:: The Wendy House ::

For me the book contained 4 main strands woven tightly together into a book that I certainly wouldn’t describe as ‘ropey’     The strands were:

love story

This has all the power of McEwans well established ability to raise emotions,  cross social boundaries,  fill you with anticipation.  I couldn’t work out which scenes actually included sexual intercourse.  I found this uncertainty rather fun,  to be left to infer,  guessing by descirptions of position,  demeanor, sounds and feelings.   Keep this up

crime story

An unusual bent on a traditional fictional genre,  no detectives.  Just the witnesses and victims and the impact of the legal and social crimes as time unfolds.  The character’s role in the crime was well laid out in the first part.  As with being unclear about the sexual intercourse,  I was also unclear about whether a legal crime occured.  Certainly moral crimes occurred.  I would rather have found out more about the immediate aftermath in the second part.  Instead  we skip to 3 years later.  I was left with some major questions left unanswered about  the roles played by some of the key players in the first part.  Adjust this. 

war story

Uh.  I got bored and started skim reading wondering how the peripheral characters introduced in this storyline related to either the Love story,  the crime story, or the story about stories.  Either I missed something or they didn’t.  This storyline seemed superfluous.  Well written,  but it just didn’t entertain or significantly move the plot forward for me.  Cut this.

story about stories (postmodern)

Finished the book,  from part 3 onwards I tended to skim-read and may have missed some juicey words.  Below are some explanations of words that struck me as having culturally specific or slightly obscure meanings:

• Card (194): an odd or amusing person (OED)
• Crumpet (p181): Oxford English Dictionary’s 2nd definition,  Women regarded as objects of sexual desire.
• Gladestone Bag (p163): Named after the Welshman William E Gladstone who was Queen Victoria’s UK Prime Minister on four occassions.  The bag has a wire-hinged frame to open it and is much like a classic ‘Carpet bag’ only normally made of leather. 
• Greatcoat (p179):  a long heavy warm coat, worn especially by soldiers over their uniform.  The design in the UK is slightly different from the US greatcoats.  Ha Ha (p17):  A dry ditch or sunken fence which divided the formal garden from the landscaped park without interrupting the view. I’ve mainly seen them as boundaries between mansion houses and the surrounding fields used for agriculture.  Like a mini ‘moat’ with no water and a steep-side (wall) on the side where the animals should not climb-up.  An example picture is available at the bottom of this page:  http://hcs.osu.edu/ukstudy2002/calendar/levens1.htm
• Humber (p162):  a classic UK car.  See company history and examples on:  http://www.rootes-chrysler.co.uk/humberf.htm
• King Canute (p107): A potential anagram of ‘the word’ refered to in the book as an ”Old English King attempting to turn back the tides“.  He’s an early Christian King of Danish origins.  The story is told to children in the UK as a means of conveying the dangers of  pride (one of the seven sins)  and unquestioning acceptance of praise.  The story crops up in Christian contexts,  Canute was made a Saint.  The Wikipedia entry makes him sound like the King of a Scandinavian Empire that included England:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canute_the_Great
• Kissing Gate (p17):  A small gate swinging in a U or V-shaped enclosure, which allows only one person to pass through at a time.  Older versions sometimes use gravity to close and has a passage way that is too slim for an animal to move through.  Why a ‘kissing gate’?  The myth is that a man out walking with his lady friend can pass through first and hold the gate shut - demanding a kiss before permitting his lady friend to pass through.  Example gate diagram on: http://www.accesscode.info/external/5_25a.htm
• Metaled road (p86):  To make or mend (a road) with small, broken stones.  The broken stone used in macadamizing roads and ballasting railroads http://en.thinkexist.com/dictionary/meaning/Metal/

 W

Email from God? This should offend a few ‘religious’ people

http://spamusement.com/index.php/comics/view/137

Frog bashing? This should offend a few ‘Frog’ lovers and possibly Francophiles:

http://www.somethingwrong.co.uk/crazy_frog_baseball/

W

I have fond memories of Bakelite and Melamine. I’m not sure what the differences between these plastics are. Melamine can be described as a:

“Thermosetting polymer based on urea–formaldehyde. It is extremely resistant to heat and is also scratch-resistant. Its uses include synthetic resins.” (source)

According to Wikepedia Melamine is the main constituent of ‘Formica’. Think of U.S. Diners and U.K. transport cafes table-top surfaces…

This site describes the discovery of ‘Bakelite’ (Phenolic) by Leo Hendrik Baekelund in 1909. Excerpt:

Bakelite was the first true plastic. It was a purely synthetic material, not based on any material or even molecule found in nature. It was also the first “thermoset” plastic. Conventional “thermoplastics” can be molded and then melted again, but thermoset plastics form bonds between polymers strands when “cured”, creating a tangled matrix that cannot be undone without destroying the plastic. Thermoplastics are tough and temperature resistant. Bakelite was cheap, strong, and durable. It was molded into thousands of forms, such as radios, telephones, clocks, and, of course, billiard balls. Phenolic plastics are still in widespread use.

