! :)

Words of the Year for 2010

2010-12-30T23:59:00.003-06:00

It is the last days of 2010, which of course means lists of the "top whatevers" in various forms for the year. Being that this is a blog about language and writing, I've compiled a list of some of the best word-related lists for 2010.

Merriam-Websters Words of the Year 2010 - Merriam-Webster's List of Top Ten Words of the Year for 2010 is profile of America's mood and interests, as determined by the volume of user lookups at Merriam-Webster.com.
New Oxford American Dictionary's 2010 Words of the Year - Not quite sure about their methodology for choosing these words, but some are definitely worth noting.
Wall Street Journal's Words of the Year for 2010 - The Wall Street Journal reported an analysis of the news it published in 2010 reveals an array of words and terms that starred in this year's coverage.
Top buzzwords of 2010 - From refudiate to gate rape, the events and happenings of the last 12 months are well represented by these phrases.
Most Annoying Word or Phrases, 2010 Edition - According to The Marist Poll, “whatever” remains the most annoying word or phrase in conversation today according to 39% of the recipients polled. I am with the 28% that would rather hear that word than "like."
16 Words And Phrases We Want To Retire In 2010 - I wholeheartedly agree and would like to add the improper usage of the words "epic" and "fail" to this list. That is all.

What words will be popular in 2011? Only time will tell.

Holiday Haiku News - December 21, 2010

2010-12-21T20:34:00.002-06:00

Sleep deprivation
could turn Santa Claus into
a public menace...

...Perhaps that is why
one of his reindeer tried to
make the great escape.

Baby Jesus is
watched over by a higher
power: GPS.

This is the time of
year when Christmas Miracles
abound everywhere...

...Some really are, while
others could hardly be called
miracles at all...

...None should be confused
with the Christmas Beeracle,
a holiday brew.

Think of people less
fortunate at this time of
kindness and giving...

...Many families
are in need of even most
basic sustenance.

Please travel safely:
To live to celebrate next
year, don't drink then drive.

Most importantly,
take care of yourself and your
loved ones this season.

Friday Photography - Vegas Vacation, Part II

2010-12-10T12:00:00.001-06:00

I have finished uploading my Las Vegas vacation photos, with the exception of those taken at my wedding ceremony. Not counting those, I've pretty much caught up on my photo sorting and uploading! I thought highlighting the Fabulous Las Vegas sign would be the perfect way to commemorate having newfound space on my harddrive - so I can fill it up again!

Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas Nevada

Ever since I knew we were going to Las Vegas, I knew I wanted to snap a photo of this sign at night. It's so iconic, it just had to be done. This sign is one of the only things that always stays the same in Las Vegas. Except for when people are throwing paint on it.

Drive Carefully - Come Back Soon

I have to say, though I try to always drive carefully, it will be a long time before I go back to Las Vegas. Maybe like my husband said we could go back for a 5 year anniversary thing, but not next freaking fall like some of my casino-lucky friends probably will. :)

Las Vegas Vacation, Part I
Las Vegas Vacation Photo Album

Crow River Christmas

2010-12-09T23:59:00.001-06:00

The first weekend of the first-ever Crow River Christmas seemed to be a hit, at least from this observer's point of view. The second weekend won't have quite as many events, but hopefully it will be as well attended.

On December 4, the first Saturday of the Crow River Christmas included a variety of activities suitable for all ages. There was a Medallion Hunt, pancake breakfast, Cookie Walk, Chili Contest, and a ceremony to Light Up the Park. Starting at 9:00 a.m. and ending at 7:00 p.m., there was something happening nearly every moment of the day.

This weekend on December 11, the festivities will be a little bit more subdued. There will be a Girl Scout Holiday Craft & Bake Sale with a varying admission policy starting at 9:00 a.m., but which will be officially open to the public at 10:30 until noon. Pictures with Santa will beheld from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Rockford Fire Station (bring a new toy, they'll be holding a toy drive to benefit local families!). And my personal favorite, the Ames Florida Stork House will be open for tours and decorated for Christmas in a turn-of-the-century style with offerings of hot chocolate and cookies.

The Stork House will also hold its traditional, low-key Victorian-Style Christmas Tea on Sunday, December 12, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

More photos of Crow River Christmas in Rockford, MN.

Haiku News - December 6, 2010

2010-12-06T02:50:00.001-06:00

The TSA is
going for a world record
incurring lawsuits.

"We're only gonna
die for our arrogance - might
as well speed it up."

Men of the cloth risked
their lives to save a stranded
canine companion.

"Sex in the City"
is not comparative to
most females - STOP IT!

She lost her car, the
deer lost its life, but roadkill
can fetch a high price.

He plucked it from the
water, saying "Boomerangs
really do come back!"

This Kindergarten
took its love for "Survivor"
a little too far.

Its not bad enough
corporations are people,
but now renters aren't?

Cattle rustlers with
a long-term vision wanted
to begin small-scale.

Don't keep him from his
meds and whatever you do,
stay off his lawn, too!

Friday Photography - Vegas Vacation, Part I

2010-12-03T23:25:00.002-06:00

As promised, photos from my trip to Las Vegas in September. One of my favorite places to snap pics was at Fremont Street, one of the more family-friendly areas of Las Vegas. No, really! There were kids everywhere! It was like a street-party that happens every day and night, with music and vendors and entertainment. Visiting Fremont Street was one of my favorite Las Vegas experiences. Ha! I made a funny.

Fremont Street Experience

Fremont Street has a screen that arches across it on which a variety of media, in particular musical medlies by popular classic rock bands with psychedelic video accompaniment. It is called the "Fremont Street Experience." Basically, they're the newest generation of laser light shows. I think this particular "performance" was the Beatles, but I'm not sure.

Smoking Cowboy

Las Vegas' infamous 50-foot Smoking Cowboy neon sign can be found under the video canopy on Fremont Street.

Glitter Gulch

Okay, Fremont Street is family friendly as long as you don't go inside the casinos and gentlemen’s' clubs. Stay in the pedestrian-only street where all the non-gambling fun is and you'll be just fine. But I love these neon signs.

Maybe I'll post actual photos of my wedding next week, though those won't be by me, I was busy getting married! :) In the meantime, you can view the rest of my Las Vegas Vacation / Wedding photos at Flickr - at least the ones I've uploaded so far. I also posted a few photos from the drive to Vegas at Sam Can Shoot.

"Oh, the Profanity!"

2010-11-30T18:37:00.003-06:00

The Parents Television Council is sounding the alarm on an increase in profanity on television. In a report aptly named "Habitat for Profanity," the watchdog group alleges that foul language on network TV has increased 69% from five years ago. Are they kidding, is that the real number?! Not 68% or 70%?

The PTC spent the first two weeks of the fall TV season counting dirty words in prime time. The group monitored ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, UPN, and the WB in 2005; the Big Four plus the CW in 2010. 124 hours of programming from 2005 was compared to 128 hours in 2010.

The Parents Television Council monitored 18 terms it considers indecent. According to federal law, content can be considered indecent if it describes or depicts “sexual or excretory organs or activities… [and] the broadcast must be patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium.” A full list of the terms they encountered and how often they were repeated can be found here.

