Author: Allan Metcalf
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199752524
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 226
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Book Description
It is said to be the most frequently spoken (or typed) word on the planet, more common than an infant's first word ma or the ever-present beverage Coke. It was even the first word spoken on the moon. It is "OK"--the most ubiquitous and invisible of American expressions, one used countless times every day. Yet few of us know the hidden history of OK--how it was coined, what it stood for, and the amazing extent of its influence. Allan Metcalf, a renowned popular writer on language, here traces the evolution of America's most popular word, writing with brevity and wit, and ranging across American history with colorful portraits of the nooks and crannies in which OK survived and prospered. He describes how OK was born as a lame joke in a newspaper article in 1839--used as a supposedly humorous abbreviation for "oll korrect" (ie, "all correct")--but should have died a quick death, as most clever coinages do. But OK was swept along in a nineteenth-century fad for abbreviations, was appropriated by a presidential campaign (one of the candidates being called "Old Kinderhook"), and finally was picked up by operators of the telegraph. Over the next century and a half, it established a firm toehold in the American lexicon, and eventually became embedded in pop culture, from the "I'm OK, You're OK" of 1970's transactional analysis, to Ned Flanders' absurd "Okeley Dokeley!" Indeed, OK became emblematic of a uniquely American attitude, and is one of our most successful global exports. "An appealing and informative history of OK." --Washington Post Book World "After reading Metcalf's book, it's easy to accept his claim that OK is 'America's greatest word.'" --Erin McKean, Boston Globe "Entertaininga treat for logophiles." --Kirkus Reviews "Metcalf makes you acutely aware of how ubiquitous and vital the word has become." --Jeremy McCarter, Newsweek
Author: Amity Gaige
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0525566929
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 290
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Book Description
A New York Times Notable Book of the Year “Brilliantly breathes life not only into the perils of living at sea, but also into the hidden dangers of domesticity, parenthood, and marriage. What a smart, swift, and thrilling novel.” —Lauren Groff, author of Florida Juliet is failing to juggle motherhood and her stalled-out dissertation on confessional poetry when her husband, Michael, informs her that he wants to leave his job and buy a sailboat. With their two kids—Sybil, age seven, and George, age two—Juliet and Michael set off for Panama, where their forty-four foot sailboat awaits them. The initial result is transformative; the marriage is given a gust of energy, Juliet emerges from her depression, and the children quickly embrace the joys of being at sea. The vast horizons and isolated islands offer Juliet and Michael reprieve – until they are tested by the unforeseen. A transporting novel about marriage, family and love in a time of unprecedented turmoil, Sea Wife is unforgettable in its power and astonishingly perceptive in its portrayal of optimism, disillusionment, and survival.
Author: Vertis Nephew
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1453532188
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 236
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Book Description
They come. Each with their own story... each with a dream of making it in the business. Talented, attractive, confident and sure... but in a city that breathes like one big casting call, everybody can’t always be special. Have you ever wondered why the waiter knows all the specials without so much as peeking at the board, or why the plumber can still make you laugh even when telling you it’ll cost you $1,000 to fix the sink? And then there’s always that one teacher... the one that stuck out like a sore thumb... the one from elementary school that you still remember to this day. That’s because they’ve come to the city with the same goal. They were all stars back in their hometown but now they’re here... trying to make it work... trying to hold on... swimming upstream to the big pond. They’re all talented and beautiful... but life in the entertainment world has a way of making things real.
Author: D. A. Watson
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1847284272
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 134
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Book Description
It was a normal, boring Wednesday. Another school day. Then the three friends discover something in the mud which changes everything as they are forced into an adventure which puts not only their lives at risk but the lives of their family as well. Propelled into a parallel America in the 1970's, they discover, in the worst way imaginable, that the technology they take for granted in their world is not so favourably viewed in this new world. But not everyone considers it a bad thing. One person wants it for themselves and is willing to do anything to get his hands on it. Under threat and alone in a world of strangers, will they be able to find anyone to help them return home?
Author: Choon-Ok Jade Harmon
Publisher: Pelican Publishing Company, Inc.
ISBN: 9781589808904
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 228
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Book Description
Choon-Ok Harmon was born soon after the Korean War, when South Korea was experiencing extreme poverty. This memoir describes the hardships she tried to overcome to achieve a better life. She moves to the U.S. and, through patience and perseverance, pursues her dream of becoming a martial artist. Harmon is now the highest ranking woman in the Korean martial art system of Kuk Sool Won.