The original Patent on Bakelite ran out in 1927 (source), presumably broadening the opportunites for mass manufacturing.

For me, these plastics enabled childhood activities like family picnics without fear of accidentally breaking crockery. A step towards the luxuries of the UK Middle classes. Apparantly, spinning melamine picnic plates through the air has nothing to do with the origins of the Frisbee game.

Recently I found the below pictured bowl in a flea market. It looks like a ” Texas Ware heavy Melmac confetti mixing bowl” described on this page http://www.neighborhoodvalues.com/nv/kitchen/misc/51kc.htm

I haven’t found any websites describing the social impact of the introduction of these plastic products. Though trying to imagine life before cheap plastic table-tops, kitchen work surfaces, and virtually unbreakable, heat resistant, kitchenware does provide a sound basis for speculation…

Wendy Wondering-How-Bakolite-Products-Changed-Society

Of all the potential explanations given,  I like this one best:

“Pushkin who refers to the French as frogs because when they say “quai, quai” it sounds like a croaking frog.”

Kayaking on Lake Union was wonderful. Watching Seaplanes land, intricate and varied houseboat designs, awash in thick sunshine. We hired (US = rented) Kayak’s from:

http://www.aguaverde.com/

Wendy amatuer-paddler

"To fuss, to dither. Often with about"

“The first element of the word, “cata,” is probably related to “cater,” also found in the related word “catercorner” (or, as many folks know it, “cattycorner” or “kittycorner”). “Cater” in these words is an Anglicization of the French “quatre,” or “four,” and “catercornered” originally just meant “four-cornered.” To specify that something is “catercorner across” from something else is to stress the diagonal axis of an imaginary box, as opposed to saying “directly across” or just “across.” Both “catercorner” and “catawampus” are native American colloquialisms dating back to the 1880’s or earlier.” (scroll down on source)

source). 

Given the number of potentially Christian sources I should add this phrase to my ‘don’t use for sensitivity reasons" list.

Yesterday we went for a short ‘hike’.

http://www.washingtonhikes.com/1999/boulderriver/

Actually it was more of a ’stroll’ along Boulder River. Once we arrived at the waterfalls it was more of a ’scramble’. Scrambling over rocks, through the river along and up fallen tree-trunks. I got to hug a tree or two, mainly through fear of falling into the water below as we crossed the river!

I took over 50 photographs. Mainly of moss, boulders, ferns, trees…. They will help inspire a painting composition.

Wendy tree-hugging

Last Saturday we took a short hike starting from Mud Mountain Dam on the White River near Mount Rainier:

http://www.nws.usace.army.mil/PublicMenu/Menu.cfm?sitename=MM&pagename=PAGE1

We didnt take a look at the Dam. I wish we had found it beyond the park. We walked a short hike through the forest along the riverside. I photographed general greenery.

It smelt, sounded, felt and looked wonderful. Like walking through a faerie tale.

One day I hope to paint a picture of sunlight breaking into the deep forest. I’m collecting images to help me construct something. I’ve attached one from Mud Mountain.

W

1. causing a filling he’d placed 3 weeks earlier to fall out after only 2 days because I obviously hadn’t ‘bitten down’ properly on it during the original placement.
2. crying when he subsequently gave me an injection to numb my mouth to replace the filling I’d recklessly dislodged.  It hurt.  I couldnt help the tears.

In an English accent,  spoken to a US person… 

‘fries’ sounds like ‘rice’

• whenever I order Fries’ in the works canteen,  the server moves to add some ’rice’ to my plate.  Even putting the word ‘french’ in front of ‘fries’ fails to solve this problem.  I’m not sure what to do.  Normally I say ‘No‘ repeat the word ‘fries‘ while pointing to the deep-fryer.

‘Hiya’ sounds like ‘How are you?’