PTC reports that the most popular curse word on TV was a bleeped F-word. The group found 156 instances of it, compared to just once in 2005. The word "hell" is next with 119 instances. The least used profane words were "douche" and "balls," each tied at one.

The group said the biggest increase of foul language occurred during the 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. time slots. During the 8:00 pm "family hour", instances of the f-word increased from 10 in 2005 to 111 in 2010. Use of the s-word during this hour increased from 11 instances in 2005 to 42 in 2010.

Why such a drastic increase? It has been attributed to a court ruling against profanity censures by the Federal Communications Commission. As Television Broadcast explains:

The Second Circuit ruled in July that the FCC’s penalties for fleeting expletives were “unconstitutionally vague.” The case evolved out of a 2004 FCC indecency dragnet resulting in $4.5 million in fines. Fox was cited for expletives uttered during live awards telecasts in 2002 and 2003, though a similar previous occurrence was given a pass. Fox challenged the ruling. The Supreme Court agreed that the FCC's fleeting expletive rules were vague and tossed a First Amendment challenge back to the lower court.

In response, the networks instituted tape delays to bleep fleeting expletives or cut away from indecent material during live shows. That nixes most of the PTC's complaints. However, the group is increasingly opposed to scripted programming such as Fox’s “Family Guy,” the title of CBS’s “$#*! My Dad Says,” and “Two and a Half Men.”

Personally, I'm not opposed to profanity or "offensive content," I just find this subject to be particularly interesting as an avid fan of classic film and television. Every fart, boob, and penis joke reminds me of just how far censorship on American television has come since shows first began broadcasting in the 1940s and 1950s. Back then, Lucille Ball wasn't allowed to say she was "pregnant" on "I Love Lucy," she had to use the word "expecting." The first Tweety Bird, a featherless pink baby bird, was considered to be too naked and to satisfy the censors the animator was forced to add the distinctive yellow colored feathers we know him by today. Oh my, how times have changed!

Historically, edgy shows that push the envelope like those listed above have been popular with audiences. The predecessors of today's show's owe some of their freedom to groundbreaking sitcoms such as "All in the Family," "The Jeffersons," "Three's Company," "Married... with Children," and "Roseanne." Is it a coincidence that some of the biggest sitcom hits on television right now are also some of the most "profane"?

Painting Lyrics in the Air with His Hands

2010-11-25T22:49:00.001-06:00

I've made my feelings known about hip-hop and rap before - I'm highly selective and skeptical of newcomers. You have no idea how excited I was to find this video newscast about Signmark, the deaf man who paints lyrics in the air by waving his hands.

Though he expresses himself through an art form rooted in the spoken word, Signmark doesn't make a sound. Instead, he signs his way through songs as fellow rapper Brandon gives voice to his lyrics. Together, the artists bridge the gap between the deaf world and the hearing world.

For the curious, though Signmark can't hear the music, he can feel the beat. "You can go to a concert with earplugs and you'll feel it, you'll then notice that you feel it in your body," said Signmark. As the music plays, he signs and Brandon raps in unison. The combination is a whole new kind of performance art.

"Those two words, music and deaf, they've never gone together," signed Signmark. Maybe not, but they do now: In 2009, Signmark became the first deaf rapper ever to land a recording contract.

And the music is infectious. I found three videos of his online. My personal favorite is "Smells Like Victory" but honestly they're all good. I highly recommend taking a look and a listen!

Signmark - Smells Like Victory

Signmark - Against the Wall

Signmark - Speakerbox

Thanksgiving 2010 Haiku News

2010-11-22T23:59:00.003-06:00

Make sure you know what
will be served for dinner at
your Thanksgiving feast.

What Thanksgiving dish
could you do without? For me,
green bean casserole.

Have cooking questions?
The Turkey Talk-Line is on
standby just for you!

The pardoned turkey
won't go to Disneyland, but
George's Mount Vernon.

This festive season,
do something to help others
have Thanksgiving meals...

...But don't worry too
much over whether children
clean their plates or not.

Gluttony Pants will
keep you from busting buttons
following your meal.

Arrive alive to
dinner, depart alert and
sober - You are loved!

Friday Photography - Last Flowers of Summer

2010-11-19T23:59:00.006-06:00

I am finally reaching the end of the photos I needed to sort through from the summer. I came across these flowers and remembered the fun and warmth in the sun. It's winter now, though, so my photo subjects are going to be changing soon. There are new fun times to be had, they're just likely going to be snow-filled! Next week: Las Vegas photos!

Bright Pink Flower

Pale Pink Flowers

White Flower

If anyone knows the names of any of these flowers, I would be most grateful if you could share them with me!

The Word: Plagiarism

2010-11-18T23:17:00.025-06:00

The words "plagiarize" and "plagiarism" are popping up in the news lately. These words can chill a creative soul to the bone, and I am no exception. To commit plagiarism is "to plagiarize":

plagiarize: \ˈplā-jə-ˌrīz\

Date: 1716

Function: transitive verb
: to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own : use (another's production) without crediting the source

Function: intransitive verb
: to commit literary theft : present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source

Plagiarism seems to be everywhere, from cooking magazines to J.K. Rowling's popular Harry Potter book series. And you wouldn't believe the people being accused of plagiarizing other people's work, such as Oprah Winfrey, "South Park" creators and satire specialists Matt Stone and Trey Parker, even the former president of the United States, George W. Bush. At all levels of publication and even higher-level academics, the world of writing is rife with word thiefs, idea pirates, and otherwise plain old copyright infringers.

Plagiarism is a huge problem, particularly on the internet. Because everything on the internet is so easily copied, pasted, and reproduced, its not hard to understand why people like Cooks Source editor Judith Griggs believe everything on the web is in the "public domain." The subject doesn't have to be an article or a memoir, no one's content is off limits to these charlatans, it can be as personal as your own past! Just ask graphic designer Clay Butler who has had his biography stolen in various forms by many tricksters, sometimes the same person more than once.

So why do people do it? Well, at the very least it is just easier to pass off someone else's work as your own than to buckle down and actually do it yourself. Another reason may be for profit, such as discount content services that promise vast quantities of "unique" text at prices that would baffle any self-respecting writer who values themselves and their work. Other people, like the Black Eyed Peas (who have been sued repeatedly for plagiarism) and even Supreme Court Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo just seem to think that they can get away with it. Poor planning, ineptitude, even writer's block are all reasons that can contribute to a person choosing to plagiarism but I think what most plagiarists have in common is one very specific characteristic: They want to impress others.

Whether its the boss, colleagues, their friends, their professor, potential employees, future clients or even random readers, I think most plagiarists steal other peoples words, ideas, and experiences because they wish they could claim them as their own. They want others to believe that they're creative, intelligent, deep. Instead of showing those qualities by accomplishing something uniquely their own, they disprove themselves by doing the opposite.

