A meme, gacked from just about everybody.

[penmage]

Pick an interest from my interests page that either 1) you know nothing about but sounds intriguing, or 2) you know something about but can't fathom why yours truly would be interested in it, and request an explanation.

Edit: feel free to choose more than one. I'll happily explain any and all.

Comments

[bethofalltrades.livejournal.com]

"the old penguin edition" or "constructed languages"

I couldn't decide. :)

[penmage.livejournal.com]

"the old penguin edition" - I'm can get picky about my books. For one thing, I like to keep them in good condition - if I lend them to someone and they come back bent and dog-eared, I get pissed. For another, I like them to last. As a History major, I've ended up buying a lot of Penguin classics. I like them. They're usually a good translation, and the old Penguin edition (example: here) lasts and lasts and lasts and lasts and still looks as good as new. Recently, they've come out with a new style of book (example: here)- which looks spiffy, but I don't like it half as much. They cover is easily scuffed, they fall apart really easily. Therefore, I am addicted to the old Penguin edition - whenever I go to Gotham, my local used and new bookstore, I always ask them to dig up the old Penguin edition.

It's the kind of thing you don't notice unless you're me.

"constructed languages" - these are really cool. I wrote a speech on them, and I find them fascinating. Tolkien had 14 of his own, including different forms of Elvish. Klingon is a conlang. There are hundreds of websites listing hundreds of conlangs in existance, totally speakable - most only known by thier own creator. They are complete languages, crafted and invented deliberately.

Some cool links, if you're interested: A Conlang FAQ - answers some basic questions. This site guides you through constructing your own language - complete with grammer, syntax, vocabulary, the whole deal.

[arib.livejournal.com]

My friend vaxjedi has invented his own language called Sinnish. It's surprisingly complex. One of his recent posts discusses the primer he just wrote. Give it a look.

[fshk.livejournal.com]

Although it should be noted that one of the reason Penguin editions are so cheap is that they are cheaply made. Well, and they publish things from the public domain so they don't have to pay royalties or anything. I may just be bitter, though, as Penguin is one of our competitors. And, as an English major, I had to buy a fair number of them in college. I had a prof who edited one, a particularly evil anthology of abolitionist writing that the prof referred to as "ma book" (he was from Alabama). Um. Anyway.

[penmage.livejournal.com]

I actually really like the old penguin edition (hence the interest on my list ;). I've found that they're really well made, and good, etc etc. The new penguins are teh suck, though.

[darcydodo]

Except maybe you should change it to "the medium old penguin edition," because there was an even older edition that's mostly all black, though with a color picture. :) Which is what I think of when I think of the old penguin edition. Especially as I didn't know about the new ones.

</pedantry>

[penmage.livejournal.com]

Good point - I've seen the old old penugins. But "the medium old penguin edition" is 5 words, and that wouldn't fit as an interest ;). And besides, the yellow ones are what I regularly refer to as "the old penguin edition," so.

[darcydodo]

"medium-old"...? ;) OK.