Big Ice – 12/24/2010

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The thing that neither words nor images convey adequately is the sheer size of the Perito Moreno glacier. But of course I’m going to try.

First, the words. Perito Moreno’s front on Lake Argentina is three miles wide, with an average height of 240 feet. That’s about the height of a twenty-story office building. It’s also about twenty miles long, one arm of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, the third largest reserve of fresh water on the planet (after Antarctica and Greenland). And Perito Moreno is one of only a small handful (three?) of glaciers that are growing. It advances about six to ten feet a day.

Distances are large here under the Patagonian mountains and sky. So the glacier may not look like much from a distance.

But when you’re on a tour boat in front of the glacier, you feel small. Really small. The whole boat full of fifty (more or less) people feels small.

Well, actually, compared to the glacier, the boat *is* small. Here’s a photo from the shore, with the boat about halfway across the lake in front of the glacier. I circled the boat in red. I had to, because otherwise you might miss it.

This is A WHOLE LOT OF ICE.

Next post: Trekking on the ice, or fun with crampons.

Jagged Mountains – 12/24/2010

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“I’ve been cut by the beauty of jagged mountains…”

“…and cut by the love that flows like a fountain from God.”

Thanks for the lyrics, Bruce Cockburn. They surely apply to the ice mountains of the Perito Moreno glacier. More in later posts.

Views near Golden Grove

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I’m going to skip over the sunsets from our last weekend on the island and go right away to the moonrise. The moon was full–so full that objects cast sharp shadows in the silver light. On the night we left, the moon was rising as we waited for the ferry. It was mostly veiled by clouds, but I caught this moment at Old Harbor.

Hard as it is to believe, I will be out of the country–and probably without my computer–this time next week. If I am able to make posts, I’ll write about my trip. So for now the sunsets are on hold. More in January!

Happy holidays, everyone!

Views near Golden Grove

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The weekend of November 19-21 was a bittersweet one for us. It was our last weekend on the island. This is always a kind of sad affair, the last several hours of which involve laundering and putting away the sheets and towels, draping the sofas and chairs with old slip covers and drop cloths so that they will not fade, and packing all our clothing, food, and even many of the staples that we don’t want to leave over the winter in the cold, cold house.

But the island gave us many gifts this weekend, as it often does; and so over the next few weeks I will share with you our unexpected visitors, two sunsets, and a moonrise.

On Friday we were visited by two does and their fawns. If they had come any closer to the house, they would have been sitting on our deck chairs, and we would have had to offer them some gin-and-tonics with their grass. These pictures are taken through the (dirty) windows, so the quality is not the best. But the subjects were so photogenic it hardly mattered.

I think these are the two fawns. They arrived separately and seemed really happy to see one another. Friends.

Here’s a cuter shot.

And this picture, with the porch column in the foreground, may give you an idea of how close they came to the house.

What to use instead of adverbs

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Adverbs, particularly those ending in -ly, have gone out of fashion these days. Many advisors to writers are now advising that we not use them. Preferably not at all. Or, if we must, then as seldom as possible. Naturally (oops), this leads to the question: What should a writer should use instead?

Here are some answers.

  • When the adverb is a qualifier (mostly, somewhat, possibly, very, extremely, actually, etc.), just don’t use it. Most sentences are stronger without the qualifier. Try it and see. I promise you: You NEVER need “very”. Ever.
  • Use strong, picturesque verbs, nouns, and adjectives instead of weak ones with descriptors. For example, replace “He spoke loudly” with “He shouted” or “screamed” or “ranted.”
  • Use metaphors. Instead of “He looked at her vacuously” try “He looked as if he hadn’t had a thought in weeks.”
  • Substitute an adjective. Thank heavens adjectives are still in fashion. Many writers do this these days. Instead of “She glared at him angrily” they write “She glared at him, angry.” Personally, I think this is a bastardization of the language, but many of these writers otherwise know their craft.
  • Substitute a prepositional phrase. “She glared at him in anger.” Hey, now you’ve got a rock-solid NOUN here!

If you are beginning to find this list arbitrary and even a bit nonsensical, please join the crowd. Many writers, published and not, rightly find the current campaign against adverbs unwarranted. I’ll go out on a limb here and say that all the great writers used adverbs. Even Shakespeare used adverbs.

This is a fashion we’re talking about, folks, and like all fashions, it will pass. Take the good parts and ignore the nonsensical ones. Lose the qualifiers. Strengthen nouns and especially verbs. Choose dynamic adjectives. Find metaphors that wake your readers up. Then, if you still have a place for them, use adverbs that sing. And use them effectively.

What to write if you want to make money

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Thank you, Catherine Ryan Hyde, for this quote from author Elmore Leonard. When asked what a person should write if he wants to make money, Leonard replied, “Ransom notes.”

You can read Ms. Hyde’s full article (on the economics of being a novelist) in DailyFinance here.

Gimme Grammar 2

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There are a number of differences between British English and American English when it comes to grammar and punctuation, but none is so annoying (to a person on the left side of the ocean) as the rules applying to punctuation adjacent to quotation marks at the end of a sentence.

In this case, the Brits are completely logical. And the Americans are, well, Americans.

I refused to accept this for years, but I’m older and more mellow now, and I try to do what I’m told.

Here are the rules.

If you’re British (and I think but I’m not sure, also Canadian) you do the right thing: Terminal punctuation adjacent to quotation marks goes where it logically makes sense. If it closes whatever’s in the quotation marks, then it goes inside the quotation marks. If it closes the sentence as a whole, then it goes outside the quotation marks. I feel a bit silly including examples since this is so bloody obvious, but, well, maybe not to the Americans. So here you go:

  • She let out a scream and cried, “Help!”
  • The grammarian sighed. “I can’t help you.”
  • “Why on Earth not?”
  • What is the definition of the word “abecedarian”?
  • [Watch this one carefully] “I don’t know the definition of the word ‘abecedarian’.”
  • Here is the definition of “abecedarian”.

Now, for you Americans, the first three of these work the same way. So does the fourth, because the rule is this: regardless of the logic of the sentence, if the terminal punctuation is a question mark or an exclamation point, it goes outside the quotation marks.

But the final two examples are different. If you’re an American, the rule is this: Regardless of the logic of the sentence, if the terminal punctuation is a period or a comma, it goes inside the quotation marks.

  • [Watch this one carefully] “I don’t know the definition of the word ‘abecedarian.'”
  • Here is the definition of “abecedarian.”

Oh, that last one really hurts.

Views near Golden Grove

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As we prepare for our last trip of the season (and year) to Block Island–too soon, oh, too soon!–I have been looking back over photographs from previous Novembers. This one, and those from the next few posts, are from 2006 and were not taken from our deck but from nearby.