But plagiarism is a shallow crime that can be easily revealed. First of all, duplicate content and plagiarism detection software are making this crime harder to accomplish. Additionally, the stories of plagiarists who are trying to co-opt other people's experiences can be easily shot down by witnesses or even just people who have an interest in rooting out creativity theft. Finally, as in the case of plagiarized resumes and bios, when someone claims they have a specific skill and yet fails to accomplish that task in a satisfactory way, it becomes apparent that person lied about his or her qualifications.

Then what follows next?

Public shaming, endless ridicule, humble apologies, lost jobs, and expensive lawsuits. Because whether its a song, a book, a website, a blog, a photo, a logo, a graphic, or any other copyrighted item, the person or people who created it will defend their work against infringement to whatever degree they can. After all, it is their intellectual property and likely their livelihood. And as proven by the purported collapse of Cooks Source, even if the case doesn't end up in court, a verdict and punishment for plagiarism can be doled out quite swiftly through social media justice.

For anyone who would pursue this type of behavior, I would advise them to determine whether the short term gain that can be accomplished through plagiarism is outweighed by the long-term stigma and repercussions of getting caught.

Haiku News - November 15, 2010

2010-11-15T12:00:00.000-06:00

Chocoholics may
have to pay a hefty price
for their cocoa fix.

That weed which makes us
forgetful now may help us
remember later...

...And that drink we quaff
could be the reason we have
civilization.

There has got to be
a sacrilegious joke in
this story somewhere.

First class passengers
wanted nothing to do with
coach's pillow-fight.

He fell asleep and
drifted to sea, but friendly
porpoises saved him.

Trees cleared from the land,
the structure of an ancient
city is revealed.

The richest woman
in the world told a homeless
man she had no cash.

Thanksgiving draws near.
I know one way to deal with
aggressive turkeys.

I wish I could find
something like this. They almost
threw it in the trash!

Uncommonly Known Origins of 20 Common Words

2010-11-14T16:58:00.008-06:00

Etymology is the study of the history of words, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time. English in particular is a language that consists of many words that were adopted and adapted from other languages.

Though it may sound dull, learning how our modern-day English words came to evolve from older languages is fascinating. Recently, this post by Best College Online was brought to my attention. I liked it so much, I had to share. It explores 20 surprising origins of words that many of us use every day.

Excerpts:

Mortgage : Paying your mortgage can have a deathly effect on your bank account, so go figure that mort was taken from mori, meaning “to die” in Latin. That combined with gage, which is Latin for “pledge,” mortgage literally means “dead pledge.” The word surfaced in Old French during the 13th century, indicating that a pledge for property was dead to the borrower if the loan was repaid, or the property was dead to the borrower if the loan weren’t repaid.

Panic : Pan, the half-man and half-goat Greek God of woods and fields, was infamous for causing unbridled yet mindless fear in crowded places, inspiring the coining of panikon deima, or “panic fear.” Later, the term was adopted by the French as panique

Weird : The original English meaning of weird was “fate” or “destiny.” During the Middle English period, it was used in reference to the three fates of Greek and Roman myth. Later, Shakespeare included the three weird sisters in “Macbeth,” leading to its modern usage.

And these were the safest definitions I felt comfortable posting on my blog! You wouldn't believe from where the words fizzle, dork, or avocado originated. Read the rest of the article here.

Friday Photography - Volunteer Sunflower

2010-11-12T00:00:00.002-06:00

Summer is done. Fall is here. The flowers and greenery have gone.

Sunflower

This was the last flower still blooming in my container garden before they all died about two weeks ago. This wasn't even technically in my potted garden, either, it actually grew under my bird feeder. It died and I've harvested the seeds to sew on purpose next year.

Haiku News - November 8, 2010

2010-11-08T23:59:00.011-06:00

Pizza: A deep dish
style community service
I can get behind.

Like a cartoon, the
baby bounced off the awning,
into daddy's arms.

Answer honestly:
Could you solve this empty Wheel
of Fortune puzzle?

Career advice for
the college-bound? Three words: Large
animal doctor.

Lost to gambling debts,
nothing is left of Henry's
famed Nonsuch Palace.

Freedom of the road?
No thank you, I'd rather pay
fares and buy gadgets.

I really wonder
about the types of news us
geeks cover sometimes.

Economic rifts
annihilate our sense of
national union.

Apprentice psychic
octopus, Paul II, hasn't
used his powers yet.

Finally, what I've
wanted for ages: Bacon,
in drinkable form!

NELL: The Computer That Learns Like a Person

2010-11-03T18:35:00.002-05:00

Few challenges in the computing world are bigger than understanding human language. The meanings of words and phrases relies on their context and the cumulative knowledge that humans learn over time. But researchers are now working on a machine that is trying to learn semantics just like a human does.

Utilizing a research supercomputing cluster provided by Yahoo, and supported by money from Google and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, a team of researchers at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh has been improving the computer system called NELL - The Never-Ending Language Learning system. Housed in a basement at the university, NELL was "taught" some basic knowledge in a variety of categories, and then turned loose on the web with specific instructions to teach itself. By analyzing immense quantities of human-created text, NELL will begin to detect the patterns that define the use of language.

Calculating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, NELL scans hundreds of millions of Web pages for text patterns that it uses to learn facts. So far, it has learned 390,000, with an approximate accuracy of 87 percent. These facts are grouped into categories, such as cities, sports teams, actors, plants, animals, and 275 others and growing. The facts for each category are things like “Minneapolis is a city” and “Daffodil is a plant.”

NELL also learns facts that are relations between members of two categories. For example, Peyton Manning is a football player (category). The Indianapolis Colts is a football team (category). By scanning text patterns, NELL can infer with a high probability that Peyton Manning plays for the Indianapolis Colts — even if it has never read that Mr. Manning plays for the Colts. “Plays for” is a relation, and there are 280 kinds of relations. The number of categories and relations has more than doubled since earlier this year, and will steadily expand.

The learned facts are continuously added to NELL’s growing database, which the researchers call a “knowledge base.” A large pool of facts, like that conveniently provided by the internet, will help refine NELL’s learning algorithms so that it finds facts on the Web more accurately and more efficiently over time. Basically, just like humans, the more it knows, the easier it is to learn more in the future.

Though NELL is learning mostly by itself with astonishing accuracy, sometimes the NELL gets its facts wrong. Every two weeks, researchers scan the categories for inaccuracies. Sometimes they do have to step in and correct a misunderstanding.

When Dr. Mitchell scanned the “baked goods” category recently, he noticed a clear pattern. NELL was at first quite accurate, easily identifying all kinds of pies, breads, cakes and cookies as baked goods. But things went awry after NELL’s noun-phrase classifier decided “Internet cookies” was a baked good. (Its database related to baked goods or the Internet apparently lacked the knowledge to correct the mistake.)

NELL had read the sentence “I deleted my Internet cookies.” So when it read “I deleted my files,” it decided “files” was probably a baked good, too. “It started this whole avalanche of mistakes,” Dr. Mitchell said. He corrected the Internet cookies error and restarted NELL’s bakery education.

While that might seem like a hitch in the plan, it actually humanizes NELL even more. Humans don't learn completely on their own, either. When we are young, adults help us learn and as adults, we all learn from each other. NELL, however, needs considerably less attention and guidance than a human student.

