Monday Meanderings - 2.2.2015

I keep a list throughout the week of notes referring to things I want to include in the blog. One for this week says, "Bad memory." Which, as it turns out, is an absolutely true statement, because I cannot for the life of me remember what that note refers to.

Disturbing news of the week: scientists now claim that "sitting will kill you." It seems that sitting for hours on end does bad things to your circulation and your heart and causes numerous other health concerns. That does it. I'm staying in bed all day from now on.

I walked out of our neighborhood public library the other day, just a few steps behind another gentleman. When we reached the middle of the parking lot, he turned, put his hands in the air, and said, "I got no money." I stared at him in disbelief for a few moments and then said, "Me neither." "Oh," he said, "I thought you were going to rob me."

Seriously? Broad daylight, 20 feet from a group of people at the bus stop? By an elderly gent with white hair? If he was serious, he may need to rethink using that particular library.

My latest book project at Learning Ally is to read Five days at Memorial by Sheri Fink. The book is a factual telling of the events at Memorial Hospital in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina, and the subsequent criminal charges brought against a Doctor and two nurses for allegedly euthanizing a number of elderly patients. An interesting book by a Pulitzer-winning writer.

From a reader's standpoint, my first stumbling block was a list of names in the Front Matter of the book of patients, doctors, nurses, administrators, lawyers, etc., who would be referenced as part of the story. Names like Artie Delaneuville, Craig Famularo, Charles Foti, Tesfalidet Ewale, and the principal character in the book, Dr. Anna Pou. How the heck do you pronounce the names of these actual people?  For that matter, how do you pronounce New Orleans correctly? NAW lens? New Or LEENS? New AR LENS? 

Learning Ally has a number of resources for researching public names and I gathered up many from the public record - for example, I found the Doctor's name in a CNN newscast (pronounced POE). But many remained a mystery.

After a lot of Google searches, I found an email address for Ms Fink (pronounced like you think it is) and sent her an email explaining the need and asking if I could submit a list of names. In a couple of days, she responded, and said she would be happy to help. I shot back the list, and a day later I knew that Charles Foti pronounces his last name FOE tee, among others. And by the way, it's New AR LENS.  And I don't want to hear about how your aunt who lives there pronounces it. It's already in the recording more than 100 times my way.