Comments on: Chapter VI: Harmonic Convergence http://evangellyfish.com/chapter-vi-harmonic-convergence/ New chapters posted regularly. Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:44:20 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Kate http://evangellyfish.com/chapter-vi-harmonic-convergence/#comment-272 Kate Wed, 17 Sep 2008 03:45:52 +0000 http://evangellyfish.com/?p=13#comment-272 [quote] “Women were the kind of people that people came out of, for crying out loud, and he thought it was it was the kind of thing best monitored by world class doctors and sophisticated electronic gear, maintained closely by teams of nurses with graduate degrees in astrophysics.” I’m not sure what pluperfect means, but I think the above is wrong. [end quote] Jim, the sentence is a bit wordy but grammatically I can't find any errors. I used to know what the pluperfect was, but it's been too long since I've had a French class for me to remember. Incidentally, having given birth myself once (2 years ago today, in fact!) I agree with the sentiment in the book... that childbirth should be monitored by world-class doctors and sophisticated electronic equipment... and of course, painkillers. Praise the Lord for epidurals! I truly mean it, I'm not being facetious. [quote] “Women were the kind of people that people came out of, for crying out loud, and he thought it was it was the kind of thing best monitored by world class doctors and sophisticated electronic gear, maintained closely by teams of nurses with graduate degrees in astrophysics.”

I’m not sure what pluperfect means, but I think the above is wrong. [end quote]

Jim, the sentence is a bit wordy but grammatically I can’t find any errors. I used to know what the pluperfect was, but it’s been too long since I’ve had a French class for me to remember.

Incidentally, having given birth myself once (2 years ago today, in fact!) I agree with the sentiment in the book… that childbirth should be monitored by world-class doctors and sophisticated electronic equipment… and of course, painkillers. Praise the Lord for epidurals! I truly mean it, I’m not being facetious.

]]> By: Mesa Mike http://evangellyfish.com/chapter-vi-harmonic-convergence/#comment-208 Mesa Mike Mon, 25 Aug 2008 20:51:03 +0000 http://evangellyfish.com/?p=13#comment-208 "Gnat-strangling"? Shouldn't that be gnat-straining? “Gnat-strangling”?

Shouldn’t that be gnat-straining?

]]> By: Jim B. http://evangellyfish.com/chapter-vi-harmonic-convergence/#comment-190 Jim B. Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:54:39 +0000 http://evangellyfish.com/?p=13#comment-190 "Women were the kind of people that people came out of, for crying out loud, and he thought it was it was the kind of thing best monitored by world class doctors and sophisticated electronic gear, maintained closely by teams of nurses with graduate degrees in astrophysics." "...it was it was..." I'm not sure what pluperfect means, but I think the above is wrong. God Bless “Women were the kind of people that people came out of, for crying out loud, and he thought it was it was the kind of thing best monitored by world class doctors and sophisticated electronic gear, maintained closely by teams of nurses with graduate degrees in astrophysics.”

“…it was it was…”

I’m not sure what pluperfect means, but I think the above is wrong.

God Bless

]]> By: Naddy http://evangellyfish.com/chapter-vi-harmonic-convergence/#comment-189 Naddy Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:52:09 +0000 http://evangellyfish.com/?p=13#comment-189 Oops. Sorry about the never ending link there. Oops. Sorry about the never ending link there.

]]> By: Naddy http://evangellyfish.com/chapter-vi-harmonic-convergence/#comment-188 Naddy Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:51:29 +0000 http://evangellyfish.com/?p=13#comment-188 Three things... 1. Most states require at minimum a CPM (Certified Professional) certification for the practice of midwifery. Many states require a CNM (Certified Nurse-Midwife) degree and OB back up. (Until recently, in my own state, it was a felony to practice as a midwife without being a CNM and having that OB back up.) Either one of those certification routes is fairly time consuming. NARM, which oversees the <a href="http://www.narm.org/htb.htm" rel="nofollow">, requires one year equivalent to 1350 clinical hours in its clinical components requirement. I'm wondering what the Mrs. Winmore-into-Mystic Union timeline is, because it doesn't seem like she would've had the time for the training needed for even a CPM certification. 2. As someone who recently had midwife attended homebirth, I don't think it makes sense that your off stage laboring woman is groaning non stop. Perhaps this is not what you meant, but the way I read it it seemed like it was a constant groaning. I know that low vocalizations, groans, moans, or mooing, is encouraged by many midwives during contractions to help the mother relax herself. (As opposed to high pitched noises, which tend make a woman tense up.) So I think it would be more realistic here to say that the groaning was at regular intervals. To give more realism, perhaps as the interview wears on the intervals could grow smaller and the noise louder. 3. I think the servant girls are over the top. Where is she getting the funding, for one thing, to have two people parading around in robes? Secondly, I don't think they would've been wearing plastic tiaras. Probably grape vine wreaths. More natural. Three things…

1. Most states require at minimum a CPM (Certified Professional) certification for the practice of midwifery. Many states require a CNM (Certified Nurse-Midwife) degree and OB back up. (Until recently, in my own state, it was a felony to practice as a midwife without being a CNM and having that OB back up.)
Either one of those certification routes is fairly time consuming. NARM, which oversees the , requires one year equivalent to 1350 clinical hours in its clinical components requirement. I’m wondering what the Mrs. Winmore-into-Mystic Union timeline is, because it doesn’t seem like she would’ve had the time for the training needed for even a CPM certification.

