[stylist] introduction+bonus grammar request

[David Andrews]

At one time National Braille Press sold the 
Elements of Style in Braille -- possibly other 
formats -- don't know if they still have it.

Dave

At 12:52 PM 1/5/2011, you wrote:
>Hi,
>
>Donna has given you many wonderful ideas. In 
>addition, you may find it convenient to check out "The Purdue OWL: Grammar" at:
>http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/1/5/
>
>----- Original Message ----- From: "Donna Hill" <penatwork at epix.net>
>To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2011 1:38 PM
>Subject: Re: [stylist] introduction+bonus grammar request
>
>
>Hi Julie,
>Bookshare has the Chicago Manual of Style and the Elements of Style,
>which are both highly respected. NLS carries "The Elephants of Style"
>which is a great read and covers many of the controversies in modern
>writing rules. I'm sure RFB&D must have many books on grammar as well.
>Donna
>
>Read Donna's articles on
>Suite 101:
>www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/donna_hill
>Ezine Articles:
>http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=D._W._Hill
>American Chronicle:
>www.americanchronicle.com/authors/view/3885
>
>Connect with Donna on
>Twitter:
>www.twitter.com/dewhill
>LinkedIn:
>www.linkedin.com/in/dwh99
>FaceBook:
>www.facebook.com/donna.w.hill.
>
>Hear clips from "The Last Straw" at:
>cdbaby.com/cd/donnahill
>Apple I-Tunes
>phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=259244374
>
>Check out the "Sound in Sight" CD project
>Donna is Head of Media Relations for the nonprofit
>Performing Arts Division of the National Federation of the Blind:
>www.padnfb.org
>
>
>On 1/5/2011 1:27 PM, Julie J wrote:
>>Heya all!
>>
>>I joined a bit ago and have been reading when I 
>>can.  I see lots of familiar people on this list.*waves*
>>
>>anyhow, I'm Julie. I live in eastern NE with my 
>>farmer husband, teenage son and two dogs.  I 
>>joined because I'm currently working on a 
>>book.   In the beginning it was fun and I loved 
>>to work on it.  Now I'm in the 
>>editing/rewriting/fixing phase.  It's not so 
>>fun.  I was hoping that someone would have a 
>>recommendation of a book or website that would 
>>help me with grammar.  Some of my sentences 
>>just don't flow well and others come up in the 
>>spell/grammar check with no recommendations of 
>>a fix.  If it makes a difference my writing 
>>style is very informal and the book is nonfiction.
>>
>>TIA
>>Julie
>>
>>
>>  ----- Original Message ----- From: "Donna Hill" <penatwork at epix.net>
>>To: "Writer's Division Mailing List" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
>>Sent: Wednesday, January 05, 2011 12:12 PM
>>Subject: Re: [stylist] Hoody bit
>>
>>
>>Brad, Good job. You are a very creative man.
>>Donna
>>
>>Read Donna's articles on
>>Suite 101:
>>www.suite101.com/profile.cfm/donna_hill
>>Ezine Articles:
>>http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=D._W._Hill
>>American Chronicle:
>>www.americanchronicle.com/authors/view/3885
>>
>>Connect with Donna on
>>Twitter:
>>www.twitter.com/dewhill
>>LinkedIn:
>>www.linkedin.com/in/dwh99
>>FaceBook:
>>www.facebook.com/donna.w.hill.
>>
>>Hear clips from "The Last Straw" at:
>>cdbaby.com/cd/donnahill
>>Apple I-Tunes
>>phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playListId=259244374
>>
>>Check out the "Sound in Sight" CD project
>>Donna is Head of Media Relations for the nonprofit
>>Performing Arts Division of the National Federation of the Blind:
>>www.padnfb.org
>>
>>
>>On 1/5/2011 9:14 AM, Brad Dunse wrote:
>>>for a little self-amusement this morning :)
>>>
>>>The store manager was new so I suppose you 
>>>really couldn't blame him. I don't think he 
>>>had much experience in this sort of thing 
>>>before, but after an incident such as this, 
>>>I'm sure he's learned a thing or two. A few of 
>>>us tried to tell him early on but it was as if 
>>>he didn't even hear us, or as if he couldn't 
>>>understand us at all. It was almost like he 
>>>didn't speak our language. Well, anyway
 we 
>>>didn't push too hard because we had heard he 
>>>was a bit hot under the collar, though you 
>>>really would not have thought that by just 
>>>looking at him. I mean his white pressed short 
>>>sleeved shirt and bright tan slacks were
 hmmm 
>>>alright. I mean the slacks weren't that dark 
>>>so they were OK. I mean he couldn't wear white 
>>>slacks too or he'd look like a doctor or 
>>>something, you know, too clean and proper. No, 
>>>the light tan slacks were OK, too dark and 
>>>well, you know, *spoken in a whisper* the 
>>>darky slacks
 no matter how you try to 
>>>contrast them
 because of their color they 
>>>just send the wrong message you know.
>>>
>>>I on the other hand, with my official medium 
>>>sky blue long sleeves, neatly pressed chest 
>>>pockets, stiff unwrinkled collar standing 
>>>proud atop the wide shoulders, sharply 
>>>contrasted dark blue slacks creased commanding 
>>>municipal respect being tied off at the waist 
>>>by a shiny black leather belt, knew this sort 
>>>of thing happens from time to time. I might 
>>>have expected it too from the murmuring I 
>>>thought I heard earlier on in the evening.
>>>
>>>I'd say it happened somewhere around 11:00PM, 
>>>shortly after closing time and all the store 
>>>personnel had gone home for the night. The 
>>>place was dark and only the security lights 
>>>lit certain areas of the store. The dress 
