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#31

Nuts & Bolts / Re: The American Sign Language...

Last post by SepiaAndDust - Nov 08, 2024, 05:44 PM

In addition to signed (or just plain old said), voiced is another tag you can use. It indicates that someone who signs is vocally speaking.

The interpreter signed to John to hold on a sec, then she voiced to me, "Stop interrupting!"

#32

Nuts & Bolts / The American Sign Language thr...

Last post by SepiaAndDust - Nov 08, 2024, 05:43 PM

In your novel, should you describe the signs your characters are making? Should you use a dialogue tag like signed instead? Can people who speak ASL (American Sign Language) also understand BSL (British) or Auslan (Australian)? What are name signs?

In my experience, signed is usually the way to go. Describing simple signs or name signs is usually OK.

ASL and BSL are only about 40% cognate, which means that a lot of information could be lost or misinterpreted. Dunno about Auslan. But the idea that people with the same spoken language share a common sign language should be rejected. There are many other forms of sign language just within English-speaking areas. SEE (Signed Exact English) is one. Every interpreter I know hates SEE.

French Sign Language (LSF), on the other hand, can be more than 60% cognate with ASL.

Name signs are signs that denote a particular person. You do not get to choose your own--a Deaf person has to supply you with one. They need to be fairly simple so that they can be used in quick conversation, and they need to be meaningful enough that they really describe something memorable about the person being referenced.

When talking about other people, the Deaf community may be what hearing people would consider insultingly blunt--Fat Gay Tom and Cross-eyed Black Tom, for instance--but that's necessary for clarity. Fat Gay Tom and Cross-eyed Black Tom won't take any offense, though any eavesdropping hearing people might.

For full disclosure, I don't speak any sign language. My Beloved, however, has been a professional ASL interpreter since forever. While I've learned a lot from her, I still have to pick her brain for the answers to these questions.

Anything else about ASL, sign languages in general, or the Deaf community you'd like to know?

#33

Mmmmm... Yummy! / Re: Alternatives to pumpkin sp...

Last post by SepiaAndDust - Nov 08, 2024, 05:38 PM

Protip for the mulled wine: once everybody's had some and it's cooled to room temperature, you can use a funnel to pour the rest into the empty wine bottles. Pop on some reusable caps for the bottles, and you can store it for several days. Strain it well first, of course.

#34

Mmmmm... Yummy! / Re: Alternatives to pumpkin sp...

Last post by SepiaAndDust - Nov 08, 2024, 05:37 PM

And my reigning champion...

For emergency use only! Best on snowy, icy, or freezy nights.

2 bottles of cabernet sauvignon (hereafter referred to as "wine"). Aim for a high alcohol content.
1 orange, washed, seeded, and sliced into thinnish rounds (1/4" or a little thicker)
1 apple, washed, cored, and cut into 8 slices
optional 1 lime or lemon, washed, seeded, and sliced into rounds
2 cups non-alcoholic apple cider
1/4 cup orange juice
1/8 cup lemon juice
optional dash of lime juice
1/2 cup brandy (Christian Brothers' 80-proof "VS" brand is both perfect and cheap)
splash of whiskey or rum
[If you don't want the spirits, use brandy or rum imitation flavorings]
1/2 cup honey
1/8 cup white sugar
optional 1 heaping tablespoon brown sugar
6 cinnamon sticks
6 star anise (Use 8 if you like the black jelly beans.  Use 4 if you hate black jelly beans.)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cheesecloth sachet with:
6 whole cloves
1 pinch ground cloves
1 pinch of mace
2 pinches ground cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg (or two pinches if you like nutmeg)
1 pinch allspice
1 pinch black pepper (or a few red pepper flakes)
1 generous pinch orange zest (fresh is best, but use what you've got)
1 regular pinch of lemon zest
optional 1 pinch ginger
optional sprinkle of marjoram
optional loose-tea steeper with your favorite tea leaves (1 to 2 cups worth)
optional small pinch of cocoa powder
[If you don't have all that, use a couple pinches of apple pie spice]
[Tie the sachet well, so that it won't leak]

Set all chilled ingredients out to warm to room temperature.  Mix wine, honey, and sugars in crockpot on high.  After an hour, toss in everything else and stir.  If the crockpot's not full, add more booze (or cider, I guess, if you're a wimp).  Heat on low for another 4 or 5 hours, stirring every half-hour or so.  Remove and squeeze the sachet and the tea steeper into the mulled wine. Drink hot.

