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Damp Squid: The English Language Laid Bare

When James Murray compiled the OED in the 19th century, he used a small army of volunteers--and thousands upon thousands of paper slips--to track down the English language. Today, linguists use massive computer power--including the world's largest language databank, the Oxford Corpus, which contains more than two billion words--to determine for the first time definitively how the English language is used.
From evidence contained in the gargantuan Oxford Corpus, Jeremy Butterfield here uncovers a wealth of fascinating facts about the English language. Where does our vocabulary come from? How do word meanings change? How is our language really being used? This entertaining book has the up-to-date and authoritative answers to all the key questions about our language. Butterfield takes a thorough look at the English language and exposes its peculiarities and penchants, its development and difficulties, revealing exactly how it operates. We learn, for instance, that we use language in chunks of words--as one linguist put it, "we know words by the company that they keep." For instance, the word quintessentially is joined half the time with a nationality--something is "quintessentially American" or "quintessentially British." Using such observations, Butterfield explains how dictionary makers decide which words to include, how they find definitions, and how the Corpus influences the process.
Covering all areas of English, from spelling and idioms to the future of English, and with entertaining examples and useful charts throughout, this compelling and lively book will delight word lovers everywhere.

When I first laid eyes on her, she was being brought in to the shelter I was volunteering at at the time. She had just been rescued from an abusive home. She had been locked in the basement (where the ground was a dirt floor, so it was cold, damp, and dirty), and she was noticeably neglected and abused. She had a dirty water bowl, which had NO water in it. She had no food anywhere within sight, with the exception of dead and decaying mice and rats on the ground floor. She was 'bone' skinny and had a nasty skin infection, which was causing excessive hair loss, rashes, and sores all over her body. She had a broken nose and a broken rib. Clearly, this dog was suffering by the hands of man. And charges were made. Thank you animal cruelty laws. This dog needed help..and fast. She looked so bad, there were concerns and doubts on whether she was even worth saving, and if she was strong enough to pull through and recover. This dog was weak, in pain, and very fearful. She would look no one in the eye. Decisions were made and this poor soul had finally found help. Her life was now in loving hands. In time, with the aid of several volunteers (including myself), shelter workers, and an extremely talented veterinarian, that dog recovered and found a new home, a new family, and a new life..with ME!! Her therapy and medications were extensive and costly, but fortunately, we got through it together. I named this survivor dog, Princess, because she went through the first year of her life as man's slave dog, to turn around and find redemption as her very own Princess. No longer will she be beaten by the hands of man. She is happy, healthy, beautiful, and highly grateful. She loves her family, her furry friends, and her feline sister. She is no longer afraid to step out and be around people. She is still very skittish, but who could blame her? It has been tough working with her, but her strength has pushed me into pursuing a career in dog training, educating animal behavior, and pet photography, because no owner is perfect.
Someone needs to be there to instruct the public on the welfare of canines, and to help the right dog find the right home. Besides, every dog needs to feel like a PRINCESS!!

This villa, which Palladio executed for the brothers Nicola and Alvise Foscari about the end of the 1550s on the banks of the river Brenta. The patrons’ family was one of the Venice's most powerful, and hence their residence has a majestic character unknown in all Palladio’s other villas.

The villa rises on a high basement, which separates the (main floor) from the damp terrain and confers magnificence upon the whole building. Within the villa, motifs derived from the Venetian building tradition co-exist with those from antique architecture: as in Venice, the main facade turns towards the water. The majestic, twin, access ramps imposed a sort of ceremonial route on visiting guests: having disembarked in front of the building, they ascended the stairs toward the patron who awaited them at the center.

The villa is a particularly effective demonstration of Palladio’s mastery at obtaining monumental effects with humble materials, essentially bricks and plaster. The entire villa is built from brick, the columns included (aside from those elements which it was easier to execute in carved stone: bases and capitals).
The back facade is one of the most skillful creations in Palladio’s oeuvre, with a system of windows which make the internal dispositions legible, such as the wall of the great, vaulted, central hall which is rendered virtually transparent by the thermal window set over a triad of embrasures.