Rose's Red Pen

Auld Lang Syne

12/30/2014

"For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne."

"Auld Lang Syne," popularized by poet Robert Burns in 1788, has been called the song that everyone sings but no one understands. The title means roughly "old times long past." "Auld" is a variant of "old" and was considered Scottish after the late 14th century. "Lang syne" means "times long past," especially those remembered fondly. The phrase dates back to around 1500 in Scotland. The song describes looking back on bygone days and toasting old friendships.

Robert Burns collected traditional Scottish music and songs and mentioned "Auld Lang Syne" in a letter dated 1788. He later published the song in a collection of Scottish music. Only the first three stanzas were traditional; Burns composed the last two stanzas himself.

New Year's was a major midwinter festival in Scotland, and traditional songs were part of the entertainment. This song, with its emphasis on old times and old friends, likely resonated with audiences. It became a Scottish tradition to sing "Auld Lang Syne" at New Year's, and that custom spread to the rest of the United Kingdom. Immigrants brought that tradition with them to the rest of the world.

Singing the song at midnight became tradition when Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadian Band played the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City on New Year's Eve in 1929. Lombardo had learned the song from Scottish immigrants in Ontario, and the band's version was broadcast on the radio. Every year after, until 1976, Guy Lombardo and his band played "Auld Lang Syne" at midnight on New Year's Eve.

The version we hear today is different from the original song, but the sentiments are the same as we remember the past and turn to the new year.

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A Christmas Carol

12/23/2014

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What would Christmas be without this familiar story? A Christmas Carol, written by Charles Dickens, recounts the redemption of Ebenezer Scrooge. The best-known and most popular Christmas story in the English language, A Christmas Carol was published in 1843 and hasn’t been out of print since.

Here are some facts you may not have known about this Christmas classic:

Dickens wrote the story in just six weeks when he was thirty-one. He started writing in September and finished right before Christmas.
Dickens was unhappy with the sales of his latest novel. He needed a best-seller; his wife was pregnant with their fifth child.
At a party, Dickens met a Dr. Miles Marley and told the doctor: “Your name will be a household word before the year is out.”
A Christmas Carol was a huge success. Six thousand copies were sold by Christmas Eve, and the book went through seven printings. Dickens had assumed production costs and so shared in the profits (a wise financial decision for him).
With the success of A Christmas Carol, a new genre was born: the Christmas book.
Dickens loved to perform A Christmas Carol for audiences throughout his life. It was both his first public reading and his last (three months before his death).
This story helped to popularize the saying “Merry Christmas.” (“Happy Christmas” was more commonly said at the time.)
“Bah, humbug,” one of the story’s most famous phrases, was uttered by Scrooge only twice.
Dickens had a long-standing interest in ghosts and the paranormal. He was a member of the Ghost Club.

A Christmas Carol has been the basis for films, plays, musicals, and countless other works of fiction over the years. My favorite version is the audio recording of Patrick Stewart’s one-man show. I listen to it while wrapping gifts each year.

Although the ending is hopeful and heartwarming, I have to confess fondness for the irascible Scrooge at the beginning. I especially like Scrooge’s fervent wish that every fan of Christmas be boiled in his own pudding or buried with a stake of holly through his heart. However, in the spirit of the day, I’ll leave you instead with the kinder words from Tiny Tim: “God bless us every one.”

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Affect and Effect

12/18/2014

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It’s not surprising that people confuse “affect” and “effect.” The words can be either nouns or verbs and have about a dozen meanings between them. Let’s jump right into those muddy waters and start with the word “affect.”

As a noun, “affect” is the way someone manifests emotion. Usually, the word appears in the context of a lack of affect, the non-emotion seen sometimes on the faces of criminals or traumatized victims.
Example: The detective observed that the suspect had a flat affect.

As a verb, “affect” can mean to fancy, cultivate, or feign. Here are some examples:
She affected a short, sleek hairstyle.
The student teacher decided to affect a scholarly manner.
Even though the businessman was from Ohio, he affected a British accent.