NELL is one project in a widening field of research and investment aimed at enabling computers to better understand the meaning of language. Computers that understand language promise a big payoff someday. The potential applications range from smarter internet searches to virtual personal assistants that can reply to questions in specific disciplines or activities like health, education, travel and shopping.

Election Day 2010: Go Vote Already!

2010-11-02T15:33:00.002-05:00

Mid-term elections are here! The polls are still open, get out and vote already! True to Words is a politically neutral entity (even if I'm not), but the act of voting is non-partisan. So I'm posting today to remind you to VOTE and take a friend or two with you while you're at it.

Though about 50 to 60% of all voting age citizens turn up at the polls every four years for the presidential elections, only about 30 to 40% participate in mid-term or local elections. Conversely, I'd say 100% of our population complains about their representation (completely making that up, but it sounds good - and fairly accurate). Yet, if you didn't cast your vote, you didn't make your voice heard, and it’s hard to blame your representative. After all, they're just doing what they were asked by the people who elected them. And that especially wasn't you if you didn't vote at all.

Instead of allowing your choice to be made for you by others without adding your 2 cents, go out and vote for the person or persons who best represent your interests. Yes, it can be inconvenient and yes, it takes time and yes, you might have to stand in line and, YES, even after all of your effort, there is always the distinct possibility that your candidate will lose. But win or lose, your vote counted for something. Yes, it did.

"But I'm just one person! My vote won't make a difference."

That's what lots of people say. When looking at the big numbers of vote totals, it can seem like your vote would be lost in the throng. So I'll use small, easy numbers to show just how valuable your vote is. Simple is better anyway, 'cause Dammit, Jim, I'm a wordsmith, not a mathematician!

In comparison to the millions of people that live in a state like, say, Minnesota, how small of a number is 225? Pretty small, that’s smaller than the high school class with which I graduated. That's a big wedding guest list or a really small town.

225 votes sent Senator Al Franken to Washington and sent Norm Coleman packing in the 2008 elections. That's 225 people who might have thought their vote wouldn't make a big difference either, but they made the trip. In the end, their candidate won.

How about 537? A little less than twice as many people. But 537 votes made the electoral difference in Florida to send George W. Bush to the White House instead of Al Gore. 537 people who went to the polls, despite the fact that it was raining (I've been watching CNN). It's beautiful outside, you don't have that excuse!

These are just the federal-level races that in recent years made national headlines. In local district, county, and city/town elections, where population pools are the smallest and where government has the greatest direct impact on individuals, the margins of victory and defeat can be even smaller. Especially in these cases, voting every four years instead of every two really is unacceptable. If more people chose to participate in the mid-term elections, we would have a far more accurately representative government overall – from the local level all the way to the top.

Need one more reason to vote? When January comes and it is time again to complain about the new things our senators and representatives are doing to piss us off, don't discredit how immensely satisfying it is to say "Hey, I didn't vote for him/her, I voted for the smart one!"

Ojibwe: An Endangered Minnesota Language

2010-10-31T23:58:00.078-05:00

The Ojibwe language, spoken by the Ojibwe or Chippewa people, is one of the world's imperiled languages. It is also one of the early native tongues spoken within the territory now known as Minnesota. And this Monday, a documentary about the steps taken within the state to revitalize this dying language will debut on TPT 2.

Leech Lake Ojibwe Delegation to Washington 1899

Dr. Anton Treuer, a professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University, is not a native Ojibwe speaker, having studied and learned the language as an adult. But now he has dedicated his work to interviewing the last remaining "first speakers" or "functional speakers" - those for whom Ojibwe is their first language. It is estimated that there are fewer than a thousand of these fluent Ojibwe speakers left in the United States and most of them are older than age 70.

One of the main reasons that indigenous languages like Ojibwe have nearly disappeared throughout North America is due to early policies within the United States to assimilate Native Americans. After taking their lands, the government banned the practice of native traditional religious practices and established "English only" boarding schools which children were required to attend. The native languages that once echoed across the United States were being systematically scrubbed from the cultural landscape.

Chippewa baby at a Minnesota rice farm, 1940

Produced and edited by John Whitehead, "First Speakers: Restoring the Ojibwe Language," is a film that documents the rescue and revitalization of the Ojibwe language that is taking place in Minnesota. The film follows Treuer, and others like him, who are driving the Ojibwe language resurgence. Many of them studied the language at the University of Minnesota, Bemidji State University, and with tribal elders. They are working to undo some of the damage done to their culture by establishing Ojibwe language immersion charter schools. Some already exist in the state at in Leech Lake and in Minneapolis.

Through this model, it is hoped that a new generation of "first speakers" will be established, children for whom Ojibwe is a primary language. Then the language, and the culture, may not be lost and stand a chance of surviving, to be passed on to the next generation.

"First Speakers: Restoring the Ojibwe Language" is a production of Twin Cities Public Television and will debut on November 1 at 8 p.m. on TPT 2.

Additionally, Dr. Anton Treuer’s book “Ojibwe in Minnesota” was recently named as the “Best Read in Minnesota 2010” by The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. Part of the “The People of Minnesota” book series, “Ojibwe in Minnesota” is just 122 pages, but is intended to help people understanding the complicated history of the Ojibwe people – their language, culture, economics and legalities.

[This article has been updated to include corrected information. Though Dr. Treuer is a main subject of the film, he did not produce it. It was produced and edited by John Whitehead. Thank you, John, for your comment!]

Haiku News - October 27, 2010

2010-10-27T23:55:00.011-05:00

Tweak

When Tweak did it, it
was nothing. When Tom did it,
he made the paper.

A rare event, when
the phrase "safe in the doghouse"
is arranged in print.

Effects of the world's
most complex art swindle still
ripples through the trade.

Microsoft trails its
competition in games, phones,
PCs... everything.

Posh or flawed, aloof
or aggressive, all canines
are welcome at Stay.

A large asteroid
is on a collision-course
with Earth - don't panic!

When dolphin species
meet, they may be attempting
to communicate.

Rare Honus Wagner
baseball card is imperfect,
but still of value.

Melodramatic
mailer strikes at sense of smell,
slams sense of good taste.

Meditation can
boost focus, empathy, and
bliss... permanently.

Friday Photography - Forgotten Roses

2010-10-22T18:04:00.002-05:00

Pink roses on the parlor table wilt,

unquenched despite her steady flow of tears.

Though the contents of her heart has been spilt,

she knows a new love will quiet her fears.

Forgotten Roses

3 Irish Men LLC

2010-10-21T18:17:00.010-05:00

The 3 Irish Men LLC website has been officially launched! Okay, it's really been around for a few weeks, but I've been fine tuning some of the content. In consideration of full disclosure, this is my husband's lumping, labor and logistics company - another reason this announcement is delayed, since we just recently got married in Las Vegas!

The 3 Irish Men LLC has been around the Minneapolis - Saint Paul metro for three years, but never really needed a website. Now they would like to expand in the Twin Cities market, but they have a shoestring marketing budget. So I helped them make this nifty little logo and put together a free Google Sites webpage for the time being because every company can benefit from an online presence. Please go check it out and take a look around. Next, I'm going to help them make some business cards.

