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The Pedantic Pundit steered me to Encyclopedia Astronautica, a web site full of stuff about space flight, from the beginning through today. As a Sputnik baby (born Oct. 7, 1957), I can dig it. Here's something I didn't know: the Apollo 8 flight was much riskier than the general public realized. The mission—to be the first to orbit the moon—was given only a slightly better than 50% chance of success.
I've always thought of the word telltale as an adjective, as in Edgar Allen Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart. But today, when I read this news story, I learned that telltale is also a noun, meaning (among other things) something that indicates or reveals information, a sign. OED Online includes as a definition of tell-tale (hyphenated) "[a] thing that reveals or discloses something not intended to be made known."
Thus, the phrase telltale sign is redundant, because a telltale, by definition, is a sign.
Fellow lawyer Lance Harwell (with Staines & Eppling in Metairie, LA) sent me this press release dated Dec. 29, 2004:
The earthquake that unleashed deadly tsunami waves from Indonesia to East Africa last Sunday was so powerful it caused the earth to wobble on its axis which permanently altered the regional map, according to U.S. geophysicists. The sweeping and long term impact of this disaster on the residents of the region will require support from around the globe for many years to come.
The Asian Pacific American Society (APAS) of greater New Orleans is partnering with the United Way for the Greater New Orleans Area to raise money locally to respond to the southern Asian communities affected by the earthquakes and tsunamis. McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. is providing a lead corporate contribution of $50,000 to help initiate this New Orleans effort to assist affected countries recover and rebuild. Additionally, Freeport–McMoRan’s affiliate - - PT Freeport Indonesia - - has already contributed $500,000 directly to the Indonesia Relief Fund, according to Richard Adkerson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc.
Since yesterday, we have raised approximately $13,000 through the Hibernia Bank account. This does not include the checks which are pending clearance nor the $50,000.00 committed by McMoran Copper and Gold, Inc. We can safely surmise that we have collected close to $70,000 and are hoping to reach our goal of $100,000 in the next few days.
The decision to distribute the funds raised will be made by the Board of Directors of APAS, under the guidance of its executive committee, who will assess the urgency of each country’s needs. 100% of the funds collected will be made available for use by the respective agencies through the International United Way agency, without any administrative cost taken out of the fund.
All dollars raised will be forwarded to and administered by United Way International, which has affiliates in all regions impacted by the disaster. All the funds will go directly to the cities and villages.
United Way and its partners will rebuild homes, schools, and health facilities, restore destroyed farms, replant crops, provide mental health support and more. Full recovery will take time, care, focus, and support.
For additional information, contact Raj Pannu at (504) 417-3282 or via email: rajpannu@aol.com or APAS office-831-1148 or via email: help@apasneworleans.com.
Individuals interested in helping can contribute to the APAS Tsunami Relief Fund (Account Number 12262004) at any Hibernia Bank or send their checks made out to Tsunami Relief Fund and mail to the APAS office located at 3500 N. Causeway Blvd. Suite 1548 Metairie, La. 70002.
If you'd like more information from Lance, you can contact him at (504) 866-4847 or Lance@Staines-Eppling.com.
The Chicago Manual of Style § 10.9 gives two ways to incorporate a quotation into a piece of writing: run in (enclosed in quotation marks and integrated into the text) or set off from text (with indented margins but without quotation marks front and back)—what we often refer to as "block quotations."
We all know that shorter quotations should be run in, while longer quotations should be set off. But where is the line between shorter and longer? Different authorities give different answers.
The Bluebook (17th ed.), § 5.1, gives a rigid rule: Quotations of 50 or more words should be set off, while quotations of 49 or fewer words should be run in. In the Redbook § 1.28, Bryan Garner states the same rule. In The Elements of Legal Style § 4.9 (2d ed.), he advises setting off quotations that are more than four lines or 50 words long. (He also advises minimizing the length and use of quotations, but that is another topic.)
The Chicago Manual of Style, however, gives a different rule, and is more flexible about its application. Section 10.10 says that generally, quoted matter that runs to 10 or more typed lines or that involves more than one paragraph should be set off, while shorter quotes are generally run into text. But the Manual counsels writes not to follow this rule blindly:
Before arbitrarily following this rule, however, author (and editor) should consider the nature of the material, the number of quotations, and the appearance of the printed page. Many quotations of varying length—some over ten types lines—may be less distracting to the reader if they are all run in, regardless of length, provided they are skillfully integrated with the text. On the other hand, where quotations are being compared or otherwise used as entities in themselves it is best to set them all off from the text, even quotations of one or two lines. In other words, compared quotations in the text should be typographically comparable.
My own gut feeling: Short block quotations work better than long ones. A long block quotation repels readers because it looks difficult to read. Conversely, a short block quotation attracts readers because it looks easy to read. And typographically, one of the best ways to highlight a snippet of text is frame it with white space. Conversely, the best way to hide a snippet of text is to bury it in a big pile of verbiage. So think about shortening your long quotations and blocking some of your short ones.
The proprietors of the 'Lectric Law Library have a sense of humor, and it looks like they have a fun place to wander the virtual stacks.
To quote the Cowardly Lion when the snow fell in the poppies: “Unusual weather we’re having, ain't it?” Today we got some weather that, for New Orleans, is most unusual. My wife and I went outside and snapped a few pictures, just in time before the snow turned to rain. We uploaded a few of them; to view, just click on the “White Christmas” thumbnail at left. Or just click here.
I live in a camelback house: one story in front, two stories in back. Looking out a second-story window on the front roof, I'm watching these little bitty ice pellets bounce down the shingles and accumulate in the gutter. I'm not sure whether it's sleet or hail—in either case, rare weather for the Big Easy. The street isn't iced yet, but it's looking like a good day to leave the car parked.
I just finished remodeling my other web site, The Legal Writer. Please visit.
Anglican priest Joy Carroll Wallis suggests putting Herod back into Christmas. Here's an excerpt from her essay:
Herod represents the dark side of the gospel. He reminds us that Jesus didn't enter a world of sparkly Christmas cards or a world of warm spiritual sentiment. Jesus enters a world of real pain, of serious dysfunction, a world of brokenness and political oppression. Jesus was born an outcast, a homeless person, a refugee, and finally he becomes a victim to the powers that be. Jesus is the perfect savior for outcasts, refugees, and nobodies.
For your reading pleasure, Bruderhof brings you these 21 Christmas stories. Authors include Pearl S. Buck, Henry Van Dyke, Ruth Sawyer, Jay Frankston, Selma Lagerlöf, and B.J. Chute.
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