Isn't it Ironic?

photo credit: flickr 'Hardly' via photopin 

Alanis Morissette could be accused of confusing a generation with the lyrics to her hit song, ‘Ironic’ from the 1995 Jagged Little Pill album.

Is rain on your wedding day really ironic or just bad luck? And what reason could someone possibly have for hording 10,000 spoons and not having any knives? And is not being able to find a knife when you have that many spoons irony? 

What exactly is irony? Why it is so frequently misused? And does it really matter when we all know exactly what Alanis Morissette meant anyway?

According to the Macquarie Dictionary, irony is “a figure of speech or literary device in which the literal meaning is the opposite of that intended.[i]”

Confusion seems to stem from the fact that there are many different types of irony ­– some of which have evolved from the misuse of the term ­– and the relationship between verbal irony and sarcasm. 

The key component to the correct use of verbal irony seems to be in the surface meaning being the opposite of the underlying meaning.  Sarcasm uses words to convey contempt or be funny.  It can use irony but it doesn’t have to have a literal meaning that is the reverse of what was intended.

For more information on irony visit the website : http://www.isitironic.com.

SJ

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[i] Macquarie Little Dictionary (1999) The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd

Not Quite Right For Our List

At some stage in their careers, most writers would have received feedback from a publisher that their manuscript is ‘not quite right for our list’.

Some have just accepted it as a blanket rejection.  Those of a more curious persuasion have wondered what the phrase actually means.  Is the publisher just being kind?  Does ‘not quite right for our list’ really mean that your manuscript is riddled with problems? 

And is there really a list?

Surprisingly, the answer is probably yes on all counts.  Yes, your manuscript most likely has several problems that a submissions editor can identify with their well-honed and critical eyes. Yes, the publisher is certainly being kind by not highlighting the many problems they see in your manuscript without offering you a paid opportunity to fix them.

And yes, there really is a list.

Publishing companies build up a reputation for publishing a certain type of book.  This list, while it may not be written on paper, is a constant consideration when deciding whether or not a book is right for them. 

So next time, instead of interpreting the form response as an indictment of your manuscript, consider that it is possible that your manuscript is, in fact, not quite right for the list.

For further advice on interpreting rejections, see

http://writersrelief.com/blog/2011/01/how-to-interpret-rejection-letters-from-literary-agents-and-editors/

SJ

Freegans: Urban revolutionaries or legendary cheapskates?

Freeganism is a hard concept to understand.  Derived from the words  ‘free’ and ‘vegan’, a freegan is a person who eats food that has been discarded - but is not necessarily vegan.

Freeganism is part of a broader anti-consumerist movement with the core belief being that the need to buy new things to eat is diminished by the waste already in our society.  It is a concept that is thought to have grown out of the anti-globalisation and environmental movements of the early nineties but is believed to have been articulated and popularized in a manifesto that was released in 2000. 

Freegan practices traditionally include, but are not limited, to dumpster diving, urban foraging, gardening and barter, as alternatives to paying for food. 

Since 2000, Freeganism has developed, in some communities, to include more than an anti-consumerist ethic about eating and into a broader strategy for living that embraces a complete boycott of the economic system.  In this sense, it additionally incorporates  practices such as community bike sharing, waste minimization through recycling, swapping  and repair of  goods where possible,  squatting and working less.   In some cases, it includes the highly dubious practices of shoplifting, employee theft and returns (the practice of returning stolen goods for money or store credit).  All of these practices are outlined in what is considered to be the original freegan manifesto. 

Upon reading the freegan manifesto it’s hard to believe that the author wrote it with any serious intent and perhaps even harder to believe that it spawned a social movement that has spread world-wide.

SJ

Lego Mini-figures

Last week when I went to pick up my son from after-school care, I noticed that the coordinator was asking the children to collect all the Lego mini-figures and hand them in to her before leaving.  When she had collected them all, she proceeded to  count them.  When she was certain all were accounted for, she put them in a sandwich bag and locked them in the drawer of her desk.  At the time, I didn’t think that much about her actions.  The mini-figures are exceptionally cute and easy to smuggle away in a pocket – it’s not hard to imagine that they would be the target of primary school pilfering. Later though, I started to wonder…what is it about these tiny figures that make them so appealing?

The first Lego mini-figure was released in its modern form in 1978. It was a police officer.  The police officer was closely followed by a fireman, nurse, astronaut, knight, petrol station attendant and construction worker.  Each was four Lego bricks high and had a yellow head and a simple facial expression – two black dots for eyes and a curved black smile.

Standard Lego mini-figures are still four Lego bricks high without hats and helmets.  In 1989, however, they were given different facial expressions and in 2003, skin colours were introduced.  41 different versions of the police officer have been released since the original and there are now more than 7,000 different characters in circulation. (Although male mini-figures still out number females 18:1).

With over 4 billion Lego mini-figures produced, there is hardly a shortage and yet, mini-figures can be expensive.  In 2013, a gold plated mini-figure was released.  Mr Gold has a top-hat, monocle and jewel topped cane.  5,000 were released world-wide and they are one of the most expensive on the market at an estimated $1,500.  A solid gold Boba Fett, of which only two exist, is perhaps less attainable at an estimated $11,495. And there are others.  A solid gold C-3PO is worth $10,450 and solid silver Boba Fett $6,270.  Even the orange C-3PO prototype is worth over $3000.

But these price tags don’t even come close to the most valuable. 

There is a set of Lego mini-figures that has been valued at 2.2 billion. The set of three comprise the Lego versions of Roman God Jupiter, his wife Juno and Galileo Galilei, the astronomer. The three are part of an initiative between Lego and NASA to promote space research and they have been sent on a five year mission to Jupiter. The 2.2 billion price tag is a low estimate of the cost of a mission to Jupiter to rescue the figures before they crash into the planet in 2017. 

So, instead of questioning the after-school care coordinator’s actions as she protectively stashes her Lego mini-figure collection, I may offer to help... and I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for the elusive ultra rare mini-figure.

More about the Lego’s mission to Jupiter can be found here:

http://www.lego.com/en-us/aboutus/news-room/2011/august/lego-minifigures-on-a-mission-to-promote-space-research

SJ