So... Are you wondering what "lumping" is yet? Did you catch that? I know some of you did.

Lumping is done by lumpers. The common definition of lumper is "a laborer who helps to load and unload ships." It's closest synonym is longshoreman, "A dock worker who (wait for it) loads and unloads ships."

Really? Well, if they also mean loading dock, then 3 Irish Men would probably agree.

The best definition comes from circa 1785 word is a "laborer who handles freight or cargo." That is 3 Irish Men do, mainly unloading semi-truck trailers and rail shipping containers by hand and sorting (lumping!) the cargo onto pallets. That's not all they do, as they provide a variety of warehouse labor and material handling services, like picking, packing, and shipping. They've worked with different types of cargo, too, from frozen shrimp to stereo equipment to pool tables. If you move a lot, you want these guys to be your friends - and if you're not their friends, you can at least hire them to help! Ultimately, lumpers play an important role in the transportation and warehousing industries.

Shameless Plug: Need a lumper or know someone that might in the Twin Cities or throughout Minnesota? 3 Irish Men LLC has competitive prices with efficient, honest workers. Not sure if you need one? Send them an e-mail or give them a call and they'll let you know if they can help you out. You can also "Like" them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

Haiku News - October 19, 2010

2010-10-19T21:59:00.000-05:00

Rock band prepared to
face the music; realized
they are not U2.

Lucky dog, Mia,
has a new leash on life now
that she has faced death.

If the animal
has no hope of escaping,
you're not a hunter.

When his oil was changed,
the FBI's GPS
device was revealed.

"Could you please keep the
noise down? My food doesn't taste
as good as it should."

Fiji has lost its
"birth certificate" claiming
its independence.

An unexpected
package came in the mail from
the laptop bandit.

Stephen Colbert told
Congress that farm labor is
"really, really hard."

The relationship
between squirrels and dogs is
a confounding dance.

A grandmother and
a grandmother's ring both lost,
then found once again.

Mark Twain: Still on Top 100 Years Later

2010-10-17T23:50:00.000-05:00

Mark Twain’s final book, The Autobiography of Mark Twain, has hit the No. 1 spot on Amazon due to an huge influx of preorders. The book was kept sealed away in the University of California archives for 100 years after the author’s death, as per his request. He died on April 21, 1910.

The unconventional author of course couldn't just write his autobiography like everyone else. Starting at about 1870, he made many attempts at starting it: he just hadn't gotten that far on the task. Then, more than 30 years later in 1904, the perfect method of autobiography writing came to him:

"Start it at no particular time of your life; wander at your free will all over your life. . . . It is the first time in history that the right plan has been hit upon."

And that's exactly what he did. From 1906 to 1909, he spent many mornings in bed, dictating occurrences in his life to a secretary. Typescripts were made so Twain made notes and corrections, telling a future collaborator what to include and what not to. After his youngest daughter died in 1909, he stopped - just four months before his death.

At the time of his death, more than 2,500 pages were written, and scholars at first thought the collection was just another unfinished project by a writer notorious for them. But for six years, editors at Mark Twain Papers at University of California Berkeley worked to reconstruct the autobiography just as Twain wished it to be. The autobiography is highly unconventional and very modern in many ways, as it shakes the format up from the usual linear story from birth to death.

Long, long before the writing was completed, Twain was quite pleased with himself and his idea to create the autobiography. In 1906, he said:

"The form of this book is one of the most memorable literary inventions of the ages. . . . It ranks with the steam engine, the printing press & the electric telegraph. I am the only person who has ever found out the right way to build an autobiography."

And modern minds have agreed:

Robert Hirst, general editor of the Bancroft Library's Mark Twain Papers and Project at Berkeley, says, "The thrill of seeing the entire work, as he intended it to be, is extraordinary."

Ben Griffin, associate editor of the Mark Twain Papers, calls it "the most complicated and vexing textual situation I've ever heard about." Hirst says, "It was a fascinating puzzle, puzzling beyond belief."

So what is inside the book so long held back from the public? Twain was already pretty open about his feelings, but he let's loose quite a bit in his autobiography. This caused quite a stir among the friends and family he would inevitably end up writing about - hence the 100-year wait! The print embargo was also an extraordinary publicity ploy, as pre-orders have been pouring in. He truly was a man before his time.

In November, the 760-page first volume will be heading to the hands of eager readers. Within five years, two more volumes will appear, and the entire work, with variants and notes, will be available online.

Friday Photography - Project Dog & Calvin

2010-10-15T23:21:00.003-05:00

Still finishing sorting through my photos, but I'm almost done, really. In the meantime, here is a photo of our Siberian Husky, Calvin, which I submitted to Project Dog this summer.

Calvin - Siberian Husky

Isn't he handsome? I assure you, he isn't always this well-behaved, but he is always this pretty. And he knows it.

Also, a little bit about Project Dog:

Project DOG is a new grassroots movement aimed at bringing together the worlds of purebred and rescue dogs through a creative, modern dog photography project. The quest is simple. To find and photograph all 150+ AKC recognized dog breeds and their rescue dog counterparts. What exactly does this mean? …For every AKC breed photographed, a rescue dog of the same breed will be given the same royal photographic treatment. The result? An awesome book and new dog social networking/resource website.

Project Dog is created by Kira Stackhouse.

Haiku News - October 11, 2010

2010-10-11T23:59:00.000-05:00

Hey, America:
Freedom lies in beating our
fossil-fuel habit.

The best usage of
movie titles in a news
headline I've seen yet.

It has been more than
seven years, but this case still
scares, fascinates me.

Parable, fable,
somewhere in this story is
an analogy.

People without a
bank account nickel-and-
dimed into the grands.

Prudently placed Vote
Twenty-Ten sign spares eyes from
naked book-thrower.

Skeletons from the
closet maybe sometimes are
sold at garage sales.

The Minnesota Twins'
"Break a Bat, Plant a Tree" will
create a forest.

Nathaniel David
was born at 10:10 PM
on 10/10/10. 10.

Pessimistic dogs?
Sounds more like a band name than
part of a headline.

Friday Photography - Newly Wed

2010-10-08T00:36:00.000-05:00

I've been away for a long time. A nearly two month hiatus! But I was working hard and preparing for a Las Vegas vacation and a wedding ceremony! My husband and I married on Monday, September 27, 2010 at 11:00 AM!

Newly Wed

Now that that stress, beautiful ceremony, and four day party in Vegas is past me, I can once again start partaking in hobbies like blogging and photography! I would do it again in a heartbeat and it was fun as hell, but I'm glad for my life to be somewhat back to normal now! Let the regular routine resume! :)

Haiku News - October 5, 2010

2010-10-05T23:59:00.000-05:00

With a little help
from rogue crocheters, a fence
in Denver blooms bright.

Monkey guards patrol
India's Commonwealth Games.
No, seriously.

I'm glad I stayed at
the Monte Carlo instead
of the Death Ray Inn.

Tantalizing facts
about Americans' sex
lives revealed to all.