2. As someone who recently had midwife attended homebirth, I don’t think it makes sense that your off stage laboring woman is groaning non stop. Perhaps this is not what you meant, but the way I read it it seemed like it was a constant groaning. I know that low vocalizations, groans, moans, or mooing, is encouraged by many midwives during contractions to help the mother relax herself. (As opposed to high pitched noises, which tend make a woman tense up.) So I think it would be more realistic here to say that the groaning was at regular intervals. To give more realism, perhaps as the interview wears on the intervals could grow smaller and the noise louder.

3. I think the servant girls are over the top. Where is she getting the funding, for one thing, to have two people parading around in robes? Secondly, I don’t think they would’ve been wearing plastic tiaras. Probably grape vine wreaths. More natural.

]]> By: LongShot http://evangellyfish.com/chapter-vi-harmonic-convergence/#comment-187 LongShot Thu, 21 Aug 2008 06:45:30 +0000 http://evangellyfish.com/?p=13#comment-187 David, My point was that it was negated with the <i>wrong</i> conjugation of "to be," and that the negative should be the same tense as the first phrase. But honestly I'm gonna have to concede this one to ya, because I'm really not sure I have a leg to stand on. I was never no good and conjugatin' nouns n such. For all I know, there's a subjunctive in there making the whole thing all squirrelly. David,

My point was that it was negated with the wrong conjugation of “to be,” and that the negative should be the same tense as the first phrase. But honestly I’m gonna have to concede this one to ya, because I’m really not sure I have a leg to stand on. I was never no good and conjugatin’ nouns n such. For all I know, there’s a subjunctive in there making the whole thing all squirrelly.

]]> By: Dave Hodges http://evangellyfish.com/chapter-vi-harmonic-convergence/#comment-180 Dave Hodges Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:23:11 +0000 http://evangellyfish.com/?p=13#comment-180 LongShot, I think it's okay the way he has written it because the first phrase is "had he been asked" which is a pluperfect passive voice conjugation of the verb to ask. Since it is pluperfect passive, it is perfectly reasonable to negate it with a conjugation of the verb to be. EXAMPLE: Had I been in the bar, I would have seen the bartender, but I wasn't (in the bar). EXAMPLE II: Had I been told about the party, I would have gone, but I wasn't (told about the party). Your example works just fine as well, but I think the way Wilson has written it is just fine. LongShot, I think it’s okay the way he has written it because the first phrase is “had he been asked” which is a pluperfect passive voice conjugation of the verb to ask. Since it is pluperfect passive, it is perfectly reasonable to negate it with a conjugation of the verb to be.

EXAMPLE: Had I been in the bar, I would have seen the bartender, but I wasn’t (in the bar).

EXAMPLE II: Had I been told about the party, I would have gone, but I wasn’t (told about the party).

Your example works just fine as well, but I think the way Wilson has written it is just fine.

]]> By: LongShot http://evangellyfish.com/chapter-vi-harmonic-convergence/#comment-177 LongShot Wed, 20 Aug 2008 06:59:52 +0000 http://evangellyfish.com/?p=13#comment-177 "“They make it just like this place in Memphis that I used to go to all the time,” is what Bradford would have said had he been asked, but he wasn’t." Doug, I think you may have mixed your past tenses in the end there. I can't remember the proper names for the types of tenses, but it seems like your usage here is inconsistent. Seems like it oughtta be: "...would have said had he been asked, but he hadn't." Or, perhaps, "hadn't been." Or the other way -- "what he would say if he was asked, but he wasn't." ““They make it just like this place in Memphis that I used to go to all the time,” is what Bradford would have said had he been asked, but he wasn’t.”

Doug, I think you may have mixed your past tenses in the end there. I can’t remember the proper names for the types of tenses, but it seems like your usage here is inconsistent. Seems like it oughtta be: “…would have said had he been asked, but he hadn’t.” Or, perhaps, “hadn’t been.” Or the other way — “what he would say if he was asked, but he wasn’t.”

]]> By: Ian Perry http://evangellyfish.com/chapter-vi-harmonic-convergence/#comment-172 Ian Perry Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:18:12 +0000 http://evangellyfish.com/?p=13#comment-172 The introduction of Charles Peaborne seemed a little abrupt-- he is intoduced in the middle of a paragraph that moves from person to person when the people aren't within sight of one another, and he is the only one we haven't (if I remember correctly) met before. It seems a bit much. The introduction of Charles Peaborne seemed a little abrupt– he is intoduced in the middle of a paragraph that moves from person to person when the people aren’t within sight of one another, and he is the only one we haven’t (if I remember correctly) met before. It seems a bit much.

]]> By: dougwils http://evangellyfish.com/chapter-vi-harmonic-convergence/#comment-168 dougwils Tue, 19 Aug 2008 03:14:06 +0000 http://evangellyfish.com/?p=13#comment-168 Not counting a short little epilogue, there are sixteen chapters. Not counting a short little epilogue, there are sixteen chapters.

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