Visit Raymond Ward's blog to view a rendition of rap in fairly clear legal language:
http://raymondpward.typepad.com/newlegalwriter/2008/11/freestyle-rap-duel-translated-into-legal-language.html

No wonder I am confused

Plain Language Workshops

Linda Dessau reports on a session she attended, sponsored by the Editors' Association of Canada called Plain Language: Building Results and was presented by Frances Peck.

Frances shared this definition of plain language: "The orderly and clear presentation of complex information." At the time, she was going through a long list of myths about plain language - reasons that writers sometimes argue against it.

Some of the myths were that plain language is just "dummy-ing down" the content (when, in fact, it's just a clearer way of presenting it) or that it's boring (when, in fact, it's much more engaging to read something that actually makes sense). In her words, documents that are difficult to understand quickly become disposable.

The Vancouver branch is holding a session this week:

Plain Language: The Basics
Saturday, November 29, 10:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
SFU Harbour Centre, room 2245
Instructor: Peter Moskos

Life lists

I decided to do something I saw on Janet's blog. If you want to play along just copy this and then bold the things you've done.

I HAVE….

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

And…

100. Ridden an elephant

Le'go that LEGO

LEGO is in the news, having lost its trademark in a European tribunal.

Makes this a good time to share with you the very plain language product description filed with the Canadian court by LEGO's lawyers here:

A rectilinear array of uniform, smooth-sided, flat-topped, cylindrical, co-planar protuberances,the proportions of height, diameter and center-to-center spacing of which are approximately 2 : 5 : 8. Where there is more than one row of protuberances, they are arranged in mutually orthogonal rows and columns.

Well, maybe not so plain, eh?

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June 2008: Lego brick wall repairs of artist Jan Vormann and friends in Bocchignano, Italy Photograph: Rex Features

An example of a simple list

I just came across this sentence on a website for a service center for people who cannot afford a lawyer. The problems with it are (at least):
1. the sentence is left-handed (three items consented to)
2. the sentence is too long
3. the sentence cries out for a list.

Consent to share information
I consent to the information on this form, the type of issue I have, and the record of services I receive at the center being shared as needed among those who work for the Self-help Center.

Rewritten:

I consent to having my personal information shared among those who work for the Self-help Center. Information means:

the information on this form,
the type of issue I have, and
the record of services I receive at the center.

That is just a quick effort at the job.

Fall in Vancouver

A place where there a real seasons...