Zucchini has the
power to repel both Sams
and angry black bears.

When you attempt to
break a world record, make sure
Guinness really cares.

Hope this case sets a
precedent: Uniformed cops
are public figures.

What might have been if
the first computer worked in
eighteen-three-seven?

Bad changes in the
earth's water cycle follow
a predicted flow.

The exposition
and the evolution of
the Tea Party group.

Also:

Langology news
in haiku form to amuse
and entertain you.

Haiku News - August 9, 2010

2010-08-09T10:14:00.000-05:00

The U.S. suffers
from a creative crisis:
Don't act so surprised.

Lemonade stand, an
American staple, closed
by health inspector.

What do you get when
you cross a zebra with a
donkey? A zedonk.

It's best to think through
publicity stunts, lest they
backfire globally.

The internet and
social networking helped the
Bear Center win cash...

...They also helped to
out cheating, catch a pervert,
and save people's lives.

Dogs and cats can keep
their voice under a new law
in Massachusetts.

Further proof that cats
could totally rule the world
but choose not to. Yet.

Guns blazing, police
seized their milk, eggs, and veggies
as if they were drugs.

The triceratops
reveals that what we "know" can
change in a heartbeat.

Friday Photography - The Flash

2010-07-16T10:01:00.001-05:00

I saw this adorable Baby Chun Li at Nerd Salad and was immediately inspired by it for Friday Photography. This cute li'l "mini-human" version of The Flash made a recent appearance at a Fourth of July celebration.

The Flash

"I'm sure that he would stop and pose for you if you asked!"

That's okay, look at him go! The Flash needs to run, it's best to just let him do what he does best. :)

The Missing Language Link

2010-07-15T23:16:00.005-05:00

A missing link in language history has been found. Its discovery connects one extremely endangered ancient language spoken only in Siberia with several other rare languages of Native North Americans. This knowledge may potentially rewrite human history.

The language of Canada's Dene Nation, along with the Navajo and Apache in the United States and many other "Athabaskan" dialects, have origins in the Ket language - an ancient and highly endangered language spoken by only a few people in Western Siberia. Initially written about two years ago by Edward Vajda, a linguistics professor at Western Washington University, the landmark discovery represents the only known link between any Old World language and the hundreds of speech systems among first nations in North America.

The new collection of articles by Vajda and more than a dozen other experts from the U.S., Canada and Europe details a multitude of clear connections -- nouns, verbs and key grammatical structures -- between the archaic language spoken by the Ket people of Russia's Yenisei River region and dozens of languages used by North American aboriginal groups, primarily in Alaska, Northern and Western Canada and the U.S. Southwest.

University of Alaska linguist James Kari says the discovery could rewrite the story of when, where and how ancient Asian migrants arrived in North America. It should also push research into new directions across disciplines beyond linguistics, including archeology, anthropology, paleoecology, biology and genetics.

The Bering land bridge joined present-day Alaska and eastern Siberia at various times during the most recent ice ages. It is believed that a small human population survived the ice age in this region, called Beringia. Isolated from its ancestor populations in Asia, they expanded to populate the Americas sometime after 16,500 years ago, when the last glaciers blocking the way southward melted.

Researchers suggest that the Bering land bridge migration occurred 12,000 years ago and that every Native American is descended from those Eastern Siberians who migrated across the land bridge. This has been backed up by a unique genetic variant widespread in natives across both continents. Now it has also been backed up with language.

So, how was the link discovered? Vajda found that the few remaining Ket speakers in Russia and the native speakers in North America used almost identical words for canoe. They also used similar words for such component parts as prow and cross-piece. That combination, he thought, was beyond the realm of chance. It was the beginning of a linguistic journey that brought together communities separated by an ocean and more than 10,000 years of history.

Representatives of some North American nations believed to share a root language with the Ket traveled to Moscow in April to visit their new-found linguistic kin. The connection between the Ket and Athabaskan peoples could be hugely important. Arctic Athabaskan Council spokesman Danny Creswell said "Upon this base we can build cultural, economic and perhaps political links."

Haiku News - July 13, 2010

2010-07-13T23:55:00.003-05:00

Yes, Americans
are the richest, but we're not
nearly happiest.

A new example
of why the free market does
not work for health care.

Humans affect the
environment and we have
for thousands of years.

Some spices used to
flavor curries could reduce
livestock methane gas.

Sometimes research is
unnecessary. There's still
no cure for cancer.

What's in a name? Your
child by any other name
may not be so sweet.

Louisianna
burns, a Senator takes his
eyes off of the ball.

Women in the prime
of their lives have higher sex
drives than their husbands.

They helped to invent
the sport, yet a silly rule
could sideline their team.

It's because Conan
O'Brien rules, and Leno
was never funny.

Friday Photography - 1928 Willys-Knight

2010-07-09T22:13:00.001-05:00

This beautiful 1928 Willys-Knight pulled into the parking lot of the Ames Florida Stork House in June during their Blacksmith Demonstration Day. Needless to say, it upstaged the blacksmith for a short time. Though its not often people get to see a blacksmith at work, it is also not often that people get to see a unique vehicle like this.

1928 Willys-Knight

Hood Ornament

Steering Wheel

Gearshift Knob

Tail Light

Check out more photos of the 1928 Willys-Knight.

Ancient Language Deciphered By Computer

2010-07-07T23:59:00.004-05:00

The lost language of Ugaritic was last spoken 3,500 years ago in the city of Ugarit, located in modern Syria. Today, it survives on only a few tablets, and linguists were only able to translate it with years of hard work and some luck. Yet, a new computer program deciphered it in just hours.

Created by Regina Barzilay, an associate professor in MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab, Ben Snyder, a grad student in her lab, and the University of Southern California’s Kevin Knight, the computer program relies on a few basic assumptions in order to make intuitive guesses about the language's structure. One of the requirements for the program to work, the lost language must be closely related to a known, deciphered language. In the case of Ugaritic that relative language is Hebrew. Another requirement is that the alphabets of the two languages must share at least some consistent correlations between the individual letters or symbols. The program worked by looking for correlations and correspondences between the two languages, then it mapped the similarities between Hebrew and Ugaritic

The results were stunning. Of the thirty letters in the Ugaritic alphabet, the computer correctly identified twenty-nine of them. Of the roughly third of all Ugaritic words that share Hebrew cognates, the program figured out sixty percent of them, and many of the errors were only off by a letter or two. These results are particularly encouraging because the program still doesn't use any contextual clues, meaning it can't differentiate between the different uses of a Ugaritic word that means both "daughter" and "house", something that is (thankfully) pretty easy to identify in context.

After Ugaritic was first discovered in 1929, it remained untranslatable for years. It was only through happy coincidence that it ever was translated. The computer program, however, was able to get this far in simply a matter of hours. The possibilities this program offers for speeding up the translation process of ancient documents are readily apparent. Additionally, the program could help improve online translation software.

The Ugaritic language is a Semitic relative of Hebrew, though its alphabet resembles the cuneiform used in ancient Sumeria. The Ugaritic texts that survive tell the stories of a Canaanite religion that is similar to that recorded in the Old Testament. The differences between the two texts provide scholars a unique opportunity to examine how the Bible and ancient Israelite culture developed in relation to those found nearby.

