"Interesting" Copy Editor Facts of the day:

Well, I'm a little bit of a nerd. And to be honest, I'm a mildly proud of that fact which may make it not so little of a bit. Everyone has their own nerd indulgences--an unhealthy skill-level for video games, profound excitement for prime numbers, freakish knowledge of facts and statistics, a cult-following type of love for certain books or movies, a guilty delight in punning and other forms of narrowly-accepted humor, a tendency to take the long way in order to catch 15 extra minutes of NPR. Sigh, we usually have more than one. My favorite nerd indulgences usually have something to do with either maps or, more often, WORDS.

Therefore, the profession of copy editing has opened me up to a veritable word playground with limitless joys to discover.

So, here's a little joy to share with you today. (all from the Chicago Manual of Style)

My first interesting fact holds particular interest because in less than two months I will have on of these in the modern sense of the word:

in 1220 the noun husband meant one who tilled and cultivated the earth {the husband has worked hard to produce this crop}. About 1420 it became a verb meaning to till, cultivate, and tend crops {you must husband your land thoughtfully}. (and actually this seems to be closely connected with adam's punishment for the fall. Which I also find super-interesting.)

The next fun fact is a common mistake. I had no idea until yesterday:

home in. This phrase is frequently misrendered hone in. (Hone means "to sharpen.") Home in refers to what homing pigeons do; the meaning is "to come closer and closer to a target."

And finally, a great misconception. One that my editor called an "evil lie..."

5.169Ending a sentence with a preposition

The traditional caveat of yesteryear against ending sentences with prepositions is, for most writers, an unnecessary and pedantic restriction. As Winston Churchill famously said, "That is the type of arrant pedantry up with which I shall not put." A sentence that ends in a preposition may sound more natural than a sentence carefully constructed to avoid a final preposition. Compare Those are the guidelines an author should adhere to with Those are the guidelines to which an author should adhere. The "rule" prohibiting terminal prepositions was an ill-founded superstition.

well, I hope that was fraction as fun for you as it was for me! Back to copy-editor land.

This picture was taken at Keith's grandparent's farm outside of Satesboro, South Georgia. Mastine and Big D. We were privileged to spend some time down there with them over Christmas. Today we're going back for Mastine's funeral. We thought about death this morning, comforted one another and mourned our grandparents. Keith said, we become familiar with the concept, but still cannot understand. The bitter sweetness of desperately missing presence yet rejoicing in the real imagination of encounter with true, pure eternity. We thought of the analogy of our approaching wedding, and the true, actual realization of that marriage--made one and face to face with Christ--that comes in the death that parts us from this world and from one another. We cried over the reality of "till death do us part" which will inevitably one day be real for us as well. and yet i know, deep down in the heart of the place where you store deep, supernatural knowledge, that there is beauty and peace and promise in death. and we encounter it, and learn it, in death that is the leaving behind of a legacy of love and faith. 

Written by my father at his father's death this November...

Arthur Harry MacCorkle

July 12, 1927 – November 19, 2007 

     “He has showed you, O man, what is good.  
       And what does the LORD require of you?  
       To act justly and to love mercy  
       and to walk humbly with your God.”  (Micah 6:8) 

We can’t think of any words that more completely describe the heart of Arthur MacCorkle.  We’re so blessed to have lived with him as our dad, and as our example of what is really important about how a man should live his life.  

He loved his family, he loved his friends, and he loved his fellow man.  Mostly, he loved his wonderful bride and he counted himself the luckiest of men that she was his. He cared deeply about the needs of people he didn’t even know.  And he refused to sit out life when he still had it in him to help someone else.  He was comfortable with who he was, but he never thought he was more important than anyone else.  At the refinery, he may have been the boss, but he was the one they respected as a leader and a friend.  In retirement, he filled his life with service and fellowship and an abundant enjoyment of life. And for over 60 years, so many young men’s lives were touched by his dedicated service to Scouting.

  

He lived a life grounded and anchored by his faith in a God of mercy and grace.  His faith was not complicated, it was just very real and it made him who he was: 

“…that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.” (Colossians 1:10-11) 

He was Mom’s best friend and their love was so special, so complete and so much fun.  Their marriage was everything that God intends between a husband and wife.  Companionship, romance, respect, delight – through good times and hard times – they cherished every day they had together. 

