Notice in the title of book there is a comma after “Genomes” so that it reads “Genes, Genomes, and Networks”. As the grammar fanatics among you know, the comma that comes before “and” in a series like that is optional. What you may not know is that the comma is referred to as “an
So the Oxford Comma refers to the title of the textbook that brought us to England for this sabbatical in the first place. But the Oxford Comma is also how we think about this sabbatical itself—a pause slowing down the series of activities in our lives. While in Oxford, Phil will be working in a C. elegans worm lab with his long-time colleague Jonathan Hodgkin and with the editors at OUP to put the finishing touches on the textbook and associated website. Deb’s plans are no less ambitious—to check out the English coffee and tea shops, museums, gardens, quilts, and yes, probably even a few libraries.
You may have wondered why we have a 30 year old photo of us at the beginning of our blog. We’re hoping to come back at the end of the summer so rejuvenated that we will once again look like this. Well, we can dream anyway….
6 comments:
This is great! I never knew that comma was optional! And Deb's part sounds every bit as ambitious :) Tea can be rough business! Have fun you guys and keep us updated!
Brilliant title!! I especially like it because I initiated the conversation about the Oxford comma (not coma, as I originally typed just now). Now if you'll excuse me, I need to update my resume to say "Fights for commas in titles of Genetics textbooks".
Ahem, Andy. I would just like to say that I, too, have long been a proponent of the serial comma... in fact, I got into a rather heated discussion in Mastriano's class over this exact topic. It's nice to have my point of view validated by a representative of OUP... take THAT, 10th grade English!! :) Nice blog title, Mom and Dad.
I didn't know about the origin of that comma, but what a thrill to be educated about it!
I always use that optional comma as well. I'm glad it was included in the title.
For a former Linguistics/TESOL major, reading the blog was like a moment of Bellingham (or Seattle) sunshine.
Congratulations Phil! Are you guys aware of the song by the band Vampire Weekend (called "Oxford Comma")? It led me to the wikipedia article about Oxford commas a few weeks ago. I personally think they're an essential part of language.
Hi -
I found your blog by doing a search about a quilt site and then going to a blog and blog jumping. Then I got interested in what I read. My paternal grandfather was born in England. About all I remember of his English roots is that he was educated at Stratford on Avon. He had a sister who had two grandchildren. The grandson was close to the age of my brother closer in age to me and the granddaughter was about a year older than me. So, I've lost touch with my English roots. I've a bit envious of our sabbatical to England.
I cannot imagine the thrill of having a book published, Phil. I didn't make it far enough into my doctorate to get published. I got breast cancer and six weeks after that diagnosis, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I did continue even with chemo fog, senior fog, and fibro fog. One of the last two classes I completed was multiple regression. My new sweetie (we had just been married in December and it was spring term) was laid off during the semester. So after the layoff, he drove me the 90 miles (one way) to class. I just could not complete two more classes and a dissertation with a nag (and that's a nice word) for an advisor.
When I saw that your are involved with genetics, I thought, "Oh, wonderful!!! Maybe, he's looking fora cure for one of those nasty diseases that lurks in my house!!" This was in my selfishness. I'm sure your work is greatly important!
Deb, library work is important to all! I see you are also interested in quilting. I'd love to see pics! One of the ladies in my online dishcloth group is from England and she says they cannot get the cotton thread for the dishcloths in there. To have the thread sent is so costly that it is not worth ordering it. Usually when there is a cloth swap, someone puts a skein of cotton yarn in the package for her which allows her continue in the swaps. Her name is Janice, so I would have been ecstatic if she were my long-lost cousin.
I am thrilled about the "Oxford comma." Enough said!
Good luck on the book, shopping, and travels.
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