Haiku News - July 5, 2010

2010-07-05T18:55:00.000-05:00

Some activities
are just inappropriate
for pet inclusion.

They saved a life, then
quietly made their leave in
the coroner's van.

The majority
of farmers try to do right
by their animals.

An olive branch has
been extended by some, and
received by others.

Women and men are
almost as different as
humans and monkeys.

Why is Ozzy still
alive? DNA study
could reveal the key.

Archeologists
are uncovering Mega
Stonehenge in Britain.

Police are "looking"
for a leprechaun, but was
the witness just drunk?

A high-risk, no-knock
warrant issued over codes?
Inappropriate.

It is finally
the Future: Flying cars are
a reality.

Review: Taste of Minnesota

2010-07-04T23:59:00.054-05:00

I'd always wanted to go to the Taste of Minnesota, but I had never attended it before. I somehow ended up making plans far away from St. Paul every year on that weekend. This year, I wanted to put it on my calendar as soon as possible so I wouldn't forget it.

That idea was promptly shattered when I read that admission would cost $30, instead of being free or the measly $10 it was to enter last year. My reasoning for not going was that the ticket pricing means either the festival is doing really well and would be too crowded for my sociophobic tendencies, or its doing not so well and organizers are trying to make up for something.

Then two things happened: My travel plans for this weekend fell through and two free admission tickets to the Taste of Minnesota landed in my lap. Was it destiny? I wasn't sure what to expect, but such serendipitous circumstances maybe gave me the impression that I was about to have a truly memorable experience revolving around two of my favorite things: Music and food.

On Friday, July 2nd, 2010, I went to the Taste of Minnesota at Harriet Island in St. Paul, Minnesota, and there was music and food, but I wouldn't say that my experience was particularly memorable. Part of that had to do with something entirely out of the festival's control, and that was the very warm weather with a high of 87 degrees. But most of my disappointing experience rested with the heart and soul of the Taste: the food itself.

When one hears of a festival called “Taste of _____,” it is expected that one will find many food items there that are representative of the local community. Though the most of the vendors there were uniquely Minnesotan, what was on the menu was not. Put most bluntly, this year’s Taste of Minnesota could have been called Taste of Any County & State Fair Anywhere. There were hot dogs, corn dogs, French fries and pizza galore, but you can get that at practically any festival. There were also major chains there like Famous Dave’s, Joe’s Crab Shack, and Bubba Gump, but those were places I have already been to before – I wanted to be exposed to new food choices!

Northwoods Steak Buffet held promise, but they were basically just serving fries and blooming onions. Bennett’s Chop & Rail House served the same but also offered pork chop on a stick. Liffey Irish Pub at first sounded tempting, but was only serving fish, chips (fries), or fish and chips. Booth after booth offered burgers, mini donuts, and ice cream; few had any imagination. The Pioneer Press was dead wrong with its headline touting that the Taste of Minnesota had gone upscale.

There were some winners, though. The 5-8 Grill was there, serving up Juicy Lucy’s and Pig Pens. Edina’s CRAVE and Minneapolis’ SEVEN offered sushi, but the latter kicked in tasty hand-carved beef sandwiches. Vero Pizza was serving pizza, but it was deliciously coal-fired, not made in a normal oven. These were the types of unique foods I was looking for, not the same old run-of-the-mill fair food that saturates the summer festival season.

Another big winner was a booth selling something called Cream Cheese Comets. They were basically large cream cheese wontons filled with flavored fillings, the options being cinnamon-sugar or strawberry. They were so good, we came back to the booth for another strawberry comet!

I liked that the Taste of Minnesota was making a sincere attempt at managing the incredible amount of waste such an event produces. In addition to recycling stations that accepted aluminum cans and plastic bottles, there were organic recycling bins accepting paper and wood products. The only trouble was that some vendors were distributing food in items that didn't meet the recycling or organic waste specifications. One had to seriously look for a trash bin in which to place these items.

The musical entertainment was great! We caught the bands Minus the Bear and The Walkmen on the main stage. Dawes and James Hunter were playing at the City Pages Big Music Tent. Willie Murphy Band was rocking the Red House Records & KFAI Stage. Kids from The School of Rock were jamming at the MomsLikeMe.com Stage.

There were also other forms of entertainment, like ballet and belly dancers at the Circus Suventas, a tent with record spinning deejays, and a ramp where BMX tricksters defied gravity on their bikes. There was even a cooking demonstration where some chefs made sumptuous looking ravioli with some sort of cream-based sauce. This last bit of entertainment made me wonder why there weren’t more creative menus among the Taste of Minnesota participants – bringing the cooking technology needed to make such creations obviously was not the issue.

By the time 7:00 rolled around, the real drawbacks to the festival’s various payment systems were detracting from our experience. First were the admission tickets, which were tiered – pre-purchased $20 tickets had to be redeemed by 4:00 or we would have to pay the $30 gate price. We showed up as close to that time as we could, but after three hours of intense heat with shade providing little comfort the weather was taking its toll on us. We were intensely thirsty, which led to the next trouble involving the food and beverage tickets that had to be purchased at the gate. Food vendors didn’t take cash, they took “tickets” that could be bought in packs of eight for $5, which was smart in that the vendors didn’t have to worry about large sums of money, but discouraging once we ran out of tickets. It was almost two hours to the show we really wanted to see, Atmosphere, and we had already basically seen all we were going to see, eaten all we were going to eat, and drank all we were to have drunk (which wasn’t much, considering we had to shell out $3 for armbands just for the privilege to drink in addition to the equivalent of $6.25 per 12 ounce, tasty Summit beer).

We heard P.O.S. as we were leaving. We were hot and bored with the equivalent of no money, surrounded by beer and food we couldn’t drink, waiting for a musical act that felt like an eternity away. Even so, many of the booths were already closing for reasons we didn't quite understand. Had we actually paid for our admission tickets, we might have made a bigger attempt to stick around for Atmosphere, though I imagine we’d have been too tired and heat-stroked to enjoy it much. Because we left when we did, we could say that we had a pleasant time at the Taste of Minnesota despite missing the last concert - Atmosphere will be back in due time! Scorching weather notwithstanding, we could also say that given the run-of-the-mill food offerings, we probably won’t feel the need to attend the Taste of Minnesota again.

Photos from the Taste of Minnesota.

Friday Photography - Duncan Fine O Meter

2010-07-02T23:59:00.006-05:00

Spotted this on my recent trip to Ohio. It was outside a grocery store in Oak Harbor, OH. From what I can tell it is a drop-box for paying parking ticket fines - except it doesn't lock anymore. It didn't look like it had been used in years.

Duncan Fine O Meter

Now that I'm home and looking up information on it, it seems I'm not the first to find the Duncan brand Fine O Meter to be photographically intriguing. I particularly like this yellow one.

Language Police to Halt Murder of English Language

2010-07-01T23:59:00.003-05:00

Watch out, the Queen's English Society is going to make a run at being the language police!

