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I enjoyed "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" for what it is -- something fun and far less than a serious work on punctuation. I especially enjoyed the curmudgeonly and superioristic tone in which bits of it were written. They reminded me a bit of Jeeves disapproving of some new article of clothing purchased by Bertie Wooster without his manservant's approval.
I obtained my copy from a bibliopole in the Mother Country. After reading and enjoying it, I bought copies for my children from an American bibliopole. Guess what! The American edition is not identical to the British edition. Does this happen often?
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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making a motion is not contrary to the language of Robert's Rules of Order
In mentoring young attorneys (as judges did me, many years ago), I urge them to be succinct and direct in addressing the court. "I move" seems vastly superior to "I would like to make a motion that ..." Or, at least, so I tells 'em.
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Carpal Tunnel
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This was in Charles Town, WV back in the very early 1980s.
I believe Charles Town was where John Brown (of Harpers Ferry fame) was both tried and executed.
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Guess what! The American edition is not identical to the British edition. Does this happen often?
Yes, more often than you'd think! Actually, many years ago when I was reading the Horatio Hornblower series for the first time, the paperback edition of one book, published in NY, ended, I thought, rather oddly. Eventually I found a copy of the British edition, which, indeed, had another chapter. I wrote to the British publishers to draw this to their attention, and their answer was more or less that this all happened so long ago that nobody in the company knew anything about it anymore...dunno if it was ever fixed. For another eg, apparently "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" was published in the US as "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" on the dubious grounds that American children wouldn't know what the Philosopher's Stone was. (Gimme a break!)Does anyone know if that's true, or just an urban myth?
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Does anyone here know the feminine of "curmudgeon"? I think I may be turning into one......
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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> Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
that is true, and I believe there were other word changes in the books, as well. I think, as the series went on, the changes became fewer.
formerly known as etaoin...
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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a) good Canadian English; b) roural route or frying pan
Whatever one's preference for culture or tale, the answer to each is probability; to the first, in the form of market size.
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Carpal Tunnel
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Fr. Steve:
Yes. that's correct. I went to an auction there in 1980 or 1981, and found myself bidding on the wooden chest upon which Brown rode to his fate. I stopped at $500 or so and it went for $650 by the local historical society. I wish now I'd persevered. The wagon was also up for bids, but as I had no place to put it I didn't bother with a bid.
Charles Town is a great place to live now, and has actually become a bedroom community for DC and environs. A lot of people live there and commute into Loudoun and Fairfax Counties in Virginia. I took the train from Harpers Ferry right into DC and walked to my office from Union Station.
The tax rates in WV were about a quarter what they were across the river in Virginia. On the other hand, you got what you paid for.
Beautiful country with some very strange inhabitants.
I had a tavern there for a while, and had a couple of old geezers come in for a beer who swore they had never been outside Jefferson County, WV, even though it is only 430 square miles surrounded on three sides by either Virginia or Maryland. "Ain't got not reason to go over there." Amazing I lasted a year.
TEd
TEd
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..as I had no place to put it I didn't bother with a bid.
TEd, you are obviously a man of iron will!
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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...the wooden chest upon which Brown rode ...
Huh. And I thought that he had a cold upon his chest.
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