He was a wonderful father and grandfather.  Always there for each of us, no matter what our needs were.  He didn’t treat us all the same – he treated us the way we needed him to.  There were no limits to his love and no conditions to meet. He simply loved us each with everything in him.  He would do anything to help us, he was our biggest fan and he loved sharing life with us.  He delighted in being surrounded by his grandchildren at Pop-Pop’s lake and he loved watching them grow up. 

Today Dad has passed on to be with the Lord in heaven.  He has left his wheelchair and he can dance again with the saints. 

“Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.”  (1 Thessalonians 4:13)

We will miss him, we will grieve for a time and will depend on the peace of the Lord that passes all understanding.  Mostly, we will celebrate his life and the memories we’ve shared.  And we will give thanks that he was our Dad and our Pop-Pop. 

 

the weather was fantastic this weekend! blue skies and warm spring temperatures. we had a great time playing outside at one of our favorite spots yesterday. boulder fields is apparently one of the best places for bouldering (rock climbing on rocks small enough that you dont need ropes, just a pad to soften the landing in case of a fall.) in the south east and its about 10 minutes from my apartment. we go pretty often, do a little bouldering (i'm getting better) and enjoy being outside. yesterday we took books and a guitar and just relaxed in the sun for a while. it was glorious. 

(some beans from o'henrys in homewood, one of our favorite coffee spots)

on saturday we had a board meeting for bedouins. it was great to meet the board and get caught up on everything thats going on. its exciting to really feel a part of this. in the meantime i still find myself on my couch at 2:00 in the afternoon blogging. which means that i'm not working. so here's the update in that department. i heard back from WMU earlier this week. for the "next step in the employment process" i basically had to take the SAT online. it was an hour long "assessment test" assessing my skills dealing with letters, numbers, shapes, and spacial orientation. all of these test were timed and gave you an insanely short period of time to answer x amount of questions. i learned that i dont do well with a little time clicking over my head. oh, and then it had an extensive personality test tacked on to the end. so we'll see how that goes. i'm supposed to hear from them by the end of the week. after the crazy test i decided it best not to put all of my eggs in one basket at chucked out the $85 to finish my requirements to substitute teach. this included a TB test. i'm new to birmingham, so i didnt know where to get this done. and i was driving down the road and saw a sign for a clinic. thats what i need; a clinic. i wasnt sure what an occupational clinic meant, but i figured it would work. it worked out fine, but i discovered that an occupational clinic is where employers send their workers to get tests and stuff. mostly employers of workers such as construction workers and housekeepers. lets just say that as a young, white, female graduate with my laptop in my bag, i felt sort of out of place during the long wait in the waiting room, but it was an adventure. and i dont have TB. so hopefully i will start subbing this week. which i'm sure will provide for lots of great stories.  

and just in case you are bored like me, here is a new, fun and educational internet past time:

TRAVEL IQ CHALLENGE

this weekend i went to camp mcdowell, a rustic camp about an hour and a half north of birmingham, with 30 9th grade girls. i went as the "photographer" but i also got to hang out with the girls and lead a small group. it was fun, and pretty cool to have a real photography gig. once again, it seems crazy to have these kinds of opportunities here when i've only been in birmingham for a few weeks, but i'm so thankful for the multitude of friends that have helped me get involved here. this connection came from keith's roommate and a friend of mine from high school, matt. one of my favorite moments from the weekend was when i was sitting around with the girls and they started imitating "charlie bit me." some humor spans generations.

i havn't updated in a while because i'm kind of in limbo here. soon after my last post i went

to finish up my paper work to substitute teach and when i got in the car i got a call from WMU

which is a large, 100+ year-old missions organization that creates resources for churches to get involved in missions. i had answered a posting for a copy editor position back in november and they called me to interview for it. it was totally unexpected, and i really wasnt sure what to do especially as far as being able to give time to bedouins was concerned, but its a great opportunity and i interviewed for it last monday. so, now i'm just waiting to hear back because i can't really move forward with the substituting stuff until i hear from them. its strange not really having anything to do during the day, but not really being able to feel guilty about it. i hope i hear from them soon so i can finally start working. in the mean time this week my job is wedding planning--mostly getting the guest list really together so we can send out invitations when they arrive!

in other news, keith and i are going to see Over the Rhine at Workplay tonight! one our favorite band and one that means a lot to us. i'm really excited. it will be my first concert in birmingham.