• Which apparently is the phrase that lead to the truncated greeting that I use.  I use ‘Hiya’ as a verbal greeting with friends and at work.  A persistent personal habit picked up in Northern England in the 1980’s. 
• Using it can be dangerous. 
• In England people reply with a chirpy smile and another ‘hiya’.  My US acquaintences generally reply by telling me how they are…  often I’m unrepared for the earnest content and detail.  Maybe I should start saying ‘Yo’?
• The greeting is popular for internet mediated communication,  though not quite as popular as the even further truncated ‘hi’

Wendy truncate-and-concatenate-are-wonderful-words

My friend’s blackberry… …jammed…

I laughed
Wendy repeat-offender
(insensitivity crimes)

Street Camouflage: Dressing up in other peoples clothes then passing unnoticed in a public place.

Street Camouflage is an un-extreme sport. Quite unlike extreme ironing. It’s a sport for subversives rather than exhibitionists.

Success in this sport is subjectively self-assessed using the following guidelines:

1. Secret: do not publish (verbally or otherwise) that you partake in this sport.
2. ‘Outing’: wearing one or more items of some-one-elses clothes in a public place for at least 6 hours.
3. Permission: Secure the current clothes-owners permission to wear them.
4. Secret II: If the clothes owner guesses your motives you must attempt to gain their promise not to publish your participation in this sport.
5. Different: clothes must not resemble anything in your current wardrobe.
6. Exposed: clothes must be visible (underwear doesn’t generally count).
7. Contra-aspirational: clothes should not be something you would consider purchasing for yourself . Don’t borrow stuff because you ‘like’ it.
8. Camouflage no-one should comment on the clothes’
   1. strangeness.
   2. not suiting you.
   3. ill-fit.
   4. comments like ‘you look nice in that’, or ‘i haven’t seen you wear that before’ are acceptable. With the latter question you are morally obliged to ask follow-on questions to establish whether you have effectively passed this item of clothes off as being one of your own.
9. Honest: answer questions about the clothes honestly. If you are asked ‘is it yours?‘ then you have failed to obtain street camouflage with this item.
   1. This is not a sport of deception. It is extending the boundaries of your self-consciousness and other person-awareness through subtle couture challenges. Respect your audiences ability to spot you, respect their ‘care’ in attempting not to embarrass you by identfying your ‘outing’
10. Respectful: Return the clothes in the same condition that you received them.
11. Creative: themed outings are encouraged. For example you might introduce a season with a 1970’s theme, a ‘Sports’ theme, which-ever seems most distant from your normal couture.
12. Ageless: street camouflage is so safe that people of any age can participate in this sport.

If you are considering taking up the sport competitively you should keep a Blog with photographic evidence of the clothes, grouped by themes. Identify your successes and failures and what you’ve learned from them. Use a suitable sport-relevant psuedonym for your Blog. Help new-comers to the sport by including ‘tips and tricks’.

Later this summer I’ll publish an interview with a master street camouflager. 6″4, 35yr old “Dis Guys” has been actively Outing in Street Camouflage since 1980 when he started wearing his brothers soccer kit to local playing fields. Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

The difficult thing is getting clothes without increasing the number of people that know you do this. But you’d be surprised what people keep in their closets. Even more surprised by how happy they are to show you then lend you things because of your genuine interest. My biggest success was a Gothic theme. I really dislike morbid clothes and black especially. It was tough to do. Evidently I’ve just got the right physique and complexion for Gothic. No-one challenged me. I had to be careful about progressing to some of the more horrendous outfits that included crosses and fake spider-webbing. I have to thank the clothes owner for generously lending clothes that were very special to him. My biggest mistake was thinking I could pull off wearing a pink tutu in a Shopping Mall.

I’ll be publishing the rest of this interview later in the summer. Please feel free to use the comments section below to add links to your own Street Camouflage Blogs and questions you’d like me to ask ‘Dis Guys’ to extend the interview.

Wendy under-cover-journo

Recently I used the word communion at work. 
I didn’t use it in a religious context.  Websters online dictionary cites the first meaning as “An act or instance of sharing” stemming from the Latin ‘communio’ meaning ‘mutual participation’.  Given this definition I assumed it was alright to use the term because of linguistic technical accuracy.  For my current work context,  I was wrong.

A senior person pointed out the specific ‘religious’ meaning made my use of the term outside a religious context offensive irrespective of technical accuracy.  Through my use I ’show lack of sensitivity to religiously minded people’ .

I will avoid offending others by using this term outside of its religious meaning. 

It was a lesson for me in natural linguistic evolution.  It does sadden me when a word’s meanings are constrained or lost by social forces like neglect or ‘political correctness’.   I’d like to live and work in an environment that celebrated linguistic diversity.