>>>shirt section was well lit and out in the 
>>>open, as was the tank tops and plane sweat 
>>>shirts. Even the wild carefree T-shirts with 
>>>their brazen multi-colored logos slapped on 
>>>them like cheap chest tattoos were out in the 
>>>open. There were others though that were 
>>>hidden in the shadows of the security lights. 
>>>If anyone should have been hidden from the 
>>>light it should really have been the negligees 
>>>and unmentionables but no, it wasn't that way, 
>>>not like other stores with
 well you see, this 
>>>is where the store manager
 well I'm sure he 
>>>knows now, but it always has to come to 
>>>something like this before anything is done about it.
>>>
>>>As I said I think it had to be a little after 
>>>11:00PM, shortly after closing time, maybe 
>>>11:30PM I'm not really sure. I was standing 
>>>there quiet-like, the store was all still. And 
>>>out of the buzzing noise of the scantly 
>>>illuminating fluorescents, I thought I heard 
>>>this whispering. At first I wasn't sure but 
>>>then it seemed to get louder. Sure enough I 
>>>began to hear these voices and right away I 
>>>knew what was happening. Their accent and 
>>>dialect gave them away even in the darkness. 
>>>As the murmuring grew louder I began to pick out what was being said.
>>>
>>>"Look at you mon weeth your foncy stripes and 
>>>pressed coalars... get a load ofe deece guy 
>>>mon... oh... tsk tsk tsk. Aw. Jew popped a 
>>>coople boatens. Aw Chus like deece one here, dos a shame mon".
>>>
>>>I knew right then we had trouble and it wasn't 
>>>going to be pretty. But what was I to do. The 
>>>manager had me clipped up on the display wall 
>>>with arms stretched out like I was being 
>>>crucified. I'm telling you, I mean I'm not 
>>>saying? I'm just saying. You know, I think the 
>>>manager had a lot of missed responsibility 
>>>here. New or not, well anyway, I could hear 
>>>things were heating up from another section ...
>>>
>>>"Hey man look at this feller. he's a thinkin' 
>>>he's purdy smart wit dat Rayon tag he's a sportin' there. Well I'll just..."
>>>
>>>And then I heard this horrible tearing sound. 
>>>I mean he made off like he was going to rip 
>>>off just the tag but it sounded like he tore 
>>>the whole arm off the guy. All this was 
>>>happening just around the corner where I 
>>>couldn't quite get a good look at who the 
>>>trouble makers were, but I knew.. Oh, I knew 
>>>alright. It was easy for the cops to tell too 
>>>when they finally came in the next morning.
>>>
>>>But anyway pinned helpless there I heard 
>>>another scream, I looked and finally I could 
>>>see something of what was going on just 
>>>outside of the shadows. It was coming from the negligee section.
>>>
>>>"Get your hands off me you, you... you... piece of white... help! Help!"
>>>
>>>I looked over and it confirmed my suspicion. 
>>>The upper part of his garment was the tell 
>>>tale thing but with Lederhosen? I mean that's 
>>>an odd combination but these trouble makers, 
>>>they'll wear anything for an identity that draws attention to them.
>>>
>>>All of a sudden the voices got louder. The 
>>>trouble makers with there accents and dialects 
>>>were pushing shoving and ripping everyone off 
>>>their hangers. You could hear shirts drop to 
>>>the floor, some in just a protective fetal 
>>>position, and others because they were yanked 
>>>off the rack, thrown down and stomped. Screams 
>>>and torrents of obscenities rang out along 
>>>with fabric names. Cotton, Rayon, Wool, 
>>>Polyester Blend, you name it and it was yelled 
>>>out just before they were beaten or tore to 
>>>shreds. If attacking them for their textile 
>>>ethnicity wasn't good enough, the 
>>>troublemakers began spewing out styles. 
>>>V-necks, tank tops, button down, short sleeve, 
>>>long sleeve, no sleeve, it didn't matter they 
>>>were out to make their mark in the clothing 
>>>section of the store. cries for help rang out 
>>>one after another and like I say, there I was 
>>>pinned against the wall in "nail me to the cross" mode, unable to do anything.
>>>
>>>Well, by the time the store manager got there 
>>>in the morning every stitch of clothing was 
>>>tossed on the floor. Buttons lay randomly in 
>>>the isles along with ripped off collars, 
>>>pockets and sleeves. Hangers littered the main 
>>>isle next to crumpled broken plastic displays 
>>>and metal tubular hanging racks tipped over. I 
>>>was lucky enough to have landed face down with 
>>>the top of my display wall propped up against 
>>>the feet of the denim shirt's round rack that 
>>>was in front of me before all this started, so 
>>>I wasn't crushed. Yes, every stitch of 
>>>clothing was either tore, had its buttons 
>>>popped, its buckles wrenched off, or otherwise 
>>>destroyed. When the humans walked in only one 
>>>set of garments was left sitting untouched and 
>>>only slightly misarranged according to size as 
>>>if they scampered to return to the rack before someone saw.
>>>
>>>That's when they knew who caused all this 
>>>trouble. Those troublemakers the hoodys. Its 
>>>always the hoodys, you can't trust a one of 
>>>them I tel ya. And it doesn't matter if they 
>>>have draw straps, are pull overs or zip, have 
>>>tattoos on their chest like the T-shirts or 
>>>not. No matter what color, solid or 
>>>multi-colored, they all were there hanging 
>>>presuming innocence while the rest of us lay 
>>>in a shambles on the store manager's pretty little floor.