September was real

A question for the universe: if you didn't blog for the month of September, did the month of September actually exist?

As it so happens, I spent most of the first half of the month sick in bed avoiding back-lit screens of any kind, and most of the second half of the month on vacation in New Hampshire.  We typically spend a week each summer up in New Hampshire at Lake Winnipesaukee and then a week out in Pebble Beach with my family.  This summer a couple of obstacles (IVF, Blake's trial) kept us from our normal vacation schedule, so we decided to take a fall trip once Blake passed his deadline.

So, Blake filed with the court on Thursday night and we started the 9 hour drive up the coast on Friday morning.  Between the snacks and, the conversation, and the audio book we brought (In the Kingdom of Ice) the drive went by quickly and without any noteworthy incident.

It was fairly fall-like and chilly for a lot of the time we were at the lake, but we got a few glorious 80 degree days where we took full advantage of the water.  It was so nice to finally have a break from the doctors appointments and crazy trial schedule we'd been dealing with all summer.  We read books, kayaked, took boat trips across the lake, laughed while Bear did zoomies around the house-yard-beach-dock-water, ate out, gorged ourselves on ice cream, and watched old Cary Grant movies.  Basically, it was the perfect way to relax.

There's nothing quite like fall in New England.  The bright leaves.  The misty mornings.  The crisp air.  The blue skies. Sigh.  In fact, we even got engaged on a fall trip to New Hampshire back in the day.  Needless to say, it's a great place to be in October.

Well, without further ado and endless paragraphs, here are some photos of our trip before I get back to my regularly scheduled posting.  Enjoy all the gratuitous Bear shots.  Yes, I am fully aware that we have an unhealthy obsession with our dog.

War-like

I studied Linguistics in college.  Languages have always interested me, and I loved being able to study something that was also my hobby (and now I am qualified to flip a burger in three languages, yippee!).  I've had a niggling feeling lately that I've fallen off the proverbial academic bus, so I'm looking for ways to stay up on my linguistics research.

Which brings me to my first question for the void: does anyone out there have recommendations for interesting reads in the realm of linguistics or language?  It's sometimes so hard to get a sense of what's good from Goodreads, so I'll leave the recommendations to anyone out there who happens to have an opinion or recommendation.  Help?

But anyway.  I've been thinking for the past couple of days about a study I read back in the day about English language and violence.  I can't remember the name of the study, so don't quote me on anything, but the gist was this: language, and specifically slang, tells you a lot about the culture in which it is spoken.  More narrowly, English speakers use a variety of violent and/or war-like slang words...and what does that say about our culture?

For example:

"I bombed that test."

"Knock 'em dead!"

"That class totally kicked my butt."

"I'm so mad, I'm going to kill him!"

"I'm so tired, I feel like I got hit by a bus."

"That oral exam? I killed it!"

Etc.

There are a ton of other examples that I can't think of right now (because it's Sunday night and my brain has been off for some hours), but it's a pretty interesting concept, don't you think?  Frankly, you've only got to turn on the news to see how violent a society we live in.

I speak French (but not well enough at this point to compare idioms) and elementary Arabic (heavens, I basically only speak "TV/24 Terrorist" Arabic...), but I'd be interested to hear how much of this exists in other languages.  Would a peaceful/pacifist country like, say, Sweden, have far fewer violent slang words in their language?  Would German speakers use more violent language than English speakers?

[These are gross over-generalizations about these two cultures, but there you are.]

AND. At what point does language start influencing culture rather than the other way around?  Can it?  Does it?  If we started speaking in less violent terms, would that make us a more peaceful people?  I doubt it.  But it's an interesting thought.

More often language evolves as the culture changes.  It's like the words we use to describe the internet (blog, web, etc.) or mass-produced items (fast fashion, McMansion, etc.) that only recently came onto the scene.  I think if Shakespeare visited suburban DC tomorrow, he'd be hard-pressed to understand what anyone was blabbering on about.  Then again, put me back in Elizabethan England and I'm sure I'd have just as much trouble understanding The Bard.

Now there's a thought.  How much violent language does Shakespeare use as description?  Has the language culture shifted that much since his time?

But, that's a study for another day...when my brain is on again.

Listing, listing, 1, 2, 3

I am a girl run by lists.  I keep a small spiral notebook on top of the fridge where I organize my life.  Each Monday morning I sit down to write out the week's items.  I've got tabs for:

To do
To eat
To buy

To buy is generally a grocery list, but also includes odds and ends.  To eat is a weekly menu by day.  To do is a daily to-do list.

I sure do love crossing things out or making that check mark next to an item.  Am I weird?  I'm weird.  I accepted that fact a long time ago.

But that doesn't change how much I enjoy a good list.  I think that's why I love Goodreads and Pinterest so much.  Digital lists?! Why didn't I think of that before?

Recently I purchased a couple more small notebooks to carry in my purses for last-minute list additions and, more importantly, story/plot ideas for the book I 'm working on.  I'm fairly certain nothing will ever come of it, but I'm having fun anyway.  Plus, if I'm able to finish and only my nieces read it, well, I'll consider that a success.

This all brings me to my question of the day.  My main character (and, therefore, most of the characters) is 16 years old.  I'm struggling to write conversation in the book because I'm not sure how informal to make it.  Should she speak like a normal teenager, with tons of "likes" and "awesomes" etc. thrown in, or is that just too painful to read in print?  Where's the happy balance?

I'd love to know what you all think.  The good, the bad, the like totally ugly...regale me with your opinions.