~ Dix ~

Here in the US we were celebrating our bicentennial.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest won the Oscar.

On TV, we were watching The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Columbo, Mash, Chico and the Man, SNL, Carol Burnett, and The Waltons.

On the radio, we were listening to Elton John, Diana Ross, Wings, K.C. and the Sunshine Band, Lou Rawls, Waylan and Willie, Crystal Gayle, Charlie Rich, and Charley Pride.

Gerald Ford was president, though Jimmy Carter was elected that November.

It was the year Alex Haley published his book Roots and the year Agatha Christie died.

What were you doing? What car were you driving? Favorite burger joint? What do you remember about 1976?

I've checked out FAQ but didn't find anything on this.

"If the writer doesn't laugh, the reader doesn't laugh. If the writer doesn't cry, the reader doesn't cry."

I've been unable to verify this quote. Can you? I read it out of context and the source attributed it to Robert Frost. Anyone know for certain?

At 2 p.m., Friday, Feb. 16, 1968, the first ever 9-1-1 call was placed by Alabama Speaker of the House Rankin Fite from Haleyville City Hall to U.S. Rep. Tom Bevill (Dem.) at the city's police station.

A week later, the 9-1-1 emergency calling system was implemented in Nome, Alaska. In 1979, Dade County, Florida, and so forth across the nation.

(It is interesting to note that there are still towns in the US that do not yet have 9-1-1 calling.)

What I haven't been able to find out is when the system was available in the Atlanta, GA, area.

Do any of you lovely people know?

If not, know where I might look or perhaps you can suggest a different category for this question?

Am I behind the times again? Please clue me in.

I like semicolons but I've been picking up on tidbits here and there that say don't use them, they're passé, and so on. Does this stem from confusion because many people don't know what they're for or when to use them? Or, are they on their way to the punctuation graveyard?

Writers, do you use them?

When writing fiction, I don't use them in dialog but I do in the narrative. When writing nonfiction, I use them. Heck, I use them in my email.

Readers, do you hate them or even notice them?

To help you understand the question, please note that I don't need the definition of the word; I know what it means. What I'm hoping for is to see it used in a sentence. And hey, with luck, several sentences!

From Dictionary.com -- Turpitude: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/turpitude

The subject is domestic violence and men who abuse women. It is within this context you must write the sentence.

To help put you in the right mental place:

“The humiliation and torture of those they’re supposed to love and protect is their vile attempt to prove their superiority, to be in control. Instead, it’s sick evidence of their own pathetic impotency and their pitiful effort to convince themselves they’re men!” Liz was right, of course, but she was preaching to the choir. Someone like Lucas didn’t deserve to be called a man. Maggie could feel sympathy for a rabid dog, but she had none for that wretched excuse for a human being.

By searching, I've found that many other people are also having problems with Yahoo! email. I haven't been able to download an attachment or view an embedded photo or graphic in about two months.

I spent 29 minutes in an online chat with one of their techs two weeks ago. He insisted I go through that standard process of elimination routine they do (such as uninstalling all my Firefox add-ons!) only to finally say, "Our engineers are aware this is problem and they are working on it." He voiced his hope it would be corrected soon. Well, it's not and I'm ready to move on.

I have this problem on my XP whether I'm using Internet Explorer, Firefox, and even Safari. If I forward a Yahoo! email with an attachment to my Gmail account, however, I can download.

My husband also has a Yahoo! account but he has no problem at all on his XP but when he's using mine, he has the same problem I do. So what does that tell me? That the problem is only with certain IP addresses? What's up with that?

Do you have a suggestion for another email service that has unlimited or at least a generous amount of online storage? Gmail's storage is limited to 7271MB. I can exceed that in no time at all. (The keywords here are ONLINE STORAGE.)

If you took the time to read this far, thank you. I'll appreciate your suggestions.

btw: it doesn't matter if I'm using Classic or New Mail.

The recent Firefox 3.0.4 upgrade slowed my internet access so, I downgraded back to v. 2.0.0.8 It's installed and running but now I no longer have a page back arrow or a page forward arrow. Where did they go? How do I get them back?

I've been on the Mozilla Firefox site searching for the answer. I found one related question on the forum site but when I click on it to open up the thread, I'm not allowed to access. I don't know why that is, either.

So, any informed suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Since updating to Firefox 3.0.4 on my XP, I have a severe slowdown accessing websites, including my Yahoo email. Anyone else?

Here are a couple I like in Latin:

de gustibus = to each his own

res ipsa loquitur = the thing speaks for itself

You don't have to limit yourself to books. Phrases from any source is fine. Just, please, include the English translation. Unfortunately, I'm a monoglot. (Great word, huh?)

A classic example of audacity is the man who kills his parents and asks for clemency on the grounds that he's an orphan.

Got any more?

Think I should post this in Words & Word Play, instead? I put it here in B&A because I hope to get examples not only from real life but from fiction as well. If from fiction, please state your source if you remember it. Also, feel free to come up with your own!

I recently saw the movie The Jane Austen Book Club. Even though its reviews weren't all that good ("formulated chic flick," etc), I loved it. It made me think it would be fun to see if anyone here feels their life parallels, or is reflected by, any of Austen's characters.

I can't say mine does but I did relate to the character Bernadette played by Kathy Baker in the movie.

For instance, would it be a Corvette? Or the 1970 Ford Mustang Boss 429? Or ...?

I am writing a work of fiction. One of the characters was a wealthy man throughout 1930s and the early 40s. I need him to lose his fortune by the end of 1944 and thought perhaps he could have invested heavily in some industry that was highly profitable until the end of WWII.

For instance, a friend suggested ship building. But I need detail I can research.

Any suggestions?

It's the simple things that get me. I have read contradictory information (even in a Y!A search) so I decided to bring these questions to my trusted pals here in B&A.

I'm writing a novel and am confused on the following points:

1. In a manuscript, do I double space between sentences or not?

2. When using italics to show unspoken thoughts or to emphasize a word, I'm not sure if the old standard of underlining words I want the publisher to put in italics still applies.

(I should have asked this question a couple of months ago. It has occurred to me how much time it would take to make that kind of change--from underline to italics--throughout a completed ms and how easily it could be to overlook a few.)

Thirty years ago we had a coal furnace. The coal was delivered by truck and dumped down the coal shoot into a huge pile in the cellar. I'm trying to remember exactly what it smelled like in that cellar. Did it smell like oil? Or a bit like sulfur? What does coal smell like?

I am seeking information on the duties and, hopefully, personal experiences of anyone who has worked as a bridge tender for draw bridges. I have researched online but would appreciate your personal knowledge on: duties? work schedule? problems specific to the job? THANKS!

When using a narrator to tell a fictional story, should the narrator's words in the manuscript be written in italics?

May the Good Lord take a liking to you... but not too soon!

What's you're favorite Irish blessing or toast?