Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Muzzy Ramblings


Had a migraine today, so took one of the wonder pills and am now left with that washed-out muzzy feeling . . . so you'll have to bear with this post which will probably make no sense.

Did you know that you can buy "around the world" plane tickets? And apparently you can get a better deal buying first class than coach. Or so says the Wall Street Journal. I didn't know that.

Did you know that doctors use rib bones to repair holes in the skull because ribs GROW BACK? Ha! Now I understand why God took that rib from Adam. Amazing. I didn't know that until last night.

Did you know that neither Luke nor Mark were among the twelve disciples? I did know that. Did you know that John Mark wrote his gospel first, and he wrote the stories as Peter related them? I didn't know that until last week.

Did you know that it's likely the Upper Room was located in John Mark's mother's house? And that the church at Jerusalem met there (apparently) often after Pentecost? I've just learned that.

Did you know that Roman soldiers enlisted for terms of 25 years? And they weren't allowed to marry during that time. Of course, that didn't stop them from having children with common law wives, but technically, no marriage allowed. I didn't know that--in fact, without that common law marriage reality, the plot of my WIP would be ruined.

(Nothing worse than sketching out the plot of a historical novel, finishing the first draft, and discovering that historically, it couldn't have happened. That's why I do lots of ongoing research--my WIP will have a five page bibliography.

Did you know that askOxford.com says that split infinitives are a "superstition?" Here's the quote: "Split infinitives have been the cause of much controversy among teachers and grammarians, but the notion that they are ungrammatical is simply a myth: in his famous book Modern English Usage, Henry Fowler listed them among 'superstitions'!" I lost a point on my last theology paper because of two split infinitives.

Do you know the word quisling? I love it. I'd love to use it, but I don't think my editor will let me. I regularly lose "moue" and "lagniappe." (Wise editor says I don't want to send my readers running for a dictionary.)

Well, here's to a new day and a clear head. If you care about the status of the WIP, the last two days have been spent in triage, tomorrow begins Draft Two. Will be working at a pace of 16 pages per day . . . that equals many hours on end. (Think about it.)

Onward!

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