Accidentally Insensitve Wendy (Known Repeat offender)

Ian McEwan is a damned good writer. [Will] Self said that he read the novel in two hours, while also looking after children and doing a spot of bank business; I read it pretty quickly too, and I suggest that this is not only because of the book’s slightness, but because of the compulsive nature of McEwan’s prose: you just don’t want to stop reading it, even when he’s writing about musical composition, or the difficult characters and bad behaviour of ‘creative’ people. (’These types - novelists were by far the worst - managed to convince friends and families that not only their working hours, but every nap and stroll, every fit of silence, depression and drunkenness bore the exculpatory ticket of high intent.’)

 

Rant warning 

Like B******ks is my call important, to you personally,  your employer, or the company that contracted you.  Throughput and money is important to the US Medical industry.

Do I hear you ask “What’s up with our normally good humoured Wendy?”

Is ‘time of the month’ interferring with normal service? 

Could be…  .read on and judge for yourselves…

My Dr. suggested I take 3 Hospital based tests.  Urrggghhh. 3 separate forms.  3 different phone numbers to make appointments.  In 1 hospital,  1 building.  Each number took me to the same switchboard where I heard:

All of our schedulers are helping other callers right now… your call will be answered in the order it was received… please hold the line…<beethoven>…

Patient centric? NO! 

I phoned my Dr.  

She’d wisely morphed into an answer machine. 

I asked the machine to fax the forms to the scheduler then phone me to confirm they were received so I can phone the hospital & wait 15 minutes to make another appointment,  irritatingly on a different day from the one I’ve successfully made.  <take deep breath> 

Franz Kafka?  Modern US bureaucracy beats it all.  An hour later after 4 phone calls I only have 1 appointment and at least one more call to make.  I’m upset & there isn’t even anything wrong with me.  Today I’m not even paranoid!   I do cynically believe a large proportion of ’tests’ are the medical services way to make money out of insurances…   …and people’s fears….

Why, why, why can’t medical services put the patient at the centre of the process…  one phone-call,  3 appointments sorted by an adequately staffed scheduling service who are thrilled about coordinating so that you only have to make one trip to the Hospital & take only one afternoon off work. 

It must be a nightmare for someone with a genuine reason to be distressed before they even pick-up the phone…  ..to hear the unsubstantiated (insincere?) message of how important that call is to the Hospital…    

Rant Over 

Michael was a prolific and well respected science fantasy writer in 1970’s UK.  Most of my,  boy,  high school friends were avid readers of his books.  Along with the standard Tolkien & CS Lewis.  The book cover artwork was often sold in ‘poster’ format and used by bands as album covers.  He even wrote the lyrics to a couple of “Blue Oyster Cult” songs and collaborated on albums with the UK band Hawkwind.

Wikipedia provides an overview at  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Moorcock

Excerpt:

“Moorcock’s most popular works by far have been the Elric novels, starring the character Elric of Melniboné. Moorcock wrote the first Elric stories as a deliberate reversal of the cliches common in Tolkien-inspired fantasy adventure novels (which he despised) as well as the work of Robert E. Howard. The popularity of Elric has overshadowed his many other works, though he has worked a number of the themes of the Elric stories into his other works (the “Hawkmoon” and “Corum” novels, for example). His Eternal Champion sequence has been collected in two different editions of omnibus volumes comprising fifteen books containing several books per volume, by Victor Gollancz in the UK and by White Wolf Publishing in the US.”

I prefered the work of Mervyn Peake.  His ‘Letters from a lost uncle‘ was an early favourite childhood bedtime story…

This entry is intended to describe impressions of some of the signifiers in Jasper Fford’s book.  Signifiers that might not be easily recognised by none-UK readers:

• 10 (p239, chptr 27).  Standard UK womens clothes size.  Bust: 36″ Waist: 29″ Hips: 38″.  I’ve never really been able to work out US sizes.  I have clothes that fit me in US 2,4,6 and 8.  This clothing size conversion chart didn’t help me at all: http://www.onlineconversion.com/clothing_womens.htm

• Allegro - an exceedingly ugly car produced in the late 1960’s by the nationally owned car industry then called ‘British Leyland’ before it morphed into the recently demised Rover group. Wikipedia’s entry describes my understanding of the car “Allegro is widely regarded as a poor design in almost every significant respect… …The Allegro gained a reputation for unreliability and poor build quality—another unfortunate nickname applied to it was the ‘All-Aggro’  ”.  Its the sort of car you expect a ‘dork’ or ‘loser’ to own.  Unlike the Rover,  which was the car of choice amongst Bank Managers… 

• Argos  (chapter 10). A chainstore that first grew membership via a paper-based catalog selling system in the mid 1970’s.  Known for providing very cheap goods.

