zirconium

As an indexer and copyeditor, I have a professional interest in how classification systems are maintained and how people agree on names (for each other, for categories, and for stray-items-that-aren't-easily-summarized-but-ARE-too-important-not-to-show-up-somewhere-in-the-index [she types, grinning]).

...which means I was captivated by the feature article in issue 22 of Allen Press's FrontMatter newsletter: Taxonomy Goes Digital: Nomenclatural Codes Embrace Online-Only Publication. It discusses some of the ways taxonomic names can be established -- that is, how plants, animals, algae, bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other organisms are formally labeled. (Put another way: if you want your name for a newly discovered or discussable critter to be recognized officially -- the better to talk about it with everyone else -- you have to publish and register the name properly [i.e., blogs and Facebook don't count, and until last year, neither did online-only journals]. Until I read this article, I hadn't given much thought to how the process was regulated, even though I'm excavating terminology wormholes all the time in my line of work. [You say vernacular, I say jargon, let's play rochambeau...])

It mentions the Global Names Architecture project, which it describes as "an attempt to compile information about names and help reconcile two major problems: some species have more than one name, and some names are applied to more than one species." (The GNA website looks fascinating. I am charmed by the parenthetical "the strings that serve as" in the second sentence. Some other week...)

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Also on names: over at her blog, Mary lists the women mentioned in 100 Diagrams that Changed the World.

Joanne tells the audience about polar bears.

Mary, Joanne, and I presented some of our poems at the downtown branch of the Nashville Public Library yesterday morning, in the beautiful West Reading Room. The room is also where the monthly Shakespeare Allowed gatherings take place, so between that and March Madness, it would have been foolish to start with anything other than "Practicing Jump Shots with Shakespeare."

The rest of my set (all from Measured Extravagance):

Playing Duets with Heisenberg's Ghost
Schrodinger's Top Hat
The Language of Waiting
Devotion
Deep and Crisp and Even
Hymn

I'm now kind of kicking myself for not including "Proportions" and "Shehechianu," but truth be told, I found myself powering through an (atypical) attack of nerves, so ending the set at ten minutes (instead of fifteen) seemed the more prudent course of action while I was at the podium.

I'm enormously grateful to the friends who attended the event -- thank you all so much for making time for it, amid so many other choices! It was also thrilling to discover that we'd caught the interest of strangers: we were a Critics' Pick in this week's Nashville Scene, and Liz mentioned being asked about the reading while riding the bus.

Joanne's posted some photos and notes as well.



Mary read primarily from The Scientific Method, and offered "My Mother Was a Mad Scientist" cards:



Other pleasures of the weekend have included:

* Time with Mary and her sister. We walked to Little Hollywood and back, tried a vanilla marshmallow at Provence (said mallows are huge -- one was sufficient for three people), admired the felt vines at Retropolitan ...

* A Friday night gathering with Joanne's household. She brought potato salad and spinach salad; the BYM picked up pork shoulder and cornbread from Jack's; I made two pitchers of sangria, a plate of devilled eggs, and a bowl of blue cheese slaw. Good eats and good times.

* A note from Houseboat -- they'll be publishing two of poems this week.

...and, there's more to share, but it's time to head to church. Here's wishing each of you a happy start to your week.

From things that make me happy

Chemistry Kitty!

There's a competition through April 2 for answers to "What is a flame?", seeking descriptions that "an 11-year-old will find intelligible and maybe even fun." It's also canvassing for 11-year-olds to act as judges.

http://www.flamechallenge.org/

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ysabetwordsmith, who will be featured on this blog on April 20, has opinions and observation about publishing models for you to ponder.

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I am far from a purist when it comes to prosody, but Lehman's prediction + clarification on why Obama and not Santorum will carry the electoral college -- let's hear it for the true double trochees!