Author: David Bastian Marshall
Publisher: Writers Republic LLC
ISBN:
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 436
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Book Description
The conflict between Religion and Science escalates to the Eco-world. Evidence of climate issues accumulates, yet political forces continue to ignore Earth’s warning signs. How can Climate Specialists and other scientists convince the inhabitants of this world that we each must take deliberate action to heal our planet and its environment? We cannot rely on government participation and funding - especially from the countries where their economy is tightly coupled with fossil fuel production and consumption. Johann covertly attends a climate summit in France and he quickly attracts the attention of several of the attendees who are intrigued by his point of view of Earth. However, unexpected circumstances detain him in Paris; Johann’s quest to become a climate specialist is delayed and redirected. Meanwhile, his security business begins to flourish back home in mid-state New York. His intellectual team begins to make progress with their New Stewardship concept. Though Johann was detained in France for two years, he and his team are making substantial progress with their quest to influence people to heal Earth.
Author: Ralph Keyes
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0190466766
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 393
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Book Description
"How do words get coined? That question is explored in Ralph Keyes's latest book, The Hidden History of Coined Words. Based on meticulous research, Keyes has determined that successful neologisms are as likely to be created by chance as by intention. A remarkable number of new words were coined whimsically, he's discovered, to taunt, even to prank. Knickers resulted from a hoax, big bang from an insult. Wisecracking produced software, crowdsource, and blog. More than a few neologisms weren't even coined intentionally: they resulted from happy accidents such as typos, mistranslations, and misheard words like bigly and buttonhole, or from an unintended coinage such as Isaac Asimov's robotics. Many of the word coiners Keyes writes about come from unlikely quarters. Neologizers (a Thomas Jefferson coinage) include not just learned scholars and literary lions but cartoonists, columnists, children's authors, and children as well. Wimp, Keyes tells us, originated with an early 20th century book series on The Wymps, goop from a series about The Goops, and nerd from a book by Dr. Seuss. Competing claims to have coined terms like gonzo, mojo, and booty call are assessed, as is epic battles fought between new word partisans, and those who think we have enough words already. A concluding chapter offers pointers on how to coin a word of one's own. Written in a reader-friendly manner, The Hidden History of Coined Words will appeal not just to word lovers but history buffs, trivia contesters, and anyone at all who is interested in a well-informed good read"--
Author: Tara Fenwick
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317746929
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 208
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Book Description
This book joins a developing tradition of ‘practice-based’ conceptions of learning, but with a special interest in foregrounding the materiality of educational processes. It challenges educational views that are preoccupied with developing a particular kind of human subject, and argues that relations among materials – including texts and technologies, embodiment, tools and natural forces - are key to understanding how learning and knowing emerge in collective activity. To critically examine materiality, the chapter authors draw from orientations associated with actor-network theory, but push forward these conceptions to create an important in-between place of inquiry in sociomaterial/STS studies and education. Most express concerns about visions of education that emphasise output driven learning, performativity, standardisation and representationalist forms of knowledge. They use sociomaterial approaches to make visible the everyday, particular micro-dynamics of education and learning. Their analyses reveal that power relations and the politics that infuse pedagogy are by no means confined to human interests and ideologies, but are created and sustained through materialising processes that are enmeshed with the social and semiotic. Ultimately, these sociomaterial analyses open new directions and vocabularies for reconceptualising what is taken to be pedagogy, where and how pedagogical processes occur, and what effects they have on culture and society. This book was originally published as a special issue of Pedagogy, Culture & Society.
Author: Jon Pendergrass
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 145200403X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 406
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Book Description
Jackson Pritchard is a wanted man. Wanted by his clients, by an ex-lover, by a new love interest...and now by the police for questioning. His clients have begun to turn up dead. Jessica Young wants to live her own life for a change. Now that her second life is ready to begin, her path crosses Jackson's. Follow them across the country and further as their adventures culminate in an explosive and surprise ending. Pepper Jack is a thriller much in the style of James Patterson. Set predominantly in Memphis, it is filled with rich Southern character and characters. The dialogue is fun and fast and the characters are memorable and enjoyable, even the bad guys! Let yourself be swept in the story and see the pages turn themselves.
Author: Heping Xie
Publisher: CRC Press
ISBN: 1000107949
Category : Computers
Languages : en
Pages : 889
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Book Description
This text covers the use of computer applications in the mineral industries, encompassing topics such as the use of computer visualization in mining systems and aspects such as ventilation and safety.