“Affect” can also mean to produce an effect or to act upon something. Because of this usage, people often confuse the word with “effect.” Here are some examples:
The dry air in the desert affected her skin.
The gloomy days and persistent rain affect his ability to concentrate at work.

Now let’s turn to “effect.” As a noun, “effect” is the outcome that results from a cause. It can also mean a particular mood that is created or a sound or image that imitates something real. When used with “in,” it can mean the state of being operative (“in effect”). The plural noun “effects” refers to movable personal property. Here are some examples:
One of the recession’s effects has been a credit crunch.
The cool colors in the painting create a calming effect.
The movie’s special effects were not convincing.
The new law goes into effect next month.
He’ll move his personal effects in a week.

“Effect” can also be used as a verb, and here again people become confused. As a verb, “effect” means to make something happen or to cause something that produces a desired result. Here’s an example: The lawyers worked together to effect a settlement.

According to Webster’s, the verb “affect” means to have an influence. In contrast, “effect” goes beyond influence to the actual achievement of an outcome. This table summarizes when to use “affect” and “effect.”

Keeping straight all the different meanings of these two words will have a positive effect on the clarity of your writing.

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Little Free Libraries

12/11/2014

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When a little cottage of books appeared in our neighborhood, we skipped down the street to make its acquaintance. This Little Free Library is part of a global literary and social movement.

In 2009, Tod Bol built the first Little Free Library in Hudson, Wisconsin. It was a tribute to his mother, a former school teacher who loved to read. The idea of community book exchanges with a “take a book, leave a book” philosophy spread fast. As of July 2014, 18,000 Little Free Libraries reached across every state and 70 countries around the world.

“Stewards” are the individual owners of Little Free Libraries. Ideally, stewards build the libraries from repurposed materials. Designs have ranged from log cabins to barns to bird houses. The website also has ready-made kits for sale.

Little Free Libraries help connect book lovers across a community. The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) noted that this social phenomenon crosses generations, sparking connections between younger and older readers. Sometimes Little Free Libraries go where public libraries are not. The Books Around the Block program serves communities that don't have good access to books.

You can tell a lot about the neighborhood (or at least about the steward) by scanning a Little Free Library’s collection. The selection in our community’s Little Free Library varies from day to day. A few weeks ago, nonfiction dominated, while this morning, I found an eclectic mix of mysteries and science fiction. When I leave a book, I wonder who will read it. It's like putting a note in a bottle and throwing it out to sea for the next reader.

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Three Little Words: A Writing Exercise

12/4/2014

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Imagine that you’re feeling stale or stuck for inspiration. You’ve been working on the same paragraph in the same chapter for two weeks straight. Or maybe your writers' group is itching to do something different. When it’s time for a change, try this three-word writing prompt. Randomly choose three nouns: a person, place, and thing.

If you’re in a group, have members contribute three nouns each on strips of paper. Place them all face down in three separate piles and have each person pull one word from each group. You can do this by yourself too. Just generate the different nouns and randomly select one from each group.

This exercise frees you from your usual writing and encourages you to make unusual connections and exercise your sense of whimsy. My colleague Richard Smith and I participated in a writers’ group that used these three-word prompts, so I asked him what he liked about them. He responded, “There’s a big difference between ‘write something for next week’ and ‘write something for next week that has a person, and a place, and a thing in the story.’ The exercise gives you a foundation on which to build your story, poem, or play without having to come up with everything from scratch.”

This exercise turned out to be especially productive for Richard. He wrote a 300-page novel from this three-word prompt: a nurse, Milwaukee, and a beer bottle.

So give it a go. Here’s one to get started: an airline pilot, a carnival, and a rubber duck. Have fun!

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Auld Lang Syne

A Christmas Carol

Affect and Effect

Little Free Libraries

Three Little Words: A Writing Exercise

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