• Battenburg (p270, chptr 32).  two-coloured sponge-cake wrapped in a thin layer of Marzipan.  Photograph on: http://www.parsleysoup.co.uk/VeganCakes/battenburg.htm

• Barbour Wellies (p206).  Wellies,  Wellingtons,  are rubber boots used for gardening and working in fields and garden.  Barbour is a brand name that markets to the wealthy middle class and above.

• Bin (p266, Chptr 32).  also known as ‘waste bin’,  ’rubbish bin’,  ‘litter bin’, ‘Dustbin’,  ‘Recycle’ and ‘Refuse’. US = ‘Trash can’. Covers large outdoor and small indoor containers.  Some photographs of the larger outdoor bins are available on:  http://www.freefoto.com/browse.jsp?id=11-29-0

• Block of flats (p236, Chptr 29).  Apartment building.  Houses are generally prized over apartments.  Here’s an example photographs:  http://www.dreamstime.com/blockofflats-image176036

• Conservatory (p246, Chptr 30).  A home extension that can someties be added without local government planning permission.  A popular way to cheaply extend your home.  I’ve put ‘before’ and ‘after’ photographs of a conservatory built this year,  to this entry.  More examples provided at:  http://www.almostimpartialguide.co.uk/conservatories/consepjt.htm

• Littlewoods (p234, Chapter 29). A company started by John Moores in Liverpool in the 1930’s.  Like Argos,  initially using paper catalog sales.  Unlike Argos,  targetting the upper working class and lower middle class market.

• Mobile.  Cell phone,  example labeling of UK cell-phone store web-site:  http://www.virginmobile.com/mobile/

• Reading - A city in the UK that is pronounced ‘Red-ing’.  Microsoft’s UK headquarters,  and “Oracle” are based in Reading.  It has a large indoor shopping Centre (Mall) called ‘The Oracle’.  Signposting for ‘The Oracle’ is more prominent than signposting for ‘Oracle’.  I suspect many visitors to the company accidentally end-up lost in the Mall.  The city is not well-known for being ‘cute’,  ‘beautiful’ or a place you would choose to go.  One of my University friends described herself as having ‘escaped’ from Reading.  I’ve never been to the town of Basingstoke.  Motorolla have a research centre there.

• Red Rum (p.137).  A famous horse that won a dramatic race called the ’Grand National’ for a record 3 times (1973, 74, 77). 

• Shandy - a drink made of half Beer (bitter, lager) and half UK Lemonade.  The Lemonade makes the beer weaker and sweetens the flavour.  The nearest equivalent to UK Lemonade in the US is a 7-up.  The drink is typically given to people who don’t like ‘real’ beer, ’girls’ and designated drivers.

• Smarties (p128).  Small candy-coated chocolate sweets that come in a tube.  The UK version is different from the US version. 

• Special (p116).  Mary Mary orders a ‘Half of Special“.  Half a pint of a strong beer.  Special is short for ’special brew’ which appears to mean a stornger alcohol content. 

• Stubbs (George),  the artist that produced Spratt’s mother’s ‘cow’ painting.  He is increadibly famous in the UK mainly working in the late 1770’s.  Most famous for his paintings of Horses.  Pubs and Hotels often have copies of his paintings on the wall, and they are popular themes for dining room table place-mats.  Wikepedia description.

• Terraced House (p.31).  Inner city 19th Century homes for working class people.  Known as ‘2-up, 2-down’ because they normally have 2 rooms downstairs (kitchen & front) and 2 rooms upstairs (bedrooms).  Humpty Dumpty’s Grimm st. residence is described as a red-brick terraced house and he fell from a wall that could have been similar to this one.

• The Relief of Mafeking (p349, Chptr 42).  A battle in the Boer war (Sout Africa),  a poem, the birth of the ‘boy scout’ movement, and a famous painting.  The Poem and historical context are avilable at:  http://www.mcgonagall-online.org.uk/poems/mpgmafeking.htm

• Wireless (p270, Chptr 32).  A ‘Radio’,  the term was commonly used when Radios first became prevalent in UK homes.

• Wootton Bassett  (p.234, Chptr 29).  Comically named very old small town in Wiltshire, close to Swindon,  on the M4 corridor.

Wendy (finished reading the book Aug 7th)