The Queen's English Society will form an Academy of English to protect the language from the "impurities, bastardisations and the horrors introduced by the text-speak generation." France has L’Academie Francaise, Spain has the Real Academia Espanola, and Italy is home to the Accademia della Crusca, which all uphold the rules of their respective languages. English has no such defense against verbal corruption. English continuously morphs.

Members of the Queen’s English Society, made up of professionals, academics and other linguists, hope to win official recognition, or even a Royal Charter for their academy.

Though I'm not convinced that such an academy could really slow the evolution of the English language, I am curious to see how they attempt it.

Haiku News - June 29, 2010

2010-06-29T13:36:00.000-05:00

Every day there are
more and more reasons to buy
organic, local.

Helicopter moms
and dads produce neurotic
kids. Are you surprised?

Not only can one
learn from mistakes, sometimes one
can cash in on them.

There is a 1 in
3,000 chance that cats like
this ever exist...

...But there is a 1
in 28 million chance
this happens again.

If there was ever
a time for a little luck,
this was the moment.

How is art defined:
By what the artist sees or
what the viewer does?

A rural village
in New Zealand is for sale,
relatively cheap!

Goldilocks ate their
food, tried on their clothes, and took
a nap in their bed.

The first time he made
such a typo, the error
was too big to hide.

Friday Photography - I-80 Traffic Jam

2010-06-25T23:22:00.000-05:00

I was recently on vacation in Ohio. Yes, a vacation not someplace with a beach and fruity drinks. Anyways, while I was there an accident happened on I-80 in Ohio, causing a giant traffic jam. Everyone got out of their cars to hang out in the shoulder? Weirdness. We were sitting in the same spot for 30 minutes, so I got out and snapped some pictures. It was a little surreal.

I-80 Traffic Jam

Dinner vs. Supper

2010-06-24T23:56:00.008-05:00

Dinner and supper. They seem so interchangeable. They both can refer to the last meal of the day. And it seems that the preference for "dinner" over "supper" is both regional and generational. In the south and the east supper reigns, and in the north and the west, dinner is, well, what's for dinner. Older people tend to say supper while the younger generations lean toward dinner. What are the actual differences between the meanings of these words?

A quick search of "Dinner vs. Supper" drew quite a few results with few answers. There are plenty of other people confused about what the difference is between the words. The most thorough explanation for dinner vs. supper came from Digital Streets.

According to Wikipedia, and mentioned at Digital Streets, supper is the name for a light evening meal that followed dinner. The term is derived from the French souper, which is related to soup. It is also related to the German word for soup, which is "Suppe".

On the other hand, Wikipedia says that dinner originally referred to the first meal of the day, a heavy meal usually eaten about noon. Eating this noon-time dinner "broke the night's fast" in the new day, and in Old French, circa 1300, "disner" actually meant "breakfast." Further, the lighter meal following dinner has traditionally been referred to as supper, implying they're not so interchangeable after-all.

So dinner isn’t lunch or supper, it's breakfast, and supper, which follows dinner, is really lunch? That's confusing enough, and that's where DS ended the comparison. But there is at least one more difference between dinner and supper: Class differences.

In colonial days, farmers were too busy to eat three meals a day, so they only ate breakfast and dinner. Cooking for the second meal started almost immediately after the first meal of the day because it saved the woman of the household from having to restart the hearth fire. The wealthy had three meals a day, though: breakfast, dinner, and supper. Later in the 19th century, cooks and servants allowed the wealthy to host dinner parties with lavish meals that lasted well into the evening.

As a results of this class difference then, referring to the evening meal as dinner is fairly formal now. Supper tends to be used to describe a less formal, simpler family meal. That makes sense when you think about it. When people go out on dates, they never talk about having supper, it is usually dinner. But when families are sitting down together for a meal in the evening, they often say "Supper is ready!"

In central Minnesota, I don't often hear people say supper but it still happens often enough for me to ponder the preference of dinner over supper or vice versa. Personally, I like the word dinner better. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something about the word supper sounds less appetizing. Maybe it has something to do with the popping of the "p" in supper - I also prefer saying soda to pop, which has a similar sound!

Which word do you prefer to call the final meal of the day?

Friday Photography - March & The Mushroom

2010-06-18T00:00:00.002-05:00

It has been raining an awful lot lately. So much so, there are little mushrooms popping up all over the place.

Bell Shape Mushroom

Don't eat them! They are poisonous. If your child or pet ingests either of these mushroom types, call Minnesota poison control at 1-800-222-1222.

Flat Top Mushroom

Don't eat these either. Unless you know what types of mushrooms are edible, it is a good idea just to leave them alone.

March on the Mushroom

Except for March. After all, he is named after an Alice Through the Looking Glass character. He just had to strike his pose on a mushroom.

Your Oxford English Dictionary May Contain an Error

2010-06-16T22:58:00.000-05:00

An Australian physicist recently discovered a 99-year-old typo. In a dictionary. That has been used as a reference for other dictionaries.

Dr. Stephen Hughes, from the University of Technology in Brisbane, discovered the mistake while researching an article for science teachers. He brought to the attention of Oxford University Press that the definition for the word “siphon” was incorrect. Oxford's definition states siphons function due to atmospheric pressure, but Hughes says in actuality, they function due to gravity. The definition had been incorrectly repeated since it was first published in 1911.

OED will make the change in the next edition, but it is unknown how many other sources used Oxford's definition as a resource.

I'm a nerd. I would have loved to have been the person to find this typo. But even if I had read it, I'm not a scientist so I probably wouldn't have even known it was incorrect.

Haiku News - June 15, 2010

2010-06-15T23:59:00.001-05:00

Companies ignore
women's spending power at
their own jeopardy.

Seed bombs exploding
into flower shaped shrapnel:
Guerrilla green thumbs.

Obsession for Men
doesn't just lure the cougars,
but jaguars as well.

Working with horses,
one cannot predict all the
risks their care entails.

Do not disregard
animal cruelty, for
people should worry.

Even the creatures
know that politicians can't
really be trusted.

Symbol of insight,
the humble light bulb truly
may spark bright ideas.

If a power pole
falls in the forest, workmen
will come to inspect.

The Octopus Tree,
a curious oddity,
its secrets still veiled.

Two Week Camel Milk
Challenge aside, I think I'd
at least taste test it.

Friday Photography - Holding Hands

2010-06-11T23:59:00.001-05:00

I have so many photos to sort through and nothing important to do until Saturday, so my Friday is dedicated to sorting through as many photos as I can. Specifically, the photos that I took of a friend's wedding last week. This one is a favorite already, and it is one in the first section of photos I was looking through.

Holding Hands - Black & White

Sure it looks good in color, but there is just something about black and white. It adds mood, in this case I think its a little romantic.

There are a lot of photos here, though. This sorting project is going to take a while and will need to be broken up into pieces. Tonight I sorted through June 5th wedding photos up to midnight and uploaded a "handful" of the best ones (and the ones with the most people I know in them!). Who knows what I'll fine in the photos taken after midnight? Look through the set in order to see a pictorial story of how the day went.