No crockpot, no problem!  Bring wine, honey, and sugars to a slight boil in a huge freakin' pot (don't let the sugars burn on bottom). Add all other ingredients, stir, and heat on low for 10 minutes (don't let it boil).  Reduce to a simmer for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Enjoy!

Do not drive under the influence of Sepia's Mulled Wine.  Sepia's Mulled Wine is a sneaky bastard.

[If you only use 1 bottle of wine, most of the other ingredients will remain unchanged.  Reduce honey, white sugar, brandy, and apple cider, but leave the rest more-or-less alone.]

#35

Mmmmm... Yummy! / Re: Alternatives to pumpkin sp...

Last post by SepiaAndDust - Nov 08, 2024, 05:36 PM

If you have the time and if your arteries aren't clogged, try hot buttered rum:

1/4 cup of rum
1/8 cup of brown sugar (packed)
1/8 cup of real butter
1 TBSP of honey
Pinch of salt
Cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground cloves to taste
Boiling water.

Mix all solids and the honey and beat until smooth in an electric mixer. Transfer to large mug. Add rum and half the boiling water. Stir. Add butter and fill the mug with more boiling water. Stir until the butter melts and the solids dissolve.

ETA: meant to add (just to keep it from being too pumpkin-spicy) that some have reported good results using anise in place of the listed spices. If you don't like the black jellybeans, that substitution is probably not for you.

#36

Mmmmm... Yummy! / Re: Alternatives to pumpkin sp...

Last post by SepiaAndDust - Nov 08, 2024, 05:34 PM

And don't forget the classic hot toddy:

1/2 cup whiskey
1/4 cup lemon juice
boiling water
honey to taste

In a large mug, mix whiskey and lemon juice. Fill to a reasonable level with boiling water. Add honey. Enjoy! (Don't burn yourself.)

#37

Mmmmm... Yummy! / Alternatives to pumpkin spice

Last post by SepiaAndDust - Nov 08, 2024, 05:34 PM

Try a hot brick, instead

2 ounces of whiskey
1 tspn of white sugar
1 tspn of real butter
hot water
cinnamon and nutmeg to taste

In a large mug, mix whiskey and sugar. Fill to a drinkable level with hot water. Add butter until melted (you can pre-melt the butter), sprinkle on cinnamon and nutmeg.

#38

Nuts & Bolts / Usage Wars: contractions

Last post by SepiaAndDust - Nov 08, 2024, 02:22 PM

Do you use contractions in your fiction?

Some people are against them. Others embrace them.

And if you are against them, are there any exceptions? O'clock for instance. Or even better, let's.

While let's is a contraction for let us, it involves a somewhat archaic usage, and the two constructions have diverged. Let's go means a whole different thing than Let us go.

Personally, I don't think that there is a problem with writers using contractions, whether in prose or in dialogue. But then, I don't consider most fiction to be formal writing (and even with formal writing, I believe that contractions are generally okay.)

What do you think?

#39

Nuts & Bolts / The subjunctive mood in fictio...

Last post by SepiaAndDust - Nov 08, 2024, 02:21 PM

The Shop Talk feature of The Chicago Manual of Style has an article discussing the use of the subjunctive mood in fiction. It is both short and a good read.

(The subjunctive is for wishes, opinions, things that haven't happened, like If I were a rich man...)

https://cmosshoptalk.com/2022/03/15/is-the-subjunctive-mood-right-for-fiction/

#40

The Danger Zone / Re: Guys, what would you do? L...

Last post by SepiaAndDust - Nov 08, 2024, 02:17 PM

I ran the situation past the Beloved.

Her response was that since I wasn't a total stranger and she knew I had a good reason for being there, it would have been okay to approach her. But...

Her: It would be different if it was some random scary looking guy.
Me: Honey, I look like this (gestures to my scarred face and wild hair).
Her: Oh, yeah....